"Why did you stop talking?"
Beside me, Rachel Lan had come over at some point. Xu Fu smiled.
"If we keep talking, who will cook?"
I glanced at Rachel Lan, then at Xu Fu. I nodded, got up, and walked to the freezer to start picking out ingredients for tonight's meal.
"Rachel Lan, why has it been so quiet these days? Wasn't James Grant already captured?"
Xu Fu spoke as I immediately fixed my gaze on Rachel Lan.
But Rachel Lan didn't respond. She stared at me in silence, her gaze still cold and sinister. I gave a faint smile.
"Do you know anything about Wu's past?"
I asked, but Xu Fu shook his head.
"Of the twelve, Wu's past is the only one I don't know. Heh, if you want to know, go ask her yourself."
After dinner, Rachel Lan, looking exhausted, went upstairs again.
"Are you tired lately?"
I asked, and Rachel Lan stopped.
"You're the reason I'm tired, Ethan Zhang."
I responded with an 'oh', sat down, and Xu Fu poured me a glass of wine, handing it to me.
"Someone like Wu might not even exist in this world. The only time she showed emotion was on our quest for immortality. For over two thousand years, she's been like a perfect machine."
I felt this same sensation at the Nine Dragons Summit. I couldn't sense a trace of Wu—she didn't even have the aura of a person. Even the others from the Immortality Society had a human presence, but Wu had none of that.
In Jimo, Xu Fu noticed that many people here had caught colds. It was late autumn, almost winter, and Xu Fu knew that pills he refined worked better than decoctions for treating this illness.
"What are you planning to do?"
Wu watched Xu Fu as he bought a lot of herbs at a pharmacy, then found a furnace and began preparing to refine pills.
"Let's earn some money first, then head back to Linzi."
Wu couldn't guess what Xu Fu was thinking. She could only watch as Xu Fu worked all day. The next day, Xu Fu found some hair and attached it to his face, looking nothing like the wanted poster.
In the bustling marketplace, Xu Fu set up a stall and hung a long cloth banner: 'Specializing in colds, one pill cures all.'
Many people came to look, most of them skeptical. Xu Fu just smiled while some continued coughing.
After some persuasion, someone bought a pill.
The next day, even more people gathered at the stall. All 100 pills made the previous night were sold out, and it wasn't enough. Everyone praised Xu Fu's medical skills.
Xu Fu's pills worked quickly; after taking one, people felt better within a few hours.
By the third day, a long line had formed at Xu Fu's stall. Even local doctors came by, and when they saw his pills, they started shouting.
"Everyone, you'd better not trust this fraud. He's an alchemist—these pills could kill you! Have you forgotten? Years ago, the Queen Dowager died after taking an alchemist's pill!"
Xu Fu's mind buzzed. He looked at the shouting doctor, and a surge of anger flared within him. He hadn't forgotten what happened in the palace all those years ago.
At that moment, several well-dressed doctors came over, pushed aside the people buying pills, and smashed Xu Fu's pole to the ground, then started cursing.
Wu stepped forward and nudged her sword. The doctors immediately backed off in fear.
"Let's go. Looks like we can't sell medicine here anymore."
In the distance, a pair of soldiers were heading this way. Xu Fu quickly blended into the crowd, and the two of them left in haste.
Xu Fu soon learned that alchemists in Qiland are considered frauds. If caught, they're imprisoned and their earnings confiscated.
Wu and Xu Fu found shelter at a melon farmer's house outside the city. Once the authorities learned Xu Fu was an alchemist, soldiers were dispatched to arrest him.
"A country like this is doomed sooner or later."
Xu Fu muttered. Today, he saw that all the soldiers looked sickly and their numbers were few. Even in Linzi City, there were hardly any soldiers patrolling the streets. With the other five kingdoms retreating before the powerful Qin army, Qiland kept losing ground. Yet King Tianjian still refused to train troops and instead held banquets in the palace every day.
Rumor had it that Qinland would never invade. The people of Qiland believed there was no way Qinland could conquer the other five kingdoms alone. Everyone spoke of the Qin army's strength, but after decades of peace, no one truly believed it.
Qiland and Qinland had maintained diplomatic ties for over twenty years, which was seen as a guarantee of stability.
"Which country are you from?"
Xu Fu asked. Wu looked at him and shook her head.
"We don't really know which country we belong to. Don't ask so much. Just think about what to do next."
At that moment, Xu Fu was obsessed with obtaining the herbs for the Heavenly Dao Pill. He thought of Adam Dale, an exceptional medicine slave. Xu Fu knew he had to bring Adam Dale along. With Wu at his side, he felt secure, but what he needed most was a large sum of money.
His enemy, the Lin Clan—Xu Fu still remembered. The Xu family had been ruined, left homeless, and he wanted the Lin Clan to suffer the same fate. As for Adam Dale, he intended to take him along as a medicine slave.
"Are you going back to Linzi again?"
Xu Fu nodded. Now, aside from providing supplies and troops to Zhao Kingdom at the front lines, Yanland had no major wars. Though desolate, Yanland produced many rare herbs, so Xu Fu planned to go there.
This chapter isn't finished ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
The next day, Xu Fu and Wu skirted Jimo and headed toward Linzi. Along the way, Xu Fu kept thinking about how to ruin the Lin Clan and how to keep Adam Dale with him.
At this moment, Xu Fu hoped to find some talented people. He planned to decipher what Master Bernard Zheng left behind, knowing he couldn't do it alone. Xu Fu had already settled on the criteria for his candidates.
"It's evil, pure evil. Similar things attract each other, and evil is the reason the thirteen of us were drawn together."
Xu Fu spoke confidently before me, looking quite pleased with himself. I smiled.
I understood most of what Xu Fu explained. Even the simple Adam Dale could be evil—when survival is at stake, Adam Dale would do anything.
Back in Linzi, Xu Fu and Wu had completely changed their appearances. Wanted posters offering 200 gold for their capture still hung in the streets. Many swordsmen came, hoping to claim the bounty and live luxuriously for years.
At the King's Herbal Shop, Xu Fu noticed it was the perfect time to sell medicine, but the shop was tightly shut.
After watching for a while, Xu Fu sensed something was wrong. He learned the King Family had gone to Yanland for business and hadn't returned. Inside, only Adam Dale, Charles King, and some servants remained.
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Fu knocked on the back door. After a while, Adam Dale appeared, head hanging. When he saw Xu Fu, Adam Dale called out.
"Young master, why have you come back again?"
Xu Fu smiled and looked at Adam Dale.
"Adam Dale, do you want to see Dr. William King and Jin Xue?"
Adam Dale immediately looked excited, but Xu Fu told him not to mention it to anyone, or he wouldn't get to see them. Adam Dale nodded.
Xu Fu sensed something odd and decided to stay a few days. After asking around, he learned the King Family's business trip to Yanland had been arranged by Dr. Henry Lin to sell medicine, but they'd been gone for over a month and hadn't sent word.
"Heh, that Lin Clan is truly ruthless."
Xu Fu quickly understood the situation. Apparently, Dr. Henry Lin had tried several times to get Adam Dale back, but the King Family refused. The King Family was kind, generations of doctors who never used medicine slaves, so their medical skills were average.
At a struggling herbal shop, Xu Fu found the owner, whom he knew for selling fake medicine and having a bad reputation. Business had grown worse over time.
After bribing the owner, Xu Fu learned the Lin Clan wanted to dominate the market. Their method, like Hugh Xu's in the past, was to lure rivals into bad deals, convincing them with kind words to jump into traps.
Not just the King Family, but several other herbal shops in the city were affected. Their owners went to sell medicine and still hadn't returned.
Now, the Lin Clan had the biggest business in town. Tired of struggling shops, they aimed to take over all herbal trade in Linzi.
There used to be the Xu family, but since their downfall, the Lin Clan steadily expanded its power.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
Late at night, Wu watched Xu Fu plotting his next move.
"Heh, I need to give the Lin Clan a little surprise."
Xu Fu said, then looked at Wu and smiled.
"Tomorrow, go to the palace gate and find a maid named Lily Xiao. Give her some money and she'll come with you."
Wu nodded without asking why, but her anxiety was obvious. Her hand remained on her sword hilt.