Chapter 71

After sitting quietly for nearly an hour, a pretty maid finally walked in from the door, holding a small silver tray with both hands. On the tray was a light pink ring.

Taking the silver tray, Xiao Yan dismissed the maid and personally handed it to Yao Fei, smiling and said, "Old sir, the medicinal cauldron and ingredients you need are all in the 'Storage Ring.'"

Reaching out to pick up the Storage Ring from the silver tray, Xiao Yan nodded slightly. The voice of Medicine Master also timely sounded, "Mm, after the successful refinement of the Qi Gathering Powder, I will bring it to you."

Yao Fei's beautiful eyes held a hint of joy as she hurriedly nodded.

"Alright, you don't need to see me off, I'll go out myself."

Waving his hand, Xiao Yan put the Storage Ring on his finger and walked out of the guest hall without looking back. He left the blue jade card on the table, not wanting to owe too much to others.

Watching the figure disappear behind the door, Yao Fei lightly bit her red lip, stepped forward, and took the blue jade card into her hand. After a brief moment of thought, she softly asked, "Uncle Gu Ni, the success rate of refining Qi Gathering Powder isn't very high, right?"

"Um, it's said that even Master Gu He, the Alchemy King, has only about a 70% success rate when refining Qi Gathering Powder. A normal fourth-grade alchemist might have less than a 50% success rate," Gu Ni said solemnly.

"But this old sir succeeded on his first try..." Yao Fei said, frowning slightly.

"Who knows, maybe he just had good luck..." Gu Ni shook his head, not taking it too seriously. After all, a large part of an alchemist's success in refining pills depends on luck. If the luck is good, it's possible to succeed several times in a row without failing.

"Could he... be more than a fourth-grade alchemist?" After a moment of hesitation, Yao Fei asked hesitantly.

"Ha ha, how could that be? In the Jia Ma Empire, there are only a few fifth-grade alchemists. At that level, even the empire and the Yun Lam Sect would treat them as honored guests. Why would they come to us to auction pills?" Gu Ni laughed.

Hearing this, Yao Fei nodded slightly and sighed, smiling bitterly, "It seems I still lack experience. My hesitation earlier probably reduced this mysterious alchemist's good impression of us."

"You can't blame yourself. With such a large amount of money, even I wouldn't dare to hand it over so easily. You've done well. As for the relationship, we can work on it slowly in the future. As long as he doesn't have a bad impression of us, it's fine," Gu Ni comforted her.

Nodding with a bitter smile, Yao Fei sat lazily in the chair, her curves exposed. Blinking her long eyes, she asked in a puzzled voice, "What does he want to do with so many low-grade medicinal materials?"

"Those materials have the effect of stopping bleeding and promoting bone growth. He probably plans to refine healing pills," Gu Ni said, frowning slightly after a moment of thought. "But why would someone of his status refine such cheap healing pills?"

Hearing this, Yao Fei's beautiful eyes narrowed, and her slender fingers lightly tapped the table. After a moment, she suddenly stopped and said softly, "It seems this old sir is quite considerate of the Xiao family..."

Gu Ni's eyebrows furrowed, his face full of surprise, "You mean, he wants to refine healing pills for the Xiao family?"

"Recently, I heard that the Cale family has hired a first-grade alchemist. The cheap 'Spring Revival Powder' has already taken away most of the popularity from the city's markets. If the Xiao family doesn't take action, they might end up with an empty market," Yao Fei's eyes flickered as she smiled faintly. "The old sir mentioned before that if there's an opportunity, he would cooperate with the Xiao family. And now, he's buying so many healing materials at this time. The purpose seems obvious."

"Heh, it looks like the Xiao family has really found a strong supporter. The Cale family is in trouble," Gu Ni grinned, his face showing some envy. To get the help of a fourth-grade alchemist is not something other families can easily achieve.

Nodding slightly, Yao Fei smiled, "We should also interact more with the Xiao family recently. Adding flowers to brocade is certainly delightful, but sending charcoal in the snow can strengthen the relationship even more."

Gu Ni nodded in agreement. With a fourth-grade alchemist backing them, the Xiao family was worth their attention.

...

Leaving the auction house, Xiao Yan, as usual, cautiously turned around for a while before turning into a secluded alley and changing his clothes.

Tossing the light pink 'Storage Ring' in his hand, Xiao Yan felt somewhat delighted. This Storage Ring is made from a rare material called 'Storage Stone,' which has a special small space inside to store any items without life force, making it extremely convenient. However, due to the rarity of 'Storage Stone,' the Storage Ring is very precious. The lowest-grade Storage Ring in Xiao Yan's hand has a space of only about three to four square meters, but even so, its price is close to 100,000 gold coins. In the Xiao family, Xiao Yan had only seen his father and the Grand Elder with such a Storage Ring.

Playing with the Storage Ring, Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment but did not put it back on his hand. Instead, he carefully tucked it into his chest. This ring is quite expensive, and if his father or others saw it, he would find it hard to explain where it came from.

Kicking the black cloak into the ditch, Xiao Yan carefully walked out of the secluded alley and ran back to the family compound.

Walking through the family compound along the small path, he passed by the meeting hall, where his father's angry shouts could be heard inside. His eyelids twitched, and Xiao Yan leaned in, peeking through the door crack.

"Damn it, that old bastard Cale Bi is too arrogant, daring to openly snatch business like this!" In the hall, Xiao Zhan was angrily slamming the table, his face livid. The tea in the cup splashed all over the table.

"The number of people in the Xiao family's markets has drastically decreased. The remaining merchants are also in a state of panic, and many have secretly run to the Cale family's market. If this continues, in half a month, our markets will likely go bankrupt," the Second Elder, sitting below, said with a dark face, gritting his teeth.

"Or... I can lead some of the family's elite to secretly kill that first-grade alchemist?" The Third Elder's eyes glinted with a fierce light, saying coldly.

"There are at least two Great Battlemasters guarding that alchemist. It's not that easy," Xiao Zhan waved his hand, sighing helplessly.

"But if we keep dragging this on, our losses will be too great. The profits from the markets in U Tan are a significant part of our family's income," the Third Elder said, unwillingly.

Xiao Zhan's mouth twitched. At this moment, he couldn't think of any other solution.

"That mysterious alchemist at the auction, didn't he say he would cooperate with us if there's an opportunity? From the respect Gu Ni showed him, his rank must be quite high. With his help, the Cale family won't be able to cause much trouble," the Grand Elder, who had been silent, suddenly said softly.

"Ah, who knows if he was just saying it casually. What can he gain from cooperating with us at that level? He wouldn't care about that bit of profit," Xiao Zhan laughed bitterly, shaking his head and sitting down in the chair, sighing.

The three elders were also silent. Indeed, the Xiao family found it hard to reach such a level of person.

"Damn it, let's endure a few more days. If the Cale family doesn't know when to stop, we'll have to fight to the death!" Licking his lips, Xiao Zhan's hand gripped the back of the chair, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

Outside the door, Xiao Yan, who had heard this, shrugged slightly, his hand touching the Storage Ring in his chest. A cold smile appeared on his lips as he slowly retreated.

(Seeking recommendations ^_^)