"Nothing!"

Ding Fei shook his head.

"I spent half the day at the Drunken Fragrance Building, and no one mentioned a thing."

"Instead, everyone was talking about how the Jinyun Valley disciples have been strictly investigating the Market ever since the Valley Master came out of seclusion. Nothing special has happened these past few days, let alone any murders."

The Drunken Fragrance Building was a brothel.

It was a gathering place for all sorts of people, making it the best place for news. Rumors always started there first.

"That’s good!"

Chen Che let out a long sigh of relief, the faint worry he’d been feeling vanishing completely.

"If you hear any talk of murders or any other strange incidents, tell me immediately!"

’Being near a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who might be practicing an Evil Technique... just thinking about it sends a chill down my spine.’

Even if it was just speculation.

But he had to be on guard.

"Understood."

Ding Fei nodded. Seeing Chen Che close his eyes in silence, he couldn’t help but speculate.

’Could it be that this senior accidentally wiped out an entire family?’

’And now he’s afraid of being exposed?’

At this thought, he continued, "Actually, speaking of special incidents, there was one thing!"

"What was it?" Chen Che’s brow twitched.

"Li Hong, of course!"

Ding Fei sneered, his tone filled with indignation.

"Yesterday, a fight broke out in the Market, and Li Hong stepped in to stop it. He actually produced a Steward Token on the spot. I asked around afterward and heard that Jinyun Valley plans to expand and formalize the management of the Market, so the Valley Master put him in charge of it."

Even now, he remembered how that man had extorted fifty Spirit Stones from his shop.

"Li Hong became an Outer Sect Steward?"

Chen Che was surprised.

In Jinyun Valley, that position was second only to a Tributor and was usually given only to trusted disciples from within the Valley.

How could an outsider be worthy of such a post?

’Could it be related to what happened in the main hall that day, when Ye Jingzhou had Tributor Li stay behind for Alchemy?’

Just as he was thinking this, Ding Fei’s expression suddenly tightened. He gritted his teeth and said, "He’s here! Huh...?"

Chen Che looked up.

Li Hong was walking toward them. But what surprised Ding Fei was the young girl in a green dress beside him, who had lively, mischievous eyes. The once incomparably arrogant Li Hong was now acting utterly subservient in her presence.

Seeing this, Ding Fei’s eyes showed a trace of astonishment. He lowered his voice and said,

"That young lady’s identity must be something special!"

As Chen Che gave a slight nod, the two of them entered the shop, one after the other.

"Tributor Chen!"

After coming inside, Li Hong greeted Chen Che with an enthusiastic bow, his familiar manner making it seem as if the unpleasant business between them had never happened.

Then, he turned to the green-robed young lady beside him and made the introduction.

"This is one of Jinyun Valley’s only two Pill Master Tributors. Don’t be fooled by his youth; his Alchemy Skill is truly second to none. Even my own brother is far inferior! He’s also a renowned prodigy in Alchemy, famous throughout Jinyun Valley!"

"Moreover!"

Li Hong added emphatically, "He has been refining Pills for less than three years."

Chen Che narrowed his eyes.

The words sounded like the highest praise, as if the speaker genuinely believed them. If anyone else in Yunzhou had said it, he would have gladly accepted the compliment.

But coming from Li Hong...

"Are you really only seventeen?"

The young lady stared for a moment at Chen Che, who appeared more like a calm and reserved scholar than a Cultivator.

Chen Che answered truthfully, "I have indeed just recently turned seventeen."

The woman scrutinized Chen Che, then nodded, her tone tinged with admiration.

"The few Pill Masters in my clan studied Alchemy Skills since childhood and had masters to guide them, yet they could barely refine Middle-grade Elixirs by their twenties. To be able to refine Tier One High Grade Elixirs before the age of twenty... compared to them, you can indeed be called a genius."

Li Hong chimed in at the right moment.

"Miss Meng, I wasn’t lying to you, was I?"

Chen Che watched the two of them quietly, then his brow twitched slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an old man in gray robes standing in a corner outside the shop. He looked like a woodcutter, with a hunched back and a bundle of firewood at his feet. Though unremarkable in appearance, he possessed the Cultivation of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

The old man was sitting in a teahouse drinking water, but his gaze never left the young lady.

’This woman’s status is extraordinary. Could she be from some major family?’

Chen Che mused to himself.

As if guessing his thoughts, Li Hong introduced her without any reservation, "Tributor Chen, I forgot to mention, this is Meng Qingxuan, the granddaughter of the Meng Family’s Old Ancestor. I assume you know of the Meng Family?"

"So it is Miss Meng!"

Realization dawned on Chen Che. He had recently been cramming information about the various influences in Yunzhou.

Although Jinyun Valley was number one within a thousand-li radius,

in all of Yunzhou, among the five Foundation Establishment Influences, Jinyun Valley ranked last. The Meng Family, on the other hand, was ranked second, with a heritage stretching back over five hundred years.

Currently, the family had four Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and their Old Ancestor was at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment realm.

"Miss Meng is passing through and had some Pill-related matters to discuss, so I recommended you to her."

Li Hong chuckled and looked at Chen Che. "I trust you won’t disappoint Miss Meng, will you?"

"Oh?"

Chen Che understood. The man was pushing him into a pit of fire.

Generally, most Cultivators would not pass up the chance to associate with someone like Meng Qingxuan. Even forming a slight acquaintance could bring immense benefits in the future. But if there were truly benefits to be had, why would Li Hong push the opportunity his way?

Moreover, he had praised him so highly to her face for no other reason than to raise her expectations. If anything went wrong, it would surely cause her to become displeased.

This wasn’t Earth Element Star. Here, associating with people of high status and powerful backgrounds...

was like having a tiger by your side.

Thinking this, he turned to look at Meng Qingxuan.

She had already stepped further into the shop. With a raise of her delicate hand, Ding Fei respectfully took down the Pill she pointed at and deferentially presented it to her. The so-called ’Pills never leave the counter’ rule simply didn’t exist in her presence.

’I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Miss Meng...’

Chen Che thought, but shook his head in denial. "I’m afraid I’m all reputation and no substance. As for my Alchemy skills, they aren’t nearly as impressive as Steward Li has boasted. Otherwise, the Valley Master wouldn’t have left me out when he called for someone to perform Alchemy..."

The moment these words were spoken, Li Hong’s expression changed.

His plan had been perfect:

Flatter Chen Che, banking on a young man’s pride; elevate Meng Qingxuan’s status to tempt him into currying favor; and then use goading words to make it impossible for him to refuse...

But who would have thought that Chen Che wouldn’t take the bait at all.

"Tributor Chen, you’re being too modest!"

"I’m not being modest!"

Chen Che shook his head decisively, giving Li Hong no chance to speak, and turned directly to Meng Qingxuan.

"On this point, I believe Steward Li knows better than anyone. Before this, Steward Li publicly declared that my Pill Shop engages in nothing but fraud! For that, I even had to compensate him with one hundred Spirit Stones."

Here, he deliberately changed the story.

He turned the original incident of extortion into a dispute over Pills.

And while he was at it, he doubled the number of Spirit Stones.

If the other party could flatter him to death, why couldn’t he tell a bald-faced lie?

Li Hong’s expression froze.

But in the next moment, Meng Qingxuan, who had been looking down and appraising the Pill, glanced over casually.

"Is that so?"