Chapter 20

The next morning, Liu Qingcang sat again in the magistrate's mansion, his face grim.

Yesterday he had come to Xu Bingkun, hoping the magistrate would lend a hand to the current situation. After all, Shen Tang had merely persuaded Xu Bingkun to enact one simple new regulation, and instantly the Shen Family Trading House established itself in Xiazhou. With such a strong foundation, if the magistrate would also assist and support him, wouldn't he crush ten Shen Family Trading Houses?

Yet the proposal to enact the regulation had come from Shen Tang, not Xu Bingkun; on his own, Xu Bingkun had no good business strategies whatsoever.

He could only soothe Liu Qingcang, saying he would have the Head of the Alchemy Bureau, Chen Jinyan, issue a public notice stating the toxic side effects of Shen Qi Pills were harmless.

The note had been delivered to Chen Jinyan, who had smiled and promised to obey the magistrate's order—but no one knew when the notice would actually be issued. Chen Jinyan was Xiazhou's foremost alchemist, a dignified sixth-grade alchemist, a treasure that held the city together; Xu Bingkun could not pressure him too hard, or what would he do when he himself needed healing?

Overnight, the situation at Danxia Gang worsened, not improved.

Citizens rushed to every alchemy shop to return their goods; the shops, citing "serious defects in the pills," terminated their supply agreements with Danxia Gang, and some with powerful connections even came to Liu Qingcang demanding compensation.

Early that morning, Danxia Gang's own shop was packed wall-to-wall—not with customers buying medicine, but with people returning it.

They weren't just returning Shen Qi Pills, but also low-grade Qi-restoring Pills and others.

These low-grade pills were all refined by Lu Xingzhou's former apprentices, strictly following Lu Xingzhou's formulas; though their refining skill was mediocre, they certainly didn't carry the heavy toxicity of Shen Qi Pills. Unfortunately, tainted by Shen Qi Pills' reputation, most citizens weren't experts—they began to suspect even these low-grade pills might be more toxic than others', and refused them outright, no matter how hard Danxia Gang tried to explain.

If this continued, Danxia Gang's medicine business would be finished entirely, thrown back to the days when they were mere traveling herb peddlers.

"Magistrate, we can't wait any longer!" Liu Qingcang pounded his chest and stamped his feet before Xu Bingkun: "Chen Jinyan has been bought over by Lu Xingzhou—he won't help us refute the rumors, and even if he did, by the time he acts, it'll be too late!"

Xu Bingkun's expression darkened. He was already troubled—his death-soldiers had been wiped out, and he still didn't know what had happened. He had no patience for this mess. He silently thought: Why does your failed business feel like my fault? The regulation applies to the whole city—why are you the only one suffering?

Yet right now he did need Liu Qingcang to publicly oppose Shen Tang, so he bit back his anger and asked: "Then what do you propose?"

"Chen Jinyan won't vouch for Shen Qi Pills, but he can speak for our other pills!" Liu Qingcang hurriedly said. "Our other pills are genuinely flawless—even less toxic than others'! Even if Chen Jinyan won't help, we can get others from the Alchemy Bureau to testify."

Xu Bingkun said: "Why is it that only your Shen Qi Pills are toxic, while your other pills are fine?"

Even Xu Bingkun didn't believe this.

Liu Qingcang's face flushed crimson—he couldn't bring himself to admit that his other pills were the legacy of Lu Xingzhou, whom he had driven out and replaced with a flower-and-pox man.

Xu Bingkun paced back and forth a few times, then finally said: "I hear your shop is now being blocked by crowds… In this storm of public outrage, a mere verbal statement from the Alchemy Bureau won't help. If you truly have confidence, the best strategy is to publicly test the pills—then the doubts vanish instantly, and you gain publicity. But if you deceive me, and the test reveals fraud, it will be a catastrophic collapse—think carefully!"

Liu Qingcang beamed: "Our other pills are absolutely flawless!"

Xu Bingkun stressed: "The citizens are mostly cultivators—they're not all ignorant! The Alchemy Bureau will test in broad daylight and tell the truth—they won't lie for you!"

Liu Qingcang slapped his chest loudly: "If there's any problem, I take full responsibility!"

That was exactly what Xu Bingkun wanted. He scowled and wrote another note, handing it to Liu Qingcang to take to the Alchemy Bureau.

Liu Qingcang exhaled in relief, took the note, and turned to leave—then suddenly stopped and turned back: "My lord, if you find it inconvenient to confront Shen Tang openly, I suggest you first sever her allies."

Xu Bingkun paused: "What do you mean?"

"Shen Tang established herself in Xiazhou with lightning speed, and our attacks were effortlessly neutralized, while we're left in chaos… My lord, do you think this is all due to Shen Tang's own ability? No—it's because someone is scheming for her."

"Lu Xingzhou?"

"Exactly. While these two haven't fully merged—still just landlord and tenant—we still have a chance to defeat them one by one. Once they grow closer, I fear Shen Tang's rise will become unstoppable."

As Liu Qingcang spoke, he felt a pang of bitter irony—those two had originally had no connection at all; their bond had begun because he had driven out Lu Xingzhou to bring in Bai Chi.

Who could have imagined fate would intertwine so strangely?

He had no energy to elaborate further. He left these words behind and hurried off to the Alchemy Bureau.

This time, even Chen Jinyan agreed to conduct the test—he simply refused to lie about Shen Qi Pills, but had no objection to certifying ordinary pills.

The group rushed to Danxia Gang's shop, where crowds thronged three layers deep around the building, nearly tearing it down. Liu Qingcang shouted to the entire crowd: "Elder brothers and sisters, don't panic! Our pills are flawless! Chen Zhangsi will publicly verify them to dispel your doubts… You may not trust me, but you must trust Chen Zhangsi!"

Chen Jinyan's reputation was indeed high. The chaotic crowd finally quieted, necks craning to watch.

"Please remain calm," Chen Jinyan bowed to the crowd. "If you distrust the Alchemy Bureau, feel free to invite experts inside to join our inspection."

Inside the shop, several baskets of pills delivered just before dawn still sat unopened—no one had had time to store them. Chen Jinyan reached out, casually picked up a few, handed them to his subordinates, and took one himself, breaking it open and sniffing.

Liu Qingcang watched Chen Jinyan's expression… then watched in horror as the alchemist's face grew darker and darker.

"This is absurd!" Chen Jinyan clutched the broken pill, his hand trembling. "This is the most basic Qi-restoring pill—thousands upon thousands of alchemists have tinkered with its formula over millennia; it's practically beginner-level. Even this beginner's concoction, you've ruined so badly! If you can't formulate properly, just buy the official formula from the Alchemy Bureau!"

Liu Qingcang roared: "Impossible! Everyone knows our pills are the highest quality—that's how Danxia Gang built its reputation! Chen Zhangsi, you're not deliberately—"

Before he finished, another civilian cultivator who had volunteered to inspect shouted sharply: "In front of everyone, who dares speak nonsense? Your Qi-restoring pills are clearly useless—why did you add so much sweet potato paste? Are you trying to make them tasty?"

Liu Qingcang: "?"

"With this dilution, they're even less effective than chewing raw herbs! This isn't even a pill—it's an embarrassment! And you dare blame Chen Zhangsi?"

Another sighed: "At least it's non-toxic… otherwise your harm to the people would be grave! Even so, the suspicion of substituting inferior goods is undeniable—how could you dare let us inspect publicly? Where did you get the nerve?"

The crowd erupted.

Everyone knew one duty of the Alchemy Bureau was to inspect shops for inferior goods. Once confirmed, they could immediately shut them down and impose fines so heavy they bankrupted entire families.

Liu Qingcang stood stunned. How had his apprentices' perfectly refined Qi-restoring pills suddenly turned into this? Had Lu Xingzhou's original formulas been this bad?

He quickly said: "Chen Zhangsi, everyone knows our Qi-restoring pills use Lu Xingzhou's formula and were taught by him! If there's a problem, it's Lu Xingzhou's fault!"

Chen Jinyan's face remained cold. So you're implying the Alchemy Bureau was negligent all along, approving these sweet potato pills?

He walked to the counter and tapped it. "Bring out a few of yesterday's pills."

The shopkeeper trembled as he fetched several. Chen Jinyan examined them briefly, then exploded in fury: "Yesterday's pills were flawless—excellent quality. This is clearly your recent attempt to cut corners after losses, changing the formula to recover quickly, then trying to blame your former benefactor! Danxia Gang's character is now clear to me!"

Liu Qingcang's mind buzzed—he couldn't understand how this had happened.

He hadn't considered that when you treat apprentices like beasts of burden, even beasts will kick back.

This kick was so powerful, it had sent him plunging into the deepest hell, nearly impossible to recover from.

But pills weren't something you could casually alter and still produce—apprentices changing formulas on their own could only produce entire batches of waste; only experts could modify them!

If Lu Xingzhou had done this, how could the timing be so precise?

Chen Jinyan announced loudly to the crowd: "Danxia Gang's shop is closed effective immediately. The Alchemy Bureau will supervise its reform—only when it's fixed will it reopen!"

Chen Jinyan swept out, leaving Liu Qingcang staring at the throngs outside, dizzy and lost.

Around the street corner, Du Guo Qingli pushed Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair, watching for a long while before asking softly, her expression complex: "How could you be certain your apprentices would dare do this—and that you could hand them off to anyone?"

"Anyone with a soul has pride," Lu Xingzhou said calmly. "For days, Liu Qingcang has allowed Bai Chi to oppress them until they dared not speak. Yesterday, to make up for losses, he doubled their workload. The suppressed rage needed only a spark—and as their master, who trained them hand over hand for half a year, I was that spark."

"You… aren't afraid Liu Qingcang will retaliate against them when he returns?"

"So I originally thought this move was a bit hasty and didn't want to implement it so soon. But since I've decided to do it, I might as well do it thoroughly," Lu Xingzhou said leisurely. "While they are in a state of panic here, A-Nuo has already gone to escort the apprentices away... With the Shen Merchant House taking in such a batch of apprentices, they can establish their own alchemy system. I just wonder if Miss Qingli dares to face Liu Qingcang's wrath?"

Du Gu Qingli's expression was blank.

"The person who makes decisions for the Shen Merchant House is Shen Tang, not me. What's the point of provoking me?"

"Come to think of it, you came here to watch the spectacle, so why did you specifically ask me to push the chair? Just because I was involved in this matter? What does that have to do with me pushing a wheelchair?"

The white-haired girl frowned and thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out the logic behind it.

(End of this chapter)