Xiao Family's Counterattack

After all the pills had been brought out, the cooperation between the Xiao Family and Old Yao was officially established.

When it came to dividing the profits, Xiao Zhan, being cautious by nature, wanted a nine-to-one split—with nine parts for Old Yao and one for the Xiao Family.

It could be said that Xiao Zhan was an extremely qualified Clan Head. Even when faced with such temptation, he could still hold fast to his principles and never overstep his bounds.

However, he did not know that Old Yao actually represented Xiao Yan. Old Yao naturally would not take advantage of the Xiao Family. If not for the fear of arousing their suspicions, giving the Xiao Family all the profits from the sales would have been perfectly fine.

In the end, after negotiations, both sides decided on an equal split. Everyone in the Xiao Family was overjoyed.

With Old Yao and Mo Yu making their move, not only could the Xiao Family's crisis be easily resolved, but their influence in Wu Tan City could even advance another step.

After receiving over a thousand bottles of Healing Medicine supported by Old Yao, the Xiao Family did not make the slightest announcement right away. Instead, they waited until Mo Yu finished refining the Thunder Fire Beads before beginning their intense preparations for a counterattack against the Jialie Family.

Over those three days, the Xiao Family silently gathered five hundred sets of materials for refining the Thunder Fire Beads, while Mo Yu began a life of working through the night to refine them.

However, such exhaustion meant little to Mo Yu, who possessed the strength of a Five Star Dou Practitioner. Moreover, after three days and nights of nonstop forging, Mo Yu had become increasingly skilled in refining after his reincarnation.

As the Xiao Family remained silent for those three days, the Jialie Family's conduct grew increasingly arrogant. They used all kinds of unscrupulous methods without the slightest restraint, trying to poach every merchant remaining in the Xiao Family's Marketplace.

The Jialie Family also noticed that the Xiao Family was secretly purchasing refining materials. However, they did not believe the Xiao Family could pull off anything impressive, so after receiving the news, they simply paid it no mind.

Despite the Jialie Family's excessive behavior, the Xiao Family remained silent. In this somewhat eerie atmosphere, three days passed quietly.

It was another bright day beneath a blazing sun. The Jialie Family's Marketplace was still as bustling as it had been recently. The streets were packed with people, and the area where Spring Return Powder was sold was even more crowded. Shouts, curses, and sounds of fighting merged together, surging deafeningly into the sky.

Behind the pill-selling counter, a Jialie Family clan member selling medicine looked mockingly at the Mercenaries fighting outside over Healing Medicine. The smile on his face carried the smugness of someone taking pride in relying on his medicine's power.

During this period, sales of Spring Return Powder had far exceeded the Jialie Family's internal estimates. Seduced by such enormous profits, the Jialie Family had become unsatisfied. Thus, they raised the price of Spring Return Powder from one hundred Gold Coins per box to three hundred, tripling the price outright.

Although the price increase initially provoked resentment among many Mercenaries, the Jialie Family was the only seller of Spring Return Powder. Therefore, after making a fuss for a while, most Mercenaries could only reluctantly accept being fleeced, despite their intense dissatisfaction.

However, today's situation suddenly changed. Just as everyone was frantically scrambling for Spring Return Powder, a shout suddenly rang out.

"The Xiao Family's Marketplace is selling Healing Medicine too!"

"They're not only selling Healing Medicine! They have Thunder Fire Beads as well—the Xiao Family is selling Thunder Fire Beads!"

As expected, these people were spies arranged by the Xiao Family, deliberately spreading the information. This also meant that the Xiao Family's counterattack had begun.

As the Xiao Family spies hidden among the crowd shouted, the originally lively and noisy Jialie Family Marketplace instantly fell silent.

Healing Medicine was one thing, but the name of the Thunder Fire Bead had become quite renowned recently. Many Mercenaries had relied on it to escape death several times.

It could be said that compared to Healing Medicine, the Thunder Fire Bead was the true favorite of Mercenaries.

After all, one was something that healed injuries, while the other was something that saved lives.

However, the information had come too abruptly, so not many Mercenaries believed it at first. After all, the Xiao Family had been far too weak these past few days. No one believed it could produce so many excellent goods.

Seeing this, one of the Xiao Family spies who had rushed in looked at the uncertain gazes in the Marketplace. He hurriedly climbed onto a large rock nearby, drew the broadsword at his waist with a clang, then gritted his teeth and slashed a bloody line across his arm.

Raising his blood-covered arm, the burly man tilted the green bottle in his hand. A thick, dark-red liquid slowly rolled out, eventually covering the gash left by the blade.

The thick, dark-red liquid seeped into the wound. The blood that had been gushing out gradually thinned before everyone's eyes. Moments later, it had actually congealed over the gash into a thin layer of blood scab.

Witnessing this scene with their own eyes, everyone on the street immediately grew feverishly excited. Such rapid bleeding control was practically indispensable when carrying out missions!

Not only that, the spy pulled a black bead covered in complicated patterns from his robes. When they saw this bead, the Mercenaries' gazes throughout the area grew even more fervent.

That was because this bead was none other than the Thunder Fire Bead, which had taken Wu Tan City by storm a while ago!

"This is the Xiao Family's Marketplace's newest product, Blood-Clotting Powder! Not only is its medicinal power stronger, it's also more than half the price of Spring Return Powder! And Thunder Fire Beads are on sale too. What are you waiting for? They'll be gone if you arrive late!" The Xiao Family spy raised the jade bottle and Thunder Fire Bead, throwing his head back and laughing arrogantly.

The street fell slightly quiet.

A Mercenary who had just entered the Marketplace stared blankly at the green bottle and Thunder Fire Bead in the burly man's hands. A moment later, he abruptly turned around and ran...

Watching the figure charge out of the Marketplace as if his life depended on it, the crowd inside remained dazed for a moment before suddenly erupting into motion. Their earth-shaking footsteps carried a tide of people as they crazily surged out of the Marketplace.

The noisy, crowded Marketplace was nearly emptied in the blink of an eye after this great upheaval. Aside from the merchants who stood there dumbfounded, scarcely anyone remained on the street.

"The Xiao Family... has begun its counterattack."

As they looked at the empty street, this thought rapidly flashed through the minds of all the merchants.

The merchants looked at each other, then raised their heads and turned their gazes toward the Jialie Family atop the tower. At that moment, they had already begun to panic.

The Xiao Family actually had Healing Medicine with stronger effects than Spring Return Powder, as well as Thunder Fire Beads. As long as their supplies were sufficient, the Jialie Family had already lost, barring any unexpected developments!

At the Same Time, the same scene was playing out in all the other Marketplaces belonging to the Jialie Family...