In less than a month since the Blood-Staunching Powder had hit the market, the Xiao Clan had swallowed a staggering seventy percent of Wutan City's healing medicine trade. The immense profits had cast the entire clan in a festive glow. The gates that had stood somewhat desolate only weeks before were now thronged with visitors, bustling like a marketplace from dawn till dusk.
In stark contrast to the Xiao Clan's jubilation, the Jia Lie Clan was shrouded in gloom. Their earlier profiteering had earned them the resentment of the vast majority of mercenaries in the city, and to make matters worse, the Xiao Clan's Blood-Staunching Powder was noticeably superior in efficacy to their own Rejuvenation Powder. As a result, the Jia Lie Clan's healing medicine business had been pressed into near paralysis by the Xiao Clan. If not for the fact that the Xiao Clan imposed a daily limit on sales, the Jia Lie Clan would have been left without even scraps to fight over.
Although the healing medicine trade had shrunk, the profits it still generated remained considerable. Yet what truly gave the Jia Lie Clan a splitting headache was the sheer volume of medicinal ingredients required to sustain their refining operation.
As the city's largest reservoir of resources, the Mitel Auction House had flatly refused any further cooperation with them. The Jia Lie Clan gnashed their teeth in hatred over this material blockade, but no matter how furious they felt, they did not dare resort to coercion against the Mitel Auction House. Everyone knew that the power standing behind that auction house ranked among the foremost forces in the entire Jia Ma Empire. A small clan like the Jia Lie Clan, confined to Wutan City, possessed nowhere near the qualifications to provoke such a behemoth.
With the auction house route sealed off, the Jia Lie Clan had no choice but to sweep through every herb shop in Wutan City, buying up stock at prices several tiers above market value. Even so, this was merely a stopgap. Those modest herb shops simply lacked the capacity to sustain such an enormous, long-term demand.
More importantly, by now everyone in Wutan City could see the open hostility and killing intent brewing between the Xiao Clan and the Jia Lie Clan. To help the Jia Lie Clan at this juncture was tantamount to offending the Xiao Clan, whose fortunes were rising like the midday sun. Thus, after the first round of bulk sales to the Jia Lie Clan, many shop owners no longer dared to sell to them in large quantities. This collective reticence only rubbed salt into the Jia Lie Clan's wound.
Cut off in this manner, nearly eighty percent of the Jia Lie Clan's herb supply lines within Wutan City had been severed. The remaining twenty percent fell far short of what was needed to refine healing medicine. Driven to desperation, the Jia Lie Clan had no alternative but to purchase ingredients from other cities at exorbitant prices. Only then did they barely resolve the crisis of scarcity, but the cost was a further, drastic contraction of their already dwindling profits. Had it not been for the healing medicine trade propping them up, the Jia Lie Clan would have long since faced bankruptcy.
In Wutan City today, the Xiao Clan was riding the east wind of its healing medicine to ever greater heights, its influence vaguely threatening to overshadow the other two great clans.
...
The Market Stalls were noisy and teeming with life. Xiao Yan strolled lazily along the street, his hands clasped behind his head. Behind him followed seven or eight burly men clad in the uniform of Xiao Clan guards. Upon each man's chest were embroidered four or more golden stars — a clear indication that every one of these bodyguards possessed the strength of a Four-Star Dou Warrior or above.
The street was crowded with a surging flow of people. Many fierce mercenaries, their bodies still exuding the metallic tang of blood, would break into friendly smiles upon spotting the indolent youth. Those who knew him a little better would laugh and tease, "Little Stall Master, out on patrol again?"
Each time he heard that form of address, Xiao Yan could only tug at the corner of his mouth in helpless resignation and let out a quiet sigh. Half a month ago, Xiao Zhan had abruptly tossed him the task of managing this particular Market Stalls, calling it "tempering" with a perfectly straight face. The decision had sparked quite a debate within the Xiao Clan. A teenager managing an entire market was unprecedented in the clan's history. In the end, however, considering that Xiao Yan's status was no longer what it had once been, the dissenting voices reluctantly agreed. And so Xiao Yan, who had been enjoying a comfortable rest at home, found himself unceremoniously dispatched here.
Although the market was vast, what consoled Xiao Yan somewhat was that managing it was not nearly as exhausting as he had feared. Tedious matters such as street zoning and the pricing of prime storefronts he had simply dumped onto the veteran steward his father had assigned to him. His own daily routine consisted of nothing more than leading his band of brawny guards on a casual patrol, keeping order and ensuring security. Life, if truth be told, was rather free and easy.
Xiao Yan appeared mild and detached by nature, yet he harbored a genuine fondness for mingling with mercenaries and listening to their tales of thrilling missions, strange magical beasts, and rumors of a hidden cave somewhere in the mountains where a long-lost master had left behind a powerful technique. All of it stirred the adventurous streak buried deep in his bones until it burned hot, making him wish he could plunge straight into some remote, uncharted wilderness to hunt for those mysterious and powerful Dou Techniques and cultivation methods himself.
Xiao Yan was young, and his handsome, clean features made it difficult for anyone to feel ill-disposed toward him. Moreover, whenever a conversation grew animated, he had a habit of reaching into his robes and producing a vial of the limited-supply Blood-Staunching Powder as a gift. Naturally, this endeared him greatly to those forthright, bold-tempered mercenaries. As the days passed, the rate of returning customers at Xiao Yan's market became the highest among all the Xiao Clan's market properties.
Recalling the events of the past half-month, Xiao Yan smiled with a touch of sentiment. Days like these did not have much time left. In little more than a month, he would be leaving with Yao Lao to train on the road. After that, he might not return for a year or two.
Shaking off that faint trace of melancholy, Xiao Yan lifted his gaze. A thin, somewhat wretched-looking figure suddenly darted through the crowd and hurried toward him.
Pausing in his steps, Xiao Yan eyed the wiry man in plain clothes with a slight frown and said flatly, "Ke Lu, instead of pursuing your grand fortune-making enterprise, what are you doing running to me?"
The shifty fellow before him was a well-known "golden finger" in the Market Stalls — a euphemism for a pickpocket. Xiao Yan harbored no naive fantasy of eradicating such shadowy professions entirely. He understood clearly that where there was light, there was shadow. Although the occupation was hardly respectable, these people were exceptionally well-informed. No matter what happened in any corner of Wutan City, they would catch wind of at least a little of it.
"Hehe, Young Master." Ke Lu offered Xiao Yan a fawning smile, his thin face creasing obsequiously. "I've come to pass on a message, Young Master. I just got word from one of my boys that Miss Xiao Xun'er and her companions were accosted by some man of unknown origin at the outer edge of the market. He was speaking to them quite insolently. I rushed over the moment I heard."
"Oh, and — Jie Lie'ao of the Jia Lie Clan is there as well. He seems to know that fellow in the mourning-white robes. They've brought quite a few men."
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. The casual indifference on his face slowly gave way to a chill. He tilted his head a fraction and said softly, "Xiao Li, call everyone. Anyone still breathing, bring them all here!"
"Yes!" A brawny guard answered respectfully and immediately turned, sprinting toward the interior of the market.
"Lead the way." Xiao Yan jerked his chin at Ke Lu, his voice level.
Seeing Xiao Yan's expression turn abruptly frosty, Ke Lu nodded hastily, not daring to waste another word. He spun around and hurriedly led the way.
"That bastard actually dares to come onto Xiao Clan territory to harass... our people. If I, Xiao Yan, let you walk out of this market unharmed today, then I don't deserve to be called Stall Master!" Licking his lips, Xiao Yan's soft, icy murmur made Ke Lu's shoulders tremble involuntarily, and his pace quickened even further.