The Xiao Family's Counterattack (Four-Thousand-Word Chapter)

He chased out, but Lin Qingyun did not follow the Black-robed person. Instead, he headed out of the Xiao Family.

He set off and wandered around the streets by some of the Jia Lie Family's marketplace shops. After three or four days away, almost everywhere he looked, the stalls were packed with people who had come to buy Rejuvenation Powder.

It seemed a few little tricks had not affected Rejuvenation Powder's hot sales.

And the price remained sky-high, actually reaching four hundred gold coins a bottle.

At that, Lin Qingyun merely gave a scornful laugh.

The biggest thing he had done these past few days was only to have Ya Fei triple the price of the medicinal herbs for Rejuvenation Powder. Petty tricks would never make it to the stage; naturally, the real show had to be saved for later.

Miter Auction House, VIP room.

On the spotless tabletop sat over a dozen Mutton Fat Jade Bottles. Even with their mouths sealed, a faint, rich medicinal fragrance could still be smelled.

Gu Ni had already gone numb. Over these past few days, whenever this young man came, he would bring a type of Rank 1 pill with him, and the refinement technique was extremely brilliant. It seemed the quality of the pills had also improved quite a bit. A pill that had already been quite perfect now carried a feeling that made him cry out as if he were seeing the work of heaven itself.

He carefully picked up a jade bottle and gently opened the seal. A rich Pill Fragrance seeped out. Even without pouring out the pill inside, he could sense just how perfect that pill was.

At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten his status as a Rank 2 Alchemist.

"Alas, the new waves of the Yangtze River drive on the old, and the old waves die on the beach." He let out a long sigh.

Just then, Ya Fei happened to arrive.

In an instant, the VIP room grew much calmer. Ya Fei was dressed in red, charming and seductive, yet with a few traces of a mature, commanding air.

As if she changed with each passing day, even Lin Qingyun felt that today's Ya Fei was somewhat different from yesterday's.

The moment she came up, Ya Fei lightly hooked Lin Qingyun's arm. Her brows and eyes were full of grievance, hazy and alluring. "You heartless man. You only know to come find me when you have business, yet you don't know..."

Lin Qingyun tilted his head up toward the sky, doing his best not to look, because as long as he lowered his head, he would be able to see two towering snowy peaks.

Alas, I...

There were no words!

It was not that he was trying to act lofty and pure. It was just that having a delicate wife at home was too tempting. His kidneys could not take it!

My poor kidneys!

After teasing him enough, Ya Fei rolled her eyes at Lin Qingyun before finally letting go of his arm. Only, that resentful gaze seemed to be blaming Lin Qingyun for not pouncing on her.

"Here, these are the medicinal herbs you wanted." She handed Lin Qingyun a Storage Ring, then walked to the side and sat down on a chair.

Lin Qingyun did not hesitate either. He sat down heavily, and a faint, elegant fragrance lingered between his breaths.

"Speaking of which, you really aren't in a hurry. The Jia Lie Family's business has already spread out. If you still don't make a move, it'll be very hard to turn things around!" A wisp of worry appeared on Ya Fei's face.

She was not worried about the Xiao Family. It was just that the lover before her heart was tied to the Xiao Family. She wanted to help, but in secret, she could not make any big moves either.

"No rush. Let them hop around for a few more days." Lin Qingyun shook his head, then said, "Has the Jia Lie Family made any unusual moves? For example, sending people to the neighboring Trane City?"

"You already know?" Ya Fei smiled, then handed Lin Qingyun a letter.

"News came from the auction house over in Trane City. The Jia Lie Family's elder, Jia Lie Nu, has already reached an agreement in principle with some medicinal herb merchants in Trane City. A convoy should be back in about three or four days."

"Looks like Jia Lie Bi still couldn't hold back." Lin Qingyun spoke slowly without opening the letter.

"You raised the price of Rejuvenation Powder's medicinal herbs so high, and your Xiao Family is secretly buying them up too. That old fox Jia Lie Bi has no other path left." Ya Fei lightly pursed her red lips and smiled faintly.

"Then they can only blame themselves for sending the Xiao Family a Challenge Letter!"

"All right, I should go."

After saying this to Ya Fei, Lin Qingyun walked out of the VIP room at an unhurried pace.

After returning to the clan, Lin Qingyun occasionally ran into clan members. He could sense that when these people looked at him, there was now another trace of envy and a thread of jealousy in their gazes. Clearly, some details of what had happened in the meeting hall had already spread through the clan.

Lin Qingyun ignored these gazes and walked straight toward the Xiao Family Back Mountain. As he passed a turn on a small path, a Red-clothed girl bumped into him head-on. Fortunately, Lin Qingyun stopped in time, or they would have crashed right into each other.

There were fine beads of sweat on the Red-clothed girl's delicate face, and her cheeks were flushed. It was hard to tell whether she had run too far or was shy.

Only, when she saw Lin Qingyun, the girl's face filled with surprise and joy. She said, "Brother Qingyun, wonderful, I finally found you!"

"Is something the matter?" Lin Qingyun recognized the girl before him at a glance. Xiao Mei. She was just as her name suggested, with a few traces of charm at the corners of her eyes. Though she still had a bit of childishness, if she were three years older, she would surely be the sort whose dance could topple a city.

The girl seemed shy and immediately froze for a moment.

"Ah... Brother Qingyun, Uncle Xiao is looking for you. It seems there's something important he wants to ask you." Xiao Mei murmured softly, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz.

Fortunately, Lin Qingyun still heard her clearly. He smiled faintly and said, "Got it. Thank you, little sister Xiao Mei."

Xiao Mei's face held a few traces of shyness. She brushed aside the hair that had fallen over her forehead. That tiny movement seemed to carry a strange allure.

However, Lin Qingyun had long since become immune to everything.

What kind of scene hasn't this young master seen?

Just this?

Xiao Mei seemed to want to say something else. Her red lips moved slightly, but she was too shy to say it in the end.

Lin Qingyun did not dawdle any longer. He merely smiled and said, "I'll head over first. Uncle Xiao is probably getting anxious."

He changed direction and followed the small path. After a while, a Bamboo House appeared ahead.

Faint sounds of talking and laughter drifted out from within the bamboo grove. The voices were somewhat familiar. Lin Qingyun could distinguish them too. The loud one was Xiao Zhan; as for the three quieter ones, there was no need to guess. They were the three elders.

Lin Qingyun could vaguely understand that this was probably an inquiry to assign blame.

With a bitter smile, Lin Qingyun pushed open the door. Unexpectedly, there was another person in the room whom he had not expected.

"Xiao Yanzi, you're actually here too!" Lin Qingyun said, rather speechless.

"I don't want to be, but I've got no choice!" Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly.

"Ahem. You two, stand properly." Xiao Zhan coughed lightly. His expression was stern, carrying a bit of dignity.

"Relax, isn't it just about that old man? Didn't I already talk about it before?" Lin Qingyun said.

"Cough!" Xiao Zhan's expression stiffened, and his composure broke in a second. He helplessly rolled his eyes at Lin Qingyun, then looked toward the three elders nearby and said quietly to Xiao Yan, "Yan'er, have you really become that old gentleman's disciple?"

"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded. Naturally, he knew what Xiao Zhan was talking about. However, after he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at Lin Qingyun.

"Then do you know where that old gentleman lives?" Xiao Zhan asked after a moment of thought.

"Master comes and goes without a trace. He'll only appear when he wants to see us." Xiao Yan said. These words were actually sincere. He did indeed come and go without a trace.

"Qingyun, you really don't know either?" Xiao Zhan looked at Lin Qingyun with a slightly dangerous gaze.

"I don't know anything!" Lin Qingyun raised his hands to show his innocence.

"But I do know that he is an alchemist." Xiao Yan scratched his head and picked up Lin Qingyun's words.

"Nonsense." Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes at him and scolded with a laugh.

Smiling, he shook his head. Clearly, however, Xiao Zhan was in an excellent mood. He asked a few more questions about Medicine Elder, but all of them were brushed off. In the end, he did not manage to ask out even the slightest thing.

Of course, if he knew that Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan had long since colluded with each other, his beard would probably bristle with anger.

"You two brats, I really don't know if you're pretending or not." Looking at the two of them, who knew nothing no matter what he asked, Xiao Zhan shook his head helplessly and waved. "Forget it. Go do your own things! But bring the old gentleman a message. Xiao Zhan is extremely grateful to him."

Lin Qingyun shrugged, neither agreeing nor denying it.

After saying a word, Lin Qingyun left, but Xiao Yan was called back again.

Throwing him a look that said there was nothing he could do, Lin Qingyun hummed a little tune and headed toward the back mountain.

Although there was support from a large number of healing pills, over the past two days, the Xiao Family showed no movement on the surface. Everything was as usual, as if they had not seen the Jia Lie Family's frenzied suppression in the market at all.

On the contrary, what had been seen in the meeting hall that day had already been placed under a strict gag order by Xiao Zhan and the three elders. Matters related to the healing medicine had also been listed as top secret. If anyone spread it, they would receive the clan rules' harshest punishment.

And as the Xiao Family remained silent these two days, the Jia Lie Family's conduct grew more and more arrogant. They used all kinds of methods without restraint, wanting to lure away all the remaining merchants in the Xiao Family's Marketplace.

Toward this, the Xiao Family remained silent.

If there had still been some fighting and struggle at first, then by now, seeing the Xiao Family's weak and silent actions, some small powers that had previously been in the same camp began to grow disappointed. In secret, they also quietly prepared some moves to protect themselves.

The Xiao Family saw it too, but turned a blind eye.

Under this somewhat strange atmosphere, two days quickly passed.

It was another bright, sunny day. The Jia Lie Family's Marketplace was even more popular than it had been at the same time yesterday. On the main street, heads surged. Every shop that sold Rejuvenation Powder was packed with people. Shouts, curses, and the sounds of fighting merged together, deafening as they shot into the clouds.

Behind the pill sales counter, the Jia Lie Family clan members in charge of sales were watching the mercenaries outside, who were fighting fiercely over the healing medicine, with mocking expressions. The smiles on their faces carried quite a bit of pride, the kind that came from relying on medicine to bully others.

Jia Lieku, as the core figure in charge of this marketplace, stood at a high spot. At this moment, he was in high spirits.

From the fear and anxiety of the first day to the situation improving day by day afterward, his fat, greasy face was covered with a smug smile.

At first, the Xiao Family's petty tricks over three consecutive days had made the Jia Lie Family rather uncomfortable. Fortunately, Rejuvenation Powder was powerful enough. Everything had passed.

"Heh, Xiao Family, sooner or later we'll bring you down!" Jia Lieku grumbled inwardly.

Humming a little tune, he stretched out his short, fat palm to block the blazing sun overhead. Standing by the edge of the loft, it was easy for him to look down over everything below.

Even though the price of Rejuvenation Powder had risen again and again, still... "If you don't buy it, plenty of people will..."

Perhaps because the weather was too hot, Jia Lieku impatiently wiped the sweat running down his forehead and muttered, "Damn it, my fire's too strong today. Looks like I'll have to go blow off some steam tonight. Tsk, tsk, that little girl last time was really tender. That tiny waist, the way it twisted, nearly took this old life of mine." Thinking of that place that led men astray, Jia Lieku's whole body became unbearably hot. As he went to wipe away his sweat again, his brows suddenly furrowed. From the corner of his eye, he saw that the flow of people at the end of the street seemed to be in turmoil.

"Damn it, are they fighting again? Are all these mercenaries idiots with brains stuffed full of muscle? If they break things, do they think they don't have to pay?" Looking at that chaotic spot, Jia Lieku could not help cursing in annoyance.

"The Xiao Family's Marketplace is selling healing medicine too!"

Just as Jia Lieku was preparing to send people to suppress the disturbance, a messy shout came from the distance.

That shout did not create much of a ripple in the crowd. It only made the surging human tide quiet for a moment, but it soon recovered.

There were even quite a few curses. Clearly, these people all believed the shout had been made by some shameless scoundrels trying to use the chance to squeeze into the front row and snatch up medicine. After all, during this period, such tricks were not uncommon.

After cursing, these people continued their frenzied buying of Rejuvenation Powder.

"Heh, the Xiao Family is still struggling! They don't know life from death. Let's see how long you can keep this up. Wutan City in the future will be a situation where the Jia Lie Family alone dominates. The three great families standing side by side? Heh heh, those days are gone forever." Jia Lieku sneered and shook his head, not paying it any mind.

The previous loud shout, on the noisy street, was like a piece of duckweed falling into the sea. It did not stir up the slightest wave, and the popularity of the various shop stalls did not suffer even the slightest actual damage because of it.

Of course, this was only temporary.

Only half an hour later, at the entrance of the Jia Lie Family's Marketplace, several dozen large men dressed as mercenaries suddenly and extremely rudely knocked over the guards at the gate. With faces full of wild joy, they charged in, holding a white jade bottle high in their hands. Their neat shouting instantly drowned out the marketplace's clamor.

"The Xiao Family is selling healing medicine too!"

The orderly shout made the marketplace fall silent. All gazes abruptly turned toward the direction the voices had come from.

Very soon, the dozens of mercenaries cleared out a space, and among them, one large mercenary man even stepped directly onto a stall. With a clang, he drew the large blade at his waist, then gritted his teeth and cut a bloody line across his arm.

Raising his blood-soaked arm, the large man tilted the jade bottle in his hand slightly. A deep-red, viscous liquid slowly rolled out and finally covered the bloody wound.

The deep-red, viscous liquid seeped into the wound. The blood that had been gushing out gradually thinned under everyone's watchful eyes. In only ten breaths, the blood had actually congealed into a scab at the wound.

Seeing this scene with their own eyes, all the onlookers' gazes immediately turned fiery. Such a rapid hemostatic effect was simply a must-have when doing missions.

"This is the Xiao Family's newest holy healing medicine, 'Blood Coagulation Powder'! Not only is its medicinal effect better, but its price is more than half lower than Rejuvenation Powder's. What are you still waiting for? Is it fun being extorted like idiots? Why haven't you left yet!" The large man raised the jade bottle and laughed wildly with a savage grin.

A lean mercenary had just stepped into the marketplace. Seeing this scene, he immediately turned and left...

After that, quite a few more people rushed out of the marketplace one after another.

"The Xiao Family has healing pills too! Hurry and grab them!" No one knew who shouted loudly from the crowd. At once, quite a few people froze slightly, and then they left the Jia Lie Family's Marketplace with steps that seemed to shake the earth and mountains.

Standing on the stone, the large mercenary man whose arm had been cut watched the madly surging stream of people. A strange smile appeared on his face. A gust of wind blew past, and beneath the corner of his clothes, the Xiao Family clan emblem underneath was faintly revealed.