Chapter 413: Medicinal Powder
Chapter 413: Chapter 413: Medicinal Powder
Qiao Wensong was taking He Zhimin and Heizi back to Chuncheng. Knowing Su Qing needed to rush to Guang City, he made a special stop in the nearest city. He got the local police to issue her a letter of introduction and other necessary documents, then bought her a plane ticket to Guang City.
Eager to save time, Su Qing naturally agreed. After saying goodbye to Qiao Wensong and the others, she boarded the plane to Guang City.
By the time Su Qing got off the plane and arrived in Xiangcheng, it was only November 18th. There were still two days until Fan Yuqian was scheduled to meet with that "master." So, Su Qing wasn’t in a hurry. She checked into a hotel not far from the wealthy district and began monitoring Fan Yuqian’s movements with her climbing vines.
On the afternoon of November 20th, Fan Yuqian went out.
Su Qing attached a piece of a climbing vine to the underside of Fan Yuqian’s car and followed from a distance. Fan Yuqian, for her part, was completely oblivious.
Su Qing followed Fan Yuqian’s car to a village on the northern outskirts of Xiangcheng. She watched Fan Yuqian get out of the car, cast a disdainful glance at her surroundings, and then head toward a house on the right side of the village.
Through her vine, Su Qing saw Fan Yuqian knock on a door. The one who opened it was a weaselly-looking man in his thirties.
"Miss Fan, you’re quite punctual." The man smiled when he saw it was Fan Yuqian. "Did you bring the money?"
Fan Yuqian smiled deferentially at the man. "Don’t worry, Master. I brought all the money. I was wondering... can I take the medicine today?"
Fan Yuqian was extremely cautious, afraid that any wrong move would displease him.
Su Qing narrowed her eyes, studying the man. ’No matter how I look at him, he doesn’t seem like a master. In my experience, shouldn’t masters—regardless of their actual skill—have at least a trace of ethereal grace? How come this guy just looks sleazy and greedy? He’s not even trying to hide it.’
’Well, maybe I’m just ignorant. Perhaps this "master" is so skilled that he doesn’t deign to put on an act. After all, people are lining up to throw heaps of silver at him no matter what.’
With that thought, Su Qing silently raised the man’s threat level by two ranks. She had no intention of letting someone who dared to harm others from the shadows get away.
’I just wonder which of the three famous masters this one is.’
"The medicine... of course I have it ready." The sleazy man lifted his chin arrogantly and sat down calmly at the table, but his eyes were fixed on Fan Yuqian’s bag.
Fan Yuqian took the hint. She quickly smiled, took out a check, and placed it respectfully in front of the man. "Master, please see if this amount is to your satisfaction."
The man raised an eyebrow, picked up the check to glance at it, and a smile crept into his eyes. "This will do."
Hearing him say that, Fan Yuqian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I’m glad you’re satisfied, Master."
The man got up, took a small white porcelain bottle from a nearby cabinet, and placed it in front of Fan Yuqian. "This is the powder you need," he said. "Remember, you must get the target to ingest it within three days. Just dissolve it in a glass of water for him. The powder is colorless and odorless, so he definitely won’t notice. Once he drinks the water with the powder, you just have to tell him that he’s in love with you. Say it to him ten times in a row, and from then on, he’ll be hopelessly devoted to you."
The eavesdropping Su Qing was stunned for a moment. ’Does such a magical powder really exist in this world? Something that makes a person susceptible to hypnotic suggestion just by drinking it!’
’If I think about it carefully, should this powder ever get out, it would be a true disaster.’
’The implications are terrifying!’
Su Qing couldn’t help but shudder. ’This kind of thing must not be allowed to exist. Otherwise, if someone used it to control people at will, or even...’
’The consequences would be unimaginable!’
"Three days!" Fan Yuqian was taken aback by the man’s words. She had thought that as long as she had the powder, she could act whenever she wanted. But three days was too tight. As far as she knew, Cheng Beize wasn’t even in Xiangcheng at the moment; the earliest he could return was the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.
Because she was constantly keeping tabs on Cheng Beize, Fan Yuqian was very familiar with his whereabouts.
"Master, does it have to be within three days?" Fan Yuqian asked cautiously.
"If it’s more than three days, the medicine’s effectiveness will be greatly reduced. And if the target has strong willpower, I’m afraid the powder won’t work for very long," the man said gravely.
"Ah, so that’s how it is!" Fan Yuqian frowned slightly. Cheng Beize was only coming back the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. That meant she had to arrange a meeting with him by the day after that at the latest to have a chance to use the powder. However, she wasn’t sure she could even successfully get a meeting with him; his attitude toward her was clearly one of resistance.
"What?" Seeing the look on Fan Yuqian’s face, the man narrowed his eyes in displeasure. "Are you not satisfied?"
"Ah, no, no." Even though she was indeed a little dissatisfied, Fan Yuqian didn’t dare say so. She rushed to explain, "You’ve misunderstood, Master. I was just thinking about how to handle this. The person in question won’t be back in Xiangcheng until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, so my timeline will be a bit tight, I’m afraid."
"That’s your problem," the man said nonchalantly. "If you end up wasting this dose, I can give you another one in a month. As long as you have the money, we can talk."
Fan Yuqian’s heart trembled. The money she gave the master today was all the personal savings she could access. If she had to come up with that much money again, she would have to ask her daddy and mommy. They didn’t know about her private dealings with the master, and she worried whether they would even help her if they found out.
After all, this was, to some extent, a harmful act. She knew in her heart that what she was doing was insidious, but for the sake of her future happiness, she felt it was a risk worth taking.
"Okay, Master. I will do my best. Thank you for your help." Fan Yuqian nodded at the man with great respect.
Seeing Fan Yuqian being so deferential, the man was quite pleased with himself. A hint of a smile touched his lips as he said, "Alright, since you have what you came for, you should go. I need to continue my cultivation."
"Yes, I’ve interrupted your cultivation, Master. I’ll leave right away." Upon hearing his words, Fan Yuqian quickly stood up to take her leave. She thanked the man respectfully one more time before finally leaving the house.
This time, Su Qing didn’t follow Fan Yuqian back. From the sound of it, Cheng Beize wouldn’t be back in Xiangcheng until the day after tomorrow, so there was no rush on that front. As for the "master" right in front of her... she decided it was time to have a proper meeting.
After Fan Yuqian left, Su Qing went to the front of the house. With a slight push, the door swung open. She then used a vine to lock the door shut.
The man inside had his back to the door. Hearing the noise, he assumed Fan Yuqian had returned and said with annoyance, "Why are you back again? And you dare come in without my permission."
As he spoke, the man turned his head, his face a mask of anger. But when he saw Su Qing, he was clearly startled. "Who are you?"