Free Web NovelChapter 1411: Chapter 471: Slap, Slap, Slap!
"I knew you’d deny it. This is exactly the Huangquan Water the City Lord’s Mansion bought. Take a look yourself—does it work or not?"
City Lord Ma finished speaking and tossed a bottle to Ye Lingyue.
The bottle was indeed the same type Ye Lingyue used to hold Huangquan Water. Only, when Ye Lingyue uncorked it and took a look at the Huangquan Water inside, she gave two dry laughs.
"City Lord Ma, this is indeed Huangquan Water, but it’s not the original stock. This has clearly been diluted."
As she spoke, Ye Lingyue took out another bottle of Huangquan Water from her Qiankun Bag and poured it into a cup, then poured City Lord Ma’s bottle into another cup.
Both cups of liquid were multicolored, but comparing City Lord Ma’s cup to Ye Lingyue’s, the difference in color alone was like night and day.
When he saw that color, City Lord Ma’s expression already turned a few shades uglier.
But he still refused to admit fault.
Ye Lingyue wasn’t in a hurry. She glanced around and spotted a cat lying by the roadside, listless and sickly.
She first placed the cup from the City Lord’s Mansion by the cat’s side; the cat didn’t move at all.
Ye Lingyue pried open the sick cat’s mouth and poured that cup of water down. The cat didn’t show much change.
Ye Lingyue then set her own cup of Huangquan Water beside the sick cat.
The cat, whose eyes had been completely closed, twitched its nose as if it had sniffed something. Its eyelids lifted.
When it saw that cup of Huangquan Water, it was like seeing some top-grade delicacy. It stuck out its tongue and lapped at the water in a fluster, and after finishing, it let out a cry of reluctant craving.
What was even more shocking came next: the sick cat whose breathing had been laborious suddenly had its dull fur turn glossy, and its bony frame swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye, growing to the size of a household dog in one go.
More astonishing still, stripes like a tiger’s appeared on its fur, and its claws and teeth became much sharper.
"A Fifth Stage Spiritual Beast, a Tiger-striped Cat—my heavens, my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, are they? Someone hurry up and pinch me."
At the side, Jia Fugui’s eyeballs were practically about to fall out from staring.
Not to mention the onlookers crowding around—just one cup, and a domestic cat on the brink of death turned into a Fifth Stage Spiritual Beast.
Good grief, that Huangquan Water was way too miraculous.
"City Lord Ma’s bottle of Huangquan Water is at most one-fiftieth the potency of mine. Stuff that’s been watered down like this naturally won’t have any effect when drunk. If City Lord Ma really wants to pursue this, he should be going after the person who gave him diluted Huangquan Water."
Ye Lingyue shrugged.
In truth, ordinary Huangquan Water didn’t have the ability to transform common beasts into Spiritual Beasts.
The reason this cup of Huangquan Water was so effective was because Ye Lingyue had tampered with it in secret just now.
Not only had she used Cauldron Breath to purify that cup of Huangquan Water, she had also infused a wisp of Cauldron Breath into it. That house cat had plain and simple stumbled into its fortune and turned from cat to tiger in one leap.
The Tiger-striped Cat also seemed to have gained spiritual awareness. It meowed twice at Ye Lingyue’s feet, then its body leapt, agilely bounding up to the eaves. It ran a few steps along the rooftops and vanished.
Tiger roars in deep mountains—in days to come, this Spiritual Beast that became a Tiger-striped Cat thanks to Huangquan Water would become a legendary tale of the Ancient Nine Provinces.
Of course, that’s all beside the point.
Seeing the Tiger-striped Cat disappear in an instant, the surrounding onlookers let out a collective "whoa" and burst into discussion.
The public opinion that had previously leaned toward the City Lord’s Mansion suddenly whooshed and swung over to Ye Lingyue’s side.
"The City Lord’s Mansion really has no shame. I’ve heard of watering wine, but watering down water? They can even stoop to this."
"Exactly. Not only did they steal from under their own nose, they even tried to pin it on the ’Jia Tianxia’ Trading House."
"But seriously, that Huangquan Water is insane. No way, I’ve got to think of a way to get a bottle and try it myself."
Hearing all this, City Lord Ma clenched his teeth so hard they creaked. He shot Hong Yulang a vicious glare.
Good, very good, Hong Yulang, you actually dared to dilute the Huangquan Water.
Hong Yulang was so scared he kept wiping cold sweat. He had opened the Huangquan Water by chance, discovered that the stuff was fragrant and enticing, and couldn’t resist taking more than half a bottle for himself.
After downing that half bottle, even his bloodline and organs felt indescribably comfortable.
With only a tiny bit left, Hong Yulang had no choice but to secretly dilute it before giving it to City Lord Ma, and he even wanted to use the opportunity to frame Ye Lingyue. Who knew Ye Lingyue would see through it at a glance.
"Let’s put aside the matter of diluting it for now, but you swaggering around and scamming people is fact. What sick cat? That was clearly something you staged on purpose, a gimmick you found. The alchemists of the City Lord’s Mansion have already said it’s just ordinary spring water. It can’t possibly have some divine artifact effect of helping beasts advance in rank, and it’s absolutely not worth thirty thousand Spirit Stones."
At this point, City Lord Ma was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off. If he admitted now that it was the City Lord’s Mansion that misjudged, wouldn’t he, as City Lord, lose all face?
Pressed hard by Ye Lingyue, his eyes rolled, and he dragged out one of the Mansion’s old alchemists.
The old alchemist had a mouthful of goatee and wore an Alchemist Robe. On his robe, there was a row of nine Cauldron Seals—he was a Nine Rank Alchemist at a glance.
This man was a veteran alchemist of the City Lord’s Mansion and had considerable prestige in the Xuanwu City area.
"The City Lord is right. This old man has already studied it carefully. Huangquan Water has no medicinal effect at all. It’s just water. Everyone, don’t get fooled anymore. I dare swear on this Nine Rank Alchemist Robe on my body that not a word I’ve said is false." The old alchemist glanced disdainfully at Ye Lingyue’s robe, which didn’t have a single Cauldron Seal. He looked down very much on this kind of fraud who only knew a bit of medical skills and went around cheating people.
"Pah! To hell with your Nine Rank Alchemist. Our mistress is a Fang Venerate!"
In Ye Lingyue’s right palm, Little Qian Cauldron was already itching to go, just short of jumping out to spit in that Nine Rank Old Alchemist’s face.
Ye Lingyue’s path of alchemist cultivation had never followed the usual route.
Back on the Qing Province Continent, she had already reached the Fang Venerate cultivation of Eighth to Ninth Rank, and after arriving at Lonely Moon Sea, with years of Artifact Refining aided by the advancement of the Qian Cauldron, she was now without a doubt at Fang Venerate Cultivation.
It was only because the existence of the Qian Cauldron had to be kept secret, and because she used Gray Fire, that in the eyes of outsiders she was at most just at an alchemist’s cultivation.
After the old alchemist’s speech, public opinion began to shift again.
The onlookers who had just been speaking up for Ye Lingyue started to look doubtful.
Facing the questions, Ye Lingyue didn’t know how to explain for the moment.
Huangquan Water indeed didn’t contain solid medicinal ingredients; it was simply natural spring water from Hong Meng Heaven.
"What’s wrong, cat got your tongue? Young people, I’ve told you before: one must keep their feet on the ground. Someone like you, ignorant and incompetent, wanting to make a fortune by cheating and swindling, is not worthy of being an alchemist, much less worthy of learning medical skills."
Seeing Ye Lingyue stay silent, the old alchemist grew even more pleased with himself.
"Nonsense, Miss Yue is no liar."
A granny squeezed out from the crowd, shielding Ye Lingyue behind her like a hawk protecting a chick.
Looking closely, wasn’t this Mrs. Fu?
"Old Madam Fu, why are you here?"
Seeing Old Madam Fu, Ye Lingyue was momentarily stunned.
