Rumors spread

The news that the Academy Board of Trustees had rejected Silas's proposal spread like wildfire throughout Rockefeller College Town. Finn Liver was ecstatic for days, walking with springs in his step, as if he could already see a future where gold coins rained down on him. He even began planning to take over the vacant shop next door, expand his business, and create a comprehensive experience center combining medicine, runes, and Eastern mysticism.

Ling Yao remained noncommittal, continuing her daily, unwavering research into her magic cores and ores, occasionally glancing at Finn's extravagant business plans. Silas's warnings seemed to have gone in one ear and out the other.

However, beneath the calm surface, undercurrents never ceased to surge. For some, the news of Silas Inquisitor's setback in the council hall was not a warning, but rather the clarion call for another war.

A few days later, one morning, Finn, as usual, hummed an off-key tune as he pushed open the shop door, ready to welcome a new day of good fortune. However, the expected queue of customers did not appear; instead, the alley was rather deserted. Only a few passersby cast strange glances at him, glances that mixed curiosity, fear, and a hint of something barely perceptible…disgust?

"Strange, why is no one here today?" Finn scratched his head, a little puzzled, but didn't pay much attention, assuming everyone had overslept.

However, as time went on, this desolation became increasingly apparent. The mercenary guild manager, who usually arrived long ago to collect the goods, was nowhere to be seen, and the noble servants who came almost daily, trying to buy an extra bottle of "Radiant Skin Dew," had also vanished. Even the knight cadets who had secretly come to inquire about "enhancing potions" seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

For the first time, the small shop was deserted, creating an embarrassing scene.

"Something's not right...this is really wrong!" Finn leaned against the counter, staring blankly at the empty alleyway, a sense of panic creeping into his heart. Even in the off-season, it shouldn't be this quiet! It's like the deathly stillness before a storm!

Ling Yao also noticed the unusual decline in business. She put down a piece of ore whose structure she had just analyzed and frowned slightly. The reduction in energy sources was directly affecting her recovery progress, which made her a little unhappy.

"Go out and take a look," she succinctly instructed Finn.

Finn, who was worried about not finding the reason, received the order and immediately darted out of the shop like a rabbit, running towards the busiest tavern and market in town to find out the information.

Not long after, Finn came running back, pale and panting, his face filled with anger and panic.

"Miss Ling! Something terrible has happened!" He rushed into the shop, almost tripping over the threshold. "Outside...there are rumors circulating about us! They're really nasty!"

Ling Yao looked up, gesturing for him to speak slowly.

Finn took several deep breaths before speaking indignantly, "I don't know which bastard started this rumor! They said you... said you were some kind of 'Eastern Witch'! They said you didn't use herbs or magic at all, but... used fragments of human souls to concoct potions!"

He grew angrier as he spoke, his face turning red: "They say 'Radiant Skin Dew' can make people younger because it absorbs the life force of others! They say 'Ling Clan No. 1' is so potent because it contains the bloodthirsty souls of berserk beasts! They also say... they also say that the enhancement potion will deplete the user's life potential, which is why Karl was unconscious for three days!"

“What’s even more outrageous!” Finn exclaimed, pounding his chest. “They say the reason you’re not speaking is because you’re silently chanting an evil spell to extract souls! They say that I… I look so energetic because I’ve been completely controlled by you and become a puppet without any self-awareness!”

"The whole town is going crazy over it! They're saying all sorts of things! They're even saying that if you use our medicine, your soul will be marked and you won't be able to return to the God's Kingdom after you die! The noble ladies are too scared to come! The Mercenary Guild has also suspended its purchases, saying they need to reassess the risks! Even people who bought the medicine before are so scared they want to return it!"

Finn nearly fainted after speaking in one breath, feeling a surge of pent-up grievances and anger with nowhere to vent. What on earth was this?! It was utterly absurd!

Ling Yao's face remained calm after hearing this, though her eyes turned slightly cold. Soul extraction for alchemy? Such an inefficient and morally reprehensible method would only be used occasionally by the most despicable evil cultivators, and it would have endless consequences. How could she, a dignified King of the Immortal Cultivation World, possibly use such a foolish method that would ruin her future? The person spreading this rumor is incredibly incompetent.

"Stupid." That was her succinct assessment, though it was unclear whether she was referring to the person spreading the rumor or the person who believed it.

"Yeah! It's so stupid! But some people just have to believe it!" Finn was pacing around anxiously. "Three men can make a tiger, and many mouths can melt metal! If this continues, our shop will be ruined by these rumors! It must be that sly god Silas's doing! He can't fight them head-on, so he starts playing dirty tricks!"

Ling Yao pondered for a moment. Silas was indeed the prime suspect, but this method… was far too crude and hasty, unlike that gloomy fellow's style. It seemed more like… a test? Or perhaps, she was trying to use this chaotic public opinion to create an excuse for her next move?

However, before Ling Yao could come up with a solution, the negative consequences of the rumors had already begun to appear.

In the afternoon, the small shop finally welcomed its first "customer" of the day—a middle-aged woman dressed in coarse cloth, her face filled with fear. She was clutching a small crystal bottle tightly in her arms, which was the "Ling's No. 1" that had been sold earlier.

“Mr…Mr. Liver…” The woman’s voice trembled, her eyes darting away, not daring to look at Ling Yao beside her, “This medicine…we dare not use this medicine…please, could you…could you return it? We can…we can refund a small amount of the money…”

Finn's heart sank when he saw it. The woman's husband was a well-known woodcutter in town, working year-round in the dangerous mountains. He had been a loyal customer of "Ling's No. 1" medicine and had praised its effectiveness, saying it had saved his life several times.

"Sister-in-law Brown, don't listen to those people talking nonsense!" Finn hurriedly explained, "This medicine is made from herbs, it's absolutely safe! Look at Brother Brown, he's been using it for so long, and he's had no problems at all, hasn't he?"

"But...but they said...this medicine contains some kind of soul...soul..." The woman's face was pale, her lips trembling, clearly terrified. "We're just an ordinary family, we really can't take this risk...please, please cancel the order..."

Finally, Finn, seeing the woman's terrified yet pleading eyes, couldn't bear it any longer and gritted his teeth to return the money. The woman took the money and ran away as if granted a pardon, as if afraid that staying even a second longer would mean having her soul stolen.

Once the first one came, the second one followed. Throughout the afternoon, several more ordinary customers arrived, all terrified by the increasingly outrageous rumors.

Finn was overwhelmed by the situation, and his initial anger turned into helplessness and frustration. He understood these people's fears, but he also felt incredibly aggrieved by these baseless accusations.

What bothered him even more was the appearance of suspicious figures outside the shop. They didn't seem like customers, nor did they seem like onlookers; they just stood at a distance, pointing and whispering about the shop, occasionally casting disgusted and wary glances at him. The atmosphere was extremely uncomfortable.

On one occasion, a teenager even threw a small stone at the shop door and ran away screaming, as if some man-eating demon lived in the shop.

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" Finn was so angry that he almost rushed out to confront someone, but Ling Yao stopped him with a look.

Engaging in conflict with an ignorant public incited by rumors is the most irrational thing to do and will only make things worse.

Ling Yao walked to the shop entrance, her gaze calmly sweeping over the prying and pointing eyes outside. Her eyes weren't sharp, but they possessed a strange penetrating power, causing the gossipy women who were talking animatedly to instinctively shut their mouths and guiltily look away.

She didn't say anything, just stood quietly for a while, then turned and went back into the shop.

However, this cold treatment did not quell the rumors. On the contrary, her "silence" was interpreted by some as "acquiescence" and "guilt," which led to its spread even more rampant.

"Look! She doesn't even dare to argue back!"

"He's definitely hiding something!"

"Stay away from that shop! Be careful, or the witch might target you!"

Similar whispers began to spread throughout College Town.

Business plummeted. The once bustling shop is now deserted, with only a few daring old customers sneaking in, buying things and leaving quickly, as if conducting some illegal transaction.

Finn watched his income dwindle, and he was so worried he was practically balding. He tried to explain and dispel the rumors, but his voice was quickly drowned out by a larger wave of gossip. Faced with fear and herd mentality, the truth seemed so pale and powerless.

"Miss Ling... what should we do?" Finn slumped weakly against the counter, feeling utterly hopeless. "If this continues, we'll really starve."

Ling Yao polished a newly acquired moonstone, her eyes deep and unfathomable. She had indeed underestimated the destructive power rumors could cause in this world. Sometimes, these intangible things are more difficult to deal with than real weapons.

Silas's move, though underhanded, was undeniably effective. It successfully created a chasm of fear between her and her potential supporters.

"Wait," Ling Yao said again.

"Still waiting?" Finn was almost in tears. "If we wait any longer, we'll be drowned in spittle!"

"Rumors stop with the wise," Ling Yao said calmly, "and even more so with the facts."

She looked out the window; the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the sky orange-red, but it also illuminated the increasingly gloomy gazes in the corners of the alley.

“For every rumor spread, there’s a denial,” she added, a hint of coldness in her voice. “Just wait and see.”

She wanted to see how this farce, orchestrated by a rat lurking in the shadows, would end. And who would choose to stand by her side in the crucial moment?

After all, the truth cannot be hidden, and the falsehood cannot be made true.