With everything taken care of and the silver tucked into his pouch, the sky had already begun to darken.
Zhao Qiao and the other two hurried back.
"That cult has been causing quite a stir lately. People are dying every day, so we're heading home. Shitou, you should be careful too."
The Witch God Cult.
Chen Sanshi found it strange.
By all rights, this group should have been keeping their heads down while hiding in Poyang. How did they still dare come out and stir up trouble?
Who knew when they would find them?
With the silver in hand, Chen Sanshi went to the pharmacy, only to find that it had already closed.
Not only Yunhe Pharmacy, but Cloud Crane Pharmacy was closed as well.
"Am I too late?"
He was not in a hurry. Coming back tomorrow would be the same.
When he rushed home, Gu Xinlan and Xu Bin's Wife, Tong Shi, were sitting in the courtyard sewing shoe insoles. At the sight of someone charging in draped in a blood-soaked Tiger Skin, they trembled like flowers in the wind and screamed without pause.
"Shi Ge'er..."
Gu Xinlan's heart thudded wildly as she said in disbelief, "You killed a Great Worm?"
Somewhat embarrassed, Chen Sanshi tossed down his things and apologized to Tong Shi. "Sister-in-law, I didn't know you were here."
"It's fine, it's fine."
Seeing the youth covered in blood, Tong Shi no longer dared linger. She left in a flustered rush.
"Shi Ge'er, honestly..."
After Gu Xinlan recovered, she came over to unload his things. "Sister Tong is still pregnant."
"My fault."
Chen Sanshi took off his armor. "Sorry to trouble you, Lan Jie'er. Cook the Tiger Heart and Tiger Meat together. Deal with the Tiger Skin when you have time and make it into a blanket or something."
It was already late autumn, and the days were growing colder by the day. The Tiger Skin could keep out the cold.
"Alright. Wash your face first."
Gu Xinlan turned and headed to the kitchen to get busy.
At the dinner table, dish after dish was brought out.
There was Tiger Heart and Tiger Meat, needless to say, along with beef, salted duck eggs, and steaming white rice. Added to that was soup made with Blood Replenishing Medicine; it was a lavish meal.
Chen Sanshi grabbed the Tiger Heart and gnawed into it.
"Shi Ge'er, eat... eat a little less." Gu Xinlan bit her lip, her cheeks peach-red as she hesitantly urged him.
"Hm?"
Chen Sanshi froze.
After thinking back, he remembered that after eating bear heart last time, his blood and qi had seemed overly vigorous, and he had tormented Lan Jie'er quite badly.
"It's fine."
Chen Sanshi took huge bites. "I'm not like before. I can control it."
A Tiger Heart alone would cost at least thirty taels of silver, and it might not even be available.
After all, Great Worms were not like rabbits, scattered all over the mountains and plains.
After only a few bites of Tiger Heart, Chen Sanshi's entire body began burning like fire. Its effects were even stronger than bear heart's. Beyond that, a violent feeling rose within him.
It was as though he had become that vicious tiger, craving mad bloodshed and slaughter.
Taking advantage of that surge, Chen Sanshi stuffed a few bites of beef into his mouth to fill his stomach, drained the prepared Blood Replenishing Soup, then picked up the Reed Leaf Spear and went out into the courtyard to practice.
It was late autumn, and there were many trees outside their home. Dead leaves blew into the courtyard with the wind, carpeting the ground.
The long spear howled, sweeping up the withered yellow leaves in the yard. They danced around the youth like tens of thousands of butterflies, yet these butterflies emitted boundless killing intent. They flew faster and faster, nearly turning into a whirlwind, determined to grind everything that drew near into pieces.
It was brimming with killing intent, yet beautiful beyond compare.
Gu Xinlan watched in a daze.
How long had it even been?
Just over a month ago, their family had still been worrying over how to pay their taxes.
Now, not only did they have ample food and clothing, but her man had learned such fine martial skills. It was like a dream.
One practiced martial arts, while the other watched.
Before they knew it, the red sun sank in the west. The sky gradually dimmed, and stars lit up one by one across the night curtain.
Only then did the soaked-through Chen Sanshi finally stop.
"Whew..."
He let out a long breath and planted the long spear directly beneath the plum blossom tree in the courtyard.
Technique: Basic Soldier Spear Technique (Proficient) Progress: (120/1000) Effects: Fierce spear momentum, astonishing endurance, abundant blood and qi
"This Tiger Meat really has outstanding effects!"
"Once I buy more restorative medicine tomorrow, I'll definitely break through to Minor Mastery within half a month!"
"Hiss..."
Even after practicing his spear technique for several hours straight, Chen Sanshi could still feel the Tiger Heart and Blood Replenishing Soup continuously taking effect, making his blood boil. But his muscles truly needed a little rest.
"Come, wipe your sweat."
Gu Xinlan had prepared a towel long ago and patiently wiped the youth's forehead. "You must be hungry. What do you want to eat? Ah!"
Her slender wrist was suddenly seized.
"Shi Ge'er, what are you doing?"
"Doing!"
Chen Sanshi directly swept Lan Jie'er up around the waist and rushed toward the bedroom.
"I told you not to eat so much beast heart!"
The next day.
When Chen Sanshi arrived at the entrance to the Military Camp, he happened to run into a group returning covered in dust from the road.
Luo Dongquan rode at the front.
In the prison cart at the center of the group sat a man.
The man wore the clothes of a citizen of the Sheng Dynasty, but his features still looked somewhat different, giving an incongruous impression.
Luo Dongquan merely glanced at him without speaking, then led his men into the Military Camp.
"Commander Xiong."
Chen Sanshi found Commander Xiong at the rear of the group. "Could this person be..."
"That's right, he's from the Witch God Cult."
Commander Xiong cursed as he spoke. "This brat has more guts than the heavens. The whole city is searching for them, yet he still went to Chunman Tower to find women!"
"He's that bold?" Chen Sanshi asked.
"Isn't he?"
Commander Xiong said, "If I hadn't happened to be next door competing with him for Miss Ruyan, who would have guessed? What a case of darkness beneath the lamp!"
"..."
Chen Sanshi did not care about that.
What he cared about was the immortal treasure. "Have all the Witch God Cult members been captured?"
"Not yet."
Commander Xiong rubbed his nose. "But it'll be soon. Once we catch one, are we afraid we won't be able to pry out where the rest are hiding? It'll only take a few more days."
Chen Sanshi relaxed.
If it was not over yet, that meant the immortal treasure key had not been found. He still had a chance.
Of course, he would act according to circumstances and would not risk his life over it.
The box was in his hands anyway. He only needed to learn whose hands the key fell into, then take things slowly.
Watching the group enter the Military Camp, Chen Sanshi went about his own business as well.
He went to the craftsmen's forge and stated his needs.
The man in charge was named Niu Gai, a bare-chested middle-aged man whose heavily trained muscles were especially eye-catching.
He stopped working and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a rag. "How heavy a bow do you want?"
"Ten stone."
Chen Sanshi had not kept much tiger bone, only a few of the harder pieces.
"Tiger bone?"
Niu Gai picked up the skull and felt it in his hands. "It's good for replacing ox horn and hardwood in making bow tips, but if you use it for the bow core, it lacks a little flexibility. I suggest using mutated Purple Gold Bamboo that is over fifty years old. Even then, making a ten-stone bow will be difficult. At most, it'll be six or seven stone."
"Six or seven stone?"
Chen Sanshi asked, "How can I make a ten-stone bow?"
He still hoped to make a heavy bow that could provide training effects, so he would not have to keep changing bows and arrows.
Niu Gai explained, "Generally speaking, bowstrings are made with ox horn and ox sinew, so their upper limit is limited. Even if you forcibly make a bow with ten-stone draw strength, its actual combat performance will be poor. Tiger Sinew won't work either, unless it comes from an exotic beast of the bovine kind, or an even better exotic beast."
"What about deer?"
Chen Sanshi paused. "I mean an exotic White Deer."
"Deer Sinew is supple and tough, and that is even more so for an exotic beast. Of course it can work."
Niu Gai said, "If you can truly find an exotic deer, I can definitely make you a bow exceeding ten stone."
Before you continue