"You!"
Ge Ye was nearly mad with rage. He had never expected Xiao Zhan to show him so little respect in front of so many people. Spitting the pill straight out was clearly a slap in his face.
Xiao Zhan gave a light cough, barely hiding the smile on his face, but as he turned around, he still could not help bursting into laughter.
He handed the remaining half of the pill to Xiao Mo and Xiao Yan.
"Taste it yourselves."
The two broke the pill apart and put their pieces into their mouths, then spat them out in perfect unison.
Ge Ye's expression turned utterly ugly. He sprang to his feet and pointed at the three with his right hand, too furious to speak.
"You-you must be out of your minds! Rejuvenation Powder may not be expensive, but how can you waste it like this?"
Xiao Zhan hastily turned back, grabbed the tea from the table, and gulped down a mouthful.
"Please forgive us, Ge Ye. It's not that we mean to disrespect you. This stuff really does taste rather awful."
Ge Ye's face was full of disdain.
"Awful? This is Rejuvenation Powder! Who cares about the taste of a pill that can heal you? Besides, as the saying goes, good medicine tastes bitter but cures the sickness."
"You're deliberately opposing our Nalan Clan. I don't think you have any intention of cooperating with us."
The three elders hurried forward and swiftly took the last pill from Xiao Zhan's hand.
They immediately broke it apart and each swallowed a little.
"Don't be angry, Ge Ye. See? We've all swallowed it, haven't we? These juniors were simply being rude. We apologize on their behalf."
"Please don't hold it against them. We can still cooperate as usual, wouldn't you agree?"
Ge Ye stared coldly at Xiao Zhan and the other two.
"Cooperate? If you still want to cooperate with me, apologize. As long as you can persuade me to forgive you, we can certainly discuss further cooperation. Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss."
Xiao Mo suddenly raised his head, looking as though he had only just caught on.
"Oh, how did you know we didn't want to cooperate with you?"
That single sentence enraged Ge Ye so much that he swatted aside the nearby teacup, turned, and walked away.
"Your Xiao Clan has gone too far! I'll make sure everyone outside knows what sort of people you are."
Xiao Zhan merely stared coldly at his retreating back, but Xiao Mo stepped forward just then and caught Ge Ye's sleeve.
"Tell me, if we already have pills better than yours, why would we want your junk? We'd be embarrassed even to sell it."
At those words, the veins at Ge Ye's temples bulged. He whipped around and glared fiercely at him.
"What did you say, you little brat?"
Xiao Mo turned and crooked a finger at Xiao Yan behind him.
"Junior brother, take out a pill for Elder Ge Ye. Let him see the quality of the pills we refine, then ask him whether his own stuff is junk. If he threw it out, even scavengers wouldn't want it."
Xiao Yan fought so hard to hold back his laughter that his facial muscles twitched. He managed to open the medicine pouch, took out a pill, and placed it in Ge Ye's hand.
Ge Ye puffed out his cheeks, ready to launch into a tirade and list every flaw in their Rejuvenation Powder.
After all, he knew the Xiao Clan's level of skill at refining Rejuvenation Powder. The quality of their product could not compare to what his formula produced.
He wanted to see just what these people had to be so arrogant about.
Yet the instant the pill touched his hand, his face froze.
Two gleams of light, one red and one blue, shimmered across the green pill's surface. They intertwined, and a cooling sensation flowed through his palm into his chest.
Even his breathing became a little easier.
"You two, where did this come from?"
Ge Ye was well-informed, after all. The moment it reached his hand, he knew it was anything but ordinary.
Moreover, he had never seen such wondrous Rejuvenation Powder.
He carefully broke off a little and put it into his mouth. In an instant, a cool, minty sensation filled his mouth.
Even his perpetually drooping, bitter-melon face brightened at once. His body immediately brimmed with vigor, and his stamina returned straight to its peak.
Yet that had come from only this tiny bit. He had not even swallowed a whole pill.
Ge Ye swallowed hard.
If they offered this to the world, people would scramble to get it, never mind what price it fetched.
He had never seen Rejuvenation Powder so pure. He stared at the two young men before him in disbelief, his eyes filled with incredulity.
Xiao Mo spoke again.
"Elder Ge Ye, all I'm asking is whether you can tell the truth. How good is this stuff, really? Compared to it, aren't the pills in your hands just junk?"
"Tell me, if we have pills this good, why should we sell your junk and even give you ten percent of the profits?"
He looked at Ge Ye with utter disdain, as though he were a beggar who had come knocking for a handout.
"So please take your formula and leave. Our clan has no need for it. We can save ourselves."
With that, he stepped back, his work done.
Sure enough, he saw Ge Ye's face shift through a whole palette of colors, pale one moment and purple the next. He opened his mouth to argue, but could not get a single word out.
There was simply nothing to criticize about this pill. He could not even think of some casual complaint to make.
Its surface had a beautiful color, it tasted sweet and refreshing, and its effects were several times stronger than ordinary Rejuvenation Powder.
What was there to complain about?
He even wanted to buy one himself.
He simply did not know whether these people would be willing to sell him one.
Ge Ye stood rooted to the spot, speechless. His stunned appearance made the three elders think he was angry at Xiao Mo's defiance.
Thus, the three senior elders ignored Xiao Zhan's attempts to stop them and stepped forward.
"Xiao Mo, you show no respect for your elders! You're unworthy of being a disciple of our Xiao Clan. If you don't apologize right now, we'll expel you!"
At those words, Xiao Mo was just about to retort when Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan both stepped forward and stood in front of him.
With identical expressions, the two stared coldly at the three elders and roared in unison.
"Let's see who dares!"
The roar made the three elders tremble all over. Shaking, they pointed at Xiao Mo.
"Xiao Clan Leader, if you don't rein this brat in, he'll be soaring into the heavens! Showing such disrespect to our honored guest-he's utterly lawless!"
"He's already this arrogant while he's young. Even if he has some talent, what good is that? We must teach him while he's still young. If you can't bear to punish him, he'll grow crooked sooner or later."
Xiao Zhan merely stared coldly at the three elders.
"If they grow up to be like you, that would be the real disgrace. Could you stop talking?"
With that, he took a pill directly from Xiao Yan and pressed it into one of the elders' hands.
"Why don't you look for yourselves and see whether it's good? This will overturn everything you thought you knew. I've never seen a pill of such fine quality."
Before you continue