The Zhang family’s Master sighed, “I don’t want to squeeze the Serene Herb Manor dry like this either. The Zhang family has made enough money as is, and more friends have given us more options. Moreover, there are many alchemists in Purple City. No matter how badly our business does, it’s not like we won’t be able to make money. We’re fine as long as we more or less have enough. But now, we can’t help it. If we didn’t make this money, we wouldn’t be able to keep the Zhang family’s business anymore.”

　　Qing Zhu’s expression turned serious. He couldn’t help sitting up straight and asking, “Master Zhang, who are those people who gave you these things in the beginning? Turns out there are even people who the Zhang family can’t afford to offend?”

　　The Zhang family’s Master smiled bitterly, “I don’t know who they are either. I only know that none of the elders of the Zhang family were opponents against the masked man. In addition, the man’s subordinates were also all very powerful!”

　　Qing Zhu frowned, “Master Zhang, can you tell us more about that day?”

　　He nodded, “Why not?”

　　Master Zhang explained the incident of that day in detail. Even though it happened two years ago, he still remembered it vividly, which showed how shocked he was!

　　“It was about this time that day,” Master Zhang began, “When I returned home, I saw a group of people waiting in my courtyard. Judging by their postures, they definitely didn’t look as if they walked in through the main entrance, but fell from the sky, appearing out of thin air.”

　　“I can’t remember exactly how many people there were, because there were also those who were lying in wait. But including the specially dressed man sitting in the middle, there were seven of them in total, each of them powerful masters. As soon as I saw them, I involuntarily fell on my knees.”

　　Master Zhang touched his chest with lingering fear as he spoke, “As soon as they opened their mouths, they threw a scroll at me. I opened it tremblingly and saw that it was actually written with all kinds of benefits they could give the Zhang family. I was surprised. I never thought that such a good thing from heaven could fall on my head. I just asked, what do you want the Zhang family to do? A pretty little girl who stood next to the masked man replied, ‘I want the Zhang family to completely destroy the Serene Herb Manor so that Lin Zhan will never be able to turn it around and will have no choice but to beg her family’s Master for help’…”

　　“Wait!” Lin Xuanzhi suddenly interrupted Master Zhang, “When they found you, my dad was still alive?”

　　Master Zhang nodded, “Yes, it was nearly half a year before your dad’s accident.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi narrowed his eyes. It seemed that those people were really after Lin Zhan.

　　Master Zhang continued, “I could tell from their words that Lin Zhan must have offended them so severely that they got upset and used this method to suppress the Serene Herb Manor. When they saw that I was hesitant, they began threatening me, saying that if I wasn’t sensible, they had their own way of making the Zhang family disappear from the Five Continents. ”

　　He sighed, “What a big issue that they had to threaten the Zhang family for it. I knew then that, unless these people were acting on their own desires, they must be extremely powerful. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have uttered the words of extermination so easily.”

　　It was the first time that Master Zhang had seen such a person, but since he was also a man with many experiences, he hadn’t panicked. Instead, he weighed the opponent’s lethality and the Zhang family’s gains and losses.

　　After making his judgment, Master Zhang agreed through gritted teeth.

　　Anyways, even if they agreed, they wouldn’t face too many losses. At most, those people would take a lion’s share which was agreed on the deal that 30% of the Zhang family’s Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion’s annual profits would be given to them.

　　But as those people said, if the income of the Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion could grow ten times more than that of today’s Serene Herb Manor, that 30% loss was nothing.

　　To be honest, the Zhang family didn’t rely on the Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion to survive. In most cases, the Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion just casually sold spiritual herbs that the Zhang family’s disciples couldn’t use and were not easy to preserve. If it could be done, it was naturally a good thing. If it couldn’t, the 30% profit didn’t mean anything to them, and the Zhang family could still survive.

　　After the deal was made, Master Zhang couldn’t sleep for three days and nights.

　　He always felt that while he himself sat at home, disaster would strike from the heavens.

　　He originally didn’t have much hope for the Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion, but within a few days someone came to discuss the Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion’s business with them. Moreover, even if those people had never seen Master Zhang or heard of him, they were all from big families or were great alchemists.

　　Under such circ.u.mstances, the Zhang family was “forced” to pick up the business of the Ten Thousand Gra.s.s Pavilion, and it wasn’t long before Master Zhang heard that the spiritual herbs from Serene Herb Manor were destroyed.

　　“Lin Zhan was not dead yet when it was destroyed.” Master Zhang recalled.

　　Lin Xuanzhi asked, “Have you seen those people since?”

　　Master Zhang shook his head, “This is where I dare not offend them, because those people were hungry. It’s really too mysterious. I’ve never seen them again. I sent people to find out their origins, but they all failed. However, after Lin Zhan died, they should have, in principle, dropped the Serene Herb Manor. Unexpectedly, they increased their efforts to suppress them instead. I don’t know what kind of deep hatred Lin Zhan has with them.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi naturally didn’t know either. In his memory, his father had many friends, but basically no enemies.

　　“Mast Zhang,” Qing Zhu suddenly said, “Do you remember what the woman talking next to the masked man looks like?”

　　Master Zhang frowned and touched his head, “I vaguely remember it, but it’s strange that I can’t see it clearly.”

　　Qing Zhu and Lin Xuanzhi exchanged glances, their hearts sinking.

　　This was a kind of illusion magic, or a memory influence brought by the other party when the pressure was deep enough.

　　Even if one could clearly see the appearance of the person who imposed the illusion at that time, once you try to dig the memory as a whole, it would seem as if the memory had been wiped away.

　　A great expert.