Chapter 9

At the Drunken Star Manor.

Streams of people can be seen busily going in and out.

In the manor, a middle-aged man dressed in a traditional outfit appeared very restless and kept pacing around non-stop. Beside him sat a middle-aged man who looked very calm.

“Big Brother, why isn’t there any news from that Liu An? Could it be that the brawny-looking man’s poison was cured by Ye Hang?”

The one talking was precisely the man pacing around, Wan Dongyang; he was Wan Donghai’s brother, an alchemist himself from the same sect. The person sitting down naturally was the Manor Lord of the Drunken Star Manor, Wan Donghai.

But Wan Donghai was composed and said unhurriedly, “Dongyang, remain calm. I am all too clear on Ye Hang’s abilities. It’s impossible for him to treat that poison. We just have to sit here and wait for the good news to come.”

“Aiya.  Big Brother, this Fragrant Medicine Pavilion has been competing with us for so many years. Now that we finally have this opportunity, how can we ease the hatred in our hearts if we don’t take them down completely?” Wan Dongyang gritted his teeth and said.

“Haha. Oh Dongyang, you really need to fix that short temper of yours. Otherwise, it will be tough to break through and reach the Alchemist Grandmaster Realm. The poison inflicted on that brawny-looking man was very peculiar. If I guessed correctly, it should be poison from the mythical Seven-Colored Flowing Cloud Python. If it wasn’t for the fact that I happened to read a word or two about it from an incomplete book, I’m afraid it would be our Drunken Star Manor who would suffer from this. But since I encountered it, then Ye Hang deserves to be unlucky. However, it’s only being unlucky. It’s not realistic to use this to bring down Ye Hang. At best, this matter would only let us suppress them in the business aspect.” Wan Donghai remained unperturbed.

Even though Wan Donghai said all that, there was not the slightest bit of unhappiness on Wan Dongyang’s face. The step from Alchemy Master to Alchemy Grandmaster might seem simple, but in reality, it was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Otherwise, there would not be so few Alchemy Grandmasters in the entire State of Qin.

However, this impatient temper of his was probably not going to change as he asked impatiently, “Big Brother, why do I keep feeling that something is wrong? Why don’t we send someone down to check on the situation there?”

Wan Donghai was afraid that if he acted rashly, he would alert and draw Ye Hang’s attention. Apart from Liu An, he did not send anyone else to inquire about the news. But if that side started to fight, they should have long received the news here.

Unless there really was an unexpected accident?

“Alright. You send someone to check it out.” After thinking for a moment, Wan Donghai agreed.

Wan Donghai was not really worried that something had happened to Liu An. After all, he and the Drunken Star Manor had no connections on the surface. He was merely a demonic beast hunter.

Wan Dongyang acknowledged the instruction and was just about to send someone down when he heard urgent knocking on the door. “Manor Lord, something big is happening! Someone is here to cause trouble!”

Hua.

The door opened from the inside. Wan Donghai said coldly to the shopkeeper, “Who is it?”

“Who is so audacious? To actually dare climb on top of our heads?! What are all of you doing?!” Hearing that someone was causing trouble, Wan Dongyang’s hot temper immediately surfaced.

The shopkeeper’s face turned bitter and said, “T-they didn’t really come to cause trouble . . . I-it’s just to get a treatment.”

Seeing Wan Donghai’s face sank, the shopkeeper hurriedly rectified his words. “No no no, t-they are using seeking treatment as an excuse to challenge us.”

“Who is it?” Wan Donghai’s patience was almost exhausted.

“I-it’s that silkpants from the Ye Family, Ye Hang’s son, Ye Yuan,” the shopkeeper said while trembling.

“Just a silkpants scared you until like this? Are you retarded? Do you still want your job as a shopkeeper?” The moment Wan Dongyang heard that it was Ye Yuan, he wanted to tear the shopkeeper apart.

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

. . . . . .

The three of them went to the lobby and saw a youth sitting in an ostentatious manner where the shopkeeper was supposed to sit. Wan Donghai glared fiercely at the shopkeeper, but right now was not the time to punish him.

Just as Wan Donghai was about to deal with Ye Yuan, he glanced sideways only to see Liu An who was like a dead dog on the ground; his heart jumped.

Ye Yuan saw Wan Donghai appeared and took his time to get up. He walked in front of him, smiled and said, “Manor Lord Wan, this Little Nephew came here rather abruptly today. I hope you won’t take offense.”

Wan Donghai’s facial muscles twitched a little and forcefully suppressed the impulse to slap Ye Yuan to death with one blow. Forcing out a slightly ugly smile, he said, “Not at all. So it was Honorable Nephew who came. I was wondering which blind little bastard dared to be so rude in our Drunken Star Manor. If Honorable Nephew wants to come, it’s better to notify us beforehand, so that we wouldn’t be discourteous.”

Even though Wan Donghai wanted to gnash his teeth in hatred, he did not want to suffer a loss verbally, and so he scolded Ye Yuan being a little bastard. Everyone knew that the Drunken Star Manor and the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion were enemies, but they would still appear to be polite and amiable on the surface. They were all businessmen; if they were to really fight, in the future, who would dare to come and get their illnesses treated?

Ye Yuan snickered in his heart at how narrow-minded Wan Donghai was, and yet, he was smiling as he said, “Aww shucks. It’s because I was anxious about saving people, and so I had no choice but to intrude. I’ve long heard that Manor Lord Wan’s Alchemy Dao is number one in the State of Qin. That was why this Little Nephew had the idea of coming here to save a life.”

Hearing what Ye Yuan was saying, Wan Donghai wished he could tear him apart alive. If there were only people from the Drunken Star Manor, those words would be fine. But on the way to the Drunken Star Manor, Ye Yuan caused a ruckus, as if he was afraid that people would not know he was bringing someone to challenge the Drunken Star Manor. He attracted many people, and currently, the Drunken Star Manor’s lobby was swarmed to the point where water cannot flow through.

To say that Wan Donghai was the number one in the State of Qin in front of so many people was clearly intentional. One had to know that the Alchemy Grandmasters in the capital were not only Wan Donghai and Ye Hang. Ignoring others, there was also an Alchemy Grandmaster in the Imperial Family. If these words were to spread to the ears of the Imperial Family, Wan Donghai would be sitting on pins and needles.

The intelligence network of the Imperial Family covered the entire state. God knows if there were a spy from the Imperial Family within the crowd.

Currently, Wan Donghai was feeling uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly, yet he had to smile and greet Ye Yuan, “What are you saying, Honorable Nephew? How can I dare to claim to be the number one in the State of Qin? At least your father’s and the Imperial Uncle’s Alchemy Dao standards aren’t below mine. However, I find it a little strange that Honorable Nephew came to the Drunken Star Manor to seek medical help. With an expert like your father, why didn’t you find him, but come to our Drunken Star Manor instead?”

Ye Yuan smiled and said, “It’s a matter of expediency. Firstly, your Drunken Star Manor has always been hailed as number one in the capital. Secondly, it was obviously because this place is nearer.”

As Ye Yuan spoke, he pointed to Liu An who looked like a dead dog, and with a face full of benevolence he said, “I met this person in excruciating agony on the road. Thinking about how heaven cares for every living thing, I brought him to the Drunken Star Manor to seek medical help. But who would have thought that even after swapping a few physicians, they still couldn’t do it. This capital’s number one . . .”

Wan Donghai suddenly discovered that he could not gain any advantage from this youth in front of him.

Something was wrong. Yesterday, Yuan-er even sent news back saying that he plotted to poison Ye Hang’s son to death. So why was this brat alive and kicking here today at the Drunken Star Manor?

Needless to say, if Ye Yuan casually found someone to cause trouble, Wan Donghai naturally would not be concerned. But he just had to bring over Liu An. This was indeed too much of a coincidence.

Things would be fine if he could cure him. But if he could not, what if this Liu An betrayed the Drunken Star Manor? Liu An’s identity cannot be known to the public. Apart from fellow alchemists, many demonic beasts hunters were also there. Once Liu An’s identity was exposed, it would absolutely be a tremendous blow to the Drunken Star Manor.

Then again, just what was wrong with Liu An? He was perfectly fine when he left for the Fragrant Medicine Pavilion. It was only some internal injuries. Why did he become a dead dog when he returned?

With Wan Donghai’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao, a single glance and he could tell that Liu An was poisoned. But just what kind of poison could leave so many masters completely helpless, and finally made the shopkeeper invited himself out?

At that moment, Wan Donghai thought of everything which had happened and realized it was highly unusual. If this was not handled properly, it might cause a massive blow to the Drunken Star Manor.