"You asked for it!" The golden-haired boy rolled up his sleeves, ready to smash the shop after Han Shuo's instigation.
"Edmund!" Jiya shouted in her endearing voice before continuing, "This place is just around the Saint Residence. Do you really want to start a fight here?"
The golden-haired young man stared blankly for a moment. He scowled at Han Shuo before replying, "Just because it's near the Sainte Residence doesn't mean it's connected to the Sainte family. Besides, this guy is obviously a newcomer. What is there to be afraid of?"
Jiya, however, did not share the same opinion. She observed that Han Shuo hadn't shown the slightest bit of fear and was sitting in a confident posture, giving her a hunch that Han Shuo wasn't as helpless as he appeared on the surface. Seeing that Edmund wasn't listening to her advice, Jiya hastily distanced herself and said, "Well, that's your choice then. I won't help you if things escalate."
"Don't worry, what can happen to me? It would be a miracle if I couldn't handle this guy," Edmund reached for a cupboard. He seemed determined to take on Han Shuo.
"Stop!" A cry that could not have been more timely suddenly sounded from outside. In the blink of an eye, Anito, the green-haired young man who had previously detained Han Shuo, entered the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy with a team of divine guards.
The first thing Anito did upon entering the shop was to greet Han Shuo in a friendly manner. He quickly turned to Edmund and looked at him with cold eyes and said, "Young Master Edmund, what do you intend to do?"
Edmund, who had almost destroyed a cabinet, had not expected the divine guards of the Third Corps to appear so suddenly. He stared blankly for a moment before he forced a laugh and said, "Nothing, just taking a closer look!"
"The City of Shadows has its rules. Even if you were born into a big family clan, that doesn't mean you can use your position to bully others. Please behave with some sense of decency and don't make things difficult for us," Anito lectured righteously while looking at him rather unhappily.
"Of course!" Edmund repeated over and over again.
"I hope that's the case!" Anito nodded. Immediately after, he said to Han Shuo with a polite smile, "We won't be far. If any of your customers behave inappropriately, we are just one call away." After finishing these words, Anito gave Edmund a cold look, bowed slightly to Jiya and left the pharmacy with his divine guards.
Anito was a leader of one of the sub-groups in the Third Corps. He could be considered part of the House of Sainte. After learning of the friendly relationship between Han Shuo and Carmelita, he had visited Han Shuo to apologise to him, fearing that Han Shuo might hold a grudge for past events. Even though Han Shuo had told him that it was no big deal, Anito still did not feel completely reassured. Therefore, he had recently taken the initiative to closely guard this area with a group of divine guards.
Han Shuo had known for a long time that Anito was just around the corner and understood that he had done so deliberately to curry favour with him. That was the reason why Han Shuo had not the slightest fear of Edmund's threat. And indeed, Anito had 'accidentally' come by to interrupt him at the most critical moment.
"You may be lucky today, but you won't be lucky forever!" Edmund said reluctantly after Anito had left.
"If you don't want to buy anything, get out of here and don't interfere with my business," Han Shuo sneered at him again, asking him to leave in a not-so-polite manner.
Edmund knew that he couldn't do anything to Han Shuo that day. So he glared at Han Shuo for a moment and left the pharmacy. A few of his close friends followed him out.
However, Jiya was not one of them. Instead, she was beginning to take a keen interest in Han Shuo. She was even more observant than Edmund. From Anito's performance and Han Shuo's calmness, she had the feeling that Han Shuo was not as simple as he seemed. Her original intention was just to look around the shop. However, because of this incident, an idea came to her mind.
After casually strolling around the first floor, Jiya pointed to a Pill of Tranquility priced at five hundred black crystal coins and said to Han Shuo with a smile, "Give me a bottle of that!"
"Miss Jiya, how, how could you believe this guy? It's five hundred black crystal coins! He's robbing you!" the few young men who hadn't left the pharmacy were horrified and immediately protested to Jiya.
Han Shuo looked at Jiya in surprise before finally getting up from his chair. He came to Jiya's side, removed the boundary on the shelf, took out a medicine bottle containing a Pill of Tranquillity and calmly handed it to Jiya. He said, "For the greatest benefit, use this when you are contemplating the true essence of your energy. The correct method of using the medicine is clearly described on the bottle."
"Here are five hundred black crystal coins," Jiya took the medicine bottle from Han Shuo's hand with a faint smile and placed the five hundred black crystal coins on the shelf. Then, with her bright eyes fixed on Han Shuo, she said smilingly, "I will remember your words. Thank you."
Jiya put on another sweet smile. She walked out, twirling the delicate medicine bottle with her delicate, long fingers. But just before she stepped out of the shop, she turned to look at Han Shuo and said, "If this doesn't work, I'll come back here to get you. I won't let you go if you have deceived me, even if you are a member of the Sainte family."
Han Shuo made an indifferent face and shrugged his shoulders. He thought to himself, "The Celestial Pearl Pharmacy has found another backer.
For the next few days after that, Celestial Pearl Pharmacy still had zero sales. Therefore, Han Shuo decided to temporarily close the shop and stay on the third floor to cultivate. He thought that after Carmelita saw the benefits of her medicine, she would definitely help Han Shuo promote his shop. By then, instead of him waiting for customers, the customers would be waiting for him.
It had been almost half a year since the incident at Miasma Cloud Mountain. His Avatar of Destruction, which had remained in the Myriad Demon Cauldron, had finally taken another step forward and reached the Late-stage Lowgod Realm. The Divine Essences of Destruction he had obtained the last time could finally be useful again, so Han Shuo continued to absorb them.
While Han Shuo was closing his Celestial Pearl Pharmacy for business and cultivating, he had no idea that a furore was quickly brewing in the City of Shadows about his pharmacy.
That day, Donna, who had been preparing to leave for the Space Dominion, returned from a fort under the control of her Lavers family. Shortly after her return to the Lavers residence, her cousin Eve came to her crying, "Elder sister Donna, I, I have been beaten!
The swelling and bruising on her face had not fully subsided and she still looked terrible. Although Donna was strict with her younger cousins, they knew that Donna was actually very caring towards them.
"What happened? Who did this? Why didn't your father give you justice?" Donna asked hastily after seeing Eve's appearance.
"Father doesn't allow me to take revenge, and my brother wouldn't help me either. I was beaten for nothing!" Eve cried incessantly.
"What was that? There aren't many in our City of Shadows who would dare lay a hand on you... Could it be... someone from the Sainte family?" Donna furrowed her brow and continued angrily, "How outrageous! Tell me who it was. I know Carmelita. Tell me and I'll ask Carmelita to teach them a lesson!"
"It's... it's that friend you brought here last time... I think... I think his name is Brian..." Eve mumbled as she sobbed, her face filled with grief.
.
"Wha... what?" Donna was taken aback. She cried softly, "How is that possible? Even if you had insulted him, he would have shown me face and wouldn't have hit you. Have you mistaken him for someone else?" Donna sensed that something wasn't right with Eve's account. From her experiences with Han Shuo, she did not feel that he was a person who would do such a thing.
"Really! It really was him!" Eve cried, "My brother was there, he can testify. Oh, Teng Fei was there too!"
"I'll go ask your brother," Donna was very sceptical about the claim. Soon she found Cage in a friendly match with Teng Fei in the gymnasium. Cage had a grudge against Han Shuo. Even though he knew that Han Shuo did it out of good intentions, he remained prejudiced against Han Shuo. Hoping to damage the relationship between Donna and Han Shuo, Cage told Donna a distorted version of what had happened.
Instead of saving Eve from disfigurement, Han Shuo became a big bully, taking advantage of his friendly relationship with Carmelita. He did not dare to make Carmelita the antagonist, so he put all the blame on Han Shuo. If Cage's account was true, then Han Shuo would be a despicable, irredeemable villain who repaid kindness with cruelty.
"Teng Fei, is that the case?" Donna knew her cousins' temperaments and was still rather sceptical. So she turned to Teng Fei, who was looking at her intently, for confirmation. She thought that Teng Fei would tell the truth since he was not directly involved in the matter.
Unfortunately, since Teng Fei had subconsciously considered Han Shuo a rival suitor for Donna, in addition to his friendly relationship with Cage, he chose to support Cage's lie. Teng Fei did not contradict the story, but nodded in agreement.
It was only when Teng Fei confirmed the story that Donna became somewhat convinced. A trace of anger showed on her face as she muttered, "I did not expect him to be such a person! He hurt Eve over such a trivial matter in the gymnasium. He didn't even consider showing a little compassion for me..."
Seeing the anger on Donna's face, Cage and Teng Fei exchanged a suggestive look. They looked almost strangely pleased with themselves. Even their fighting skills had improved significantly in the friendly match that followed.
***At the Kinson Residence.
Jiya, who had been carefully studying the energy of the Combat Aura in her secret chamber, suddenly awoke from her meditative state. With a swing of the silver longsword in her hand, the entire chamber was filled with magnificent radiances, as dazzling and blinding as the brightness of a thousand stars.
After redrawing the radiance from her sword, Jiya stood up with a broad smile. Then, after carefully putting the long sword away, her bright eyes suddenly turned to a medicine bottle lying on the floor of the secret chamber. With a wave of her hand, the medicine bottle marked 'Pill of Tranquility' flew into her palm. Her eyes were filled with an intense sense of awe as she muttered, "Tranquility Pill, what a wonderful medicine. It actually helped me condense my Combat Aura to a whole level higher. The price of five hundred black crystal coins is such a bargain!"
Very quickly, Jiya left her secret chamber and walked energetically to a quiet and peaceful courtyard. As soon as she entered, she shouted loudly, "Mummy, give me one hundred thousand Black Crystal Coins! I need them urgently!"
Beth, a beauty just like Jiya, though a little more mature and graceful, looked at Jiya with an astonished look. Then she knitted her brows and criticised, "Do you not remember what I have always taught you? We, the House of Kinson, are a large and respected family clan in the City of Shadows. You must always keep a certain basic etiquette in mind..."
"Yes, I know, Mother. Hurry up and give me a hundred thousand black crystal coins, I need them urgently!" Jiya asked, pulling on Beth's arm like a spoiled child.
"My girl, haven't I given you enough for your daily needs? One hundred thousand black crystal coins is no small sum. It must be entered in the family accounts. Explain to me what you intend to do with the money," Beth replied, somewhat annoyed, as she straightened Jiya's hair.
"It's like this, there's a new shop in town called Celestial Pearl Pharmacy..." Jiya knew that she had to explain everything clearly or her mother wouldn't give her the money.
After a long while...
Beth exclaimed in surprise, "Is it really so miraculous?"
"Of course it is, Mother. Do you not trust your own daughter? I've used it myself and I know how much the medicine has helped me. It's true! Five hundred black crystal coins is an absolute bargain! We must act now and buy it while the other clans are still unaware of the pharmacy. This is not just about the value of the crystal coins..." Jiya said hurriedly.
"Let's go, I will go with you." After listening to Jiya's explanation, Beth understood that these medicines could potentially be an opportunity to increase the overall strength of her family clan. She immediately made this her top priority and immediately took some crystal coins and left the Kinson Residence with Jiya.
***At the Sainte Residence. Carmelita came out of her gymnasium.
"Woah! My Lady, your, your face! Your face!" Kalina immediately put on a look of disbelief and cried out in surprise when she saw Carmelita.
Carmelita's skin, which was originally uneven and abnormally pigmented, had obviously become much fairer and smoother. The same was true of her arms. This transformation was enough to make her appear much less malevolent and sinister. Although she still looked ugly, her new appearance was much more acceptable to the eye.
"I know, I know," Carmelita replied in a somewhat annoyed manner. But after taking out a small mirror to look at herself, she began to laugh out loud, as if very pleased with herself.
"Miss Carmelita, you have changed, a lot!" the divine guards and maids she met along the way cried softly.
"Eh? Girl, why do you look different now... eh? You look fairer! How, how is that possible?!" shouted some of her aunts and relatives she met along the way.
"Wahaha... Wahaha... I'm not dreaming, I'm definitely not dreaming..." Carmelita exclaimed, laughing strangely as she walked out of the Sainte Residence.
Andre, who had been working on family clan matters on the roof of a building, had his attention drawn by Carmelita's scream. Looking down, he froze. With an aghast face he said, "It... it actually worked!" Andre immediately dropped the work in his hands and flew towards Carmelita.
Han Shuo, who was cultivating on the third floor of his shop, suddenly heard noises outside his building. After expanding his consciousness, Han Shuo discovered that nearly a hundred people had gathered outside his Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. They were all chanting, "Open up! Open the door! We want to buy your Celestial Medicine!"