Three days later, the day of the appointnt arrived.
On this day, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky, a rarity during the rain-scarce Northern spring. However, such weather was aptly fitting for the scheduled eting place.
Feng Yixian was very adept at dealing with people. In this drizzly weather, he personally waited at the entrance of the Rain Pavilion. The more he did so, the greater his demands were likely to be. Excessive attentiveness was never free of charge.
"Pharmacist sir, please, this way." Feng Yixian stepped aside and gestured with his hand.
"And this is?" His gaze shifted towards Qing Yu.
"My good friend, Liu Xuande," the Pharmacist introduced with a raise of his hand, "Just a minor figure in the Postnatal Realm, I dare not venture out lightly. After all, these days, there are always especially many malefactors."
This suddenly appearing Liu Xuande was naturally Qing Yu. He still bore the plain, unremarkable face he had when he had t with the Pharmacist previously—around thirty years of age, dressed in black, with two long swords strapped to his back.
Qing Yu bowed with his fists clasped: "I am Liu Xuande, Squad Leader Feng. I hope you don’t mind my intruding without invitation."
"Ha ha... Of course I don’t mind. A friend of Pharmacist sir is a friend of mine, Feng Yixian," Feng Yixian returned the gesture with clasped fists as well.
"However, Pharmacist sir, you just referred to yourself as a minor figure. I, Feng Yixian, must disagree with that. In Linchuan Prefecture, no one would dare to call Pharmacist sir a minor figure—the first to object would be . As for malefactors, if Pharmacist sir cos to my banquet, I will ensure nothing untoward cos to you, no matter what."
Feng Yixian spoke unflinchingly, chatting away as if he hadn’t noticed the veiled sarcasm in the Pharmacist’s words.
"I wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare," the Pharmacist waved his hands dismissively.
"After you," said Feng Yixian, gesturing with his hand.
"After you," Qing Yu did likewise, proceeding with Feng Yixian into the Rain Pavilion, with the Pharmacist following a little behind.
This one behind the other positioning caused Feng Yixian’s eyes to flicker.
Once inside the Rain Pavilion, two young n were already waiting. Both around their twenties, clad in brocade robes, carrying themselves with an innate aristocratic air, they were certainly individuals of so standing.
"Let introduce you," Feng Yixian extended his hand, "Liu Xuande, Mr. Liu, a good friend of Pharmacist sir. This is Pharmacist sir, whom I’m sure you have all heard of."
Next, the introductions of the two young n ensued, starting with the one in blue next to Mr. Hand on the left, "This is from a prominent family in Linchuan Prefecture, the Zheng Family’s second son, Zheng Tu, Young Master Zheng."
"A pleasure," greeted the blue-clad Young Master Zheng, with a clasped fist salute.
"And this one, from the East Sea, is the Young Union President of the East Sea Comrce, Tian Pingzhi, Young Master Tian."
From the East Sea, Tian Pingzhi leaned forward ever so slightly at first, then promptly restrained himself, then, like Zheng Tu, offered a clasped fist salute: "A pleasure."
Qing Yu’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he discreetly observed Tian Pingzhi. He always felt... there was sothing strangely familiar about the Young Union President of the East Sea Comrce.
’What’s going on...’ Qing Yu’s instincts urged him to recall more closely.
But Feng Yixian interrupted his train of thought, "Co, the dishes have been out for a while; they will get cold if we do not eat."
Regrettably, Qing Yu had to stop his recollection of this sense of familiarity and started to deal with the three n together with the Pharmacist.
During the banquet, amidst the clinking of cups, Qing Yu pretended to be tipsy and inadvertently asked, "I don’t know why, but I feel a sense of familiarity towards Young Master Tian. Have we t before, Young Master Tian?"
Tian Pingzhi, showing no signs of inebriation, responded to Qing Yu’s sudden question with a flicker of wariness in his eyes—faint, but not enough to escape Qing Yu’s "Void Eye."
The wariness was fleeting. Tian Pingzhi smiled and said, "I have lived in the East Sea all my life, and this is my first ti coming to the inland. If Mr. Xuan De has never been to the East Sea, he could not possibly feel familiar with ."
"Is that so..." Qing Yu’s face took on a deeper semblance of drunkenness, seemingly utterly intoxicated, "Then perhaps it’s just a case of feeling an instant affinity with Young Master Tian..."
"Co, a toast to instant affinity..." Qing Yu lifted his cup.
Then everyone raised their glasses to drink again.
As ti slipped by, everyone appeared to be getting tipsy, yet no one seed keen on broaching the main topic of the gathering.
Qing Yu was puzzled but content to keep up the act, curious to see what dicine these three n were selling in their gourd.
However, as the clouds cleared and a setting sun peeked through outside, Feng Yixian and the others still hadn’t ntioned anything about the Longevity Powder.
Subsequently, Qing Yu and the Pharmacist, both feigning a semi-drunken stupor, staggered out, supporting each other.
---
After departing from the Rain Pavilion, Qing Yu and the Pharmacist walked another half-mile, nearing the more desolate area towards the west of the city.
With no one around, the two n, who had appeared bent over and stumbling as if they would fall at any mont, suddenly straightened up. The sll of alcohol was still on them, but their eyes cleared of any drunken haze.
"Sir, that was so fine acting," the Pharmacist gave a thumbs-up in praise.
"You weren’t bad yourself," Qing Yu casually responded, "But I must say, you have an impressive tolerance for drink, not getting drunk despite so much alcohol."
This complint was sincerely ant. Unlike Qing Yu, who could practice to expel the alcohol from his system, the Postnatal Realm Pharmacist couldn’t even suppress the influence of the drink, let alone expel the alcohol. He remained sober purely through his extraordinary drinking capacity.
"It’s a remnant from my reckless years..." the Pharmacist shook his head.
"Sir, Feng Yixian invited us to the banquet but completely avoided ntioning the Longevity Powder. What do you think he’s really after?"
"Who knows..." Qing Yu shrugged, "Perhaps he’s just interested in testing our drinking abilities or comparing patience. Who can say what he’s thinking?
But we have the Longevity Powder recipe, so the initiative is in our hands. Feng Yixian’s invitation was not entirely without gain. At the very least, it confird that the Four Seas Chamber of Comrce from the Linchuan Alliance truly has no affiliation with Feng Yixian. If things don’t go well with Feng Yixian, we may approach the Four Seas Chamber of Comrce to penetrate this circle of interests."
"Four Seas" from the Four Seas Chamber of Comrce implies "business reaches all corners of the world," an abstract concept unrelated to East Sea Comrce. However, this minor gain was not particularly worth celebrating.
What Qing Yu mainly contemplated was the Young Union President of the East Sea Comrce, Tian Pingzhi. Tian Pingzhi’s behavior was out of step with that of typical Central Plains people. Although he masked it well, any slight slip was magnified under Qing Yu’s "Void Eye," glaringly unmistakeable.
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