The large room was bright, yet the atmosphere was heavy with oppressive pressure.
On the table in the center of the room sat a small, pale green jade bottle, from which the scent of medicine emanated.
Quite a few people were seated in the room; judging by their attire, they were clearly high-ranking members of the Jia Lie family. Today, Jia Lie Ke Ao was also present.
At the head seat on the left, a young man in white robes leaned back casually in his chair. He was somewhat handsome, but the occasional lewd glint in his eyes marred his appearance. One of his hands was slowly moving inside the clothes of the beautiful maid beside him, without the slightest restraint or concealment.
Defiled by the young man, the beautiful maid's face turned slightly pale, her eyes welled up with moisture, and her soft body trembled incessantly, yet she dared not utter a sound.
"This is the Blood Coagulation Powder that the Xiao family suddenly produced. Now, the popularity in our market has started to decline," Jia Lie Bi said, quickly glancing over the white-robed man as if he hadn't noticed his disrespectful actions, then frowned.
Jia Lie Bi narrowed his aged eyes, his expression slightly grim. "Do you remember that mysterious alchemist we met at the auction last time? Judging by his attitude then, he seemed to hold the Xiao family in high regard. If the Blood Coagulation Powder was refined by him, we could be in great trouble. You must understand, that person might very well be a Third-Grade Alchemist."
Upon hearing the mention of a Third-Grade Alchemist, the white-robed young man finally stopped moving his hand on the maid's body, somewhat reluctantly withdrawing it. He picked up the jade bottle, sniffed it lightly, then poured a little out into his hand, rubbed it with his fingers, and said with a cold laugh, "What the hell is a Third-Grade Alchemist? This Blood Coagulation Powder is indeed a bit better than the Rejuvenation Powder. However, looking at its color, the grade of the person who refined it is clearly inferior to mine. It only has such medicinal power because his medicine is a bit special."
Hearing this, everyone present secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the Xiao family truly had the assistance of a Third-Grade Alchemist, the Jia Lie family might truly be unable to recover.
"From my experience, the alchemist the Xiao family invited is probably just a novice who somehow obtained this formula from somewhere to produce this Blood Coagulation Powder," the white-robed young man said, a look of disdain casually appearing on his face.
"Ah, ah, Brother Liu Xi can discern the owner from a small bottle of elixir. What keen insight," Jia Lie Ao said with a smile, seemingly trying to curry favor.
"This is merely a basic skill for alchemists," the young man called Liu Xi humbly shook his head, though a faint look of complacency flickered across his face, which did not escape the eyes of the cunning people seated beside him.
"Although the medicinal power of the Rejuvenation Powder is indeed somewhat inferior to the Blood Coagulation Powder, the two are not too different. Because we raised prices too sharply a while ago, if we return the prices to what they were before, popularity will slowly return. However, it will be somewhat difficult to achieve the same scene as before, after all, this Blood Coagulation Powder has taken away quite a few regular customers since the Xiao family established itself in Wu Tan City," Jia Lie Bi mused for a moment, then slowly said.
"Adjust the prices?" Hearing this, Liu Xi raised his eyebrows, clearly somewhat unwilling. He was accustomed to selling at high prices, and now being told to lower them, he truly found it a bit unbearable.
Seeing Liu Xi's demeanor, Jia Lie Bi secretly cursed him for being brainless, then had to force a friendly smile and say, "Mr. Liu Xi, the current situation is not what it used to be. Some time ago, our healing medicine monopolized the market in Wu Tan City, but it's not like that anymore. So, we have to lower prices to regain popularity."
Shaking his head helplessly, Liu Xi pouted and said, "Whatever, do as you please. But as I said at the beginning, according to our division, no matter how much you lower the price, it must be as before, three times the price for me."
The corner of Jia Lie Bi's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and anger flared in his heart. He took a deep breath, and a bright smile still bloomed on his face, though upon closer inspection, the smile held a hint of coldness. "Ah, of course, Mr. Liu Xi's share, we will definitely give it all as agreed."
"En." Nodding in satisfaction, Liu Xi leaned back in his chair even more wantonly, brazenly pulling the beautiful maid beside him into his arms, fondling her up, down, high, low, inside, and out.
"Mr. Liu Xi, we don't have much of our Rejuvenation Powder left. I previously sent people to the Mi Te Er Auction House to buy medicinal ingredients for its production. At that time, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you a bit." Jia Lie Bi smiled and added, "Also, yesterday we were fortunate enough to auction two rare desert snake-women. I have already sent them to your room, sir."
Hearing about making medicine, Liu Xi's face showed a hint of impatience, but when the two words "snake-women" entered his ears, the impatience turned into lewdness. His eyes lit up, and he nodded, saying loudly, "As long as the medicinal ingredients are sufficient, the patriarch doesn't need to worry about the quantity of Rejuvenation Powder."
Seeing Liu Xi so easily swayed, the corner of Jia Lie Bi's mouth curled up slightly in triumph, with contempt and a cold sneer in his heart: "What a good-for-nothing, his head filled with lust. If you didn't know how to make medicine, you would have been punished long ago."
Jia Lie Bi sneered, shook his head, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. Then, with a smile, he discussed some romantic and frivolous topics that he found most interesting with Liu Xi.
After chatting and laughing with Liu Xi for a while, a clansman rushed in quickly, then quickly approached Jia Lie Bi, bowing his head and whispering for a while.
Listening to the clansman's report with a smile, in just a moment, his face gradually stiffened from its cheerful expression. The teacup in his hand shattered with a "ka cha" sound, turning into powder. The powder and tea water flowed down his hand…
"Damn Mi Te Er Auction House, how dare they play me!"
With a gloomy expression, Jia Lie Bi roared in anger, a violent aura, a fierce energy surged from his body, swirling in the air with a whooshing sound.
Jia Lie Ao, being closest to Jia Lie Bi, was so oppressed by this powerful aura that he gasped for breath. He quickly retreated a few steps, urgently shouting, "Father!"
Jia Lie Ao's shout made Jia Lie Bi regain some clarity. His face twitched slightly, then he sat down coldly and said, "The Mi Te Er Auction House is now refusing to sell medicinal ingredients to our Jia Lie family!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the great hall. Everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with panic.
"How can this be? Hasn't the Mi Te Er Auction House always maintained neutrality? Why are they targeting our Jia Lie family?" Jia Lie Ku's expression changed, and he said tremblingly.
"Who can remain neutral when faced with such an advantage?" With a cold huff, Jia Lie Bi slowly exhaled, glancing briefly at Liu Xi, who was struggling under his imposing aura. He said in a cold voice, "I think this matter is probably related to the Xiao family."
"They can't be powerful enough to make the Mi Te Er Auction House refuse to sell us medicinal ingredients," Jia Lie Ao muttered.
"Hmph, who knows what conditions they used to sway the Mi Te Er Auction House." Jia Lie Bi stroked his aged face, an inexplicable unease rising in his heart.
"What do we do now? Without enough medicinal ingredients, our Rejuvenation Powder will quickly run out of stock. By then, no one will come to our market stalls," Jia Lie Ku said worriedly.
Jia Lie Bi's expression was grim. He gritted his teeth and said, "We still have quite a few medicinal ingredients here. First, send people to gather them and try to hold on for a while. If that doesn't work, I'll go to other cities to buy medicinal ingredients at a high price. I don't believe the Xiao family can extend their reach beyond this city!"
As he spoke, Jia Lie Bi instinctively picked up a teacup, but noticed his hand trembling slightly. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Jia Lie Bi felt an inexplicable sensation, as if the Jia Lie family had provoked something they shouldn't have.