Chapter 151: The Cage

Hua Changxi had long forgotten about Cao Jun, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture; looking at the middle-aged man before her who claimed to be Song Weimin, she asked in surprise, "I have met the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture. When I was captured by that demonic Daoist, it was people from Jingzhao Prefecture who rescued me."

Song Weimin looked at Hua Changxi and asked again, "Did he come to find you?"

Hua Changxi laughed lightly, "The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture holds a third-rank office; how would such an important figure come looking for someone as insignificant as me? Have you mistaken something?"

Song Weimin looked at Hua Changxi, who was merely of hair-pinning age, and did not believe his shrewd senior brother's disappearance had anything to do with her; this young lady surely lacked such capability.

However, the steward of the Cao household had indeed stated that before his disappearance, his senior brother had reviewed the case from two years ago concerning the blood sacrifice of young boys and girls by the red-robed demonic Daoist at the underground magma stone cliff where the Lingguang Hall now stands.

And the young lady before him was one of the few surviving victims still alive, and furthermore, a cultivator.

"This young lady is no insignificant person; an insignificant person could not have established connections with the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Song Weimin had been waiting early on in the teahouse opposite the medicine shop, witnessing the entire exchange between Hua Changxi and Pang Shaoyu.

Hua Changxi smiled and said, "This should have nothing to do with you, sir."

Unable to detect any flaw in Hua Changxi's expression or extract useful information from her words, Song Weimin could only choose to desist: "I apologize for the disturbance."

Having spoken, he turned and left without any hesitation or delay.

Watching Song Weimin's retreating figure, Hua Changxi furrowed her brows slightly; although this man seemed dismissed by her few words, his demeanor suggested he would not let the matter rest so easily.

Though she did not fear trouble, she detested inconvenience.

Just as Hua Changxi was feeling annoyed by Song Weimin's sudden arrival, Hua Minghe appeared.

"Ninth Daughter."

"Father."

Hua Changxi was somewhat surprised but quickly stepped forward to invite him into the medicine shop, introducing Pucao and Ah Niu to Hua Minghe.

Hua Minghe had visited the Shennong Medicine Shop several times before, but on previous occasions Hua Changxi had not been present, so he had merely stood in the shop for a while before leaving, never having properly inspected it.

"You have purchased a fine shop, though its location is somewhat remote."

As this was property acquired by his own daughter, Hua Minghe carefully examined both the shop and the rear courtyard.

Hua Changxi laughed, "Good wine needs no bush; your daughter possesses superb medical skills and exceptional pill refining abilities, so people actively seek us out."

Looking at the smile radiating from his daughter's face, Hua Minghe suddenly realized that the confidence emanating from her was truly dazzling.

After accompanying Hua Minghe on a tour of the premises, Hua Changxi led him into the main hall of the rear courtyard; just as the father and daughter were about to share some private words, Ah Niu entered.

"Changxi, Merchant Zhuo has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi said to Hua Minghe, "Father, please sit for a moment; this is a major client, and I must go meet him."

Hua Minghe nodded, "Attend to your business."

After Hua Changxi and Ah Niu went to the front medicine shop, Hua Minghe wandered around the rear courtyard again, eventually discovering the Green Ox Demon in Ah Niu's room.

Thanks to the spirit stones, spirit pills, and Spirit Gathering Array provided by Hua Changxi, Hua Minghe's cultivation path had been smooth, and he was now a mid-stage Qi Sea Realm cultivator.

Although he lacked extensive experience in trials, he still recognized the green ox in the room as a demonic beast; judging by the spiritual pressure emanating from it, its strength exceeded his own.

The fact that the demonic beast tamed by his daughter was stronger than himself dealt Hua Minghe a heavy blow.

Furthermore, Ah Niu, the shop assistant, also made him feel immense pressure; while Steward Pucao posed no direct threat, she too could not be underestimated.

Raising demonic beasts and employing cultivators to handle affairs—his daughter had already soared to such heights.

Thinking of the clients his daughter was currently engaging with, Hua Minghe walked to the back door of the medicine shop, lifted the curtain slightly, and watched with complex emotions as his daughter conversed cheerfully with outsiders; though his heart was filled with immense gratification, he felt even more a sense of loss.

"Boss Hua, besides ordering pills worth one hundred thousand taels of silver for martial artists this time, I also wish to purchase a batch of spirit pills."

"I am aware of Boss Hua's rules; spirit pills are not purchased with silver."

Merchant Zhuo carefully took a white porcelain bottle from his storage bag and pushed it toward Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi picked up the porcelain bottle, removed the stopper, and immediately an extremely dense and pure surge of spiritual energy rushed toward her face.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi quickly sealed the bottle again, looking at Merchant Zhuo with astonishment, shocked that the Zhuo family could actually obtain Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk.

Seeing that Hua Changxi was merely shocked and did not inquire about the contents of the bottle, Merchant Zhuo guessed she knew it was Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk: "These are ten drops of spirit milk aged over ten thousand years; each drop contains vast amounts of spiritual energy, and I wish to exchange them for a batch of second-grade healing spirit pills."

Hua Changxi asked, "Which pills do you wish to exchange for?"

Merchant Zhuo had several types of pills in mind, but he did not specify them, instead smiling and saying, "To be honest, I know little about pills; Boss Hua, please formulate them as you see fit."

Hua Changxi looked at him, fell silent for a moment, then waved her hand, causing ten bottles of top-grade second-grade pills to appear on the table.

Qi-Condensing Pills (condense spiritual energy within the Qi Sea; the more solid the Qi Sea, the more spiritual energy it can hold), Yuan-Recovery Pills (restore stamina), Life-Prolonging Pills (sustain vital breath to allow time for medical treatment), Bone-Reconnecting Pills (strengthen tendons and bones, heal fractures and tendon-bone injuries), Ice-Heart Pills (treat fire toxins and heat toxins), Blood-Return Pills, Heart-Clearing Pills (calm the mind and quiet the spirit), Flesh-Regenerating Pills (promote wound healing and restore damaged skin), and Detoxification Pills (can neutralize all second-tier poisons).

Merchant Zhuo inspected the pills bottle by bottle, and with each bottle he examined, his heart trembled slightly.

Top-grade pills; they were all top-grade second-grade pills!

He had indeed judged correctly; Boss Hua had not taken advantage of him, and the pills she produced were worth those ten drops of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk.

Having obtained ten drops of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk, Hua Changxi noted that each drop contained approximately one million points of spiritual energy; while this amount was somewhat insufficient for replenishing her own spiritual energy, adding spirit milk during pill refinement would absolutely enhance the quality of the pills.

She was very satisfied with this transaction.

Merchant Zhuo, having received pills that exceeded his expectations, was also satisfied with the transaction; he promptly paid one hundred thousand taels of silver, took the ordinary pill withdrawal receipt issued by Pucao, and departed to collect the pills from the other ten medicine shops.

Nowadays, Hua Changxi regarded the Shennong Medicine Shop in Feng'an Ward as the main store; although this shop also sold pills, the quantities were small.

The other ten shops managed by Yu Gui had recruited a batch of alchemists specializing in refining ordinary pills; customers like Merchant Zhuo who purchased ordinary pills in large batches collected their goods from Yu Gui's locations.

Zhou Qiuyu, Wang Yun, and others had already resigned from their positions as laborers in the Labor Hall; with their addition, Hua Changxi planned to eventually include spirit pills in the shop's sales inventory.

Hua Minghe silently observed the entire transaction process; seeing his daughter complete a single deal worth one hundred thousand taels of silver, he for the first time truly felt that for his daughter, the Hua family courtyard was indeed a cage restricting her.

Once she left the cage, she could actually soar higher and farther.