Jingukogoro had initially thought Long Xiao was going to bid higher, but to his surprise, he gave up so readily. This left Jingukogoro feeling as if he had been tripped, his plans foiled.
The female manager was no fool; she saw that Long Xiao was toying with Lin Huan and his group. Long Xiao picked up a snuff bottle, and for the bottle that was originally fifty thousand, she directly called out a million.
The snuff bottle was sealed with wax. Long Xiao shook it, and it seemed there was something inside. Green energy entered the snuff bottle, and within each snuff bottle, he saw a pill.
A pill sealed in an antique snuff bottle was surely a treasure. Long Xiao immediately handed over his bank card, ready to pay.
“I want this snuff bottle, two million.” Jingukogoro, having just paid, looked at the snuff bottle in Long Xiao’s hand and bid again.
“I bid two million and one yuan, not a cent more.”
“Why are you like this? Are you out of money that you only bid one yuan more?” Lin Huan complained indignantly.
Long Xiao chuckled and said, “This isn’t an auction house, there’s no rule about the minimum bid increase. I’ll bid whatever I want.”
“Mr. Jinguku, please bid higher this time.”
Jinguku nodded and said, “I bid three million.”
This time, Long Xiao, without hesitation, increased the bid to four million.
Long Xiao’s determined demeanor made Jinguku Five郎 somewhat suspicious. He didn’t understand why Long Xiao was acting this way, but he had seen Long Xiao shake the snuff bottle earlier, and it seemed there was something inside.
“May I see it?” Jinguku Five郎 asked.
Among the dozen or so antiques, only this pair of snuff bottles emanated green energy. Long Xiao activated ‘Dragon Swallows the Seas’ and absorbed all the green energy within.
Only when there was no more green energy did Long Xiao hand the snuff bottle to Jinguku Five郎.
Jinguku Five郎 gently shook the snuff bottle and heard a faint sound from within, confirming there was indeed something like a pill.
“I bid seven million.”
Jinguku Five郎 immediately raised the bid to seven million. Since the green energy inside had already been absorbed, even bidding a million would be a waste.
“Fine, I give up. The snuff bottle is yours.”
Long Xiao picked up the antiques placed on the counter one by one, bidding on them regardless of their price. Jinguku Five郎 felt that Long Xiao might be in cahoots with the shop manager, trying to swindle him.
When Long Xiao acquired the fifth item, Jinguku Five郎 stopped competing with him. It was a jade pendant, and Long Xiao bought it for a mere thirty thousand.
Lin Huan watched Long Xiao, almost cursing. He couldn’t borrow thirty thousand from you, yet you paid for this broken jade pendant without batting an eye.
“Long Xiao, if you have money, why didn’t you lend it to me, but bought this broken jade pendant?” Lin Huan glared at Long Xiao and said.
Long Xiao smiled and said, “Lin Huan, you don’t understand. This jade is fine Mongolian jade, perfect for making a magical artifact.”
“Magical artifact? What magical artifact?”
“It’s a magical artifact for warding off evil spirits. I’ll engrave a formation array on the jade for you, and this jade will increase in value a thousandfold. It can protect your girlfriend from misfortune.”
Back home, after dinner, Long Xiao returned to his room and began engraving the formation array on the jade. It took him over four hours to finish.
As he drew the last stroke, Long Xiao saw a faint golden light emanate from the jade, enveloping it.
“It’s done. You can give it to your girlfriend now.” Long Xiao handed the jade to Lin Huan, who had been waiting nearby, and said.
Lin Huan didn’t notice anything different. He took the jade and examined it carefully, asking, “This can ward off misfortune now?”
Long Xiao nodded and said, “Yes, it can ward off misfortune. Remember, don’t tell anyone that I engraved the formation array for you, or it will cause me trouble.”
“Don’t worry, brother-in-law. I, Lin Huan, am a man of my word and won’t betray you.”
After sending Lin Huan away, as Long Xiao was preparing to sleep, he received a call from Lu Ying. She informed him that the medicine had been prepared and would be delivered to Xinglin Herbal Hall tomorrow.
Early the next morning, after his morning exercises, Long Xiao rushed to Xinglin Herbal Hall to wait for Lu Ying. As soon as he arrived, he saw Lu Ying’s Rolls-Royce Phantom parked outside. She had arrived much earlier.
Seeing Long Xiao, Lu Ying pointed to a large bag of medicine on the table and said, “Divine Doctor Long, see if this medicine is enough.”
After inspecting the medicine, Long Xiao found that its quality was excellent, and the herbs were aged sufficiently.
“This medicine is all very good. Please wait inside. I’m going to refine the medicine.”
Mi Tianfu chatted with Lu Ying while Long Xiao took Mingyue to refine the medicine. Long Xiao was very fast at refining medicine, and although Mingyue had watched him several times, he hadn't learned it.
After one batch of medicine was refined, Mingyue pointed to the cauldron used for refining and asked, “Master, when will you teach me to refine medicine?”
Long Xiao told Mingyue that refining medicine required the Three Flavors True Fire. Without the Three Flavors True Fire to extract the essence of the medicinal ingredients, even the best herbs could not be refined into potent pills.
“Master, you don’t seem to have the Three Flavors True Fire. How can you refine medicine?”
“My body is different from ordinary people. I possess innate life force, so I can refine medicine without the Three Flavors True Fire.”
Long Xiao’s words greatly disappointed Mingyue. Long Xiao comforted him, “Mingyue, in fact, treating illness doesn’t necessarily require refining medicine. Directly boiling the herbs can also achieve excellent therapeutic effects.”
Lu Ying had expected the refining process to take a long time, but to her surprise, it only took a little over an hour. Long Xiao then arrived at the reception hall of Xinglin Herbal Hall with the freshly refined pills.
Long Xiao placed a small porcelain bottle in front of Lu Ying and said, “This is ‘Tongmai Pill.’ If it’s not inconvenient, I’d like to examine the patient’s body before they take the medicine.”
Lu Ying hesitated for a moment and then said, “Alright, I’ll take you to see my grandfather.”
Lu Ying’s grandfather lived in a large manor in Mang Mountain. The buildings in the manor were very old, with small bridges and flowing water in the courtyard and winding corridors, reminiscent of Suzhou gardens.
Following Lu Ying through several corridors and a garden, they arrived at the entrance of a small house behind the manor.
“Grandfather, Divine Doctor Long is here to see you,” Lu Ying announced loudly from outside the small house.
The door of the small house creaked open, and an old man dressed in a gray monk’s robe emerged.
“It’s Lu Ying, come in quickly. Your grandfather has been waiting for you.”
The small house was not large, furnished entirely with high-end solid wood furniture. On a large, antique bed lay a withered old man.
“Miss Lu, your grandfather’s condition is more serious than I imagined. He must have suffered a severe injury in the past,” Long Xiao said upon seeing the old man.
With just one glance, Long Xiao could tell the severity of the situation. Lu Ying found it hard to believe. The gray-robed elder who had followed them in changed his expression; he hadn’t expected Long Xiao to discern at a glance that the old man on the bed had suffered a serious injury.
“Divine Doctor Long, can my grandfather be cured with your ‘Tongmai Pill’?” Lu Ying asked anxiously.
Long Xiao shook his head and said, “His serious injuries have not healed. If he rashly uses the ‘Tongmai Pill,’ it could be fatal.”
“Then what should we do?”
Upon hearing that the ‘Tongmai Pill’ couldn’t be used, Lu Ying became anxious.