As he spoke, several gang members beside him tacitly drew the short blades from their waists, narrowing their eyes at the ruffians.

The moment they saw the blades, the ruffians were clearly intimidated.

Their mouths twitched, and finally one of them gritted his teeth. "Every market has a Hometown Gang! You of Fishermen’s don’t respect the rules... Fine! We’ll concede this time. Just you wait!"

With that, the men slinked away.

The bystanders, who had been startled at first, watched them retreat into the distance. Then, someone suddenly shouted, "Well done!"

"Hometown Gang? Pah! A bunch of animals! Nothing but bloodsucking leeches!"

"Yeah! A bunch of animals!"

The onlookers had clearly been bottling up their rage for a long time. Now that it was unleashed, they began to curse furiously.

These Hometown Gangs only ever exploited their own people... After all, people from other towns wouldn’t give them the time of day.

During the recent upheaval, the Hometown Gangs in Fisherman City had been all but wiped out.

But now that order was returning to the market and it was starting to get busy again, this scum had cropped up once more.

And in the past two months, without the Hometown Gangs’ extortion, the common folk’s earnings had seen a visible increase—after all, their cut was a full twenty percent!

The difference was night and day.

It made them realize just how much of their blood and sweat had been extorted back when the Hometown Gangs were around.

Now that life was finally a little better, they’d crawled out of the woodwork again. How could the people not despise them?

But most of the common folk were angry but didn’t dare to voice it. The ruffians were good-for-nothings with nothing to lose, while they had families to feed. How could they dare to confront them head-on?

But now, the Fish Dragon Gang had stepped in and driven those men away, naturally earning the cheers of the crowd.

That Fish Dragon Gang member had probably never been cheered on by the common folk like this before. His eyes lit up at the sound.

His face flushed, and after clearing his throat twice, he announced, "Everyone, our boss has decreed that Hometown Gangs will no longer be permitted in Fisherman City! Today was just a warning, so please spread the word. If anyone tries to use the Hometown Gang’s name to exploit you and disrupt the market again... you can come and tell us in secret. When that time comes, the Fish Dragon Gang will see that you get justice!"

Hearing the Fish Dragon Gang member’s promise, the crowd erupted in cheers once again, and the man grinned so widely his eyes nearly vanished.

Qin Fang’s eyes flickered as he watched the scene.

Then he turned and left.

A few days passed in a flash. Qin Fang summoned Monkey, gave him a letter he had already prepared, and then took out four hundred silver.

’Two Qi Blood Pills a day... that’s twenty silver.’

’The progress was gratifying, but he was also spending money like water.’

And it wasn’t just the Qi Blood Pills that needed replenishing... His supply of Blood Circulation and Membrane Stabilizing Powder and the skin ointment was also about to run out.

’These two medicines were also extremely important.’

’They were essential to his Training Method.’

’He couldn’t afford to be careless with them.’

Qin Fang had Monkey use three hundred silver to purchase Qi Blood Pills. The remaining one hundred silver was for his senior brother, who was to prepare more Blood Circulation and Membrane Stabilizing Powder and skin ointment for him.

Monkey had practically become his exclusive messenger, running to the county town every ten days or so to deliver letters and buy medicine.

Of course, Qin Fang didn’t let him run these errands for free, giving him three to five silver each time.

Monkey refused at first, but eventually gave in to Qin Fang’s insistence and accepted the money.

This made him even more respectful and awestruck by Qin Fang, and he ran his errands with greater enthusiasm.

’Of course, relationships needed to be maintained.’

’But asking people to do things for you based on goodwill alone, without mentioning money, is just taking advantage of them. Over time, that goodwill will fade.’

Qin Fang understood this principle deeply.

So, it wasn’t just Monkey; he’d casually reward anyone who helped him with a small sum of money.

A small price to pay for their loyalty.

To him, it was a trivial amount.

But to the members of the Fish Dragon Gang... his generosity was considered lavish!

As a result, the perception of him throughout the Fish Dragon Gang had changed from simple awe to a mixture of respect and affection.

He had never given Xu Meng any money, though.

After all, Xu Meng was an acquaintance through his senior brother, and they interacted as equals. Giving him money would have been inappropriate.

「Two days later.」 Monkey returned, bringing the items Qin Fang needed and a letter in reply from his senior brother. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He unfolded the letter and began to read.

With Monkey acting as a messenger, the two martial brothers could finally communicate frequently. His senior brother shared news from True Martial County Town, while Qin Fang passed along information he’d gathered from Xu Meng.

According to his senior brother’s letter, Huichun Hall had fallen on hard times. The deaths of two Anjin masters had left them severely weakened.

The destruction of their branches in various cities was an especially devastating loss.

Huichun Hall had even gone to the Government Office for help, attempting to use official power to resolve some of their troubles.

But the results were not to their satisfaction.

However, things seemed to have quieted down since the assassination attempt; their opponent hadn’t made any further moves recently.

After reading the letter, Qin Fang thought for a moment before carefully folding it and putting it away.

Monkey waited patiently for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "Sir, I have some bad news."

"Oh?" Qin Fang looked at Monkey, puzzled.

"The price of Qi Blood Pills has gone up."

Monkey said with a hint of resignation, "They used to be ten silver a piece, but now... the price has risen to fifteen."

Qin Fang was stunned for a moment, then his brow furrowed.

’Of course. Huichun Hall suffered such heavy losses; naturally, they’d look for ways to recoup them as quickly as possible.’

’So in the end... I’m the one who has to cover their losses?’

Qin Fang’s expression darkened.

Finally, he asked, "Are there any other shops in the county that sell Qi Blood Pills? We’ll switch to a different one next time."

Huichun Hall was the largest pharmacy in True Martial County, but it wasn’t the only one. Other pharmacies should have Qi Blood Pills as well.

"But Sir, Huichun Hall’s Qi Blood Pills have always been known for their high quality and low price. Other pharmacies sell them too... but according to feedback from those who’ve used them, their effects aren’t as good as Huichun Hall’s. And... they’re more expensive."

Monkey said helplessly, "I actually checked the other pharmacies this time. I went to Renxin Pharmacy, Shoukang Medicine Shop, and Ganlu Hall—they’re all well-known shops... and the price of their Qi Blood Pills was over twenty silver..."

Qin Fang was stunned. After a long, speechless moment, he let out a soft sigh. "Forget it. If the price has gone up, it’s gone up..."

’Hearing it like that, it almost seems like Huichun Hall is the one with a conscience.’

’Wait a minute.’

’Someone is targeting Huichun Hall...’

’Could it be for the Elixir Recipe for the Qi Blood Pill?’

’Better effects, lower price...’

’The profit margin must be huge.’

Qin Fang’s thoughts ran wild.

But then he shook his head.

’No, that doesn’t seem right either.’

’Because the incident with Wang Hu and Cao Zhen involved a Demon.’

’Someone is clearly orchestrating a larger plot.’

’Just for an Elixir Recipe?’

’It hardly seems worth all this fanfare.’

In the end, Qin Fang could only shake his head.

’There are too few clues. I can analyze it all I want, but I can’t prove anything. Any conclusion I reach could be completely wrong.’

’Besides, it has nothing to do with me.’

’It’s just... the Qi Blood Pills are suddenly five silver more expensive, which has made my once-comfortable financial situation a bit precarious again.’

’The literary path is for the poor, the martial path is for the rich!’

Qin Fang sighed.