Since Cao Yun was focused on improving Boss Gui's formula and training her instructors, he wasn't taking care of the Blazing Swallow. On the other hand, Xixue herself had been preoccupied with the return of her cousin and then the information she had received about her own sister. Several times, she had even hesitated to directly go to the Sisters of the Abyss. But she couldn't do anything about them. After staying out of the business for some time, she decided to invest herself in the Blazing Swallow once more.
What she discovered was that Nie Pian had created a very convoluted accounting. He had bought a few other businesses here and there. Thanks to the wealth produced by Cao Yun, he had really developed their company. They weren't just selling pills now, they were also selling all kinds of products. He had also bought a few restaurants and had launched himself in the arts as well. The only thing Nie Pian had really stayed out of was slave trade and brothels. First of all, he knew he shouldn't try to compete with Boss Gui in her own city. But he also knew how much Cao Yun despised such practices so he abstained from that. That being said, he had really hesitated about that.
Maybe the fact that he had been enslaved as well caused Nie Pian to have some scruples. Anyway, Xixue barely recognized the company. Nie Pian had even bought some shops that were competing against each other. From the outside, it was almost impossible to know who was really owning those shops. In fact, Nie Pian's influence was also extending outside of Duma City. Of course, the Blazing Swallow had ties with Ruohe. But Nie Pian had also made deals with other small cities all over the place. For now, he had remained in the area of influence of Boss Gui. The other capitals administered by other City Lords were a bit far for him to have already established connections.
For all intents and purposes, Nie Pian was the leader of the Blazing Swallow. And Xixue had to admit he was damn good at his job. When it came to commerce and finance, Nie Pian was way above her, there was no doubt. But managing a business wasn't just that. And Nie Pian was lacking when it came to dealing with people, either his own employees or the clients.
Moreover, Xixue quickly realized that he had put together a few scams. The alchemists he had hired had produced subpar pills using the emblem of the Blazing Swallow. Such a practice was a terrible idea. Yes in the short term it would produce benefits. But it would inevitably harm the prestige of the Blazing Swallow. Unfortunately, Nie Pian was unable to project himself in the future apparently. He was blinded by the immediate present without thinking about the company in a few years or even decades. This had to stop as soon as possible.
Although she admitted that most of his decisions were good, some were just terrible. In fact, this was very surprising. She went from being fascinated and impressed to wondering what kind of moron Nie Pian was. It was no wonder such an intelligent and crafty man had been condemned. His intelligence and his complex plans were blinding himself to his shortsightedness. Besides, he thought himself too smart to get caught, forgetting that he had indeed gotten caught.
-
At the moment, Nie Pian was working in the main shop of the Blazing Swallow in Duma City. From time to time, he liked to act as a salesman instead of just being the accountant. Of course, he wasn't no mere accountant, he was managing the entirety of the shop. By then, he was truly seeing the Blazing Swallow as his own company. After all, he knew that Cao Yun didn't care much as long as it was working well and that Xixue wouldn't stay here forever. Although he didn't know about her sister, he was aware that she had another goal than just taking care of this business.
The old man was alone manning the shop. There were a few servants who were cleaning and making sure that the items were placed properly. But only Nie Pian was able to receive customers. This was a very slow day and almost no one showed up.
Finally though, a plump boy entered the shop. Immediately, Nie Pian saw that he was full of himself and a perfect mark. He had to come from a very wealthy family just by looking at his clothes. There were two late Golden Blood Children accompanying him. What Nie Pian didn't know was that an Accomplished Demon was also monitoring the boy from afar. More than that, Nie Pian failed to recognize the boy as he didn't go out in public too often because of his protective mother. Indeed, this boy was Weiji Bao, Weiji Nian's son.
The very first thought that went through Nie Pian was "What a sucker!".
Nie Pian didn't leave him anytime to look around. In order to sell him as many pills as he could, he had to prevent him from thinking too much. By the look in his eyes, it shouldn't be too difficult. Clearly, this boy was not used to using his brain too much. All his life, Nie Pian had despised people like him, people born in wealth. That had been the main reason behind his frauds and scams, at first at least. Overtime, Nie Pian had grown to love his little scams so much that they went out of control. But in the beginning, they had been ways to get revenge on his own poor upbringing.
Affecting a very subservient attitude, Nie Pian went directly toward the young boy and his two guards.
"Young Noble, what can this meager shop do for you?"
As soon as he noticed Nie Pian, Weiji Bao took his demeanor as a given. After all, he was a great lord from a powerful family.
"Oh, I'm just looking around. I heard good things about this shop and I wanted to verify the rumors by myself. Are all those the quality of the pills?"
Weiji Bao was pointing at the small notes in front of the wooden box presenting the pills.
"Yes, Young Noble. All the pills have been examined by independent appraisers. No pill in our shop is below the Perfect grade. But for a noble man such as you, only the best pills could enter your eyes. I'm sorry that we don't have any True Essence to propose to you, but we do have a few Pure pills. Please, Young Noble, follow me."
"Pure pills?! Indeed, your shop is impressive... Is your owner here?"
"Unfortunately, Young Noble, our Lord Mo Yun is working on other products at the moment. Managing all his shops personally would be too difficult even for such a talented man. However, I can assure you that he overviewed the production of most of our pills. Here, look at those pills. This one is able to clean any toxin in the body. That one can help you improve your Jing."
Nie Pian showed many pills to the young Weiji Bao. Each time, he was watching his reactions to see in which direction he had to take his speech. Suddenly, he found the perfect hook.
"And this one can help you win all the battles of the bedroom. With this pill, you'll be able to get going for hours, for days, or even weeks. Besides, it will improve your sensations at least fourfold."
Nie Pian kept on piling promises seeing that they were working on the young man. But then, he suggested other pills with very similar promises. By the end, he had sold around twenty pills to this idiot. In fact, almost all of those pills but one had been refined by the new alchemists hired by Nie Pian. And they were not Pure pills at all. Indeed, the independent appraisers were really working for a company that had been bought by Nie Pian through various other companies. It was almost impossible to link those appraisers to the Blazing Swallow, but they were definitely on Nie Pian's payroll.
To be honest, Nie Pian had no idea of the actual quality of those pills. He had the real reports from the appraisers, but he didn't really care too much. The alchemists had assured him that the quality was very good. Moreover, he didn't know much about alchemy. Besides, until then he had had no problem with his new pills. And this sucker was buying them as soon as the old man promised him carnal pleasures. Although he was smiling pleasantly to the young boy, Nie Pian was looking at him with disdain and ridicule internally.
Finally, Weiji Bao left the shop with a huge smile on his face, sticking his chest out when he walked out. His two guards were not knowledgeable at all when it came to alchemy and they were honestly too afraid to say anything to their young master.
With a simple customer, Nie Pian had earned almost four months worth of profit. And if that young boy was dissatisfied with the pills, he probably wouldn't make it public. After all, it would be like advertising that he was inept in the bedroom. What an idiot!
-
Weiji Bao took the very first pill he had bought. Thanks to his mother, he always had partners to dual cultivate. Although he was a bit young as he barely was seventeen, he had known many women. If his father had been home, he would have put a stop to this debauchery. Unfortunately, his mother was always spoiling him even in inappropriate ways. Having many partners wasn't a problem for demons. What was really frown upon was having many children as it was seen as a waste of Jing. Indeed, a child was conceived when a couple exchanged Yin and Yang Jing. The male and female essences would meld into each other to produce the Prenatal Jing of the unborn child. For everyone on the Piaolu planet, this was the moment when the part of the soul that could reincarnate would enter the child. From there, the Hun and Po would form themselves fully and guide the development of the child.
Because of that belief, demons didn't conceive too many children and had many ways to make sure of that. There were a lot of techniques to prevent the man from giving out his essence. Thus, it was very rare for a cultivator to have a child without wanting it. So dual cultivation wasn't frown upon even with many partners. Still, even for demons, Weiji Bao was a bit young to have such a debauched lifestyle. But no one would openly criticize him because of his insane mother.
As soon as he took the pill, Weiji Bao went to his partner. However, no matter how long he was working on it, he couldn't show his virility. Such a thing had never happened to him. Completely impotent, he began to panic. His first thought was to call for another girl. No matter what the two girls did, Weiji Bao's plight wouldn't change. After a few hours, the women were really panicking as they were worried they would be punished for their master's failure.
Deeply ashamed, Weiji Bao finally decided to go to his mother. There was no doubt in his mind that the pill had done something to him. In his mind, he wondered whether his current situation would last forever. For the first time in his life, Weiji Bao was absolutely terrified. For a cultivator, this truly was shameful, especially for demons. His inability to fight in the bedroom could be seen as a weakness of his Jing. And he would thus be seen as weak. Even now, Weiji Bao could hear the laughter and ridicule against him.
That being said, telling what was plaguing him to his mother felt even worse. That was why he had tried to solve the problem himself. He had taken two more pills from those he had bought. However, they didn't change the situation. If anything, they made things worse as the toxins from those pills piled on the toxins already plaguing him in such a shameful manner.
"Mother! Mother!"
Hearing the despair and panic in her son's voice, Weiji Nian immediately rushed toward him.
"What is it, Bao'er?! What's going on?!"
"I... I..."
His eyes full of tears, Weiji Bao didn't know how to tell her what was going on. Thus, he pointed to his bedroom.
"I took some pills to... But it doesn't work."
"The pills didn't work?! What do you mean? What pills?"
"Not the pills! IT didn't work, IT."
After some time not understanding, Weiji Nian's face turned a bit red. From his bedroom, she saw two beautiful women coming out. And she mostly understood what had happened. It was hard to say who was feeling more awkward. However, the two girls were clearly terrified. There was a high chance that Weiji Nian would kill them just to silence them about what had happened. Unfortunately for them, they were right and they would be killed very soon after.
"Do you have those pills?!"
From Weiji Bao's hands, his mother received them. There was the emblem of the Blazing Swallow on them. All of a sudden, her rage exploded. Apparently, they were decided to ruin her family. And now they were targeting her son. No matter what, she would obliterate them all. Even if Boss Gui was trying to intervene, no one could stop Weiji Nian. If things went awry, she could still count on her husband and her uncle. They would understand her for sure!
"Boy, I'll call a physician for you. First we'll have those pills examined. And then, I will make sure that justice is carried out in a swift manner. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."
Despite her rage, Weiji Nian didn't want this story to be made public. The shame would be too much for her family to bear. Besides, it would all fall on her poor lovely child. Although he was the victim, he would be mocked and ridiculed. Not only had he been scammed, he couldn't get it up without a pill at his age... She could hear the words of the people insulting him. Of course, they wouldn't do so to her face, but they would still gossip about her son. And Boss Gui would be just too happy with that.