Four Seasons Tower

Four Seasons Tower.

It stood in the most prosperous part of Miaoyin City and had deep-rooted connections. Some even said that Four Seasons Tower had been opened by the Miaoyin City Lord himself, though no one knew whether that was true.

That did not stop Four Seasons Tower from becoming Miaoyin City's most luxurious banquet venue.

On this day.

Kang Zizai, the proprietor of Linchuan Apothecary, hosted Lu Qingfeng and the proprietors of the other five major shops, inviting them to attend the banquet and keep him company.

At dusk, Lu Qingfeng arrived as promised.

"Boss Lu, I'm truly honored that you've graced us with your presence!" As Lu Qingfeng entered the private room upstairs, he saw a portly, brocade-robed middle-aged man coming forward to greet him, his manner exceptionally warm.

"Boss Kang, you're too polite."

One did not strike a smiling face, so Lu Qingfeng smiled in return.

Kang Zizai looked toward the proprietor of Black Sand Apothecary—

Composed!

Refined!

Weathered!

According to the intelligence, this youth came from Blackwood Village in Jiuzhai County, under the jurisdiction of Return to Truth Sect. He was merely a rustic village boy, not even sixteen years old. How could he possess such bearing?

Kang Zizai was astonished.

Lu Qingfeng had been cultivating for nearly a year. The hunched, frail boy of the past had already become a handsome youth with sharply defined features and a resolute face.

His back was straight, and his bearing was utterly different.

The vicissitudes left behind by the passage of time in the Primordial World, along with his experience as an alchemist sought after by all in Black Sand Town while working for the Yuanyi Guild, had forged a one-of-a-kind bearing in Lu Qingfeng.

At first glance, he seemed like an utterly ordinary youth.

At second glance, however, one discovered that this youth possessed a frighteningly mature air. If one ignored that face and the information known beforehand, one might well mistake him for a high-ranking person in his thirties, rich with experience!

The combination of these two completely different images nearly made people forget that Lu Qingfeng was only sixteen.

"Boss Lu, please take a seat."

Kang Zizai was highly experienced. His gaze swept seemingly casually over Lu Qingfeng before he smiled and invited him to sit.

Aside from Kang Zizai, five other people were in the private room. Some were tall, some thin; some middle-aged, some elderly. In short, none was as young as Lu Qingfeng.

"Boss Lu, this is Boss Zhou Hong of Spring Renewal Apothecary. This is Boss Liu Ren of Benevolent Heart Apothecary..."

Kang Zizai introduced the five people present to Lu Qingfeng.

Whether it was Spring Renewal Apothecary, Benevolent Heart Apothecary, or Kang Zizai's Linchuan Apothecary, all were quite famous and powerful in Miaoyin City.

Their business scale was far beyond what Black Sand Apothecary could compare with.

Their medicinal materials came from dedicated cooperation with herb gatherers from the various villages in Guangyuan Prefecture and even Dangyang Prefecture, ensuring a stable supply. Black Sand Apothecary, on the other hand, relied mostly on exchanging Clear Spirit Powder and Essence-Nourishing Pills for medicinal materials with the many martial artists of Miaoyin City.

The three apothecaries were all more powerful than Lu Qingfeng's Black Sand Apothecary, yet he did not know what sort of scheme they were playing.

Lu Qingfeng's time was precious. After taking his seat and exchanging introductions, he asked directly, "I wonder, Bosses, what important matter prompted you to summon Qingfeng here?"

Everyone was surprised by Lu Qingfeng's bluntness. As expected, he's still a young man.

After exchanging glances, Kang Zizai still threw back his head and laughed. "Boss Lu, you're refreshingly straightforward. Then I won't beat around the bush either."

He said, "A few days ago, people from Azure Jade Sect's Four Seas Hall approached me and asked me to act as intermediary to purchase ten medicinal formulas from you. As for the price, Boss Lu may name whatever you like. With Azure Jade Sect's strength, I'm sure they would never treat you unfairly."

After speaking, Kang Zizai continued smiling at Lu Qingfeng, keeping close watch on every change in his expression.

"Purchase medicinal formulas?"

Lu Qingfeng's expression did not change. He smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but Black Sand Apothecary relies entirely on these few formulas to establish itself in Miaoyin City. Please forgive me for being unable to sell them."

He and Qingshan and Qingyu relied entirely on Clear Spirit Powder and Essence-Nourishing Pills to maintain the resources needed for cultivation.

In the future, he would also rely on them to refine puppets.

How could he sell them so easily?

Lu Qingfeng had never seen pills beneficial to cultivation, such as Yellow Dragon Pills and Golden Marrow Pills, in Miaoyin City. Lu Qingshan had also said that he had never heard of any pill in Return to Truth Sect that could compare with Yellow Dragon Pills.

Presumably, either Lu Qingshan's status was too low and he was not qualified to come into contact with them, or Return to Truth Sect truly had no pills available for cultivation.

Whichever the case, it showed how precious Yellow Dragon Pills were.

If Lu Qingfeng casually sold the formulas for Clear Spirit Powder and Essence-Nourishing Pills to Azure Jade Sect, how could Black Sand Apothecary stand against Azure Jade Sect's strength?

And Yellow Dragon Pills were precious and difficult to sell, making it hard to sustain himself.

A one-time deal was truly not worth it.

"Boss Lu, I admire your frankness!" Kang Zizai showed no displeasure. After praising him, he continued, "Azure Jade Sect is currently in dire need of all kinds of medicines. Since the formulas are inconvenient to sell, I wonder whether Boss Lu would be willing to cooperate with Azure Jade Sect?"

"Cooperate?"

Lu Qingfeng looked at Kang Zizai.

"Indeed."

Seeing that Lu Qingfeng seemed interested, Kang Zizai hurriedly said, "Azure Jade Sect will provide the medicinal materials, and your Black Sand Apothecary will give Azure Jade Sect priority when selling ten kinds of medicines, including Golden Wound Powder, Blood Jade Salve, and Poison-Expelling Pills. The difference in price can be converted into silver or other supplies."

"What does Boss Lu think?"

Kang Zizai's primary goal in hosting Lu Qingfeng had been to obtain the medicinal formulas in his hands. After being refused, he had retreated to his second-best option.

"Cooperation is naturally something I would welcome!"

Lu Qingfeng nodded and agreed.

Kang Zizai was instantly overjoyed.

The two sides quickly finalized the details of their cooperation. Lu Qingfeng did not linger and took his leave.

"Boss Kang, we didn't manage to sound him out at all!"

Zhou Hong, whose temples were streaked with white, watched Lu Qingfeng walk straight away through the window. Only then did he turn to Kang Zizai and speak leisurely.

"To escape alive with his younger brother and sister from the heartland governed by Return to Truth Sect, how could this Lu Qingfeng be simple? According to the intelligence, this person's strength is at least at the seventh layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm, and he once killed an enforcer from Return to Truth Sect's Punishment Hall. Yet today, his aura was restrained, without the slightest leak. No matter how I look at it, he doesn't seem like someone who could achieve this by picking up an inheritance and cultivating on his own."

The smile on Kang Zizai's face did not fade. His tone was calm, but his eyes revealed deep thought.

Hearing this, Liu Ren frowned. "You mean someone must have instructed this boy from behind the scenes?"

"Eight or nine times out of ten. But I don't dare say for certain."

Kang Zizai shook his head, then smiled again. "We didn't obtain the formulas this time, nor did we sound out the person behind Lu Qingfeng. But at least we established a long-term partnership. Sooner or later, we'll learn exactly what kind of figure stands behind these Lu siblings!"

"Sounding me out."

Lu Qingfeng walked out of Four Seasons Tower, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Although Kang Zizai and the others had seemed flawless, as long as he recalled what they had said, he could analyze it and see that they had merely been testing him.

It made sense.

Lu Qingfeng had brought his younger brother and sister and appeared abruptly in Miaoyin City, then opened an apothecary with respectable business. Naturally, he would draw attention. These probing attempts had only come after two months. Lu Qingfeng even felt they were somewhat slow, as if he had overestimated the sensitivity of the people in Miaoyin City.

However, judging from Kang Zizai's impeccable courtesy from beginning to end today, he had presumably misunderstood and thought that a powerful expert was backing Lu Qingfeng.

Putting himself in their place, if Lu Qingfeng encountered three siblings emerging from a village in the heartland of Return to Truth Sect, crossing every obstacle and scaling mountains to reach Miaoyin City, then making an apothecary prosper, he would probably find it difficult to treat them lightly as well.

"That's fine too."

"At least I won't have to worry about medicinal materials!"

"I can also take this opportunity to collect materials for refining puppets through Azure Jade Sect."

The various materials needed to refine a puppet could be described as an ocean in quantity. Although none were particularly precious and they could be found throughout Shangyang Country, there was strength in sheer volume. With Lu Qingfeng's connections, purchasing them would not be easy.

If Azure Jade Sect handled it for him, it could save him quite a bit of effort!

Of course, Lu Qingfeng also knew that long-term cooperation could easily expose his true circumstances.

Once Kang Zizai—or Azure Jade Sect behind him—saw through the truth that Lu Qingfeng had no one backing him, what they would do was impossible for Lu Qingfeng to predict.

"As for pills, I've already mastered Golden Marrow Pills, used by those in the late Embryonic Breath Realm, as well as Qi-Harmonizing Pills and Qi-Circulating Powder, which have miraculous effects for advancing to the True Qi Realm and increasing true qi. Next, I can place my main efforts into researching puppets."

Lu Qingfeng felt a sense of urgency.

Azure Jade Sect had already set its sights on him. Who knew whether the Miaoyin City Lord would set his sights on him as well?

Relying on Miaoyin City could indeed deter Azure Jade Sect. As long as he did not leave the city, even if Azure Jade Sect wanted to deal with him, it could only act in secret. Given the inequality of information, he was confident he could escape.

But as for Miaoyin City—

The three siblings were, after all, in Miaoyin City. If the Miaoyin City Lord truly wanted to deal with him, casually sending out a squad of black-armored soldiers would be enough to make them suffer terribly!

"Strengthen myself!"

Lu Qingfeng clenched both fists tightly and returned to his residence.

"Big brother!"

In the small courtyard, Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu stood anxiously waiting. Only when they saw Lu Qingfeng push open the door did their suspended hearts finally settle.

"It was only a banquet."

Lu Qingfeng smiled at the two of them.

Lu Qingshan pursed his lips without speaking, but Lu Qingyu rushed forward and grabbed Lu Qingfeng's arm, chattering, "Who knows whether it was a Hongmen banquet! What if those people weren't afraid of the Miaoyin City Lord and poisoned the wine or the dishes?!"

After returning from shopping, Lu Qingyu had heard Lu Qingshan say that Big Brother had gone to Four Seasons Tower for a banquet, and her heart had remained in her throat the entire time.

At one moment, she imagined someone smashing a cup as a signal!

The next, she imagined the food and wine being poisoned!

She had scared herself half to death.

Now that she saw Lu Qingfeng return safely, she was relieved, but she still could not help complaining.

"..."

"Big brother, be more careful next time."

Lu Qingfeng truly could not argue with Qingyu. He could only nod repeatedly and promise that he would not take such risks again. Only then did she let him off.

The three siblings chatted in the courtyard for a while.

The main topic was safety awareness!

Lu Qingfeng reminded Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu to be especially vigilant in the days ahead, particularly regarding strangers approaching them on their own initiative or appearing frequently.

Azure Jade Sect had failed to discover anything from him. It was hard to guarantee that they would not shift their targets to Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu.

Afterward.

Lu Qingfeng answered the two of them when they asked about their cultivation doubts. Only then did he log into the Primordial World.

My stats have been a little skimpy. Sorry, sorry. When I wrote about the Demon Monk, it felt like a long time had passed. I didn't realize that it might only take you a few minutes to read. Haha, checking the stat list every few minutes really is too much.

This chapter is three thousand words, so here's a little compensation for everyone. And while I'm at it, please vote for a recommendation!