The Investment
The next day, Ouyang Qiangang spent his time touring the city of Nanchang under Heo Cho-ryeong's guidance. But his true purpose lay elsewhere.
As he observed Nanchang's bustling markets and lively streets, he was quietly conferring with Akasha, weighing the possibilities of the business he had conceived.
By evening, when he judged that all his preparations were complete, he went to see Heo Il-bi and requested a private meeting.
They gathered in a quiet tea room.
Ouyang Qiangang bowed deeply.
"Uncle, I want to sincerely thank you for the kindness you have shown me these past few days."
"Heh heh, we're family — no need for such formalities. Speak freely."
Heo Il-bi answered with a gentle smile, but he quickly noticed that something about his nephew's eyes was different from usual.
"It seems you have something to say to this old uncle of yours."
"Yes, Uncle. Forgive my presumption, but I would like to make you a proposal."
"A proposal? And what might that be?"
Ouyang Qiangang continued without a moment's hesitation.
"I am asking you to invest in me."
For an instant, Heo Il-bi doubted his own ears.
He had been about to sip his tea; instead he set the cup down and stared back in bewilderment.
"Heh heh, invest, you say… Gang, so you know even the kind of talk the merchants of the jianghu use. But why on earth would you speak of investment to me?"
"Hear me out first, and then judge."
"I confess I'm curious what makes you so confident. Very well — let's hear what it is you intend to propose."
His voice carried not so much reproach as pure curiosity and interest.
Ouyang Qiangang answered calmly.
"In a worn-out medical text I happened to acquire here in Nanchang — the Cheonki Hyeouibiseo, the Secret Medical Records of Heavenly Fate — I found a principle for blending the energies of medicinal herbs in a manner entirely different from anything in use today. Interpreting it in my own way, I intend to attempt creating a new kind of tonifying pill — a Buyangdan — that aids the circulation of qi and blood and replenishes vital energy."
Only now grasping what his nephew meant by 'investment,' Heo Il-bi let out an incredulous laugh.
"Heh heh, so that's why you were talking about investment. You've never properly studied medicine, and yet you mean to create a new elixir. Gang, your audacity truly knows no bounds. But can you be certain that a pill conceived from a single old medical text will actually be any good?"
To his uncle's doubtful question, Ouyang Qiangang replied with unwavering eyes.
"The principle recorded in that text is truly profound. I am confident that if I can implement it properly, the creation of the pill will succeed."
He paused briefly, then went on.
"It will also greatly aid my research into my own illness — and should it succeed, its commercial value would exceed all imagination. That is why I dared speak of investment."
Heo Il-bi's gaze deepened.
The Secret Medical Records of Heavenly Fate…
It was a name he had never heard before, but he could not dismiss the extraordinary brilliance and confidence shining in his nephew's eyes.
Curiosity stirred in him about what exactly this frail genius was scheming.
"A most interesting story. Very well. Trusting in that audacity and talent of yours, this uncle of yours will play the fool and invest. Now then — how much do you need?"
A faint smile crossed Ouyang Qiangang's face.
"To begin with, please provide ten nyang of silver to cover the cost of the herbs for the prototype. And since the process of handling and maturing the ingredients must be kept strictly secret, I will need a quiet place where no one enters."
Heo Il-bi chuckled and nodded.
"Ten nyang… Isn't that rather little?"
"It's only the beginning."
"Fine. That much is no trouble at all. And don't worry about the space, either. Our Bamboo Forest Manor has an alchemy chamber. It's mainly used to make things the household needs, like golden spear salve. As it happens, we finished our winter restocking of medicinal materials a few days ago, so it's sitting empty — you may use it. If I give the order, no one will disturb you."
At words he had never expected, Ouyang Qiangang's eyes widened.
Not an ordinary room, but a fully equipped alchemy chamber built for the handling of medicinal materials.
It was as if wings had been attached to his plan.
According to Akasha's simulations, the potential market value of a single Yangryongdan far exceeds ten nyang of silver at minimum, and could reach twenty nyang or more. A ten-nyang investment is, quite literally, pocket change.
He could feel his plan threading together smoothly from the very first stitch.
"I will not forget your kindness, Uncle. I will repay your investment many times over."
Heo Il-bi waved his hand and simply smiled in contentment.
To a man counted among Nanchang's foremost magnates, ten nyang of silver was no great sum.
Far more intriguing was the prospect of watching what Ouyang Qiangang — his friend's son, the frail genius — would actually do.
With Heo Il-bi's full support secured, Ouyang Qiangang immediately shut himself inside the alchemy chamber of Bamboo Forest Manor.
Situated deep within the emerald bamboo grove behind the estate, the chamber was a perfect space that permitted no outside interference whatsoever.
For three days and three nights, the lights of the alchemy chamber never went out.
And within it unfolded a scene nothing short of wondrous.
Ouyang Qiangang placed his hand beneath the blazing furnace.
In response, a cool, serene yin qi — the very opposite of the furnace's scorching heat — rose up and precisely regulated the temperature within the pill stove.
In his mind, the complex figures Akasha dictated flowed back and forth without pause.
And the invisible nanobots sensed the subtlest changes in the medicinal materials, alerting him to the optimal moment at every turn.
It was a process of refinement that fused ancient arcana with the science of the future — something no one in this world could have imagined.
Three days later, the furnace fires died down, and Ouyang Qiangang lifted out ten prototype pills.
Five ordinary Yangryongdan of translucent amber, and five premium Yangryongdan gleaming with a radiant golden luster, stood completed.
The ordinary pills had consumed half a nyang of silver in materials apiece, the premium ones a full nyang.
The ordinary Yangryongdan would be supplied cheaply, distilling only the core effects from a minimal set of ingredients.
They were the bait intended to spread the reputation of the elixir rapidly across the whole jianghu.
Ouyang Qiangang's gaze turned toward the premium Yangryongdan.
The attention of the great magnates, meanwhile, would be won through a tiny quantity of the premium pills.
First, Ouyang Qiangang offered one premium Yangryongdan to Heo Il-bi, asking him to try it as a new tonifying pill said to nurture yang energy and vitality.
The ordinary Yangryongdan he distributed to a handful of loyal male servants with families, calling it a medicine good for boosting one's vigor.
This, of course, came only after its safety had been thoroughly confirmed through tens of thousands of Akasha's simulations.
The next morning, at the first light of dawn, Heo Il-bi came rushing to the annex to find Ouyang Qiangang himself, his face alight with excitement.
His usual gravity and gentleness were nowhere to be seen; his eyes sparkled like a boy who had stumbled upon some great stroke of fortune.
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, Ouyang Qiangang was inwardly flustered.
"Gang! That tonifying pill you gave me — what on earth did you make it from!"
Heo Il-bi seized his nephew by the shoulders and cried out.
"I took just one pill last night, and… heh heh, it was as if an energy twenty years younger came wrapping around my whole body! All night I… ah, never mind! And yet here I am the next morning, feeling light as if I could fly, with a mind clear as still water!"
He cleared his throat awkwardly and chose his words with care, though he could not hide his excitement.
"When I looked in the mirror this morning, even the fine wrinkles around my eyes had faded without my noticing, and the color had fully returned to my face. Your aunt actually scolded me — demanded to know what I'd been eating to torment myself so."
"Ah… I… see."
Ouyang Qiangang, at a loss for a reply, could only wet his lips.
"Gang, calling this a mere tonifying pill doesn't do it justice. It would be no exaggeration to call it a miracle elixir of rejuvenation — a medicine that defies time itself!"
An astonishing effect that went beyond the simple recovery of energy, restoring the body's fundamental vitality and even turning back the years of its outward appearance.
That even a Peak Realm master like Heo Il-bi could barely contain his emotions said everything: the value of the Yangryongdan was as good as proven.
Without asking or demanding anything further, he declared:
"This business — I will invest in it entirely. It doesn't matter how much capital it takes!"
"Thank you, Uncle."
A smile formed on Ouyang Qiangang's face as well.
And with confident bearing, he laid out his conditions.
The division of roles: he would hold full authority over production and technique, while Heo Il-bi would take charge of capital and distribution networks.
And the structure of profit sharing: he would take seventy percent of the net profits.
Heo Il-bi wore a briefly astonished expression, but soon burst into hearty laughter and accepted every term.
"Excellent! I like that audacity of yours! So it shall be!"
Once the agreement was sealed, Heo Il-bi gathered his joy and asked:
"But Gang, one thing weighs on my mind. Is it wise to leave Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor out of so tremendous a venture?"
Concern colored his voice as he continued.
"Your maternal grandfather, Lord Dong, is a man who holds and moves one-fifth of all the commerce under heaven. If he learns that Bamboo Forest Manor has monopolized this business, might his great anger not come crashing down upon your father?"
His worry was not unfounded.
"That is precisely why I wish it to be known that Bamboo Forest Manor is the birthplace of the Yangryongdan."
"Hmm… I suppose that is the better course. In any case, be careful. Lord Dong is no ordinary man."
"I know that well."
Seeing that Ouyang Qiangang had no intention of saying more, Heo Il-bi nodded.
"If that is your will, then this uncle will do all he can to help you."
A complicated expression settled over his face as he went on.
"I'll speak frankly, Gang. For the past decade and more, as I watched your father struggle so bitterly from the sidelines without being able to do a thing for him, it always felt as though a stone were wedged in my chest."
"Your uncle's heart — my father knows it well, I'm sure."
"Your father… he must, I suppose…"
Heo Il-bi continued in a self-mocking tone.
"Our Bamboo Forest Manor may be first in Nanchang, but set against Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor, one of the Five Great Tycoons, we are a firefly beside the full moon. Had I tried openly to aid the Ouyang Clan, your grandfather would have driven Bamboo Forest Manor into bankruptcy."
"Hmm…"
"And even then he would have power to spare. For all that, I did once try to lend the Ouyang Clan its operating funds — but your father refused me to the very end."
From this confession, Ouyang Qiangang understood once more the depth of the friendship between his father and Heo Il-bi.
And also just how towering a wall the man named Dong Hyeon-do truly was.
Heo Il-bi sat lost in thought for a moment, savoring his tea, before looking at Ouyang Qiangang with grave eyes.
"Gang, after speaking with you today, I realize this uncle has seen you as a mere child. I thought only that you were frail and deserving of pity — it never occurred to me that behind that frailty you were hiding such enormous capability."
Ouyang Qiangang's expression turned puzzled.
"What do you mean…?"
"You never formally studied medicine, and yet you drew an innovation like this out of a single old book and conceived a whole business from it. That goes beyond the realm of mere talent — it is something else entirely."
"You flatter me."
"I do not. Your father labored for decades to raise his family back up, but time and again that great wall called Dong Hyeon-do blocked him, and he could never see his will accomplished. Yet you — instead of smashing headlong into that wall, aren't you searching out a detour no one else has even thought of?"
Heo Il-bi's eyes blazed.
"As I said before, this uncle will stake everything he has to help you. So if there is anything you need, speak it without hesitation."
Rising from his seat with a satisfied smile, Heo Il-bi added:
"If we can distribute this 'Yangryongdan' well, you could easily earn several thousand nyang of silver a year — and that's a conservative estimate. That would be more than enough to rebuild your fallen family."
Several thousand nyang of silver.
To the Ouyang Clan of today, it was a truly staggering fortune.
But Ouyang Qiangang answered only with a faint smile.
Because what Heo Il-bi saw as the value of the Yangryongdan was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.