Li Yunlong had no choice but to try explaining the problem to Amelia in the simplest terms possible. — «Amelia, you have to understand that in an occult ritual, the officiant presiding over the entire process is an indispensable and vital component. They alone can determine whether the ritual succeeds or fails. In ancient Eastern occultism, there is a specific concept used to explain this phenomenon: de bu pei wei – 'one's virtue fails to match their position.' To be precise, when describing powerful figures in Eastern occultism, practitioners like to say they possess 'profound virtue.' Occult rituals are bound by an exceptionally strict hierarchy. There are precise requirements for who stands in which position and who is qualified to preside over a ritual of a given tier. If someone whose virtue is insufficient attempts to officiate a high-level ritual, it becomes a classic case of virtue failing to match position-and the ritual will, naturally, end in failure.»
Amelia felt she had grasped his meaning. — «So, Lee, how are we supposed to judge whether a person's virtue is 'profound' enough? Or rather, what level must their virtue reach before they are qualified to preside over our ritual?»
The moment Li Yunlong heard her question, he realized she had misunderstood completely. — «Amelia, what do you think 'virtue' actually means?»
Amelia caught herself off guard. In English, the word morality derived from the Latin mos and moris, evolving into moralis before ultimately taking its modern form. Its root, mos, denoted custom or habit-concepts born from taboo, tradition, and protocol. Even as a journalist who regularly seized the moral high ground to criticize the ethics of others, she had never actually contemplated the precise definition of the word itself. Hesitant and vague, she replied, – «It should be… a set of standard qualities, character traits, or values expressed through one's thoughts and actions?»
— I knew it, Li Yunlong thought, resigned to giving her a quick lesson. — «What you're describing is merely the human standard of morality. The 'virtue' I'm talking about is the standard of the occult realm. The two are entirely different concepts. That's why occult rituals frequently employ scripts outside human everyday language-such as magical runes, divine scripts, or cloud seals. Common human speech simply cannot express these precise definitions, and such inaccuracy is strictly unacceptable in a ritual. It must be replaced by other linguistic mediums.»
Amelia's curiosity was piqued. — «Then what, exactly, does 'virtue' mean in the occult sense?»
Faced with her curiosity, Li Yunlong felt helpless. — «Amelia, without a foundational knowledge of the occult, I can't explain it properly in a short time. Let me use an analogy instead. Have you ever heard a Christian pastor preach?» Amelia nodded, and he continued: — «When pastors preach, they often say that 'God's great love fills the world.' If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that phrase secretly reveals a truth: God's love is inherently different from mortal love. That difference is similar to the distinction between 'virtue' in the occult sense and 'morality' as ordinary people understand it.»
Put in those terms, the concept finally clicked for Amelia. — «So even though you're using the word 'virtue' to describe it, what you actually mean at its core is occult power!»
Li Yunlong nodded. — «Your understanding is correct.»
— «Then can't we just find someone who possesses this occult power you're talking about?» Amelia asked.
Li Yunlong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. — «Amelia, the occult ritual I use to refine the Yin-Nourishing Decoction belongs to the Eastern occult system. The officiant presiding over it naturally has to wield Eastern occult power. This is America-aside from myself, where am I supposed to find someone with Eastern occult power to work for me? Besides, even if we found someone, they would only be able to preside over small-scale rituals. That's a world apart from mass production in a pharmaceutical company. It would be a drop in the bucket-it wouldn't change a thing.»
Producing the miraculous Yin-Nourishing Decoction required a corresponding occult ritual, and for that ritual to work, it required someone with Eastern occult power. But this was America. Even if Amelia wracked her brain, she couldn't imagine where they could find enough people with Eastern occult power to work for them. Does this mean there's no hope? What about my money?! She snapped her head up. — «Lee, what if we just hide this fact? Once we sell the formula to a pharmaceutical conglomerate, we take the money and run!»
Li Yunlong shook his head, ruthlessly shattering her fantasy. — «Setting aside whether we could pull it off, even if we succeeded and got the money, do you really think the executives at those pharmaceutical giants are saints? Once they realize they've been cheated, those guys will explode with rage. By then, you might have the cash, but you won't have your life to spend it! They'd use bombs to blow us all sky-high!»
Amelia fell into despair. — «Are we supposed to just give up, then?»
— «Don't panic, Amelia,» Li Yunlong said, rejecting her bleak view. «Stay calm and rational. You're a famous journalist; you should understand human greed far better than I do!»
Amelia was baffled. — «Those executives are greedier than you can imagine, but they aren't fools. They won't buy our patent if they know they're guaranteed to lose money.»
— «That's where we need a bit of finesse in the execution,» Li Yunlong explained. «First, we can't be the ones out there blowing our own horn. You need to find a neutral, well-known testing agency and have them perform a comprehensive evaluation. Don't be afraid to spend money on this step-make as much noise as possible. Trust me, before long, word will spread naturally.»
Amelia looked a bit embarrassed. — «That won't be a problem at all!»
— «I'll find a way to package the occult ritual as a complex pharmaceutical manufacturing process,» Li Yunlong continued. «When the drug companies come knocking, we will explicitly inform them of the failure rate inherent to the production process. We can sell them our existing process in its entirety-even bundle everything together-but the contract must clearly state that our manufacturing technique carries a high failure rate, and we accept no liability for failed batches once the purchase is complete. To show our sincerity, we can invite prospective buyers to a small auction and set the starting bid relatively low. I'm sure that will satisfy them!»
Listening to Li Yunlong's calm, methodical plan, Amelia was stunned by how he could tell the absolute truth yet still stoke the buyers' desire. Although the plan was still rough, the core logic was undeniably sound. All they needed was to hire professionals to flesh out the details based on Li Yunlong's framework, and they would have a foolproof master plan. Then, they could follow the blueprint, convert their patent into cash, strike it rich, and rise to the top of the world! At the thought, little stars practically sparkled in Amelia's eyes. — «Oh, Lee, my dear! You're brilliant! Doing it this way leaves absolutely no loopholes. I know a friend in strategy and planning-I'll have him draft a detailed proposal based on this idea right away!» As she spoke, she stood up impatiently, ready to rush out to meet her contact.
Li Yunlong stopped her. — «Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Amelia. As partners, I think we should sign a contract to clearly define our respective rights and responsibilities.»
Amelia nodded without a second thought. — «You're right, Lee!»
— «We can discuss the terms first,» Li Yunlong said. «Then I'll have my lawyer draft the contract. You can bring your lawyer to sign it, and we'll officially become business partners.»
Both Li Yunlong and Amelia were keen to collaborate on the Yin-Nourishing Decoction, and they quickly reached a preliminary agreement. Li Yunlong would provide the technology for a 60% stake, while Amelia would contribute the initial investment, leverage her network, and handle the entire sales process for a 30% stake. The remaining 10% was reserved for Amelia to allocate at her discretion, intended to bring onboard industry professionals and resolve potential obstacles during the commercialization process. The health and beauty sector was a massive market valued in the hundreds of billions. Given the miraculous effects of the Yin-Nourishing Decoction, Amelia was confident she could become a billionaire just by selling the patent rights. In other words, if they succeeded, the transaction would involve over a hundred million dollars! No matter how confident she felt, Amelia didn't dare drop her guard on a deal of this scale. Throughout the venture, Li Yunlong would only be responsible for the technical side, leaving every other aspect on Amelia's shoulders. If a flaw in the execution reduced their profit by even one percent, that would mean a loss of a million dollars-a sum large enough to drive an ordinary person mad. No matter how she looked at it, Amelia had no intention of letting this slip through her fingers. Therefore, securing professionals to work for her and assembling a highly efficient team were absolute necessities. To make the horse run, you had to feed it grass, and elite professionals never came cheap. Though Amelia had some capital of her own, it was far from enough for this endeavor. Thus, after consulting with Li Yunlong, they agreed to set aside 10% of the equity, which actually constituted the largest portion of their initial investment. The American financial industry was exceptionally developed; for a guaranteed lucrative deal like the Yin-Nourishing Decoction, a promised 10% share of the pie could easily be converted into real capital!
With the contract terms settled, Li Yunlong recalled the tragedy at the Wesley residence from the previous day. — «Amelia, is there any new information regarding the Mirror Game case today?»
Amelia's mind had been so consumed by how to pass regulatory approval for the Yin-Nourishing Decoction and make money that she would have completely forgotten about the matter had Li Yunlong not brought it up. — «Actually, I did manage to get a bit of news. The reason it's called the 'Mirror Game' case is that a hand mirror was found beside the victim. The police questioned Mr. And Mrs. Wesley, and both confirmed that the mirror didn't belong to their household, nor had they ever seen their daughter with such a mirror before. Similar cases have occurred in the past-the victims were likewise young females who died under gruesome circumstances, their bodies exhibiting strange anomalies, with an unfamiliar hand mirror left beside them. The FBI has specific agents assigned to this case, and I heard they're arriving in a few days. The local police have already sealed the case files and are just waiting for them to take over.»