Chapter Seventy-Six: The Xu Family

Elder Yang truly had to restrain himself with great effort.

From the moment Liu Pan took out the first medicinal herb, Elder Yang was already somewhat stunned; he had never seen anyone handle medicinal herbs in such a way before. Even though he was a Formation Master, and the study of formations was a different path from that of alchemy, watching Liu Pan treat the herbs like this still made it hard for him to resist the urge to give Liu Pan a good beating.

As for Liu Pan, when Elder Yang told him to put the herbs away, he hurriedly stuffed them back into his storage pouch. Naturally, Liu Pan had long since sensed that the atmosphere around him was growing tense, but in truth, he felt rather helpless. After all, he had only handled the herbs this way for convenience’s sake, and never expected to find himself in his current predicament.

Once the medicinal herbs disappeared from sight, everyone’s attention gradually returned to the main topic at hand. After considering the plausibility of Liu Pan’s story, most present had begun to doubt its truth. Yet now, with Liu Pan producing so many medicinal ingredients in full view of all, some people began to waver.

Such a quantity of herbs might be something the top families of Cloudflow City could “generously” part with, but for second-tier families, it was not something they could give away with just a wave of the hand. In this light, Xu Yangfeng’s act of abducting someone in the city square over medicinal herbs could barely be considered reasonable.

Yet while the amount of herbs was tempting, a new question arose: how could the Xu family, merely a second-tier force, possess so many medicinal herbs?

Very much in step with everyone’s curiosity, the man in grey voiced the question on everyone’s mind: “Elder, there’s definitely something wrong here! The Xu family is just a second-tier house in little Cloudflow City—how could they possibly have so many herbs?”

With his question, all eyes—including Elder Yang’s—fell in unison upon the immobilized Xu Yangfeng, who was pinned to the ground.

At that moment, the Cloudflow Sect disciple who had been pressing Xu Yangfeng’s head to the ground finally lifted his foot, clearly realizing it was time for Xu Yangfeng to speak.

Now able to move his head, Xu Yangfeng raised it at last.

Feeling the weight of everyone’s gaze, Xu Yangfeng genuinely wanted to cry. It wasn’t that he couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation; rather, he understood that now, with things having reached this stage, his family might actually survive this crisis unscathed.

Since his head had been pinned, Xu Yangfeng hadn’t seen how many herbs Liu Pan had produced, but that didn’t hinder his explanation.

Still, if one is to act, one must act thoroughly. Thus, Xu Yangfeng did not immediately explain why his family had so many medicinal herbs. Instead, he turned apologetically to Liu Pan and Liu Kuang, saying, “If you two young heroes can overlook my disrespect and have even spoken in my defense, I am deeply grateful. I am profoundly ashamed for having ambushed you earlier and hope you can forgive my offense.”

Only after these words did Xu Yangfeng look to Elder Yang and respectfully explain, “Elder Yang, the reason my family possesses so many herbs is due to our success in business. Though we are but a second-tier family in Cloudflow City, when it comes to business acumen, I dare say no other family in the city can compare to the Xu clan.”

At this, a note of pride crept into Xu Yangfeng’s tone. After a slight pause, he continued, “On the surface, my family may seem little different from any other second-tier house in Cloudflow City. In truth, however, beyond our visible assets, we secretly own over sixty businesses scattered throughout the city. These medicinal herbs are…”

Before Xu Yangfeng could finish, the onlookers erupted into an uproar.

“Come on! Are you kidding me? Over sixty businesses? Who do you think you’re fooling?”

“Exactly—over sixty businesses? How could a second-tier family like yours possibly have the resources for that?”

“Right! And if a second-tier family owned so many assets, would the other families in Cloudflow City all be blind? How could no one notice?”

“He’s just talking nonsense!”

The commotion around him was deafening, drowning out Xu Yangfeng’s words in an instant.

Xu Yangfeng was helpless. What he said was true, but the claim was so unbelievable that it inevitably sparked such agitation.

A strange glint flickered in Liu Pan’s eyes. Over sixty businesses—upon hearing this explosive revelation, Liu Pan instantly became certain that Xu Xiaozhan was indeed the very Xu Xiaozhan from his book. It seemed only a family with such a talent for commerce could produce a prodigy like Xu Xiaozhan, who would one day, through business alone, ascend to the grandest stage of the Tianfeng Continent.

Elder Yang frowned. He too thought Xu Yangfeng was making things up, but seeing that Xu Yangfeng still wished to speak and was interrupted by the crowd, he found himself curious to hear more.

With a thought, Elder Yang released an overwhelming pressure, and in an instant, the square fell silent once again.

“Continue,” Elder Yang prompted.

“Yes, Elder.” Xu Yangfeng replied, then glanced at the crowd before continuing, “The matter of the Xu family’s business holdings is our most closely guarded secret. If not for today’s events, I would never have revealed it. The reason we have built up so many assets is through our family’s own efforts, step by step. As for why no other family has discovered this, it is because…”

He paused, as if loath to part with this secret, and only after a while did he continue, “It is because these hidden businesses throughout Cloudflow City are all managed by people outside the Xu family, whom we employed through various means. Not only would other families fail to notice, even the managers themselves may not know these businesses belong to us.”

Once again, a wave of astonishment swept through the square, but this time, it was mingled with shock rather than mere noise.

Many had not expected Xu Yangfeng to provide such a reasonable explanation, and even more were astounded by the Xu family’s management tactics. In this martial world, even those who engaged in trade did so by virtue of their power—those with the greatest strength were able to control the largest and most lucrative enterprises.

Because, without enough power, no matter how capable you were or how vast your holdings, in the end everything would just be handed over to whoever had the bigger fist.

Yet Xu Yangfeng’s explanation overturned many people’s assumptions. Then again, most martial cultivators devoted themselves solely to the pursuit of strength, and few would truly invest effort into studying the art of commerce.

“Everything I have said is true. If you do not believe me, Elder, I can take you to visit each business in turn to prove my words,” Xu Yangfeng added, making his explanation complete, for he knew that no matter how clear his words, without evidence, few would believe him.

A strange look flickered in Elder Yang’s eyes. He glanced at Xu Xiaozhan, also pinned to the ground, and did not wait for further questions from the man in grey, but asked himself, “Since your family possesses such a vast business empire and such commercial talent, why does your son not recognize medicinal herbs, and why did he steal from home to sell them in some back alley?”

Upon hearing Elder Yang’s question, Xu Yangfeng was more pleased than surprised—after all, this meant Elder Yang was already inclined to believe his previous explanation.

“Elder, this is how it is. Though our family’s business is vast, we lack powerful cultivators, so we remain only a second-tier house. If we wish to become truly strong, we must cultivate powerful individuals. My son has the best talent of anyone in the family, so I wanted him to focus all his efforts on training, and did not allow him to be distracted by other matters. That is why he knows so little about medicinal herbs.”

“As for why he would steal herbs from home to sell, perhaps it is due to his inherited business acumen. Though I have always urged him to focus on cultivation, he has commerce in his bones and often sneaks things out to sell at street stalls. I suppose he simply wishes to experience the thrill of doing business. I have always found this rather troublesome.”

“And this time, I don’t know how he got hold of the storeroom key and managed to bring out the family’s herbs…”

“If you still do not believe me, Elder, you can ask anyone in my family or those close to my son to see if this is the case.”

When Xu Yangfeng said this, there was not the slightest trace of abnormality in his expression, so perhaps few people realized how guilty he felt inside.

Not allow Xu Xiaozhan to be involved in anything but cultivation? What a joke! In truth, Xu Xiaozhan did as he pleased in the Xu family—no one dared stop him.

Not only was Xu Xiaozhan the most talented in cultivation, his commercial instincts were utterly unique in the family. Before he came along, the Xu family was just a nobody lingering on the border between the second and third tiers, and any talk of business talent was pure fiction.

The foundation of the Xu family, without Xu Xiaozhan’s novel ideas and perspectives, would likely still be struggling on the margins. As for those sixty-odd hidden businesses, they would never have dared to dream of such a thing. In fact, they could not even have imagined it.

So perhaps not everything Xu Yangfeng said was a lie. After all, Xu Xiaozhan really was the most talented member of the Xu family, and the reason the family’s holdings were so vast but they remained only a second-tier house was simply because they lacked powerful cultivators.

(End of chapter; the next update will likely be after midnight, but it will definitely be posted. There will still be two updates tomorrow.)