Chapter 627: with translation of chapter title

"It's just out of curiosity; I recall that there aren't many people in the sect who practice fire-type cultivation methods..." Ye Lin said, and as he spoke, he felt that this reason didn't hold up either.

Moreover, inquiring about what pills others need isn't a good thing; it's only because Ye Lin has connections, otherwise Yang Yunshu wouldn't have given him a friendly expression.

Yet Ye Lin couldn't shake his unease, so he asked aloud, "May I know who is requesting these Quhuo Pills?"

Yang Yunshu raised an eyebrow: "Junior Brother Ye, although I can look into this, you must give me a reason; otherwise this is a serious breach of rules."

"I... I have some suspicions; perhaps some people within the sect... have ulterior motives..."

Yang Yunshu thought carefully; without mentioning the other's background, Ye Lin is still someone worth befriending.

But if the other party causes trouble, Ye Lin might be fine while he is not, so Yang Yunshu dared not act on his own and decided to ask clearly: "What have you discovered?"

Ye Lin hesitated: "Someone approached me before, saying they wanted me to liaise with Lian Dan Tang Hall Master Yan to help them produce Quhuo Pills; from Hall Master Yan I heard about the properties of these Quhuo Pills..."

After Ye Lin recounted what he had encountered, Yang Yunshu immediately frowned.

What does Yan Buji mean by that?

Has he sensed something, yet deliberately avoids appearing himself and intends Ye Lin to handle the matter?

Yang Yunshu thought carefully and felt the matter might be genuine.

"If that's the case, let's set it straight beforehand: without solid evidence, I will not acknowledge that you took any information from me; it's all your own doing, and you will bear all responsibility, understand?"

"Understood!" Ye Lin said seriously: "But if problems arise..."

"Then you should inform us so we can handle it; you must never act recklessly, understand?"

"Alright."

Soon, Yang Yunshu checked the recent list of registered pills and passed some intelligence to Ye Lin.

After receiving the information, Ye Lin left immediately.

Yang Yunshu hesitated briefly, but still went to Lian Dan Tang.

"Is Hall Master Yan present?"

"Oh? Isn't this Brother Yang?" Yan Buji stepped out of the alchemy room, still smelling strongly of medicine, as if he had just finished a batch of pills.

Yan Buji smiled and said, "Please sit."

The two sat down; Yan Buji looked at Yang Yunshu: "Brother Yang, what brings you here this time? Does Elder Feng have any request?"

"We discussed the demand yesterday; lately the disciples' need for pills has been growing daily. We will try to increase the number of Alchemy Techniques in Lian Dan Tang. Of course, if possible, Hall Master Yan can also recruit suitable disciples at the Outer Gate to teach them Alchemy Technique, which we also support," Yang Yunshu said.

Yan Buji nodded; after being summoned by Yao Wen yesterday, Feng Yue brought him over to discuss this matter.

He knew, of course, that this was also Feng Yue's move to stabilize himself, preventing himself from leaning too much toward Yao Wen, even proposing to cancel the Internal Affairs Hall's counter for disciples' pill demands and return it to Lian Dan Tang for handling, but Yan Buji declined.

The reason for refusal was simple: Lian Dan Tang currently has only Yan Buji as an Alchemist; no matter what, he cannot have time to handle every affair, so delegating to Internal Affairs Hall is actually more beneficial than harmful for him.

Although Lian Dan Tang is important, there is no additional manpower available now, so it's better to let Internal Affairs Hall reap the benefits first.

In this way, Yan Buji no longer owes Feng Yue anything.

"Since that's the case, Brother Yang, what brings you here?"

"Ye Lin." Yang Yunshu squinted, looking at Yan Buji: "That disciple came to see Hall Master Yan yesterday, right?"

"Indeed, that did happen," Yan Buji nodded.

"Since Hall Master Yan already arranged for the Internal Affairs Hall to handle the disciple's additional pill needs, why still have Ye Lin produce pills?"

"Naturally, it's because Ye Lin wishes to learn Alchemy Technique; I was in a good mood and taught him a bit. As for the pills, he requested them, and I recognized his talent, so I gave him some small trinkets as a gesture," Yan Buji laughed.

Yang Yunshu's face twitched: "So Ye Lin has taken me as his master to learn Alchemy Technique?"

"Not yet."

"So Hall Master Yan is playing one thing in front and another behind, huh?"

"Brother Yang, as you say, I haven't taken any benefit from Ye Lin; even the Spiritual Material was provided by me, I didn't let him provide it, and I didn't claim any contribution value."

Since I didn't take anything, it can't be called a transaction.

Then it's a gift!

A gift may not be regulated; is it wrong for me, a proper Hall Master of Lian Dan Tang, to give someone a little something?

Upon hearing this, Yang Yunshu realized Yan Buji had prepared in advance; even if someone used this matter to trouble him, Yan Buji could fully refute the other party with this point and would not fall into any dangerous situation himself!

What a sly old fox!

Yang Yunshu took a deep breath: "In that case, I misspoke, sorry."

"No, Brother Yang, upholding Outer Gate regulations and impartial law enforcement is fine. However, next time it would be best to bring someone from Law Enforcement Hall along."

Let's see who the one who loses face and reputation really is!

Yang Yunshu clenched his teeth: "Why does Hall Master Yan have to mock me? Isn't it enough that I'm at fault?"

"Hahaha." Yan Buji laughed heartily a few times.

Yang Yunshu relaxed a bit, then said seriously: "Since you know the Quhuo Pills have some issues, why bring this up with Ye Lin?"

"Oh? Brother Yang also knows?"

"Within the Outer Gate's forest, there's a place called the Absolute Darkness Land! In that land, strange spirits often emerge. In recent years, due to certain events, the area has been sealed, but since someone is demanding large quantities of Quhuo Pills, I hadn't noticed at first; you came to me through Ye Lin, so you must have investigated something."

Yan Buji smiled.

Sometimes when Yan Buji strolls around the Outer Gate, he indeed feels an abnormal atmosphere in the vast primeval forest there.

That aura resembles a polluted, malevolent qi that, after lingering for a long time and undergoing the baptism of years, has become increasingly gloomy and evil; though faint, Yan Buji can still detect it.

At first Yan Buji didn't pay attention; could anyone fail to notice such a huge Paolong Sacred Land? If so, his coming here would be a joke.

Later, when he learned someone needed Quhuo Pills, Yan Buji took an interest and began investigating, forming some conjectures.

When Ye Lin showed up, Yan Buji thought of assigning this matter to Ye Lin, making it his achievement.

"Regardless, it's best for Ye Lin to handle this matter," Yan Buji said calmly.

Yang Yunshu frowned: "Aren't you afraid he'll encounter danger?"

"Genius needs to be tempered to grow; those kept in captivity can only be called livestock," Yan Buji said.

Yang Yunshu took a deep breath: "You really aren't afraid of Elder Pang of the Inner Gate coming after you for trouble."

"This matter isn't something I stirred up, to be honest. Since Fellow Daoist Yang could find his way here, it seems you must have helped Ye Lin." Yan Buji gave a light smile.