Chapter 112: Chapter 94: Fishing for a Bee

Now that a weaker version of the Qi Blood Pill was available, it would be a huge help to his Martial Cultivation, no matter how poor the effects!

At most, others taking a Qi Blood Pill would probably have better results and cultivate faster.

But with these Qi Blood Pills, no matter how slowly, he was still making progress, wasn’t he?

So Monkey was indeed a little excited to hear this news.

Qin Fang, however, was a little surprised to hear this, and his brow furrowed slightly.

’The Qi Blood Pill... and this other Qi Blood Pill?’

’A weaker, cheaper substitute for the Qi Blood Pill?’

"This Ganlu Hall... What’s their story?"

Qin Fang asked, his brow furrowed.

"Ganlu Hall? They’re an old pharmacy in True Martial County, a century-old business. They’re a step below Huichun Hall, but not by much."

Monkey said quickly.

"Their Qi Blood Pills used to sell for twenty taels? And now it’s suddenly down to seven?"

"Yeah."

"And they’re saying it’s to ’give back to the community’?"

"That’s right!"

Qin Fang fell silent.

’Give back to the community... deeply moved by...’

’This kind of announcement, this kind of sales pitch...’

’...Why does this feel like one of those sales pitches for snake-oil supplements targeting the elderly?’

Monkey and the others seemed to have bought it completely, but Qin Fang, with his modern-world sensibilities, knew a certain truth all too well...

’Unsolicited kindness means they’re either plotting something or they’re a thief!’

’A gift that just falls into your lap... is probably a trap.’

’But... what’s their angle?’

"Where did you hear this from?"

Qin Fang asked curiously.

"I heard it from a few fishermen—we’re on good terms. They said the pills are supposedly selling like crazy over in Cuishui City. A lot of the townsfolk couldn’t help but buy them, and after taking them, they’re all saying the effects are fantastic!"

Monkey chuckled. "After that, I did some more digging. It’s not just Cuishui—in Pingze, Hongquan, Anbo... all those market towns, Ganlu Hall has opened new branches and started selling these Qi Blood Pills. And in every single one, they’re selling like hotcakes!"

’This is getting stranger and stranger.’

"Opening new branches... So you’re saying Ganlu Hall didn’t have branches in those market towns before?"

Qin Fang frowned, sharply picking up on the key detail.

Monkey paused, taken aback for a second, then nodded. "Yeah. After all, those market towns already have a Huichun Hall, and their medicines are famous for being good and affordable. Ganlu Hall actually tried opening branches in the markets before, but within a few months, Huichun Hall had snatched up all their business, so they had to close down."

"Some people are saying that since Huichun Hall ran into trouble, Ganlu Hall saw its chance. They’re expanding to seize the opportunity, hoping to replace Huichun Hall as ’True Martial’s Number One Pharmacy’ in one fell swoop. That’s why they came out with these ’Qi Blood Pills’."

Qin Fang’s brows were knitted tightly, but he didn’t say anything for a moment.

Monkey laughed. "Boss, weren’t you just complaining that the Qi Blood Pills were too expensive? Well, problem solved. Next time, I’ll go buy some for you from Ganlu Hall..."

"No. Stick with Huichun Hall."

"Huh?"

Monkey stared blankly at Qin Fang, confused. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Qin Fang said calmly, "This whole thing is strange. Ganlu Hall’s sudden burst of generosity doesn’t feel right... If you trust me, you should drop the idea of buying their Qi Blood Pills for now... Let’s just wait and see how things play out."

Hearing this from Qin Fang, Monkey paused for a moment. After some thought, he nodded. "Alright, Boss. I’ll listen to you."

Qin Fang nodded, then a thought occurred to him. "By the way, who’s in charge over at Pingze now?"

Monkey had just mentioned Pingze. The fact that Ganlu Hall was now opening a branch there meant the chaos in Pingze had ended and peace had been restored.

He hadn’t really kept up with the news from Pingze since he got back.

"Right now, Pingze City is jointly run by two gangs: the Dragon Fang Gang and the Celestial Spring Gang..."

At the mention of this, Monkey’s spirits lifted, and he began to chatter on excitedly about the news he had gathered.

Apparently, Pingze City had been in chaos for nearly a month, with countless gangs pouring in, all wanting a piece of the pie.

There were even a good number of Anjin experts among them.

After more than a month of bloody conflict and an untold number of deaths, the Dragon Fang Gang and the Celestial Spring Gang finally joined forces to drive out all the other competitors.

Now, the two of them are managing Pingze City together, just like the Iron Tiger Gang and the Four Seas Gang used to.

And both of their Gang Leaders are Anjin Martial Artists.

...In a prosperous market hub like Pingze City, you can’t possibly keep things under control without Anjin Cultivation.

Qin Fang just nodded upon hearing this...

’Whoever it is, it has nothing to do with me anyway.’

Monkey made a bit more small talk with Qin Fang before taking his leave.

Watching Monkey go, Qin Fang frowned slightly...

’Ganlu Hall...’

’The Qi Blood Pill...’

’Something about it feels very wrong.’

After a moment’s pause, he let out a soft sigh.

’Forget it. I can’t be bothered. It has nothing to do with me anyway.’

’I should focus on how to lure a Giant Bee up here tomorrow...’

...

「The next morning」

Qin Fang first went to the market. He bought some cane sugar, had some fresh meat sliced, and even got some pig’s blood. After wrapping everything in butcher paper, he grabbed a flask of water and set off for Old Ox Back.

He followed the familiar path to the spot where he had first discovered the Wild Boar King’s trail and began to cover the tracks.

For the trees with scraped bark, he smeared handfuls of mud over the marks, making them difficult to spot unless someone walked right up to them.

On the animal trail the Wild Boar King had used, many small branches had been snapped. He pulled these up by the roots, then gathered other branches and stuck them in the ground at random to obscure the original path.

By the time he finished, more than an hour had passed. ’This Wild Boar King really covers a lot of ground.’

Then Qin Fang arrived at the entrance of the cave, his eyes glinting as he gazed inside...

’I wonder if this will work...’

With that thought, he took out the cane sugar, dissolved it with water, and placed the mixture at the mouth of the cave.