At the very center of Yun City stood the City Lord's Manor. The four great families were spread across the four directions: east, south, west, and north.

Given Myriad Pill Pavilion's standing, in ninety-nine percent of the cities across Tingxiang Kingdom it could easily have claimed the very heart of the city. Yet such a vast organization always chose a spot only slightly closer to the center than the great families. It was so in Yun City, and so everywhere else.

It was precisely this humility, this refusal to contend, that earned Myriad Pill Pavilion the favor of the City Lord's Manor in every city.

About a quarter of an hour later, Tang Yan finally arrived at the gates of Myriad Pill Pavilion.

The pavilion covered a sizable stretch of ground. The front hall handled the sale of low-grade Pills and all manner of medicinal herbs.

He stepped inside. The shelves held little stock.

"Young master, what can I get for you?" A shop clerk greeted him with a ready smile the moment he walked in.

Tang Yan flicked open his folding fan and asked with a smile, "Do you carry any Pills that raise True Qi?"

"Our Myriad Pill Pavilion stocks two main kinds for raising True Qi: the Foundation Pill and the Origin-Raising Pill," the clerk answered at once.

Tang Yan knew these two well enough. Both were First Grade Pills. The Foundation Pill sat at the lower end of First Grade and was chiefly meant for martial artists at Origin Rank, First Grade, meant chiefly for martial artists at the Origin Rank. The Origin-Raising Pill ranked a touch higher, suited to those at Yellow Rank and below.

Both would have served him well, but he hadn't come here to buy medicine. With his purse this thin, he could afford half a bottle of Foundation Pills at most.

"Got any second-grade Pills?" Tang Yan snapped the fan shut, patted his chest, and declared, "This young master has money to spare!"

The clerk's mouth twitched. Was this fellow begging to be fleeced? Still, second-grade Pills weren't something they could sell out in the open. His face turned awkward. "Young master, those we don't carry."

Tang Yan's eyes went wide. He slammed the fan onto the counter and shouted, "What! A name as grand as Myriad Pill Pavilion, and the strongest True Qi Pill you'll sell the public is only First Grade Middle Grade?"

Young Master Tang had bellowed it at the top of his lungs, drawing every eye in an instant. Lucky for him, the pavilion was no common shop, and few customers stood about.

"Young master, second-grade Pills require a second-grade Alchemist to refine. The yield is small, and they go only to the great families. We don't lay them out on the counter for just anyone. Your bearing marks you as a son of some great house, so surely you know our pavilion's rules," the clerk explained patiently.

"If the Pills get sold sooner or later, and this young master has money to spare, why not just sell some straight to me?" Young Master Tang said breezily.

The clerk grew flustered. Powerful as the pavilion was, it had no wish to stir up trouble for nothing. This young master was handsome and richly dressed, surely from a great family, and the clerk was only a hired hand at the counter. He didn't dare give offense.

Caught between one worry and the next, the clerk found himself with nothing to say.

"My Myriad Pill Pavilion has its own rules, and second-grade Pills are rarely sold one at a time. But since the young master has money, and rules are made by men after all, this old one will bend them and sell you a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, a second-grade Pill, freshly refined not long ago." The voice that drifted over was aged, yet full of vigor.

Heads turned. An old man in a gray robe came strolling out from the inner room, eyebrows grizzled, eyes bright, a tuft of beard at his chin, hands clasped behind his back.

"Lord Ge!" At the sight of him, every clerk in the pavilion bowed their heads in greeting.

Ge Ming, Grand Elder of Yun City's Myriad Pill Pavilion, a second-grade Alchemist, ranked above Wu Xuan.

The Qi Gathering Pill was a second-grade Middle Grade Pill, its medicinal nature exceptionally mild. Even a martial artist at Origin Rank First Grade could take it without bursting their Meridians. That made it the great families' first choice for raising their gifted young disciples.

But such a Pill was a fussy thing to refine. Even a second-grade Middle Grade Alchemist failed at it often enough.

Tang Yan's brow furrowed. He caught the faint, almost imperceptible scent of scorching in the air, and his gaze settled on the old man.

With a thoughtful glance at the porcelain bottle in the old man's hand, Tang Yan stepped forward and smiled. "Qi Gathering Pills? What's the price?"

"I'll spare you the talk of its effects. There are three Pills in this bottle. At auction they'd fetch a hundred thousand taels of silver at the highest. This old one won't cheat you either, so I'll let my young friend have them for a hundred thousand taels. What does my young friend say?" Ge Ming spoke clearly, though the look in his eyes as he studied Tang Yan held no small measure of scorn.

A pampered heir who fancied himself rich, daring to bluster inside Myriad Pill Pavilion?

Tang Yan cursed up a storm inwardly. This old goat - they go for a hundred thousand at auction at the very top, and you'd charge me a hundred thousand? Outwardly he didn't bat an eye. He laughed loudly. "Easy enough, easy enough. Mind if I take a look at the Pills first?"

"Oh? Are you suggesting this old one would hand you fakes?" A cold glint flickered through Ge Ming's eyes and was gone.

Tang Yan waved his hands quickly. "Myriad Pill Pavilion has stood on this continent for countless years with a name beyond reproach. Of course it wouldn't smash that name over a paltry hundred thousand taels. It's only that this young master has never laid eyes on a Qi Gathering Pill, and I'd like to appraise it first, so I don't bring home the wrong medicine and have no answer to give back home."

"If you want a look, then look. But should you damage a Pill by mistake, you'll pay its full price." Ge Ming held out the porcelain bottle, the mockery in his eyes thicker now. A brat without so much as a ripple of True Qi about him, daring to boast of appraising Pills?

Tang Yan took the bottle with a smile, eased the stopper loose to leave the barest gap, brought it to the tip of his nose for a light sniff, then pressed the stopper back in.

"Appraised already?" Watching Tang Yan handle it so carelessly, Ge Ming's contempt only deepened.

"Done." Tang Yan nodded.

To appraise a Pill, one first studied its shape, the rounder and smoother the better. Second, one examined its color, the more even the better. Third, one sensed the medicinal Spiritual Qi within, and those of lesser strength usually leaned on certain instruments to do it. There were subtler methods still, but none of that mattered here. This boy was plainly a green fool, feigning expertise and putting on airs.

Even the clerk at his side wore a mocking look.

Xiaocui, for her part, dropped her head in shame. She might never have taken a Pill, but even she had heard that appraising one wasn't a matter of a single sniff. Still, she didn't bolt. After all these years weathering storms of embarrassment at her young master's side, she'd built up a certain immunity.

"Well? Is this Qi Gathering Pill a fake or not?" Ge Ming pressed.

Young Master Tang gave a thoughtful hum, tapping the fan against his palm, and only after a long moment spoke. "The Pill's genuine enough. The price, though, is another matter."

"Oh? And how many taels does my young friend think fair?" Ge Ming had already braced himself to make the sale.

"Three thousand taels of silver. Will you sell or not?"