"Okay," Yao Liangbi hurriedly nodded without hesitating for too long.
"What excuse should we find that would make him willing to come over?"
While asking, Yao Liangbi silently framed up the message in his mind, hoping to alert Mu Jinyu as soon as he received it.
Fu Qiuyu thought for a moment and said, "He now has a Pill Furnace and the Alchemy skills, and he will definitely want to try Alchemy, but it can't be done without the Pill Fire. Just tell him that our Medicine Alliance has Earth's Fire and the related Alchemy experiences, and so on, and so forth."
"Okay..."
Yao Liangbi had guessed they would probably use this excuse, and he had already figured out how to alert Mu Jinyu.
He took out his cell phone, began typing a message, and Fu Qiuyu stood by watching, keeping an eye on him to ensure he didn't make any suspicious movements, alerting Mu Jinyu.
"I'm done. Leader, could you please check if there are any issues?"
After finishing the text, Yao Liangbi handed his phone to Fu Qiuyu, asking.
He was quite anxious, afraid that Fu Qiuyu would detect the hint in the message.
Fu Qiuyu glanced over it a few times but didn't spot any issues. Fang Taiping too, couldn't be bothered to check, nodded, and said, "Hmm, let it be. Let him come over soon to meet his doom."
'Phew...'
Seeing that they hadn't noticed the problem with the message, Yao Liangbi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but also worried that Mu Jinyu might not notice it either.
However, even if Mu Jinyu hadn't noticed the hint in the message, as long as he didn't kill him immediately upon his arrival, Yao Liangbi believed he could explain everything clearly, that he had alerted him, but was pressured to not speak directly.
And worrying about Mu Jinyu dying at their hands?
From the beginning, Yao Liangbi never entertained such a thought. Mu Jinyu might not be a match for the Divine Rankings powerhouse behind Dan Pavilion, but to crush Fang Taiping was simply a piece of cake!
...
Yinlong Mountain.
Mu Jinyu had just arrived at the base of the mountain when he received the message sent by Yao Liangbi.
The text was simple: It congratulated him on successfully acquiring the Alchemy techniques and the Alchemy Furnace, offering that if he needed, their Medicine Alliance would facilitate his visit to ponder over Alchemy techniques, casually inviting Mu Jinyu to a dinner.
"Hmm?"
Mu Jinyu looked at the message from Yao Liangbi and initially didn't think much of it, planning to simply reply that he wouldn't go.
But while drafting his reply, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.
Yao Liangbi was now sending a text, not speaking face-to-face with friends feeling ashamed; logically, he would refer to himself as his servant, not as 'Mr. Mu'...
Plus, given his character, he'd probably not dare to bother him so casually, even inviting him to some dinner!
This message seemed like it was written under someone else's scrutiny, deliberately phrasing the call and invite in that manner.
Mu Jinyu scrutinized the message a couple more times, and eventually deciphered the hint Yao Liangbi had for him from the last three words: red, they, banquet...
These three words were neither an acrostic nor a tail, but randomly distributed, which wouldn't be easy to decipher if not contemplated closely.
"Heh... interesting..."
A flicker of cold light flashed in Mu Jinyu's eyes.
He had guessed by now it must be the Leader of the Medicine Alliance, Fu Qiuyu, who had watched him acquire the Alchemy techniques and the Alchemy Furnace during the earlier auction and had some wicked ideas.
Considering Fu Qiuyu's attitude towards Yao Liangbi, Mu Jinyu figured Yao Liangbi would suffer if he didn't show up.
"After all, he is my servant, how can I allow others to reprimand him!"
Mu Jinyu sneered, then replied with an okay and put away his phone.
At this moment, the delivery truck carrying the Shennong Cauldron, escorted by the Dragon King Hall, safely arrived at the foot of Yinlong Mountain.
Mu Jinyu turned to Wen Rou and said, "Xiaorou, keep an eye on things here, have the Pill Furnace carried up. I have some errands to run."
As he spoke, he handed over the remaining sixty stalks of Third-level Top Grade Spiritual Medicine and the bamboo slip of Alchemy techniques to Wen Rou.
"Oh, okay..."
Wen Rou was slightly stunned and then said to Mu Jinyu, "Be careful, go and come back quickly."
"Yes."
Mu Jinyu got into the car, waved at Wen Rou, and then said to the driver, "Go to Hongye Villa."
Hongye Villa was precisely the name of the estate where the Medicine Alliance was located.
"Okay."
The driver immediately started the car and headed in the direction of Hongye Villa.
Half an hour later.
Mu Jinyu arrived at Hongye Villa.
Exiting the car, there were already members of the Medicine Alliance waiting at the entrance of the manor.
"Mr. Mu?"
A few young people, having waited for some time, were visibly impatient. The moment a car stopped in front of the manor, they walked over and gave Mu Jinyu a casual glance, asking with a tone of annoyance.
Fu Qiuyu and Fang Taiping had only asked them to greet the guest—they had not mentioned Mu Jinyu's capabilities. Otherwise, how would they dare to adopt such an attitude?
"Yes."
Mu Jinyu didn't mind the attitude of these small fries, casually responding before saying, "Lead the way, then."
"Wow!"
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, they raised their eyebrows, thinking Mu Jinyu was rather arrogant to act this way on the territory of the Medicine Alliance.
However, recalling Fu Qiuyu's instruction to be more cautious, they suppressed their irritation and said indifferently, "Follow us."
With that, they led Mu Jinyu to a building inside the manor, one in front and one behind.
Mu Jinyu noticed this detail and knew they were concerned about him running away.
He almost laughed; with the strength of these young people, he could crush them with a single finger, and yet they were here to guard him?
Still, he wanted to see what kind of tricks the Medicine Alliance wanted to play, so he let them carry on with their actions.
Soon, Mu Jinyu followed them to the building and into the reception hall.
Inside the reception hall, several tables had been set up with bountiful dishes and fine wine, almost as if they were inviting Mu Jinyu for a banquet.
"Mr. Mu!"
Yao Liangbi, who was constantly watching the entrance, hurriedly stood up to greet him when he saw Mu Jinyu being escorted in by several people.
The bored members of the Medicine Alliance, upon hearing Yao Liangbi's words, all looked towards the entrance.
Seeing Mu Jinyu's youthful appearance, strong jealousy surged within them.
Most of them were already in their thirties or forties, and only because of the revival of Spiritual Energy, coupled with the abundance of spiritual medicine at the Medicine Alliance, had they barely managed to reach the Energy Transformation stage.
And here was Mu Jinyu, apparently only seventeen or eighteen and already at the Half-Step Divine Realm.
Indeed, comparison is the thief of joy!
Fang Taiping watched Mu Jinyu, his eyes flickering, feeling he couldn't quite see through him.
At that moment, Fu Qiuyu stood up and smiled, "Welcome Mr. Mu, come, our feast can now officially begin."
With that, he warmly invited Mu Jinyu to sit at their main table.
The other members of the Medicine Alliance simply sat down and started to remove the plastic wraps from the dishes, clearly famished and eager to start the meal.
Upon seeing this, Mu Jinyu sneered inwardly and then sat down beside Yao Liangbi, asking, "What's the occasion for such revelry?"
Before Yao Liangbi could reply, Fu Qiuyu smiled and said, "Today is Little Lian's engagement day, a grand celebration indeed. You, being Little Lian's sworn brother, have forgotten about it? Really... come, you must drink a penalty of three cups; otherwise, we won't let you off!"
The others joined in the jeering.
"Right, forgetting Little Sister Lian's engagement day, you must first penalize yourself with three cups!"
"Three cups isn't enough, down a bottle!"
Mu Jinyu, hearing their words, was taken aback.
Yao Bilian's engagement today?
Upon reflection, he knew it was impossible; this was just an excuse they had concocted on the spot, even claiming he was Yao Bilian's sworn brother? Forgetting the special day meant he had to drink a penalty of three cups?
These people were really ridiculous.
If he had not been Yao Liangbi's master, and genuinely was Yao Liangbi's old friend, perhaps he might have come tonight feeling there was something odd but wouldn't have said much, giving Yao Liangbi face, letting them actually deceive him.
But too bad, he wasn't Yao Liangbi's old friend but his master!
Mu Jinyu thought so, watching as Fu Qiuyu and the Medicine Alliance Elders displayed eager expressions, finding it entirely comical.
He stood up, adopting a genuinely worried demeanor and hastily took the wine cup and bottle from Fu Qiuyu's hands, saying, "Ah, my apologies, my apologies, I actually wasn't aware of this matter, very well, three cups isn't enough, I'll down a bottle, I'll down a bottle... "
Speaking thus, Mu Jinyu smiled as he opened the bottle cap, then...
He suddenly grabbed Fu Qiuyu, forced the bottle into his mouth, and poured an entire bottle of wine, laced with a sleeping drug, gushing down his throat!
During this, the members of the Medicine Alliance present were all stunned, watching in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Fu Qiuyu struggled frantically but couldn't break free from Mu Jinyu's grasp, as if clamped by a vise, eventually swallowing every last drop of the drug-laced wine.
Seeing him finish, Mu Jinyu then let go with a laugh.
"Bang!"
Fu Qiuyu directly collapsed onto the floor, drunk stuporous, like a blob of mud!