The morning sun rose slowly over the misty peaks of the Green River Region, casting a golden hue over the bustling cobblestone streets of Pine Creek Town. Today was a critical day for every shopkeeper and herbalist in the valley—it was the day of the annual Herbal Trade Assessment, held at the town's central square under the supervision of the local Medical Guild.
Every year, the guild gathered to inspect the quality of medical shops, collect regional trade taxes, and settle business disputes between rival herbalists. For small, traditional establishments like Medicine Harmony Hall, it was usually a day of quiet administrative duty.
However, as the iron bell at the town square rang three times, an uneasy tension hung heavy over the street.
Doctor Song-Jiang walked down the wooden steps of Medicine Harmony Hall, his old face etched with deep anxiety and worry. In his hands, he held a weathered leather ledger containing the shop's financial records and herbal licenses.
Beside him, young Xiao-Lian carried a heavy wooden tray containing samples of their finest dried roots and ginseng salves.
"Doctor Song, you seem troubled," Li-Wen spoke smoothly, walking at his side in his simple blue cotton scholar's gown. His posture was light, his eyes clear and calm, entirely unaffected by the nervous energy buzzing through the streets.
Doctor Song-Jiang let out a heavy, tired sigh, his grip tightening on his wooden walking staff. "Ah-Wen... you don't know the dark undercurrents of these assessments. In previous years, it was merely a formal check of our herb quality. But three years ago, the Lin Merchant House bought off two of the chief judges on the Town Medical Council."
Doctor Song-Jiang looked at the bustling town square ahead, his eyes filled with bitterness. "They have been slowly increasing the back taxes on independent medical shops. If a shop cannot pay its accumulated debts during the assessment, the guild has the legal authority to auction off the shop's land and force its workers into debt-servitude to repay the council. I fear... Young Master Lin-Tian will use this very day to strike at us."
Xiao-Lian's small fists clenched tightly around the tray handles. "Master! We paid our regular taxes every month! It's the Lin Merchant House that fabricated those ridiculous 'herbal transit fees' on our shipments!"
Li-Wen gently patted Xiao-Lian's shoulder, a faint, reassuring smile on his lips. "Do not worry, Xiao-Lian. Law and regulations are like water—they can be used to drown someone, but they can also be redirected to wash away dirt. Let us see what tricks this Lin Merchant House has prepared."
The town square was packed with hundreds of local villagers, mountain herbalists, and shopkeepers. At the elevated northern side of the square sat a grand wooden pavilion.
Inside the pavilion sat three chief judges of the Medical Guild, dressed in elaborate silk robes adorned with silver medicinal badges. Sitting right in the center of the judges was an arrogant, sharp-eyed middle-aged man named Judge Zhao—a corrupt official secretly receiving massive bribes from the Lin Merchant House.
And standing right beside the judge's table, sipping tea from a delicate white jade cup with a cold, triumphant smirk, was Young Master Lin-Tian.
Behind Lin-Tian stood his tall, silent bodyguard, Shadow-Blade, whose hands rested casually on the pommel of his poison-coated dagger, his cold eyes sweeping over the crowd like a hunting hawk.
As Doctor Song-Jiang, Li-Wen, and Xiao-Lian approached the pavilion, the surrounding crowd fell into a quiet, hushed whisper.
"Look, it's old Doctor Song from Medicine Harmony Hall!"
"I heard the Lin Merchant House has been eyeing his prime real estate near the stream for months..."
"A shame... without high-tier backing, small shops like his stand no chance against Judge Zhao and the Lin family."
Judge Zhao set his calligraphy brush down, looking down at Doctor Song-Jiang with an icy, condescending glare.
"Doctor Song-Jiang of Medicine Harmony Hall," Judge Zhao announced in a loud, stern voice that echoed across the square. "According to the town's commercial ledger, your shop has defaulted on three consecutive quarters of the regional 'Herbal Inspection Tax' and transit tariffs, accumulating a total debt of eighty silver pieces."
Doctor Song-Jiang stepped forward, bowing respectfully, though his voice trembled with righteous indignation. "Chief Judge Zhao! Those transit tariffs were arbitrarily doubled by the Lin Merchant House last winter! According to the imperial town charter, independent medical shops are exempt from transit tariffs on wild mountain herbs gathered within twenty miles!"
"Silence!" Judge Zhao slammed his wooden gavel onto the table with a loud BANG!
"The town charter was updated six months ago by the council!" Judge Zhao sneered coldly. "Debt is debt! Today is the final deadline. Can Medicine Harmony Hall pay the eighty silver pieces immediately? If not, according to guild law, your shop's deed shall be confiscated, and your inventory liquidated to satisfy the Lin Merchant House's claim!"
Old Doctor Song-Jiang felt a surge of cold blood hit his head. His body swayed slightly, his eyes turning pale. Eighty silver pieces! That was an astronomical sum for a small shop that treated poor farmers for copper coins!
"Hahaha, Doctor Song, why suffer in your old age?" Lin-Tian stepped forward, his gold-embroidered robes rustling as he fanned himself with a silk folding fan.
Lin-Tian looked past the trembling old doctor, his greedy, narrow eyes fixing directly upon Li-Wen standing calmly behind him.
"However, our Lin Merchant House is not heartless," Lin-Tian said in a smooth, hypocritical tone. "We deeply respect ancient medical traditions. Therefore, under Section Nine of the Medical Guild Code, I offer Medicine Harmony Hall a chance at redemption through a Public Medical Refinement Challenge!"
The entire crowd gasped!
"A Public Medical Challenge?!"
"That's a traditional duel between medical halls! If the challenged shop loses, they lose everything!"
Judge Zhao stroked his mustache, a pre-arranged smirk appearing on his face. "Indeed. Under Section Nine, if Medicine Harmony Hall can successfully complete a medical refinement test set by the challenger, your eighty silver pieces of debt shall be completely forgiven by the council!"
"And if we lose?" Doctor Song-Jiang asked in a hoarse, trembling voice.
Lin-Tian's cold, predatory smile widened. "If you lose, Doctor Song will forfeit the deed of Medicine Harmony Hall to my family. As for your young assistant there..." Lin-Tian pointed his silk fan straight at Li-Wen's nose. "...he must sign a thirty-year labor contract with the Lin Merchant House as an indentured herbalist to pay off your remaining interest!"
Xiao-Lian gasped in horror. "You... you bullies! You just want to steal Brother Ah-Wen's medical skills!"
"Xiao-Lian, step back," Li-Wen spoke softly.
Li-Wen gently placed his hand on Doctor Song-Jiang's shoulder, stabilizing the old man's trembling body with a microscopic pulse of steadying energy. Then, Li-Wen stepped forward onto the center of the stone platform.
His blue cotton scholar's gown fluttered gently in the morning breeze. His expression was serene, his dark pupils reflecting no fear, no anger, and no hesitation whatsoever.
"Young Master Lin," Li-Wen's smooth, clear voice echoed distinctly across the quiet square. "You wish to test medical refinement. What is the challenge?"
Lin-Tian laughed loudly, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of having his prey step directly into his trap. He clapped his hands twice.
CLAP! CLAP!
Two servants from the Lin Merchant House walked onto the stage, carrying a heavy, covered wooden tray. They set the tray onto a stone table in the center of the pavilion and pulled away the silk cloth.
On the tray lay a black, dried, strangely twisted root covered in sickly purple veins. It radiated a faint, acrid, metallic odor that made several nearby herbalists wrinkle their noses in disgust.
"This is a wild Nine-Whorl Black Venom Root," Lin-Tian declared proudly, turning toward the crowd. "It is a highly volatile, toxic herb gathered from the deep swamps. Its sap contains lethal paralytic poison, but if refined correctly, its inner core can be turned into a rare, high-grade pain-relieving salve worth fifty silver pieces!"
Lin-Tian turned back toward Li-Wen, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent.
"The challenge is simple!" Lin-Tian announced loudly. "Our Lin Merchant House's chief alchemist, Grandmaster Zhu, will compete against Medicine Harmony Hall. Both sides must extract the inner core of a Nine-Whorl Black Venom Root and neutralize its lethal toxicity within half an hour!"
Lin-Tian stepped aside as an elderly man in a lavish silver-trimmed alchemist robe stepped onto the stage. This was Grandmaster Zhu—an arrogant, Tier-One Alchemist hired by the Lin family at great expense.
Grandmaster Zhu looked at Li-Wen with extreme disdain, scoffing through his nose. "Boy, refining a Black Venom Root requires precise control over thermal medicinal flames and a deep understanding of elemental balance. A little scholar's assistant like you who has only handled licorice roots will have his fingers rotted off by the acid within ten breaths!"
The crowd broke out into worried murmurs.
"Nine-Whorl Black Venom Root?! That's a notoriously dangerous herb even for licensed alchemists!"
"The poison sap can burn through flesh! How can an eighteen-year-old assistant handle such a thing without an alchemist furnace?"
Doctor Song-Jiang's face was deathly white. "Ah-Wen... no! Do not accept! It is too dangerous! I will give them the shop deed... I cannot let your hands be ruined for my sake!"
"Doctor Song, please trust me," Li-Wen turned back, giving the old doctor a serene, comforting smile. "The medicinal path is meant to save lives and heal wounds, not to be used as a tool for extortion and greed. Today, I will show them what true medical refinement is."
Li-Wen turned toward Judge Zhao and Lin-Tian. "I accept the challenge."
"Good! A brave fool!" Judge Zhao slammed his gavel. "Let the medical refinement challenge begin! Bring the bronze mortars and silver tools!"
Servants quickly set up two identical refinement tables on the stage.
On the left table stood Grandmaster Zhu. The Tier-One Alchemist immediately pulled out a small, exquisite bronze heating furnace powered by low-tier heat stones. He lit the furnace fire, drew a set of expensive silver tweezers and acid-proof leather gloves, and began meticulously cutting away the outer black skin of his venom root with extreme caution.
Grandmaster Zhu's hands moved steadily, using his First-Stage Ki to carefully shield his skin from the splashing corrosive juice. His forehead glistened with sweat as he struggled to control the volatile, toxic fumes rising from the heating pan.
On the right table stood Li-Wen.
Li-Wen didn't wear leather gloves. He didn't use an expensive bronze heating furnace. He didn't even pick up the silver tweezers provided by the guild.
He simply stood before the raw, black venom root, his hands tucked inside his cotton sleeves, watching Grandmaster Zhu's frantic movements with a look of quiet, detached observation.
Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed.
While Grandmaster Zhu was sweating profusely, carefully scraping the third layer of purple veins under intense thermal fire, Li-Wen had not even touched his herb!
The crowd began to grow restless and anxious.
"Why isn't the boy moving?"
"Is he terrified by the poison sap?"
"Alas, he must have realized it's impossible for a common assistant without a furnace... he has given up!"
Lin-Tian folded his arms across his chest, sneering with absolute satisfaction. "Hahaha! Boy, if you surrender now and kneel before me, I might reduce your labor contract from thirty years to twenty-five!"
Li-Wen slowly looked up. He looked at Lin-Tian, then at the arrogant Judge Zhao, and finally at the frantic, sweating Grandmaster Zhu.
"Refining herbs with crude physical fire, destroying seventy percent of the herb's natural spiritual essence just to purge its outer poison..." Li-Wen spoke in a quiet, disappointed tone. "Is this what the Green River Region calls 'alchemy'?"
Grandmaster Zhu's face turned bright red with fury! "Arrogant brat! You dare insult my thirty years of alchemy training?! You haven't even touched your herb! In ten minutes, the time limit will expire, and you will be a lifelong slave!"
"Ten minutes?" Li-Wen murmured softly. "I only require ten breaths."
SWISH!
Li-Wen finally moved!
He didn't use a furnace or silver tools. He simply extended his bare, unarmored right hand and picked up the dangerous, acid-dripping Nine-Whorl Black Venom Root directly with his bare fingers!
"WHAT?!" The crowd screamed in utter horror!
"Is he insane?! His fingers will be melted down to the bone by the acid!"
Lin-Tian's eyes widened in shock, expecting to see the boy scream in agony as the purple corrosive sap burned through his flesh.
However, the horror that everyone expected never happened.
The moment Li-Wen's bare fingers touched the black root, an invisible, microscopic magnetic field generated by the Abyssal Bone Rune wrapped around his skin. The deadly corrosive acid slid off his fingers like harmless water drops off a lotus leaf, unable to touch a single cell of his skin!
Before anyone could comprehend this miracle, Li-Wen's left hand tapped the center of the wooden cutting board.
TAP!
A microscopic, invisible pulse of the Ignis-Frost Astral Rune's dual-element energy radiated through the wooden board into the black root!
The extreme, microscopic contrast of internal volcanic heat and arctic cold vibrated through the cellular structure of the venom root at a frequency invisible to the human eye.
CRACKLE...
To the absolute, horrified disbelief of Judge Zhao, Lin-Tian, and Grandmaster Zhu, the hard, toxic black outer bark of the venom root cracked open like an eggshell!
The poisonous purple sap didn't splash—it instantly crystallized into harmless, dry black dust, flaking away onto the wooden board!
Inside the black shell revealed a pristine, translucent, emerald-green core root that radiated a gentle, soothing, incredibly fragrant medicinal aroma that filled the entire town square!
The entire process—from picking up the herb to completely purging the lethal toxicity and extracting the hundred-percent pure essence—had taken less than three seconds!
Silence. Absolute, terrifying, deathly silence descended over the entire town square.
Hundreds of onlookers, herbalists, and shopkeepers stood frozen like stone statues, their eyes bulging, their mouths wide open, unable to process what they had just witnessed!
Grandmaster Zhu dropped his silver tweezers onto the floor with a loud CLANG, his face turning as white as a sheet, his body shaking uncontrollably.
"No... impossible... IMPOSSIBLE!" Grandmaster Zhu shrieked hysterically, stumbling backward. "No furnace?! No tools?! Bare-hand extraction with absolute purity?! That... that is the legendary Void Extraction Technique practiced only by Tier-Four Alchemy Grandmasters of the Central Continent!"
BOOM!
Grandmaster Zhu's words were like a thunderbolt exploding in everyone's ears!
A Tier-Four Alchemy Grandmaster's technique?!
Judge Zhao's jaw dropped so hard it nearly hit the table. The wooden gavel slipped from his trembling fingers, rolling off the desk onto the floor.
Lin-Tian's silk fan snapped in half under his tightening grip. His face turned from arrogant smugness into a sickly, pale, terror-stricken mask!
Li-Wen calmly placed the glowing, emerald-green essence root onto the silver tray in the center of the stage. He picked up a clean handkerchief from his sleeve, casually wiping his dry, unblemished fingers.
He looked directly into Lin-Tian's terrified, sweating face, his dark golden-tinged eyes shining with a cold, absolute majesty.
"Young Master Lin," Li-Wen spoke in a quiet, smooth tone that echoed clearly in every person's ears. "The refinement is complete. Its purity is one hundred percent, completely devoid of toxicity."
Li-Wen turned his head slightly toward Judge Zhao. "According to Section Nine of the Medical Guild Code, Medicine Harmony Hall has passed the challenge. Our eighty silver pieces of debt are completely forgiven, correct?"
Judge Zhao swallowed hard, his throat dry, his body trembling beneath his silk robes. Looking at the pristine, glowing emerald root on the tray and then looking at the tranquil, mysterious youth standing before him, Judge Zhao felt a wave of icy terror wash over his heart.
He knew that if he dared to rule unfairly now, the hundreds of outraged onlookers and local herbalists in the square would tear down the pavilion!
"Pass... PASSED!" Judge Zhao stammered frantically, slamming his hand onto the table. "Medicine Harmony Hall has passed the challenge! All debts are hereby completely forgiven and erased from the guild ledgers!"
"CHEERS!"
The entire town square erupted into a deafening, thunderous roar of cheers and applause!
"Long live Medicine Harmony Hall!"
"Miraculous skill! Absolute medical genius!"
Old Doctor Song-Jiang burst into tears of overwhelming joy and relief, hugging young Xiao-Lian tightly, who was jumping up and down in ecstatic celebration.
Amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd, Lin-Tian stood frozen, his eyes burning with a terrifying mixture of humiliation, defeat, and intense, murderous hatred. He had lost the medical hall, lost the debt, and suffered a humiliating public defeat in front of the entire region!
Lin-Tian glanced back at his tall bodyguard, Shadow-Blade.
Shadow-Blade's cold eyes narrowed into sharp slits, his hand tightening around his poison dagger, a subtle wave of Fifth-Stage Ki radiating from his body as he locked his murderous sight onto Li-Wen's back.
Li-Wen, however, did not even turn around to look at them.
As he walked off the stage to help Doctor Song-Jiang, a cold, imperceptible smile curved the corners of Li-Wen's lips.
He knew that Lin-Tian and the Lin Merchant House would not accept this defeat gracefully. They would undoubtedly resort to secret night assassinations and dark plots.
See you in next chapter.....