The morning sunlight stread through the ornate windows of the Celestial Apothecary Guild, casting long shadows across the polished floor. I stood behind the counter in the reception area, arranging a set of dicinal herbs while Sofia organized various pill bottles on the nearby shelves.
"These Spirit-Enhancing Pills need to be stored away from direct sunlight," I reminded her, glancing at the amber bottles in her hands.
Sofia nodded, placing them in a shadowed cabinet. "I still can't believe how quickly you mastered the Guild's organizational system. It took months to learn where everything belonged."
I shrugged, allowing myself a small smile. "I've always had a good mory."
The peaceful morning was shattered by the sound of the main doors slamming open. Three figures strode in—a young man dressed in expensive silk robes flanked by two burly n whose rigid postures scread "bodyguard."
"Where is the pharmacist on duty?" the young man demanded, his voice echoing through the hall.
I stepped forward. "I'm Master Knight. How can I assist you?"
His eyes narrowed as he assessed , recognition flashing across his face. "Well, well... if it isn't the famous Liam Knight."
I maintained a neutral expression, but inwardly, I was on high alert. The way he said my na carried undisguised contempt.
"I'm Travis Blackthorne," he announced, puffing out his chest. "My father is Roderick Blackthorne of the Blackthorne Family."
The na explained everything. The Blackthornes were notorious for their arrogance and cruelty, second only to the Ashworths in influence within Havenwood City.
"I need dicine," Travis continued, his tone making it clear he considered this interaction beneath him. "My father's having guests tonight, and I overexerted myself during training."
Sofia stepped forward professionally. "We have excellent Energy-Replenishing Pills that would—"
The crack of skin against skin echoed through the hall as Travis slapped Sofia across the face, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"Did I speak to you?" he sneered. "Know your place, woman."
My fingers tightened around the mortar I was holding, anger surging through . Sofia's cheek reddened as she stepped back, eyes downcast but burning with humiliation.
"I want him to make my dicine," Travis said, jabbing a finger toward . "Let's see if the great Liam Knight lives up to his reputation."
I set down the mortar carefully, forcing my expression to remain calm. "What symptoms are you experiencing, Mr. Blackthorne?"
"Just make sothing for fatigue and muscle soreness," he said dismissively. "Basic stuff."
I nodded and moved to the preparation area, selecting ingredients with practiced efficiency. I could feel Travis's eyes boring into my back, hoping to catch any mistake.
As I worked, grinding herbs and asuring powders, Travis started talking loudly to his bodyguards.
"Can you believe this is what the Celestial Apothecary Guild has co to? Hiring street trash as Master Pharmacists?"
His bodyguards chuckled obediently.
I continued working, focusing on creating a perfectly balanced Energy-Restoration Pill. After fifteen minutes of careful preparation, I presented Travis with three small, golden pills on a jade plate.
"These will restore your energy and alleviate muscle soreness," I explained. "Take one imdiately and the others—"
Travis picked up one pill, examining it before flicking it onto the floor.
"This looks like dogshit," he declared, then swept the remaining pills off the plate. "Make them again. Properly this ti."
The pills shattered on impact with the floor, their dicinal powder scattering across the polished stone. Sofia gasped softly behind .
I felt my jaw tighten but maintained my composure. "Mr. Blackthorne, those were standard Energy-Restoration Pills, professionally crafted to Guild specifications."
"Are you talking back to ?" Travis's voice dropped dangerously. "Do you know what my family could do to this entire Guild with one word to the right people?"
The threat hung in the air. Guild rules strictly prohibited conflict within its walls. I was new here, still establishing myself. Starting a fight would jeopardize everything I'd worked for.
"I'll make another batch," I said evenly, returning to the preparation table.
This ti, I worked more slowly, making sure Travis could see every ingredient and technique I employed. I produced another set of pills, identical to the first but with a slightly deeper golden hue.
Travis took one, sniffed it, then dropped it on the floor again.
"Still trash," he said, grinding the pill under his boot heel. "Is this really the best the famous Liam Knight can do?"
Sothing cold settled in my chest. This wasn't about dicine. Travis had co here specifically to provoke .
I looked at Sofia, whose cheek still bore the red imprint of Travis's hand, then to the crushed dicine on the floor—hours of work and rare ingredients destroyed for a spoiled man's amusent.
"One more batch," I said, my voice quiet. "I'll make sothing special."
Travis smirked, clearly enjoying my perceived submission.
This ti, I selected different ingredients. My hands moved with deliberate precision as I combined powdered ghost root, black lotus extract, and several other components. The mixture turned a deep crimson before I stabilized it with spirit salt, transforming it into a single, perfect blue-black pill.
"What's that?" Travis asked, suddenly suspicious.
"A Power-Dissipating Pill," I replied truthfully. "Much more potent than what I made before."
Travis snorted. "You expect to believe you can make sothing worthwhile on your third try? You must think I'm an idiot."
His hand reached out to knock the pill away, but I moved first. In one fluid motion, I seized his wrist and twisted, using his montum to spin him around. His bodyguards lurched forward, but I was ready for them.
With my free hand, I struck the first bodyguard's throat with two fingers, hitting a precise pressure point. He crumpled, gasping. The second rushed at with a raised fist, but I sidestepped, sweeping his legs from under him.
It happened in seconds. Both Grandmaster-level bodyguards were on the floor, incapacitated, while I held Travis immobilized with one arm twisted behind his back.
"You dare—!" Travis began, but I cut him off by forcing his jaw open.
"You ca here to humiliate ," I said, my voice deadly calm. "You insulted my work, assaulted my colleague, and wasted valuable Guild resources."
With precise movents, I pushed the blue-black pill into his mouth.
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"Swallow," I commanded, applying pressure to his throat that made refusal impossible.
Travis's eyes widened in panic as the pill went down. I released him, and he stumbled forward, clutching his throat.
"What... what did you give ?" Fear replaced his arrogance as he felt the pill's first effects—a cold sensation spreading through his chest.
"Exactly what I said—a Power-Dissipating Pill. It will temporarily suppress your cultivation. For the next week, you'll be as weak as an ordinary person."
Travis's face contorted with rage and terror. "My father will destroy you for this! The Blackthornes will burn this Guild to the ground!"
I stepped closer to him, lowering my voice. "Tell your father whatever you want. But rember this mont the next ti you think of treating others like dirt beneath your shoes."
Travis backed away, pointing a shaking finger at . "You're dead, Knight! You hear ? Dead!"
As he fled, dragging his semi-conscious bodyguards with him, Sofia stepped beside , her expression a mixture of awe and concern.
"That was either the bravest or the most foolish thing I've ever witnessed," she whispered.
I looked down at the crushed pills on the floor, the wasted ingredients representing hours of careful work.
"So lessons can only be taught one way," I replied, the cold fury still churning inside . "And so people need to learn the price of arrogance."
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