Queen of Gold

Gu Ni, standing to one side, watched the two argue until their faces turned red, the corner of his mouth twitching.

When others discussed business, they complained about getting too small a share. These two were something else—one insisted on giving money away, while the other refused to take it. If word got out, the three great families of Wutan City would probably cough up blood in outrage.

"Enough, enough."

In the end, Ya Fei was the first to yield. Looking into Lu Heng's resolute eyes, her heart melted completely.

This little brother had not been doted on for nothing.

"Let's each take a step back."

Ya Fei sighed helplessly and raised a slender finger.

"The auction house takes forty percent. That's the rule, and I can't give the family any grounds for gossip.

"You take fifty percent of the remaining sixty, and I'll take ten. Consider that ten percent the management fee for your sister working for you. Is that acceptable?"

Lu Heng frowned, still wanting to argue. "Sister Ya Fei..."

"Shut up."

Ya Fei glared with her beautiful eyes, assuming the authority of an elder sister. "One more word, and I won't take that ten percent either."

Lu Heng shrank back, then grinned. "Fine, I'll listen to Sister Ya Fei. Besides, my money will be for you to spend sooner or later."

"You little brat, who wants to spend your money?" Ya Fei chided, though the corners of her lips could not stop curving upward.

"Then it's settled."

Gu Ni seized the opening and hurriedly finalized the matter, afraid the two ancestors might change their minds again.

"I'll arrange for people to purchase Ironwood Root and Magic Cores right away. Also, I'll personally select several trustworthy alchemy apprentices from the family, have them sign binding contracts, pass down the formula, and begin secret mass production."

"However..."

Gu Ni paused, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.

"The appearance of the Beast Power Pill will undoubtedly cause a sensation. We need to pick a good day and build up some momentum for it."

At his words, Ya Fei returned to the shrewd, capable demeanor of a powerful businesswoman.

Her fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, while a confident and dangerous curve lifted at her lips.

"Three days from now."

Ya Fei looked out the window, her gaze seeming to pierce through the auction house walls toward the Xiao Family, the Jia Lie Family, and the Aoba Clan.

"Three days from now is Miteer Auction House's regular monthly auction. By then, I'll make all of Wutan City understand that the market for first-grade pills has changed."

Lu Heng looked at Ya Fei, now so high-spirited, and nodded inwardly.

That was more like it.

This was the Mite'er Family's Queen of Gold—

Ya Fei!

Once business was finished, Master Gu Ni slipped away with the excuse that he still needed to inspect the medicinal herb storeroom.

Gu Ni had lived for so many years that even his eyelashes were hollow. How could he fail to see that the atmosphere between these siblings had no room for a third person?

Ya Fei did not ask him to stay. She turned and instructed the kitchen to prepare a table full of fine dishes.

Braised Red Flame Pig Trotter, steamed Bluefin Fish, and several nourishing soups made with low-grade medicinal herbs.

Lu Heng truly had been starving.

For the past five days, he had been obsessively working on those Beast Power Pills. He had barely eaten a proper meal, relying entirely on excitement to keep himself going.

Now that the rush had faded, it felt as though a hand were clawing at his stomach.

Lu Heng did not stand on ceremony with Ya Fei. He grabbed a pig trotter and tore into it, completely losing the composed, mature air he usually put on. His mouth was slick with grease.

Ya Fei sat across from him, supporting her cheek with one hand while slowly stirring the Silver Ear Lotus Seed Soup in her bowl with a porcelain spoon.

She barely touched her chopsticks. Those glistening eyes simply watched Lu Heng devour his food.

"Eat slowly. No one's going to fight you for it."

Ya Fei chuckled, set down her spoon, drew out a silk handkerchief, and naturally reached over to wipe the grease from Lu Heng's lips.

Like a mature older sister caring for her younger brother, her movements were so practiced that it seemed she had done it hundreds, even thousands, of times.

Lu Heng chewed the soft, glutinous pigskin and said indistinctly,

"It's mainly because Sister Ya Fei is here. Everything tastes good with you around."

"Smooth talker."

Ya Fei chided him, but casually placed a piece of deboned fish into his bowl.

"Eat more fish. It'll help your brain."

Lu Heng swallowed the food in his mouth and grinned.

"No need. I'm in great shape. It's not like Sister Ya Fei doesn't know that."

"Hmph."

Ya Fei rolled her eyes at him, but the smile in her eyes would not fade.

Looking at the youth before her, that thought in her heart became clearer and clearer. He was her trump card for making a comeback in the Mite'er Family, and also her only family within the Mite'er Family.

The meal was finished in a whirlwind.

After eating his fill, Lu Heng leaned against the chair back and did not want to move.

"Alright, now that you've eaten and drunk your fill, go back and rest."

Ya Fei rose to her feet and smoothed her skirt.

"Leave what comes next to Uncle Gu Ni and me. Building momentum is my specialty. You just need to restore your energy and make sure you don't end up looking so ragged again next time."

Lu Heng nodded and did not force himself.

Five straight days of intense concentration had indeed left the inside of his head throbbing.

"Then I'll wait for Sister Ya Fei's good news."

Back in his own courtyard, Lu Heng slept like the dead.

He did not slowly wake until late the next morning.

Once his energy had fully recovered, Lu Heng did not remain idle. The Beast Power Pill was only an opening move. If he wanted to truly establish himself, he had to look to what came next.

He sat cross-legged on his bed and sank his consciousness into the Pharmacopoeia of Ten Thousand Worlds within his mind.

"Yuan-Gathering Pill: a second-grade pill. Its medicinal effect is gentle and can directly raise a Dou Zhe by one star."

"Yuan-Nurturing Powder: a first-grade medicinal powder. It does not need to be refined into a pill; simply prepare it into a medicinal liquid to assist those in the Dou Qi stage in nourishing their meridians..."

These two formulas had been chosen by Lu Heng after careful consideration.

If he could refine them, whether for his own use or to sell, they would definitely be far more explosive than the Beast Power Pill.

After all, increasing one's cultivation was the central theme of the Dou Qi Continent.

However, ideals were full and reality gave Lu Heng a slap across the face.

When he confidently fired up the furnace again and attempted to refine the Yuan-Gathering Pill, he realized that he had been overthinking it.

The demands it placed on flame control and Dou Qi output were more than a whole level above those of the Beast Power Pill.

After two consecutive pill cauldrons exploded and more than a dozen medicinal herbs were wasted, Lu Heng had no choice but to stop.

He looked at the flickering crimson fire-attribute Dou Qi in his palm and sighed.

"Still too weak."

The amount of Dou Qi inside a one-star Dou Zhe was like a small puddle.

Yet refining such a delicate first-grade pill required an unceasing river.

It was like giving a tractor the blueprint for a Ferrari engine. The hardware simply could not keep up.

"If my cultivation isn't enough, then I'll raise it."

Lu Heng was a decisive person. Since his cultivation had temporarily choked off his path in alchemy, he would turn to improving his combat strength instead.

After all, no matter how esteemed an alchemist was, once someone got close, he was still fragile.

Over the next two days, dull booms occasionally echoed from Lu Heng's small courtyard.

Azure Wood Seal.

This low-grade Profound-tier Dou Technique relied on wood-attribute Dou Qi to stimulate vitality, then instantly reverse that vitality into destructive force.

"Condense!"