ETR | Chapter 56

The time it takes to brew a pot of tea isn't long, and the Mercenary Guild doesn't have much time left.

Feng Yiyan, who had been acting all high and mighty for so long, finally hit a wall, or rather, two walls. He's finally tasting the bitterness of his reckless behavior.

Qin Lou and Xiao Xueman, clearly, neither of them is going to back down.

The Mercenary Guild is quite fragile, and Feng Yiyan sincerely hopes these two big bosses will spare it. He admits he was wrong and promises never to provoke them again.

He really can't communicate with Qin Lou, and Qin Lou isn't going to tell him what's going on between him and Xiao Xueman. Time drags on, and then he hears a distant "boom" from the main hall. Who knows what kind of damage was caused, but it was loud enough for Feng Yiyan to hear clearly from afar.

"Ahhhhh!" Feng Yiyan feels like he's going crazy. "Can't you control your wife? He's so fierce! So fierce!"

His sect is about to be destroyed!

Qin Lou gives him a glance.

From that glance, Feng Yiyan senses a complex meaning. No one can control Xiao Xueman, and he realizes he said the wrong thing, so he quickly changes his approach.

"Can't your wife control you?" he says. "What kind of mess is worth hiding like this? Just tell him the truth, I beg you!"

The truth can be cruel sometimes.

Qin Lou wishes Xiao Xueman would control him, but Xiao Xueman already doesn't want him meddling in Xiao Wan's affairs. If he finds out again, things will get tense. Qin Lou had a hard time convincing Yu Zhengrong to secretly do things, and it's been tough.

And if this matter is discovered, so be it. What Qin Lou fears is it being linked to previous events.

Back then, Yu Zhengrong couldn’t stop Xiao Xueman from going to the First Heaven to fight Feng Yiyan.

He was afraid of saying too much and raising suspicion. Plus, he had to stay in the Twelfth Heaven to guard Xiao Wan.

He had no choice but to rely on special methods to send messages to Qin Lou layer by layer.

Even the best communication spirit instruments couldn’t break through the realm walls.

Sending messages layer by layer, no matter how fast—by the time they reached Qin Lou, it was already too late.

By then, Xiao Xueman had already finished fighting Feng Yiyan, taken the prescription, and left. Discovering the trick was only a matter of time.

When Qin Lou arrived, there was nothing he could do. He knew Feng Yiyan, the battle maniac, would do anything for a fight, so he fulfilled his wish and beat him up.

But even beating Feng Yiyan to death couldn't undo this matter.

After they stalemated for a while longer, the commotion in the main hall grew louder, like fireworks going off.

Feng Yiyan couldn't wait any longer. He threw out a "I'll try not to give you away" and hurriedly ran towards Xiao Xueman.

Qin Lou pulled him back and warned, "Not try, you mustn't."

"I got it!" Feng Yiyan was already very anxious. "I won't joke around with the Mercenary Guild. For now, let the trail end with Yu Zhengrong."

The line with Yu Zhengrong was already out in the open. Although there's a high chance Xiao Xueman could trace it back to Qin Lou, at least it buys some time to think of other solutions.

Yu Zhengrong is different from himself. If Yu Zhengrong speaks, Xueman won't be so easily suspicious.

Thinking of this, Qin Lou felt a pang of sourness in his heart, an indescribable discomfort.

Half of the main hall had already collapsed. Xiao Xueman stood outside, and when he saw Feng Yiyan approaching, he reluctantly withdrew some of his wood-type spiritual power.

Naturally, the commotion attracted many people from the Mercenary Guild. Some who didn’t know what was happening thought it was just someone causing trouble and rolled up their sleeves to stop it—only to be tied up by Xiao Xueman’s vines, unable to move.

Feng Yiyan arrived to see this scene and almost fainted.

He quickly spoke up, “Wait, I can explain.”

The vice president had been sent to invite the alchemist, and Feng Yiyan rushed over to save the day. As soon as he arrived, he said, “I didn’t lie about the prescription. You can refine it and know that it can indeed produce pills, and those pills… are useful.”

Xiao Xueman’s vines were almost in his face. After waiting this long, his patience was clearly exhausted.

“My son didn’t use that one,” he said. “You better not play tricks in front of me.”

Feng Yiyan: “I really don’t dare.”

He said this with utmost sincerity.

He moved a little closer, squeezing out a smile. “Big boss, can you calm down a bit?”

Just then, the alchemist arrived. He was a guest at the Mercenary Guild, a bit arrogant, but since the vice president invited him and explained the situation, he couldn’t refuse.

Alchemists don’t hold combat spirit gods in high regard, as an eight-star alchemist is much rarer and more valuable than a spirit god. He was among the top eight-star alchemists, with fewer than five people on the continent more skilled than him.

After all, there were only two known nine-star alchemists alive—one in the Alchemist Association and the other being Su Mingming, the Pavilion Master of the Dan Pavilion at Wangtian Immortal Gate.

But when he stood before Xiao Xueman and carefully examined the two, or rather three, pills for comparison, he realized the gap between himself and the person in front of him was too vast.

These three pills: one was what Feng Yiyan used to prove that he indeed used that prescription to make pills, one was what Xiao Xueman had for comparison, with a special ingredient added for Xiao Wan, and one was what Xiao Xueman had previously refined that didn’t meet his requirements.

Comparing the first and third pills highlighted the difference, as they used the same prescription.

The alchemist was too stunned to care about his guild president using the prescription as a gambling stake. He repeatedly examined the comparison, hardly believing his eyes.

Alchemists, unlike battle maniacs, don't like fighting, but they are equally obsessed with their craft.

He could swear that even if Su Mingming came to refine this pill, it wouldn't be better than his own. This was his specialty, and refining also required practice. But this person in front of him, who had just learned the prescription, could refine to such a degree—it was unimaginable.

"Does this mean you refined this? Please, teach me alchemy, shixiong!"

He held the pill and plopped to the ground. If he wasn't wary of Xiao Xueman's combat prowess, he would have hugged his leg.

Xiao Xueman: "..."

The Mercenary Guild is truly bizarre, and the entire First Heaven is strange.

"Explain the prescription clearly!" he demanded. "The first two pills were refined by you. What exactly was missing to cause such a difference?"

The alchemist had been briefed before coming, and to be honest, he didn't know Qin Lou was involved. He was just borrowed by the arena, and Yu Zhengrong had given him something, saying to try integrating it into the prescription. He tried, and it fit perfectly.

Qin Lou's involvement was something Feng Yiyan discovered on his own.

The alchemist, with admiration for Xiao Xueman, truthfully recounted the matter and added,

“I couldn’t identify the material. It had been refined, and the fire-type spiritual power was very pure. It’s a rare treasure. Rest assured, adding that material is an improvement and won’t cause harm. I asked President Yu, but he wouldn’t tell me.”

President Yu was clearly concerned about this matter. The material was given to him bit by bit, and the alchemist couldn't even secretly stash some away for himself.

"Yu Zhengrong?"

The name confirmed Xiao Xueman's earlier suspicion that Yu Zhengrong was acting strange. He didn't understand why Yu Zhengrong didn't tell him about this.

"I swear I didn't lie," the alchemist raised his hand, "in the name of an alchemy master."

When he said this, his expression was serious. This oath was the most solemn for all alchemists, but after saying it, his face turned fawning.

"So, can you teach me alchemy, shixiong?" he asked hopefully. "I'm always obedient."

Xiao Xueman disdainfully pushed him away a bit.

Finally, he looked at Feng Yiyan and asked, "What about you? Anything else to say?"

Yu Zhengrong hesitated, subconsciously glancing in another direction—where Qin Lou was.

"I know about Yu Zhengrong's matter, after all, I was the one who lent him out," he said. "The batch of pills he refined was all taken by Yu Zhengrong. I didn't get any. As for the added ingredient, I thought he would tell you. Your relationship is better than mine, right?"

The alchemist's words Xiao Xueman barely believed, but Feng Yiyan's words always seemed fishy.

"If you truly believe your prescription is fine and don't know what Yu Zhengrong added, why did you avoid me when I first arrived?"

Feng Yiyan was caught, but he had prepared an explanation. "I was really in seclusion... I'm not lying. I was forced to come out, and this in-and-out made my injuries worse, really."

Xiao Xueman pulled him over, testing Yu Zhengrong's spiritual power.

His injuries were indeed worse than after their fight, but whether it was due to backlash from forced emergence or someone else beating him up, it was hard to tell.

"If Yu Zhengrong doesn't admit, I'll confront him. The Mercenary Guild is here; I can't run," Feng Yiyan cautiously added. "Big boss, okay?"

Xiao Xueman stared into his eyes for a long time, clearly still suspicious, but his attitude was better than before.

"You better be telling the truth, or I'll come back for you," he said. "I'll ask Yu Zhengrong myself."

Feng Yiyan felt somewhat relieved hearing this.

He knew that this blame could eventually be shifted back to Qin Lou. The Mercenary Guild surviving this round meant it wasn't the storm's center anymore. Yu Zhengrong was upright and rarely lied, especially in front of Xiao Xueman, making it even harder for him to lie.

If you don't want people to know, don't do it.

Xiao Xueman isn't stupid, and Qin Lou is clearly terrified of his wife. It's only a matter of time before the truth comes out.

Heh heh.

Feng Yiyan thought to himself, feeling a bit schadenfreude, and found himself feeling better.

He glanced at Xiao Xueman, who hadn't moved, and gained a deeper understanding of this person. Previously, he hadn't realized what a formidable figure he was dealing with.

They say Qin Lou is the highest on the continent, but that's not right. Xiao Xueman is truly at the top of the food chain, in every sense.