Qin Feiyang was closely examining a Healing Pill.

The brief glint in his eyes when he heard the White-Eyed Wolf's message was followed by a quick glance at the black-haired elderly man.

People can change their appearances, but not the scent they exude. He fully believed in the White-Eyed Wolf's sense of smell; there was no chance it could be wrong!

However, he just gave a cursory glance before turning towards the pretty young lady, smiling. "Don't you have better quality elixirs?"

"Sir, are you not satisfied?" The young lady's eyebrows knitted together. She looked somewhat miffed. This was the best pill in White Fox City, yet it wasn't good enough? However, the young lady didn't realize that Qin Feiyang wasn't just unsatisfied; he was deeply unsatisfied. This Healing Pill was just a common one, and even among common healing pills, it was merely a low-grade variety. How could such a pill catch the eye of a Top Grade Alchemist like him, who could refine elixirs with two Elixir Patterns? Even the elixirs he casually made were better than this one!

But he simply smiled, put the Healing Pill back on the counter, and walked towards another. Despite her dissatisfaction, the young lady followed him. In her eyes, Qin Feiyang was nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

In reality, Qin Feiyang wasn't interested in the pills at all. He kept his eye on the black-haired elderly man.

But after a while, he stopped before a counter, attracted by a bright red flower. It was actually a Nine Suns Flower! And right next to the Nine Suns Flower was a Red Fire Glazed Tree. What a treasure to stumble upon!

Overjoyed, Qin Feiyang was about to ask the young lady about the price. But he suddenly frowned slightly, surreptitiously asking his companions, "Don't you find it strange?"

"What's strange?" Both the White-Eyed Wolf and the Mountain-Drilling Beast were puzzled.

"Within a thousand-mile radius, only that girl's grandfather is an Alchemist. So why are medicinal materials being sold in the Trading Pavilion?" Qin Feiyang said. "Logically, the Meng Family should be turning these materials directly into elixirs, because the price of finished elixirs can be several times higher than that of the medicinal materials. Moreover, these materials are only useful to Alchemists. If you're not an Alchemist, even the most precious materials are useless. In this entire area, apart from the Meng Family, there are no other Alchemists. So who would come to buy these medicinal materials?"

For some reason, upon seeing these materials, Qin Feiyang had an intuition. The Meng Family selling these materials didn't seem to be as simple as it appeared.

Upon hearing Qin Feiyang's words, the White-Eyed Wolf and the Mountain-Drilling Beast also found it all a bit strange.

Seeing Qin Feiyang eyeing the medicinal materials, a strange glint flashed in the young lady's eyes. She asked, "Sir, do you want these medicinal materials?"

Qin Feiyang asked, "How much for this Nine Suns Flower?"

"Two hundred thousand Gold Coins for one," she replied. "We have more in our storage. If you need a large quantity, I can give you a special offer." The young lady's smile revealed her anticipation.

"That cheap?" Qin Feiyang was a bit taken aback. "How many do you have?"

The young lady answered, "I am not quite sure, but there should be no less than twenty."

Qin Feiyang was secretly surprised. The Nine Suns Flower was a rare sight even in the Spirit State. Who would have thought there would be so many here?

The White-Eyed Wolf urged him psychically, "Xiao Qinzi, what are you hesitating for? Buy them all quickly."

Qin Feiyang thought, Don't rush. Let's figure out what's going on first. He believed his intuition; the Trading Pavilion selling medicinal materials definitely hid some mystery.

At this moment, the black-haired elderly man across from them put down the elixir in his hand and walked towards Qin Feiyang. Qin Feiyang noticed instantly. A glint flashed in his eyes.

As the black-haired elderly man came over, he chuckled and said, "Young man, do you have some time for a chat?"

Qin Feiyang turned towards the elderly man, puzzled. "Are you talking to me, sir?"

The elderly man nodded.

Strange, Qin Feiyang muttered to himself. Why would he take the initiative to approach me? He then smiled. "I have time. What would you like to talk about, sir?"

The elderly man, glancing subtly at the young lady, responded in a rough voice, "Let's discuss it outside!"

"Okay," Qin Feiyang nodded.

Upon seeing this, the young lady quickly asked, "Sir, will you still buy these medicinal materials?"

"I am not an Alchemist. What use are these materials to me?" He smiled lightly, took out fifty Gold Coins, and said, "This is for your trouble."

"Thank you very much, sir." With brightened eyes, the young lady quickly pocketed the Gold Coins and curtsied in thanks.

"No problem." Qin Feiyang waved his hand and turned to the elderly man. "After you, sir."

The elderly man nodded, then turned to walk towards the first floor. Qin Feiyang followed closely behind.

As the two of them left, one after the other, a door opened in a corner. A square-faced, middle-aged man walked out.

The middle-aged man walked up to the young lady and asked, "What was that kid asking about the medicinal materials for? Is he an Alchemist?"

"No." The young lady shook her head. "It seemed he was just curious."

The middle-aged man ordered, "Alright, you keep an eye out. If anyone buys any medicinal materials, report it to me immediately."

"Yes," the young lady nodded.

The middle-aged man turned to leave but suddenly turned back towards the young lady, asking, "Have you seen Ding Ming?"

The young woman said, "I saw him return a moment ago, but then he suddenly disappeared."

The middle-aged man fumed, "The Trading Pavilion is swamped all day, yet he still finds time to run around! When you see him, tell him to come see me immediately."

"Understood," the young woman responded.

「At the same time.」

Qin Feiyang followed the black-haired old man out of the Trading Pavilion.

Qin Feiyang sent a mental message, "White-Eyed Wolf, are you sure he's Ding Ming?"

The White-Eyed Wolf replied, "I'm sure."

Strange, what is he up to? Qin Feiyang wondered.

The black-haired old man suddenly took a step back to walk shoulder to shoulder with Qin Feiyang and whispered, "Young man, do you know why I suddenly approached you?"

Qin Feiyang paused, then said, "I'd be grateful if you'd enlighten me, sir."

The black-haired old man said, "Because of the medicinal ingredients you were planning to buy."

Qin Feiyang felt a chill in his heart and asked calmly, "Is there a problem with those ingredients?"

"A big problem." A glint flashed in the old man's aged eyes. "You should know, in this area, only the Meng Family has an Alchemist."

Qin Feiyang nodded.

The black-haired old man continued, "If that's the case, why are they selling medicinal ingredients? Have you ever thought about that?"

"No," Qin Feiyang shook his head, feigning confusion.

The black-haired old man said, "To be honest with you, there are actually other Alchemists in this area."

"Oh?" Qin Feiyang raised an eyebrow. "Where are the other Alchemists then?"

The black-haired old man answered, "They were all murdered by the Meng Family."

"What?" Qin Feiyang exclaimed, shocked.

The old man said solemnly, "The Meng Family sells medicinal ingredients in the Trading Pavilion for the sole purpose of luring people to buy them.

"You know that these ingredients have virtually no use for ordinary people.

"So, those who would buy such ingredients must be Alchemists.

"And as soon as someone buys the ingredients, they immediately become a target for the Meng Family's assassination."

"Why would the Meng Family do that?" the Mountain-Drilling Beast asked incredulously via mental transmission.

The old man explained, "It's simple. Without other Alchemists, the Meng Family can securely maintain their control over White Fox City."

The Mountain-Drilling Beast scoffed mentally, The Meng Family is truly despicable!

The old man sneered, "If the Meng Family weren't so despicable, they would have been annihilated by the neighboring large tribes long ago."

A spark flickered in Qin Feiyang's eyes as he asked suspiciously, "Sir, these matters should be Meng Family secrets. How do you know them?"

"I have a friend who works in the Trading Pavilion," the old man said. "Once, when we were drinking, he had too much and spilled these secrets to me."

Qin Feiyang nodded. "Then why are you helping me?"

The old man said, a flicker of hatred in his aged eyes, "I'm helping you because I see you're an unfamiliar face, and I don't want you to suffer an undeserved disaster.

"And there's another reason: my grandson was also an Alchemist.

"Like you, he didn't know about these secrets at the time and excitedly ran to the Trading Pavilion to purchase medicinal ingredients.

"He ended up being targeted by the Meng Family and died outside the city.

"When I found him, he was already a cold corpse."

Qin Feiyang remarked, "This Meng Family is really devoid of all conscience!"

"There's no choice. The Meng Family's influence is too great. Even though I know these secrets, I dare not expose them," the old man cautioned. "Young man, you too must not speak of these matters recklessly, lest you bring disaster upon yourself."

"Thank you for the reminder, sir," Qin Feiyang said.

The old man laughed. "There seems to be a connection between us, young man. Why don't you accompany me for a few drinks?"

"It would be my pleasure," Qin Feiyang smiled.

"I remember, there's a tavern just up ahead. Shall we go?" The old man chuckled and walked briskly forward.

Qin Feiyang silently followed.

The White-Eyed Wolf asked via voice transmission, "Xiao Qinzi, what is this guy up to?"

Qin Feiyang replied mentally after a brief pause, "If I'm not mistaken, he's saying all this to earn our trust, then take the opportunity to kill us."

The White-Eyed Wolf asked, "Then are the things he's saying true or not?"

Qin Feiyang transmitted with a faint smile, "The Meng Family selling medicinal ingredients to lure Alchemists into buying them is probably true.

"But that story about his grandson? It's clearly a fabrication meant to fool us and win our sympathy."

This man thinks he's clever, Qin Feiyang mused, but little does he know, the White-Eyed Wolf had already seen through his identity.

The Mountain-Drilling Beast suggested mentally, "So what are we waiting for? Let's just kill him!"

Qin Feiyang replied indifferently via voice transmission, "No rush. I want to see if he has any accomplices."

A little while later, the two entered a tavern. According to the old man, all the taverns in White Fox City were owned by the Meng Family. So here, one had to be extremely careful about what one said.

Guided by a waiter, the two entered a private chamber.

Soon after, the waiter brought several pots of wine and some flavorful signature dishes. Qin Feiyang tasted them; the wine and dishes were fine. Then, the old man and the young man began to chat and drink.

Time passed slowly, and night quietly descended. The temperature here became even lower.

Qin Feiyang gradually realized the old man seemed to be trying to get him drunk. So, he decided to play along. He secretly signaled to the White-Eyed Wolf and the Mountain-Drilling Beast, and they all started to pretend to be drunk.

An hour later, Qin Feiyang, the White-Eyed Wolf, and the Mountain-Drilling Beast all collapsed onto the dining table, reeking of liquor, completely unconscious.

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