Chapter 31: Probe! Cooperation!

Four Seasons Building.

Located in the most bustling area of Miao Yin City, it has a profound background. Some even say that the Four Seasons Building is owned by the Miao Yin City Lord, but no one knows the truth.

However, this does not prevent the Four Seasons Building from being the most upscale banquet venue in Miao Yin City.

On this day.

Kang Zizai, the owner of Lin Chuan Pharmacy, hosted a banquet for Lu Qingyu and the owners of the other five major stores, including Rejuvenation Pharmacy.

In the evening, Lu Qingyu arrived as agreed.

"Boss Lu honors us with your presence, Kang is truly honored!" As Lu Qingyu walked up the stairs and into the private room, a portly middle-aged man in a brocade robe came up to greet him with great enthusiasm.

"Boss Kang is too polite."

Lu Qingyu responded with a smile, as one does not slap a smiling face.

Kang Zizai looked at the owner of Black Sand Pharmacy—

Composed!

Ethereal!

World-weary!

According to intelligence, this youth came from Black Wood Village in Jiuzhai County, under the jurisdiction of the Returning to Truth Sect. How could a mere local lad from a village, barely sixteen years old, possess such a demeanor?

Kang Zizai was astonished in his heart.

Lu Qingyu had been exposed to cultivation for almost a year, and the once hunched and frail youth had transformed into a handsome young man with sharp and sturdy features.

Standing tall, his temperament was vastly different.

The sense of time and vicissitudes left by the "Primordial" years, coupled with his experience as a celebrated alchemist in Black Sand Town and the Yuan Yi Guild, had forged a unique aura around Lu Qingyu.

At first glance, he seemed like an ordinary youth.

But on a second look, one would find the youth's maturity terrifying. Every gesture, if one were to overlook his face and the information known before, one might even mistake him for an experienced high-status man in his thirties!

The combination of two completely different images almost made one overlook the fact that Lu Qingyu was only sixteen years old.

"Boss Lu, please take a seat."

Kang Zizai, with his wealth of experience, casually swept his eyes over Lu Qingyu and smilingly invited him to take a seat.

In the private room, besides Kang Zizai, there were five others. Some tall or thin, some middle-aged or elderly. None as young as Lu Qingyu.

"Boss Lu, this is Boss Zhou Hong from Rejuvenation Pharmacy, and this is Boss Liu Ren from Renxin Pharmacy…"

Kang Zizai introduced the five people present to Lu Qingyu.

Whether it was Rejuvenation Pharmacy, Renxin Pharmacy, or Kang's own Lin Chuan Pharmacy in Miao Yin City, they were quite well-known and capable.

Their scale of business was far beyond comparison with Black Sand Pharmacy.

Their source of medicinal materials was through specific collaborations with medicine collectors from every major village in Guangyuan County and even Dangyang County, ensuring stability. Whereas Black Sand Pharmacy relied more on selling Spirit Clearing Powder and Nourishing Essence Pills, exchanging for medicinal materials from many martial artists in Miao Yin City.

The strength of the three major pharmacies all surpassed Lu Qingyu's Black Sand Pharmacy, leaving one to wonder what game they were playing.

Lu Qingyu's time was valuable; once everyone was seated and acquainted, he went straight to the point, "May I ask why the distinguished owners have summoned Qingyu here? What important matter is there?"

Upon hearing this, everyone didn't expect Lu Qingyu to be so forthright, thinking to themselves that it really is the impetuousness of youth.

After exchanging glances, Kang Zizai nevertheless laughed heartily, "Boss Lu is straightforward, and so I won't beat around the bush."

Only to hear him say, "A few days ago, people from the Green Jade Sect's Four Seas Hall approached Kang to act as an intermediary, wishing to buy ten elixir recipes from Boss Lu. As for the price, Boss Lu can name your figure. I believe with the power of the Green Jade Sect, you will not be treated unfairly."

Kang Zizai finished speaking, still smiling as he watched Lu Qingyu, paying close attention to any changes in his expression and demeanor.

"Requesting to purchase elixir recipes?"

Lu Qingyu's expression unchanged, he smiled and said, "Sorry, it is because of these recipes that Black Sand Pharmacy is able to stand in Miao Yin City, so they cannot be sold."

He, along with Lu Qingshan and Qingyu, relied on the Spirit Clearing Powder and Nourishing Essence Pills to sustain the resources needed for cultivation.

In the future, they still needed these to refine puppets.

How could he sell them so easily?

Elixir Pills like the Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pills were beneficial to cultivation and had not been seen in Miao Yin City by Lu Qingyu. Lu Qingshan also mentioned that he had not heard of any pills within the Returning to Truth Sect that could compare to the Yellow Dragon Pill.

It seems that either Lu Qingshan's status was too low to be privy to such things or the Returning to Truth Sect genuinely did not possess such elixirs for cultivation.

In either case, it highlighted the rarity of the Yellow Dragon Pill.

If Lu Qingyu were to sell the recipes for the Spirit Clearing Powder and Nourishing Essence Pills casually to the Green Jade Sect, with the Sect's strength, how could Black Sand Pharmacy compete?

And with the precious yet hard-to-sell Yellow Dragon Pill, it might be difficult to maintain operations in the future.

A one-time deal would truly not be worth it.

"Boss Lu speaks plainly; Kang admires that about you!" Kang Zizai showed no displeasure but flattered instead, "The Green Jade Sect is currently in severe shortage of all kinds of medicines. Since the recipes are inconvenient to sell, I wonder if Boss Lu would be willing to cooperate with the Green Jade Sect?"

"Cooperate?"

Lu Qingyu looked at Kang Zizai.

"Certainly."

Seeing that Lu Qingyu seemed interested, Kang Zizai quickly continued, "The Green Jade Sect will provide the medicinal materials, and Boss Lu's Black Sand Pharmacy will give priority to selling Golden Healing Powder, Blood Jade Ointment, Detoxification Pills, and other ten types of medicines to the Green Jade Sect. The profit margin can be converted into silver taels or other resources."

"How does Boss Lu feel about this?"

This time, Kang Zizai invited Lu Qingyu to the banquet with the primary goal of getting his hands on Lu Qingyu's elixir recipes. Having been refused, he sought a secondary alternative.

"Collaboration is indeed much sought after!"

Lu Qingfeng nodded in agreement.

Kang Zizai was overjoyed at the news.

The details of the cooperation were swiftly hammered out, and Lu Qingfeng, without delay, took his leave.

"Boss Kang, we didn't manage to probe anything this time!"

Zhou Hong, with his temples streaked with grey, watched from the window as Lu Qingfeng left straight away before turning to Kang Zizai and spoke leisurely.

"To be able to escape the heartland governed by the Returning to Truth Sect with his brother and sister in tow, how could this Lu Qingfeng be simple? According to intelligence, his strength is at least at the Seventh Layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm, having previously killed a deacon from the Punishment Hall of the Returning to Truth Sect. But from what we saw today, with no trace of his aura showing, it does not seem like he has achieved such accomplishments through inheriting and cultivating on his own."

Kang Zizai smiled without diminishing his cheer, his tone even, as a contemplative look appeared in his eyes.

On the side, Liu Ren, upon hearing this, frowned and said, "Does Boss Kang mean to say that this young man certainly has been taught by someone?"

"Eight or nine out of ten, Kang himself cannot be certain."

Kang Zizai shook his head, still smiling, "This time we didn't get the elixir recipe, nor did we probe out the person behind Lu Qingfeng, but at least we've established a long-term cooperation. Sooner or later, we will find out exactly who is standing behind the Lu siblings!"

...

"Testing."

Lu Qingfeng stepped out of the Four Seasons Building, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Kang Zizai and his people, though seemingly without leaving a trace, were actually just testing him, as could be deduced from their words.

That's to be expected.

Carrying his brother and sister along, Lu Qingfeng suddenly appeared in Miao Yin City and ran a pharmacy that was doing well; naturally attracting attention. That these tests came after two months, Lu Qingfeng even felt it was somewhat slow, overestimating the sensitivity of the people in Miao Yin City.

However, judging from Kang Zizai's courteous behavior throughout the day, he must have misunderstood that there were strong backers behind Lu Qingfeng.

Putting himself in their shoes, if Lu Qingfeng encountered three siblings who came from a village deep within the Returning to Truth Sect, passed through the barriers, overcame obstacles across mountains, and settled in Miao Yin City, while managing a pharmacy so successfully, it would be difficult to look down upon them.

"This is good too."

"At least we won't be short on medicinal materials!"

"We could also take the opportunity to collect materials for refining puppets through the Green Jade Sect."

Refining a puppet requires a vast amount of various materials. Although they are not precious and can be found anywhere in the Upper Sun Country, it's the volume that is overwhelming. For Lu Qingfeng, securing these materials would not be easy with his resources.

Having the Green Jade Sect run the errand would save him a lot of energy!

Of course, Lu Qingfeng also knew that long-term cooperation would easily expose his secrets.

Once Kang Zizai, or rather, the Green Jade Sect behind him, sees through the truth that there's no one backing Lu Qingfeng, it's unpredictable what actions they might take.

"In terms of elixir pills, the Golden Marrow Pills for the Late-stage Fetal Breathing Realm, the Qi Union Pill, and the Qi Movement Powder that have marvelous effects for advancing to the True Qi Realm and enhancing True Qi, are all mastered. Now, I can focus my main efforts on the research of puppets."

Lu Qingfeng felt a sense of urgency in his heart.

The Green Jade Sect could target him; who knows if the Miao Yin City Lord might as well?

Relying on Miao Yin City could deter the Green Jade Sect. As long as he didn't leave the city, even if the Green Jade Sect sought to hurt him, they could only operate in the shadows. In a situation where information was not symmetrical, he was confident he could escape.

But as for Miao Yin City!

After all, the three siblings were in Miao Yin City where if the Miao Yin City Lord really wanted to deal with him, casually dispatching a squad from the Black Armored Army would be enough to cause them immense trouble!

"Increase strength!"

Lu Qingfeng clenched his fists tightly and returned to his residence.

...

"Big brother!"

In the small courtyard, Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu stood anxiously waiting. Seeing Lu Qingfeng push the door and enter, the hearts they were holding finally settled down.

"It was just an invitation to a banquet."

Lu Qingfeng smiled reassuringly at the two.

Lu Qingshan pursed his lips without saying a word, but Lu Qingyu stepped forward and hugged Lu Qingfeng's arm and said in a flurry, "Who knows if it was a trap like the Banquet of Hongmen? What if those people, unafraid of the Miao Yin City Lord, poisoned the wine or the food?!"

Lu Qingyu was anxious ever since returning from shopping and hearing from Lu Qingshan that the big brother had gone to the Four Seasons Building for a banquet, she hadn't been able to settle down.

One moment she thought of signals with a clashing cup!

The next, of poison in the food and drinks!

She had frightened herself terribly.

Now seeing Lu Qingfeng return safely, she loosened up but still couldn't help but complain.

"..."

"Big brother, be more careful next time."

Unable to argue against Qingyu, Lu Qingfeng could only nod repeatedly, promising that he wouldn't take risks next time, finally managing to pacify her.

The three siblings chatted in the yard for a while.

Mainly about the awareness of safety!

Lu Qingfeng reminded Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu that they needed to be extra vigilant in the coming period, especially with the initiative contacts from strangers or their frequent appearances.

The Green Jade Sect might not find anything on him but couldn't guarantee they wouldn't target Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu.

Afterward.

Lu Qingfeng also answered some of their cultivation questions, before logging into "Primordial."

...