In a spacious lounge, Andre asked Han Shuo, who came to him in the middle of the night, with a puzzled look on his face, "What's going on?"
Han Shuo casually threw Gu Li to the floor. By then, she was slowly waking up, mumbling softly.
"I was on my way to the Godswamp Pharmacy to ask for some things, but on the way, I stumbled upon people from the pharmacy who were chasing her and trying to kill her. I heard her muttering something about the Godswamp Pharmacy testing poisons on living beings, and something about organ trafficking. I also discovered that the poison in her body was the same as the one in the late House of Kisa Divine Guard. I find this event very puzzling and that is why I brought her to you," Han Shuo explained.
"What?!" Andre shouted in surprise, "Are you saying that the Godswamp Pharmacy is brazenly breaking the law?"
"That's right. I'm not sure of the details, but Gu Li will wake up soon. You can ask her." Han Shuo distanced himself from the matter at first, not wanting Andre to think that he was trying to frame the Godswamp Pharmacy.
Andre suddenly stood next to Gu Li and placed his large hand on Gu Li's skull. Two strands of dark smoke slowly came out of her nostrils and she immediately regained consciousness and screamed, "Godswamp Pharmacy, poison, poison!"
Gu Li was startled at first and couldn't understand why she was in this place. When she saw Han Shuo, she screamed, "You lied! None of the medical ingredient records contained the names of the ingredients you mentioned. Did you lie to me?"
"I am Andre of the House of Sainte. What did you see at the Godswamp Pharmacy?" Andre asked her sternly. He had no time for the argument between Han Shuo and Gu Li.
Gu Li was shocked and finally understood the situation. She shouted even louder, "Yes! Tonight, I accidentally discovered that the Godswamp Pharmacy was moving things. I saw them..." Gu Li briefly explained what she had seen. Then she asked in a rather puzzled manner, "The person who chased me hit me with a poisoned arrow. How did I end up here?"
"Bryan saved you!" Andre replied impatiently and asked in a deep voice, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Why would I lie? I'm telling the truth! I saw it with my own eyes!" Gu Li claimed.
"Very well. I did not expect the Godswamp Pharmacy to do such things right under our noses!" Andre paced the room with a dark face before he said to Han Shuo, "Thank you, Bryan. I will clear things up right away. If it is true that Godswamp Pharmacy has done these things, after tonight, Godswamp will no longer exist in the City of Shadows!"
"Lord Andre, I can go there with you. It's possible that the Godswamp Pharmacy has removed any possible evidence. I'm good at locating things and could help you!" Before leaving, Han Shuo placed a few demon generals on top of several nearby buildings to keep an eye on their activities. Han Shuo knew exactly where they had moved those pieces of evidence.
"Well, they can't be that fast. Still, it won't hurt if you come along. Let's go!" Andre had heard from Carmelita that Han Shuo was good at this and did not refuse. He didn't expect much from a pharmacy either. It seemed that he wanted to get there as soon as possible.
"Oi, brat, you saved me? How did you save me? I remember being badly poisoned. How am I still alive?" Gu Li shouted.
Han Shuo replied arrogantly, "A poison as weak as this cannot fool me. Pff, how ironic that you call yourself a pharmacist when you can't even handle something as trivial as this!"
"I, I..." Han Shuo had left the room before Gu Li could say anything. Andrina followed behind him.
Immediately, Andre mobilised his army. It took him no time at all to assemble a hundred or so family clan divine guards, all of them midgods. Andre also used a magical device to contact Erebus and ask him to mobilise his troops at the Third Corps as well.
Han Shuo, Andre and the rest of the party rushed to the Godswamp Pharmacy, only to find that Erebus was already there with nearly a hundred midgods. They had the Godswamp Pharmacy completely surrounded.
"My lords, what is going on? Why are you surrounding our apothecary in the middle of the night? Is there something wrong with the conference attendees?" Most of the Godswamp Pharmacy guards were unaware of Godswamp Pharmacy's illegal activities. They were terrified.
In the City of Shadows, the House of Sainte was the authority. It had been a long time since they had mobilised several hundred Divine Guards at once, and it was clear that something big was about to happen. These gatekeepers dared not interfere with the House of Sainte.
"No one is to leave the Godswamp Pharmacy without my orders. Kill anyone who tries to escape!" Andre, whose left eye had turned dark purple, ordered the few divine guards behind him in a cold voice. Then, without so much as a glance at the gatekeepers, Andre and Erebus entered the compound with their men. None of the gatekeepers dared to stop them.
"Secure every single building, block the passageways. Do not let a single person leave," said Erebus, the head of the Third Corps, as he entered the campus, immediately ordering his divine guards to disperse and secure the area. They resembled ghostly shadows as they flew around the Godswamp Pharmacy.
Andre and Erebus, each leading a team of divine guards, headed for the largest building on the campus. Han Shuo and Andrina followed in silence.
Steiss the Dwarf rushed out of the building and stood there, confused. Then, as if confused, he asked, "Lord Andre, Lord Erebus, what is going on? Why have your lordships come to our Godswamp Pharmacy with so many men? Has our Godswamp Pharmacy done something wrong?"
Steiss was indeed a convincing actor, so much so that even Han Shuo could not find a single fault with him. He had a look of panic and confusion on his face, but not a hint of guilt. After sizing up Steiss with his cold eyes, Han Shuo knew immediately that this character was no simpleton.
"Your Godswamp Pharmacy tried to murder Gu Li, a visiting pharmacist. Gu Li also claims that your pharmacy harvests divine organs and tests poisons on living people. This is a serious accusation and we are here to investigate the matter!" Erebus replied in a deep voice.
"We are being wronged!" Steiss shouted, "How could we do such a thing?! We have upheld the law throughout our many years in the City of Shadows. How could we do such a despicable thing?! This Gu Li must be angry that we, Godswamp Pharmacy, have refused to cause trouble for Mr Bryan of Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, so she is trying to slander us. Please investigate the matter thoroughly, my lord!"
He is definitely not an easy person to deal with! Andre thought to himself. He noticed that Steiss seemed to be prepared. The explanation he had given was very credible. He had even deliberately answered loudly to wake up the pharmacists who had come from various cities to attend the conference. Hearing the clamour, they came out of their rooms and watched in amazement.
These visiting pharmacists, like Gu Li, had come from various major cities in the Darkness Dominion. Some even came from the Dominion of Death and Destruction.
All of these apothecaries enjoyed a high status. If Andre were to arrest people without sufficient evidence, the reputation of the City of Shadows would surely suffer. If the gods in other cities felt that the rulers of the City of Shadows were oppressive and did whatever they wanted, it would affect their trade relations with the City of Shadows and many other things.
While Steiss's scream may have seemed innocent, the action had put Andre, Erebus and their party in a very bad position. If they could not find the incriminating evidence in the Godswamp Pharmacy, not only would they be unable to do anything to the Godswamp Pharmacy, but they might also be heavily criticised by various parties.
Andre and Erebus became cautious. Inwardly, they noted that this Steiss was indeed a cunning one.
"Do not worry. If it is proven that Godswamp Pharmacy is innocent, we will punish Gu Li severely. However, this accusation is very serious, and it is our duty to investigate it immediately. Please cooperate with our efforts! Andre, as the second highest ranking member of the House of Sainte, was also a sharp-witted person. He put the blame on Gu Li, as if his actions were not improper.
"As citizens of the City of Shadows, we will of course cooperate fully with your lordships' efforts. Please go ahead and search the premises. If you find anything unethical being done in the Godswamp Pharmacy, I, as the owner of the Godswamp Pharmacy branch in the City of Shadows, will slit my own throat on the spot as an apology for the offence!" Steiss declared righteously. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Steiss was an innocent businessman.
Damn, they must be finished moving everything! Andre and Erebus exchanged glances. Their hearts sank. Both were cunning and sly characters. They knew that because Steiss had made such a bold promise, their search of the Godswamp Pharmacy would be fruitless. They understood that they had miscalculated the power of the Godswamp Pharmacy. They certainly did not expect to be able to move everything so quickly in such a short time.
Since it had come to this, Andre and Erebus had no choice but to continue their search.
As soon as Andre gave the command, several shadows flew out of the darkness. They travelled like ghosts through every building in the Godswamp Pharmacy.
"My Lord, I have discovered nothing unusual!"
"My Lord, everything is clear on my side!"
"My Lord, I found no abnormal activity!"
The shadows returned to Erebus and Andre. They all reported no findings.
Steiss suddenly kowtowed, with a wronged expression on his face, and said, "My lords, our Godswamp Pharmacy has always conducted strictly legal business. We would never dare to do anything illegal, let alone something as despicable as Gu Li has accused us of! Please investigate this matter thoroughly, my lords!" Having finished these words, Steiss took off his space rings and said loudly, "If your Lordships are still not convinced, you may check our space rings as well. If you find a single inappropriate item, we from the Godswamp Pharmacy will l slit our throats in apology!"
These divine organs had to be kept at freezing temperatures, while these poisons had to be kept at specific temperatures. It was not possible to maintain regions of different temperatures within a space ring, so they would certainly not store these things in their space rings. Steiss only did this to further the idea that he was innocent and had nothing to hide.
"How would the Godswamp Pharmacy do such things? They have an excellent reputation in the Darkness Dominion. The City of Shadows must have made a mistake and mobilised their forces recklessly! Ugh, I did not expect the Divine Guards of the City of Shadows to be so rude and treat innocent people so unfairly. Why would anyone sell medicine in the City of Shadows?"
"It was obvious that there would be nothing there. Why are they making a scene?"
"The way I see it, that old woman must be trying to smear Godswamp Pharmacy as revenge for not supporting her after she was humiliated!"
These pharmacists from various major cities who were watching the story unfold gossiped among themselves. These people were quite influential in the cities they came from. Their negative comments could have a negative effect on the City of Shadows.
Both Andre and Erebus were perplexed and embarrassed. They had greatly underestimated the Godswamp Pharmacy and had not expected them to have the power to remove all evidence in less than an hour. They were at a loss as to how to proceed.
"Your Lordships must have misunderstood. Gu Li harbours a grudge against us, which is why she spread such malicious lies to defame us. She even deliberately misled Your Lordships. She must be severely punished for her crimes! My Lords, please do justice to us!" Steiss shouted as if he had been wronged. But at the same time, Steiss sneered in his heart, "Hehe, do you really think that my Godswamp Pharmacy is just a small shop?
"This..." Andre forced a smile. He no longer dared to look down on this dwarf. He wanted to find a way out of this embarrassing situation and return to investigate the matter secretly and slowly.
Just as Andre and Erebus were about to extricate themselves from the embarrassing situation, Han Shuo, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. "Lord Andre, I smelled a very strange odour in the air. This odour contained a tiny amount of poison. I believe Gu Li was telling the truth. If Lord Andre trusts me, let me continue your lordship's search by following the scent. I think we might find something!"
"Impossible! What nonsense are you talking about? There is no smell of poison in the air. Otherwise we would have smelt it! If we, the many apothecaries present, could not detect it, how could you?" one of the apothecaries jumped out and shouted at Han Shuo.
"That's right. Young man, don't talk nonsense at critical moments like this just for the sake of fame!" another pharmacist shouted angrily.
Han Shuo's claim that he could sniff out the smell of poison in the air when none of the pharmacists present could detect anything was simply an insult to all those pharmacists, as he was basically suggesting that he was better than all of them. Therefore, it was only natural that those pharmacists would feel angry and immediately step forward to accuse Han Shuo of talking nonsense.
And Han Shuo was indeed talking nonsense!
Han Shuo knew where the Godswamp Pharmacy had hidden the evidence with the help of his demon generals. He claimed that there was a scent in the air just as an excuse to lead the search in the right direction.
""All right, if you find anything incriminating, I will keep my promise I just made and slit my throat on the spot!"
Steiss was obviously not willing to believe Han Shuo's claim. He was pleased that Han Shuo was suddenly giving him an opportunity to get rid of him, but he hid his joy. With an angry expression on his face, he shouted, "But how do we know that you're not trying to frame us? What will you do if you can't find anything?"
"I will also slit my throat as an apology!"
Han Shuo sneered and said firmly.
"Bryan?" Andre was a bit shocked to hear those words from Han Shuo. He had a very favourable opinion of Han Shuo and did not want anything bad to happen to him.
"Bryan, don't be so careless!" Erebus was also worried. He looked at Han Shuo with his worried eyes.
Promising to slit your own throat as an apology is not a promise that can be made as a joke. With so many apothecaries present, with Andre and Erebus as witnesses, if Han Shuo couldn't find the incriminating evidence, no one could change his fate.
Suddenly, Han Shuo felt his left hand being squeezed. As he lowered his head, he saw that Andrina was looking at him. She shook her head, indicating to Han Shuo that he should not act recklessly.
"Good. We at Godswamp Pharmacy have always done things according to the law. We are not afraid of being slandered by you! Search as much as you want. We will all go with you. If you can prove that the Godswamp Pharmacy has done these things, I will definitely not shirk my responsibility!
Steiss said heroically and openly, as if he had nothing to hide.
"This..." Andre started to hesitate after seeing the absolute confidence Steiss showed. He had not expected the matter to escalate to this stage and was beginning to worry about Han Shuo.
But when he turned to look at Han Shuo with a worried look, he saw a smile of confidence on Han Shuo's face. Han Shuo even nodded his head very discreetly to show his confidence.
Andre, who was originally stuck in indecision, suddenly remembered that back in the medical room at the Sainte Residence, Han Shuo had that almost egotistical confidence on his face when he asked everyone to leave the room and let him rescue Carmelita.
Perhaps remembering that Carmelita was now safe and sound, Andre inexplicably decided to trust Han Shuo. As the crowd watched, he nodded his head and said in a deep voice, "Alright then, show us the way, Bryan. If we find out that you are indeed talking nonsense, I will not let you go so easily!"
It was obvious that Andre was protecting Han Shuo by not mentioning anything about slitting throats.
Steiss laughed grimly in his mind. He could see that Andre was protecting Han Shuo. However, since Han Shuo had made this vow in front of such a large crowd, Steiss believed that even if Andre did not take his life, he would be too ashamed to go on living if it was later proven that Han Shuo was wrong.
Steiss' mind was filled with excitement as he thought that this great rival called Celestial Pearl Pharmacy would be eliminated after tonight. Fantastic! After the event, all I have to do is give them a little encouragement, and these pharmacists will spread rumours that the House of Sainte is unreasonable and oppressive. This is in line with Master's ambition to weaken and destroy the House of Sainte. Master will surely be overjoyed!
"Everyone, come with me!" shouted Han Shuo. Your Godswamp Pharmacy is so dead! After tonight, not only will your Godswamp Pharmacy be banished from the City of Shadows, but everyone will know that I'm a better apothecary than anyone here!
And so the great and majestic party began to fall upon Han Shuo, setting them on a path that would lead to the downfall of certain people.