Chapter 14: Poison Master

The Pill Medicine Department spent two days preparing and finally complied with the city lord's instructions to issue new regulations.

The new regulations state that the people of Xia Zhou have accumulated pill poison in their bodies due to long-term consumption of large amounts of low-grade pills. This not only hinders cultivation but may also lead to illness and even affect lifespan.

Since Xia Zhou is based on pills, the government naturally will not call for a reduction in their use. Instead, it advises various pill shops to place detoxification pills and purification talismans in the most prominent positions.

When the government did this, the people of Xia Zhou finally paid some attention, and the purchase of detoxification pills began to increase.

But detoxification pills are so expensive! Moreover, this thing is also a pill; isn't it a bit like pulling down one's pants to fart?

What is a purification talisman? It sounds like a type of talisman, but I've never seen anyone sell them!

Some big pill merchants who were familiar with Xu Bingkun went to see him and said, "City lord, the new regulations have already been issued. Many common people are asking about purification talismans. Originally, the Shen Clan Trading Company said they had a large batch of goods that could be used directly, but why did the city lord ask us to delay for a while?"

Xu Bingkun gave a slight cold laugh.

Of course, he wanted them to delay.

He, Xu Bingkun, had his own forces, and his own forces could also make similar talismans. At that time, large amounts of silver would all be his own, so he certainly would push this matter. Shen Tang's proposal was quite good. But if he let the Shen Tang side do it, at most he would get a little dividend, and even that would be a lot. There was no need to consider fundamental big benefits.

Moreover, he was not too willing to let the Tianxing Sword Sect rise in Xia Zhou.

He, as this city lord, had to respect the sect master in terms of morality. Now that the Tianxing Sword Sect was in decline and had to rely on him for care, it was still acceptable. Once the Tianxing Sword Sect rose, it would be hard to say who would have the final say.

Shen Tang was like a capable master with ideas. Xu Bingkun would rather replace her with a sword guest elder who didn't understand affairs as the sect master than see Shen Tang's revival. Of course, he wanted to put some obstacles in her way.

Delaying the time for Shen Tang's sword talismans to enter the shops would allow his own forces to quickly make substitutes. This would both suppress Shen Tang and earn money for himself, achieving two goals with one move.

Originally, it would have been better to even delay the issuance of the new regulations. Who knew this Shen Tang was also smart and went directly to the Pill Medicine Department on the spot to implement the matter? He couldn't immediately slap himself in the face after saying those words in front of her, so he could only first admit it. He still had to put on a show of great righteousness and urge the Pill Medicine Department to quickly issue the new regulations. It was incredibly frustrating.

Xu Bingkun didn't explain thoroughly to the pill merchants, he just said, "Anyway, it's fine if you all just delay for two or three days."

The pill merchants looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Although the city lord had power, who doesn't have some connections these days? Xia Zhou's name sounds nice as a state, but it's actually just a large county level. Many people in the city have connections with the prefecture, so they may not listen to you about everything. What's the use of just us few families delaying?

Xu Bingkun knew what they were thinking and stroked his beard, saying, "At least they still have to give this old man a little face by delaying a few days, just go."

As soon as he finished speaking, a subordinate rushed in, "City lord, city lord!"

Xu Bingkun frowned, "Panicking, panicking, what manners?"

The subordinate carefully accompanied, "Jishi Pavilion, Yunpo Xuan, Yuyuan Danfang, and more than ten other pill merchants have already signed agreements with the Shen Clan Trading Company and put their 'Sword Soul Pure Spirit Talisman' on the shelves!"

Xu Bingkun stood up abruptly. It would be okay if it was just a few families; perhaps Shen Tang had some other connections. But what was going on with so many families?

Were they all not giving this city lord face?

"Originally, Shen Tang herself indeed only settled agreements with three or four families. But early this morning, when the Town Demon Department people were patrolling, they had this Sword Soul Pure Spirit Talismans stuck on their chests, and it spread throughout the city. Some pill merchants originally politely refused the Shen Clan, but when they saw that the Town Demon Department had already started using it, they felt this matter was unstoppable and feared falling behind others, so they quickly ordered agreements with the Shen Clan."

Xu Bingkun rubbed his head, feeling a terrible headache.

The Town Demon Department was directly managed by the court; they only obeyed the city lord's orders and were not subject to his control. Furthermore, Sheng Yuan Yao was an official from the capital and the beloved daughter of Vice Chief Catcher Sheng! He really couldn't manage this kind of rich young lady.

This time it was difficult to handle. With long-term agreements from more than ten large pill merchants, the lingering Tianxing Sword Sect could instantly be reborn like a phoenix, and the Shen Clan Trading Company would directly establish a firm foothold. The bet between Shen Tang and those elders was even more without suspense.

Even if others made similar things to compete in the market a few days later, many common people would still have the first impression of recognizing the Shen Clan signboard. Moreover, this woman even gave it such a nice-sounding name and made the talismans so beautiful.

"Alright, in the end, I can still get a share of the pie..." Xu Bingkun's eyes narrowed slightly, "Come, go invite Gang Leader Liu of the Danxia Gang to come see me. It seems they had some friction with the Shen Clan over competing for talent?"

Liu Qingcang was recently both pained and happy.

He was happy because the "Sheng Qi Pill" was very popular in the market, and the price was being inflated even higher. He could see a broad source of wealth entering.

So, what use was Lu Xingzhou? He only knew how to refine those mass-produced pills; he wasn't even as good as a single hair of Bai Chi.

He was pained because one of the main materials for the Sheng Qi Pill was Han Ying Grass.

Han Ying Grass was originally an external medicinal herb, not suitable for internal use, and naturally not very suitable for refining pills. Therefore, there were not many historical plantings. They had only recently started refining Sheng Qi Pill and had a little stock temporarily, and hadn't thought to stockpile large amounts.

As a result, a few days ago, who knows which brain-damaged person abruptly made a large acquisition, causing the already scarce Han Ying Grass in the market to become extremely scarce, and the price soared.

Their Danxia Gang hurriedly bought the remaining Han Ying Grass in the market at high prices, but it was still not enough to support long-term use.

Liu Qingcang took a two-pronged approach: on one hand, he sent people to other cities to acquire it, and on the other hand, he widely planted it on his own medicine mountain. This thing matured quite quickly, growing in just two or three months. Anyway, the price of Han Ying Grass was high now, and even if he couldn't use so much himself, selling it would still bring a big profit.

When he received the city lord's invitation, Liu Qingcang was just very satisfied inspecting the planting situation of Han Ying Grass on the mountain. Hearing the words made him even more ambitious: "Even the city lord wants to cooperate with this seat. Indeed, Mr. Bai is a lucky star."

Bai Chi smiled reservedly from the side, "The apprentices that Lu Xingzhou brought are too poor in skill... I'll re-bring a batch when I have free time."

How could Liu Qingcang not hear that this was meant to give "Lu Xingzhou's old subordinates" a hard time? In fact, these days, Bai Chi did nothing all day but find trouble with those apprentices for fun, treating them as cattle and horses and deducting their wages. The apprentices' complaints were everywhere.

But now Bai Chi was a hot commodity, and Liu Qingcang himself also wanted to remove Lu Xingzhou's remaining influence, so he also turned a blind eye. Deducting wages also fattened the gang... anyway, the apprentices' contracts were there, so those people couldn't run even if they wanted to. As for Lu Xingzhou, he himself now only deserved to mix with a newly arrived chamber of commerce that had nothing. Could he still help those old subordinates?

"Oh right," Bai Chi said again, "I still hope the external procurement of Han Ying Grass is faster. It's running out quickly, and waiting for these to grow won't be in time."

Liu Qingcang patted his shoulder, "This seat will first go see the city lord and must implement it quickly upon return."

Not far down the mountain, he just encountered a team of people escorting a carriage back to the mountain. It was exactly the gang members he had sent out to acquire Han Ying Grass.

Liu Qingcang frowned, "Why are you all back so soon?"

The gang members quickly saluted, "Gang leader, we had just left the city not long ago when we met a merchant team from a neighboring county on the road. They happened to have a cart of Han Ying Grass, so we just brought it back."

Liu Qingcang uncovered it and took a look. Indeed, it was a full cart of Han Ying Grass, and the quality looked quite good. "So coincidental... at what price did you buy it?"

The gang members laughed, "Gang leader, rest assured, it was just at the current market price. This cart is two hundred fifty taels of gold."

It was indeed expensive. After all, medicinal herbs were generally counted in a few qian, and a whole cart's worth was a considerable quantity. Even at the previous low price, it would still cost several dozen taels. Now that the price had soared, this price was not too outrageous.

Liu Qingcang roughly estimated a bit and found that compared to the market price, it was actually slightly lower, seeming like they were just making up a whole... but it still hurt him greatly.

He had previously been drained of almost all his spirit stones by Lu Xingzhou. Recently, he had again acquired the remaining Han Ying Grass in the market at high prices and acquired a large amount of seeds to plant himself. Now, the Danxia Gang really didn't have much cash... this two hundred fifty taels of gold almost drew out half of their working capital again.

Forget it, he could earn it back soon anyway. He sighed and waved his hand, "First take it up the mountain and put it in the warehouse."

At the Shen Clan Trading Company, Lu Xingzhou was playing with a gold ingot in his hand, tossing it up and down.

A Nuo sat cross-legged, hugging a large pile of gold ingots, happily lying on top and laughing, "Gang Leader Liu is really a good person."

Lu Xingzhou laughed, "Wrong, we are good people. Gang Leader Liu still has to thank us for solving his urgent problem."

Shen Tang sat in front of them speechless, turning her head to look at the warehouse over there. It was originally full of Han Ying Grass, but now it was empty.

Du Gu Qing Li stood behind her, her cold blue eyes staring intently at Lu Xingzhou, her face still expressionless. She didn't know what she was thinking.

Right, the so-called "neighboring county merchant team" was actually the Tianxing Sword Sect people pretending. They were selling the Han Ying Grass they had previously stockpiled.

"You knew early on that one of the main materials for their Sheng Qi Pill was Han Ying Grass?" Shen Tang couldn't help but ask, "This is the Incense Burning Building's exclusive pill formula, how did you get it?"

"Huh? I don't know his exclusive pill formula, but as an alchemist, it's still very easy to roughly figure out what ingredients are in a pill of a certain grade and quality. Letting me pay money to buy a Sheng Qi Pill already gave Bai Chi a lot of face."

"......"

Lu Xingzhou bared his teeth and smiled, "Who would have thought that Han Ying Grass, a thing not suitable for refining pills, could unexpectedly be used by the Incense Burning Building? I also have to admire the alchemist predecessors' courage to think and try. It's a pity, the pill poison of the Sheng Qi Pill is too heavy, and it's also because of this medicinal herb... especially since Bai Chi is eager for quick success, the proportion might still have a little problem, and the toxicity is even heavier."

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

Precisely because this thing was not suitable for refining pills, very little was planted, which was exploited by Lu Xingzhou. But if it were a widely planted thing, this money couldn't be earned.

Now the problem seemed to be not just about earning this one sum of money...

Lu Xingzhou put away his smile and said in a low voice, "Should we spread the word? About the pill poison of the Sheng Qi Pill."

Shen Tang took a deep breath, then exhaled, "I already had people spread the word that day. It should ferment in these two days."

Once the matter of the Sheng Qi Pill's heavy pill poison fermented at this time, not to mention that the sales channel for the Sheng Qi Pill would be gone, the Danxia Gang's high-priced purchase of Han Ying Grass would be even more of a blood loss. This was still bearable; after all, it was just a loss of several hundred taels of gold, which the Danxia Gang could afford.

But what about the large area of Han Ying Grass planted on that medicine mountain?

Should they temporarily dig up the Han Ying Grass and replant other things?

Lu Xingzhou wasn't trying to just slap the Danxia Gang from the beginning. When he proposed the idea of purifying pill poison, from beginning to end, he wanted the Danxia Gang to die!

He really didn't need to compete with them in refining pills. He was still attaching this to the strategy of the Tianxing Sword Sect establishing a firm foothold.

Where did this poison master pop out from... Did the Danxia Gang push this kind of person hard from their own side to become the opposite side?

Shen Tang finally couldn't help but ask, "So, the idea of purifying pill poison that you proposed to me that day was all just for this one step?"

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look at her and smiled gently, "You said, this is mutual assistance."

After finishing, he pointed his finger outside the window. Many Tianxing Sword Sect people were gathering towards the meeting hall. "Look, the three-day period has arrived. Your bet has to be fulfilled, hasn't it? Congratulations in advance, Sect Master Shen."