Chapter 1744 — Demanding Ransom (Part Two)

"Good... good... Xiaoyi, thank you so very much!" Guan Xuemin said, his voice thick with emotion. He knew full well the value of this prescription. Back then, a few pills from it had fetched astronomical prices at auction, and the prescription itself was a treasure beyond price — yet Wei Zhao had simply handed it over, just like that. How could Guan Xuemin not be moved?

After hanging up, however, Wei Zhao began to ponder. Hand over the formula for the Longevity and Detoxification Pill outright? He was not that generous — and it was hardly his style.

Wei Zhao recalled that in Zhang Liju's notes on the art of pill refinement, a certain Great Foundation Pill was mentioned — the Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Transforming Pill — whose effects were much the same as the Longevity and Detoxification Pill, only more potent.

So Wei Zhao opened Zhang Liju's notes, found the formula for that Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Transforming Pill, and then, using his own Longevity and Detoxification Pill as a base, began to fabricate.

Over this recent stretch, as Wei Zhao studied Zhang Liju's notes, his actual skill at refining pills had scarcely improved — but his knowledge of medicinal properties and pharmacology had advanced by leaps and bounds. The very finest alchemists possessed two abilities: one was an extraordinary command of pill fire, and the other was the capacity to devise formulas of their own — to compose them, streamline them, and substitute one ingredient for another.

Just as Zhang Liju, in his day, had streamlined and altered that side-effect-free Qi-Gathering Pill into the Qi-Gathering Pill known today.

Wei Zhao, though he had no great accomplishment in the manipulation of pill fire, possessed a solid foundation in medicine — his medical skill was no whit inferior to Zhang Liju's. One might even say the old man's research into medicinal properties and pharmacology surpassed that of alchemists of Zhang Liju's caliber.

Because of something that had happened in years past, the old man had devoted decades to the study of pharmacology and medicinal properties, and Wei Zhao, raised amid that atmosphere, was thoroughly versed in them himself. Altering a medical prescription was routine for him; altering a pill formula was much the same in principle.

Of course, the conditions for refining an altered formula would surely differ from the original — the fire control, the demands upon the refiner, all would change. But the crux of the matter was that Wei Zhao cared nothing for any of that. His only duty was to supply the formula; whether it could actually be refined was the Kang family's problem.

Some ten minutes later, a wholly new and unrecognizable composite formula emerged. It required at least a third-rank alchemist to refine, and it called for any number of rare and precious ingredients — the cost of a single pill would be seventy or eighty million at the least, if not over a hundred million.

And that was assuming a hundred percent success rate. An ordinary alchemist would count himself fortunate to achieve twenty or thirty percent; a formidable fifth-rank alchemist refining a third-rank pill would manage only around fifty percent.

This invisibly drove up the cost, pushing the value of a single pill to somewhere between two hundred million and five hundred million — and yet its effects were much the same as the Longevity and Detoxification Pill: far stronger than the Foundation Pill, but inferior to the true Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Transforming Pill, the Great Foundation Pill.

But the Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Transforming Pill was harder to refine, of a higher grade, and its ingredients rarer still. Wei Zhao's Longevity and Detoxification Pill thus occupied the exact threshold between the two — no wonder even the Hidden Right Family was scrambling for it.

Having finished this thoroughly deceptive formula, Wei Zhao sent it by text message to Guan Xuemin, who was waiting in agony. For Guan Xuemin, every day now felt like a year. He had waited and waited, and still Wei Zhao's message had not come; his heart was in turmoil, uncertain whether Wei Zhao would truly send the formula.

Wei Zhao had agreed, yes — but so much time had passed, and his phone had remained silent. Guan Xuemin feared Wei Zhao was merely humoring him.

Fortunately, before long, the chime of a message sounded from Guan Xuemin's phone: Wei Zhao's text had arrived.

"My apologies, Elder Guan. The formula was stored in my notebook, and I had to open it and copy it out, which cost some time. The formula is as follows..." The message was from Wei Zhao, who of course could not tell Guan Xuemin that he had tampered with the contents — Guan Xuemin was an honest man, and Wei Zhao feared he might give the game away before the Kang family.

Having received the formula, Guan Xuemin dared not delay; he at once dialed Guan Xin's number again.

"Doctor Guan, well? Is there a result? I'm growing a little impatient here!" Kang Zhaoming's voice came through once more. "There are only a handful of people in your whole company — is it really so hard to make a decision?"

"This... I have discussed it, and we can give you the formula — but you must guarantee Xinxin's safety!" Guan Xuemin said. "Otherwise I will never let you off..."

"Heh, naturally. We men of the jianghu do things by rules. You give me the formula, and I let your granddaughter go. She can't refine pills for me — what use would I have for her?" In truth, Kang Zhaoming still harbored certain designs on Guan Xin, but he feared blowing the matter out of proportion and inviting complications; getting the formula was the proper business.

"Fine. I will send the formula to Xinxin's phone now. Once you receive it, release her..." Guan Xuemin said.

"No — this call is forwarded, so I can only receive voice, not text messages. I'll give you an email address; send it there," Kang Zhaoming said.

"That will do..." Guan Xuemin nodded. "But once you receive the email, you must release Xinxin at once!"

"Naturally. But first I must verify the formula's authenticity. If it's a fake, then I'm afraid we'll have to kill the hostage," Kang Zhaoming said. "You know the consequences of making fools of us!"

"Verify its authenticity? Then won't I have to wait until you've refined the pill before Xinxin is released?" Guan Xuemin frowned, displeased.

"It won't take that long. We need only study the pharmacology and the properties of the ingredients..." Behind Kang Zhaoming stood the Hidden Right Family, so there was no need to wait for the pill to be refined. With their experience, a little deduction and simulation would reveal whether the formula was genuine.

"Very well, then — give me the email address," Guan Xuemin said, relieved.

Kang Zhaoming gave him an email address — a free foreign webmail account, of course. Following Wei Zhao's text, Guan Xuemin sent the formula over word for word, then called Kang Zhaoming to inform him.

And Kang Zhaoming, the moment he took that call, logged into the mailbox and obtained the formula.

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