Chapter 423 - 264: The East Wind Has Come
Chapter 423: Chapter 264: The East Wind Has Come
Chen Yi glanced at him and said coolly, "Spread the word. Tell everyone Xinglin Hall has all the medicinal herbs. We can’t make something from nothing."
"And add that if anyone is in a hurry, they can supply the herbs themselves."
After listening, Wang Ji thought for a moment before it dawned on him, and a smile instantly spread across his face.
"Brilliant, my lord. This is sure to cause a major headache for Xinglin Hall."
After all, Hundred Herbs Hall was no longer the destitute, fledgling business it had been at its grand opening.
Thanks to its five signature teas, Hundred Herbs Hall had firmly established itself in Shu State.
To say it was a household name would be no exaggeration.
Especially in the Qin Building, the carousing, hungover gentlemen adored the Divine Bull Tea. It was the perfect choice, whether for their own consumption or for treating their companions.
Wang Ji could just imagine the reaction of those gentlemen, young and old, who prided themselves on their freewheeling lifestyles, once Hundred Herbs Hall started limiting its tea sales.
Either way, it meant trouble for Xinglin Hall.
Chen Yi, well aware of this, continued, "Have Yan Hai start gathering the medicinal herbs from Guangyuan ahead of time."
"And here in the Prefecture City, you need to find other herb suppliers as quickly as possible."
He paused, a thought occurring to him. "The Mountain Race has the Wumeng Mountains at their back. They must have plenty of medicinal herbs, wouldn’t you say?"
Wang Ji nodded. "As far as I know, most of the major suppliers get their herbs from the Mountain Race."
"It’s just that the Mountain Race has always been wary of outsiders, and they place great importance on loyalty and personal connections. It’ll be very difficult to convince them to sell to us at Hundred Herbs Hall."
Chen Yi chuckled inwardly. ’With Pei Guanli in the picture,’ he thought, ’it’s debatable who the real outsider is.’
Despite this thought, he didn’t reveal his hand just yet, merely telling Wang Ji to try other avenues first.
"Also, get all the silver from the shop’s coffers ready. I have a major use for it shortly."
Wang Ji nodded in acknowledgment.
Now that Hundred Herbs Hall was about to limit its tea sales, there wasn’t much point in holding on to all that silver anyway.
Besides, the boss needed the money. How could he, a mere shopkeeper, dare to object?
A short while later, Wang Ji departed.
Those remaining in the room—Liu Lang, Xue Duanyun, and the others—all turned to Chen Yi, awaiting his orders.
Chen Yi didn’t hesitate. "I have a task for you," he said directly.
"This is of the utmost importance. Until I give the word, no one else can know about it."
Liu Lang cracked a grin. "Boss, just give the order. I guarantee I’ll get it done right."
He had previously promised to complete thirty tasks for Chen Yi and hadn’t even finished ten, so of course he wouldn’t refuse.
Xue Duanyun and the other two Celestial Sect disciples, however, were not as quick to accept. Xue Duanyun asked,
"May we ask what this task is?"
Chen Yi glanced at them, then had Liu Lang bring out a brush and paper. He wrote a few lines.
When he was finished, he paused for a moment, then tore off two more sheets of paper. He wrote something on each before folding them.
Once everything was prepared, he handed the first sheet of paper to Liu Lang. "Take them and follow the instructions on this."
Liu Lang took the paper and glanced at it, looking slightly stunned. "Boss, so all that silver you had Shopkeeper Wang prepare... it was for us?"
There wasn’t much on the paper, just a single instruction: disguise yourselves and buy up as much grain in Shu State as possible.
Chen Yi grunted in affirmation. He held up one of the other two folded notes and instructed,
"If the granaries stop selling to you, read this one."
"If anyone catches on and tries to stop you, read the other."
Liu Lang nodded, smiling as he promised there would be no mistakes this time.
He didn’t ask any questions, as he might have in the past.
After all this time, he had gained a deep appreciation for Chen Yi’s seemingly flawless strategies. He trusted that Chen Yi wasn’t acting without reason.
Xue Duanyun, on the other hand, couldn’t help but ask, "May I inform my other martial brothers?"
Chen Yi shook his head. "The more people involved, the more prying eyes there will be. It’ll be too easy to get discovered."
"For now, just follow Guard Liu’s orders. He’ll tell you what to do."
Xue Duanyun and the other two exchanged glances and asked no further questions.
With the serious business concluded, Chen Yi’s expression relaxed slightly.
"A lot of Wandering Martial Artists have shown up in the Prefecture City today. Rumor has it Immortal Bai is coming to Shu State, so they’ve come to see the spectacle."
He had barely finished speaking when Liu Lang shot to his feet.
"Who? Boss, who did you just say?"
Even Xue Duanyun and the other two were stunned.
Such was the power of his reputation.
Their reaction was hardly surprising.
Chen Yi, of course, didn’t mind. He repeated, "Immortal Bai."
Then he added a word of caution. "We don’t yet know why he’s coming to Shu State, but those Wandering Martial Artists are a motley crew. Be careful when you’re out and about."
It took Liu Lang a long moment to snap out of his stupor. Far from being worried, his face was alight with manic fervor.
"Immortal Bai... the greatest master of Martial Arts in all of Great Wei! The Immortal Bai who has dominated the Jianghu for decades! Hahaha..."
"He’s coming to Shu State! This is absolutely incredible news! I..."
Before he could finish, Chen Yi held up a hand to stop him. "You what?"
"With your level of Martial Arts Cultivation and Technique, what good would it do you to meet him? You’re not actually thinking of running over and challenging him, are you?"
While Liu Lang only had a superficial understanding of him, Chen Yi knew Liu Lang through and through.
As the saying goes, a name can be a mistake, but a nickname never is.
Liu Lang embodied the "madman" part of his "Sword Madman" moniker to a T.
Never mind the things he’d done in the Northern Desert; the fact that he’d dared to challenge Xiao Jinghong, knowing full well he was no match, spoke volumes about the confidence he had in his own Saber Dao.
"Boss, you know me. An opportunity like this..."
"If you want to get yourself killed, I won’t stop you. But you’ll have to win our duel first."
Liu Lang froze, realizing Chen Yi was referring to their duel in five days. A bitter look crossed his face.
No matter how much of a madman he was, he knew he was no match for Chen Yi.
Seeing him fall silent in disappointment, Chen Yi snorted. "Finish the task I gave you first. We can talk about everything else after Immortal Bai actually arrives in Shu State."
"Thank you for your generosity, Boss..."
After giving a few more instructions, Chen Yi dismissed them.
Zhang Dabao saw them out, then returned and bowed. "Sir, shall I help you..."
He made a gesture as if to remove a mask.
Chen Yi shook his head and gazed outside.
The rain had eased, leaving only a light drizzle drifting down.
From the nearby West Market, the constant sounds of hawking and laughter indicated a large crowd.
In an even closer tailor’s shop, several women were chattering away in the local Shu State dialect.
They seemed to be discussing which fabric was best.
Chen Yi watched and listened in silence, running through all his plans in his mind one last time.
Once he was certain nothing had been overlooked, he gave his order, "Prepare the carriage. We’re going to check on those Xinglin Hall branches."
"Yes..."
...
「For three consecutive days.」
Aside from teaching at Guiyun Academy, Chen Yi spent the rest of his time out and about under the guise of "Chen Yu," not returning home until nightfall.
His absence became so conspicuous that Xiao Wuge mentioned it to Xiao Wan’er on two separate occasions.
Fortunately, Xiao Wan’er knew he was busy with "Hundred Herbs Hall matters" and didn’t give it much thought.
She simply urged Chen Yi to be careful, worrying aloud about the many Wandering Martial Artists who had come to Shu State and the fact that the killer of the Poshisu Country horse bandits still hadn’t been caught.
This, of course, was nothing Chen Yi couldn’t handle.
He dispelled Xiao Wan’er’s worries with just a few sentences.
Then, he went right back to his old ways, appearing all over Shu State Prefecture City as "Chen Yu."
During this time, he naturally learned everything he needed to know.
The first piece of news was that Mr. Yue Ming’s attempt to mediate with Yang Ye had been largely ineffective.
The Lord Academic Administrator was dead set on implementing the new regulations for the Annual Examination.
Fortunately, Yang Ye had given Liu Hong some suggestions, which led Ma Shuhan to give his word that the new rules were not deliberately targeting the scholars of Shu State.
The second piece of news concerned Xinglin Hall.
Or more accurately, Liu Zhaoxue.
She had been making moves nonstop since her return to Shu State.
First, she signed contracts with all the herb suppliers, using a massive sum to corner the market on medicinal herbs and ensure her monopoly.
Then, she invited two Medical Saint Hands from Jing State to hold court at her hall, offering three days of free medical consultations to the people of Shu State.
Instantly, business at all the other major Medicine Halls took a hit.
Her actions even overshadowed the news of Hundred Herbs Hall limiting its tea sales.
The third piece of news came from Liu Lang.
The price of grain in Shu State had recently risen again. With his 150,000 taels of silver, he had only managed to buy 50,000 dan of grain.
Fortunately, the granaries hadn’t noticed anything amiss, and none of them had stopped selling their grain.
As for the final piece of news... it had only just arrived that evening, coming from the Ancient Tea-Horse Road.
"After learning of Lv Jiunan’s death, King Landu of the Poshisu Country flew into a thunderous rage and slaughtered several merchant caravans along the Ancient Tea-Horse Road."
"There are even rumors that he intends to lead a horde of horse bandits to Shu State to demand justice!"