Chapter 58: Shangguan Yu Cornered

Qinghe Marketplace, within a luxurious courtyard in the Inner Market.

Shangguan Yu was dressed in a man’s white robe, her lips red and teeth white, handsome to an unbelievable degree, like an immortal banished from heaven.

But the anger on her powdered face shattered that beauty.

“Master Meng, you said it was almost ready last time. It’s been half a month now, and there’s still no progress at all?”

She stared at the old man inside, gritting her teeth tightly, forcibly suppressing her fury.

“Ah, this old man is old, not like I used to be. Dizzy and blurry-eyed, always making mistakes, tsk tsk.”

The old man, however, paid no mind to her anger. He was reclined on a lounge chair, an arm around a young maidservant, his hands wandering shamelessly all over her.

He showed not a trace of old age.

It was the very same Master Meng who had bought the Pill of Myriad Mysteries from Su Xuan last time and had given him a pill formula and countless materials in return.

“The materials from last time aren’t enough, need to add more,” he said slowly, squinting his eyes.

“Last time’s batch was clearly enough for half a year! You couldn’t use it all even if you worked day and night!”

Shangguan Yu questioned sharply, her chest heaving slightly with anger and helplessness.

In truth, all the things Master Meng had sent last time were provided by Shangguan Yu.

She had spent a huge sum to procure a full six months’ worth of materials from outside and had given them all to the old man before her.

All to refine the Evil-Warding Pill as soon as possible.

There was no other way. Although her status was noble, a strong dragon couldn’t suppress a local snake. The marketplace had long been turned into an iron fortress by Shangguan Sheng’s management. Those alchemists simply ignored her.

She had finally managed to get to know an alchemist who “seemed” to have no backing, so naturally, she tried to win him over.

The problem was, after giving so many resources, this Master Meng had made zero progress.

Especially after she saw the materials in Su Xuan’s hands last time. The more she looked, the more familiar they seemed, and only then did she realize she had been duped.

“Give me back twenty portions of materials right now, and I’ll act as if I never met you!”

She took a deep breath, calming her emotions, just wanting to recoup some of her losses.

If it weren’t for Su Yunjin’s truly poor health, she would have gone straight to her best friend. She wouldn’t be suffering this humiliation now.

“Gone, all gone… Eldest Young Miss, alchemy is like this. Overestimating one’s abilities just wastes effort, you see.”

Master Meng squinted, shaking his head. Not only did he not want to return a single coin, but his words also carried hidden implications.

“You… Shangguan Sheng ordered you to do this, didn’t he?”

Shangguan Yu was sharp as ice. Seeing his utter lack of fear, she immediately guessed the reason.

“The Eldest Young Miss is truly brilliant. This old man admires you, hehehe.”

Master Meng pulled the maidservant beside him closer, his old face wrinkling into a chrysanthemum-like smile as he said smugly.

That kid he ran into last time was really something. After taking that Pill of Myriad Mysteries, even his old bones could experience a second spring.

“You’re asking for death!”

Shangguan Yu sneered, her anger reaching its peak. Spiritual power began to gather around her, and a deep blue flame slowly solidified into substance along with her power.

Ever since she arrived at the marketplace, she had found the place run like an iron bucket, tightly clustered around Shangguan Sheng. She, an Eldest Young Miss parachuted in from above, couldn’t get a hand in at all.

Not only were people in business matters outwardly compliant but inwardly disobedient to her, she couldn’t even get close to that beautiful girl (Lu Zhiyi). Now, her best friend was practically on the verge of a falling out. Even her pill refinement efforts were being swindled!

Having sailed smoothly for so long, this was the first time she encountered such a string of setbacks. Under extreme frustration, she no longer cared about family affection, propriety, or face. She was about to attack the old man before her.

“NETHER LOTUS INCINERATION!”

The deep blue flames condensed into a lotus. Gritting her teeth, she waved her hand, sending it shooting fiercely toward Master Meng.

The flames flickered, about to touch him and burn him to ashes.

A surge of powerful blood energy formed a protective shield in front of Master Meng, completely blocking the flames.

“My dear niece, look at you. You’ve had this impatient temper since you were little.”

Shangguan Sheng, as if he had anticipated this, walked in from outside, wearing an expression of disappointment.

The loose scholar’s robe ordinary people wore clung tightly to him. His robust muscles and abundant blood energy made him appear arrogant and unrestrained, yet also somewhat incongruous.

“With a temper like this, how will the subordinates respect you? I’m afraid even if I handed it over to you, you wouldn’t manage it well.”

He slowly walked in front of Master Meng and sighed.

“Is it that the subordinates don’t respect me, or is someone deliberately obstructing? I believe Second Uncle knows the answer himself.”

Shangguan Yu gritted her teeth, full of resentment, yet powerless.

Aside from those like Shangguan Xiushen whom she had planted in advance, no one in the marketplace listened to her.

Her attack just now in a fit of rage had been with no holds barred, yet it was easily neutralized by Shangguan Sheng. She knew the gap in their cultivation levels.

“Market Master, you see, I did my utmost, but the Eldest Young Miss shows no appreciation at all… Ah…”

Master Meng’s eyes shifted, putting on a look of “wronged” grievance, as if he were the victim.

“Shameless…”

Shangguan Yu had never seen such a brazenly shameless person. Her teeth ground together audibly.

“Little Yu, listen to your second uncle’s advice. If you can’t even handle a small marketplace, it’s better to listen to the family’s arrangements and marry into the Luoshui Sword Sect. At least you won’t be wronged there.”

Shangguan Sheng sighed again, as if considering things for her, making it unclear whether he was sincere or hypocritical.

“Shut up!”

Shangguan Yu seemed extremely averse to this arrangement and coldly cut him off.

“There are still two weeks left. Nothing is decided yet. We’ll see.”

She flung her wide sleeves and strode out quickly.

Once outside the courtyard gate, her field of view opened up considerably, and the air was much fresher, but she felt increasingly stifled.

She had been here for so many days, yet it seemed she had made no progress at all, suppressed by her second uncle at every turn, almost suffocating.

This actually wasn’t entirely her fault. If Su Xuan didn’t exist, she would have had considerable support by now. Even many of Su Xuan’s opportunities should have been hers.

‘What should I do?’

‘Do I really have to listen to the family’s arrangements? Go to the Luoshui Sword Sect and lower my head to become someone’s lesser wife?’

She sighed, her resentment mixed with despair.

Her only chance to turn things around now lay within that secret realm. But with those alchemists refusing to help her, who else could she count on?

Su Yunjin?

Her best friend was the first to appear in her mind.

But now, it seemed Su Yunjin wasn’t paying her much attention either.

‘It’s all his fault…’

If not for him, she wouldn’t have fallen out with Su Yunjin!

And his disciple, why was he everywhere, ruining her plans?

Su Xuan’s figure suddenly appeared in Shangguan Yu’s mind, as if carved there. She stamped her foot in anger.

But…

He seemed to be trying it too, didn’t he?

What if… he succeeded?

Should she try to win him over?

Thinking of this, she hesitated, unsure how to handle this man.

***

“Hahaha, Market Master, look. Isn’t she slinking away like a…”

In the courtyard, Master Meng was fawning with a smile.

He got halfway through his sentence when Shangguan Sheng’s icy, murderous glare cut him off. It was as if someone had grabbed his throat; no sound came out.

“She is a member of the Shangguan family. Are you worthy of calling her that?”

As he spoke, Shangguan Sheng slapped Master Meng across the mouth. The blow sent the old man tumbling twice in the air before he crashed to the ground like a dead dog, teeth and blood spraying everywhere.

In his heart, the family came first. He would not allow others to trample on it.

‘You think just because she suffered a temporary setback, she’s finished? You have no idea what she was like a few years ago…’

Shangguan Sheng seemed to recall something, his face full of apprehension. But seeing Master Meng’s dead-dog appearance, he shook his head, not planning to waste words.

“About the pill, you need to hurry. If I see you next time and you still haven’t refined it, you won’t need to waste food anymore.”

Glancing at the trembling maidservant beside him with disgust, he spat at Master Meng before slowly turning to leave.

“Market Master!”

Before he reached the gate, the elder Shangguan Jing rushed in hurriedly, his voice clear and loud.

“Someone has brought in a Blood Bone Flower of extraordinary quality. I can’t handle it. You must come and take a look.”