Some might regard this as an unfavourable deal for the Shi family since they had to invest both effort and manpower into the project. This is in addition to the fact that they were also responsible for acquiring the necessary ingredients as well as sales. For this much, they were to get only half of the profits.
This was a huge loss for them no matter how one viewed it.
However, Shi Wenjun wasn’t like the others. What she saw wasn’t the portion they lost but rather what they would receive.
As the patriarch of the Shi family, numbers like costs and profits came to her easily.
Although it wasn’t much, a profit was still a profit.
More importantly, if this business deal with Lin Jin was to come to fruition, they would have new prescriptions and new pill products. If the pricing was competitive, it could potentially save her family from their impending doom.
Only an idiot would reject this offer.
“Sure!’ Shi Wenjun answered readily.
She didn’t even ask Lin Jin how many prescriptions he was going to offer.
Lin Jin was fond of easy-going people.
“Lord Shi, would you please lend me some paper and a brush?” Lin Jin asked. Shi Wenjun immediately had a servant bring the required items.
They prepared the finest brush, the most expensive ink, and even the paper was of the finest quality.
These were definitely much better than what the Beast Appraisal Association was using.
Lifting the brush, Lin Jin penned down all of the prescriptions he was ready to offer including the corresponding pelletization methods in great detail. Anyone who was slightly knowledgeable in the field could tell that these prescriptions were worth a fortune.
And Shi Wenjun was a connoisseur among connoisseurs. When Lin Jin was done writing, she was immediately electrified when she started reading his work.
Having studied pharmacology all her life, researched pelletization methods, and read many books on pills, she found several pills in Lin Jin’s prescriptions to be familiar.
The most eye-catching one being the nine water floating cloud pill.
If memory served her right, this was the first medicine to ‘break curses’. If someone invoked tainted beings or was being pestered by curses or malicious entities, this nine water floating pill would be the antidote for them all.
It was a life-saving medicine.
Its uses didn’t just end there. If someone was in a coma or was fatally ill, this pill could also be used to prolong their lives.
In short, she remembered how highly the books she read praised this nine water floating pill. It was only a pity the prescription was lost in time and its existence in this world remained unknown.
Back when she was still a student, Shi Wenjun was obsessed with the nine water floating cloud pill. If she could come across such a mystical pill, then her life would be complete.
Who knew her dream would come true today.
Of course, she was slightly sceptical about the authenticity of the prescription. Was it just a pill that borrowed the nine water floating cloud pill’s name to stir up a stunt? However, after carefully going through the prescription, she realized that it couldn’t be fake.
The prescription was miraculous and the pharmacology sound. Although Shi Wenjun couldn’t be entirely sure if this nine water floating cloud pill was genuine, this prescription was at least effective and practical enough to serve as a marketable pill.
And since this was provided by Lin Jin, it might just be authentic.
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Shi Wenjun’s mind. Her breaths grew more erratic and her cheeks flushed. Those who didn’t know might assume she was sick.
“Appraiser Lin, is this really the nine water floating cloud pill’s prescription?” Shi Wenjun couldn’t resist asking.
Lin Jin nodded.
She knew her question was too abrupt but she couldn’t help herself.
If it was genuine, even the Chen family and Wu Chenwei would have to surrender before this prescription.
With this, the Shi family could rise up again and reach the pinnacle in the entire Jade Dragon Kingdom, never mind Maple City. It would give them prestige that exceeded their past glory.
“Appraiser Lin, could you wait for a moment?” Shi Wenjun was excited to gather her family’s elders to try producing one of this pill in their pelletization room.
Lin Jin could tell what her current plan was. As he wasn’t in a hurry, he nodded.
Shi Wenjun hurried away. Once outside, she stopped and instructed her servants to serve Appraiser Lin well. Meanwhile, she hastily gathered the family’s core members to the pelletization room for an experiment.
The core members were immediately puzzled by this summon. When they saw Shi Wenjun and clarified, everyone was stunned.
“Fourth Uncle, you’re the eldest among us and most experienced. What do you think about this prescription?” Shi Wenjun asked her fourth uncle.
The latter studied the prescription several times in a dead-serious manner.
“The pharmacology is flawless and the same goes for the pelletization method and instructions. It might just be authentic, but we still have to try producing it to see if it truly is a nine water floating cloud pill,” Fourth Uncle answered.
The other family members shared the same opinion.
The entire family was plagued with worries recently. Lately, their morale was at an all-time low from facing constant pressure from the Chen family. All of them harbored resentment but couldn’t do anything about it.
Now that a possibility to turn the tables around presented itself, it goes without saying that they were all excited.
Just as Shi Wenjun had said, if this was truly the nine water floating cloud pill prescription, just this one prescription could help turn their situation around and let them overpower the Chen family.
Hence, even if the ingredients required were expensive, they would have to try it out. For added assurance, they prepared two furnaces to carry out the testing.
One would be used by Shi Wenjun while their Fourth Uncle used the other.
Both of them were currently the Shi family’s most skilled alchemists, especially Shi Wenjun who was deemed a prodigy in pelletization. Otherwise, the family wouldn’t have been this reluctant to marry her away, to the extent that they got her a live-in husband.
Half an hour later, the pills were produced.
Perhaps Shi Wenjun was too nervous or had been too exhausted due to recent events that her pill failed. However, Fourth Uncle’s experiment turned out to be a success.
Experience is still a valuable asset after all.
And Fourth Uncle knew the significance of this experiment.
It decided the life and death of their family.
He opened the furnace and the pill was retrieved.
Someone had also brought over ancient records of the nine water floating cloud pill to cross-examine the pill’s appearance for verification.
The moment the furnace was opened, a gentle fragrance wafted out, as if transporting them to the great outdoors, the smell reminded of nature and even carried hints of spring.
“This is it! The ancient records say that when a nine water floating cloud pill emerges from the furnace, by closing one’s eyes, it would feel as if we are standing amidst the calming spring breeze,” Shi Wenbing exclaimed out of excitement.
They looked closer.
The pill was aquamarine in color with water swirling inside. Its exterior remained dry and it floated even when placed in water. Instead of dissolving, a wax-like substance was seen forming across the pill’s surface.
It was the pill’s energy solidifying.
“It’s exactly as the books described it. This is the real nine water floating cloud pill!” Even Fourth Uncle was thrilled as his lips trembled in excitement.
Having practised pelletization for all his life, he no longer had any regrets after witnessing this legendary pill with his own eyes.
“The Shi family is saved!”
“This prescription has to be kept safe! We can’t afford to let this one be stolen like the previous prescriptions.”
“Yes, yes!”
The Shi family was ecstatic.
At first, some of them felt reserved about Lin Jin’s conditions, thinking he was being greedy for wanting half the profits by only offering prescriptions.
But now, such thoughts had faded away.
Forget the others, if this nine water floating cloud pill was offered with a request of seventy or eighty percent profit in return, many people would still be competing after it.
The reason for this is simple. This was a unique business that no one else could do.
More importantly, being able to offer this product gave them prestige.
By relying on this one pill variant, their Shi family could rise above the ashes again.
Furthermore, Appraiser Lin didn’t just give them one prescription.
“Come, let’s go over and thank Appraiser Lin.” Fourth Uncle was ready to head over when Shi Wenjun stopped him.
“Fourth Uncle, you mustn’t. Appraiser Lin prefers to lay low. If he’s abruptly disturbed, he might get annoyed instead. We just have to keep his grace in mind.” Although Shi Wenjun had only interacted with Lin Jin several times, she managed to grasp Lin Jin’s personality with great accuracy.
If the large group of Shi family members rushed over to thank him, Appraiser Lin would no doubt feel embarrassed. It was better for her to go alone.
“Then we’ll stay here. Wenjun, you have to treat Appraiser Lin well and try your best to not upset him. This Lin Jin is our Shi family’s great benefactor,” Fourth Uncle urged before leaving.
Wasting no more time, Shi Wenjun hurried back to thank Lin Jin.
Lin Jin knew they must have verified what they needed to.
Lin Jin had no interest in how the Shi family would counter the Chen family’s recent advances. He was prepared to leave for Mount Zoroku to help Xiao Huo evolve.
Not only Goldy, but Lin Jin also brought the shadow wolf along this time. After locking up his home, Lin Jin headed for Mount Zoroku.
They managed to enter the woods before dark.
By the time they reached Shang’er’s place, it was completely dark outside.
At that moment, two girls approached them.
Perhaps no other beings were as gorgeous as both of them in this world. One of them was obviously Shang’er while the other was Little Five.
She had recently learned to perform transfiguration.
However, her skill mastery wasn’t as great as Shang’er who could retain her human form for as long as she desired. Little Five could only do it for about two to three hours before reverting back to her original form. It would take her another while to be able to transform again.
As monsters, being able to transfigure ensured their safety. They could even venture into human society for fun little adventures.
However, Shang’er was quite worried about Little Five. She even consulted Lin Jin once to advise Little Five.
Little Five was still in love with the scholar. Every few days, they would meet in secret. Previously, Little Five only used Dream Invasion, but after learning transfiguration, she could now meet her beau in real life.
Many factors in this relationship worried Shang’er.
She was more knowledgeable than Little Five and understood that a relationship between humans and monsters did not usually have happy endings. She was also afraid of Little Five getting tricked or even falling into danger.
And yet, Little Five was stubborn and refused to listen to the warnings. Shang’er had no choice but to beg Lin Jin to restrict Little Five. Lin Jin had yet to confront Little Five about this.
“Greetings, Master Lin!”
Shang’er and Little Five bowed together. Little Five’s appearance was exactly the same as the one she concocted in her dreams. It was obviously done on purpose.
The little foxes rushed out as well and bowed their furry heads at Lin Jin.
The great white ape was getting used to Transformation as well and could now maintain the spell for up to two hours, an obvious improvement from when they last met.