CHAPTER 722: Mediocrities

The significant military activity undertaken by the House of Sainte in the middle of the night had attracted the attention of divine guards patrolling the city. Some of these divine guards were from the other great family clans. They knew that something important was happening in the City of Shadows when they saw Andre and Erebus take several hundred divine guards to raid the Godswamp Pharmacy.

Several shadows swept through the streets, heading for the residences of the major family clans. The patriarchs of the other four great clans were soon informed of the news. Being alert and cautious people, they sent experts from their families to go there and observe.

Soon, the experts from the other four great family clans arrived at the scene and mingled with the crowd of observers, making all sorts of excuses. They intended to stay and watch until the whole event was over. It seemed that the family clans were paying close attention to the outcome of the matter.

By this time, both Andre and Erebus were having enormous headaches. They had greatly underestimated the power of the Godswamp Pharmacy and had not expected things to turn out this way. Now that the observers from the other four major family clans were watching things unfold, if Han Shuo was unable to find any evidence, even Andre might not be able to stop Han Shuo from fulfilling his guarantee.

When Steiss saw that the observers from the other four major family clans had joined, instead of being horrified, he was delighted. He thought to himself that with so many eyewitnesses, Andre and Erebus would be much less likely to harm him.

"Bryan, how much longer do we have to walk, if I may ask?" Steiss asked Han Shuo with a broad smile on his face.

They had just reached a crossroads. Han Shuo did not rush forward, but knitted his eyebrows and wore a pensive expression.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Han Shuo, waiting for his next move.

Han Shuo sniffed around for a while, pretending to pick up something. He pointed to one of the streets, shouted "This way!" and continued marching.

The ever-present sneer on Steiss' face flickered slightly. The dirty things were indeed hidden in that direction. This made Steiss a little uncomfortable. He guessed blindly and got lucky. I have nothing to worry about, Steiss consoled himself.

"Mr Steiss, you don't look too good. Are you getting scared?" Han Shuo, who had been secretly watching Steiss, immediately mocked him.

Steiss laughed and replied, "Me? Afraid? What should I be afraid of? You are the one who should be afraid!"

Han Shuo smiled and nodded. He stopped looking at Steiss, turned to Andre and Erebus and said, "I will be going a little faster. It's almost dawn. It's better to settle this matter as soon as possible!"

"Ok!" Andre did not know where Han Shuo got this confidence from, but he simply agreed and nodded.

Suddenly, Han Shuo accelerated and headed towards one of the dirtiest and most chaotic regions of the City of Shadows. Andre, Erebus, and the rest of the party followed in a hurry.

Rugersey of the House of Kisa was among the observers. He had looked at Steiss with dark and cold eyes after being informed that the poison on Gu Li was exactly the same as that found on his late Divine Guardian.

Jiya of the House of Kinson was there with her uncle, Finley. From the House of Buller was Tuyas, with a small squadron of Divine Guardians from the Buller family. They chatted with each other as they watched the story unfold.

The observers sent by the Lavers family were Donna and her brother Diwei. Donna had actually volunteered to follow the situation when she heard that Han Shuo was involved.

"Is this boy courting death? None of the pharmacists smelt a rat, but he claims he can? With so many experts from all the major family clans gathered here, if he can't find the evidence, not even Andre will be able to save him. Sister, you know this guy. Do you know if he has any problems with his mental faculty? Diwei whispered to Donna beside him with a scornful expression on his face.

Members of all five major family clans of the City of Shadows were present. This incident was destined to be the most talked about topic in the city. Of all the people present, not many had confidence in Han Shuo. Even Andre was feeling a bit nervous, and he was turning over in his mind what to do if Han Shuo couldn't find the evidence.

Of all these people, perhaps Donna was the only one who had full confidence in Han Shuo's abilities.

"This guy? Problems with mental ability?" Donna scoffed and shook her head. "If Bryan has mental faculty issues, then everyone here is retarded, including me!"

Seeing the shocked look on Diwei's face, Donna sighed and said, "I've known Bryan longer and better than any of you. He would only be this confident if he was absolutely sure. Brother, the Godswamp Pharmacy is finished! They really are daring to do such things. No one can save them now. I reminded Uncle Avery a long time ago not to get too close to Godswamp Pharmacy. Hopefully, it won't implicate our family clan."

"How can you be so sure? So convinced of him?" Diwei was surprised and confused. He quietly said, "This boy is just a Lowgod. Even if he is an apothecary, he cannot be that skilled at such a young age. Sister, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

"This has nothing to do with strength. Just keep watching," Donna knew Diwei wouldn't be convinced no matter how much she explained. She paused for a moment and murmured to herself, "Perhaps his true strength isn't what we know it to be. This is no ordinary man... Sigh, how did we come to this..."

"Alright! Let's see where in the world he finds the poison!" Diwei sneered.

***A few moments later...

The veins on Steiss's forehead were protruding and throbbing slightly. His lapels were unconsciously soaked in cold sweat. The closer they got to the region, the more fear filled his heart.

How? How was that possible? How could he know? Impossible. It's just a coincidence. It has to be a coincidence! Steiss comforted himself again and again. But he couldn't stop himself from breaking into a cold sweat. He even felt a little weak in the knees.

"All right. It should be over here!" Han Shuo announced after arriving in front of several dilapidated buildings.

Steiss trembled and almost stumbled. The fear in his heart soared as he looked at the buildings that seemed to have been abandoned for ages.

"Mr Steiss, you seem to be sweating! Are you feeling a bit warm in this cold and refreshing weather? But you are also a Lowgod, how could you be affected by the weather?" Han Shuo shouted in amazement, as if he had discovered the New World.

Immediately, the crowd's attention was drawn to Steiss, and they too discovered the oddity in him. They wore dark faces as they watched in silence.

"Haha, I have immersed myself in the art of refining medicine and neglected my cultivation for a long time. It is quite difficult for me to keep up with such a fast pace. It's nothing unusual to sweat a little..." Steiss explained hastily. His smile seemed rather awkward.

They had reached one of the poorest areas of the City of Shadows. Those who lived in this neighbourhood were some of the poorest gods. Most of them were Basegods and Demigods. Those with the slightest financial means wouldn't go near this place because there was nothing attractive about it.

The buildings and structures all around were broken and dilapidated. There were piles of rubbish and pools of filthy water everywhere. The air was filled with an intense, repulsive stench.

"Bryan, would you mind hurrying up? We are waiting for you," Jiya said with a smile, covering her nose with one hand. From the way she said those words, those who didn't know might think that she was in a relationship with Han Shuo. This caused several members of the great family clans who admired Jiya to glare at Han Shuo.

"That's right, I'm waiting for you too!" Steiss forced a smile and hurried over. He held his nose with one hand to hide the fear on his face. "How did you find a place like this? So damn dirty. Hurry up and admit defeat so we can all go home. I don't think the people who came with us can wait any longer!"

And when you have found the place? It has layers upon layers of concealment boundaries and is buried deep underground. You won't find the entrance! Steiss said to himself to boost his own morale, for it was wearing thin!

"No, we are in no hurry. Hehe... even if the environment is ten times dirtier, I'm willing to wait!" Erebus spoke sinisterly. He could see that something was not quite right with Steiss' performance.

"Exactly. We will wait until the end!" Rugersey said in an icy voice. His looks towards Steiss were full of ferocity.

After arriving at this place, more and more people noticed that Steiss was behaving abnormally. They wore dark faces as they waited patiently.

"Mister Steiss, do you think I won't be able to find this thing if you hide it underground?" Han Shuo was completely relaxed after they arrived at this place. He looked at Steiss teasingly and slowly tortured him with words.

"Nonsense!" Steiss' heart skipped a beat. He feigned courage and accused, "Are you trying to stall for time?"

Han Shuo sighed and said in a dramatic, righteous manner, "As an apothecary, instead of using your efforts to help people, you used them to harm them. You shall be punished for your abominable deeds!"

"You, you..." Steiss pointed at Han Shuo and couldn't quite speak. No one knew if he was angry or just scared.

"There is a large medical warehouse thirty metres underground. Lord Andre, Lord Erebus, I will have to trouble your lordships to dig it out," Han Shuo turned to Andre and Erebus, bowed slightly and said with a smile.

Plop! Steiss' legs gave way and he fell to the ground, bottom first. After hearing Han Shuo report that it was thirty metres underground, Steiss knew it was all over. His spirit was completely crushed as he knew his fate was sealed.

At this point, there was no need to investigate further - it was clear from the fear and helplessness Steiss displayed at this moment that he was guilty.

"Arrest him!" Andre shouted. Several divine guards immediately swarmed over and held Steiss.

"No employee of the Godswamp Pharmacy will leave this place. Those who attempt it will be killed on the spot!" Erebus ordered in a merciless voice.

"I... impossible... You cannot sniff it out with your nose. I have definitely treated everything cleanly. There are so many apothecaries here and none of them could do it!" Steiss shouted as he looked at Han Shuo in despair, knowing that his appointment with death had been confirmed.

"You mean them?" Han Shuo pointed at the pharmacists who had followed with the intention of watching Han Shuo make a fool of himself. "They are all mediocrities! Your so-called pharmacist conference had gathered a bunch of pharmacists with undeserved fame!"

"You... you..." The pharmacists who had been insulted by Han Shuo were so angry that they almost spat blood. They pointed at Han Shuo, but couldn't seem to speak.

Han Shuo had proven that he could detect poison at such a great distance just by sniffing with his nose. He had amply demonstrated that his ability was superior to any of them. For this reason, even though Han Shuo had insulted them right in front of them, there was no room for them to retort.

At this time, the members of the large family clans in the City of Shadows showed feelings of contempt when they looked at the pharmacists. Some even gossiped, "Pfff, this bunch is so unskilled yet so shameless to attend such a pharmacist conference. People don't know shame these days".

"That's right, they're definitely not that competent. From now on, we will only buy medicine from Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. As for the other pharmacies... we better not visit them. Who knows if they sell poisons like the Godswamp Pharmacy!

Done, we are so done! The Godswamp Pharmacy had fooled us! All the apothecaries were panicked and alarmed. Seeing the contempt shown by these members of the great family clans, they knew they couldn't continue to do business in the City of Shadows.

The apothecaries of the City of Shadows and those who had come from other cities to attend the conference turned on their heels and left in shame. They disappeared in a flash, having been humiliated enough.

"Told ya," Donna said softly to Diwei, who was lying flat on the ground with his jaw clenched.

"How... how is that possible? How did he do it?" Diwei looked at Han Shuo in astonishment. There was no longer the slightest hint of contempt.

"I have been trying to lure him into our family clan from the beginning. You all thought he was trying to ingratiate himself with me instead of the other way around. Now you know his value, don't you? But it's too late now. If he had joined our family clan, our House of Lavers would surely have become more powerful than the other three family clans... Sigh..."

Diwei was a bit embarrassed. Previously, he had assumed that Han Shuo was flattering Donna and trying to get hired by the House of Lavers. He had met too many characters like that and had therefore been cold towards Han Shuo when they first met. Only now did he realise how wrong he had been!

Unfortunately, Han Shuo had not refined any medicine to cure regret. Otherwise, Diwei would be buying them by the boatload!