The Deal

Inside the side room.

Li Yuan had barely finished speaking.

Qin Jiu's expression turned cold.

The other man was far too brazen. Not only had he ignored Qin Jiu's words, he had openly tried to provoke Wang Yue. He clearly thought nothing of the Qin Family.

"How dare you!"

Wang Yue let out an angry shout, then darted toward the man like a specter.

His palm jolted, then slammed down.

The man looked surprised.

At the same time, he raised a hand to block.

Boom!

Their fists and palms collided, and both retreated several steps. The Eight Immortals table beside them, however, inexplicably burst apart.

"Are you truly loyal, or only pretending to be?"

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed.

His robes billowed, though there was no wind.

"The Four Seasons Pharmacy has never interfered in the struggles between the various powers. I came here today solely to do business. If you refuse, I'll leave it at that. But if this continues, not only will you die—the young master will die too."

"What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Wang Yue glared at him, but ultimately feared the man's final words and didn't attack again.

At that, Li Yuan said meaningfully, "You're about to face a great calamity."

"That spirit-beast recipe is truly rare. It would be a great loss if it disappeared. I came here today to buy it. Young friend, since Wang Yue is willing to become your slave, let me ask you: would you sell me the recipe?"

"As a condition..."

"I can take you away from this troubled place."

"Of course, you can also make other requests. As long as I can manage it, I'll make sure you're satisfied."

As he spoke,

his gaze fell on Qin Jiu.

"Why don't you speak plainly?"

Qin Jiu replied expressionlessly, "What do you mean by a great calamity? Is the Four Seasons Pharmacy planning to move against the Qin Family? Or were the attacks on the three great families by demons all the work of the Four Seasons Pharmacy?"

Li Yuan merely said, "You need only answer me: will you sell it or not?"

"No."

Those two words fell.

Li Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

He simply turned and walked toward the door.

Seeing this, Wang Yue immediately tensed, his eyes fixed intently on the other man.

When the latter reached the doorway, he paused slightly.

Then he pulled an iron block from his robes.

He tossed it behind him and said, "Don't be so quick to refuse. If you ever change your mind, you can come find me at the Medicine Hall. Bring the recipe, and my offer will stand no matter when you come."

"Young Master, this old servant has failed you."

Wang Yue knelt on the ground, his face full of guilt.

Qin Jiu picked up the iron block and shook his head. "You don't need to blame yourself for this. If I hadn't been here, you wouldn't have had to hold back like that."

"I'm rather curious about the Four Seasons Pharmacy now."

"Just what kind of organization are they?"

He rubbed the object in his hand.

It was the Cold Jade Marrow.

"They're difficult to fathom."

Qin Jiu's brows drew tightly together.

If Li Yuan had no hostile intentions, why had he come straight for the spirit-beast recipe and tried to tempt Wang Yue with healing pills? But if he did mean them harm, with his formidable martial arts, he could have simply attacked. Why go to the trouble of proposing a fair deal?

And in the end, he had even left the Cold Jade Marrow behind.

Then there was that calamity he'd mentioned...

"The Four Seasons Pharmacy has a long history. It's been rooted in Songshan County for at least three or four hundred years. Neither the family head, when he was alive, nor the other powers were willing to make an enemy of them—not even the County Office."

"This old servant doesn't know their origins."

"But the Weapon-Forging Shop in the Inner City is just like the Four Seasons Pharmacy: it has a powerful background. It's said the two powers have quite a history between them."

"That only makes it all the stranger."

Qin Jiu shook his head.

He didn't dwell on it any further.

Neither those two powers nor Li Yuan was someone he could afford to provoke at present.

"Regardless, we got the Cold Jade Marrow."

"Next, I'll imprint the talent."

"Then I'll raise my martial arts realm. First Refining is nowhere near enough..."

After leaving the restaurant,

Qin Jiu had originally planned to have Wang Yue drive them back to Qin Mansion.

But halfway there, he overheard some talk.

It immediately changed his mind.

"Young Master, it seems something major has happened to the Zhao Family."

"I heard too."

Inside the carriage,

Qin Jiu's expression shifted slightly.

Outside, numerous commoners and street vendors alike were loudly discussing how the Zhao Family had been wiped out.

"Let's go take a look on the way."

"Yes."

Wang Yue answered, then urged the carriage faster, heading straight for the Zhao Family.

In the time it took to burn two sticks of incense,

Qin Jiu arrived at the gates of Zhao Mansion.

The entrance was packed with onlookers. Among them were quite a few constables in blue robes patterned with clouds, moving in and out of Zhao Mansion.

"What happened to the Zhao Family?"

"I heard demons wiped them out."

"They were a great family. Their guard force had at least a hundred martial artists, but now the place is covered in corpses. You can't find a single one that's intact. It's truly—no, it's horrific."

"Utterly inhumane!"

The crowd's clamor shook the heavens.

Qin Jiu frowned as he pushed through the crowd. After Wang Yue spoke with the people from the County Office, he made his way into the front courtyard.

He had barely stepped inside

when a heavy stench of blood rushed into his nostrils.

"How many people died?"

"Almost everyone."

A constable accompanying him answered, "A few days ago, for some unknown reason, the Zhao Family acted as if surrounded by enemies. They called up every guard to patrol and stand watch. But something happened last night, and the entire family was slaughtered."

"The methods were extremely brutal."

"Most terrifying of all, not a single scream came from Zhao Mansion last night."

As they spoke,

the group had already reached the Zhao Family's reception hall.

Several figures stood in a row inside,

seemingly examining something.

Qin Jiu looked surprised, because among them he saw none other than Han Zheng, the head of the Han Family.

"Uncle Han, you're here too."

"Young nephew..."

Han Zheng nodded, his face grave.

Qin Jiu went to his side and asked, "Was this the demon that attacked the Han Family that day?"

"Yes and no."

Han Zheng glanced at Wang Yue almost imperceptibly, then sighed. "The aura is similar, but I can say for certain that it wasn't the demon that broke into the Han Family that day. If the demon that attacked my family back then had been this one, the Han Family would have met the same fate as the Zhao Family."

"What's the Zhao Family's situation now?"

"They're all dead."

Han Zheng's voice was unsteady as he said, "The Zhao Family's two Internal Strengthening experts were left without intact corpses. The rest of the family, the guards, and everyone else are all dead."

Hearing this,

Qin Jiu's breath caught.

The Zhao Family he'd suspected

had been wiped out just like that, without a sound.

Thinking of Li Yuan's words from not long ago, he felt goosebumps rise all over. The "you" Li Yuan had referred to probably didn't mean only the Qin Family...

"Even Internal Strengthening experts died so silently."

"The Inner City has become a dangerous place after all."

"No wonder Li Yuan spoke that way..."

Qin Jiu's expression turned grave.

Today's events sent a chill down his spine. The Qin Family had only one Internal Strengthening expert now: Wang Yue, and he wasn't in peak condition either. If the demon that had slaughtered the Zhao Family came for the Qin Family, the consequences would be unfathomable.

"I'm not one to cling to old rules."

"If disaster truly is about to strike,"

"then it's only a recipe. There's no harm in giving it away."