Chapter 9: Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

Drunken Star Tower was bustling with people coming and going.

Inside, a middle-aged man in fine clothes paced back and forth anxiously, while another middle-aged man sat beside him, appearing quite composed.

“Big brother, why is there no news from Liu An? Could it be that Ye Hang has cured the big man’s poison?”

The speaker was the one pacing, named Wan Dongyang, a kinsman of Wan Donghai and also a pill master. The one seated was naturally Wan Donghai, the owner of Drunken Star Tower.

Wan Donghai said calmly, “Dongyang, don’t be impatient. I know Ye Hang’s capabilities too well; he couldn’t possibly have cured that poison. Let’s just sit here and wait for good news.”

“Aiya, big brother, the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion has been our rival for so many years. Now that we finally have this opportunity, how can we not crush them completely to vent our hatred?” Wan Dongyang said through gritted teeth.

“Heh, Dongyang, you still need to change that rash temper of yours, or it will be hard to break through to the level of Grand Pill Master. The poison that big man suffered from is quite peculiar. If I’m not mistaken, it should be the legendary Seven-Colored Flowing Cloud Python venom. If I hadn’t come across a few lines about it in a fragmentary ancient text in my early years, we might have been the ones to suffer this time. But since I encountered it, it’s Ye Hang’s bad luck. However, bad luck aside, using this to topple Ye Hang is unlikely; at most, it will let us surpass them in business.” Wan Donghai remained as unruffled as ever.

Hearing Wan Donghai’s words, Wan Dongyang showed no displeasure on his face. The step from pill master to Grand Pill Master seemed simple but was actually as difficult as reaching the heavens; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so few Grand Pill Masters in the entire Qin Kingdom.

But he seemed unwilling to change his impatient nature and said anxiously, “Big brother, I still feel something is off. Why don’t we send someone to check on the situation over there?”

Wan Donghai, fearing he might alert the enemy and attract Ye Hang’s attention, had not sent anyone to gather information except Liu An. But if a commotion had broken out over there, they should have received news by now.

Could something unexpected have happened?

“Alright, send someone to investigate,” Wan Donghai said after a moment’s deliberation.

Wan Donghai wasn’t worried about Liu An’s safety; after all, on the surface, he had no connection to Drunken Star Tower and was just a beast hunter.

Wan Dongyang acknowledged and was about to go send someone when they heard urgent knocking at the door: “Tower Lord, something terrible has happened. Someone is causing trouble.”

With a “whoosh,” the door was pulled open from inside. Wan Donghai said coldly to the steward, “Who is it?”

“Who has the guts to stir up trouble in the presence of the God of Wealth? What are you all doing?” Wan Dongyang’s temper flared as soon as he heard someone was causing trouble.

The steward said with a bitter face, “They… they aren’t exactly causing trouble. They… they came to see a doctor.”

Seeing Wan Donghai’s expression darken, the steward quickly corrected himself, “No, no, no. They… they came to challenge us under the guise of seeking medical treatment.”

“Who exactly is it?” Wan Donghai’s patience was wearing thin.

“It’s… it’s that wastrel from the Ye family, Ye Hang’s son, Ye Yuan.” The steward said tremblingly.

“A wastrel scares you like this? Are you eating shit? Do you still want to be steward?” Wan Dongyang wanted to tear the steward apart upon hearing it was Ye Yuan.

“Forget it, let’s go to the front and take a look,” Wan Donghai commanded.

…

The three arrived at the front hall and saw a young man sitting boldly in the seat that should have been the steward’s. Wan Donghai shot the steward a fierce glare, but this was not the time to punish him.

Wan Donghai was about to deal with Ye Yuan when he caught sight of Liu An lying on the ground like a dead dog, and his heart skipped a beat.

Seeing Wan Donghai appear, Ye Yuan stood up unhurriedly, walked over to him, and said with a smile, “Tower Lord Wan, I’m afraid my visit today is rather abrupt. Please don’t take offense.”

The muscles on Wan Donghai’s face twitched. Suppressing the urge to slap Ye Yuan to death, he forced an ugly smile and said, “Not at all, not at all. So it’s my worthy nephew. I thought some blind little beast was causing trouble at Drunken Star Tower. If my worthy nephew had informed us beforehand, we wouldn’t have been so discourteous.”

Though Wan Donghai was gnashing his teeth with hatred, he wouldn’t let himself be outdone in words, calling Ye Yuan a little beast. Everyone knew that Drunken Star Tower and Medicine Fragrance Pavilion were at odds, but they still maintained a facade of harmony. After all, they were both open for business; if they really came to blows, who would dare to seek treatment in the future?

Ye Yuan sneered inwardly at Wan Donghai’s narrow-mindedness but still said with a smile, “Not at all, not at all. I was anxious to save a life and had no choice but to disturb you. I’ve long heard that Tower Lord Wan’s pill dao is the best in the Qin Kingdom, so I came to seek a method to save someone.”

At Ye Yuan’s words, Wan Donghai wished he could tear him apart. If Drunken Star Tower were the only establishment here, saying that would be one thing. But Ye Yuan had made a racket all the way to Drunken Star Tower, as if afraid no one would know he was coming to challenge them, attracting many peers who now surrounded the front hall in a tight crowd.

Calling Wan Donghai the best in the Qin Kingdom in front of so many peers was extremely malicious. After all, there were more Grand Pill Masters in the imperial city than just Wan Donghai and Ye Hang. Not to mention others, even the imperial family had a Grand Pill Master. If such words reached the imperial family’s ears, Wan Donghai would be sitting on pins and needles.

The imperial family’s intelligence network covered the entire kingdom; who knew if there were imperial spies among the onlookers?

Wan Donghai felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly, but he had to force a smile and say, “My worthy nephew, what are you saying? How dare I claim to be the best in the Qin Kingdom? At the very least, your father and His Highness the Imperial Uncle are no less skilled in pill dao than I. But I am curious why my worthy nephew came to Drunken Star Tower for medical treatment. Why not seek help from your father, a master of such skill?”

Ye Yuan smiled and said, “Necessity knows no law. First, Drunken Star Tower has always been revered as the best in the imperial city. Second, of course, it’s because it’s close by.”

As he spoke, Ye Yuan pointed at Liu An, who was like a dead dog, and said with a compassionate expression, “I encountered this man suffering terribly on the road. Thinking that heaven has the virtue of loving life, I brought him to Drunken Star Tower for treatment. Who would have thought that after several of your masters tried, they couldn’t handle it? This ‘best in the imperial city’…”

Wan Donghai suddenly realized he could gain no advantage over this young man before him.

Wait, didn’t Yuan’er send word yesterday that he had schemed to poison Ye Hang’s son to death? How is this brat alive and kicking at Drunken Star Tower today?

Not only that, if Ye Yuan had brought just anyone to cause trouble, Wan Donghai wouldn’t have taken it seriously. But he had brought Liu An of all people—this was too much of a coincidence.

If they cured him, fine; if not, what if Liu An sold out Drunken Star Tower? Liu An’s identity couldn’t be exposed. With so many peers and beast hunters present, once Liu An’s identity was revealed, it would be a huge blow to Drunken Star Tower.

Come to think of it, what had happened to Liu An? He was fine when he went to Medicine Fragrance Pavilion, just some internal injuries. How did he end up like a dead dog when he returned?

With his pill dao expertise, Wan Donghai could tell at a glance that Liu An had been poisoned. But what poison could stump so many masters and force the steward to call him out?

In an instant, many thoughts raced through Wan Donghai’s mind. He realized that today’s events were highly unusual. If not handled well, they might deal a heavy blow to Drunken Star Tower.