48: Chapter 48: Sword Pointing Towards Foundation Establishment Shocks Everyone! Teasing a Beauty Under the Moon, a Mysterious Childhood Friend Makes a Visit.

[Your bamboo chopsticks were just about to clamp onto that steaming piece of Five-Treasure Spirit Poultry meat.]

["Clap, clap."]

[Liu Qingqing clapped her hands lightly.]

[The side door opened in response.]

[Two maidservants filed in.]

[Carrying lacquer trays with a pot of spirit wine and four small dishes, they silently filled the stone table.]

[Liu Qingqing did not reach for her bowl or chopsticks.]

[She clasped her fingers together, resting her chin on the backs of her hands.]

["Shall we talk?"]

[You placed the piece of spirit poultry meat into your mouth and chewed slowly.]

[The meat was firm, and the cooking was excellent.]

["Miss Liu's culinary skills are quite unexpected."]

["Don't change the subject."]

[Liu Qingqing picked up a celadon wine cup, brought it to her lips, but did not drink.]

["Dingsheng Trading Firm and Wanbao Pavilion have suffered a hidden loss; they will certainly not let this rest."]

["With three of their dogs dead, they will only release more mad dogs from their cages."]

["What does Shopkeeper Shen plan to do?"]

[You set down your bamboo chopsticks.]

[You pulled over a silk handkerchief to wipe the corners of your mouth.]

[Three methods of response flashed through your mind.]

[Retreat and defend? Reduce supply and avoid their sharp edge.]

[It's stable, but too slow; the Liu family's capital chain cannot last more than four months.]

[Meet them head-on? Dump top-grade spirit herbs and crash the market.]

[It would be satisfying, but it would easily expose the secret of the broken cauldron.]

[Then only the third path remains.]

["Swallow them up."]

[You spoke.]

[Liu Qingqing's fingertips paused slightly, the wine cup suspended in mid-air.]

["What?"]

["Annex Dingsheng Trading Firm and Wanbao Pavilion."]

[You picked up the wine pot and filled the empty cup in front of you.]

["They blockaded the Liu family's supply, betting that the Liu family would have no medicine to sell."]

["Now the roles are reversed; the top-grade supply is in the Liu family's hands, and they can only wait for death."]

["How do we turn this into a fatal blow?" Liu Qingqing looked at you.]

["Two steps."]

[You held up two fingers.]

["First, the Liu family's pill shops will offer a twenty-percent discount across the board. Use top-grade pills to suck dry all of those two firms' regular customers."]

["Second, once their cash flow breaks, the Liu family will enter as a creditor to buy out their pill shops, mine shares, and warehouses at rock-bottom prices."]

["In less than three months, the spirit herb market in Yunzhou City will belong solely to the Liu family."]

[Liu Qingqing set the wine cup down heavily on the stone table.]

[Wine splashed out.]

["You are insane."]

["Behind Dingsheng Trading Firm stands the mid-stage Foundation Establishment Ancestor of the Zhao Family, and Wanbao Pavilion even retains a Fourth-Rank Array Master."]

["What are you going to use to swallow them?"]

["Smash them with Mid-Grade Spirit Stone."]

[You picked up your wine cup and drained it in one gulp.]

["Foundation Establishment cultivators don't do losing business."]

["Once the bad debts become unmanageable, the Ancestor of the Zhao Family will run faster than anyone."]

["As for that Fourth-Rank Array Master, he signed an employment contract with Wanbao Pavilion; he will draw for whoever pays the highest price."]

[Liu Qingqing looked at the man across from her.]

[She was silent for a full twenty breaths.]

[A shopkeeper at Qi Refining Level 7, sitting in her backyard, was nonchalantly outlining the wild ambition of annexing the two giants of Yunzhou.]

[Yet every step this madman took was aimed precisely at his opponent's fatal weakness.]

["How much capital do you need?"]

["The Liu family puts up ten thousand, and Shens Shop puts up ten thousand."]

["Twenty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stone?"]

[Liu Qingqing stood up abruptly, "The Liu family's accounts currently cannot scrape together—"]

["I am talking about the massive profits after those twenty thousand." You interrupted.]

["Three months from now, the Liu family will monopolize the Yunzhou market. The annual profit will be at least one hundred and fifty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stone."]

[Liu Qingqing clenched her fists.]

["I will go find the Grand Elder to open the treasury."]

[April 15th.]

[The retaliation from Dingsheng Trading Firm tore off all pretenses.]

[Open robbery.]

[Two black-canopied carriages blocked the entrance of Shens Shop.]

[Six black-clad guards at the peak of Qi Refining Level 9 barged arrogantly into the front hall.]

[The leader, a man with a scar by the corner of his eye, was none other than the second shopkeeper of Dingsheng Trading Firm, Sun Tie.]

[Foundation Establishment Level 2.]

[Sun Tie, his hand resting on the third-grade short blade at his waist, strode toward the counter.]

[The spiritual pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was suddenly released, pinning the shop assistant Hu Wansan into a corner.]

["That Shen fellow isn't here?"]

[Sun Tie sneered.]

[He ripped down the mahogany storage rack behind the counter.]

[A dozen storage bags rolled onto the floor.]

["The Ancestor of the Zhao Family has given the word—you have three days to get out of Central Market Street!"]

["Otherwise, I'll go house to house and break the legs of anyone who dares to rent a shop to you!"]

[Hu Wansan's face turned deathly pale, and he huddled in the corner, trembling.]

[With a Foundation Establishment expert suppressing him, he found it hard even to breathe.]

[Sun Tie grabbed a storage bag, tore it open with brute force, and his divine sense crashed into it.]

[The rich medicinal fragrance of top-grade second-rank Peiyuan Grass instantly gushed out.]

[Sun Tie twitched his nostrils.]

["The quality is this good? Then it must be destroyed even more!"]

[He clenched his five fingers tightly, spiritual power gathering in his palm.]

[He was about to crush the entire bag of spirit herbs into dust.]

["Whoosh!"]

[A bone-chilling, deep blue sword light shot out from the gap in the curtain of the back hall.]

["Clang!"]

[Sun Tie instinctively drew his blade to parry.]

[The third-grade short blade vibrated violently.]

[The recoil traveled up the hilt and into his arm, forcing him to retreat three steps, the skin between his thumb and index finger splitting open.]

[You pushed aside the curtain.]

[You walked slowly into the front hall.]

[frostfall hovered beside you, the deep blue halo flowing across the sword's surface casting a ghastly white light on the surroundings.]

[Sun Tie's gaze fell upon that sword.]

[In front of frostfall, the aura of the third-grade short blade was completely suppressed.]

["Fourth-rank flying sword?!"]

[The six guards all went to reach for their weapons, but their movements froze halfway.]

[The pressure of the fourth-rank magical artifact spread out.]

[The six late-stage Qi Refining cultivators' legs began to tremble.]

[You took a step forward.]

["Hum—"]

[frostfall hummed lightly, its killing intent locking onto Sun Tie.]

[The tip of the sword hovered less than three inches from Sun Tie's throat.]

["You said, how many days?" Shen Ji's voice was calm.]

[Sweat appeared on Sun Tie's temples.]

[A Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator, wielding a fourth-rank flying sword, exuded a sense of oppression that made him unable to even think of resisting.]

["Take a message to the Ancestor of the Zhao Family."]

[You flicked your sword-finger, and frostfall returned to its sheath.]

["If he wants to touch my shop, tell him to weigh carefully whether his Zhao family can bear the karma behind this sword."]

[Sun Tie gritted his teeth and said nothing.]

[He fled in a panic with the six guards.]

[Hu Wansan slid down the wall to the floor, gulping for air.]

[The gaze he cast toward you was filled with awe.]

["M-Master... since you had such a powerful weapon, why didn't you reveal it sooner..."]

[You bent down to pick up the storage bag from the floor.]

["To save you from being scared out of your wits."]

[The news swept through Yunzhou City.]

[The Shopkeeper of Shens Shop, at Qi Refining Level 7, used a fourth-rank flying sword to force back a Foundation Establishment cultivator.]

[The wine shops and teahouses were in an uproar.]

[Night fell.]

[The Liu family's Martial Arts Arena.]

[You sat cross-legged on the bluestone platform, wiping the body of frostfall with a silk cloth.]

[Light footsteps approached.]

[Liu Qingqing was not wearing her training clothes; she had changed into moon-white casual attire.]

[She was carrying a black pottery wine jar in her hand.]

["The Grand Elder has nodded; ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stone will be allocated to the account tomorrow."]

[She sat down beside you.]

[She handed over the wine jar.]

["When Sun Tie came to cause trouble today, you used the flying sword to suppress a Foundation Establishment cultivator by force; that was too arrogant."]

[You took the wine jar and tilted your head back to take a swig.]

[The spicy wine burned your throat.]

["A third-grade short blade against a fourth-rank flying sword—a direct clash would surely break it; Sun Tie didn't dare bet his life on it."]

[Liu Qingqing turned her head.]

[The cold moonlight outlined her jawline.]

["Shen Ji."]

["You've thrown so many of your trump cards into the Liu family; what exactly are you after?"]

[You stopped the hand wiping the sword.]

[The Liu family has a deep foundation, and Liu Qingqing is a prodigy with dual Water and Wood spirit roots.]

[But at this moment, the only thing flashing through your mind was the scent of sword oil remaining on her fingertips when she handed you the wine jar.]

[You turned your head to meet her gaze.]

["I'm after you."]

[Liu Qingqing's body stiffened.]

[The night wind stirred up fallen leaves in the corner of the Martial Arts Arena.]

[She turned her face away.]

[A crimson flush appeared on her ears.]

["Madman."]

[She did not get up to leave; she snatched the wine jar back and took a big gulp herself.]

[The two sat side by side on the bluestone platform, listening to the night wind passing through the forest.]

[May 3rd.]

[The morning mist had not yet dispersed.]

[Shens Spirit Material Shop had just taken down its door panels.]

[A chaotic sound of horse hooves shattered the silence of the long street.]

[A large carriage made of red sandalwood stopped steadily in front of the shop.]

[The carriage curtain was lifted.]

[First to protrude was a thumb ring of top-grade, watery white jade.]

[Then, a young man wearing a brocade robe with gold-threaded crane patterns jumped down from the carriage shaft.]

[Brocade robe, jade pendant, deerskin boots—his entire outfit shimmered with precious light.]

[You were looking down, checking the account book, and looked up upon hearing the commotion.]

[Your gaze froze.]

[That face could not be more familiar.]

[Your childhood friend, Xiu Yun.]

[Logically speaking, since he had not taken that detoxifying pill, he should be critically ill and withered-looking right now.]

[Yet the Xiu Yun before you was full of vitality, his cheeks flushed with an eerie ruddiness.]

[He strode in with a splayed gait, crossed the threshold, and grinned, revealing his stark white teeth.]