After leaving Jizhou City, the farther south they traveled the warmer the climate became. At first the difference was subtle; after three hundred *li* it could be felt distinctly.

When they arrived, they first purchased large quantities of medicinal herbs. Li Chi’s group deliberately offered prices slightly higher than the other medicine merchants.

Naturally, the other merchants were none too pleased.

However, every local Jizhou medicine merchant knew the name of Shen Medical Hall and dared not give offense.

The local merchants could not really claim to be furious — at most there was a degree of dissatisfaction.

The merchants from Yuzhou, though, were a different matter — they had come from far away and might now return empty-handed.

They had already been offering prices slightly higher than the local merchants in order to purchase the herbs — otherwise they could not even compete with the locals. Now that Shen Medical Hall’s contingent had arrived, they found themselves acquiring very little.

Li Chi did not go to buy herbs directly himself; he kept his distance and simply watched. No one would know he was part of Shen Medical Hall’s group.

This way, every reaction from the Yuzhou merchants was visible to him.

That evening, after Li Chi’s group returned, they briefly went over the day’s purchases — whatever the objective of the trip, the accounts still had to be kept clear.

“Those merchant convoys that came from Yuzhou to buy herbs — every single one of them has taken a disliking to us.”

Yu Jiuling said with a laugh: “They’ve already been asking around to find out just what Shen Medical Hall is and where it comes from.”

Li Chi made a sound of acknowledgment and said: “Since they’re unhappy, let’s make them even unhappier. Tomorrow we’ll not only buy more herbs but buy more carts to fill as well.”

He smiled: “I originally planned to fill up our own carts and leave. Now it seems that’s not enough. Buy as much as we can get our hands on. Those Yuzhou merchants all look pretty flush, but they certainly don’t have as much money as us.”

Yu Jiuling laughed out loud — there was a measure of satisfaction in it.

When he had laughed enough he said: “These bastards are most likely buying the herbs on behalf of the Yuzhou army. If they get to buy too much, when the Yuzhou army comes to fight us someday, they’ll be using Jizhou herbs against us — how can we let that stand?”

Although he did not yet know Li Chi’s purpose in buying so many herbs, the thought of making those merchants from Yuzhou’s side suffer was enough to please him.

And so Yu Jiuling nodded and said: “Tomorrow I’ll go see if I can get a few more carts.”

Just then, two carriages pulled up outside the inn where they were staying. Several Yuzhou medicine merchants climbed down.

The one who appeared to be the leader looked to be in his fifties — well-dressed, wearing clothes that appeared quite costly.

He was one of the heads of the largest medicine trading houses in Yuzhou. This trading house, called Xingsheng Trading, had a very prominent name in Yuzhou.

Xingsheng Trading had operations in many parts of Yuzhou, with as many as twelve heads like him.

This man’s name was Du Qingteng, and this was already his second purchasing trip this year.

Behind him walked a man of about thirty, named Wang Fangyuan.

The young man in his twenties was named Yue Heng. And there was an older man, who appeared to be sixty or seventy years of age, named Zhao Lin.

After these four got down from the carriages, they exchanged a few words in low voices at the inn entrance, and then the youngest of them, Yue Heng, stepped forward.

He entered the inn, found the proprietor, and inquired whether Shen Medical Hall’s people were staying here.

Receiving a positive answer, Yue Heng asked the proprietor to go and announce that he would like to call upon Shen Medical Hall’s people.

Shortly, Li Chi, Yu Jiuling, and Master Shen came down from the upper floor. Yue Heng recognized Yu Jiuling, and for reasons he could not quite explain, found him immediately disagreeable.

But Yue Heng still wore a smile and stepped forward to clasp his hands in salute: “May I ask, which of you is the head of Shen Medical Hall?”

Yu Jiuling thought to himself — well, I don’t look the part either. Since Li Chi had just said he would play the role of a follower, Yu Jiuling looked toward Teacher Ye and said: “This is the head of our Shen Medical Hall — Teacher Ye.”

Yue Heng clasped his hands in greeting again, stated his own background, and asked if they might have the honor of sharing a meal together.

Teacher Ye also wanted to see what these people were up to, and so he nodded and agreed.

Shortly after, they left the inn and were invited into the carriages Du Qingteng had brought, and in less than a quarter of an hour stopped outside a restaurant.

Outside the restaurant, at least six or seven more merchants from Yuzhou were waiting. By their expressions, none of them looked particularly friendly.

These people evidently had money — they had taken over the entire restaurant; aside from them, there was not another customer in sight.

In the largest private room, Du Qingteng settled into the seat of honor, then invited Teacher Ye to sit beside him.

Everyone took their respective seats. After a moment, food and drink began to arrive — an exceptionally lavish spread.

Most of these men looked at Li Chi and his companions with undisguised hostility, except for Du Qingteng himself, who remained affable throughout.

“Teacher Ye, I imagine you can more or less guess my purpose in coming.”

After pouring Teacher Ye a cup of wine, Du Qingteng smiled and raised the question.

Teacher Ye said: “I am by nature rather slow-witted, so I would ask Master Du to speak plainly.”

Du Qingteng smiled: “Teacher Ye is refreshingly direct… then let us be frank.”

He looked into Teacher Ye’s eyes and asked: “Would Teacher Ye be willing to let us have the herbs?”

Teacher Ye replied: “And why should I let them go to you?”

The faces of the Yuzhou merchants shifted slightly, and the hostility in their eyes toward Teacher Ye grew heavier.

“Let me first offer Teacher Ye a toast.”

Du Qingteng raised his cup: “We are all in the same trade — that makes us friends of a sort. Let us drink first and discuss business after.”

Teacher Ye, however, did not reach for the cup, but smiled instead: “Master Du’s words are a touch hollow. People in the same trade are rarely friends.”

These two lines, front and back, left not a shred of face. The expressions of the Yuzhou people grew even more strained.

The young and impetuous Yue Heng let out a contemptuous sound and said: “Does Teacher Ye truly think that here in Jizhou, Shen Medical Hall alone rules the sky?”

Teacher Ye looked at him and answered, in the most affable of tones: “Indeed.”

Yue Heng was taken aback. His expression gradually turned cold.

Teacher Ye said calmly: “Let me address your first question. You want me to let the herbs go to you — on what grounds?”

He looked toward Du Qingteng: “If you were truly my friend, I would let them go. If you were a local Jizhou counterpart, I would let them go too.”

Teacher Ye smiled pleasantly and said: “I don’t know who you are. You open your mouth asking me to yield herbs… does that not seem a bit presumptuous?”

Yue Heng’s expression grew increasingly cold. His hand rested on the table, the veins on the back of his hand beginning to stand out.

“Don’t go thinking you can…”

He was about to say “don’t go thinking you can get away with this,” when Du Qingteng gave a quiet cough that cut the words off.

Du Qingteng smiled and said apologetically: “Indeed, that was abrupt and rash of us.”

He reached for Teacher Ye’s wine cup and, while slowly refilling it, said: “How about this — the herbs your people have purchased today, whatever the quantity, whatever the price, whatever the type — I will add one-tenth to whatever you paid. How does that sound?”

Teacher Ye said: “If you had said this first, we would not have had to look at each other with such hostility.”

Those words seemed to suggest room for negotiation, so Du Qingteng smiled. He pushed the wine cup toward Teacher Ye and said: “Then Teacher Ye agrees?”

Teacher Ye picked up the cup and drained it.

“I do not agree.”

Three words.

At that, the faces of the Yuzhou merchants turned decidedly unpleasant.

The young and hot-blooded Yue Heng said furiously: “Teacher Ye — do you really think that just because we’re in Jizhou, we don’t dare do anything to you?”

Teacher Ye smiled back at him: “You’re mistaken. The very reason I came is because I thought you dared to do something to me. If I thought you wouldn’t dare, what would be the fun in coming?”

Yue Heng said: “Men in business compete for profit. We’ve already offered you a profitable concession. If you still won’t agree, then profit is out of the question — only competition remains. And when competition comes to blows… for business worth close to one hundred thousand *taels*, people die.”

Teacher Ye did not so much as look at him. This time he picked up the wine pot himself and poured his own cup.

Yue Heng said: “Have you lost your tongue?”

Du Qingteng cleared his throat a few more times, then raised his cup toward Teacher Ye: “Allow me to drink alongside Teacher Ye.”

Teacher Ye had been about to drink, but the moment Du Qingteng said he would drink alongside him, he set the cup back down instead.

Even Du Qingteng, who had been maintaining a show of friendliness, let a slight chill creep into his expression.

After a pause, Du Qingteng said: “In that case… we’ll yield another tenth. We’ll add two-tenths to whatever price you paid for the herbs.”

Teacher Ye gave a slight shake of his head.

Du Qingteng seemed to steel himself, then said to Teacher Ye: “Three-tenths. Our final offer.”

Teacher Ye smiled: “On one hundred thousand *taels* of silver, right here before leaving this building you’d be earning thirty thousand *taels* net. One hundred thousand becomes one hundred thirty thousand. A fine thing.”

Du Qingteng said: “Teacher Ye’s meaning is…?”

Teacher Ye replied: “No meaning.”

He drained his cup once more, then said slowly: “Shen Medical Hall — simply doesn’t need the money.”

He rose and clasped his hands in farewell: “Thank you all for your hospitality.”

Seeing him make to leave, Yue Heng stepped sideways to block his path, his voice cold: “You’d think of walking out of here today if you don’t agree?”

Teacher Ye glanced at him and asked: “Have you married and had children yet?”

Yue Heng said: “What does that have to do with you?! Hand over the herbs first. Otherwise forget the herbs — you won’t even walk out of here with your life.”

Teacher Ye asked again: “Have you married and had children?”

Yue Heng said furiously: “I told you, it’s none of your business!”

Teacher Ye shook his head slightly and paid him no more attention. He stepped forward to leave.

Yue Heng shot out a hand to grab Teacher Ye’s garment — and by the speed of that strike, he was clearly no stranger to combat.

Du Qingteng raised his cup, took a sip, and said nothing at all — evidently they had worked this out beforehand. Du Qingteng came to negotiate; if the talks fell through, the young man Yue Heng was there to play the intimidator.

Teacher Ye looked at the hand gripping his robe, then said in an utterly calm tone: “You had best have already married and had children.”

And then with a slight lift of his arm — without any apparent motion — Yue Heng went flying.

He struck the wall and slid down to the floor, ending up wedged in an awkward sitting position, looking thoroughly undignified.

Nearby, Yu Jiuling understood perfectly what Teacher Ye had meant — he had understood from the very first time Teacher Ye asked the question, and laughed to himself.

He thought: Teacher Ye is truly wicked.

Seeing the young man hit the floor, Yu Jiuling tipped over the flower stand beside him. As the stand fell, the flower pot on top of it landed squarely and heavily on a very important part of Yue Heng’s anatomy.

The pot was substantial, and the blow landed hard. Yue Heng let out a shriek and rolled around clutching the area, howling in pain.

Teacher Ye turned back and looked at the Yuzhou merchants, whose faces had gone pale. His tone remained utterly even: “If you want to use force, bring people who actually know how to fight. If you can’t finish us off tonight, tomorrow you won’t be able to buy a single herb.”

He looked at Yu Jiuling: “First thing tomorrow, spread the word to every herb farmer — anyone who sells to the people from Yuzhou will never sell another batch in Jizhou.”

He walked downstairs.

Yu Jiuling looked at the man still writhing on the floor and shook his head with a sigh: “What on earth possessed you to try to prop up a fallen flower stand with *that*.”

Li Chi, beside him, smiled and said nothing. Playing the role of Teacher Ye’s follower, he walked downstairs behind him.

On the stairs, Li Chi exerted just the slightest force with his feet — pausing briefly — then continued down.

They had barely stepped outside the restaurant when a cry of alarm rang out from above, followed by a loud crashing.

Li Chi had loosened the staircase. The people coming down behind them had collapsed right through it — no telling how many went tumbling down.