9: Chapter 9: Fame for Elixir, Trouble Caused by Villains

The entrance to Jishitang Pharmacy was packed, leaving no room to move.

"Black-hearted shop! Quack doctor! You're selling fake medicine and hurting people!"

A man with a sharp, monkey-like face was rolling on the ground, making a scene. Beside him, on a door panel, lay an old man whose face was black and who was foaming at the mouth.

"Everyone, come and see! My father became like this after taking the 'essence-consolidating pill' from Jishitang Pharmacy! This isn't a life-saving medicine; it's clearly a death warrant!"

The surrounding crowd pointed and whispered, discussing the matter animatedly.

"That can't be right? Master Xu's pills are famous for being effective."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. Maybe he's just trying to make money and passing off inferior goods?"

"If someone really dies from eating it, Jishitang Pharmacy is finished..."

Manager Zhou was sweating profusely, trying to explain, but his voice was drowned out by the man's wailing.

Just then, a clear, resonant voice called out: "Move aside."

The voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority.

The crowd subconsciously parted, creating a path.

Xu Changkun walked over slowly with his hands clasped behind his back. His expression was calm, and his gait was unhurried, as if he were not facing a medical dispute, but walking through his own backyard.

"Master Xu is here!"

"Master Xu, what exactly is going on here?"

Xu Changkun ignored the crowd's questions, walked straight up to the man, and looked down at him.

"You say your father was poisoned after taking my pill?"

The man was intimidated by Xu Changkun's aura and shrank his neck, but thinking of the silver in his pocket, he stiffened his neck again and shouted: "That's right! It was your medicine! I still have the bottle!"

As he spoke, he held up a porcelain bottle marked with the Jishitang Pharmacy emblem.

Xu Changkun took the porcelain bottle, pulled out the stopper, and sniffed it.

A faint, fishy stench was mixed in with the medicinal fragrance.

"This medicine has been tampered with," Xu Changkun said indifferently. "Someone added Heart-Rot Grass to it."

"You're lying!" The man's eyes flickered. "Clearly, your medicine is the problem! You're just trying to shirk responsibility!"

"Whether I'm shirking responsibility or not, we'll know once we test it."

Xu Changkun stopped wasting words, crouched down, and placed two fingers on the old man's pulse.

A moment later, a cold smile curled his lips. "Just as I thought."

He stood up, his gaze like lightning, sweeping across the crowd: "Everyone, this old gentleman has indeed been poisoned, but not because of the pill."

"Inside his body, apart from the poison of the Heart-Rot Grass, there is another chronic poison—Blood-Wither Powder! This type of poison must be taken for at least three days before it takes effect!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd was in an uproar.

"Three days ago? He hadn't bought the medicine then, right?"

"Could it be that someone poisoned him on purpose?"

Xu Changkun stared at the man, his voice cold: "You actually poisoned your own father just to extort money? What a cunning scheme!"

"You... you're making false accusations!" The man's face turned pale, but he was still holding on.

"Whether I'm making false accusations or not, we'll know once I wake him up."

Xu Changkun said no more, took out a genuine essence-consolidating pill, and fed it to the old man. Then, he channeled his spiritual energy, placed his palm against the old man's back, and helped him dissolve the medicinal power.

As the spiritual energy entered the body, it instantly enveloped the toxins and forced them out.

"Wah!" The old man vomited a mouthful of black blood and slowly regained consciousness.

"Father! Are you alright?" The man threw himself forward, feigning concern.

The old man opened his eyes in a daze. Seeing his son, a flash of fear and anger appeared in his cloudy eyes: "You beast... what did you put in the porridge you gave me to drink..."

The truth was revealed!

The crowd instantly exploded.

"My god! It really was the son poisoning his own father!"

"That's so unscrupulous!"

"Beat this beast to death!"

Under the intense public anger, the man was scared out of his wits. Not daring to hide anything any longer, he spilled everything like beans pouring from a bamboo tube: "Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I'll talk! It was Manager Liu from Renji Pharmacy! He gave me one hundred taels of silver to do this! He said that as long as I ruined Jishitang Pharmacy's reputation, there would be a big reward..."

"Renji Pharmacy? The Li family?"

A cold light flashed in Xu Changkun's eyes.

It was the Li family again.

First they sent the Blood-Fiend Loose Cultivator to assassinate me, and when that plan failed, they hatched another vicious scheme. This Squire Li really has a death wish.

"Very well."

Xu Changkun nodded and looked toward a few sneaky figures outside the crowd—they were servants of the Li family.

Upon meeting Xu Changkun's cold gaze, those few people were so scared they turned and ran.

"Go back and tell Squire Li."

Xu Changkun used his spiritual energy to project his voice, and it clearly spread throughout the entire street.

"Clean your neck. Tonight, I will come to take your head."

How domineering!

The whole scene went silent, and then erupted into thunderous cheers.

On this day, Jishitang Pharmacy's reputation was not damaged; instead, it became even more renowned due to Xu Changkun's miraculous skills and his hatred for evil!

And the Li family's doomsday had begun its countdown.