"Yuelu, don't be angry. Que'er was only worried about my big brother."
Wood Fork knew he was clumsy with words and didn't understand sweet talk. His little face brimmed with sincerity as he straightforwardly took the jerky from his arms.
"But my big brother said Chief Escort has already shown us enormous kindness. We can't be greedily insatiable—that's not how one conducts oneself."
"We can't accept this jerky."
Zhang Yuelu could not help but be surprised.
She knew the Li brothers came from poor families and presumably did not know where this jerky came from.
Since they knew it was valuable, had they already eaten it?
Knowing the jerky's effects, they could still restrain their greed and return it?
Taking the jerky, Zhang Yuelu immediately recognized from its familiar scent that it was indeed the same kind they usually ate.
Her gaze immediately softened.
It seemed the Li brothers truly knew gratitude and understood propriety.
Seeing her sister's expression ease, Que'er knew they had passed the test and could not help turning from sorrow to joy. Then she remembered how Wood Fork had pleaded with her third sister for her sake. Though he was just as small as she was, his figure suddenly seemed incomparably tall in her heart.
"Hehe, that blockhead Wood Fork does care about me after all."
She was just about to step forward and pat Wood Fork's shoulder to comfort his wounded heart, but Zhang Yuelu beat her to it, pulling Wood Fork into her arms with a spring-breeze smile on her face. Que'er was so angry she clenched her little fists, yet could only endure it for the time being.
"Wood Fork, I knew you were a good child. How about this—later, take a letter to your big brother for me."
"Demon Meat?"
Li Cunxiao looked at the letter in his hand. The white rice paper was soft yet tough, its lines of handwriting graceful, and its wording rather gentle.
Simply put, Zhang Yuelu had lightly let the matter pass. It was merely children fooling around; there was no need to make a mountain out of a molehill.
The Li brothers had returned what belonged to its owner, so there was neither reward nor punishment. But Li Cunxiao knew this was already the best possible outcome.
To put it bluntly, the two brothers were living under another's roof and had not rendered any service to the escort agency.
The Demon Jerky had never belonged to him in the first place. If they were pleased, they could naturally reward him; if not, that was only reasonable. They did not owe him anything, did they?
It was enough that Wood Fork was all right.
What delighted Li Cunxiao alone was that Zhang Yuelu had explained the uses of Demon Meat in detail in her letter. It was both an explanation and a dangling carrot to spur him onward.
"Demons are savage beasts, and their flesh and blood contain vicious baleful qi. If consumed rashly without treatment, it may cause irritability and rage at best, or demonic madness at worst."
"Within the escort agency, only escorts are qualified to receive Demon Meat."
"Martial artists actually consumed Demon Flesh and Blood when practicing martial arts?"
Li Cunxiao instinctively recalled the inexplicable irritation that had risen in him when he ate Demon Meat that morning. A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
Zhang Yuelu's letter mentioned that processed Demon Meat could greatly nourish one's vitality while minimizing its effects on the mind.
Yet after Li Cunxiao had eaten the Demon Jerky that morning, while his vitality had increased, the Vajra Scepter's charge had also risen by roughly one-sixteenth.
However, when he drank the escort agency's medicinal soup after morning practice, only his vitality increased. The Vajra Scepter did not react at all.
Unless the medicinal soup's effects were simply too weak to trigger a reaction from the Vajra Scepter, that meant—
"It's the vicious baleful qi! What the Vajra Scepter needs is vicious baleful qi!"
"Demons are evil. Could eating Demon Meat count as subduing demons too?!"
The emergence of this new train of thought immediately invigorated Li Cunxiao.
If that was true, then wouldn't the less processed the Demon Meat was, and the stronger its vicious baleful qi, the better its effects on him?
He had personally experienced that processed Demon Meat was a superb aid for cultivation. Its sale would surely be subject to many restrictions, and its price would not be something he could afford.
But what about the black market?
Where there were rules, there would be people who broke them. Where there were the black and white paths, there would surely be gray areas.
The only problem now was finding someone with connections. Since it was called a black market, it was surely hidden beyond ordinary people's sight.
A name suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"I remember that when He Bi spoke of Sensing Vitality, there seemed to be something behind it."
The next day.
The sky was still dark when the door to Room Ding-4 opened. Qin Yu, humming a little tune, was the first to emerge, followed by the hurried Run Dong. Yet when they reached the training ground, their two roommates were already standing among the sparse ranks of early risers practicing their martial arts.
Qin Yu immediately felt a touch of superiority, but it was not something he could say aloud. So he nudged Run Dong beside him and raised his brows.
"Look over there."
Run Dong instinctively looked over. Li Cunxiao and He Bi were standing there in Horse Stance.
His chin unconsciously lifted a little higher, and his eyes gained a touch more spirit.
Young people were never without a competitive streak, especially when they were roommates under the same roof.
Run Dong and Qin Yu were both sons of small shop owners. To enter the escort agency and learn martial arts, their families had practically strained sinews and broken bones, spending a hefty sum of silver.
But of the remaining two, He Bi's father was a wealthy Outer City grain merchant with abundant family assets. He had mastered the basics of Tiger Form Fist in seven days, which was one thing.
But the other one, Li Cunxiao, was merely a restaurant helper. Who knew what dog shit luck he had stepped in to receive the Chief Escort's favor and enter the escort agency with his younger brother?
And in half a month, he had already vaguely begun Sensing Vitality.
That pace was not especially fast among the escort agency's many apprentices.
But it had still left behind Run Dong, who had trained for two months, and Qin Yu, who had trained for one.
This greatly stung the young men's pride.
Fortunately, the two of them had finally broken through first. They no longer had to stand together with ordinary apprentices in Horse Stance. Instead, they were learning moving postures and combat techniques on the other side of the training ground. They were already reserve escorts!
After greeting their "former" roommates from afar, Qin Yu and Run Dong walked away, refreshed and radiant.
"Qin Yu and the others have been learning combat techniques for seven or eight days already, haven't they?"
He Bi was a handsome youth with strong brows and bright eyes, tall and slender in build. Yet there was not much envy in his tone; there was even a faint note of smug anticipation.
Li Cunxiao had also been at the escort agency for half a month. Training in martial arts every day, coupled with rich food at every meal, had caused his body to rapidly fill out, and he had grown more than an inch taller.
Compared to He Bi's elegant youthfulness, he looked more like a sturdy man in his twenties, rather brawny and fierce.
Hearing this, Li Cunxiao glanced at He Bi. Thinking of the other's cultivation progress, a guess immediately formed in his heart.
Sure enough, once all the helpers had gathered and Cui Yao was preparing to drill them, He Bi suddenly stepped out from the crowd, cupped his hands, and declared in a clear voice:
"Instructor Cui, I gained some insight while practicing yesterday. I can now Sense Vitality."
Before his words had even faded, the helpers let out a wave of low cries. Cui Yao was somewhat surprised as well and immediately stepped forward to test him.
Within the human body, where the meridians interwove, there were both acupoints and hubs of vitality.
Using exquisitely controlled force, Cui Yao struck several acupoints on his arm. Someone who had not yet entered the path would only feel numbness and itching, but one who had mastered the basics of Tiger Form Fist could sense changes in the flow of vitality.
Sure enough, He Bi answered several times, every answer perfectly correct. The watching helpers immediately revealed envious looks.
"I remember it hasn't even been half a month for him, start to finish. And he can already Sense Vitality?"
"His family is wealthy and lacks nothing to nourish him with. Once your vitality is strong enough, even a blind man can sense it!"
He Bi remained unmoved by the surrounding clamor. Others might have been surprised, but he himself knew that in order to shorten the time needed for Sensing Qi, he had risked taking Demon Meat bought from the black market.
During the days he had been absent, he claimed there were matters at home. In truth, it was because he had eaten too much the first time from lack of experience. The Demon Meat's Killing Intent had rushed to his head, leaving him so frenzied and irritable that he could not practice.
To calm him down, the maids at home had been exhausted.
After venting, He Bi remembered the lesson. From then on, he only dared consume a tiny amount each time.
Fortunately, he had finally broken through. At least he had not suffered for nothing.
"I remember it has not even been ten days since you entered the path. Not bad."
Cui Yao showed some satisfaction. The less time one took for Sensing Qi, the higher one's talent—or the more willing one's family was to spend money.
Either way, it was good for the escort agency.
He Bi could not help showing a trace of delight as well. Just as he was about to offer a few modest words, Li Cunxiao suddenly stepped out from the crowd too, cupped his hands, and said:
"Instructor Cui, I have also broken through Sensing Qi. Please test me."
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