Diverting the Trouble Elsewhere

Before the disciple could even finish speaking, the shopkeeper cut him off.

With an arrogant smile on his face, he stepped forward and seized the disciple's hand.

He shouted to the people around them.

"Look, look! Even the Xiao Clan's own outer disciples say our Rejuvenation Powder works well and costs little. Their own people are buying from us. That proves the quality of our goods!"

"If you need any, hurry over and buy some. Today's supply is limited. Once we sell out, we might not have any stock for days!"

At his words, even more customers immediately gathered outside the shop. They crowded inside, their faces brimming with fervor as they picked out products.

The outer disciple's humiliation turned to anger, and he violently shook off the shopkeeper's hand.

"Get lost!"

The shopkeeper clearly had no intention of letting the matter drop. He still wanted to use members of the Xiao Clan as a comparison to advertise his own merchandise.

"Look at this! These Xiao Clan people throw their weight around. They come to buy our goods, then try to beat me in the street! Wouldn't you say they think everyone else is beneath them?"

Many of the people were there to buy medicinal pills, after all, and did not want to offend the shopkeeper. One after another, they chimed in with agreement.

Soon, the disciple's face flushed crimson with pent-up anger.

Xiao Yan clenched his fists in fury as well, itching to punch the man right then and there.

Xiao Mo sighed softly.

Their goods really were good value for money, and quite a few Xiao Clan disciples came to buy them in secret. There was nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, while choosing his purchases, this outer disciple had accidentally exposed the Xiao Clan clothing beneath his outer garments, revealing his identity to these people. They had then pulled aside his outer clothes and made an issue of what he wore underneath.

If this continued, the Xiao Clan would become nothing but a miserable point of comparison, sewing a wedding gown for someone else to wear.

With that thought, Xiao Mo was just about to step forward and argue with the shopkeeper when Xiao Yan could no longer contain his anger. He strode forward and grabbed the man by the collar.

"Don't push your advantage too far! And when did we ever throw our weight around?"

Seeing Xiao Yan like this, the shopkeeper immediately raised his voice even louder.

"Come and look, everyone! If this isn't throwing his weight around, what is? He's grabbing my collar! This fellow wants to kill me!"

"Help! The Xiao Clan thinks its wealth and power give it the right to deny us a living!"

The shopkeeper's cries drew plenty of people over, and Xiao Yan soon became the target of everyone's condemnation.

Even a hundred mouths could not have cleared his name. He could only glare fiercely at the shopkeeper, his clenched fists cracking.

Seeing this, Xiao Xun'er was about to step forward and help, but Xiao Mo hurriedly held her back.

"Just stay put, will you? If both of you get involved, you'll only make this worse."

With that, he stepped forward and hauled the outer disciple up from the ground.

"Shopkeeper, isn't that an unfair thing to say?"

He then bared his arm, revealing a deep wound.

"We came here today to buy some goods to take back for further testing. After all, there are defects in this stuff."

At those words, quite a few people immediately turned their attention toward him.

The shopkeeper grew anxious as soon as he heard that.

"You're spitting blood and slandering us! Since when have our goods had defects?"

Xiao Mo pointed at his wound.

"We heard your Rejuvenation Powder was cheap, and that we could apparently buy products comparable to ours at a lower price. So we wanted to try your medicine and see how it performed."

The shopkeeper immediately lifted his chin.

They had conducted a thorough investigation. Their products were indeed comparable to the Xiao Clan's, but their prices were slashed by half.

Those facts were out in the open. No one could find fault with them on that score.

"So?"

Xiao Mo sighed and shifted a small bottle in his hand.

"But we discovered that your medicine's effectiveness was inconsistent. We drank it while fighting for our lives, yet our energy didn't recover right away."

As he spoke, he continued displaying the wound on his arm.

"This is the wound I suffered then. That's why we thought we'd quietly buy some more medicine today and test its properties and ingredients."

"We wanted to see whether it met the standard. Perhaps that was just an isolated incident. But we never imagined this would be how you treated your customers."

"The Xiao Clan has never been a clan that throws its weight around. Anyone who has done business with us knows our after-sales service is more reliable than anyone else's. You're the one spitting blood and slandering people."

Who couldn't spin a load of nonsense?

Still gripping the shopkeeper, Xiao Yan was dumbfounded. He knew perfectly well that the wound on Xiao Mo's arm was one he had inflicted while the two of them were fighting.

But after a moment's thought, he understood Xiao Mo's intention.

No one could verify what Xiao Mo had said anyway. Rather than resolve the conflict, they might as well shift it onto the shopkeeper.

In an instant, the people around them began murmuring among themselves.

There was nothing objectionable about Xiao Clan outer disciples buying medicine here, after all. The prices were low, so it was only natural for people like them, who had little money, to shop here.

Everyone had merely been enjoying the spectacle. At most, they could trade a little gossip afterward, saying the Xiao Clan was on its last breath and would never amount to much.

Perhaps it would even fall into complete decline someday.

But that was only watching the fun and spreading gossip about the Xiao Clan. Their own interests were not at stake.

What Xiao Mo had just said, however, was extremely important. What if the medicine really was ineffective or unreliable?

If they took this medicine on the battlefield and discovered it did nothing, wouldn't they be defeated outright?

To them, the price of medicine was one consideration, but its reliability was another equally important factor.

If its quality was poor, then no matter how cheap it was, it would be useless to people like them.

This threatened their personal interests, so someone immediately took those words to heart.

Soon, someone approached the shopkeeper and began questioning him, holding the medicine in his hand.

"Is what they said true? Is your medicine unreliable?"

The shopkeeper immediately grew frantic. He pointed at Xiao Mo and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You little brat! You're spitting blood and slandering us! Since when has our medicine been unreliable? If you don't believe me, everyone, speak up! You've all bought our medicinal pills. When have our goods ever been poor quality?"

The people around them exchanged looks, but no one spoke first.

After all, none of them had conducted any relevant tests, and no one dared vouch for it.