"Clan head, we have a problem!"
A guard rushed into the Ao Ba Family's main hall, panting heavily.
"What's got you so flustered?"
Seated at the head of the hall, Oba Pa took a small sip of tea, looking perfectly at ease without the slightest trace of panic.
Over the past few days, the family's market had stocked a large batch of pills refined by Lin Hong, drawing not only plenty of customers from the Xiao Family Market, but also many merchants.
Although they had to hand over eighty percent of the pill profits to Lin Hong, the profits from the market's other goods were still enough to fill the Ao Ba Family's coffers to overflowing.
For that reason, Oba Pa had been riding high these past few days. He could even eat two extra bowls at every meal.
Yet the moment he heard the guard's report, he could no longer sit still.
"Clan head, we're in serious trouble! The Xiao Family Market suddenly stocked a huge batch of pills today. Not only do they have more, but the quality is every bit as good.
"As soon as word spread, they drew half the customers from our Ao Ba Family Market back over.
"Those merchants who just moved here are fence-sitters, too. The moment they saw the Xiao Clan coming on strong, they started getting restless."
"What?!"
Oba Pa cried out, his two mung-bean-sized eyes widening. How could he possibly have any leisure left for tea?
Thinking of the solemn assurances those merchants had given him a few days earlier made his balls ache.
Couldn't these merchants look at the bigger picture for once?
They couldn't even pick a side properly!
He had already told them the Ao Ba Family had a Fourth-Rank Alchemist backing them. What the hell were they panicking for?
Meanwhile!
The same scene played out at the Jia Lie Family Market as at the Ao Ba Family.
Upon learning the news, even the deeply calculating Jia Lie Bi was nearly driven mad with rage.
Lin Hong, seated beside him, looked just as dark and grim.
He had already given his all to help the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family overpower the Xiao Clan.
But who could have imagined that he and Liu Xi, refining pills together, would actually lose in quantity to the alchemist backing the Xiao Clan?
Did that make any sense?
"Impossible!"
"How could the Xiao Clan have refined so many pills in just two months?"
Lin Hong muttered to himself. Suddenly, his gaze snapped toward Liu Xi, who appeared to be daydreaming below him, and he roared.
"You unworthy disciple! Tell me, did you slack off these past two months?"
"Otherwise, how could there be such a huge difference in the number of pills?"
"Huh?"
The sudden roar made Liu Xi's heart tremble with fright. He snapped out of his daydream, looking utterly bewildered.
But a moment later, he noticed his master glaring fixedly at him with a black expression.
Seeing this, Jia Lie Ao whispered from beside him, "Your master's asking whether you slacked off these past two months."
"Master, I'm innocent! Your disciple didn't slack off at all these past two months!"
After hearing Jia Lie Ao's reminder, Liu Xi immediately cried out in panicked protest.
Yet both Jia Lie Bi and Lin Hong were shrewd old hands.
The moment they saw Liu Xi's evasive gaze, they knew he had a guilty conscience.
This nearly infuriated Lin Hong to death. He immediately shouted, "You unworthy disciple! Get your ass back to refining pills!
"Clan Head Jia Lie, send someone to keep a close eye on this unworthy disciple for me. If he dares slack off, cripple that thing between his legs so he won't have any more filthy ideas."
Jia Lie Bi had long been sick of Liu Xi, and now the fool had let them down at a crucial moment.
If not for Lin Hong's sake, he would have taught Liu Xi a lesson.
He was merely a First-Rank Alchemist. The Jia Lie Family could afford to offend him.
Only after everyone else had left the hall, leaving Jia Lie Bi and Lin Hong alone, did Lin Hong speak with a grave expression. "Clan Head Jia Lie, there were too many people here earlier, so I left some things unsaid.
"Although that unworthy disciple of mine may have slacked off while refining pills, with his meager abilities, even putting his whole heart into it would come nowhere close to bridging the gap with the Xiao Clan."
Jia Lie Bi narrowed his eyes. "So, Master Lin Hong, you mean... the Xiao Clan has more than one alchemist backing them?"
Lin Hong nodded. "That's right. And the Xiao Clan's other alchemist isn't low-ranked, either.
"Not long ago, based on a peak second-rank pill sold at the Xiao Family Market, I judged that the alchemist backing the Xiao Clan had, at most, only just entered the third rank.
"But soon afterward, word came from the Mittel Auction House that the Xiao Clan had consigned a Peak Third-Tier Pill for auction."
"Now it seems the person who refined that peak second-rank pill and the person who refined the Peak Third-Tier Pill are definitely not the same."
At this, Jia Lie Bi could hardly believe his ears.
"Impossible! For the likes of the Xiao Clan, recruiting even one alchemist was already a heaven-sent stroke of luck. How could they possibly recruit a second?"
Lin Hong shook his head at these words, looking at Jia Lie Bi with a trace of pity in his eyes.
"Clan Head Jia Lie, you're right. Alchemists are extremely proud by nature. How could a mere Xiao Clan recruit two alchemists in succession?
"Unless... the alchemist was a member of the Xiao Clan to begin with!"
Jia Lie Bi's expression froze for a moment, then he burst into incredulous laughter.
"Hahaha, impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
"If the Xiao Clan really had an alchemist, why didn't we see pills being sold at the Xiao Family Market before?"
"Pills only started appearing in large batches at the Xiao Family Market in recent years. Surely you're not saying the Xiao Clan only produced an alchemist in the past few years... are you?"
At this point, Jia Lie Bi's expression suddenly stiffened as a possibility occurred to him.
Seeing this, Lin Hong gave a bitter smile. "Clan Head Jia Lie, it seems you've guessed it, too. If I'm not mistaken, the Xiao Clan must have produced an alchemy prodigy.
"From the looks of it, the peak second-rank pill I examined was refined by that person.
"And the Peak Third-Tier Pill that appeared at the Mittel Auction House was most likely refined by their teacher."
Gulp!
Jia Lie Bi swallowed. If things really were as Lin Hong said, what chance did the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family have left?
They might as well surrender now!
"Damn it, how did this happen?!"
Jia Lie Bi gritted his teeth and, unable to control his emotions, slammed a fist into the table, instantly smashing the sturdy piece of furniture into a heap of splinters.
Lin Hong could do nothing to help, either.
He suspected that a fourth-rank, or even a fifth-rank alchemist, might very well be backing the Xiao Clan.
Although Master Fa Ma was the Jia Ma Empire's only publicly known fifth-rank alchemist, who knew whether any others were living in seclusion?
If the Xiao Clan really had a fifth-rank alchemist, he certainly could not continue helping the Jia Lie Family.
When the time came, he would grab the Jia Lie Family's remaining pills and make a run for it. That would count as a little compensation for his wasted labor.
Jia Lie Bi had no idea what Lin Hong was thinking. Otherwise, he would have been infuriated to death.
Meanwhile, the Xiao Clan was filled with a festive atmosphere, and every clan member wore a smile of vindication.
"Clan head, what a brilliant move! To think you planted spies among those merchants ahead of time and had them follow the tide into the Jia Lie Family Market and the Ao Ba Family Market."
The First Elder looked at Xiao Zhan with admiration, his face filled with respect.
The Second Elder and Third Elder nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Only now did they learn how far ahead their clan head had planned. He had already acted several days earlier, planting insiders among the fence-sitting merchants joining the Jia Lie Family Market and the Ao Ba Family Market.
Now, those insiders were not only stirring up panic throughout the Jia Lie Family Market and the Ao Ba Family Market, but also seizing the opportunity to poach their merchants.
Before long, the markets controlled by the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family would likely exist in name alone.
This... was simply too devious (badass)!