"Oh? And what precondition would that be?" Elder You saw the grave expression on Tian Canbian's face and at once asked, every bit as solemn.

"Are there any more of these Marrow-Cleansing, Bone-Tempering Pills?" Tian Canbian asked. If more of them existed, and more than five at that, then there would be no need to seek out anyone else, nor to train any alchemists; even a single pill would do, so long as it was given to the people of the Xuandan Sect to take.

"I've heard of none," Elder You said, shaking his head. "This Marrow-Cleansing, Bone-Tempering Pill was originally called the Longevity and Detoxification Pill, and it circulated through auction houses in the mundane world. Very few were ever auctioned. The Kang family did manage to buy one, though—whether they still have it, I couldn't say..."

"Oh? The Kang family again. Then I must trouble you, Elder You, to contact them. If that Longevity and Detoxification Pill has not been taken, ask them to bring it as soon as possible, and I will pay ten times its price. If it has been taken, then have the one who took it come. If that person is over thirty years of age, then there is no need for them to come..." Tian Canbian said.

"Yes!" Elder You was puzzled as to why anyone over thirty would be disqualified, but he did not dare ask, and merely nodded and did as he was told.

As for why Tian Canbian required them to be under thirty, it was because only those under thirty had any hope of being trained into alchemists. Once a person was too old, they could scarcely manage even to cultivate, let alone refine pills.

At the Kang household, Elder Kang Lai Cai, Kang Guifeng, and Kang Cuipu were at that moment entertaining the two Xiao brothers at a banquet.

"Brother Xiao Ji, Brother Xiao Ben, the Kang family owes its escape from this crisis entirely to the Xiao family's righteous intervention—without it, we would truly have been finished!" Kang Guifeng raised his cup and spoke with profound gratitude.

Because of the new product launch fiasco at Guan Dafu Pharmaceuticals, the Kang family's sales and reputation alike had plummeted. Their products simply would not sell now, piling up in mountains in the warehouses. Worse still, they were under investigation day in and day out, until at last they had been forced to pay a colossal sum in compensation to consumers just to keep the company afloat.

Yet the Kang family, with not a penny to its name, could by no means have produced such a fortune. It was the Xiao family who had put up the money, and so the Kang family was deeply grateful to them for stepping forward in their hour of peril.

"Indeed, the two Brother Xiaos truly return good for evil!" Kang Cuipu chimed in. "When we broke off the engagement back then, you bore us no grudge, and you were willing to lend us a hand in our darkest hour—we are truly thankful!"

"The Xiao family is no longer the great house it once was—we are merely brothers in adversity now," Xiao Ben said with a sigh. "Only by joining forces and binding ourselves together can we preserve any of our former prestige. Though each of us has a hidden family at our back, that Wei Zhao is riding higher than ever now, and we are no match for him at all. Our only choice is to band together and eke out our survival..."

There was a note of helplessness in Xiao Ben's voice. He recalled how magnificent the Xiao family had been in its day as one of the great houses, and now look at them—fallen to a station barely a cut above an ordinary clan, and not by much at that.

"Indeed. When I think back on those years, our Kang family too was full of ambition—and then came that little bastard Wei Zhao!" At the mere mention of the name, Divine Doctor Kang ground his teeth in hatred. "One day, mark my words, this old man will do him in!"

Xiao Wangba and Xiao Wangdao, along with Kang Zhaolong and Kang Zhaoming, were all merely guests at this banquet and had no real right to speak—but just then, Kang Zhaoming's phone began to ring...

"Zhaoming, what's the meaning of this? A banquet this important, and you leave your phone on?" Kang Guifeng snapped at him. Though the Kang family was in decline, the old master still looked upon Kang Zhaoming with special favor, and that galled him no end.

"Uncle, it's a call from the hidden You family," Kang Zhaoming said coolly. "Shall I tell them my uncle won't let me answer, and have them call back later?"

"Huh?" Kang Guifeng froze at the mention of a call from the You family, and looked rather embarrassed. "I was only saying it in passing. Answer it, quickly—the call is what matters."

Kang Zhaoming curled his lip and picked up. "Hello, this is Kang Zhaoming!"

"Kang Zhaoming, this is the head of the You family. Put your grandfather on the line!" Elder You had only Kang Zhaoming's number on hand, but for a matter this important he did not bother explaining anything to the young man—he went straight to Kang Lai Cai.

"Certainly, one moment please!" Kang Zhaoming had not expected Elder You to call the Kang family directly—this was a good sign! He hurriedly handed the phone to his grandfather and said respectfully, "Grandfather, it's Elder You, the head of the You family!"

"Ah!" Divine Doctor Kang, hearing that it was Elder You, took the phone at once with nervous deference. "Elder You, this is old Kang speaking!"

"Divine Doctor Kang, there is a matter I wish to ask you about," Elder You said. "Back then, did the Kang family not obtain a Longevity and Detoxification Pill? Is that pill still in your possession?"

"Yes, we did indeed obtain a Longevity and Detoxification Pill, but..." The old master broke off with a bitter smile.

"But what? Surely nothing has gone wrong with the pill?" Elder You asked.

"Nothing has gone wrong with it... it is only that this pill... this pill was eaten by a dog..." The old master did not dare conceal it, and spoke with great caution.

"What? You're saying the pill was... eaten by a dog? Your family bought a pill and fed it to a dog?" Elder You found this inconceivable. The Kang family's way of doing things was truly bizarre.

"We did not feed it to the dog—it was eaten by accident..." the old master said with a bitter smile.

"Young Sect Master, that Longevity and Detoxification Pill of the Kang family's was eaten by a dog... What do you make of it?" Elder You turned to Tian Canbian with a look of helplessness.

Tian Canbian did not know whether to laugh or cry at this news. "It is useless if a dog ate it—it must be taken by a person to have any effect!"

"Elder Kang, my apologies—it must be taken by a person to have any effect..." Elder You, hearing that the pill had gone to a dog, lost interest at once and said flatly, "Might Elder Kang happen to know whether anyone else has ever taken such a pill?"

"Anyone else who has taken such a pill..." The old master frowned, unable to guess why Elder You was asking after this. But then a thought struck him, and he did recall someone! He said quickly, "My grandson Kang Zhaoming once took half of such a pill. Would that do, I wonder?"

"Half a pill?" Elder You was taken aback and turned to look at Tian Canbian.

"Have him come here. Let me see him," Tian Canbian said.

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