Xiao Zhan's Fury

Faced with the shopkeeper's questioning, none of the customers spoke. Under his gaze, they all backed away.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper grew even more furious.

"You weren't wearing those faces when you bought my goods! Besides, you've all used them. Don't you know whether they're any good?"

Still, no one spoke!

Xiao Mo stepped forward and looked at the shopkeeper, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Stop struggling, shopkeeper. If your goods really were that good, how could there not be a single person willing to vouch for you? All that proves is that their quality is nothing special."

With that, he turned and tugged Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er along.

"Let's go. What are you still staring at?"

Then he urged the outer disciples as well.

"And you lot, stop standing around. Come with us."

Everyone immediately left together. Soon, only the shopkeeper remained, rooted to the spot and hurling curses into the street.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully completing the task of leading Xiao Yan to the Jia Lie Family Market and delivering one face-slapping humiliation. Reward received: 5,000 Shop Points. Current task progress: 1/10.]

With the system notification, the 5,000 Shop Points arrived in his account, and a smile immediately spread across Xiao Mo's face.

Xiao Yan reached out and tugged his sleeve.

"Xiao Mo, is there really something wrong with their goods?"

He shook his head, a smile on his face.

"Who knows whether there's anything wrong with them? I've never bought their goods. But having to prove your own innocence is always a complicated business."

"I just wanted to muddy the waters so they couldn't focus on our outer disciples. That's called fishing in muddy waters."

Xiao Mo patted Xiao Yan's shoulder.

"You still have plenty to learn. Stick with me, and your senior brother will teach you little by little."

With that, he strode smugly to the front under Xiao Yan's admiring gaze.

But soon, he let out another soft sigh.

"Still, this won't be easy to resolve. Right now, we can muddy the waters and drag them into the mess, but their goods really are cheap."

"If your Xiao Clan can't find a replacement product, its decline will be inevitable. Sooner or later, your shops won't be able to stay open."

Xiao Yan nodded, helplessness and worry entering his eyes.

Of course he understood that. If they didn't make changes in this area soon, things would only get worse.

"I'll go find Father when we get back and explain the situation as soon as possible, so they can work out a solution and decide how to handle it."

Everyone returned to the Xiao Clan, each occupied with their own thoughts.

After saying goodbye, Xiao Yan immediately turned to find Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Xun'er gave a cold snort, turned, and followed him away. Soon, Xiao Mo was alone.

He shook his head and carefully examined the main quest and side quests.

The main quest to revitalize the Xiao Clan's shops wasn't difficult and would be relatively easy to resolve.

The two side quests were actually the hardest part.

One required him to help Xiao Yan refine one hundred portions of rejuvenation powder. If they could refine rejuvenation powder of better quality and greater purity than what the Jia Lie Family Market sold,

then the main quest could be completed with ease.

The second was more complicated. He had only completed one of the ten face-slapping tasks so far. To earn more points, he would have to complete the other nine.

"Looks like I'll have to take Xiao Yan on a few more trips to the Jia Lie Family Market over the next while."

He propped his chin on his hand and stared forlornly at the dense woods ahead.

"I wonder whether Yao Lao is reliable enough to help Xiao Yan reproduce rejuvenation powder soon."

After lingering there for a while, he decided to go back and rest. With Xiao Yan absent, cultivating alone wasn't much fun. He might as well go back, get some sleep, and restore his energy.

Apparently, the Jia Lie Family Market stayed open at night too.

He planned to take Xiao Yan for another stroll there that evening. No matter what, he had to advance his task progress by another notch.

But to his surprise, just as he reached the rear courtyard, quite a few disciples rushed toward the front hall.

Several spotted him, came over, grabbed his arms, and dragged him forward.

"Hurry over! The clan leader has something to discuss with us."

A thought immediately stirred in his mind. Most likely, this concerned rejuvenation powder and the Jia Lie Family Market.

Without hesitation, he followed them to the front hall.

Xiao Zhan and several elders occupied the seats of honor in the center of the hall, their expressions unusually grave.

Xiao Yan also stood beside Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Mo's bored gaze swept across everyone's faces, but the moment it landed on Xiao Yan, delight lit up his face.

Xiao Yan was certain that if Xiao Zhan hadn't still been behind him, Xiao Mo would have jumped up to greet him.

Before long, every inner and outer disciple had actually assembled. After ordering an attendant to close the doors, Xiao Zhan suddenly rose and slammed his fist into the wall.

Bang!

A fist mark appeared in the wall behind him, with a dense web of cracks spreading across its surface.

At the sight, all the disciples who had been whispering sat bolt upright, cold sweat pouring down their backs.

Even Xiao Mo couldn't help holding his breath, wary of offending Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan stood at the seat of honor and swept his gaze across everyone's faces.

"Today, I received word that some of our outer disciples went to the Jia Lie Family Market to buy their rejuvenation powder. Is that true?"

His words immediately stirred a commotion below. Xiao Mo glanced back and saw terror on quite a few disciples' faces.

It seemed they had all visited the Jia Lie Family Market and had probably bought rejuvenation powder there as well.

"I'll ask only once. Anyone who has been to the Jia Lie Family Market and bought their rejuvenation powder, stand up right now."

"Don't make me repeat myself. Otherwise, if you're an inner disciple, you will be demoted straight to the outer ranks."

"And any outer disciples will be expelled outright. Weigh the consequences yourselves."

At those words, the entire hall fell silent as a flock of crows struck mute.

Soon, someone slowly stood up, unease flickering in his eyes. Under Xiao Zhan's imposing gaze, he couldn't help trembling.

Furious at their failure to live up to expectations, Xiao Zhan swiftly swept his gaze across their faces before turning it on those who had yet to stand.

Soon, more and more people rose, until well over a hundred were standing.

When he saw how many disciples had bought rejuvenation powder from the Jia Lie Family Market, Xiao Zhan could no longer contain his fury and kicked his chair over.