Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 14 Poisoner
The Alchemy Bureau prepared for two days and finally followed the city lord's instructions to introduce new regulations.

The new regulations point out that the people of Xiazhou have been taking large quantities of low-grade elixirs for a long time, which has led to the accumulation of elixir poison in their bodies. This is not only detrimental to their spiritual practice, but may also cause illness and even affect their lifespan.

The entire Xiazhou is based on elixirs, so the government naturally will not call for a reduction in the use of elixirs. Instead, it will order all major elixir shops to place detoxification pills and purification talismans in the most conspicuous locations.

With the government's actions, the people of Xiazhou finally began to pay attention, and more and more people started to buy detoxification pills.

But detoxification pills are so expensive... Besides, this thing is also a pill, isn't it a bit like taking off your pants to fart?
What is a purification talisman? It sounds like a type of talisman, but I haven't seen anyone selling it...

A large elixir merchant who was familiar with Xu Bingkun went to see him and said, "City Lord, the new regulations have been released, and many people are asking for purification talismans. Originally, the Shen's Trading Company said they had a large supply and could use it directly, but why is the City Lord leaving us alone for now?"

Xu Bingkun sneered slightly.

Of course, leave it hanging.

Xu Bingkun has his own power, and his power can also produce similar talismans. When the time comes, the money will be his own, so he will definitely promote this matter. Shen Tang's proposal is quite good. However, if it is done by Shen Tang, the most he can get is a small profit. There is no need to consider which one has greater benefits.

What's more, he was not very happy to see the Tianxing Sword Sect rise in Xiazhou.

As the city lord, he had a moral obligation to respect the sect leader. Now that the Tianxing Sword Sect was in decline and had to rely on him for care, that was fine. But once the Tianxing Sword Sect rose to prominence, it would be hard to say who would have the final say.

Shen Tang seems like a capable and thoughtful leader. Xu Bingkun would rather replace her with a swordsman elder who is not familiar with affairs as the leader than see Shen Tang's revival, so of course he has to make things difficult for her.

By delaying the time when Shen Tang's sword talisman entered the store, his own forces could rush to make a replacement, thus suppressing Shen Tang and making money for themselves, killing two birds with one stone.

It would have been better to just hold off on issuing the new regulations, but Shen Tang had a quick wit and went to the Medicine Bureau right away to put things in place. He couldn't immediately contradict himself after saying this in front of her, so he had to accept it and put on a righteous front to urge the Medicine Bureau to issue the new regulations quickly. It was incredibly frustrating.

Xu Bingkun didn't explain everything to the medicine merchants, but simply said, "Anyway, you can just hold off for two or three days."

The medicine dealers looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

The city lord may be powerful, but who doesn't have some backers these days? Xiazhou sounds like a state, but in reality it's just a large county. Many people in the city have connections with the county, but they may not obey you in everything. What's the point of just a few of us dragging it out?
Xu Bingkun knew what they were thinking, and stroked his beard, saying, "At least let them delay for a few days. They still have to give me the small favor. Let's go."

Before he finished speaking, a subordinate came rushing over: "City Lord, City Lord!"

Xu Bingkun frowned: "How can you be so flustered?"

The subordinates accompanied carefully: "Ji Shi Pavilion, Yun Po Xuan, Yu Yuan Dan Fang and more than ten other medicine dealers have signed an agreement with Shen's Trading Company to put their 'Sword Soul Purifying Talisman' on the shelves!"

Xu Bingkun stood up in astonishment. It would be fine if it was just a few families, Shen Tang might have some connections. But how could it be so many families?

No one gives face to the city lord?

"Originally, Shen Tang had only negotiated deals with three or four companies. But early this morning, someone from the Demon Suppression Division went out on patrol with this Sword Soul Purifying Talisman taped to their chests, and word spread throughout the city. Some alchemy dealers were still politely declining the Shen family, but when they saw that the Demon Suppression Division had used it first, they felt it was unstoppable and, fearing they would fall behind, quickly signed agreements with the Shen family."

Xu Bingkun pinched his head and felt a terrible headache.

The Demon Suppression Division was directly under the imperial court, obeying only the city lord's orders and not subject to any restrictions. Sheng Yuanyao was a Beijing official, and the apple of Deputy Chief Constable Sheng's eye! He really couldn't control such a rich girl.

This time it was difficult to deal with. The long-term agreements with more than ten major medicine dealers were enough to allow the dying Tianxing Sword Sect to be reborn instantly. The Shen's Trading Company was directly established, and the bet between Shen Tang and those elders was no longer a suspense.

Even if someone else comes up with something similar to compete in the market a few days later, many people will still recognize the Shen brand out of preconceived notion, not to mention that this woman gave it such a nice name and made the talisman so beautifully.

"Never mind, we can still get a piece of the pie after all..." Xu Bingkun narrowed his eyes slightly. "Come here, ask Danxia Gang Leader Liu to come meet us. It seems they have had some issues with the Shen family over talent?"

Liu Qingcang has been feeling both happy and sad recently.

The good news is that "Shenqidan" is very popular in the market, the price is getting higher and higher, and it seems that the company is going to make a lot of money.

So, Lu Xingzhou is useless. He can only refine those popular pills and is not even as good as Bai Chi.

The sad thing is that one of the main ingredients of the Shenqi Pill is Hanying Grass.

Han Ying grass was originally a topical herb, not suitable for internal use, and naturally not very suitable for alchemy, so it has never been cultivated in large quantities. They had just started refining Shen Qi Dan not long ago, so they had a small inventory for the time being and had not considered hoarding a large amount.

As a result, a few days ago, someone with a mental disorder suddenly bought a large amount of it, causing the already scarce Hanying grass on the market to become extremely scarce and the price to soar.

The Danxia Gang quickly bought up all the remaining Hanying grass on the market at a high price, but it was still not enough to last them for long.

Liu Qingcang took a two-pronged approach, sending people to other cities to purchase it while also planting it extensively on his own medicinal mountain. This thing matures quickly, taking only two or three months to grow. Since the price of Hanying grass is high right now, even if he can't use all of it, he can still make a lot of money by reselling it.

When Liu Qingcang received the invitation from the city lord, he was inspecting the Hanying grass cultivation on the mountain with great satisfaction. Hearing this, he was even more proud: "Even the city lord wants to cooperate with me. It turns out that Mr. Bai is a lucky general." Bai Chi smiled reservedly: "The level of the apprentices brought in by Lu Xingzhou is too poor... Wait until I can recover and bring in a new batch."

How could Liu Qingcang not hear that this was an attempt to flatter "Lu Xingzhou's old subordinates"? In fact, Bai Chi had been enjoying finding trouble with the apprentices all day long, treating them like slaves and deducting their wages, causing the apprentices to complain bitterly.

But Bai Chi was a hot commodity now, and Liu Qingcang, wanting to remove Lu Xingzhou's influence, turned a blind eye. Withholding wages only enriched the gang after all... After all, the apprenticeship contracts were there, so those people couldn't escape. As for Lu Xingzhou, he was now only fit to hang out with a newly arrived, insignificant guild. How could he still help these old subordinates?
"Oh, right." Bai Chi added, "I still hope the Han Ying grass we purchase can be purchased faster. It's almost used up, and it's too late to wait for these to grow."

Liu Qingcang patted his shoulder and said, "I will go see the city lord first, and then I will make sure it is finalized as soon as possible."

Not long after going down the mountain, he met a group of people escorting a carriage back to the mountain. They were the gang members he had sent out to purchase the Hanying grass.

Liu Qingcang frowned: "Why did you come back so soon?"

The gang members hurriedly saluted and said, "Boss, we just left the city and met a caravan from a neighboring county. They happened to have a cart of Hanying grass, so we brought it back."

Liu Qingcang uncovered it and saw that it was indeed filled with a cart of Han Ying grass, which looked of good quality. "What a coincidence... What was the price?"

The gang members laughed and said, "Don't worry, boss. Even at the current market price, this cart is worth 250 taels of gold."

It was really expensive. After all, herbs were priced by the coin. A whole truckload of them would have cost tens of taels even when the price was lower. But now that prices have skyrocketed, this price isn't too outrageous.

Liu Qingcang made a rough estimate and found that it was actually slightly lower than the market price, as if it was just to make it an even number... but he still felt very painful.

Previously, Lu Xingzhou had robbed them of almost all of their spirit stones. Recently, they had also been buying up the remaining Hanying grass on the market at high prices, as well as buying a large number of seeds to grow themselves. Now, the Danxia Gang really doesn't have much cash... Now, these 250 taels of gold are almost draining half of their working capital.

Never mind, I'll be able to make back my money soon anyway. He sighed and waved his hand: "Let's go up the mountain and store it first."

At Shen's Trading Company, Lu Xingzhou was playing with the gold ingots in his hand, tossing them around.

Ah Nuo sat cross-legged, holding a large pile of gold ingots, and smiled happily: "Boss Liu is really a good man."

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "You're wrong. We are the good guys. Gang Leader Liu should thank us for saving him from his urgent need."

Shen Tang sat in front of them speechlessly, turned his head to look at the warehouse over there, which was originally full of Hanying grass, but now it was empty.

Dugu Qingli stood behind her, his cold blue eyes fixed on Lu Xingzhou, his face still expressionless, no one knowing what he was thinking.

That’s right, the so-called “caravan from the neighboring county” was disguised as people from the Tianxing Sword Sect, and what they were selling was the Hanying grass that they had previously stockpiled.

"You've known for a long time that one of the main ingredients of their Shenqi Pills is Hanying Grass?" Shen Tang couldn't help but ask, "This is Fenxiang Tower's unique recipe. How did you get it?"

"Hmm? I don't know his unique recipe, but as an alchemist, it's easy for me to guess the general ingredients of a first-grade pill. Bai Chi is already very proud that I paid for a Shenqi Pill."

"..."

Lu Xingzhou grinned, "Who would have thought that something as unsuitable for alchemy as Han Yingcao could actually be used by Fenxiang Tower? I have to admire the senior alchemists' boldness in thinking and experimenting. It's a pity that the Shenqi Pill is so toxic because of this herb... Especially since Bai Chi was too eager for quick results, the proportions might be a bit wrong, making it even more toxic."

Shen Tang pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

Precisely because this thing is not suitable for alchemy, it is rarely planted, and Lu Xingzhou has made great use of it. If it were a widely planted thing, you wouldn't be able to make money from it.

The problem now seems to be more than just making money...

Lu Xingzhou put away his smile and whispered, "Did they spread the news? About the poison in the Shenqi Pill."

Shen Tang took a deep breath and let it out again: "It was spread that day, and it should ferment in the next two days."

If the news of the Shenqi Pill being too toxic were to spread at this point, not only would the Shenqi Pill's sales be wiped out, but the Danxia Gang would also lose all of the Hanying Grass they had just purchased at a high price. Even so, it was only a loss of a few hundred taels of gold, a loss the Danxia Gang could afford.

But what about the large area of ​​Hanying grass planted in Yaoshan?
Temporarily dig up the cold grass and plant something else?
Lu Xingzhou never meant to give the Danxia Gang a slap in the face. When he came up with the idea of ​​purifying the poison, his intention from the beginning to the end was to kill the Danxia Gang!

He really didn't need to compete with them in alchemy, and he also gave them a strategy for the Tianxing Sword Sect to gain a foothold.

Where on earth did this poisonous scholar come from...Danxia Gang pushed this kind of person from one of their own to the opposite side?
Shen Tang finally couldn't help but ask, "So the idea you gave me the other day to purify the poison was only for this step?"

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at her and smiled gently: "You said this is mutual help."

After saying this, he pointed out the window. He saw many members of the Tianxing Sword Sect gathering in the meeting room. "Look, the three-day deadline has arrived. Your bet must be fulfilled, right? Congratulations in advance, Sect Master Shen."

(End of this chapter)