Too Easy

Yin Xiaojiu was kind-hearted, and coupled with her lack of practical combat experience, her victory over Butcher Zhang's son was entirely due to sheer courage. She had defeated him with unskilled attacks, simply beating him into submission. She didn't even know what "playing the pig to eat the tiger" meant.

However!

Ye Tong deeply understood the essence of this saying and had mastered its application to perfection.

Deceive the enemy by showing weakness, attack when they are unprepared.

Just like alchemy, this was also... a technical skill.

Ye Tong deliberately showed a hint of hesitation and a dash of timidity, even taking a subconscious step back as if out of cowardice. Then, he loudly declared, "I won't use poison, and you can't kill people. Otherwise, Young Master Tong won't let you go."

"Noisy..."

Butcher Zhang looked at Ye Tong, who was trying to appear calm, and felt completely confident. After all, Ye Tong was just a minor cultivator at Qi Refining First Level, and his physique was clearly weak. Therefore, facing such a lamb to the slaughter, he only used seventy percent of his strength when charging forward, confident he could cripple the opponent.

"Huh?"

Butcher Zhang's confident palm strike merely grazed Ye Tong's scalp. What astonished him, however, was that even though Ye Tong hadn't been hit, his slender body collapsed in front of him.

What's going on?

Could his palm wind alone knock him down?

For a moment, he was stunned.

The instant Butcher Zhang raised his arm, Ye Tong fell in the direction of the incoming palm. As his palm hit the ground, he twisted his body, and during the roll, his sharp whip kick landed precisely on the back of Butcher Zhang's left knee. As Butcher Zhang was kicked to a single knee, Ye Tong straightened up and his fist accurately smashed into the back of Butcher Zhang's head.

"Bang..."

Butcher Zhang's vision went black, and he collapsed onto the stage.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Ye Tong, having been in countless battles, possessed immense combat experience. He immediately lunged forward, his sole repeatedly kicking Butcher Zhang's head, much like a street thug's brawl. After over twenty kicks, Butcher Zhang was kicked into unconsciousness.

"Slap, slap..."

Ye Tong stopped attacking, clapped his hands, signaling the end of the fight.

Too easy, too simple.

He himself hadn't expected that by resorting to a little trickery, he could so easily defeat an enemy of the same cultivation level. Was Butcher Zhang truly a Qi Refining Third Level cultivator?

Around the stage.

Everyone was collectively petrified. Even the powerful individuals who had seen through Ye Tong's feigned weakness hadn't expected the anticipated battle to conclude in such a one-sided, street-brawl-like manner.

Was it really this effortless?

Could they at least put on a proper show?

Countless people watched the superficial Butcher Zhang with immense frustration, wishing they could wake him up and make him fight Ye Tong again.

A hundred meters away.

Mu Qianlan stared at the scene on the stage with wide eyes, her mind in disarray. She had arrived nearby when Ye Tong was administering poison. This small spectacle wouldn't normally attract her, but since Ye Tong was one of the main participants, she had calmed herself down to watch. However, the battle she had eagerly anticipated had ended just like that?

A pretty boy with no substance!

Mu Qianlan repeatedly maligned Butcher Zhang, her interest waning.

"Princess, may I invite you into the carriage for a chat?" A ethereal voice came from within the Kirin Carriage.

Mu Qianlan blinked, then her eyes lit up. Without any hesitation and without being obstructed, she strode onto the Kirin Carriage.

On the stage.

Ye Tong looked at the stunned Tong Kaishan. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and a smile spread across his lips as he asked, "Young Master Tong, shouldn't you announce the result of the match?"

Tong Kaishan suddenly snapped back to reality. He glanced at Butcher Zhang, who looked like a dead dog, then at Ye Tong. With a complex expression, he nodded and loudly declared, "I announce that Ye Tong wins this match."

Ye Tong cupped his fists. Under the gaze of the clamoring crowd below, he bent over and rummaged through Butcher Zhang's clothes, pulling out a stack of silver notes. After counting out enough for seven hundred taels, he looked at the remaining two twenty-tael notes, as if relieved, and said with satisfaction, "A horse can't get fat without night grass, and a person can't get rich without unexpected wealth. The ancients truly didn't deceive me! I never expected that through gambling on the stage, this side hustle could make me such a fortune. With over a thousand taels of Blue Silver, it should be enough for me to buy a lot of medicinal ingredients and concoct even more potent poisons, right?"

Over a thousand taels?

Concocting poisons?

Around the stage, many adventurers who had eyed Ye Tong's winnings with envy could no longer control their greed and were silently planning to find an opportunity to rob and kill him. However, Ye Tong's muttering struck them like a thunderbolt, instantly sobering them up. This kid, despite his unimpressive cultivation, specialized in refining and using poisons!

What if...

He had even more powerful poisons? Robbing him would be akin to seeking death!

In an instant, more than half of them abandoned the idea of robbery and murder, even considering that it would be best to stay far away from this little poison master in the future. After all, those who specialized in using poison were not exactly pure and benevolent individuals.

A moment later.

Ye Tong left in a hurry with Yin Xiaojiu.

He understood the cruelty of this world. Although using poison could deter some greedy individuals, people would still risk their lives for wealth, and someone might take the chance to commit murder and robbery for a thousand taels of Blue Silver.

"Brother Yezi, where are we going?" Yin Xiaojiu looked at the familiar street, her small face filled with confusion. If she remembered correctly, they had just walked past here two quarters of an hour ago.

Of course, they had walked past!

Ye Tong remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he sneered. Even though he had deliberately taken two detours, there were still tails following them, clearly indicating that someone was still coveting the thousand taels of Blue Silver.

To Warm Medicine.

Ye Tong realized he couldn't shake off the other party, so he stopped wasting time circling around. He led Yin Xiaojiu down another main road and soon arrived at Warm Medicine Pavilion, where he was greeted by a smiling Chang Wu.

"Little Brother Ye, you didn't bring any distinguished guests this time?" Chang Wu's smile was bright on the surface, but he was secretly disappointed. He knew Ye Tong was a pauper and there wasn't much money to be made.

Ye Tong took out an 800 tael Blue Silver banknote and handed it over, saying, "I want to buy Iron Ring Grass."

Chang Wu's eyes were sharp. He noticed that the Blue Silver banknotes Ye Tong took out had a face value of at least a thousand taels. He asked in surprise, "In such a short time, you've already gathered enough Blue Silver?"

Ye Tong said meaningfully, "Distinguished guests from Zifu County have plenty of Blue Silver. Whichever medicine shop satisfies them, those noble guests will naturally spend lavishly."

What was that?

Chang Wu's expression shifted. He mulled over these words in his heart a few times, then said with a hearty laugh, "Guests are distinguished guests, and Little Brother Ye is also a distinguished guest! Since you've come to support my business again, it shows respect to me, Chang Wu. I'll give you a 10% discount on the price of Iron Ring Grass."

As he spoke, he took out an 80 tael Blue Silver banknote and handed it back to Ye Tong.

"Heh heh..."

Ye Tong chuckled inwardly but showed a satisfied expression on the outside, saying, "Since Manager Chang is so generous, if the distinguished guests need to buy medicinal ingredients again, I'll bring them to this Warm Medicine Hall first. Oh, and also, give me two more stalks of Hundred Poisons Mushroom and Blood Refining Grass! The older the year, the better."

Chang Wu's expression changed. "Little Brother Ye, I have quite a bit of twenty-year-old Blood Refining Grass. But for Hundred Poisons Mushroom, I have two three-hundred-year-old stalks here, what do you think..."

"I'll take them!"

Ye Tong's heart trembled, and he said decisively.

Chang Wu was silent for a moment, then said, "Two stalks of Blood Refining Grass will be a total of 260 taels of Blue Silver; two three-hundred-year-old Hundred Poisons Mushrooms will cost 1,100 taels of Blue Silver. The total price is 1,360 taels. I'll give you another 10% discount, so you'll need to pay a total of 1,224 taels of Blue Silver."

Ye Tong frowned. He had enough Blue Silver banknotes on him, but could he negotiate the price down further?

Of the 5,000 taels of Blue Silver he obtained from selling the Purple Coffin, 2,000 taels were extorted from the Medicine Slave. After deducting the Blue Silver for the Iron Ring Grass, he currently had 2,960 taels left.

Seeing Ye Tong's expression, Chang Wu couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain. His smile even faded considerably as he said, "Little Brother Ye, our friendship is our friendship, and business is business. They shouldn't be mixed. I've already given you a 10% discount. If you still can't afford it..."

"If he can't afford it, I'll buy it."

A clear voice came from outside the shop door. Tong Kaishan strode in with a proud smile on his handsome face, approaching the two of them.

It's him?

Almost instantly, Ye Tong realized that the person tracking him was likely Tong Kaishan. This guy was greedy and, while coveting those poisons, was probably also eyeing the more than 1,000 taels of Blue Silver he had won.

Damn it!

Ye Tong harbored a murderous intent towards Tong Kaishan, but his expression remained as cold as frost. He said, "Manager Chang, I don't have enough Blue Silver with me right now. Wait for me for half an hour, and I'll go back to get the Blue Silver."

Chang Wu naturally recognized Tong Kaishan. Hearing Ye Tong's words, he hesitated and shook his head, saying, "Since Young Master Tong wants to buy, I can only sell it to him. After all, there are only two three-hundred-year-old Hundred Poisons Mushrooms."

Ye Tong said in a deep voice, "I was going to buy it first."

Chang Wu said, "But you don't have enough Blue Silver right now."

Ye Tong's heart burned with anger. He stared intently at Chang Wu for a few moments, then sneered, "Manager Chang, you have a bloody disaster today, and you'll have a bloody disaster tomorrow. I originally planned to help you resolve it after buying the medicinal ingredients, but I didn't expect you to be so disloyal. I won't interfere anymore. I'm leaving now. I hope you take care of yourself."

"You..."

Chang Wu hadn't expected Ye Tong to curse him for not being able to buy the medicinal ingredients. If he hadn't been anticipating the arrival of distinguished guests to purchase medicinal ingredients, he would have slapped Ye Tong across the face.

"Farewell!"

Ye Tong grabbed Yin Xiaojiu and was about to leave Warm Medicine Pavilion.

Tong Kaishan narrowed his eyes, extended his arm to block their path, and sneered, "Young Master Ye, it seems you've forgotten something! When are you going to give me the triple dosage of the medicine?"

"Tomorrow."

Ye Tong replied without hesitation.

Tong Kaishan raised an eyebrow and sneered, "I helped you in the arena, and you still want to delay me until tomorrow? I want it today. If you dare to waste my time, your outcome won't be pleasant."

Ye Tong was unwilling to fall out with Tong Kaishan right now, at least not when there were outsiders present. Therefore, he calmly said, "Come to Precious Medicine Workshop tonight, and I'll give you the full dosage."

Tong Kaishan pondered for a moment and said, "Delaying until tonight means a quadruple dosage."