Horror Camgirl - Ch. 109: Huang Luzi's Reward
Right now, I have no power or influence. Perhaps joining the Association isn’t a bad idea?
Wait a moment, let’s keep reading. There might be hidden pitfalls later on.
I continued reading until I came across a clause: If the Association assigns a mandatory task that one cannot complete, they must compensate with a pill formula or spiritual medicine; otherwise, they will face severe punishment.
This clause is ridiculously unfair! If the higher-ups covet someone’s pill formula, they could assign them an impossible task. What choice would that person have but to comply?
Moreover, the rules state that once you join the Alchemist Association, you are never allowed to leave. If you try, it’s considered betrayal, and you’ll be blacklisted by the entire Association, making it impossible to find a foothold in China.
I’d have to be out of my mind to join such an organization.
“Madam Yuan, what do you think?” Wan Zhongyin’s eyes glimmered with a hint of smugness. For many alchemists, pill formulas are priceless treasures, and being able to exchange Association points for formulas is the ultimate lure—few can resist it.
I closed the document, showing a look of regret, and said, “Mr. Wan, these terms are indeed tempting. But unfortunately, my master has given strict orders, and I dare not disobey. Otherwise, wouldn’t I be betraying my master and ancestors?”
Wan Zhongyin’s face darkened. As a distinguished officer and future leader of the Association, he had personally come to invite me, yet I dared to refuse?
But as long as I firmly claimed it was my master’s command, he was powerless. The alchemy field greatly values respecting one's teacher; anyone who betrays their mentor would be ostracized from the community.
Wan Zhongyin asked, “May I ask who your esteemed master is? Perhaps I can visit and persuade them to join the Association as well.”
Annoyed by his audacity, I thought, Not only do you covet me, but now you’re targeting my master? That’s just greedy.
“My master has been in seclusion for years and is not available for visitors.” I maintained a polite smile, gently placing the purple clay teacup on the coffee table, then stood up and said, “Thank you for the spirit tea.”
Wan Zhongyin’s expression turned cold. “You drank my spirit tea and think you can just leave?”
Ren Zhengde appeared at the doorway, blocking my exit. Anger flared in my heart as I turned around and demanded, “Mr. Wan, what is the meaning of this?”
Standing up, Wan Zhongyin sneered, “Today, whether you agree or not, you will join the Alchemist Association.”
I retorted angrily, “Does your Association resort to coercion to recruit members now?”
Wan Zhongyin scoffed, “For those who fail to appreciate our kindness, yes, we employ special measures.”
I fumed, “Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at if word gets out?”
“There are only a few of us here. Who’s going to spread the news?” His eyes flashed with cruelty. “You have a brother in a vegetative state, don’t you? My men have already gone to the hospital to bring him to the Alchemist Association’s headquarters for treatment. With countless alchemists at our disposal, curing your brother would only be a matter of time—if you join us. Refuse, and… well, you know the consequences.”
I felt a surge of rage. “If you dare harm my brother…”
Wan Zhongyin spread his hands, looking triumphant. “There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t dare to do. This is the privilege of the Alchemist Association.”
I narrowed my eyes and studied him for a while, then suddenly smiled. “I thought I was being paranoid, but it seems I was right.”
His face darkened. “What do you mean by that?”
“For someone who claims to be an alchemist,” I taunted, “you failed to notice that you’ve been poisoned.”
Wan Zhongyin’s eyes widened in shock. He immediately pressed his fingers to his wrist to check his pulse. After a moment of silence, he laughed. “Stop bluffing. I’m not poisoned.”
I leaned forward slightly. “Are you sure?”
He sneered at me. “My master is the renowned Qin Zhizhen, and I am his last disciple. If I were poisoned, do you think I wouldn’t know?”
Qin Zhizhen again? Is this guy destined to be my nemesis?
I scoffed. “Stop claiming to be Qin Zhizhen’s disciple. You’re tarnishing his reputation.”
Fury twisted Wan Zhongyin’s handsome face. His eyes were full of hatred, as if he wanted to carve a thousand cuts into my masked face. “How dare you belittle my medical skills!”
“Press your ‘tanzhong’ acupoint,” I said mockingly. “Surely you know where that is?”
After a moment of hesitation, he placed his hand on his tanzhong acupoint. Upon pressing, his expression turned to one of pain and shock. He checked his pulse again, only to find it now showed signs of poisoning.
In disbelief, he asked, “How… how did you do this?”
I responded coolly, “You’re too confident in your own skills, forgetting that there are always others more skilled than you. From the moment I stepped into this room, everyone here had already been poisoned.”
Glancing at my watch, I said, “You have five minutes before the poison takes effect. If you let me leave peacefully, I’ll discreetly provide the antidote. If not, I’ll let you all suffer the consequences.”
Wan Zhongyin’s face turned ashen. After a long pause, he forced a sinister smile. “Don’t forget, your brother is in my hands. I’ll eventually find an antidote to your poison, but once your brother’s life is gone, there’s no coming back.”
Just then, my phone buzzed. I looked at it and couldn’t help but smile. “Are these your men?”
I showed him the screen—a photo of several men in black suits lying on the ground, beaten black and blue.
Wan Zhongyin’s face turned even darker.
Putting my phone away, I said, “Since you’re so confident in curing the poison yourself, surely you don’t need my antidote. Goodbye.”
I turned to leave. Ren Zhengde tried to stop me but found his tanzhong acupoint in excruciating pain. His limbs went limp, and his inner force completely dissipated.
Behind me came the sound of something shattering—one of the women had dropped the purple clay teapot, smashing it into pieces.
Leaning against the wall, Wan Zhongyin barely managed to stay on his feet, glaring at me with venom. “Yuan Junyao, do you really want to go against the Alchemist Association?”
“I’ve already told you,” I said coldly, “this is my master’s strict command. But since you tried to kidnap my brother to force me into joining, even without my master’s orders, I would never join!”
With that, I swept out of the room. Wan Zhongyin’s voice, cold as ice and as venomous as a serpent, echoed behind me: “You’ll regret this. We’ll make you beg to join us.”
I ignored him and walked out to find a Hummer H parked outside. Tang Mingli called out, “Hop in.”
I smiled, “Thanks for dealing with the Association’s men for me.”
“It's no big deal,” he said. “The Alchemist Association may be a bit troublesome, but I can leverage my family’s influence...”
“I can't rely on you for everything,” I interrupted, rubbing my sore temples. “Ming Li, don’t worry, I’ll handle this myself.”
If Tang Mingli were to use his family's power, it would be like declaring to the world that I’m part of the Tang Family.
Right now, I have no intention of tying myself to any family—it’s just too complicated.
When I got home, I noticed Yin Changsheng was online, so I started chatting with him. Lately, we’ve been talking a lot. Usually, it's me doing the talking while he listens.
But he seems to really enjoy hearing about my experiences, especially when it comes to local customs, celebrity gossip, and the like. Occasionally, he even chimes in with a few comments.
Today, he asked why I was online so late, so I didn’t hide it—I told him about the issue with the Alchemist Association. Yin Changsheng let out a cold laugh and said, “The nerve of that association. Huang Luzi, what’s your take on this?”
Suddenly, Huang Luzi, who had been offline for ages, came online. I was speechless—was he lurking this whole time?
After a moment’s thought, Huang Luzi replied, “Alchemist Association? Isn’t that just the old Medicine Guild?”
I nodded and said, “I did some research on the Alchemist Association. They were founded during the Song Dynasty, gathering most of China’s alchemists under the name ‘Medicine Guild.’ It was only after the founding of the country that they rebranded as the Alchemist Association.”
Upon hearing this, Huang Luzi was furious. “Those bastards! Back in the day, the Medicine Guild was established to protect alchemists, and now those scoundrels are using it to exploit people!”
Surprised, I asked, “Elder Huang, were you once a member of the Alchemist Association?”
Yin Changsheng answered, “He was one of the founding members of the Medicine Guild.”
Huang Luzi snorted. “Yin Changsheng, don’t mock me. Every family has its black sheep.”
At that moment, True Lord Zhengyang also came online and said, “Huang Luzi, your disciples are making life hard for our little girl here. What do you have to say?”
I was a bit speechless—so everyone’s been here all along, huh?
After a brief silence, Huang Luzi said, “Girl, knowing their character, they won’t back off easily. Here’s the deal: I’ll give you something. With this in hand, they won’t dare mess with you.”
Ecstatic, I quickly responded, “Thank you, Elder Huang!”
Shortly after, I heard a knock at my door. Outside, there was a jade box. When I opened it, I found a metal token inside.
The token was ancient-looking, with a faint herbal scent. It had the character “θ―” (medicine) engraved on it.
When I flipped it over, the back read: “When this token is shown, who dares to disobey?”
I couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of my eye. That phrase was a bit too over-the-top.
Huang Luzi said, “Girl, when the Alchemist Association people come looking for you again, don’t give them any face. Just beat them up, beat them up hard! Let’s see them act up again!”
True Lord Zhengyang added, “Shouldn’t we have her livestream it next time?”
“Exactly,” Huang Luzi agreed. “Make sure to livestream it. Let’s find out exactly which scoundrels have wormed their way into my Medicine Guild!”
I agreed, and sure enough, within three days, the Alchemist Association people showed up.
I had been refining Elixir Pills for a few days, so my herb supply was running low. I went out to buy more, and just as I stepped into a traditional herbal medicine shop, several men in black suits barged in.
These men were tall, sharp-eyed, and brimming with vigor—they were all masters of Dark Strength.
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