Mundane Saint

Chapter 60 – Two Great Treasures

They originally thought that the medical skills of mortals could at most heal their superficial wounds. But now, Little Yu's internal injuries were completely healed, which was truly... unexpected.

"Thank you, Young Master Gu. If it weren't for you today, Sister Little Mu and I would have been in grave danger."

Little Yu expressed her heartfelt gratitude.

Little Mu nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Indeed, if it weren't for Gu Heng's intervention, the two of them would have died tonight south of Cloud Spirit City. Moreover, given Qingfeng Treasure Hall's style of handling matters, they probably wouldn't even have left a complete corpse.

Gu Heng waved his hand dismissively and said calmly, "It was just a small effort."

He hadn't done anything like standing up for justice in a long time, and today he did it again, even resorting to poison to kill. Gu Heng still felt a bit thrilled about it.

He had thought that with the System's help, he could become a cultivator and reach the pinnacle, but the System had disappointed him too many times. Despite being in his early twenties, his ambitions had been worn down by the System, and he realized he could never achieve the heights he had once aspired to in this lifetime.

But even living as a mortal, his life hadn't always been smooth sailing.

In this world, avoiding bloodshed was impossible, and Gu Heng had personally taken action before.

The only thing that could stir up some waves was him, as a mortal, killing a cultivator.

"Speaking of which, where are you two from, and why were those people chasing you?"

Gu Heng suddenly asked.

He couldn't help but be intrigued by the secrets behind this.

These two women, being chased by a group of assassins in the dead of night, surely had a story behind it.

Little Mu and Little Yu exchanged a glance, and in the end, it was the older-looking Little Yu who pursed her lips and said, "The two of us are maids of the president of Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall in Cloud Spirit City. The people chasing us are assassins raised by Qingfeng Treasure Hall."

Hearing two familiar names, Gu Heng's eyes flickered.

In Cloud Spirit City, only the Lu, Yun, and Yan families were considered the most powerful forces. However, in reality, there were two other forces that Gu Heng didn't count among them.

They were Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall and Qingfeng Treasure Hall.

These two treasure halls were the major commercial enterprises in Cloud Spirit City, constantly competing for the market and the top position.

Although they were just merchants, they couldn't be underestimated. After all, money could make the world go round, and the business of these treasure halls was conducted by both mortals and cultivators alike, leaving no one behind.

It was said that the influence of these two treasure halls far exceeded that of the Sunflare Empire. In Cloud Spirit City, they were just small branches, but even so, they were undeniably major forces in the city.

In small places like Greenwood City, they didn't even bother to open branches.

After pondering for a while, Gu Heng thought that there was likely to be a fierce conflict between these two treasure halls.

The president of Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall had sent his maids out, and they were being pursued by assassins from Qingfeng Treasure Hall in the dead of night... These two girls were definitely out to gather commercial secrets!

They wanted to silence them.

Stealing someone's livelihood was akin to killing their parents.

Gu Heng thought that the commercial battles in this world were truly straightforward, and then he heard Little Yu say, "Young Master Gu, do you have any more questions?"

He was taken aback, completely unaware that his interested expression had been seen by Little Mu and Little Yu, almost overflowing.

He cleared his throat, "I don't have any more questions, just wanted to ask if they were chasing you because you discovered some secret?"

At this mention, a hint of hesitation flashed in Little Yu's eyes.

Gu Heng's words were essentially probing for commercial secrets. In theory, they should remain silent, and this matter should only be reported to the president for him to decide.

But facing this handsome young man who had just saved them, healed their injuries, and even risked provoking Qingfeng Treasure Hall's animosity, Little Yu inexplicably felt a desire to confide.

After hesitating for a moment, she decided to be honest.

"Because of this."

Little Yu took out a small jade bottle from her bosom.

Gu Heng picked it up and looked at it. Inside the bottle was a thick, dark green liquid. He opened it and smelled a faint medicinal scent.

This was some kind of topical healing medicine.

However, Gu Heng could tell that its efficacy was quite poor.

If he had to describe it, it was like the residue left over when he first started practicing "medicine" and refining pills... about the same as this "green liquid."

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

If this were to be sold to mortals, it might be acceptable, but to cultivators... there probably wouldn't be many willing to buy it.

"They were chasing you for this bottle of medicine?"

Gu Heng raised an eyebrow.

He didn't recognize this medicine, but for those specially trained assassins to relentlessly pursue two young women, it couldn't be ordinary. Yet, it was far from ordinary, it was subpar.

"That's right."

Little Yu gritted her teeth and said, "This bottle of 'Blue Spirit Liquid' was developed by Qingfeng Treasure Hall with the help of an alchemist. Although its effects are not top-notch, the recipe is very simple, and the cost is extremely low. It's meant to squeeze our Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall, making it impossible for us to sell our healing medicines."

Gu Heng's eyes narrowed slightly.

He immediately understood.

This stuff had poor efficacy but low cost, so Qingfeng Treasure Hall's "Blue Spirit Liquid" could be sold in large quantities at low prices. Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall's healing medicines might be of better quality, but they were also more expensive. In this way...

Qingfeng Treasure Hall was aiming to make money from mortals and poor, weak cultivators!

Once they ramp up production of this "Blue Spirit Liquid" and start selling it in large quantities, Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall's healing medicines would naturally lose their market among those with tight budgets.

There were many small forces outside Cloud Spirit City, and they would likely purchase "Blue Spirit Liquid" in large quantities. Those scattered cultivators would also choose the cheaper medicine, and the mortals in the city would certainly opt for convenience, spending some silver to buy such healing medicine rather than visiting the Medicine Hall...

It's not that Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall's products wouldn't sell, but there would always be more poor people than rich ones in this world.

Everyone wants to enjoy better things, but many have to settle for less.

"...I understand."

No wonder those two girls were being chased so desperately. This was indeed a top-secret commercial secret. Qingfeng Treasure Hall could use this as a trump card, waiting until they had enough "Blue Spirit Liquid" in stock, creating enough buzz, and then launching it all at once!

Qingfeng Treasure Hall wanted to launch a surprise attack.

At the most critical moment, they would deliver a heavy blow to Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall!

He returned the jade bottle to Little Yu and said, "You want to take this bottle back and let your treasure hall's president think of a better countermeasure, right?"

Little Yu nodded.

And Gu Heng's next words left them with their mouths wide open, as if stuffed with eggs.

"But this bottle of medicine... in my opinion, is too trashy. The residue from my pill refining, soaked in cold water and drunk, would be ten times more effective than this."