Chapter 23: A Hidden Alliance

Xu Ziyan arrived on the street and saw that it was filled with citizens celebrating the victory. She was not in the mood for that at all right now, and she ran all the way into a medicinal herb shop. Xu Ziyan was no longer the poor girl who had first arrived in Zhongdu City; she now had a lot of money. She also had a storage pouch given to her by the clan leader, which she usually kept hidden beneath her clothes. At the moment, she couldn’t care less about that. She knew that it wouldn’t be long—at the latest, by dawn—before orders to go out and exterminate the monster beasts would be issued. By then, medicinal herbs and talisman-crafting materials would be snatched up in a rush.

The herb shop had not closed. The shopkeeper and his assistants were all cheering and celebrating at the entrance. When they saw Xu Ziyan rushing over in a hurry, they smiled and said:

“Miss, we are already closed for the day. If you need anything, please come back tomorrow!”

Without wasting any words, Xu Ziyan rushed into the shop in a few steps. She took out her storage pouch and poured the gold and silver inside onto the counter with a clatter. Turning to the shopkeeper, who had hurried in after her, she said:

“Enough talk. I want to buy a large amount of medicinal herbs. Will you sell them to me or not? If you don’t, I’ll go to the next shop.”

The shopkeeper took one look at the pile of gold and silver on the counter, and his face immediately broke into a grin, like a blossoming chrysanthemum. He said repeatedly:

“Sell! Sell! Of course I’ll sell!”

Then he turned and barked harshly at the assistant who was still cheering outside:

“Little Dog, get your ass in here right now! What kind of pig-headed foolishness are you up to out there?”

The assistant, called Little Dog, hurried in, bowing and scraping as soon as he heard the shopkeeper’s scolding, and said:

“Boss, were you calling me?”

“Nonsense! If I wasn’t calling you, was I calling a ghost? Hurry up and get the goods ready for this young lady.”

Without waiting for the assistant to ask any questions, Xu Ziyan picked up the paper and pen on the counter, dipped the pen in ink, and began writing swiftly. In a short while, she handed three full pages to the assistant and said:

“Prepare the goods according to this list.”

“Ah, Miss, please wait a moment. I’ll get everything ready for you right away.”

With that, Little Dog called two other assistants, and together they started gathering the goods for Xu Ziyan. Two quarters of an hour later, a pile of packaged medicinal herbs was stacked on the counter. After Xu Ziyan paid, she put away the remaining money, then stored the herbs in her storage pouch. Without even saying goodbye to the shopkeeper, she hurried out of the shop and ran toward a talisman shop not far away. Behind her, the shopkeeper stood at the door and loudly called after Xu Ziyan’s retreating figure:

“Miss, please come again next time!”

Xu Ziyan dashed into the talisman shop without looking back. Similarly, she piled the remaining gold and silver on the counter, picked up a pen, made a list, and handed it to the shopkeeper, who had followed her in and was eyeing the gold and silver on the counter. She said:

“Prepare the goods for me according to this list.”

The talisman shopkeeper, his eyes fixed on the gold and silver on the counter, had been itching with desire in his heart. Upon hearing Xu Ziyan’s words, he straightforwardly took the list and personally went behind the counter to prepare the goods for her. A quarter of an hour later, he had everything Xu Ziyan needed ready. After paying, Xu Ziyan saw that only one gold ingot remained on the counter. She gave a bitter smile, put away that gold ingot, and then stored the talisman materials in her storage pouch as well. Only then did she let out a long sigh of relief, finally setting her anxious heart at ease, and hurriedly ran back to her residence.

She knew time was very tight. She didn’t know when she would be sent out, so she needed to focus on alchemy and talisman crafting that very night.

The street was still bustling with people coming and going, noisy and crowded. Everyone was very excited. Xu Ziyan pushed her way forward through the crowd, and by the time she returned to her residence, she had worked up a sweat all over.

Back at her residence, Xu Ziyan closed the door and went into the inner room. After resting briefly, she began her alchemy. She worked until dawn before finishing the pills. Xu Ziyan was now a Second-Grade Alchemist, and her alchemy level had improved. She refined several types of Second-Grade Pills: the Spirit Burst Pill for cultivation, the Spirit Enhancement Pill for replenishing vitality, the Nurturing Pill for repairing meridians and internal organs, the Muscle Regeneration Pill for treating external injuries, and the essential Detoxification Pill for traveling. Immediately after, Xu Ziyan hastily crafted many talismans.

Xu Ziyan had now reached the Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage, but she could only craft twenty talismans a day. After finishing, she felt extremely tired. After putting everything away, she pricked up her ears to listen, but there was no sound from outside, so she immediately threw herself onto the bed and fell into a deep, snoring sleep.

She slept until it was dark outside, then woke up groggily. Seeing that no one had come to call for her, she thought to herself that the clan’s higher-ups probably hadn’t reached a decision yet. After hastily finding something to eat, Xu Ziyan felt that the True Qi inside her body had recovered, so she crafted another twenty talismans.

After finishing, another wave of exhaustion washed over her. She put everything away and immediately sat down to enter meditative rest. By noon, Xu Ziyan slowly opened her eyes, a flicker of joy shining within them. She felt that the barrier to her third layer had begun to loosen; she would soon break through and reach the Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly:

“Pills are just so good!”

Xu Ziyan was overjoyed, but she didn’t know that Zhongdu City had already fallen into chaos. The city lord of Zhongdu City had received news from Fang Tian City: the Beast Tide this time was indeed not small—it had truly reached the scale of a medium Beast Tide. Fang Tian City was currently suffering under the ravages of the Beast Tide and was asking Zhongdu City for help.

But how could City Lord Li Wanpeng be willing to help? If helping Fang Tian City ended up drawing the Beast Tide completely to their own side, wouldn’t that be like a dung beetle falling into a latrine—looking for death?

Therefore, not only would Li Wanpeng not help Fang Tian City, but he also urgently summoned the three great clans of Zhongdu City to gather for a meeting in Zhongdu City. At the meeting, Li Wanpeng demanded that the three clans send their disciples out of the city to guard the key routes from Fang Tian City to Zhongdu City, blocking the monster beasts advancing in this direction. He also clearly stated that if monster beasts broke through from which route, that clan would be punished.

Between Fang Tian City and Zhongdu City, there were four key routes in total: one Imperial Highway and three mountain passes. Li Wanpeng unhesitatingly assigned the relatively safe Imperial Highway to the City Lord’s Manor for defense, while the relatively dangerous three mountain passes were assigned to the three great clans.

The three clans couldn’t contend with the city lord, but among themselves, they were unwilling to yield. The Xu Clan’s clan leader was unconscious, so they were already in a weak position. In addition, the Xiao Family and Wu Family joined forces, ultimately assigning the most dangerous Tongyou Valley route to the Xu Clan to guard, while the Xiao Family and Wu Family were assigned the relatively safer Changri Valley route and Luofeng Ridge route.