Where Did the Toad Secret Medicine Go?

At dusk:

The clanging of hammering came to an end.

You have completed the first condition for Dual Mantis Sword!

Chu Qing let out a long breath. At last, he had settled one condition.

For the rest, he only needed to catch some mantises to settle them.

It was getting late, and he planned to take his leave.

As it turned out:

There was a commotion outside.

Before long, Xiao Taohong said happily;

"Madam Shi is here!"

Madam Shi was the true Heaven of Stone Rock County.

Her arrival let Madam Jin breathe a sigh of relief as well.

At the sight of Madam Shi, Chu Qing's heart stirred.

He made as if to leave.

As it turned out, Madam Shi glanced at her maidservant.

One called Feng Nü kept a straight face as she handed him a small box:

"Here!"

Chu Qing expressionlessly opened the box.

Mm... not bad. It was secret medicine.

And there were two doses.

That was quite a lot.

Watch the opera!

He had to watch it.

More than ten minutes later, in the study:

Madam Shi wore a full opera costume and theatrical makeup.

With a flick of her water sleeves, she began to sing in a soft, delicate voice, warbling and trilling.

Chu Qing was not actually interested in opera.

But Madam Shi had given too much.

So he had to take it seriously.

When the song ended, Chu Qing clapped and cheered. He even rewarded Madam Shi with some broken silver.

Madam Shi happily thanked him in a coy voice, then squatted down to pick up the silver.

After giving another deep curtsy, she drifted away.

Madam Jin asked in puzzlement, "Even if thousands of taels of silver fell to the ground, Madam Shi wouldn't pick them up."

"But... why did she pick up what you threw?"

Chu Qing smiled. "She completely immersed herself in the role of an opera performer."

"So even if I threw her a single copper coin, she would thank me and pick it up."

Madam Jin was at a loss. She did not understand.

A little later:

After seeing Madam Shi off, Madam Jin returned and said strangely to Chu Qing, "Madam Shi said she wants to sing again at this time tomorrow."

"She also said... she hopes you can be a real opera listener, instead of... putting on an act."

Chu Qing was speechless.

I listened seriously and even gave her a reward. That counted as putting on an act?

Madam Jin added, "She also said that if you can't satisfy her next time, you'll never have another chance to hear her sing again."

Chu Qing was bewildered.

Madam Jin was even more bewildered.

Night fell:

Inside the bare-walled room:

Chu Qing shifted and darted about, training Mantis Fist:

Copper Sinew +0.01

Copper Sinew +0.01

Without secret medicine to assist it, the progress of Limit-Breaking Mantis Fist was truly moving—in the most miserable sense.

Having grown accustomed to rapid improvement, he simply could not accept it.

He swallowed secret medicine.

Copper Sinew +0.1

Chu Qing was speechless.

He used Toad Skill to accumulate Spirit and Energy.

However:

Copper Sinew +0.1

"The secret medicine's effect has plummeted!"

"And this is only Copper Sinew."

"If I reach Silver Sinew, or even Gold Sinew, how much secret medicine would I have to swallow?"

"How long would I have to train?"

"No wonder Hall Master Liu and even He Qi only trained Iron Sinew and never forged Copper Sinew."

"The investment and return simply aren't proportional."

For a moment, Chu Qing even wanted to give up improving his Iron Sinew.

But then he recalled what Tang Wuming had said: the higher one raised their sinews and bones, the brighter their future would be.

"If I want to quickly forge Gold Sinew, the best method is actually to swallow mangosteen pearls."

He had learned from Tang Wuming:

A single mangosteen pearl was worth ten thousand taels of silver.

To forge 365 Gold Sinews, he would need at least 180-plus pearls.

Just thinking about it made his head ache.

"Forget it. I'll take it slowly."

"In less than a month, I've already forged 180 Iron Sinews. Even if I improve through bitter training, it shouldn't take too long!"

In the dead of night:

Chu Qing washed up, covered his face, and headed straight for Pharmacist Li's apothecary.

As it turned out:

When he reached his destination, he was dumbfounded.

Because Pharmacist Li's home was empty.

Where was he?

Had he run off with my secret medicine?

Or... had he been killed amid the chaos of the past few days?

Uneasy, he inspected the room.

The house was clean, and many clothes were still there.

But all the medicinal ingredients in the shop were gone.

Chu Qing had a headache. He could not tell whether Pharmacist Li had fled or been murdered.

After hesitating, he went next door.

A young married couple lived next door.

Chu Qing kindly woke them and asked directly:

"Is Pharmacist Li dead?"

The young couple trembled in terror and hurriedly explained:

"The night before last, a group of people came and took Pharmacist Li away."

"Do you know who they were?"

The young couple shook their heads frantically. "We shut all the doors and windows tight at the time. We don't know anything."

Chu Qing nodded and turned to leave.

Knowing that Pharmacist Li had not been killed but taken away, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the man was alive, there was hope.

"That was the gift of nature I earned through blood, sweat, and tears!"

"Wherever you are, I'll find you."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chu Qing used Dragonfly Touching Water, threading through streets and alleys as he headed straight beyond the County Town.

At this time:

There were many refugees outside the County Town. Many had exhausted their dry rations and had begun eating insects, wild vegetables, even leaves.

As for mantises, they had long since been eaten clean.

Chu Qing could only go farther out.

Only after entering Stone Ridge Mountain did he catch enough mantises.

You have completed the second condition for Mantis Sword!

Dual Mantis Sword promotion successful.

The next second, more than a hundred mantises turned to flying ash and engulfed the blade.

Skill: Dual Mantis Sword Mastery—temper it a thousand times daily, swallow secret medicine, and attain mastery after a thousand days.

Promotion Condition: 1: Sword Finger one million times, 2: Slash three thousand mantises with the sword.

Chu Qing was speechless.

Was this sword art's advancement inseparably tied to mantises?

At the current rate, it would not be long before all the mantises nearby were eaten clean.

He had to hurry and complete the second condition.

Rip!

He raised his longsword, preparing to slash mantises.

Rustle!

Ashes fell from the blade.

Chu Qing froze.

Because he discovered that the blade had changed.

The former cloud patterns had vanished, replaced by markings resembling mantises.

He wiped it.

The blade was smooth, and the mantis markings seemed as though they had grown there naturally.

He swung the longsword and flicked the blade with Sword Finger.

"Other than looking a little better, there doesn't seem to be any change."

It did not affect use, so he ignored it.

Holding the sword in both hands, he moved through the grass in search of mantises.

Though it was nighttime, relying on the traits of Toad Skill, his vision was astonishing and his hearing extraordinary.

Before long, he spotted a mantis hiding atop a leaf.

He swung his sword!

Cold light flashed, and the mantis split in two.

Sword-slain mantises +1

Not bad.

Continue!

Chu Qing carried the one-and-a-half-meter longsword and chopped with all his might.

Sword-slain mantises +1

Sword-slain mantises +1

At dawn:

He had slain over a thousand mantises, and his progress was nearly halfway complete.

"One more push. I'll strive to finish it completely before nightfall."

Though he had not slept all night, his Spirit and Energy were still vigorous.

And even if he became tired, he only needed to use Toad Skill to restore his Spirit and Energy.

He was just a little hungry, that was all.

One hour...

Five hours...

Ten hours...

By dusk, the Profession Slot flashed:

You had slain three thousand mantises with your sword; completed the second condition.

Chu Qing let out a sigh of relief.

At last, he had completed this condition before the refugees ate all the mantises.

He wiped down his longsword, slung it across his back, and headed straight for Stone Rock County.

There were even more refugees outside the city.

Some refugees had fallen ill and died amid the wind and rain.

The county's soldiers and yamen did nothing, allowing the refugees to gather.

Beneath the recruitment platforms of fortified estates, wealthy households, and gangs, people were packed shoulder to shoulder.

Countless people wanted to sell themselves into slavery.

Yet those who met the requirements were few and far between.

Some refugees cursed loudly, their resentment overflowing.

Chu Qing frowned inwardly. If this goes on, I'm afraid something will happen.