Chapter 99: What Is Your Master's Name?

"To be honest..."

"This formula..."

The white-haired old man started to speak but paused, seeming hesitant. He looked up at Ye Fei and asked in a low voice, "I'd also like to know where exactly you obtained this formula. You wouldn't happen to be an alchemist trained by the Chongming Hall, would you?"

"Chongming Hall?" Ye Fei frowned, confused. "What the heck is that?"

"Chongming Hall is a renowned association of traditional Chinese medicine theory in Jiangnan Province. It's said that any practitioner who manages to join is essentially a master physician of the highest caliber. They monopolize nearly seventy percent of the medical supply in Jiangnan Province."

"Moreover, if you want them to treat a patient, the asking price starts at a hundred thousand, with no upper limit."

"You could say it's a commercialized organization."

Before the white-haired old man could explain, Chen Yu stroked her pointed chin and elaborated word by word.

"Correct."

"Young lady, are you also—"

The white-haired old man looked at Chen Yu with considerable surprise.

"I'm the chairman of Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical."

"I'm sure you've heard of us, sir."

Chen Yu replied with a smile.

"Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical?"

Hearing that name, the girl beside them clearly had a look of astonishment appear on her face. She gently covered her small mouth and said, "Is that the Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical that rose to fame and made a name for itself in just a single year?"

"That's right."

Chen Yu was quite pleased with the young girl's surprise and beamed a brilliant smile.

"It seems the two of you have come here today with no small purpose."

But the white-haired old man merely gave a faint smile and said, "I've heard that Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical has recently provoked three competitors, and with quite a few loopholes exposed within the company itself, it probably won't be long before you face a massive crisis, am I right?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you've come to procure these herbs in order to refine the Clear Pulse Pill and rescue Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical from imminent disaster, haven't you?"

"How... how do you know that?"

At those words, both Chen Yu and Ye Fei were taken aback.

This old man...

His instincts were truly sharp.

To guess the two of them's purpose so easily, just like that?

"To be frank, I've been keeping an eye on this matter recently as well. Over the past year, Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical has released quite a number of affordable, high-quality medicines, and for those patients, those medicines are indeed a good thing." The white-haired old man said slowly. "But, this is essentially forcibly taking a slice of the pie from other pharmaceutical companies. If Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical wants to make a name for itself once again, it will be very difficult."

"But with the Clear Pulse Pill, it becomes much easier."

Chen Yu was momentarily at a loss for words. Though she hadn't recognized who this old man was, judging by her years of business experience, this old man was clearly someone of no small background, and his every word revealed his unique insight.

What's more, being able to guess Ye Fei's intentions so quickly was no small feat in itself.

"Old man, you're right."

"I do indeed plan to use the Clear Pulse Pill to save Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical."

"But, that doesn't really have anything to do with you, does it?"

Ye Fei narrowed his eyes and stared at this white-haired old man, speaking with a smile on his face.

He could tell that this old man had something more to say.

But as for what it was—

He couldn't quite sense it.

"You must be misunderstanding me, sir." The old man laughed. "As for the origin of this formula, we can discuss that later. Out of goodwill, I want to warn the two of you—if you intend to use the Clear Pulse Pill to carve out a share of the pharmaceutical market, then you will run into much bigger trouble."

At those words, Chen Yu and Ye Fei were stunned once again.

"Bigger trouble?"

"What do you mean?"

Chen Yu's beautiful brows furrowed slightly.

"Is it that Chongming Hall thing?" Ye Fei asked.

"Precisely." The white-haired old man nodded and said in a low voice. "The reason Chongming Hall is able to hold such a large share of the market isn't just because they have experts guiding them behind the scenes. A large part of it is because of how ruthless they are toward those peers who refuse to submit."

"Among them, there are also alchemists like yourself, who specialize in refining so-called elixirs through ancient methods. Every single pill they sell is subject to extremely strict restrictions. If anyone within the organization sells them privately, they face enormous penalties."

"It is precisely through such means that Chongming Hall has made a name for itself far and wide."

Hearing this, Ye Fei let out a snort of derision and said, "Seems to me that's not exactly a clean method either. Old man, are you trying to tell me that if I push the Clear Pulse Pill out through Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical, that Chongming Hall will definitely come after me?"

"Indeed."

The white-haired old man nodded and smiled. "I may think well of Spring-Autumn Pharmaceutical, but if Chongming Hall sets its sights on it, it will be struck off the registry within three days."

"And..."

"There won't be the slightest room to save it."

Hearing this, Chen Yu couldn't help but shudder, a trace of indignation appearing on her face. "If Chongming Hall dares to do such a thing, I won't hesitate to fight them to the bitter end! It's nothing more than an association—what right do they have to be so ruthless as to wipe us out completely?"

The white-haired old man merely smiled and said nothing.

Instead, he fixed his gaze on Ye Fei.

As if—

He was waiting for his response.

"Just prepare the herbs as I told you." Ye Fei waved his hand, not taking the old man's words to heart, and said casually, "That Chongming Hall isn't worth mentioning. If they really come looking for trouble, we'll deal with it then."

Hearing this, a faint gleam of inscrutable approval flashed in the white-haired old man's eyes. He said softly, "Xiuxiu, go to the back and prepare this gentleman's herbs."

Hearing this, the girl beside him quickly nodded, picked up her tools, and began gathering the herbs Ye Fei needed.

"As for the question you asked earlier—"

"All I can tell you is that this formula was passed down to me by my master."

Ye Fei yawned and responded to the old man's earlier question.

Consider it—returning the favor.

After all, regarding the existence of Chongming Hall, Ye Fei and Chen Yu had been completely in the dark.

This old man had had no obligation whatsoever to inform them.

"Your master?"

"Your master wouldn't happen to be named Zhao Jinxin, would he?"

The old man hastily pressed on upon hearing this.

"How..."

"Where did you hear that name?"

Ye Fei was clearly taken aback.

The name Zhao Jinxin...

It was indeed his master's name.

Except, it was his master's former name.

That lazy and gluttonous master of his, before taking Ye Fei as a disciple, had been a wandering Taoist who had made no shortage of enemies during his travels. To conceal his identity, he'd gone by countless names.

Zhao Jinxin was the one name he, the old man, liked the most.

Because his master had once used that name to charm quite a number of beautiful women.

That story was something his master never tired of telling.

Ye Fei had lost count of how many times he'd heard it.

He could probably recite it in his sleep.

"He..."

"How is he doing now?"

But rather than answering directly, the old man asked with a tense expression.