A Way Out

Watching Jiang Feng walk out of the Guard Hall without a backward glance, the two guards at the door slipped into the room one after another and crowded up to Tie Rong.

One of them winked and probed, "Steward Tie, that kid's face didn't look too good when he left. Has he completely folded? Did he offer up his family savings to honor you?"

The other chimed in immediately, his face plastered with sycophancy, "That goes without saying. Aside from Young Master Wu, who else in this medicine hall dares to cross you, Master Tie? Besides, he's just a brat who just became a guard. Even if you gave him two more guts, he wouldn't dare disobey."

The two sang in harmony, their flattery ringing loud and clear.

Tie Rong squinted at them and shook his head with a cold laugh, "You two have underestimated that kid. He was squeezed for quite a bit of oil, but it's still far from his bottom line. To be able to pull out fifty taels of silver in one breath—his family foundation is thicker than I thought. Tsk tsk, I originally intended to shake him down once and be done with it, but now it seems I really can't let him off so easily."

The two guards were secretly shocked to hear this. Their entire net worth combined wouldn't reach fifty taels; that previously unremarkable apprentice could actually produce so much money on a whim.

"Steward Tie, do you want us to do something? We could trip him up and make him beg for mercy sooner." One guard leaned in, greed shining in his eyes, clearly hoping to pick up some scraps behind the scenes.

The other quickly helped, "That's right, leave this to us brothers. We guarantee we'll break his spirit."

Tie Rong waved his hand, a sinister smile curling his lips, and spoke unhurriedly, "No need for such effort. You just need to pass the word around: tell everyone else not to have any contact with Jiang Feng. Isolate him completely. The cultivation technique and martial arts I gave him just now are incomplete. Without guidance, practicing blindly—it wouldn't be strange if he crippled himself or ruined his progress. By then, I'm afraid he'll have to hold his silver and crawl to me on his knees."

The two guards looked at each other, gave a simultaneous thumbs-up, and flattered him with beaming faces, "Brilliant, truly brilliant! As expected of Steward Tie; you can make that kid surrender obediently without wasting a single soldier. We really can't compare to you."

Tie Rong leaned back in his chair, his face full of arrogance and disdain, a cruel playfulness flashing in his eyes as if watching a play destined to unfold, "He practiced the Iron Stake Technique for a few years and really thinks he's someone? I want to see what kind of miserable state he'll be in once he ruins himself."

On the other side, after leaving the Guard Hall, Jiang Feng went straight to the main hall of the Medicine Hall.

Although Tie Rong had acknowledged his status as a guard, he had no intention of staying in that place. Tie Rong's targeting was undisguised; if he stayed and bit the bullet, life would likely be even harder than it was under Xue Zhao.

To continue establishing a foothold in the Medicine Hall, he had to find another way out.

Stepping into the main hall, Jiang Feng found Xie Shu with practiced ease.

Xie Shu was hunched over his desk, holding a letter, his brows knitted so tightly they almost formed a knot, his expression extremely grave.

Seeing the man like this, Jiang Feng originally wanted to find another time to come back, but Xie Shu had already looked up and seen him first, asking immediately, "Eh, Jiang Feng? Why are you here at this hour? Isn't today the day you report to the Guard Hall?"

Jiang Feng immediately put on a smile and stepped forward quickly, his tone light and respectful, "Steward Tie told me to report directly to the Patrol Team this afternoon, so I took this gap to come and tell you. After all, being able to enter the Guard Hall smoothly was all thanks to your help."

He didn't mention a word of the humiliation he suffered at the Guard Hall; saying it would be useless. The various departments of the Medicine Hall were independent of each other, and no matter how much Xie Shu wanted to help, his hand couldn't reach into the Guard Hall.

Xie Shu stroked his beard and smiled, the worry between his brows fading slightly, his tone softening, "Hahaha, Jiang Feng, you are just too honest. You don't need to be so formal with me."

Jiang Feng responded with a smile, picked up the teapot on the table to refill Xie Shu's long-empty cup, and then asked as if in passing, his tone carrying just the right amount of concern, "Manager Xie, I see you are troubled. Has something thorny happened in the Medicine Hall again?"

Xie Shu sighed heavily, tossed the letter onto the table, and took a gulp from his teacup before speaking slowly, "Sigh, it's a letter from the Wu Family. The evil spirits in Black Water Town aren't enough; now they've appeared in Ping'an County as well. Many martial arts halls and shops in the county have been attacked one after another, and even several of our Wu Family's properties have suffered losses. The Wu Family has issued a death order for our Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall to speed up alchemy and increase the supply of Blood-Qi Pills, but this isn't something you can just increase on a whim. Every alchemist only has so much energy in a day; even if I wanted to hire people now, I couldn't do it in a short time."

The more he spoke, the more annoyed he became. He tilted his head back and drained the tea in his cup, then sighed heavily again, his tone full of helplessness.

A flicker of movement passed through Jiang Feng's eyes. While calmly refilling Xie Shu's tea, he said as if mentioning it casually, "Manager Xie, to tell you the truth, compared to martial arts, I actually prefer alchemy. Alchemist Song also praised me before, saying I have some talent for it. Do you think... you could transfer me to the Alchemy Hall?"

Xie Shu was stunned at first, then shook his head and laughed. He took a sip of tea, his tone carrying the gentle admonition of an elder to a junior, "You brat, you've only just stepped into the Guard Hall, and you're already eyeing the Alchemy Hall? Having ambition is a good thing, but you can't be too impatient. Besides, whether you have talent or not isn't something you can just say; you have to practice it yourself to know."

Seeing that his request was rejected but not met with resentment, Jiang Feng pushed one step further, his tone earnest but not overbearing, "Manager Xie, I also want to share your burden. You might as well ask Alchemist Song. Back when I was helping him, Alchemist Song said with his own mouth that his alchemy speed was much faster than usual."

Xie Shu was slightly taken aback; he did have some impression of that.

For those few days, Song Huai had produced twenty or thirty percent more Blood-Qi Pills than usual. Although he never truly believed Jiang Feng had any remarkable talent for alchemy, thinking about it now, the kid's presence might indeed have helped Song Huai improve his efficiency.

After hesitating for a moment, he sighed, set down his teacup, and said, "Very well, I happen to be going to the Alchemy Hall now. Since you say so, I will ask Song Huai for you and see if he has any intention of taking on an Alchemy Boy. But let me say this first: entering the Alchemy Hall isn't as simple as you think. Song Huai's requirements for an Alchemy Boy are completely different from those for an apprentice. You must be prepared to be rejected."

A look of undisguised joy immediately rose on Jiang Feng's face, and he quickly cupped his hands in thanks, though his heart remained steady.

When he was helping out in the Alchemy Hall before, Song Huai had already been teaching him some alchemy methods intentionally or unintentionally; that was clearly an attempt to cultivate him. With that in mind, he was certain Song Huai would not refuse.

Even if he were rejected, he wouldn't be afraid. At worst, he would just start a furnace and practice alchemy on the spot. With his current skills, as long as Xie Shu saw his level of alchemy with his own eyes, given the current urgent need for alchemists, the man would never stop him from entering the Alchemy Hall again.