After listening to Chen Yi, Wang Ji patted his chest in assurance. "Sir, I’ll be sure to get this done for you."

Chen Yi nodded, motioned for him to sit down, and asked, "How are things at Hundred Herbs Hall now?"

Wang Ji quickly sat down beside him, a look of delight on his face. "Sir, the Method you spoke of before really works."

"Every Medicine Hall in Shu State, big or small, that signed a contract with our Hundred Herbs Hall has had patients come to buy our remedies. No exceptions."

"It’s only been half a month since we opened, but our income has already reached 4,400 silver coins. I’ve done the math—after deducting all miscellaneous fees, our profit is nearly two hundred silver coins."

After giving the other Medicine Halls their fifty-percent cut, the remaining profit of less than five percent could only be considered decent.

But Chen Yi hadn’t instructed Wang Ji to do all this for such a pittance. He was after the patients who came to Hundred Herbs Hall from the other Medicine Halls.

They were what Chen Yi wanted.

"Not too bad."

Hearing Chen Yi’s praise, Wang Ji’s smile grew even wider. "It’s all thanks to your brilliant planning, Sir. Old Yan and I are just following orders."

Such flattery went in one ear and out the other, never reaching his heart. He heard the words and simply dismissed them.

Paying the flattery no mind, Chen Yi took two sheets of Yunsong Paper from his robes and handed them to Wang Ji.

"Add two more tea blends to the menu."

Wang Ji took the papers with both hands. He looked at the two recipes, stunned. "Sir, this... this is..." he stammered.

Chen Yi nodded. "Precisely. They’re tea blends designed for women. The flavor is a significant improvement over the others, so the requirements are a bit higher."

One was for a Mushroom Tea, the other a Beauty Tea. He had specially developed them the previous night by applying his Great Success Medical Dao.

The first was analogous to Wangji Tea but better suited to a woman’s palate, designed to satisfy their taste buds.

The latter’s effect was just as its name implied: for enhancing beauty.

Comparatively, the Beauty Tea recipe was the most complex of all the blends, but its effects were also the most direct and potent.

After Wang Ji finished reading, although he didn’t understand his intentions, he still nodded solemnly.

Since Hundred Herbs Hall had opened, his respect and admiration for Chen Yi had grown exponentially.

The reactions of the major Medicine Halls in Shu State, the influx of patients, the unfolding of subsequent events—everything had happened exactly as Chen Yi had first predicted.

And he had predicted it all back when Hundred Herbs Hall was just an idea, before they had even secured a location for the shop.

Yet Chen Yi had laid everything out, plain as day, far in advance.

How could he not be in awe?

’Perhaps this is what they mean by a legendary "immortal,"’ he thought.

With their business concluded, Chen Yi rose to his feet. "Get that other matter taken care of as soon as possible. Delays will only lead to complications."

He was referring to his instruction for Wang Ji to find a few "renowned doctors" to take up positions at the Xiao Family Medicine Hall.

Real or fake, it didn’t matter. He would handle things from behind the scenes.

Wang Ji nodded vigorously. "I’ll go look for a few quacks today. The villages outside the Prefecture City are full of them."

Once they were downstairs, Chen Yi’s expression became stern. "Shopkeeper Wang, that’s far enough," he said curtly.

Wang Ji, understanding his meaning perfectly, put on an obsequious smile. "Take care, Sir."

He then ran to the counter, grabbed several bottles of Wangji Tea, and pressed them into Chen Yi’s hands. "Please, take these for the road."

Chen Yi glanced at the porcelain bottles in his hand, gave Wang Ji a meaningful pat on the shoulder, and walked out of Hundred Herbs Hall.

Wang Ji watched him go, then exchanged a look with Yan Sea. The two of them retired to a back room to confer in hushed tones.

Chen Yi rejoined Ge the Third and casually handed him the Wangji Tea. "Here, have a drink. It’s pretty good."

It was a recipe he had developed himself, so of course it balanced both flavor and efficacy.

Just as the advertisements for Wangji Tea claimed, it was "cool and refreshing," and it genuinely did relieve the summer heat.

While the recipe was simple and the effects weren’t extraordinary, the advantages of Wangji Tea were quite straightforward.

The tea blend itself cost next to nothing to produce—less than a single copper plate per serving, not even a fifth of the cost of the low-quality porcelain bottle it came in.

Ge the Third thought nothing of it. While steering the carriage back, he opened a bottle and took a swig. He smacked his lips a couple of times, and his eyes lit up.

"Young Master, you can barely taste the tea in this, but it’s so crisp and refreshing. A sip of this on a hot day like today makes you feel good all over."

Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze drifting over the shops lining the street as his mind continued to churn with various plans.

There was the Xiao Family, Linglan Pavilion, the Hidden Guard, and Hundred Herbs Hall. The pieces were finally forming a recognizable pattern.

To be precise, a chessboard.

Ever since he had learned the Chess Dao, his daily practice had allowed him to see things with greater clarity and insight.

All those disparate matters were like individual chess pieces.

Some black, some white, arranged across the board in a scattered pattern.

And now, the board in his mind’s eye was Shu State itself.

The Xiao Family was white; all the rest were black.

Even he himself was just an inconspicuous piece on that board.

’Someone is constantly making moves in Shu State, forming what looks like a massive dragon...’

’Things are still murky, but I can make some preparations.’

After a few moments of internal deliberation, Chen Yi saw the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office up ahead. "Ge the Third," he called out, "head to Jishi Medicine Hall."

’Now that my Medical Dao Realm has advanced, I’ve practiced the corresponding Medical Skills as well.’

"Right."

Ge the Third, who had been about to head for home, cracked his whip and steered the carriage onto Wudong Street.

...

The East Market was bustling with people from the remote Mountain Race and Poshisu Country coming and going, with the occasional Barbarian or two seen carrying heavy loads on their backs.

Jugglers juggled, strongmen shattered boulders, fire-breathers spewed flames, and the crowds cheered them on.

It was a motley scene, but they were all just here to scrape by a living.

But where there are crowds, there is trouble.

This was especially true for a place as eclectic as the East Market.

There were government officials from the Shu State Prefecture City, guilds representing the Medicine Halls, clothiers, and grain shops, as well as local thugs, gangsters, and sizable gangs.

These groups congregated in and around the East Market. While ordinary people could ignore them, those who made their living here couldn’t afford to.

This was particularly true for the gang members, most of whom lived by the blade, their territory won through violence.

Naturally, they were a menacing bunch.

And as bad luck would have it, a group of bare-chested thugs descended upon Jishi Medicine Hall, which had already been suffering from a dismal ten-day slump in business.

With blades of various lengths tucked into their belts and murder in their eyes, they clamored for the Shopkeeper to show himself.

The Physicians, of course, lacked the courage to step forward, and the apprentices were even less inclined, all of them hiding as far away as possible.

Left with no choice, Liu Quan mustered his courage, stepped forward, and cupped his hands. "Sirs, may I ask what business you have with the Shopkeeper?"

"Our Shopkeeper hasn’t been to the Medicine Hall in over ten days. If you..."

Before he could finish, the leader—a man with one side of his head shaved and the other half in long hair, his features clearly showing Poshisu heritage—slapped him across the face.

"Hasn’t been here?"

"You take my brothers for fools? Someone just saw him come in."

"Cut the damn crap and get him out here! I’ve got a score to settle with him."

The slap left Liu Quan dazed. He shook his head to clear it and grimaced.

"The Shopkeeper... he really hasn’t been here for days. If you need to settle something with him, you can go to the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion."

Hearing the words "Marquis’s Mansion," the leader froze. He glanced over his shoulder at his men and saw a small, weasel-faced man shaking his head insistently. His ferocity returned instantly.

"You dare try to scare me with the Marquis’s Mansion? You’ve got a death wish..."

With that, he drew the short blade from his belt and lunged toward Liu Quan.

Just then, a furious roar came from outside the hall. "Who dares to cause trouble at my Xiao Family Medicine Hall?!"

Before the voice had even faded, Ge the Third burst into the Medicine Hall, ready to take on the entire group.

Chen Yi, who had followed him in, swept his gaze across the room and spoke calmly, "Ge the Third, hold on. Don’t be so quick to attack."

Ge the Third froze, his fists still clenched. "Young Master?" he asked, hesitating.

Chen Yi waved a hand dismissively, his eyes fixed on the small, weasel-faced man among the thugs. His pupils contracted slightly.

Faint wisps of aura began to emanate from the people around him. Some were a shimmering white, others green, but one man’s was as black as ink.

’Tsk. For someone with that kind of illness to come looking for trouble...’

’Which bastard sent them? As if I’m not busy enough.’