Qian Tu greatly admired Ye Xiruo, so he was the first to accept the task. Unexpectedly, it turned out he was assigned to help out at a restaurant. He helped wherever needed. This guy, whose life skills, aside from alchemy, were practically nonexistent, was handling vases and antiques. He broke a vase—which seemed quite expensive—in no time. If he couldn't do that, he could at least set up a table, but he placed it backwards. Finally, he was sent to the backyard to chop wood. He was exhausted after only a few strokes, and had two large blisters on his hands. It was heartbreaking to see. After finally finishing chopping wood, he had to go to the water park. He carried two buckets of water, spilling half of them on the way.

By the end of the day, I felt like I was half dead.

Shouldn't these things be left to martial artists? He's a frail alchemist, no doubt about it. Besides, he doesn't earn many spirit stones a day, and they're all his hard-earned money. It's heartbreaking and despairing.

Just as Qian Tu was about to argue with the shopkeeper about the difference between alchemists and martial artists, the young shopkeeper impatiently threw him a mid-grade spirit stone: "You don't need to come tomorrow. This is your payment."

Qian Tu was displeased. If he had left voluntarily, there would have been nothing to say, but that was clearly not the case now. He, a noble alchemist, had actually been dismissed. It was a great disgrace.

Do you know I am an alchemist?

"I know, it wasn't your young master who issued the task. Her intention was to train you, but I think you're hopeless. With such weak physiques, no wonder you're easy to kill."

"What did you say? Who's easy to kill? You're discriminating against alchemists! Do you know how great a sin that is?"

The shopkeeper shrugged, revealing a set of pearly white teeth: "Of course I know. But do you know that I've been eating top-grade pills like candy since I was a child?"

With that nouveau riche look on her face, Qian Tu's lips turned white with anger, but Hua Rong didn't stop. Instead, she continued, "Your young master can't protect you forever. With your weakling appearance, I don't know how many resources it would take to save your lives, or even if your lives are worth that price."

Hua Rong's words were utterly merciless, and Qian Tu, stunned and furious, stormed off: "You wait, I'll show you the power of an alchemist."

"If you could all be like the young master, that would be truly impressive. I am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

These words made Qian Tu feel even more ashamed. She returned to the Pill King's Palace feeling wronged after her night shift, and accidentally drank too much, uttering a few complaints. Within a day, the news spread throughout the entire Pill King's Palace, enraging all the alchemists. If Ye Xiruo hadn't claimed to be in seclusion, she would have been dragged out for a public denunciation meeting long ago, though the gossip behind her back was inevitable.

Mingxi refilled Ye Xiruo's cup with tea: "Young Master, there's no need to be angry. They just don't understand your good intentions."

Ye Xiruo gently swirled the needle-like tea leaves in her cup, a faint smile playing on her lips: "It's alright. They should clearly realize just how weak they really are. Only when they know how weak they are will they want to become stronger and stop being weak."

"The young master is wise."

"Don't spread the news of my coming out of seclusion yet. Let them continue to make trouble. Help me deliver this to my second senior brother. He knows what to do."

"Yes, Your Highness," Mingxi replied and withdrew.

I knew Hua Rong would cause some trouble, but I didn't expect it to be this outrageous. This has caused public outrage! Ye Xiruo has no doubt that Hua Rong will be stuffed in a black sack and beaten up.

Another thing is the shop that Ye Xiruo saw last time. Many people wanted to buy it, but in the end, the four major families of the Pill King Palace cleared it out.

The relationship between the four major families of the Pill King Palace and the Pill King Palace itself is somewhat complicated. Long ago, they were subordinate forces of the Pill King Palace, and everything they did was subordinate to the Pill King Palace. However, after thousands of years of development, the four major families have all developed into first-class forces on the continent. Although they still outwardly respect the Pill King Palace and its leader, they are constantly engaging in underhanded tactics behind the scenes.

When the throne was in power, these people were somewhat restrained due to the immense strength of the throne. However, when Jing Li ascended to the throne, they caused some minor trouble. After relying on the Pill King Palace for so many years, now that they have grown powerful, they want to abandon the Pill King Palace and soar to the heavens on their own.

As a result, Jing Li's casual remark left the Qing family utterly humiliated. "Get out of here now! Get out of Danwang City immediately! All the alchemists will either stay or be crippled." Upon hearing this, the Qing family head immediately knelt before the main hall of Danwang Palace for three days, begging for Jing Li's forgiveness.

Unfortunately, he didn't even get to see Jing Li in the end and was directly sent away. Even now, the Qing family is still disliked by Jing Li. Even offering more rare and precious herbs every year is useless. It can be said that as long as Jing Li remains the Hall Master of the Pill King Hall, the Qing family has no chance of a complete turnaround. The four great families are closely linked; if the Qing family is in such a sorry state, the other families are unlikely to fare much better.

This time, it's those four great families causing trouble again. Why aren't they showing any concern or friendship? They fought tooth and nail over a pill shop, driving the price to an astronomical level. And now, one by one, they've all backed out. A momentary squabble shouldn't have come at such a high price. But this whole affair has become a huge scandal; almost everyone in Pill King City knows about it. It's incredibly embarrassing.

The shopkeeper, who was originally happy to collect the spirit stones and leave, now had all his hair turned white. After the commotion caused by the four major families, who would dare to risk offending them by buying from his shop?

In the end, Hua Rong used Ye Xiruo's name to directly acquire the shop at a low price. It was probably because Hua Rong's attitude was a bit arrogant, her face was a bit sour, her temper was a bit bad, and her words were a bit impolite that she angered the people of the four major families. The direct consequence was that it affected the restaurant that Ye Xiruo was about to open, which was practically cutting off Ye Xiruo's source of income.

Upon hearing this news, Ye Xiruo's face immediately darkened. She knew she couldn't rely on that good-for-nothing Hua Rong; look at how things have been handled, not a single thing has gone smoothly.

Ye Xiruo sent a message to her second senior brother, asking him to warn the four major families that if they overstepped their bounds, she wouldn't hesitate to chop them off.

This restaurant wasn't just hers; it also involved the interests of her senior brothers, second senior brothers, and Hua Rong. It was all messed up by a few unrelated people, which upset Ye Xiruo. And if she was upset, naturally those who upset her wouldn't be happy either.