Chapter 437 - 271: Young Master, Care for a Divination?
Chapter 437: Chapter 271: Young Master, Care for a Divination?
As the carriage neared the East Market, Chen Yi could faintly hear a clamor coming from that direction.
Amidst the noise, some people were trying to mediate or plead, lamenting how helpless the situation in Shu State had become.
Many others ignored these voices, busy haggling with the grain merchants and calculating how much grain their silver coins could buy.
Amidst the tumult, Chen Yi saw a surging crowd of people outside the East Market Entrance, even from a great distance.
They were practically packed shoulder to shoulder.
Even the carriage driven by Liu Si’er struggled to push through, much to his embarrassment.
"Carriage of the Xiao Mansion! Make way!"
"Don’t block the road!"
Having been blocked several times, an embarrassed Liu Si’er raised his whip, about to strike the horse’s rump.
Chen Yi spoke up just in time to stop him. "Stop the carriage, Brother Si."
Liu Si’er paused, hesitating. "Young Master, we’re still a short distance from Jishi Medicine Hall. You... you could wait a little longer?"
"Besides, there are too many people here. What if there’s danger..."
Before he could finish, Chen Yi had already lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage beside him, saying with a smile, "It’s fine."
He glanced at a few people nearby, saw the fearful looks on their faces, and then waved his hand.
"You can head back first. I’ll return to the mansion on my own later."
Liu Si’er was taken aback for a moment, but seeing his firm expression, he could only say:
"Young Master, please be careful. If anything happens to you, the mansion will surely not spare me."
Chen Yi nodded, gave a gentle gesture to the startled people, and then squeezed into the crowd.
The short distance of one li took him a full quarter of an hour to cover, with all the stopping and starting, before he finally reached Jishi Medicine Hall.
By now, the entrance to the Medicine Hall was also packed with people.
However, most of them weren’t sick. They were just people who had come to buy medicinal herbs to stock up at home.
Many more were there for the medicinal teas.
Even with the entire staff of Jishi Medicine Hall out front, it was still difficult to maintain order at the entrance.
It made the accountant, Liu Quan, so agitated that he stood at the door shouting, "Everyone, everyone! This Medicine Hall is running out of herbs! Please, go to other shops!"
"The Wan Family Medicine Shop, the Fang Family Medicine Hall..."
Even so, the crowd continued to surge.
Watching the scene before him, Chen Yi couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of unease.
Although he had anticipated before setting these events in motion that his plan would affect the people of Shu State, he hadn’t truly expected the impact to be this great.
Or rather, he had underestimated the influence that the Barbarian Left King, Mu Hage, had on the people within Shu State.
After all, when the news about King Landu of Poshisu Country spread yesterday, it hadn’t caused this level of panic.
But on second thought, it made sense.
Even Xiao Wan’er had lost her composure the moment she heard Mu Hage’s name, so it was only natural for these ordinary people to react this way.
Thinking of this, Chen Yi sighed.
’I did not kill Boren, yet Boren died because of me.’
This time, he would inevitably have to let the people of Shu State suffer for a while.
To achieve his goal and solve this problem once and for all, he had to harden his heart.
’Better to suffer a sharp, short pain than a long, dull one. I’ll find a way to compensate these people later.’
As he thought this, Chen Yi scanned the area, his gaze falling on a place a little farther from the East Market Entrance.
To be precise, it was a medicine hall there—Xinglin Hall.
It was identical to the Xinglin Hall on South Street; the plaque above its entrance was also written with the Minor Achievement Calligraphy Dao.
Amidst shimmering wisps of brilliance, the two large words "Xinglin Hall" were clearly visible, illuminating the crowd constantly entering and leaving below.
Vaguely, Chen Yi could make out a familiar figure in the inner hall—Liu Zhaoxue.
Behind her were several busy servants.
One of them, a petite and pretty Maid, made him look twice.
’Ling’er of the Five Poison Sect? Liu Zhaoxue?’
’I didn’t expect them to be here today...’
Chen Yi subconsciously used his Qi Observation Skill and scanned the area again.
The auras of those few people were displayed before his eyes.
’Martial Arts Upper Fifth Grade, Middle Fifth Grade, Middle Sixth Grade, Fourth Grade, Fourth Grade... Upper Stage?’
Chen Yi’s gaze landed on a middle-aged Swordman dressed as a Guard at the entrance of Xinglin Hall.
An Upper Fourth Grade Cultivation, two minor realms higher than even Yan Fusha’s.
’Is he an Elder of the Five Poison Sect? Or one of those so-called Altar Masters I heard about before?’
Chen Yi had no way of knowing, and now was not the time for him to investigate such things.
After a quick scan, he pushed through the noisy, congested crowd and entered Jishi Medicine Hall.
Liu Quan was about to start cursing when he suddenly caught sight of Chen Yi and quickly swallowed his words.
"Shopkeeper, you’re finally here!"
"Please, tell them! The Medicine Hall is really out of medicinal herbs."
"I don’t know if those medicine merchants have gone crazy, but they’ve taken all their herbs to Xinglin Hall!"
Chen Yi waved his hand, signaling for him to be quiet, before turning to the people outside and announcing in a clear voice:
"My apologies, everyone. Jishi Medicine Hall has few herbs left today. If you are not a patient, I ask that you please disperse for now."
Seeing the people around him hesitate, Chen Yi smiled and pointed toward the nearby Xinglin Hall.
"Right now, the only place in the entire Prefecture City with an ample supply of medicinal herbs is Xinglin Hall. You can all go take a look there."
"Moreover, I’ve heard that the Physician presiding over Xinglin Hall is a Medical Saint Hand, a truly rare talent."
"Regardless of whether you need to treat an illness or simply wish to buy herbs, you can go there."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the crowd muttered under their breath.
"Who doesn’t know they have herbs there? But their prices are so high."
"Mr. Qingzhou, that Xinglin Hall is from Jing State. They’re unscrupulous and can’t be trusted."
"The herbs at Xinglin Hall are ten percent more expensive than at Jishi Medicine Hall. We... we really don’t want to go there."
Chen Yi fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then offered a gentle smile and began to patiently persuade them.
"Today it’s ten percent. Tomorrow it might be twenty."
"Never mind the future, just look at the grain prices here in the East Market..."
He left it at that.
The people who were prudent enough to buy herbs in advance were certainly no fools.
Almost as soon as Chen Yi finished speaking, the people in line began heading toward Xinglin Hall.
"That’s right. The price of grain has already increased more than tenfold. If herbs start being sold like that too, how are we supposed to survive?"
"Let’s go, let’s all go..."
In just a short while, the people who had come to buy herbs dispersed.
The only ones who remained were the sick and a few casual customers who wanted to buy medicinal tea.
Chen Yi didn’t concern himself with them further. He instructed Liu Quan to watch over the front and turned to enter the inner hall.
At this time, however, all the Physicians in the Medicine Hall were busy.
This was especially true for Ma Liangcai, whose Medical Skill was becoming more and more refined.
There were always two or three people gathered around him.
One person would be receiving treatment while two others waited, with a dedicated apprentice behind them asking others to wait their turn.
At a glance, it was a pocket of tranquility amidst the chaos.
Listening to the noise outside, Chen Yi simply sat calmly in his chair.
This incident also served as a wake-up call for him.
’The enemy is the enemy, but to implicate innocent people in the process is truly an offense against natural justice.’
Fortunately, he had always acted in secret.
Aside from himself, Liu Lang, and a few others, it was nearly impossible for the common people to know he was behind it.
Therefore, it was only his own conscience that suffered...
So be it.
...
Just past noon, the chaotic and noisy crowd at the East Market finally dispersed.
Although those who had and hadn’t managed to buy grain were all resentful, by now, no matter how anxious they were, they had no better options.
The Medicine Hall was short on herbs.
The grain shops were hoarding grain and restricting sales.
The prices of other goods were also rising, and their availability was limited.
However, after staying for half the day and getting a better understanding of the situation, Chen Yi proceeded with his plan.
The sword was already drawn; he could no longer afford to hesitate.
But right now, he had something more important to do.
Chen Yi calculated the time, calmly walked out of the inner hall, and instructed Liu Quan and the others to prepare lunch.
He then went to the entrance and began scanning the nearby East Market Entrance.
As far as his eyes could see, most of the people were from poor families.
Even those dressed in fine silks arrived and departed swiftly in their carriages, like the wind.
The artisans who usually made a living here were all waiting at their stalls.
Performers performed, and hawkers hawked their wares.
Just as Chen Yi finished scanning the area and was wondering where Immortal Bai could be, he suddenly heard a voice tinged with a smile right by his ear.
"This... young master, care for a divination?"
Slightly stunned, Chen Yi turned his head to look at the person beside him.
He saw a man with black hair and a pale, preternaturally handsome face. He wore a tattered Daoist Robe with patches and held a cloth banner in his hand.
The man was beaming at him.
’When did he get here... He...’
’Immortal Bai?’
For some reason,
even though the young man before him was a far cry from the legendary Immortal Bai, Chen Yi was certain that this was him.
The young Daoist priest noticed his daze. A flicker of suspicion crossed his eyes as he asked again,
"Young master, care for a divination?"
Chen Yi snapped back to his senses, pressed his lips together, and turned to walk back into Jishi Medicine Hall.
’Divination?’
’Divination my ass!’