As the Tongji Pharmacy's assistant opened the door, the crowd standing outside like door gods startled him wide awake. Mid-yawn, with tears just wetting his eyeballs and flowing towards the corners of his eyes, he froze in an exaggerated pose.
“Who are you people, what do you want?”
The assistant instinctively clutched the door, about to shut it, when Qing Yi reached out to stop him, forcing a smile. “Young man, don't be afraid, we are from the Medicine King…”
Before he could even utter the word "Gu," upon hearing they were from Medicine King Valley, the assistant abandoned the door. He grabbed a stool and began swinging it wildly, yelling, “Good, you actually dare to come, trying to cause trouble, are you? I’ll see who dares to take another step forward… Hmph, let me tell you, I’m ruthless. If this stool hits your head, it’ll split open instantly. Be sensible and scram. Otherwise, when our owner arrives, he’ll have the Prince’s Demon Hunting Army chop off your heads.”
Qing Yi twitched the corner of his mouth and helplessly turned to look at Qing Zhu, touching his own face in distress. Had he become so ugly that people despised and loathed him?
Qing Zhu: “…”
He felt he had brought a group of simpletons. This was clearly a misunderstanding caused by their junior martial uncle not having time to inform the pharmacy’s employees, leading to a discrepancy in information!
“This young man!”
Qing Zhu stepped forward but was blown back by the wind from the swinging stool.
Logically speaking, incapacitating such an assistant would be easy for them. However, this was their junior martial uncle’s pharmacy. Even if they didn’t consider the monk, they had to consider the Buddha. If they genuinely injured him, they wouldn’t be able to explain it to their junior martial uncle.
Seeing the situation, Qing Yuan put her nuts back into her small satchel, patted the residue from her hands, and took two steps back. Cupping her hands around her mouth to form a megaphone, she took a deep breath and shouted into the pharmacy with all her might, “Junior Martial Uncle, we’re here! Junior Martial Uncle, are you home?!”
The sound wave that passed was deafening.
Qing Zhu and the others trembled all over, feeling their eardrums had been damaged, their ears buzzing.
What, what was that?
The assistant blinked, momentarily losing his grip on the stool. It fell to the ground with a clang.
“Jun, Junior Martial Uncle? Who is your Junior Martial Uncle?” the assistant asked, his face blank.
Qing Yuan pushed Qing Zhu aside and walked up to the assistant. Due to her height, she had to look up at him. “Who else could it be? Of course, it’s your owner, Feng Luan!”
The assistant looked at the little sprout, who he estimated to be only about 1.5 meters tall, and his mind couldn’t quite process it. After about half a minute of stunned silence, he finally sorted out the relationships.
So, the owner was indeed a direct disciple of Medicine King Valley?
“Oh my, this is like the Dragon King’s temple being flooded by his own family! We don’t recognize our own! Quick, quick, please come in…” These people weren’t here to cause trouble. The assistant’s fierce demeanor completely changed, replaced by a brilliant smile as he busily invited everyone into the shop.
As he spoke, he picked up the stool from the ground and added, “You’ll have to wait a moment. Our owner doesn’t live here. How about this… I’ll first get the shopkeeper to come over, and I’ll go to the Prince’s Mansion to notify the owner.”
“Wait, the Prince’s Mansion? Which Prince’s Mansion?” Qing Zhu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could their junior martial uncle have been living in the Regent’s Mansion all along?
The assistant replied, “Which Prince’s Mansion could it be? Of course, it’s the Regent’s Mansion!”
Seeing the assistant’s proud smile, Qing Zhu almost had a myocardial infarction. The Southern Prefecture was merely standing in the vortex of power struggles, but their junior martial uncle had directly moved into the home of the mastermind stirring up the vortex! Medicine King Valley had always remained neutral in the country’s power struggles, living in seclusion and maintaining its own integrity, which was why it held its current transcendent position. Junior Martial Uncle… well, junior martial uncle was, after all, a disciple taken in by Old Poison during his travels. It was understandable that she might not be aware of Medicine King Valley’s long-standing principles.
Before he could even ask, Qing Zhu had already found an excuse for her.
Since it was a pharmacy, there wasn’t much seating in the shop. There was only a spot for consultations and patient visits next to the counter. Qing Zhu and the others could only stand and wait, but no one seemed to mind. After the assistant went to the backyard to fetch the shopkeeper, Qing Tang immediately said, “Senior Martial Brother, they still don’t quite believe us.”
Qing Yuan blinked her eyes, not understanding. “Ah? No way, didn’t they let us in?”
Qing Zhu glanced at Qing Yuan. With that kind of intelligence, you still claim you’re not foolish?
He pressed Qing Yuan’s head and nodded at Qing Tang. “Indeed, they’re being cautious.”
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have let them stand in the shop but would have invited them to the backyard.
However, this was only natural.
After Qing Tang spoke, she didn’t say anything further.
After the shopkeeper came out, the assistant made a trip to the Prince’s Mansion to deliver the message.
When Lu Wan came in to report, Nan Shiying was sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling, with a look of utter despair.
What time was it already?
She gritted her teeth, a look of tragic resolve on her face, and threw off the covers. Her appearance suggested she was about to head to the execution grounds.
After washing and dressing, Nan Shiying asked Bai Zhi to buy some breakfast from Dongpo Tower and send it to Tongji Pharmacy. It was so early; they probably hadn’t eaten yet. If she had known these people were such early risers, she should have stated a specific time yesterday.
After Medicine King Valley entered the capital, rumors had vaguely circulated that Feng Luan was not a direct disciple of Medicine King Valley but an imposter. However, this morning, the news of people from Medicine King Valley blocking the door and calling Feng Luan "Junior Martial Uncle" was heard by the already-trading citizens and quickly spread.
The previous rumors were now self-evident.
Not only was Feng Luan a direct disciple of Medicine King Valley, but her seniority was also quite high!
By the time Feng Luan arrived at the pharmacy, the gossip about her identity as a direct disciple and her high seniority had already been overshadowed by discussions about who she truly was.
As Nan Shiying walked into the shop, Qing Zhu and the others bowed to her, greeting, “Greetings, Junior Martial Uncle!”
Nan Shiying’s morning grumpiness had mostly dissipated, and the frown on her brow finally relaxed. She smiled and nodded at everyone, then looked at the shopkeeper and the assistant. “It’s still early, you two probably haven’t eaten yet. Coincidentally, I had a maid from the Prince’s Mansion buy some food from Dongpo Tower. Take turns eating.”
With that, she turned to Qing Zhu and the others and said, “Follow me inside!”
Only then did the assistant truly exhale. So, the owner was indeed their Junior Martial Uncle!
After everyone entered the inner courtyard, the assistant asked the shopkeeper, “Shopkeeper, why didn’t the owner inform us in advance? I almost attacked them with a stool!”
The shopkeeper glanced at him and shook his head. “You, read more books. With your brain, if you don’t learn more, you’ll probably only be a shop assistant your whole life!”
The assistant, reprimanded, looked wronged. What, he just asked a question, and now he was brainless?
The shopkeeper shook his head and gestured outwards. “Look, with that little girl’s shout just now, it won’t be long before everyone in the capital knows that our owner is not only a direct disciple of Medicine King Valley but also of very high seniority.”
“If the owner had informed us in advance, would the incident just now have happened?”
“You, you still have so much to learn!”