Calamity of Bloodshed

Ye Tong looked Tong Kaishan straight in the eye. On the surface, he remained as calm as an unruffled lake, but killing intent churned within him.

Over a hundred years on Earth, he had washed away all his worldly dust. Yet in this vast and magnificent cruel world, the youth Medicine Boy had suffered endless devastation, lingering on amid torment. The collision and fusion of these two souls was like wielding brush and ink, coloring the origin of the soul itself.

"Four times? Are you sure?"

Ye Tong suddenly smiled. With red lips and white teeth, he gave off the feeling of bathing in a spring breeze. His slender fingers gently brushed over Yin Xiaojiu's soft, flowing hair as he smiled. "If Young Master Tong is satisfied, then why not four times?"

"Hehe, at least the kid knows what's good for him."

An unusual gleam filled Tong Kaishan's eyes as he watched Ye Tong and Yin Xiaojiu leave. Only after their backs vanished beyond the door did the smile on his face recede like the tide. A few cold glints flashed in his eyes as he looked at Chang Wu, who was wearing a fawning smile, and asked in a deep voice, "How much blue silver did that kid surnamed Ye spend here?"

Chang Wu hurriedly replied, "Seven hundred and twenty taels."

Tong Kaishan raised a brow and said thoughtfully, "How many banknotes did he have left when he left?"

Chang Wu hesitated. "He should still have around a thousand taels."

Tong Kaishan said strangely, "He only won fourteen hundred taels on the arena, yet his total banknotes exceeded that by so much. Interesting."

Chang Wu said, "Young Master Tong, you don't know this, but that kid surnamed Yang recently latched onto a thick thigh. It belongs to some distinguished person from the commandery city. Their casual rewards were no small sum."

Tong Kaishan asked, "Do you know that person's identity?"

Chang Wu shook his head. "No. He looked unfamiliar. I'd never seen him before."

"Useless trash."

Tong Kaishan snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Chang Wu immediately followed him. "Young Master Tong, weren't you going to buy those two medicinal herbs? I already had people pack them up. Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"

Bang...

Tong Kaishan turned around and punched Chang Wu across the bridge of his nose. Looking at Chang Wu, who had landed on his backside and was wiping away his nosebleed, he cursed furiously, "I'll buy if I want to buy, and I won't if I don't. Are you fucking trying to force a sale on me? What rotten luck. You had to come bothering me right when I'm short on spending money."

With that, he strode away.

Fury burned in Chang Wu's eyes as he watched Tong Kaishan's back disappear. Struggling to his feet, he spat viciously to one side and cursed under his breath, "Damned pig. Aren't you only acting mighty because the Tong Family backs you? Without the Tong Family, you wouldn't even be worth a pig. Just wait. Sooner or later, I'll kill you."

After venting his rage, Chang Wu shook the blood from his hand.

However.

When he took out a handkerchief and prepared to wipe the blood clean, his expression abruptly stiffened.

"Calamity of bloodshed?"

"You will suffer a calamity of bloodshed today, and another tomorrow."

"Take care of yourself!"

Ye Tong's earlier words echoed through Chang Wu's mind. His pupils contracted, and his body shuddered violently. Before this, he had thought Ye Tong was merely cursing him and spouting nothing but bullshit. But now... he had truly seen blood!

Fear surged into his heart like a tidal wave. A chill climbed from the base of Chang Wu's spine, and in an instant, his entire body turned cold.

Was what he said true?

He had already suffered a calamity of bloodshed today. Could it be that tomorrow he would also...

Chang Wu swallowed with difficulty, then took off running toward the door. He still vaguely remembered the direction Ye Tong had gone, and he chased after him as though his life depended on it.

On the bustling street, Ye Tong strolled leisurely forward. Yin Xiaojiu, who followed at his side, thought Ye Tong would be upset because he could not afford those two medicinal herbs, so she tugged at his sleeve to comfort him.

"Young Lord Ye, wait! Please wait!"

After chasing several hundred meters, Chang Wu caught sight of Ye Tong's back again and was instantly overjoyed. He was greedy for life and afraid of death, and he would rather believe it existed than believe it did not. After hurriedly catching up, he said with a face full of apology, "Little Brother Ye, lard clouded my heart. I was afraid of that Tong bastard, so I brushed aside your dignity. A great man does not remember a petty man's faults, and a prime minister's belly can hold a boat. Please don't lower yourself to my level. Those two medicinal herbs are negotiable."

Negotiable?

Ye Tong looked at the traces of blood still not fully wiped from Chang Wu's face and sneered inwardly. When he had first met Chang Wu today, he had examined the man's features and seen that he would suffer a calamity of bloodshed today. As for tomorrow, he had merely blurted that out. In addition, Ye Tong had seen from Chang Wu's face that he would suffer a loss of wealth soon.

However.

He had not carefully calculated where that loss would come from.

And now, it seemed there was no need to calculate it.

Ye Tong understood the nature of people like Chang Wu. Servility ran in their bones. They bullied the weak and feared the strong, and their hearts were filled with filth. If he showed Chang Wu a pleasant face now, the man would instead become suspicious and doubt his earlier prediction.

Therefore.

Ye Tong sneered. "Is my memory bad, or is Manager Chang fickle? If I remember correctly, before that Tong fellow arrived, you said, 'Friendship is friendship, business is business. They must not be confused.' Since you put it that way, what dignity is there left for us to discuss?"

Slap...

Chang Wu raised a hand and slapped himself across the mouth. He controlled his strength skillfully; it sounded loud, but it did not hurt too badly. With a fawning smile, Chang Wu said, "A thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes, all of them are my mistakes. I didn't make myself clear. Naturally, I, Chang Wu, won't give anyone else face, but Little Brother Ye, I absolutely must give you face! In my heart, you are the God of Wealth I worship."

These merchants...

Though Ye Tong looked down on them somewhat, he had to admire them as well. Their silver tongues and streams of clever words were truly no small skill, and most importantly, their skin was absolutely thick enough. Thinking of his father back on Earth, if he had Chang Wu's thick skin and gift for flowery speech, he probably would not be much worse than his mother.

"Enough!"

Ye Tong put on a magnanimous manner, but he also spread his hands bluntly. "Those two medicinal herbs are too expensive. I can't afford them right now."

Chang Wu hurriedly said, "It doesn't matter if you can't afford them now. Pay however much you have first, and as for the rest... you can owe it for now. Pay it later after you make money."

Ye Tong shook his head. "I don't like owing debts. Better... forget it!"

"This..."

Chang Wu had a headache. If he had not been worried about tomorrow's calamity of bloodshed, he would have loved nothing more than to turn around and leave. Left with no choice, Chang Wu gritted his teeth and said, "One thousand taels for the two medicinal herbs. I'll only take the cost price."

One thousand taels?

Ye Tong gave him a thumbs-up and praised, "Manager Chang, you truly are generous. You directly knocked off two hundred and twenty taels for me. If I could produce one thousand taels, I'd truly want to buy them right away. Ah, what a pity."

Chang Wu asked, "How much do you have left?"

Ye Tong thought for a moment. "Six hundred and sixty-six taels. A very smooth number."

Chang Wu cried out, "Impossible! I clearly saw you earlier..."

His words came to an abrupt stop.

At this point, no matter how foolish he was, he understood. Ye Tong was punishing him. Taking advantage of the chance that Chang Wu had offended him, Ye Tong intended to fiercely slash the price on the spot.

This bastard!

Chang Wu clenched his hands into fists within his sleeves. Even as anger surged within him, regret turned into bitter water in his heart. How had lard clouded his heart enough for him to offend this venomous little brat with such a narrow mind?

"Farewell."

Ye Tong cupped his hands, took Yin Xiaojiu's hand, and turned as if to leave.

Chang Wu panicked and hurriedly called out, "Little Brother Ye, we'll do as you said. Six hundred and sixty-six taels for two stalks of each medicinal herb. Come back with me, pay up, and take them away."

Ye Tong secretly laughed, but he showed a hesitant expression on the surface. "Wouldn't you be selling at a loss? That doesn't seem very good, does it?"

A sense of helplessness arose in Chang Wu's heart. Faced with this fellow who got an advantage and still acted innocent, he truly had a splitting headache. He made up his mind that he would guard against this kid in the future. If he could avoid provoking him, he absolutely would.

"Let's go!"

Half an hour later.

Ye Tong and Yin Xiaojiu followed Chang Wu back to Warm Medicine Hall. Several shop assistants who had personally watched Ye Tong leave earlier stared at one another in confusion, finding it absurd. That fellow surnamed Ye had clearly been unable to afford the medicinal herbs and had left with his tail between his legs. How had Manager Chang brought him back again?

Could it be...

Manager Chang truly believed that lie about the "calamity of bloodshed"?

Chang Wu forced a smile when facing Ye Tong, but he had no desire to show a pleasant face to the shop assistants. He shouted sternly, "What are you all standing around for? Am I raising you for nothing? Go fetch the two stalks of Blood Refining Grass and the two Hundred Poisons Mushrooms. If you keep Little Brother Ye waiting too long, I'll skin you alive."

Immediately.

The two shop assistants darted toward the back room.

While Chang Wu berated the assistants, Ye Tong quietly asked Yin Xiaojiu for one tael of blue silver. Then he took out banknotes worth six hundred and sixty-five taels and handed them all to Chang Wu with a smile. "I trust Manager Chang's character. Even though I haven't received the two medicinal herbs yet, I can give you the blue silver first."

In the past, Chang Wu would always beam with delight whenever he accepted payment, but this time, he was so depressed that he wanted to vomit blood. The total value of two stalks of Blood Refining Grass and two Hundred Poisons Mushrooms had cost nearly a thousand taels of blue silver just to purchase. Now, he was selling them for six hundred and sixty-six taels of blue silver, losing several hundred taels outright. As someone who valued money as dearly as his life, the pain made his heart tremble.

Very soon.

The two medicinal herbs were handed to Ye Tong.

Ye Tong spoke of trusting Chang Wu, but he inspected the herbs with exceptional care. Only after confirming their authenticity and age did he contentedly take out a jade pendant and stuff it into Manager Chang's hand. "This jade pendant can ward off evil and avert misfortune, turning danger into safety. Wear it on your body, and it can protect you from tomorrow's calamity of bloodshed."

Once Chang Wu saw the jade pendant clearly, his eyes immediately lit up. Though he ran a medicinal herb business, that did not hinder his eye for appraising other objects. He did not recognize the beast carved into this jade pendant, but its exquisite workmanship was rarely seen. The beast was lifelike and vividly alive, as though it possessed spirit.

A good thing!

Chang Wu's gloomy mood finally eased.

"Little Brother Ye, thank you."

Ye Tong raised his arm and rubbed his fingers together, staring straight at Chang Wu as he nodded with a smile. "Not polite."