Several days flashed by, and it was time to distribute Tiger Bone Paste again.
After receiving Tiger Bone Paste from Senior Disciple Brother, the apprentices could not wait to use it.
But there were exceptions...
Fang Guiqi folded his Tiger Bone Paste in half, tucked it into his clothes, and slipped straight into the room.
The other apprentices were long accustomed to this. They knew he would not use it, but would secretly sell it off in exchange for silver.
In truth, the apprentices despised his actions to the extreme. He was simply picking up sesame seeds while throwing away watermelons.
How much money could Tiger Bone Paste fetch? Better to use it on himself and break through Martial Force sooner, so he could earn far more.
In Gongliang City, martial artists who had cultivated Martial Force earned no less than thirty taels of silver a month. Good jobs were easy to find.
Zhou You had seen it more than once already and was no longer surprised.
Zhou You pressed the Tiger Bone Paste to his chest and felt threadlike medicinal power seep into his body, making his skin faintly warm.
He felt some regret. The effect of a single patch of Tiger Bone Paste had grown increasingly weak.
If he wanted immediate results, he had to use at least three patches of Tiger Bone Paste at once.
But the Tiger Bone Paste distributed by the Outer Court came in fixed quantities. No one received an exception.
"I still need to find a way to get some secret medicine."
Even as he fell asleep, Zhou You was still thinking about it.
By nightfall, Fang Guiqi, who shared the room with him, was nowhere to be seen, making the room seem especially empty.
Every time the day after Tiger Bone Paste was distributed came around, Fang Guiqi would find an excuse to go out and disappear for a while.
The other new apprentices all said that he went to the black market to secretly sell Tiger Bone Paste for profit.
Zhou You had kept watch several times and discovered that Fang Guiqi's movements were mysterious. He slept by day and moved by night, terrified of being noticed by others.
One needed connections to enter the black market. Otherwise, even if it was just across the street, one still could not get in.
Fang Guiqi was an outsider, yet he had found the black market before Zhou You, who had been born and raised here. That fellow was definitely hiding quite a few secrets.
"Well, he definitely won't be back tonight either."
Zhou You looked at the empty bed, yawned, and fell asleep.
It was not until the following evening that Fang Guiqi returned to the Outer Court. He hurriedly changed his shoes and socks, then went out to train again.
Zhou You gave no sign of anything. Taking the chance, he wiped a finger across the ground Fang Guiqi had walked over, and his fingertips came away slick.
"Sure enough, it's still the Little Red Clay from Sweet Well District."
A thin layer of red mud clung to his fingertips, carrying fresh stickiness.
Then he looked at the shoes Fang Guiqi had changed out of. Their soles were coated in brownish-red mud. There was only one place in the city with this kind of soil.
Sweet Well District!
Every time Fang Guiqi received Tiger Bone Paste, he went to Sweet Well District in the city to make a trade.
He was an outsider, after all. How could he know the city's layout better than Zhou You, who had been born and raised here?
Sweet Well District was an abandoned part of the city, named after a square well.
The square well had once produced clear, sweet water, even more suitable for brewing tea than mountain spring water. It had been greatly favored by wealthy households.
Later, the well ran dry, and that whole area fell completely into ruin, becoming a nest for city foxes and society rats.
"What was the point of acting mysterious? Didn't I still uncover it?"
Time and again, Fang Guiqi had Sweet Well District's distinctive Little Red Clay on the soles of his feet.
Every time he received Tiger Bone Paste, he would disappear for a while, and when he returned, he would be stained with Little Red Clay.
The answer was ready to leap out.
Sweet Well District hid a channel for privately trading Tiger Bone Paste.
There might even be methods for trading other secret medicines circulating there. As long as one had money, anything could be bought!
Zhou You's heart grew hot. This was excellent news; he had been worrying that he did not have enough Tiger Bone Paste.
Now that the channel had begun to show a glimmer of dawn, all that remained was... money.
The next day, Zhou You asked for leave and returned home to raise funds for the plan in his heart.
After paying his tuition, he had only five or six taels of silver left, far from enough to purchase secret medicine.
He could only swallow his pride and ask his old man for spending money.
Thanks to the Martial Arts School Wooden Talisman, his old man had received a raise just last month, and the family was much better off now.
"Oil seller, shining bright, marry a wife and honor your father and mother."
"Oil seller..."
Several mischievous children sang the nursery rhyme as they walked closer from the far end of the street.
Zhou You looked up and saw someone he knew. Song Fugui was approaching with an oil yoke on his shoulders.
"Zhou You, what a coincidence."
After not seeing him for many days, Song Fugui had gained quite a few wounds on his face, though his spirits were still good.
He pulled Zhou You over to sit by the roadside, spent three copper coins on two bowls of tea, and chatted with him as they drank.
"When I went home, I heard from my parents about it. Thanks for the cheap oil."
Song Fugui chuckled. "It's nothing. Once I'm the master of the house, I'll give Uncle and Auntie oil for free."
"You're my friend. How could you possibly go without good free oil?"
When Zhang Shu was mentioned, Song Fugui's expression turned agitated. "That dog Zhang Shu dared to slander you. He deserved to become a cripple."
"Let's not mention him. Bad luck."
As the two chatted, a passerby wrapped in white robes came up before them, speaking with an outsider's accent.
"Oil seller, would you offer some scented oil to the God of Release?"
The white-robed man had empty hands, carrying only a porcelain bowl. He was clearly asking for it for free.
Zhou You frowned and rose, about to drive him away.
"Forget it, forget it. It's only a bowl of oil."
Song Fugui stopped Zhou You, stood up, took out an oil gourd, and poured the man a bowl of scented oil.
Holding the oil, the white-robed man clasped his hands and bowed to Song Fugui. "Thank you for your generosity. The God of Release will bless you."
Zhou You watched him leave and saw the white-robed man join a group of people dressed in similar white robes.
"Stop looking. It's the God of Release Cult that spread here from overseas. It was originally only found in Su City, but now it has come to our Gongliang City with the refugees."
Song Fugui explained, "That bunch is quite strange. They ask for things for free, but if you refuse, they do not forcibly demand them."
"If you give them scented oil, they are polite and courteous too."
"I do business outside. I don't dare offend people involved in all this godly, ghostly nonsense."
A small business had to grease palms everywhere. Taxes had to be paid to the authorities and the gangs, and even the incense money at temples could not be lacking.
After Song Fugui left the Outer Court, things had been extremely difficult at first. Everywhere he went, there were petty thieves looking to freeload.
Some bought oil without paying, some bought on credit and never repaid it, and some secretly punctured his oil gourds with steel needles to steal oil to drink. There were all kinds of people.
After all, without the protection of the Martial Arts School Wooden Talisman, even stray dogs by the roadside wanted to pounce on him and tear off a piece of flesh.
But Song Fugui gritted his teeth and fought five or six times a day. Even when he bled, he did not make a sound.
That ruthless streak frightened off those petty, rat-like thieves, and business was much easier now.
Of course, those he should not offend still could not be offended.
"Zhou You, you need money at the martial arts school, right?"
"My old man is stingy as hell. He says he's saving up my bride money and won't give me a chance to save anything myself."
"But who am I? I can still pull little tricks right under his nose."
Song Fugui took out a packet of silver from his clothes. "There are twenty taels here. Take them and use them first."
"If I fail to cultivate Martial Force, I won't be able to pay back this much silver!"
Zhou You weighed the packet of silver in his hand and said teasingly.
"I have faith in you. You'll definitely cultivate Martial Force and become an Official Martial Arts School Apprentice."
Song Fugui said it with absolute certainty.
Zhou You did not stand on ceremony with him either. He tucked the silver into his clothes. "Good brother, come to my home for a meal when you have time."
At that moment, he truly accepted this brother.
Before you continue