Shi Xuan narrowed his eyes and said, "So, this Huichuntang is a cooperative elixir shop between our local market and the Shending Sect?"
Shen Wuyang nodded and said, "That's right. Their pills are generally more expensive, and the quality is average." This refers to what happened after the two brothers encountered Shi Xuan. If it weren't for Shi Xuan, the quality of their pills would have been quite good, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to sell them at such a high price and still have such a good business.
But Shi Xuan disrupted their plans. Since the opening of the affordable shop, the quality of the pills they sold each time was higher than that of Huichuntang, yet the price was lower. Since they couldn't do it openly, they wanted to resort to underhanded tactics, using the pretense of eating dead people to scare away customers and damage the affordable shop's business.
What they didn't know was that Shi Xuan's pills had already been listed on the black market auction house, so there was no reason for them not to sell. Besides, Shi Xuan always sold on a whim; he would open when there was something to sell and close when he was done. If Huichuntang could hold back, after a while, Shi Xuan would sell most of the common pills he took from the silver frost, and that would be the end of it, not affecting them for long.
Unfortunately, they were too hasty and ended up losing more than they gained, making themselves the laughingstock of the entire market. From then on, they were the ones who suffered the most.
Shi Xuan's bright eyes darted around. She was thinking that the Divine Cauldron Sect was really persistent, they were everywhere. She had to think of a way to deal with the Divine Cauldron Sect so that they wouldn't have time to stir up trouble everywhere.
*
The next day, as the sun rose and the shops in the market opened, the burly, dark-faced man, who had rested overnight, began his parade through the streets with his henchmen.
They rented a spirit beast carriage, on which were placed huge gongs and drums, as well as amplifying magical instruments. Three people stood on the carriage, one banging the gong, one playing the drums, and one shouting instructions; their roles were clearly defined and they were well-trained.
"Fellow neighbors! I am Zhang Dahu! Huichuntang paid me ten high-grade spirit stones plus two bottles of high-grade spirit-restoring pills to cause trouble at a cheap shop! It was wrong of me to cause trouble! But I was just doing my job for money! The real culprit is Huichuntang!"
The group's voices were so loud that, amplified by the megaphone, they could be heard throughout the entire market.
Shi Xuan expressed his satisfaction.
But the manager of Huichuntang was furious. He'd seen dishonest people before, but never anyone this dishonest. Not only had they not returned the spirit stones he'd taken, but now they were turning around and accusing him! Who knows, maybe the things they used for their parade were even bought with the spirit stones he'd given them!
The thought of this made him even angrier.
The spirit beast carriage traveled back and forth on the busiest central street, and crowds of onlookers gathered in front of their shops to watch the spectacle.
The shopkeeper rushed out and shouted at the spirit beast cart, "Don't make false accusations! When did we hire you to deal with our cheap shop? Don't talk nonsense without evidence, or I'll be very rude to you!"
The gong was struck even louder, and the burly man with the dark face shouted, "Fellow villagers, I'm being threatened! I'm afraid I won't see the sun rise tomorrow morning!"
After selling his sympathy, he banged on the gong and said, "Everyone knows that there are rules in our line of work. Every job is recorded by a recording stone. I can produce evidence!"
The recording stones are too expensive for them to afford, but the sound recording stones are very cheap. Buying a batch will last them a long time. They are also prepared for those who are even more unscrupulous than them and don't keep their word.
The shopkeeper's eyes flickered for a moment before he forced a rebuttal: "It's just a recording stone, who knows who actually spoke!"
“It’s perfectly clear,” Zhang Dahu shouted. “Besides, everyone in the market probably saw what happened yesterday. I, Zhang Dahu, am not afraid of losing face now.”
He had essentially given up all hope. Yesterday's events were a nightmare for him, and just thinking about them was terrifying, let alone experiencing them firsthand.
"When you came to me, you said that the remote shop was run by a helpless orphan girl, but in reality, she's a Grand Alchemist! A direct disciple of the Lianfeng Sword Sect! We're already in such a mess before she even got the sect's backing. If you call in the people from the mountain, what good will that do us?! This is blatant fraud!"
Zhang Dahu got angrier the more he thought about it. After going back yesterday, he sorted out the whole thing and realized that he was the only fool.
These kinds of scoundrels usually travel from place to place, moving on to a different location after committing a crime. Minor offenses are usually not pursued relentlessly. They came to this market town at the invitation of Huichuntang, but without fully understanding the situation here, they trusted the manager of Huichuntang and ended up falling into a huge trap...
Thinking of this, he shouted even louder, until his voice was hoarse, as if he wanted to shout out all the grievances he had suffered.
The owner of Huichuntang was furious. If he let it go, they would keep shouting for ten days or half a month, and his shop would be unable to stay open.
"Stop him!" The shopkeeper waved his hand, and seven or eight thugs from Huichuntang came out and surrounded Zhang Dahu and his group.
Seeing that things were going badly, Zhang Dahu shouted, "Something's wrong! Someone's being attacked! Someone's being killed!"
The shrill screams attracted the guards on duty in the market. Upon seeing the scene, the leader of the guards drew his sword halfway and shouted in a menacing tone, "Private fights are prohibited in the market!"
The shopkeeper dared not speak out in anger, and could only mutter under his breath as the guards left: "There was such a big commotion yesterday, but the guards didn't come out to do anything about it."
Unexpectedly, the guards overheard this muttering. The leader turned around, stared at the shopkeeper, and sneered, "Whether you cry or laugh in the street is none of our jurisdiction. If you don't believe me, you can sit down and wail right now and see if we'll take care of you!"
A burst of laughter erupted around them. Just hearing that made it clear that they could picture the owner of Huichuntang sitting on the street, wailing. If they put Zhang Dahu's face into yesterday's scene, they could just replace it with the owner's.
With his newfound power, Zhang Dahu became even more unrestrained, leading his henchmen in a noisy parade through the streets, spreading the story of Huichuntang to the point that passersby could recite it by heart.
Watching the lively scene, Chen Ji found it amusing and asked Shi Xuan, "Master, in ten days, you will have already gone to the Luoyin Sect. If they come looking for us after completing their mission, what kind of antidote should we prepare for them?"
Shi Xuan smiled and said, "There's nothing to prepare. Just make a couple of glutinous rice balls for them. It's not something that can relapse anyway."
It was just a scare tactic. Look how scared these scoundrels are, they're banging drums and gongs so enthusiastically.
On the third day, after treatment, Feng Xiujie was able to use a small amount of spiritual power. He was overjoyed and cried tears of joy. More than a year had passed, and he thought his life was hopeless. But unexpectedly, he found a way out and was reborn!
"Alright, go back and rest well. You can start using your spiritual power in small amounts after seven days," Shi Xuan said. "You can take qi-tonifying and health-preserving pills, but avoid strong pills."
"Then, do you have any restorative pills made by a master?" Feng Xiujie asked eagerly. He now felt that Xuan was the most reliable alchemist in the world, and he wished he could take all the pills made by her from now on.
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