"So you do know that's asking for the impossible!"
"Heh, the kid isn't very old, but his appetite is enormous."
"Too much!"
The speakers, in order, were Ke Yuelin, Sikong Shoujia, and Mi Junping, who had not uttered a single word until now.
Luo Chen noted down each of their names in his mind.
He shook his head. "It isn't much. Really, it isn't much at all. You can't even imagine how high the profits on pills are. Take my Myriad Wonders Pills, for example. The cost of a cauldron is barely five spirit stones, but turn around and sell them, and that's dozens of spirit stones. Asking for half really isn't much."
"That's still not much?" Ke Yuelin sneered. "You know the profit is high, yet you think you're worthy of taking half?"
He spoke with utter casualness. Beside him, Mi Shuhua, Mi Junping, and the others nodded in agreement.
Yet Ke Yuelin failed to notice how dark his sworn elder brother Qin Liangchen's expression had turned.
Luo Chen seemed not to care about his sneer in the least, continuing to pour out his grievances. "Then what else can we do? Are you going to concoct the pills, Hall Master Ke? You have such an extraordinary bearing and raise pigs so wonderfully, so your skill in handling medicinal herbs and controlling furnace flames must be consummate as well!"
Ke Yuelin froze on the spot.
If he had that kind of skill, backed by his ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, why would he ever stay stuck in this corner raising pigs and cattle?
Indeed, the Beast Hall was responsible for precisely that sort of business.
The Mountain Breaker Gang did not merely hunt demon beasts; they also kept and bred easily domesticated, low-grade wild beasts.
By letting them roam free in the Guyuan Mountain Range to be nourished by spiritual energy, they would, over time, yield a steady supply of low-grade demon beasts.
Calling him, the master of the Beast Hall, someone who raised pigs and cattle was not an insult in the slightest.
"Little Luo, mind your tongue. Don't go picking on your Brother Ke," Murong Qinglian said with a sweet smile, though her eyes turned as cold as ice whenever she looked at Ke Yuelin.
Since when had their sworn younger brother quietly thrown his lot in with Mi Shuhua?
"Alright, I'll listen to Sister-in-Law!"
Luo Chen dropped the miserable act and spoke plainly. "Alchemy is hard, bitter work. I won't lie to you. When the time comes, you can come see for yourselves, and if you want hands-on experience, I'll gladly guide you with all my heart.
"Therefore, wanting a share of the profits for myself is entirely reasonable.
"Fifty percent might be a bit high, but look at me! Just look at me!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Luo Chen pointed at his dust-covered clothes.
A low-grade first-rank robe—secondhand!
There were holes in it, and the hem was scorched by fire.
With a flash of his hand, he revealed a flying sword he had borrowed from Gu Caiyi.
A low-grade first-rank flying sword carved with floral patterns, clearly made for a female cultivator.
"Little Luo here has it rough! Not enough to eat, not enough to stay warm, wearing secondhand rags, even using a magic tool meant for women!
"If other factions come visiting in the future and see that the master of the Pill Hall—one of our gang's nine halls—looks like such a pathetic wretch, what a disgrace! It won't be my face on the line, but our Mountain Breaker Gang's face! The face of Gang Leader Mi, a great Foundation Establishment cultivator!"
Mi Shuhua's expression turned marvelous to behold.
He had never expected someone could play the victim to such an extent.
The others were also somewhat shaken. Even back when they were in the middle layers of Qi Refinement, surely none of them had lived such a miserable existence!
Murong Qinglian's eyes glistened with tears. "To hone his alchemy skills, Little Luo wears the worst robes and even uses a flying sword discarded by the young lady next door. He truly has suffered enough."
Looking at it that way, a fifty-percent cut suddenly did not seem all that excessive.
And yet...
"It is still too much!"
Mi Junping said coldly.
Luo Chen straightened his posture. "Then, Hall Master of the Merit Hall, why don't you offer an explanation?"
"Contributing to the gang is your duty. Two bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills a month are more than enough," Mi Junping said, her face as impassive as ever.
Luo Chen flared up in rage. "Are you brushing off a beggar? If word gets out that the Mountain Breaker Gang mistreats an alchemist like this, tens of thousands of cultivators in Dahe Market will look down on you!"
"What status do you have to dare speak so..." Mi Junping's brows twitched upward as she moved to scold him.
"Ping'er!"
Mi Shuhua spoke up, his face full of smiles.
"Quite right. Once you step through this door, we are family. How could we let family be wronged? Besides, our Mountain Breaker Gang never mistreats any of our brothers!"
With just those words, Mi Junping's expression shifted slightly.
She had made a mistake.
If rumors really spread that they enslaved an alchemist, the Mountain Breaker Gang's hard-won reputation over the years in Dahe Market, along with Mi Shuhua's renown for fostering low-level cultivators, would be utterly ruined.
Once their reputation soured, the ensuing chain reaction would be something the Mi family could not bear.
A rogue cultivator faction relied on sheer numbers and momentum.
If others refused to join, the gang would eventually scatter to the wind, reduced to just another forgotten name in the history of Dahe Market.
Mi Shuhua looked toward Sikong Shoujia. "Sikong, you are mature and prudent, and in your earlier years, you spent time in several of our halls. Why not offer a reasonable proposal for everyone to consider?"
Ahem! Ahem!
Clearing his throat, Sikong Shoujia held up a single finger.
"Ten percent should be about right."
"No..."
"Little Luo, don't be in such a hurry to object. You have to consider that the raw ingredients are provided by the gang, and the distribution channels belong to the gang as well. What's more, you won't need to show your face outside; dedicated personnel will handle the sales. Think of how much cultivation time that saves you."
Sikong Shoujia laid out his points methodically, presenting them one by one with smooth deliberation.
"We elders have seen your plight. Setting aside everything else, Gang Leader Mi loves nothing more than supporting the younger generation. He has plenty of spare high-grade magic tools; gifting you one is hardly out of the question.
"Isn't that right, Gang Leader Mi?"
Mi Shuhua smiled faintly. "Indeed. It's just a magic tool or two. Why waste money buying one outside? This old man will simply bestow one upon you."
Luo Chen remained silent, frozen in place.
The atmosphere within Bright Moon Hall grew increasingly suffocating.
After a long while, a gruff voice rang out.
"Junior, one shouldn't push one's luck. Learn to be content with what you have."
It was Luo Wudi, the Descending-Mountain Tiger!
Luo Chen glanced at him and gritted his teeth. "Ten percent really is too little!"
"That is already the gang's absolute limit. After all, we have over a thousand brothers to feed," Mi Junping said, refusing to yield an inch.
Luo Chen lifted his head. Instead of looking at her, he turned his gaze to the others.
"I, Luo Chen, make no claim of grand talent, but when it comes to the path of alchemy, I have gained some insights.
"If my cultivation advances and I am provided with suitable formulas, I will gladly concoct the pills everyone needs free of charge."
The crowd stirred.
Eyes darted about, several people clearly tempted.
"Not only that, but you may also send your trusted disciples or descendants into the Pill Hall. I will do my utmost to guide them. If they can pick up a trick or two, they will at least possess a trade for the future."
No sooner had the words fallen than Yang Wei, the Coiled-Dragon Tiger, laughed heartily. "Little Luo has already shown such generosity, so why should we be stingy?"
Zhang Shicong of the Mining Hall said gently, "Ten percent truly is a bit too little. Why not make it twenty percent? It is his hard work, after all."
Qin Liangchen and Murong Qinglian spoke in unison. "Twenty percent is neither too much nor too little. Little Luo has no other trade to rely upon, after all."
Since the meeting began, only one person had yet to say a word.
That was Wang Yuan.
His brow had remained tightly furrowed the entire time until he watched Luo Chen maneuver through the assembly word by word.
Though Luo Chen had laughed, scolded, and played the clown, he had remained thoroughly composed throughout—hardly the sort of man who could only whine and play the victim.
Only then did Wang Yuan's furrowed brow slowly relax.
"Let it be twenty percent. Any more would invite greed; any less would chill our hearts."
In an instant, among the twelve senior figures present—including the gang leader—five had already agreed to this split.
If one added Luo Chen, who naturally did not object, that was half the assembly.
Mi Junping's face turned as dark as stagnant water.
Before this, they had already worked out a rough agreement on the shares with the other hall masters.
Surrendering an extra twenty percent now meant the Mi family would be the ones taking the loss.
Ke Yuelin dared not speak another word, as Qin Liangchen and his wife were glaring daggers at him.
Sikong Shoujia wore a faint smirk and stayed silent, content to remain detached from matters that did not concern him.
Mi Shuhua's smile gradually faded, his gaze settling on another figure.
"Zeng Wen, did you enjoy yourself at Tianxiang Pavilion this past month?"
Chapter 77