As he spoke, several gang mbers beside him tacitly drew the short blades from their waists, narrowing their eyes at the ruffians.
The mont they saw the blades, the ruffians were clearly intimidated.
Their mouths twitched, and finally one of them gritted his teeth. "Every market has a Hotown Gang! You of Fishern’s don’t respect the rules... Fine! We’ll concede this ti. Just you wait!"
With that, the n slinked away.
The bystanders, who had been startled at first, watched them retreat into the distance. Then, soone suddenly shouted, "Well done!"
"Hotown Gang? Pah! A bunch of animals! Nothing but bloodsucking leeches!"
"Yeah! A bunch of animals!"
The onlookers had clearly been bottling up their rage for a long ti. Now that it was unleashed, they began to curse furiously.
These Hotown Gangs only ever exploited their own people... After all, people from other towns wouldn’t give them the ti of day.
During the recent upheaval, the Hotown Gangs in Fisherman City had been all but wiped out.
But now that order was returning to the market and it was starting to get busy again, this scum had cropped up once more.
And in the past two months, without the Hotown Gangs’ extortion, the common folk’s earnings had seen a visible increase—after all, their cut was a full twenty percent!
The difference was night and day.
It made them realize just how much of their blood and sweat had been extorted back when the Hotown Gangs were around.
Now that life was finally a little better, they’d crawled out of the woodwork again. How could the people not despise them?
But most of the common folk were angry but didn’t dare to voice it. The ruffians were good-for-nothings with nothing to lose, while they had families to feed. How could they dare to confront them head-on?
But now, the Fish Dragon Gang had stepped in and driven those n away, naturally earning the cheers of the crowd.
That Fish Dragon Gang mber had probably never been cheered on by the common folk like this before. His eyes lit up at the sound.
His face flushed, and after clearing his throat twice, he announced, "Everyone, our boss has decreed that Hotown Gangs will no longer be permitted in Fisherman City! Today was just a warning, so please spread the word. If anyone tries to use the Hotown Gang’s na to exploit you and disrupt the market again... you can co and tell us in secret. When that ti cos, the Fish Dragon Gang will see that you get justice!"
Hearing the Fish Dragon Gang mber’s promise, the crowd erupted in cheers once again, and the man grinned so widely his eyes nearly vanished.
Qin Fang’s eyes flickered as he watched the scene.
Then he turned and left.
A few days passed in a flash. Qin Fang summoned Monkey, gave him a letter he had already prepared, and then took out four hundred silver.
’Two Qi Blood Pills a day... that’s twenty silver.’
’The progress was gratifying, but he was also spending money like water.’
And it wasn’t just the Qi Blood Pills that needed replenishing... His supply of Blood Circulation and mbrane Stabilizing Powder and the skin ointnt was also about to run out.
’These two dicines were also extrely important.’
’They were essential to his Training thod.’
’He couldn’t afford to be careless with them.’
Qin Fang had Monkey use three hundred silver to purchase Qi Blood Pills. The remaining one hundred silver was for his senior brother, who was to prepare more Blood Circulation and mbrane Stabilizing Powder and skin ointnt for him.
Monkey had practically beco his exclusive ssenger, running to the county town every ten days or so to deliver letters and buy dicine.
Of course, Qin Fang didn’t let him run these errands for free, giving him three to five silver each ti.
Monkey refused at first, but eventually gave in to Qin Fang’s insistence and accepted the money.
This made him even more respectful and awestruck by Qin Fang, and he ran his errands with greater enthusiasm.
’Of course, relationships needed to be maintained.’
’But asking people to do things for you based on goodwill alone, without ntioning money, is just taking advantage of them. Over ti, that goodwill will fade.’
Qin Fang understood this principle deeply.
So, it wasn’t just Monkey; he’d casually reward anyone who helped him with a small sum of money.
A small price to pay for their loyalty.
To him, it was a trivial amount.
But to the mbers of the Fish Dragon Gang... his generosity was considered lavish!
As a result, the perception of him throughout the Fish Dragon Gang had changed from simple awe to a mixture of respect and affection.
He had never given Xu ng any money, though.
After all, Xu ng was an acquaintance through his senior brother, and they interacted as equals. Giving him money would have been inappropriate.
「Two days later.」 Monkey returned, bringing the items Qin Fang needed and a letter in reply from his senior brother.
He unfolded the letter and began to read.
With Monkey acting as a ssenger, the two martial brothers could finally communicate frequently. His senior brother shared news from True Martial County Town, while Qin Fang passed along information he’d gathered from Xu ng.
According to his senior brother’s letter, Huichun Hall had fallen on hard tis. The deaths of two Anjin masters had left them severely weakened.
The destruction of their branches in various cities was an especially devastating loss.
Huichun Hall had even gone to the Governnt Office for help, attempting to use official power to resolve so of their troubles.
But the results were not to their satisfaction.
However, things seed to have quieted down since the assassination attempt; their opponent hadn’t made any further moves recently.
After reading the letter, Qin Fang thought for a mont before carefully folding it and putting it away.
Monkey waited patiently for a mont before speaking in a low voice, "Sir, I have so bad news."
"Oh?" Qin Fang looked at Monkey, puzzled.
"The price of Qi Blood Pills has gone up."
Monkey said with a hint of resignation, "They used to be ten silver a piece, but now... the price has risen to fifteen."
Qin Fang was stunned for a mont, then his brow furrowed.
’Of course. Huichun Hall suffered such heavy losses; naturally, they’d look for ways to recoup them as quickly as possible.’
’So in the end... I’m the one who has to cover their losses?’
Qin Fang’s expression darkened.
Finally, he asked, "Are there any other shops in the county that sell Qi Blood Pills? We’ll switch to a different one next ti."
Huichun Hall was the largest pharmacy in True Martial County, but it wasn’t the only one. Other pharmacies should have Qi Blood Pills as well.
"But Sir, Huichun Hall’s Qi Blood Pills have always been known for their high quality and low price. Other pharmacies sell them too... but according to feedback from those who’ve used them, their effects aren’t as good as Huichun Hall’s. And... they’re more expensive."
Monkey said helplessly, "I actually checked the other pharmacies this ti. I went to Renxin Pharmacy, Shoukang dicine Shop, and Ganlu Hall—they’re all well-known shops... and the price of their Qi Blood Pills was over twenty silver..."
Qin Fang was stunned. After a long, speechless mont, he let out a soft sigh. "Forget it. If the price has gone up, it’s gone up..."
’Hearing it like that, it almost seems like Huichun Hall is the one with a conscience.’
’Wait a minute.’
’Soone is targeting Huichun Hall...’
’Could it be for the Elixir Recipe for the Qi Blood Pill?’
’Better effects, lower price...’
’The profit margin must be huge.’
Qin Fang’s thoughts ran wild.
But then he shook his head.
’No, that doesn’t seem right either.’
’Because the incident with Wang Hu and Cao Zhen involved a Demon.’
’Soone is clearly orchestrating a larger plot.’
’Just for an Elixir Recipe?’
’It hardly seems worth all this fanfare.’
In the end, Qin Fang could only shake his head.
’There are too few clues. I can analyze it all I want, but I can’t prove anything. Any conclusion I reach could be completely wrong.’
’Besides, it has nothing to do with .’
’It’s just... the Qi Blood Pills are suddenly five silver more expensive, which has made my once-comfortable financial situation a bit precarious again.’
’The literary path is for the poor, the martial path is for the rich!’
Qin Fang sighed.
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