With Li Yizhen's help in promoting the medicine, the pharmaceutical factory's operations had stabilized. Long Xiao visited the factory and, seeing a scene of prosperity, felt very pleased.
He went to the office building and pushed open the door to the factory director's office. The director, Huang Taiyong, was reviewing a document. Hearing the door open, he looked up to see Long Xiao and quickly rose to greet him.
After explaining his purpose, Long Xiao took out the prescription and placed it on the desk. "Director Huang, please call your technicians here. I'll explain to them how to process this type of pill," he said.
Huang Taiyong made a phone call. In less than ten minutes, two middle-aged men in suits knocked and entered.
Huang Taiyong was about to introduce Long Xiao, but Long Xiao waved him off. "Director Huang, no need to introduce me. Let's not waste time."
Long Xiao told the two middle-aged men how to produce these two types of pills.
Both men looked at Long Xiao with surprise. One asked, "You're so young, do you understand pharmaceuticals?"
Long Xiao nodded. "I wrote these two prescriptions myself, so of course I know how to refine them."
The two men were about to say more, but Huang Taiyong interjected, "Young Master Long is an expert in this field. Listen to him and do as he says."
Seeing their director speak, the two middle-aged men dared not say anything further.
Long Xiao meticulously explained the refinement process for both pills. The two men became increasingly absorbed as they listened, never having imagined that pharmaceutical production could be done this way. It completely overturned their understanding.
"It's so simple, it's amazing! Alright, we'll arrange for a trial production of a few batches immediately to test the effects," one of the men said happily.
Long Xiao nodded. "Go ahead, I'll wait here."
The two men left the director's office with the prescriptions. Huang Taiyong brewed Long Xiao a cup of tea and, ceasing his work, chatted with him for a while.
Two hours later, the two middle-aged men ran back in, one carrying two boxes and the other holding the prescriptions.
"That's wonderful, Young Master Long! We've produced ten batches in one go," one of the men said, placing the boxes on the desk.
Long Xiao opened both boxes. Each contained ten pills, about the size of peanuts. Long Xiao took one pill from each box and placed them on the table. "Have these two analyzed chemically. I'll find someone to test the others for efficacy," he said.
As he was leaving the pharmaceutical factory with the 'Beauty Enhancing Pill', Long Xiao received a call from Mi Tianfu. Mi Tianfu informed him that strange occurrences had befallen Xinglin Caotang and that they might have been set up.
Mi Tianfu had some knowledge of Yin Yang numerology. Though he was only a dilettante, his foundation in metaphysics was solid. If even he could sense they were being manipulated, something serious must have happened.
As soon as Long Xiao parked his car in front of Xinglin Caotang, he felt an eerie chill. This courtyard was built on land purchased by Mi Tianfu's father, a master of the Bian Que sect, who was exceptionally skilled in Feng Shui and numerology. The entire layout of Xinglin Caotang was meticulously planned.
During its most impoverished times, one could still feel warmth near Xinglin Caotang. The current eerie sensation indicated that someone had tampered with it.
Just as Long Xiao was about to enter Xinglin Caotang, Bao Erhu, standing on a building over a thousand meters to the south, watched through binoculars.
"Heh heh, Long Xiao is back. Master Lingyun, can your formation trap him?" Bao Erhu asked.
"It should be fine. I received my master's true teachings for this Dragon Trapping Grand Formation. In the past, a single Dragon Trapping Grand Formation trapped five hundred experts and drove them all mad in just three days."
Soon, Bao Erhu saw through his binoculars that Long Xiao was circling the area in front of Xinglin Caotang, not entering.
Yesterday afternoon, after Long Xiao had returned to Donghai City, Master Lingyun personally drove and also came to Donghai City.
Master Lingyun had past dealings with the Bao family, so he went directly to the Bao family villa.
When Master Lingyun inquired about Long Xiao, Bao Erhu immediately embellished a great deal of slander, portraying Long Xiao as a complete failure and a gigolo.
Master Lingyun was somewhat skeptical of Bao Erhu's words. After all, he had seen the talismans drawn by Long Xiao, which were imbued with life energy and were rare treasures.
If Bao Erhu's account were true, then Long Xiao must possess a treasure that stored life energy.
To ordinary people, life energy might seem merely magical, but to masters of sorcery and medicine, it held a different significance.
They knew that possessing life energy meant extending one's lifespan and increasing the chances of survival.
A person's life, from birth to death, was a process of accumulating and dissipating life energy.
The life energy accumulated in youth was consumed in old age. More life energy meant several more years, or even decades, of life. Who wouldn't want to live longer?
Watching the formation trap Long Xiao, Master Lingyun watched anxiously. If Long Xiao proved truly capable and escaped quickly, he would have to leave immediately.
If Long Xiao struggled to escape, it would indicate that his ability to draw talismans relied on the treasures he possessed.
After watching for half an hour, Long Xiao was still walking intermittently. Master Lingyun grew increasingly excited.
To be sure, Master Lingyun watched for another hour. Long Xiao was still pacing, and when he got tired, he simply sat on the ground to rest.
"It seems he truly possesses a treasure imbued with life energy. Wonderful, truly wonderful," Master Lingyun exclaimed excitedly.
Bao Erhu was also contemplating his own scheme. Long Xiao had connections with the Ji family, Black Widow, and Luo Caishen. If he were to act directly and fail to kill Long Xiao, he would undoubtedly face their united attack.
Now, by letting Master Lingyun act, if he happened to kill Long Xiao by chance, these factions would have no choice but to watch. No one would avenge a dead person who had become worthless.
Long Xiao arrived at the entrance of Xinglin Caotang and pushed open the door, only to find himself outside Xinglin Caotang again. Perplexed, he pushed the door open once more and discovered he was still outside.
The eerie aura grew stronger. Long Xiao knew this was the result of the formation being activated.
In the "Dragon Scripture," there were several volumes dedicated to formations. Although Long Xiao had studied them all and understood them, he believed that very few people understood formations nowadays, making his studies seemingly pointless, so he hadn't delved deeply into them.
The formation he encountered this time was a crude one, similar to a "ghost hitting the wall" illusion. This was enough to indicate that formations were still understood in the modern era.
After careful consideration, Long Xiao found a method to break the formation. Soon, he emerged from the illusion and saw the real entrance of Xinglin Caotang.
Through the open door, he saw people queuing inside the courtyard, waiting to see a doctor.
As he was about to enter, he suddenly felt as if someone were watching him. He scanned his surroundings but found no one observing him, yet the feeling was intense.
To draw out the observer, Long Xiao decided to repeat his earlier behavior, pacing back and forth as if still trapped by the formation.
He walked, stopped, and paced for two hours. The feeling of being watched did not disappear. When he grew tired, he simply sat on the ground and remained still.