A Hidden Crisis

A Hidden Crisis

Jia Nan Academy's wages were basically paid directly in supplies. A Da Dou Shi-level instructor could get a few passable second-grade items every month.

After all, the bunch of workhorses in the Inner Academy labored away so hard that low-level medicines had long since overflowed the storehouses. Handing them out as salaries could also ease the financial pressure a little.

Xiao Yu dipped a little of the medicinal liquid and smeared it on her hand.

The emerald-green, oil-like droplet was not viscous. The moment it touched her skin, it naturally spread out and rapidly seeped in.

The medicinal power contained within was released directly, almost without any delay.

She only felt a trace of warmth seep into her flesh. The area where she had applied it began to grow active, and even after ten breaths, it had not completely faded.

"A true top-quality product..."

For a moment, Xiao Yu did not know how to describe her feelings. "A pill of this level probably couldn't be refined by an ordinary second-grade alchemist! Since when did the Xiao Clan invite such a great figure?"

To think she had lived frugally in Jia Nan Province and still could not exchange for many bottles of pills, yet back home, they were actually being wholesaled directly as daily necessities.

And they had even hidden it from her at every turn! In that instant, she truly felt the disparity of the world.

She had thought she was the hope her clan had painstakingly supported, studying hard so she could advance to Dou Ling and return to revitalize the family business.

Halfway through her studies, her family had been demolished and relocated...

"How would I know?"

"These matters are all handled directly by the clan head and a few elders. As for this kind of figure, we're all just making wild guesses and talking nonsense. No one knows the inside story."

Xiao Ning scratched his head.

"On the other hand, the other two clans are getting a little anxious. Their market business has been squeezed too hard. I heard they're about to invite an alchemist too, to prop up their reputation."

"Wutan City is still too small." Xiao Yu pinched the little bottle and sighed.

As one of the few people in the family who had seen the wider world, she understood far more clearly than this idiot younger brother of hers.

Although Wutan City backed onto the Magical Beast Mountain Range and had large numbers of mercenaries coming and going, making it a fairly standard commercial city, there were no small number of cities like it. On top of that, three clans were crammed into the city.

Every city fought over mercenaries, and every clan fought over customers.

Too many monks, too little gruel...

Inside the city, overturning each other's shops, picking fights and brawling, even street battles—these things were far too frequent.

Outside the city, it went without saying. Dou Shi and Da Dou Shi clashed with each other, and there had even been incidents where the heads of the various clans set up arenas to fight it out.

In the past, Wutan City had been dominated by three clans standing side by side. Their overall strength had firmly ranked near the upper end, so no one had dared to provoke them.

Now that so many pills from the Xiao Clan were flowing into the market, it was possible for a dozen or so clans to join forces and come knocking to cause trouble.

Even Dou Ling experts who sat firmly in power might cast their gaze over.

"I just don't know what exactly the relationship is between that alchemist and the Xiao Clan. If he only helped on a whim, the Xiao Clan may be in big trouble..."

"Huh? Is it that serious?"

Xiao Ning found it a little hard to believe. "But so much time has passed, and I haven't seen any major movement outside."

"Can't you think carefully for once? If there really were movement, would they inform you before making trouble?"

"Th-then what do we do?" Xiao Ning's lips moved again and again before he finally squeezed out a sentence. "Should we go find the clan head and the others and tell them..."

"Sigh."

Xiao Yu tapped her forehead. "I'll go ask about the situation later. If you really have the mind for it, then cultivate properly. Don't spend all day happily trailing after that bunch of dear little brothers and sisters. What a waste of time!"

"Ah... oh..."

Xiao Ning lowered his head and scratched at it, not daring to speak recklessly.

It was not as if he spent all day having fun. He had only just broken through to the Ninth Stage a few days ago, and because he was happy, he had arranged this gathering.

In the end, it just so happened to coincide with Xiao Yu taking leave to come back for a visit.

Hiss... tell me, how could something like this be so coincidental?

"All right, if there's nothing else, I'll be going first." Xiao Yu stood and straightened her clothes.

"Sis."

Xiao Ning called out to her unnaturally.

"Mm?"

Xiao Yu looked back. She saw this big young man twisting and fidgeting for ages before finally squeezing out a sentence that could be heard clearly.

"Take all of these with you." Xiao Ning took out several porcelain bottles and placed them on the table, putting them together with the small bottle Xiao Yu had just set down.

"All these years, while you were outside, we never really sent you anything... On the contrary, sometimes we even asked you for this and that..."

From childhood to adulthood, the medicinal ingredients he used had been a notch better than others', and there had even been a few spiritual prescriptions kept at the bottom of the chest.

They were all things Xiao Yu had begged for with a smile.

The more Xiao Ning spoke, the lower his voice became. "Also, Father will be relieved from his post tonight. Let's have a meal together... He missed your departure banquet, and Father was actually pretty upset about it. He's just a bit stubborn and unwilling to say it outright."

"Tch—what was he doing earlier!"

Xiao Yu spun around sharply.

Xiao Ning hunched his neck and instinctively shut his eyes. But nothing came down on him.

When he opened them again, Xiao Yu had already walked to the door. "I'll only wait fifteen minutes. If that old fellow is late again, I won't let him off!"

"Yes! Of course, of course!"

Xiao Ning beamed, bowing and scraping with perfect form. "Take care, big sis—"

"Three hundred and thirty thousand."

The First Elder had a table full of account books spread out before him. Wearing spectacles ground from crystal, he narrowed his eyes as he did the sums.

"First Elder—"

Xiao Zhan was both angry and amused. "How many times have you gone through that ledger already, and you still haven't figured it out? At this rate, we might as well rename the Council Hall the counting house!"

"That would not be entirely impossible..."

The First Elder listened with half-lowered eyelids, muttered half a sentence, and slowly put away the booklets.

Ever since the market had begun flourishing, this stubborn old man with the explosive temper had become like this.

He was just like a ball now, letting himself be kicked, stomped on, and slapped around, yet not letting out the slightest bit of air. Every day, he wore the spectacles he had picked up at the auction and calculated accounts.

Temper?

How great could even the greatest temper be? Could it be greater than these hundreds of thousands in solid gold and silver? The aura of wealth nourished people—the ancients truly had not deceived me...

The Third Elder gave his old Eldest Brother a helpless look, then pinched a jade bead and spoke. "Recently, a Regiment Commander from a Mercenary Group came over from Green Mountain Town. He said he wanted to discuss stable supply."

"Can't the Third Elder decide such a small matter himself? Why drag it into a meeting?" Xiao Zhan moved the table back, only then setting down the teacup in his hand.

"Because that Regiment Commander wants to barter with goods. I'm afraid his group doesn't have much funding," the Second Elder said, helping with the moving.

All four men's tables had been occupied by the First Elder alone...

"It's not only that~ From what I see, that Mercenary Group of theirs won't last long."

The Third Elder had handled external affairs for half his life and could be considered a seasoned old fox. Naturally, his eye for people was sharp. "Although mercenaries all live with blood on their blades, that Mu She struck me as far too vicious and volatile. He must have offended no small number of people."

"Besides, they risk their lives every day and end up covered in old wounds, yet their group's funds are still so short. That means they divide the spoils on the spot among themselves and spend as they please. They're just a pack of disorganized brutes who don't understand the way of doing business."

"Oh? If that's the case, then we really can't continue with this deal." The Second Elder rubbed his chin and subconsciously glanced at the First Elder.

Then he drew his gaze back.

Times were different now. That old fellow could no longer be relied on, and in the future, he could not slack off either.

It felt a little unpleasant.