Chapter 99: Pill Deal

Zhou Ran and the new staff bowed politely, taking their leave from the dining hall to begin their assigned duties across the grounds. Han Lin and Xiao Yun gathered the empty dishes and headed back toward the kitchen, leaving the main hall quiet and spacious.

Lu Feng gestured toward the comfortable guest parlor. Once they were seated on the silk cushions around the low rosewood table, Lu Feng glanced at the doorway, ensuring no one was within earshot.

"Now then, Master Lin," Lu Feng began, setting down a fresh pot of warm tea. "Let’s speak plainly. I doubt you dragged your entire entourage across Crimson Vale at dawn solely to drop off household staff."

Lin Laifu’s eyes sharpened instantly, all remaining traces of his morning hangover completely evaporating. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the polished wood.

"You read me like an open ledger, Young Master Lu," Lin Laifu said, his voice dropping to a cautious, conspiratorial tone. "The staff was important, yes, but the pills... the pills are what kept me awake through half of last night’s banquet. A steady supply of high-grade, pure-purity medicinal pills can reshape the entire market in this territory."

For the next hour, the two men delved deep into the intricate logistics of their proposed venture. Lin Laifu laid out the reality of the regional trade landscape, explaining how the established alchemy guilds held a tight monopoly over the distribution of spiritual medicine, artificially inflating prices while controlling supply.

"If we drop a sudden surplus of top-tier pills into the open market under your name or mine," Lin Laifu warned, tapping his finger against the table, "the local Alchemist Union will notice immediately. They do not take kindly to independent suppliers undercutting their trade. We must be discreet."

"What do you propose?" Lu Feng asked calmly.

"An anonymous distribution strategy," Lin Laifu replied with a shrewd smile. "My merchant house already operates on various places and we have access to several high-end, invitation-only auctions for private collectors, surrounding sect elders, and wealthy rogue cultivators. We introduce the pills in small, exclusive batches as rare, limited-run deals from a reclusive grandmaster. This creates an artificial scarcity, drives the bidding prices through the roof, and keeps the origins completely obscured."

Lu Feng nodded slowly in agreement. "A sound approach. Scarcity breeds value, and anonymity keeps unwanted eyes off this estate."

They quickly moved on to the profit distribution. Given that Lu Feng was providing the high-grade pills while Lin Laifu was risking his auction network, transportation, and legal coverage, they agreed on a clean seventy-thirty split in Lu Feng’s favor. Lin Laifu was more than content with thirty percent, knowing that even a fraction of high-tier auction prices would net his merchant house an astounding fortune.

With the logistics and profit margins settled, Lin Laifu rubbed his hands together eagerly, his eyes glinting with intense curiosity.

"So, Young Master Lu..." Lin Laifu leaned in closer, his breathing hitching slightly. "What specific pills do you currently have available for our initial run?"

Lu Feng maintained an unreadable expression. "Wait here a moment. I will retrieve the initial samples from my private quarters."

Standing up from the parlor, Lu Feng walked down the quiet corridor to his bedchamber and shut the heavy wooden door behind him. Ensuring he was completely alone, he summoned his internal interface, opening the System Shopping Mall before himself.

Rows of glowing options illuminated his vision. Navigating directly to the Spiritual Medicine section, he selected three distinct varieties of low-tier cultivation pills, all rated at absolute peak purity by the system’s standards. He purchased ten pieces of each variety, packaged neatly into small, elegant jade porcelain bottles, at the cost of two gold coins per pill.

With a quick click of his fingers, three smooth jade bottles materialized directly into his palm, cold to the touch and sealed with tight red wax.

Holding the bottles carefully, Lu Feng exited his room and returned to the guest parlor.

Lin Laifu’s gaze locked onto the three jade containers the instant Lu Feng stepped back into the room. Lu Feng sat down smoothly and placed the three bottles onto the rosewood table, lining them up neatly side by side.

"Three varieties," Lu Feng introduced, gesturing to the first bottle on the left. "Ten Spirit-Gathering Pills of flawless purity, designed to accelerate energy absorption without leaving behind toxic meridian residue. Beside it, ten Qi-Cleansing Pills, capable of purifying stagnant energy bottlenecks in low-to-mid stage cultivators. And finally, ten Frost-Core Healing Pills, capable of knitting internal organ wounds and stabilizing damaged spirit channels within hours."

Lin Laifu carefully reached out with trembling fingers, picking up the first jade bottle. He broke the wax seal and gently lifted the stopper.

The moment the seal opened, a concentrated, fragrant medicinal aroma burst forth, instantly filling the entire room. A faint, shimmering mist rose from the neck of the bottle, carrying with it a soothing wave of pure spiritual energy.

Peering inside, Lin Laifu’s eyes widened as he saw ten smooth, pearl-like pills completely devoid of dark spots, cracks, or cloudy impurities. He wasn’t a master alchemist himself, nor did he possess the deep technical knowledge required to gauge exact medicinal ratios, but his decades of commercial instinct told him these were extraordinary.

"They look and smell incredible," Lin Laifu breathed, his voice trembling slightly as he carefully recorked the bottle. "Though I am a merchant and not a trained pill expert, I know enough to recognize raw potential when it hits my nose. Still, for a sale of this magnitude, I will need my chief internal appraiser, to run a private test on a single pill from each batch. We need an official grade rating to set the starting price appropriately."

"That is fair," Lu Feng replied, nodding calmly. "Bring your appraiser. The quality will speak for itself."

Lin Laifu looked at the three jade bottles resting on the dark rosewood table, his vision filled with visions of overwhelming wealth and prestige. His eyes shone with brilliant, unadulterated greed and excitement like a starving man who had just struck a mountain of pure gold.

"Flawless or not, once he actually confirms their grade..." Lin Laifu whispered, a wide grin spreading across his face as he stared at the containers. "Young Master Lu, we aren’t just going to make a profit. We are going to turn Crimson Vale upside down!"