Chapter 9

Yin Xiaojiu has a kind heart, and due to her lack of combat experience, she defeated the son of Zhang Butcher entirely through sheer courage, using unskilled attacks to knock him down. She didn't even know what "pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger" meant.

However!

Ye Tong deeply understood the essence of this phrase and could apply it to perfection.

Feigning weakness to catch the enemy off guard.

Like alchemy, this was also... a technical skill.

Ye Tong deliberately showed a hint of hesitation and a bit of fear, even taking a step back as if out of cowardice, before loudly declaring, "I won't use poison, and you can't kill. Otherwise, Young Master Tong won't let you off."

"Ridiculous..."

Zhang Butcher, looking at the seemingly calm Ye Tong, was extremely confident. After all, Ye Tong was just a small fry at the first level of Qi Condensation, and his body was clearly weak. Facing such a lamb ready for slaughter, he only used seven-tenths of his strength, confident that he could beat Ye Tong half to death.

"Huh?"

Zhang Butcher's confident slap only grazed Ye Tong's scalp, but to his shock, Ye Tong's weak body fell in front of him.

What was going on?

Could his palm wind knock him down?

For a moment, he was stunned.

The moment Zhang Butcher raised his arm, Ye Tong fell in the direction of the incoming slap. When his hand touched the ground, he twisted his body and, in a swift movement, delivered a fierce kick to the back of Zhang Butcher's left knee. As Zhang Butcher knelt on one knee from the kick, Ye Tong's body was already upright, and he punched Zhang Butcher's back of the head with precision.

"Bang..."

Zhang Butcher's vision went black, and he fell flat on the stage.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Ye Tong, who had been through countless battles, was extremely experienced in combat. He immediately sprinted forward and kicked Zhang Butcher's head repeatedly, like a street thug. After more than twenty kicks, Zhang Butcher was knocked unconscious.

"Clap, clap..."

Ye Tong stopped his attack, clapped his hands, signaling the end of the battle.

It was too easy, too simple.

He himself didn't expect that a little trick could so easily defeat an enemy of the same realm. Was Zhang Butcher really a cultivator at the third level of Qi Condensation?

Around the stage.

Everyone was collectively petrified. Even the strong who saw through Ye Tong's feigned weakness didn't expect the anticipated battle to end in such a one-sided street thug-style beating.

Was it really that easy?

Could it still be a proper performance?

Countless people, filled with frustration, looked at Zhang Butcher, who only had a facade of strength, wishing they could wake him up and make him fight Ye Tong again.

A hundred meters away.

Mu Qianlan, with wide eyes, watched the scene on the stage, feeling particularly disoriented. She had already come nearby when Ye Tong was poisoning, and this small scene didn't usually attract her, but since one of the main characters was Ye Tong, she had settled down to watch. But was the match she had been looking forward to really over like this?

A pillow stuffed with flowers!

Mu Qianlan kept cursing Zhang Butcher in her heart, feeling disappointed.

"Princess, would you like to come into the carriage for a chat?" A faint voice came from inside the Qilin carriage.

Mu Qianlan was taken aback, then her eyes became particularly bright. Without any hesitation or obstruction, she stepped into the Qilin carriage.

On the stage.

Ye Tong looked at the dazed Tong Kaishan. With a cold glint in his eyes, a smile spread across his lips. "Young Master Tong, shouldn't you announce the result of the match?"

Tong Kaishan suddenly came to his senses, looked at the Zhang Butcher, who was like a dead dog, and then at Ye Tong. With a complex expression, he nodded and loudly declared, "I announce that in this match, Ye Tong is the winner."

Ye Tong clasped his hands and, under the watchful eyes of the restless crowd, bent down to search through Zhang Butcher's clothes, taking out a stack of silver bills. After counting out enough for 700 taels, he looked at the remaining two 20-tael bills, seemingly relieved, and said with satisfaction, "Horses don't get fat without night grass, and people don't get rich without unexpected wealth. The ancients were not wrong! I didn't expect that this kind of underhanded method in a match could make me so rich. With this thousand taels of silver, I can buy a lot of medicinal herbs and concoct more powerful poisons, right?"

A thousand taels?

Concocting poisons?

Around the stage, many adventurers who were envious of Ye Tong's silver bills could no longer control their greed and silently planned to find an opportunity to rob and kill. However, Ye Tong's self-talk was like a slap in the face, instantly waking them up. This kid, although not very skilled in cultivation, was good at poisoning!

What if...

He had even more powerful poisons? Robbing him would be like courting death!

For a moment, most people gave up the idea of robbing and killing, even thinking about staying as far away from this little poisoner as possible. After all, those skilled in poisoning were not good-natured people.

A short while later.

Ye Tong and Yin Xiaojiu hurriedly left.

He understood the cruelty of this world. Although using poison could deter some greedy people, for the sake of wealth, some might take desperate measures to kill for a thousand taels of silver.

"Brother Ye, where are we going?" Yin Xiaojiu looked at the familiar streets, her face full of confusion. If she remembered correctly, they had just passed here two moments ago.

Of course, they had!

Ye Tong remained calm on the surface but sneered inwardly. Even though he had deliberately taken two detours, there was still someone following them, clearly still eyeing the thousand taels of silver.

"To Wenya Zhai."

Ye Tong, realizing he couldn't shake off the follower, stopped circling and took Yin Xiaojiu down another main road, quickly arriving at Wenya Zhai, where Chang Wu greeted them with a smile.

"Little Brother Ye, didn't you bring any distinguished guests this time?" Chang Wu's smile was bright, but he was secretly disappointed. He knew Ye Tong was a poor man with no money to make.

Ye Tong took out 800 taels of silver bills and handed them over, saying, "I want to buy Iron Ring Grass."

Chang Wu, with his keen eyes, noticed that the stack of silver bills Ye Tong had taken out was worth at least a thousand taels. He asked in surprise, "In such a short time, you've gathered enough silver?"

Ye Tong said meaningfully, "The distinguished guests from Zifu County have plenty of silver. Whichever pharmacy can satisfy me, the nobles will naturally shower with gold."

Chang Wu's expression changed. He pondered these words for a moment and then laughed heartily, "Nobles are distinguished guests, and Little Brother Ye is also a distinguished guest! Since you've come to support me again, it's a face you're giving me. I'll give you a 10% discount on the Iron Ring Grass."

Saying this, he took out 80 taels of silver bills and pushed them back into Ye Tong's hand.

"Hehe..."

Ye Tong smiled inwardly but showed a satisfied expression on the surface, saying, "Since Manager Chang is so generous, if the nobles need to buy medicinal herbs in the future, I'll bring them to Wenya Zhai first. By the way, I also want two plants of Hundred Poison Mushrooms and Blood Refining Grass, the older the better."

Chang Wu's expression changed and he said, "Little Brother Ye, I have quite a few 20-year-old Blood Refining Grass plants. But for the Hundred Poison Mushrooms, I have two 300-year-old plants. What do you think?"

"I'll take them!"

Ye Tong's heart trembled, and he said resolutely.

Chang Wu paused for a moment and said, "Two Blood Refining Grass plants, 260 taels of silver; two 300-year-old Hundred Poison Mushrooms, 1,100 taels of silver. The total is 1,360 taels. I'll give you a 10% discount, so you need to pay 1,224 taels of silver."

Ye Tong frowned. He had enough silver, but could he get a better price?

He had obtained 5,000 taels of silver from selling the purple coffin, of which 2,000 taels were from the medicine slave. After deducting the silver for the Iron Ring Grass, he still had 2,960 taels.

Chang Wu, seeing Ye Tong's expression, couldn't help but feel contempt, even reducing his smile, and said, "Little Brother Ye, friendship is one thing, business is another. I've already given you a 10% discount. If you can't afford it..."

"I can't afford it, I'll buy it."

A clear voice came from outside the shop. Tong Kaishan, with a proud smile on his handsome face, walked up to the two of them.

It's him?

Almost instantly, Ye Tong realized that the person following him was probably Tong Kaishan. This guy was greedy and, while remembering the poisons, was probably also eyeing the thousand taels of silver he had won.

Damn!

Ye Tong felt a bit of killing intent towards Tong Kaishan but remained cold on the surface, saying, "Manager Chang, I don't have enough silver now. Wait for me for half an hour, and I'll go back to get the silver."

Chang Wu, who knew Tong Kaishan, hesitated for a moment after hearing Ye Tong's words, then shook his head and said, "Since Young Master Tong wants to buy, I can only sell to him. After all, there are only two 300-year-old Hundred Poison Mushrooms."

Ye Tong said sternly, "I bought them first."

Chang Wu replied, "But you don't have enough silver now."

Ye Tong was inwardly angry, staring at Chang Wu for a few moments, then said coldly, "Manager Chang, you will have bloodshed today and tomorrow. I planned to buy the herbs and help you resolve it, but since you are so unrighteous, I won't meddle anymore. I'm leaving now, and I hope you take care of yourself."

"You..."

Chang Wu didn't expect that Ye Tong, unable to buy the herbs, would dare to curse him. If he wasn't still hoping for the distinguished guests to buy herbs, he would have slapped Ye Tong.

"Goodbye!"

Ye Tong pulled Yin Xiaojiu and was about to leave Wenya Zhai.

Tong Kaishan narrowed his eyes, extended his arm to block their way, and said with a cold smile, "Little Master Ye, you seem to have forgotten something! When will you give me the triple dose of medicine?"

"Tomorrow."

Ye Tong said without hesitation.

Tong Kaishan raised an eyebrow and said with a cold smile, "I helped you on the stage, and you're still delaying until tomorrow? I want it today. If you waste my time, the consequences won't be good."

Ye Tong didn't want to break ties with Tong Kaishan now, at least not in front of others. Therefore, he said calmly, "Come to Zhenya Fang in the evening, and I'll give you the full dose."

Tong Kaishan thought for a moment and said, "Delaying until the evening, four times the dose."