Wang Firm

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Wang Firm (王记)
Alias(es)	Wang's Ginseng Shop; Yam Herb Shop
Occupation/Role	Medicinal-herb merchant, pill supplier, and employer of martial artists
Status	Active 85
First Appearance	Chapter 16 16

Operations

Wang Firm operates Wang's Ginseng Shop in Scarlet Cloud County, handling medicinal herbs, mountain goods, medicinal baths, and cultivation medicine such as Blood-Qi Powder. Its rear compound contains a pill room, storerooms, residences, a kitchen hall, and training space for its martial personnel. 20

Operation	Details
Pill production	Its pill room refines Blood-Qi Powder and Foundation-Stabilizing Pills under alchemist Ge Ye; Blood-Qi Powder is a core cultivation medicine for Blood-Moving martial artists. 20 21 22
Scarlet Cloud Mountain Herb Garden	The firm maintains a large, cultivated herb garden producing Red Blood Vine, Black-Bone Lingzhi, Dragon-Whisker Grass, and other ingredients used in Blood-Qi Powder. 25 26
Martial security	The shop employs more than twenty courtyard guards, while the herb garden has its own guards and escort force. 21 25
External trade	Wang Firm attends medicine fairs to acquire medicinal ingredients, including the Gaolin County medicine fair. 32 33
Profit sharing	Its resident masters receive cultivation resources and a share of business profits; Lu Chen later receives priority access to stored pills and 20% of the herb shop's profits. 21 57

Personnel and Relationships

• Wang Shouyi — Shopkeeper and principal decision-maker. He recruits Lu Chen, repeatedly expands his support, and uses public reputation and strategic deception to protect the firm. 16 39 57 60
• Wang Qinian — Accounting steward who represents the firm during the Gaolin medicine fair and negotiates its return escort. 32 36 37
• Qiao Yuan — Former senior retainer and the firm's primary deterrent; he receives free cultivation ingredients and 10% of monthly profits before his death. 21 57
• Ge Ye — Alchemist responsible for refining pills and preparing medicinal solutions; his survival is vital to the firm's pill business. 21 57 77
• Lu Chen — Recruited as a courtyard guard, later elevated to resident master and consecrated expert after Qiao Yuan's death. 20 21 57 60
• Wang Zhong — Herb-garden chief responsible for mountain escorts and the garden's security. 25 26
• Zhao Yiting — Head of the shop's courtyard guards. 21
• Huang Family — Major rival in Scarlet Cloud County's medicine trade; its attempts to monopolize the market escalate into open violence against Wang Firm. 16 33 56
• Gao Manor — Provides an escort for Wang Firm's medicinal-herb convoy after the Dark Hall assassination attempt. 36 37
• Farview Escort Agency — Business partner used by Wang Shouyi to publicize Lu Chen's status as a consecrated expert. 60 61

History

Recruitment of Lu Chen

After Lu Chen becomes a martial artist, Wang Shouyi competes with Fragrance Gathering Tower, Farview Escort Agency, and the Huang Family to recruit him. Wang Firm offers six taels of silver per month, one dose of Blood-Qi Powder, and a 30% discount on medicinal herbs. 16 17

Wang Shouyi makes the offer partly to prevent the Huang Family from binding both Shi Hao and Lu Chen to its side, which would strengthen its influence over Hidden Dragon Martial Hall and further pressure Wang Firm's business. 16

Lu Chen accepts the contract and becomes a martial artist holding a post at Wang's Ginseng Shop. Wang Firm provides him with a residence, uniforms, cultivation medicine, and the position of courtyard guard. 20 21

Herb Garden and Gaolin Expedition

Wang Firm sends Lu Chen with its guards to escort supplies and harvested medicinal herbs between Scarlet Cloud County and the Scarlet Cloud Mountain Herb Garden. The garden's harvest is necessary for upcoming batches of Blood-Qi Powder. 25 28

The firm later dispatches Lu Chen, Ge Ye, Wang Qinian, and guards to the Gaolin County medicine fair. There, the Huang Family plots against Wang Firm and hires the Dark Hall to target Ge Ye; Qiao Yuan prevents the assassination. 32 33 36

Following the attack, Wang Qinian secures Gao Manor's escort for the firm's medicinal-herb convoy, allowing the group to return safely to Scarlet Cloud County. 36 37

Investment in Lu Chen

After Lu Chen reaches minor Blood-Moving attainment, Wang Shouyi increases his monthly support to twenty taels of silver and ten Blood-Qi Powder pills. He also orders Lu Chen's advancement kept secret, intending to use him as one of Wang Firm's hidden assets. 39

Lu Chen subsequently protects the Scarlet Cloud Mountain Herb Garden during Black Wind Stronghold's assault, killing Sun Liancheng and forcing Qiu Heixiong to retreat. His actions preserve the garden from being overrun by bandits and snow wolves. 43 44 46

Conflict with the Huang Family

The Huang Family attacks Wang's Ginseng Shop, killing two alchemists and severely wounding Qiao Yuan. Qiao Yuan later dies from his injuries despite Ge Ye's efforts. 56 57

To conceal the loss of its strongest retainer, Wang Shouyi stores Qiao Yuan's body in an ice cellar and disguises Lu Chen as Qiao Yuan. The deception convinces the Huang Family that Qiao Yuan may still be alive after Lu Chen kills infiltrator Liu Hui. 57 58

Wang Shouyi then promotes Lu Chen from martial guard to resident master, granting him priority access to cultivation resources and 20% of the shop's profits. 57

Restoration of Influence

To stabilize the firm after Qiao Yuan's death, Wang Shouyi publicly presents Lu Chen as Wang Firm's new consecrated expert while maintaining the fiction that Qiao Yuan is recovering in seclusion. This creates the appearance that the firm possesses two major experts: one visible and one hidden. 60

Farview Escort Agency helps spread news of Lu Chen's strength after his exchange with Luo Kuan, improving Wang Firm's deterrence and reputation. 60 61

Lu Chen's later victory over Shen Shijun strengthens the firm's name among Scarlet Cloud County's martial artists. Demand for Wang Firm's cultivation pills rises sharply before the Martial Examination, leading to a monthly profit share of 320 taels for Lu Chen. 62 63 77

Notable Assets

• Blood-Qi Powder — The firm's principal cultivation medicine and a major source of revenue. 16 20 77
• Foundation-Stabilizing Pills — Higher-level pills refined by Ge Ye for stabilizing cultivation breakthroughs. 21 22 77
• Scarlet Cloud Mountain Herb Garden — A year-round source of medicinal ingredients and a strategically valuable target for mountain bandits. 25 43
• Martial retainers and guards — A security force ranging from courtyard guards to consecrated experts such as Qiao Yuan and Lu Chen. 21 57 60