Medical and Martial God

Chapter 292: Discussing the Highest Realm of Cooperation

"Well now, Brother Ye, you came to a business banquet like this without your wife, or even me, Xiaowen, or Song’er. Instead, you brought this beautiful lady. She must be someone special, right?" Yun Lan immediately caught on to Zhu Xiaowen’s meaning and played along teasingly.

But her words had a double meaning. While it was a ploy to draw out information, they also subtly informed everyone present that she, Zhu Xiaowen, and Zuo Song’er had relationships with Ye Xiu that were far from ordinary.

The attendees were all seasoned business hawks, every one of them sharp. When Ye Xiu had first arrived, Zhu Xiaowen and the others greeted him like old friends, which made the crowd realize that the Zhu, Yun, and Zuo Families had special ties with him. After hearing Yun Lan’s words, they no longer had any doubts.

Many of them immediately began to calculate their next move. They planned to cultivate good relationships with the Zhu, Yun, and Zuo Families to get closer to Ye Xiu, hoping it would lead to a collaboration.

"Her name is Xia Zhiwei, the granddaughter of Xia Dehe, the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect." Ye Xiu gave Zhu Xiaowen and Yun Lan an appreciative look, silently praising the two girls for their quick thinking. He smiled and added, "If the Heavenly Dragon Sect needs anything in the future, please look out for them."

Just as Zhu Xiaowen and Yun Lan suspected, Ye Xiu had a clear purpose for bringing Xia Zhiwei to the banquet. He had chosen the Bao Family to be his representative in the business circles of Qingfeng Road and the entire Qi Yun Dao, but he still hadn’t picked a representative for the Ancient Martial Circle.

The Xu Family was a suitable candidate, but Xu Tingbai had a somewhat devious and slippery personality. The main issue was the marital ties between the Xu and Bao Families. If the Xu Family were to take control of Qi Yun Dao’s Ancient Martial Circle, the entire region would practically belong to the Bao Family.

There had to be a balance.

That was why Ye Xiu chose the Heavenly Dragon Sect. By bringing Xia Zhiwei to the banquet, he intended to elevate the sect’s presence in Qingfeng Road and, eventually, the entire Qi Yun Dao. He wouldn’t have to say a word; the tycoons would get the hint and start flocking to the Heavenly Dragon Sect to curry favor. Gradually, the sect would build its influence.

"Sister Xia, I’m Zuo Song’er. You’re so beautiful," Zuo Song’er said with a smile. She was much more innocent and didn’t have as many ulterior motives as Ye Xiu, Zhu Xiaowen, or Yun Lan. She simply thought that any friend of Ye Xiu’s should be her friend too.

"You’re very beautiful too," Xia Zhiwei laughed awkwardly. Suddenly becoming the center of attention at the banquet made her so nervous she desperately needed the restroom.

"Miss Xia, hello, I’m..."

The tycoons began to cozy up to Xia Zhiwei, introducing themselves one by one, handing over business cards, and offering their help if she ever needed it. It was only then that Xia Zhiwei found herself admiring Ye Xiu’s emotional intelligence, networking skills, and eloquence even more. She had no idea what to say, so she could only manage a continuous, awkward chuckle in response.

Ye Xiu didn’t help her. Since he was pushing the Heavenly Dragon Sect into the spotlight, Xia Zhiwei would have to get used to attending events like this.

He pulled Zhu Xiaowen, Yun Lan, and the Zuo siblings aside. "Why did you all come?"

"Brother Ye, you’re making a huge move into the medical field. Of course we had to come and show our support," Zhu Xiaowen said.

"We were going to call you directly to talk about investing, but Xiaowen said using back channels wouldn’t be right. So we came to compete fairly with everyone else," Yun Lan added.

"Brother, I’ll be blunt with you. The Zuo Family has wanted to enter the medical field for a long time, so..." Zuo You got straight to the point but then hesitated.

Ye Xiu understood. All three families wanted a piece of the massive pie that was the medical industry.

"The medical field is too vast and involves too many sectors," he said. "Just in terms of medicine, I have a mountain of prescriptions. It’s impossible for me to work exclusively with the Bao Family. I’ll carve out a few areas for your three families to handle. As for the details, I’ll have someone discuss them with you."

Since they were friends, Ye Xiu wouldn’t treat them poorly. He had also learned from his experiences ten years ago: going it alone would make him an enemy of the world. A win-win approach was the only healthy way to survive.

"Following Brother Ye really means we’ll eat well and live large," Zhu Xiaowen laughed.

Yun Lan and the Zuo siblings also smiled, satisfied.

Yun Lan teased, "Exactly. You’re so busy now, managing Jin Ye City’s Ancient Martial Circle and now getting involved in the medical field. You don’t even have time to keep a boy toy anymore."

"I can still tell the difference between my work life and my nightlife," Zhu Xiaowen retorted, feeling no shame in keeping a man. Life was meant to be enjoyed; there was no need to shortchange herself.

After that, Ye Xiu went back to dealing with the wealthy patrons who came to toast him, each using the gesture as an excuse to discuss collaboration. Some wanted the raw material supply chain, others wanted the medical equipment sector, some were interested in contract manufacturing for pharmaceuticals, and others wanted to be the main distributor. No one was greedy; they all knew their own financial strength and capabilities, so they only asked for what they could handle.

Ye Xiu was cordial with everyone but remained non-committal, neither agreeing to nor refusing any offers. I’ll just keep them all on the hook for now and bind them to my war chariot. We can talk specifics after I’ve crippled the Shen Family. Besides, entering a field as massive as medicine required extensive prep work. Any talks of cooperation or stock allocation would have to wait until the company was established and things were more or less ready.

"Speech is an art, and Divine Doctor Ye has perfected it. Mr. Bao, look at him. He hasn’t actually promised anyone anything, yet he’s made them all think they have it in the bag. Incredible!" Xu Tingbai remarked with sincere admiration, watching from afar as Ye Xiu skillfully strung along each person.

"You’ll never learn his skills in your lifetime," Bao Longtu teased. "But aren’t you going to represent the Xu Family and discuss a partnership with Divine Doctor Ye?"

"The Xu Family is just a bunch of warriors. What kind of partnership could we discuss with Divine Doctor Ye? Should I offer to be a gatekeeper when his company opens?" Xu Tingbai retorted, annoyed.

The banquet continued until eleven o’clock before the guests reluctantly departed, all wearing smiles that showed the trip had been well worth it.

Zhu Xiaowen and Yun Lan invited Ye Xiu to a bar, but he decisively refused. He knew exactly what they were up to.

"I never knew being rich was so exhausting. I’m completely worn out from just one evening. My throat is hoarse, and my face is numb from all the fake smiling," Xia Zhiwei said wearily after they left the clubhouse, looking like she was on her last legs.

"Every effort brings a reward. In the future, you’ll be thankful for tonight’s banquet," Ye Xiu said with a smile.

"Please. I didn’t even get to eat. I thought a high-end business banquet would have lots of delicious food, but all I saw were people’s heads from start to finish. I’m starving," Xia Zhiwei complained. "This is all your fault for dragging me here. You owe me barbecue as an apology."

"I’ll give you some money so you can go by yourself. I have something I need to do," Ye Xiu said.

"It’s the middle of the night. What could be so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow?"

"Killing someone."

"Bye!"

Xia Zhiwei bolted.

Ye Xiu chuckled. This girl is quite interesting.

Nearby, inside a car, Xiong Ba and Xiong Shan watched as Ye Xiu was finally left alone. They could no longer suppress the killing intent welling up inside them.

"Follow him. We’ll strike when he gets to a secluded spot," Xiong Ba said coldly.

"Right," Xiong Shan nodded. He watched Ye Xiu hail a taxi and get in, then quickly started the car and began to tail him.