Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 20 Abyss
The next morning, Liu Qingcang sat in the City Lord's Mansion with a bitter face again.

Yesterday, he came to Xu Bingkun, hoping the City Lord would offer some assistance. After all, Shen Tang had only asked Xu Bingkun to implement a simple new regulation, allowing the Shen's Trading Company, which had nothing, to establish itself in Xiazhou. With such a strong foundation, if the City Lord could also help support him, wouldn't he be able to outperform ten Shen's Trading Companies?
However, the proposal to promote the new regulations was made by Shen Tang, not Xu Bingkun. Xu Bingkun himself does not have any good business strategies.

He could only appease Liu Qingcang and said that he would ask Chen Jinnian, the director of the Alchemy Department, to issue a notice saying that the poison in the Shenqi Pill was not a problem.

The note was handed to Chen Jinnian, who smiled and said he would obey the city lord's order, but no one knew when the announcement would be made. Chen Jinnian was the foremost elixir maker in Xiazhou, a sixth-grade alchemist, a true treasure in this remote area. Xu Bingkun couldn't push him too far, otherwise, what would happen if he needed to treat an illness in the future?
After one night, the situation of the Danxia Gang did not improve at all, but became even more serious.

People went to major medicine shops to return the products, and the medicine shops also terminated their purchasing agreements with the Danxia Gang on the grounds that "the pills had major defects." Some of the people with connections even came to Liu Qingcang to claim compensation.

The medicine shop owned by the Danxia Gang was crowded with people early in the morning. People were not there to buy medicine, but to return goods.

Not only the Shenqi Pills were lost, but also the low-grade Qi-recovering Pills and the like.

The low-grade pills were all made by Lu Xingzhou's apprentices, strictly following his recipes. While their level of refinement was average, they definitely didn't produce the same toxic effects as the Shenqi Pill. Unfortunately, the Shenqi Pill's reputation had spread, and most people, unprofessional, assumed these low-grade pills were also more toxic than others, so they refused to buy them. No matter how the Danxia Gang explained, it was useless.

If this continues, the Danxia Gang’s medicine business will be completely over, and they will be back to the days when they were just medicine dealers.

"City Lord, I can't wait any longer!" Liu Qingcang beat his chest and stamped his feet in front of Xu Bingkun. "Chen Jinnian has been bribed by Lu Xingzhou now, so he won't be so kind as to help us dispel the rumors. Even if he really is willing, who knows how many days it will take before the opportunity is gone."

Xu Bingkun's expression was grim. His entire army had been wiped out, and he had no idea what had happened. He was already worried, so he didn't have the energy to bother with such trivial matters. He thought to himself, "Why are you acting like it's my responsibility when your own medicine business went wrong?" The new regulations apply to the entire city. Why didn't other businesses have problems, only yours?
But right now, he really needed Liu Qingcang to openly confront Shen Tang, so he suppressed his anger and said, "Then what do you think?"

"Chen Jinnian refuses to testify for the Shenqi Pill, but we can let him speak for the other pills." Liu Qingcang said hurriedly, "Our other pills are indeed flawless. The toxicity is even milder than those of other pills! Even if Chen Jinnian can't be relied upon, we can let others in the Pill Department speak for us."

Xu Bingkun asked, "Why is it that among all the pills you refine, the Shenqi Pill has a high toxicity, while the other pills have a low toxicity?"

Even Xu Bingkun doesn't believe this...

Liu Qingcang's face turned red. How could he have the nerve to say that the other elixirs were the legacy left by Lu Xingzhou, but he drove the man away and replaced him with a philandering man?

Xu Bingkun paced back and forth for a few steps before finally saying, "I heard your medicine shop is being blocked... With all this publicity, it's useless for the Medicine Master to just say anything. If you're truly confident, the best strategy is to put it out for public inspection. That would instantly dispel suspicion and even generate publicity. But if you deceive me and something goes wrong during the inspection, it could be disastrous. You should think carefully!"

Liu Qingcang was overjoyed: "There is absolutely no problem with the other pills!"

Xu Bingkun emphasized, "Most of the people here are cultivators, not all of them are ignorant! The Medicine Bureau will only tell the truth when conducting an inspection in public. They won't lie for you!"

Liu Qingcang patted his chest and said, "If there are any problems, I will take responsibility for them."

This was exactly what Xu Bingkun wanted to hear. He wrote another note with a sullen face, asking Liu Qingcang to go to the Alchemy Department to find someone.

Liu Qingcang breathed a sigh of relief, took the note and was about to leave when he suddenly turned back: "Lord City Lord, if you feel it is inconvenient for you to deal with Shen Tang openly, then I suggest that you cut off his arm first."

Xu Bingkun was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"Shen Tang quickly established herself in Xiazhou. Our offensive was easily neutralized, but she herself was left in a state of panic... Did the City Lord think it was all Shen Tang's own fault? No, it was because someone was plotting for her."

"Lu Xingzhou?"

"That's right... While these two haven't completely merged yet and are still just a landlord-tenant relationship, there's still a chance to defeat them one by one. Once they become closer, I'm afraid Shen Tangzhi's rise will be unstoppable."

When Liu Qingcang said this, he also felt wronged. The two of them had no relationship at all. The relationship started because he poached Bai Chi and drove away Lu Xingzhou.

Who could have imagined that the wind and clouds would converge like this...

He really didn't want to say more, so he left this sentence and quickly went to the Alchemy Department.

This time even Chen Jinnian agreed to go for the inspection. He just refused to speak against his conscience for the Shenqi Pill, but that didn't mean he refused to provide certification for normal pills.

The group rushed to the Danxia Gang's pharmacy, where a crowd of people surrounded it, nearly tearing it down. Liu Qingcang's voice echoed throughout the room, "Don't worry, elders! Our elixirs are flawless! Manager Chen will verify them publicly to dispel your doubts... Even if you can't trust me, Liu, you should at least trust Manager Chen!"

Chen Jinnian's reputation was truly high, and the noisy crowd finally quieted down, craning their necks to see the results. "Everyone, please be patient. If you doubt our Alchemy Department, you can invite an expert inside to inspect it with us." Chen Jinnian bowed to the crowd and led them into the alchemy shop.

There were still a few baskets of pills in the pharmacy that had just been delivered in the early morning. They had not yet been put into the cabinet due to the commotion... Chen Jinnian reached out and casually picked up a few pills to distribute to his subordinates, and he also took one for himself, broke it open and sniffed it.

Liu Qingcang looked at Chen Jinnian's expression expectantly... and then watched Chen Jinnian's face become uglier and uglier.

"Nonsense!" Chen Jinnian's hands trembled as he pinched the broken pill. "This is the most common Qi-recovering pill. Countless alchemists have come up with new ideas for it over the past thousands of years. It's almost considered an entry-level product. And you can't even make such a basic product like this! If you really can't make it, you can come to the Alchemy Bureau and buy a public prescription!"

Liu Qingcang angrily said, "How is that possible? Everyone knows that our elixirs are of the highest quality. This is how our Danxia Gang is established! Chief Chen, you are not doing this on purpose..."

Before he could finish his words, another civilian cultivator who had volunteered to come in and check on the product interrupted him harshly, "Who dares to speak nonsense in front of everyone? Your Qi-restoring pills are clearly ineffective. Why did you add so much mashed sweet potatoes to them? Is it because they taste better?"

Liu Qingcang: “?”

"After being neutralized by this, it's not even as effective as chewing the unrefined herbs directly! You still call this a pill? It's really shameful, and you still have the nerve to falsely accuse Chen Zhangshi!"

Someone else sighed, "It must be non-toxic... Otherwise, you'd be committing a grave crime by deceiving the public! Even if it were, you can't avoid the suspicion of passing off inferior goods as genuine ones. How dare you let us test it in public? Where do you get the guts..."

The public was in uproar.

You should know that one of the duties of the Alchemy Bureau is to check whether each alchemy shop is selling inferior products as good ones. Once verified, the shops can be directly sealed up and the fines can bankrupt the people!

Liu Qingcang was stunned. How could the Qi-restoring Pills that the apprentices had mastered for six months suddenly change? Could it be that this was the same thing Lu Xingzhou had brought out?

Thinking of this, he hurriedly said, "Chief Chen, everyone knows that our Qi-recovering pills use Lu Xingzhou's recipe, and he also taught us! If there's a problem with the Qi-recovering pills, it's Lu Xingzhou's fault!"

Chen Jinnian frowned and said nothing. So what you mean is that our Alchemy Bureau was derelict in its duty before, right? Even this kind of sweet potato pill was approved?
He walked over to the counter and tapped on it: "Pills of the Past, take out a few and let me see them."

The shopkeeper trembled as he took a few pills and distributed them. Chen Jinnian examined them for a moment and flew into a rage. "The pills from the past were flawless and of high quality. This one is clearly a result of your recent losses, where you've tampered with the formula to pass off inferior pills as good ones, hoping to quickly recoup your losses. And you're trying to throw mud at your former heroes! I know the Danxia Gang is such a character!"

Liu Qingcang's head was buzzing and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

He didn't think that if he treated his apprentices like cattle and horses, the cattle and horses would kick him in the face.

The kick from the hoof was so heavy that it felt like stepping into the eighteenth level of hell, making it almost impossible to turn over.

But elixirs cannot be made by tampering with them randomly. Apprentices who tamper with them will only produce a furnace full of waste slag. This is something that only experts can do!
If Lu Xingzhou did it, how could he have timed it so accurately?
Chen Jinnian announced angrily, "The Danxia Gang's medicine shop will be closed from today. The Medicine Bureau will urge them to make changes. Once the changes are complete, we'll reopen!"

Chen Jinnian turned away and led the crowd away. Liu Qingcang looked at the people gathered in three layers outside the house, feeling dizzy and confused.

At the corner of the street, Dugu Qingli pushed Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair and stood there watching for a long while before asking in a low voice with a complicated expression, "How can you be so sure that your apprentices dared to do this? You actually think it's okay to hand it over to anyone."

"Everyone has a temper," Lu Xingzhou said calmly. "Liu Qingcang has been allowing Bai Chi to bully them these days, leaving them furious but unable to speak out. Yesterday, to make up for the losses, he doubled their workload. This undercurrent of pressure only needs a trigger to burst forth. As their mentor who has been hand-in-hand for half a year, my provocation is the perfect trigger."

"Aren't you... afraid that Liu Qingcang will harm them after he returns?"

"So I originally thought this method was a bit hasty and didn't want to implement it so quickly. But now that I've decided to do it, let's do it thoroughly." Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, "While they were busy here, An Nuo had already gone to pick up the apprentices and left... With this group of apprentices, Shen's Trading Company can also establish its own alchemy system. I just wonder if Miss Qingli dares to deal with Liu Qingcang's anger?"

Dugu Qingli had no expression on his face.

The person who makes the decisions for Shen's Company is Shen Tang, not me. What's the point of you provoking me?

Anyway, you're here to watch the fun, so why did you specifically ask me to push the chair just because I participated in this? What does this have to do with me pushing the wheelchair?
The white-haired girl thought for a long time with a stern face, but she couldn't figure out the logic here.

(End of this chapter)