Gao Manor

Lu Chen followed Master Ge and the others through the bustling streets of Gaolin County, finally arriving before a sprawling manor in the eastern part of the city.

The road before the manor was packed with carriages and horses.

Carriages belonging to medicine merchants from all over were parked on both sides of the road. Well-dressed shopkeepers and martial artist guards with weapons hanging from their waists came and went. The air was thick with the scent of herbs, the smell of horse sweat, and the clamor of voices. It was even more prosperous than the busiest medicine market in Scarlet Cloud County.

A black plaque with golden characters hung above the manor gate.

Gao Manor.

This was one of the two great medicine manors in Gaolin County, as well as the host of this year's autumn harvest medicine fair.

Lu Chen looked up and saw that the gate tower of Gao Manor was a full two stories high, with green-tiled roofs and curling eaves. The vermilion gates stood open, while two stone lions crouched majestically before them. More than a dozen guards stood on either side of the gate, each tall and straight, with sabers at their waists and steady, vigorous blood.

Lu Chen's gaze sharpened.

There were actually several Blood-Moving Minor Achievement martial artists guarding the gate.

In Scarlet Cloud County, people of this caliber would have been minor leaders within a local faction.

Wang Qinian climbed down from the carriage, straightened his clothes, and approached with a calling card in hand.

"From Wang's Ginseng Shop of Scarlet Cloud County. We've come to attend the Gao Family Medicine Fair."

A Gao Manor steward at the gate accepted the calling card and glanced over it. A courteous smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Please, come in!"

The group entered the manor.

The moment they passed through the gate, Lu Chen felt his view suddenly broaden.

The roads within the manor were spacious. Rows of osmanthus trees, pines, and cypresses lined both sides, while the flagstone paths had been swept spotless. In the distance, grand residences stood one after another, their flying eaves staggered and their covered bridges linked together. Courtyard walls stretched layer upon layer, so far that he could not see the end at a glance.

The outer medicine market occupied the left side.

Under rows of makeshift awnings, freshly harvested autumn herbs were piled everywhere. Solomon's seal, wild ginseng, Red Blood Vine, Black-Bone Lingzhi, Dragon-Whisker Grass... All kinds of medicinal materials had been sorted and laid out on bamboo mats, while herb gatherers and middlemen haggled over prices.

The entrance to the inner grounds was on the right, and the guards there were even stricter.

Only medicine shops with calling cards, alchemists, and major buyers were allowed inside. Ordinary small merchants could not enter.

The group headed toward the inner grounds.

Just as they entered, a familiar laugh suddenly came from ahead.

"Oh? Aren't these people from Wang Firm?"

The voice was flippant, carrying a deliberately drawn-out note of mockery.

Lu Chen looked up and saw Huang Jue approaching with several people.

Huang Jue still had the air of a young master about him, dressed in brocade and silk with a jade belt, a folding fan in hand and a lustrous jade pendant hanging from his waist.

Several guards and an old man in azure robes followed behind him.

Huang Jue flicked open his folding fan and blocked the middle of the road. With a half-smile, he said, "The Gaolin County medicine fair isn't like your trips to some impoverished backwater to collect herbs. The good medicinal materials here are fought over with solid gold and silver."

"Did your Wang Firm bring enough banknotes? If you don't have enough, I can lend you a few."

The several Huang Family guards behind him immediately chuckled.

One of them even deliberately said, "The Second Young Master is so benevolent. Why aren't you thanking him?"

Wang Qinian's face darkened.

He looked at Huang Jue, his tone calm but every word edged like a thorn:

"Young Master Huang Jue, who in Scarlet Cloud County doesn't know that your Huang Family got its start by lending money at exorbitant interest?"

"Borrow nine, repay thirteen, then let the interest compound on itself."

"Those commoners borrowed ten taels of silver from you, only to end up forced to sell their fields and homes, their sons and daughters."

"Now, who would still dare take money from your Huang Family?"

The smile on Huang Jue's face instantly stiffened, and his folding fan halted in midair.

"Hmph."

He snorted coldly, anger surfacing in his eyes. "Wang Qinian, don't be ungrateful!"

One of the guards behind him stepped half a pace forward, seemingly about to strike.

Qian Ming narrowed his eyes and sneered. "What? Can't win an argument, so you want to use your fists?"

Lu Chen stood behind Ge Ye, his gaze sweeping over the Huang Family guards.

The one with the strongest blood was the tall young man behind Huang Jue.

The man was tall and powerfully built, with broad hands, thick, hard knuckles, and a dark, ruthless edge in his eyes. With only one glance, Lu Chen could tell that he was no ordinary Blood-Moving Initial Realm martial artist.

He was very likely at Blood-Moving Minor Achievement.

The tall young man was looking at him as well.

Their gazes met, scraping lightly through the air like the edges of blades.

The atmosphere tightened in an instant.

Seeing the two groups on the verge of violence, the guards maintaining order in the inner grounds immediately came over.

The leader wore Gao Manor's black martial uniform, with a thick-backed saber hanging at his waist. Its scabbard was dark and heavy.

Before he even drew near, the medicine merchants who had been watching the spectacle instinctively retreated several steps.

Qian Ming's eyes narrowed slightly. In a low voice, he said, "Gao Manor's Mountain-Severing Saber, Han Lie."

Lu Chen's heart stirred.

Han Lie was burly, with broad shoulders and a thick back, rugged features, and extremely low brow ridges. His cold eyes swept over the people from the Huang Family and Wang Firm.

"Hm? What are you all crowding around here for?"

Han Lie's voice was deep, commanding without anger.

Huang Jue's expression shifted slightly. He closed his folding fan and smiled. "Senior Han, you've misunderstood. We merely ran into some acquaintances and exchanged a few words."

Han Lie did not even glance at his smiling face. He only said coldly, "During the medicine fair, anyone who dares to make a move in Gao Manor will bear the consequences."

As he spoke the final words, the blood within his body trembled faintly.

Lu Chen felt a heavy force of presence rush toward him, as if a mountain had been lowered before him.

That man's blood was rich and blazing. The pressure he exuded was actually no weaker than that of Qiao Yuan, the Attendant of the Medicine Shop.

Blood-Moving Major Achievement.

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

In Scarlet Cloud County, someone like Qiao Yuan was already the Medicine Shop's stabilizing pillar. Yet in Gao Manor, he was merely the leader of the guards maintaining order.

Whether in grandeur or strength, this Gao Manor was far beyond what Wang's Ginseng Shop could hope to provoke.

Naturally, Huang Jue did not dare act recklessly before Han Lie of Gao Manor. He immediately cupped his fists and said, "Senior Han is right. This junior will naturally follow the rules."

The people from Wang Firm wisely did not linger and headed deeper into the inner grounds.

Huang Jue also led the Huang Family's people away from the other side.

The two groups brushed past each other and parted. As Huang Jue walked away, he watched the group from the Medicine Shop out of the corner of his eye.

After they had gone some distance, Huang Jue's brows furrowed slightly.

"Zhao Yiting didn't come."

His voice was very low, yet carried a trace of puzzlement.

The tall young man beside him, Sun Damao, also looked back and said, "Indeed, I didn't see Zhao Yiting."

Huang Jue lightly tapped his folding fan against his palm, his gaze gradually turning gloomy.

"They only brought a few Blood-Moving Initial Realm guards."

"Is Wang Firm truly not taking this medicine fair seriously, or do they think that with Gao Manor keeping watch, no one will dare make a move?"

Sun Damao asked, "What does the young master mean?"

The corners of Huang Jue's mouth slowly pulled into a cold smile.

"That old bastard Ge Ye is half of Wang Firm's life."

"Since their Wang Firm doesn't take this seriously, then naturally we have no reason to let them off."

The old man in azure robes beside him lowered his voice and solemnly reminded him, "Second Young Master, this is Gao Manor, after all. If we're discovered making a move here, our Huang Family won't come out ahead either!"

Huang Jue merely gave an eerie smile. "Then don't let them find out."

Huang Jue turned back once more to look in the direction where the people from Wang Firm had left and ordered his subordinate, "Get in touch with the Dark Hall..."