Elder Ying had already sat down and closed his eyes, intending to stay silent. But hearing Wang Li's questioning, his temper flared up again.
Elder Ying rolled his eyes: "Where am I being an alarmist? I don't think there's anything alarmist about what I said."
Wang Li raised his voice: "The Long family holding military power and shaking the throne's authority—that's true enough. But our Medicine Hall runs a business. We only seek wealth, not power. How can our affair with the Long family be lumped together with that?"
"Ha ha ha ha…" Elder Ying burst out laughing. "These words of yours would only carry weight if people from the Eastern royal line were listening. Persuading me, persuuring these hot-headed people in the Medicine Hall—that's not hard. Persuading the royal family? Now that's truly difficult."
Elder Ying's words made perfect sense. After what happened with the Long family, the royal family would be like startled birds on a stretched bow—they would absolutely not allow a second Long family to emerge.
"Our Medicine Hall has always had an excellent reputation. How could the royal family not know that?" Wang Li said coldly.
"An excellent reputation, indeed. That's precisely why our Medicine Hall has never expanded into the territories of various vassal lords, never reached our claws out too far. It's because the Medicine Hall knows its place, knows when to advance and retreat. We haven't expanded blindly. But if we start expanding recklessly in the future, what that reputation will look like—only heaven knows. Besides, whether we really only do business—that depends entirely on the words of whoever's in control. As long as the person running the Medicine Hall has even a little ambition and pulls some strings behind the scenes, forming a force like the Long family might be even easier than the Long family themselves."
"Bullshit! You're making malicious assumptions, smearing your own family's face! Elder Ying, are you still a member of this Medicine Hall or not?" Wang Li was furious.
Elder Lan also shrieked: "Some people just love to grandstand and court attention. What kind of master, what kind of servant."
Elder Lan's attack was once again aimed at Qiao Baishi.
Elder Ying was enraged and slammed the table hard: "You—Blue! I've been putting up with you for more than a day or two. You old woman, speak clearly. What do you mean 'master'? What do you mean 'servant'? Stop being sharp-tongued and mean all day long, as if everyone doesn't know you have a viper's tongue."
"Ying Wuyou, don't you play tough with me! You're just Qiao Baishi's lackey. Everything you're saying comes down to jealousy—you're jealous of the Fourth Hall Master, jealous that he's in the spotlight, jealous that he took your master's position!" Elder Lan decided to rip off the mask entirely.
Ying Wuyou nodded fiercely: "Fine, fine, fine. Since we've come to this point, I, Ying, will leave my words here too. If the Medicine Hall's future depends on mediocrities like you, then the Medicine Hall's centuries of foundation will be completely destroyed within twenty years! Jealous? Someone who can't even see the bigger picture—what is there for me to be jealous of? Yes, I am Qiao Baishi's friend, his die-hard ally. But that's not because of personal connections—I admire his character, I admire his talent. Not like you lot, forming cliques and purging dissidents. Weathervanes that blow whichever way the wind goes. Last time, if the Grand Hall Master had listened to you people and compromised with the Long family, you wouldn't even have the chance to be blowing hot air today!"
Ying Wuyou turned to Song Tianxing and declared firmly: "Since we've come to this point, Grand Hall Master, let me speak plainly. The second question you raised—I have an answer. In this vast Medicine Hall, no one can fill Qiao Baishi's shoes, and no one can handle the aftermath. Only Qiao Baishi's return can save the situation! It's laughable that these people sit here talking big while not even realizing the Medicine Hall faces a monumental crisis!"
"A crisis? Ying Wuyou, don't you dare be an alarmist! Without Qiao Baishi, is our Medicine Hall going to shut down or something?" The Second Hall Master Yue Qun was also displeased and reprimanded him.
Elder Lan sneered with mockery: "As they say, one fan outweighs ten haters. Ying Wuyou, you really are Qiao Baishi's blind fanboy. You really think highly of Qiao Baishi, don't you? I bet even the Grand Hall Master isn't as important to you as Qiao Baishi!"
It had to be said—this woman had a sharp tongue and was quite skilled at sowing discord.
But as Grand Hall Master, how could Song Tianxing fall for her act? He said with a dark expression: "Enough of this nonsense. Since Elder Ying has raised this second question, let's discuss it."
Ying Wuyou smiled faintly: "Grand Hall Master, there's nothing to discuss. I've already said it—no one can replace Qiao Baishi. Speaking so frankly today, I feel much better. To tell you the truth, after today, I also plan to resign. What the Medicine Hall's future holds has nothing to do with me anyway. But I was raised by the Medicine Hall since childhood, and I have deep feelings for it. The words I said weren't for personal grudges—I truly, genuinely considered the Medicine Hall's future. As for what course the Medicine Hall should take, that's your decision, Grand Hall Master. I only want to say this: Wang Li is not a worthy successor for the Medicine Hall. And a narrow-minded woman like Elder Lan, who relies on flaunting her charm and trading on personal connections to climb up—she's even less fit to hold an elder's seat. The more people like her, the narrower the Medicine Hall's road will become!"
Resign? Another top leader was leaving?
Apart from Wang Li's faction, the Medicine Hall still had a fair number of neutral members. Hearing that Ying Wuyou was also planning to resign, they were greatly astonished—and also felt a vague sense of unease.
Why was it that just when the Medicine Hall appeared to be thriving, people kept leaving one after another?
Could it be that the Medicine Hall truly had some kind of problem?
"Resign? Ha ha, why don't you just say you can't hack it anymore?" Elder Lan sneered. "Without your master Qiao Baishi backing you, you've got no place in the Medicine Hall, do you? Being an alarmist and then trying to stir up trouble before you leave?"
Ying Wuyou smiled coldly, his gaze fearless and open as he swept across every person in the room: "Everyone, I, Ying Wuyou, have a clear conscience. Bickering with this woman is indeed rather pointless. I'll say one last thing: once Qiao Baishi leaves, those three pills will stop production. All the orders we've taken will be cancelled. Our Medicine Hall's reputation will suffer a severe blow. And in a situation like this, these people aren't even thinking about how to handle the aftermath—they're only focused on expanding their power. Is it that they have no brains, or am I just worrying too much?"
As someone who was already leaving, Ying Wuyou held nothing back. Laying all the cards on the table, he left the entire hall in stunned silence.
Song Tianxing's greatest worry had finally been brought up by Ying Wuyou.
"What? You're talking about the Divine Show Creation Pill? And the Blue Sea Pill and the One Buddha Powder? Grand Hall Master, you didn't even know about these formulas?"
"Qiao Baishi was keeping such secrets? That's simply…"
"No way! All those orders—they're from the kingdom's major powers. You can't afford to offend any of them!"
"Grand Hall Master, is this true? This… this is just too outrageous!"
Song Tianxing sighed softly: "The reason I raised this second question is precisely for this reason. The three pill formulas were indeed exclusively held by Qiao Baishi. Even I, as the Grand Hall Master, had no part in it."