Lin Meiqi sensed Chen Xiao's sharp gaze and trembled, instinctively lowering her head.
She had already decided that even if she died at Chen Xiao's hands, she would never betray Ye Tie Zhu.
After much hesitation, she gritted her teeth and said:
"Chen Xiao, kill me! Whether it's martial arts or talisman techniques, you're clearly far superior to me yet you hide it so well. I wouldn't feel wronged dying at your hands... Ah..."
Before she could finish, she suddenly cried out in terror as if she had seen a ghost, clutching her head, because a terrifying illusion appeared before her eyes again.
"Is it that easy to die?"
Chen Xiao sneered:
"Your shoddy talismans are nothing to speak of, but after I've written, drawn, and modified them, their ability to gather malevolent energy has increased by more than a hundredfold. If you don't confess obediently, I'll make you spend your entire life with all sorts of horrifying vengeful spirits, living a long life where you can neither live nor die!"
"Won't I just commit suicide?"
Lin Meiqi refused to believe him. As she spoke, she resolutely took out a sharp dagger she had hidden in her pocket.
However, just as she was about to raise the dagger to her throat, due to the influence of the illusion, she was horrified to discover that what she was holding was not a dagger at all, but a terrifying evil spirit.
"Ah—"
With a heart-wrenching scream, she instinctively flung her hand, and the "dagger" clattered to the ground.
Immediately, the Yin Sha materialized into even more terrifying illusions that lunged at her.
In an instant, her sanity completely collapsed. Her knees buckled, and she knelt down without any resistance, crying out in panic to Chen Xiao:
"Chen Xiao... No, no, Boss... Master! I was wrong, please spare me? It was... it was Ye Tie Zhu who sent me to Jin Fang Pharmaceutical to cause trouble... Woo woo... Woo woo woo..."
"Wouldn't it have been better if you said that earlier?"
Chen Xiao casually picked up a bronze brush from the workbench and made a few strokes in the air towards Lin Meiqi. The terrifying illusions that had been tormenting her instantly vanished.
As if granted a great pardon, Lin Meiqi no longer cared about the consequences of betraying Ye Tie Zhu. She quickly scrambled to her feet and desperately tried to pry open the door, intending to escape Chen Xiao's clutches with all her might before thinking of anything else.
But the stainless steel door was beyond her strength. After struggling for a long time, she could only plead with Chen Xiao again:
"Mas... Master, please open the door and let this little sister go? If I hadn't been instructed by Ye Tie Zhu, even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare to show off in front of you!"
Chen Xiao said with a half-smile:
"Weren't you here for an interview? Why do you want to leave? And you've sold out Ye Tie Zhu. From what I know of the Ye family, you'll be in even greater danger once you leave this door. More importantly, the enhanced minor Yin Sha gathering talisman on you has only been temporarily sealed by me. If you're plagued by Yin Sha again after leaving, how can I, your master, help you in time?"
If Lin Meiqi had truly come for an interview, she would have been free to leave or stay. But since she had come to cause trouble, Chen Xiao wouldn't be polite.
Lin Meiqi was dumbfounded:
"You... What exactly do you want?"
Chen Xiao casually took out the key from his pocket, unlocked the workshop door, and said in a more teasing tone:
"Your skills in preparing Chinese medicinal herbs are decent. You've been hired by Jin Fang Pharmaceutical. After a year of service, I'll consider whether to mercifully break the seal on your enhanced minor Yin Sha gathering talisman based on your work performance. Besides a monthly salary of twenty thousand and various benefits, I can also guarantee that Ye Tie Zhu won't harm you."
"I..."
Lin Meiqi stopped speaking, her expression filled with hesitation.
She asked herself, she was indeed terrified of Ye Tie Zhu's revenge, but she was even more afraid of marrying Ye Qing Tian. With the strength Chen Xiao had displayed, perhaps he could truly change her fate.
More importantly, the existence of the enhanced minor Yin Sha gathering talisman left her with no choice.
After hesitating and deliberating, she finally bit her lip and said with longing eyes:
"Then can you teach me the enhanced minor Yin Sha gathering talisman?"
"You won't be able to learn it even if I teach you."
Chen Xiao shook his head without hesitation, then lightly nodded:
"However, if you need it, I can draw some for you anytime. And you won't have to bite your finger to draw blood anymore. Just light it with a lighter or crush it, and it will manifest on the spot."
As he spoke, Chen Xiao casually took out a marker pen and a notepad from his pocket and wrote the words "Jin Fang Pharmaceutical" before handing them to Lin Meiqi.
"This is also a talisman technique?"
Lin Meiqi was stunned as she took the notepad. If she hadn't personally experienced the power of Chen Xiao's talisman techniques, she would never have believed that a technique requiring specially made talisman paper, secret cinnabar, and a unique bronze brush could be so casual.
After a moment of shock, she seemed to recall something and couldn't help but say:
"Boss, was the 'Man Jiang Hong' by Master Pu Hui of Shen Long Temple written by you?"
As soon as she spoke, she realized she had let slip a secret and that Long Xiao Lin had been injured by Chen Xiao. She immediately became terrified, her face turning pale.
"Oh?"
Chen Xiao recalled the distress call from Master Pu Hui earlier and his tone became even more playful:
"Long Xiao Lin's aunt, right? Lin Qi from Xiao Sang Village, but actually Lin Meiqi, a young lady from the Lin family in Long Du? A master of talisman arts proficient in various malevolent talismans? It seems you've already suffered from Master Pu Hui's talisman?"
"I..."
Lin Meiqi felt like crying but had no tears. She repeatedly shook her head and explained:
"Bo... Boss, I was truly sent by Ye Tie Zhu to cause trouble at Jin Fang Pharmaceutical. It has absolutely nothing to do with that rebellious son Long Xiao Lin being beaten."
Under the dual pressure of the enhanced minor Yin Sha gathering talisman and 'Man Jiang Hong,' which contained the original true meaning of the Buddhist 'Six-Syllable Mantra,' Lin Meiqi's awe of Chen Xiao far surpassed her fear of Ye Tie Zhu. She instantly slipped into the role of Chen Xiao's servant. As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly continued the work of processing the medicinal herbs into paste.
"Miss Lin, remember to bring Lin Qi's ID card, graduation certificate, professional qualification certificate, and other relevant documents to the company tomorrow to sign the employment contract with Aunt Ping."
Chen Xiao didn't take the matter of Lin Meiqi using a pseudonym to cause trouble at Jin Fang Pharmaceutical to heart at all. Seeing that Lin Meiqi had finally resigned herself, he was too lazy to continue wasting words. After a brief instruction, he returned to pondering the problem of how to store the "medicinal guide" for the Sumeru Mustard Paste long-term without it spoiling.
Not long after, Jin Yong Ping and Xia Qian Qian, mother and daughter, returned, looking dejected.
The straightforward Xia Qian Qian couldn't help but pout as soon as she entered:
"They're really bullying us! Because of the interference from Jiuding Pharmaceutical, which is under the Ye family, my mom and I have searched all our connections in Ju Xian City, but no pharmaceutical supplier is willing to provide supplies to Jin Fang Pharmaceutical!"
Jin Yong Ping was clearly displeased with Xia Qian Qian complaining in front of the new employee, Lin Meiqi. She gave Xia Qian Qian a forceful glare and then said to Chen Xiao with a crestfallen face:
"Chen Xiao, don't worry. I'll think of another way. The Ye family, no matter how powerful, can't possibly cover the sky with one hand. If all else fails, we'll go to Long Du to procure them."
Coincidentally, the largest wholesale dealer of Chinese medicinal herbs in the provincial capital, Long Du, was Lin Meiqi's father, Lin Zhengyang. It was no exaggeration to say that at least thirty percent of the wholesale merchants in the Chinese medicinal herb markets of the more than twenty prefecture-level cities under the jurisdiction of the entire San Hai Province, including Ju Xian City, sourced their goods from Lin Zhengyang.
Lin Meiqi was already worried about not finding an opportunity to please Chen Xiao. Her eyes lit up, and she blurted out:
"Boss, if we need to procure Chinese medicinal herbs from Long Du, I might be able to help..."
Before she could finish, she suddenly shut her mouth, realizing she had spoken too soon. She remembered Chen Xiao's earlier reminder for her to join the company as Lin Qi from Xiao Sang Village, meaning she couldn't reveal her true identity while working at Jin Fang Pharmaceutical.
Realizing her slip of the tongue, she quickly tried to cover it up with a mix of truth and falsehood:
"My dad... My dad used to collect herbs from the deep mountains and sell them at the Chinese medicinal herb wholesale market in Long Du when he was younger. He knows... knows quite a few wholesalers."
She had already decided to find an opportunity to explain her family's standing in the Chinese medicinal herb wholesale market to Chen Xiao separately.
Jin Yong Ping naturally didn't believe that a rural girl's father could have such extensive connections. However, her emotional intelligence was high, so she followed Lin Meiqi's words and nodded:
"Chen Xiao, I also have some connections in the Chinese medicinal herb wholesale market in Long Du. With Lin Qi's help, we'll definitely be able to procure more cost-effective raw medicinal materials."
Chen Xiao shook his head slightly and said without hesitation:
"If the Chinese medicinal herbs in Long Du are indeed more cost-effective, Jin Fang Pharmaceutical will certainly procure them from Long Du. But we must stand our ground. The more Jiuding Pharmaceutical prevents local merchants from supplying us, the more I will resist!"
He paused, and before the stunned trio could react, Chen Xiao continued:
"Aunt Ping, do you know who is behind Jiuding Pharmaceutical's interference?"
"This..."
Jin Yong Ping couldn't quite figure out what Chen Xiao was planning. After a moment of hesitation, she said indignantly:
"Hmph! Who else could it be but Zhou Da Zhong, who is as fat as a pig? The first time my mom and I went out to contact a pharmaceutical supplier, that guy called me and threatened that no pharmaceutical merchant in all of Ju Xian City would supply Jin Fang Pharmaceutical. I didn't believe him and contacted several others, and those merchants who usually had good relations with me indeed refused to sell us Chinese medicinal herbs."
"Zhou Da Zhong, right?"
Chen Xiao had some impression of this person. Yesterday, when Ye Jin Huan led a group to forcefully sell Jin Fang Pharmaceutical's products, it was that Zhou Da Zhong who made the most trouble.
A hint of ruthlessness flashed across his brow. Chen Xiao took out his phone without a second thought and sent a message to Leng Shan:
"Do you know Zhou Da Zhong of Jiuding Pharmaceutical? Bring him to Jin Fang Pharmaceutical to see me immediately. Remember, the sooner the better, and I want him alive."
Just then, Jin Yong Ping received a call from Zhou Da Zhong:
"I'll be at Jin Fang Pharmaceutical in five minutes. Tell that surnamed Chen kid that if he wants to buy Chinese medicinal herbs, he'd better be prepared to kneel before me and beg. Heh heh."
Chen Xiao was worried that it would take Leng Shan a lot of time to bring Zhou Da Zhong to Jin Fang Pharmaceutical. He immediately became amused. He took the phone and sneered repeatedly:
"Mr. Zhou, if I recall correctly, you were scared away by my violence yesterday, weren't you? I welcome your visit this time, but you'd better bring more capable bodyguards. I'm afraid you'll be so scared that you'll run away with your tail between your legs before we even finish talking!"
"Surnamed Chen, you just wait!"
On the other end of the phone, the portly Zhou Da Zhong was furious. After hanging up the phone menacingly, he sinisterly urged his driver to speed up.
Soon, led by him, three cars carrying over a dozen people aggressively entered the conference room of Jin Fang Pharmaceutical.
The first thing Zhou Da Zhong saw was Chen Xiao sitting in the conference room with his legs crossed, reading medical books and pharmaceutical texts alone. He immediately introduced the bald, burly man beside him with a show of arrogance:
"Chen Xiao, I know you're a good fighter, but no matter how good you are, you can't beat the Snake Fist master, Brother Snake, beside me. So I advise you to be honest!"
The bald strongman had already dismissed the slender Chen Xiao. As Zhou Da Zhong finished speaking, he brazenly said to Chen Xiao:
"Kid, why aren't you kneeling down and speaking to Mr. Zhou?"