Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 18 Prosperity
If the Shenqi Pill is boycotted, it's not just a matter of losing the Shenqi Pill. It's not something that can be solved by refining another pill...

Instead, it will cause a chain reaction that will cause the price of Hanying Grass to plummet. The truckload of herbs that were worth more than gold that we bought yesterday will drop to the same price as dogtail grass in an instant.

What should I do with the Hanying grass I planted halfway up the mountain?
Liu Qingcang felt cold all over, and any random deduction would make his hands and feet cold and his head dizzy.

The quickest way to resolve the rumors is to ask the Alchemy Bureau to "refute" the rumors and prove that the poison in the Shenqi Pill is not serious, and that will be the end of it.

Liu Qingcang reacted very quickly and turned back to the Alchemy Department.

Lu Xingzhou was taking the test for refining a seventh-grade pill inside. Seeing Liu Qingcang rushing back, Chen Zhangsi frowned and tried to stop him: "Boss Liu, please don't interfere with the alchemy."

"I'm here to see Director Chen," Liu Qingcang said hurriedly. "We previously sold our Shenqi Pills only after obtaining permission from the Medicine Bureau. Now, they're being maliciously slandered, saying they're too toxic. Director Chen, please speak up for us..."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of jade and quietly put it into the hand of Chen Zhangsi.

Chen Zhangsi's expression twitched as he glanced at Lu Xingzhou, who was refining the elixir beside him. Beside him sat a little Taoist boy, his chin in his hand, staring at him with blinking eyes!

You stuffed something in my mouth right in front of other people! Children don’t talk nonsense outside, they are even more likely to talk nonsense, okay!

Chief Chen was so angry that he threw the jade away. "Boss Liu, it's true that the Medicine Bureau approved the Shenqi Pill. If anyone asks us, we will answer truthfully. Although the Shenqi Pill's toxicity is higher than that of ordinary pills, it does not exceed the approved standards. Boss Liu, there is no need for further instructions. Please return."

Liu Qingcang was furious. What was the point of truthfully answering that it wasn't exceeding the standard? Wasn't that what people cared about these days? It was just that in this climate of purifying erysipelas, people naturally didn't want to use elixirs with more severe erysipelas!
Chief Chen's expression turned serious. "Why, Boss Liu, are you planning to have the Medicine Bureau lie for you and cover up the truth?"

Liu Qingcang was speechless. Glancing over at Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice, who appeared to be seriously refining the elixir but were actually watching the joke, the fat Taoist boy grinned from ear to ear, feeling even more angry.

Why didn’t I find this little fat guy so annoying before!
In fact, not to mention the problem of Lu Xingzhou being stuck here and unable to use the backdoor. If Lu Xingzhou hadn't intervened just now, allowing Bai Chi to pass the certification smoothly, he could have been considered a half-master with Chen Zhangsi, and there would still be a chance to ask him for help.

But now?

Not only did I fail to make friends with him, I even offended him. Now it's useless to give him money.

What to do this time!
At this moment, Liu Qingcang almost felt that Bai Chi was sent by his enemy to harm him. From the time he refined the Spiritual Energy Pill to today's seventh-grade certification process, he was digging a hole for himself.

But rationally he knew it was none of Bai Chi's fault. This guy had done the elixir too hastily, causing it to be highly toxic, and nothing else was intentional.

It can't be a coincidence... At least a few days ago, someone suddenly looted the Hanying grass in Xiazhou City. It was a well-prepared and malicious move, and someone else dug the trap.

Who is that?
Liu Qingcang turned his head tremblingly and looked at Lu Xingzhou.

It's him?

Yes, only Lu Xingzhou would have planned this specifically. This was his revenge, for the assassination attempt that day and the recent slander against his alchemy skills by the Danxia Gang...

Ever since Shen's Company started to purify the poison, this interconnected situation began!

Liu Qingcang was a martial artist who had just come up with the idea of ​​fighting. It was the first time for him to see such a gang fight. It seemed as if the entire Danxia Gang's military force had completely lost its meaning.

He was truly regretting it now. Lu Xingzhou was not only a talented planner, but even his alchemy skills were better than Bai Chi's! Why had he assumed that Bai Chi, born into a prestigious family, must be better than Lu Xingzhou, and had he replaced him without hesitation?
What he regretted even more was that he shouldn't have harbored murderous intent just because he'd been cheated out of his spirit stones. If he hadn't sent the assassin, Lu Xingzhou probably wouldn't have bothered to deal with his small gang after making all the money. Fortunately, the assassin hadn't reported back, so Lu Xingzhou probably didn't know about it. There was still room for improvement.

Liu Qingcang quickly put on a smile and said to Lu Xingzhou, "Xingzhou... I'm afraid there was a misunderstanding about what happened before."

Lu Xingzhou looked at Dan Huo and smiled: "Indeed, Gang Leader Liu misunderstood that I liked Liu Yan'er. She also has flowers on her body... well, normal people wouldn't like them."

"Oh, I'm not referring to this misunderstanding." Liu Qingcang was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he had to pretend to laugh heartily and said, "Xingzhou, why didn't you tell us earlier that you have such a strong alchemy skill? If you had told us earlier, we would have made you the head of the Alchemy Hall long ago. How could you be fooled by Bai Chi's background? Well, now that we know, Xingzhou might as well come back. I will triple your salary and make you the head of the hall. What do you think?"

Lu Xingzhou finally shifted his gaze from the Danhuo and smiled faintly, "So this is the second misunderstanding... Gang Leader Liu, I chose to stay on Danxia Mountain for half a year for another reason. I'm not asking for a promotion or a raise. To me, the so-called Hall Master is less important than the sight of white-haired people."

Liu Qingcang had no choice but to say: "Since Xingzhou is open-minded, then this matter..."

Lu Xingzhou interrupted: "Boss Liu, the assassin didn't report to you. Don't you think he hasn't made his move yet?"

Liu Qingcang's expression suddenly changed, and he said forcefully, "I didn't understand what Xingzhou said."

"Boss Liu, do you think I'm an idiot?" Lu Xingzhou sighed and said meaningfully: "Having said that, as long as you don't continue to commit suicide, it will be difficult for me to continue to do anything... Although Danxia Mountain is small, it's nice to live a simple life here. Please go back." Since Lu Xingzhou knew about the assassination, there was no possibility of turning it around. Liu Qingcang said nothing more and left with a sullen face.

An Nuo's sarcastic voice came from behind: "Boss Liu, things are going well~"

Lu Xingzhou praised his apprentice: "Anuo is really magnanimous, and he also wishes Boss Liu the best..."

Liu Qingcang held a mouthful of blood in his throat and quickened his pace to leave.

Otherwise, he was afraid of killing someone on the spot in the Alchemy Department.

When I walked out of the door, I saw Liu Yan'er and Bai Chi fighting. Liu Yan'er cried and grabbed Bai Chi's face: "What's wrong with you? I don't have it! You bastard!"

Bai Chi dodged left and right: "This disease can be cured, it can be cured! I am an alchemist..."

Liu Qingcang was so furious at this moment that he kicked him angrily: "You still have time to fight? Have you figured out a solution?"

Liu Yan'er cried softly.

Bai Chi wiped the sweat off his face and said, "I've thought about it. As long as we can launch a pill with better effects, we can immediately reverse the trend. Uncle, don't worry, I will launch the realm-breaking pill and use it right away. This thing is rare on the market..."

Liu Qingcang almost wanted to slap him in the face and interrupted angrily, "Your pill was criticized by Director Chen in person for being highly toxic. You still dare to release it in such a heated situation? Do you think we won't die fast enough?"

Bai Chi's face was pale. As an alchemist from a prestigious family, he was completely clueless about the situation.

Because Fenxianglou's unique recipes weren't meant to be taken out and used by others. He was only allowed to use the Shenqi Pill. His ability to create his own recipes had already been proven to be quite mediocre. What good would it do to come up with some ninth-grade recipes?

If he wanted to replace the Shenqi Pill, he could only refine those popular pills, and his level was indeed quite good. But in this situation, could you break the deadlock by refining popular pills?
Liu Qingcang held his breath for a long time before finally angrily saying, "Go back first, dig up those Hanying grasses, plant new ones, and switch to refining regular Qi-boosting pills! Also, make those apprentices double the time it takes to refine the pills!"

After all, the bulk of the gang's elixir sales came from the low-level elixirs refined in large quantities by the apprentices. No matter how much they lost in the Shenqi Pill incident, they could still squeeze it back from here.

"You want me to kill the Danxia Gang? That's not that easy!" Liu Qingcang said coldly, "Shen's Trading Company has offended the City Lord, and Lu Xingzhou is hanging out with them, and he still wants to stay out of it? You guys go back first, and I'll go find the City Lord!"

Inside the house, Manager Chen finished his melon and glanced at Lu Xingzhou for a long moment. "Are you saying that Liu Qingcang drove you away and chose Bai Chi, and that's why they're enemies?"

"Yes."

Chen Zhangsi looked at the top-grade Guiyu Pill that jumped out of the alchemy furnace, his old face twitched, and he sighed in disbelief: "Is Liu Qingcang blind? You are more than ten times better than Bai Chi!"

Lu Xingzhou smiled faintly, "It's not really his problem... Lord Director, who in the world doesn't value family background and status? Everyone is like that. But who has ever truly taken a lame kid like me, who has no parents and only learned from a dilapidated Taoist temple, seriously?"

Chen Zhangsi was silent for a moment, then handed over a seventh-grade alchemist certification badge. "You're still young, and your accomplishments are rare. Since you're an alchemist from Xiazhou, as long as I'm around, I'll never let you lose face. If I recommend you to study in the county, would you be willing?"

Lu Xingzhou's heart moved slightly.

In fact, he has a very advanced alchemy inheritance... Not the junky stuff from the old Taoist priest, but from Yuan Muyu.

His cultivation had always been difficult, hampered by his physical condition and a broken leg. To have reached the seventh rank of Daoist cultivation at this age was a testament to his talent and hard work; further advancement was exceedingly difficult. However, his mastery of various skills far surpassed that of ordinary cultivation. This was due to the profound learning Yuan Muyu had received, and his eight years of guidance had been immensely beneficial.

In a sense, Yuan Muyu was his master, although they had never addressed each other as master and disciple.

But strictly speaking, Yuan Muyu had never taught him the fundamental cultivation method, so they couldn't really be considered master and disciple. His fundamental method was a trophy looted from Yama Palace, belonging to the evil cultivation method. The grade was quite high, but it wasn't a top-notch inheritance.

In short, learning never ends, and knowledge cannot be acquired in eight years. Now that he has left Yuan Muyu, Lu Xingzhou really needs to find other learning opportunities. In addition to better alchemy, it would be best if he could also obtain the best cultivation method.

But not now...and the so-called county's standards may not meet his needs, so it's useless.

Lu Xingzhou was still grateful for Director Chen's kindness. He accepted the certification badge and bowed sincerely, "Thank you very much, Director. I'm busy right now... If there's an opportunity in the future, I hope you won't mind my incompetence and will give me more guidance."

(End of this chapter)