Pharmacy Hall

After leaving the Magistrate's Manor, Jiang Qinghe stood on the bustling street.

His gaze threaded through the crowd until it settled on a peddler carrying a shoulder pole. After asking for directions to the pharmacy hall, he headed south along the street.

Walking through prosperous Anren Ward, Jiang Qinghe could not help feeling deeply moved.

Thinking back on the former owner's life these past years, it had been like a pawn trapped on a chessboard, with an extremely limited range of movement.

Other than traveling between home and the wine shop, and occasionally visiting his younger sister, he had never once stepped beyond Shiping Ward on West Street.

Before One's Eyes, Anren Ward was Lin'an County's largest market district, situated in the very center of town and bustling beyond compare.

Along both sides of the five-zhang-wide street, shops stood row upon row in neat, orderly ranks, forming a stark contrast with the chaotic disorder of Shiping Ward.

On the western side were nothing but silk shops, jewelry stores, and the like. On the eastern side were restaurants and houses of pleasure.

In the middle of the street, a group of constables in dark blue uniforms was patrolling.

The Iron Rulers at their waists gleamed with a Cold Glint, while their sharp eyes swept over passing pedestrians from time to time.

The public security here truly was Far From comparable to that of other market districts.

No wonder even those gang thugs reined in their tracks upon arriving in Anren Ward, not daring to act recklessly.

After passing the third intersection, Jiang Qinghe spotted the signboard for the pharmacy hall.

The moment he entered the shop, the fresh fragrance of medicinal herbs washed over him, instantly clearing his mind and refreshing his spirit.

Directly ahead stood a chest-high cypress counter, behind which rose a hundred-drawer cabinet that reached all the way to the ceiling.

Yellowed labels were pasted onto several hundred drawers, each neatly bearing the name of a different herb.

The shopkeeper was a small old man wearing reading glasses. At the moment, he was standing on tiptoe before the cabinet, retrieving medicine.

Hearing the door open, he slowly turned his head, his eyes behind the lenses narrowing to slits.

"Young man, what medicine are you getting?"

"Shopkeeper, how much is Blood Activating Powder?"

"Two taels of silver per pill."

Jiang Qinghe clicked his tongue inwardly. This price really burned through money.

Previously, he had thought the Blood Activating Powder issued once a month by the martial academy was not enough. Now that he calculated it, the six allotted doses over half a year were equivalent to being given twelve taels of silver for free.

Looking at it that way, the martial academy's tuition was rather conscientious.

With some pain in his heart, Jiang Qinghe took out eight taels of silver from his clothes and lightly laid them on the counter.

This money had all been taken from Qiu San and the others. After deducting the martial academy tuition he had paid earlier, it was almost his entire fortune.

"Give me four."

The old man skillfully divided the Blood Activating Powder into four small porcelain bottles, sealed them with cork stoppers, and stuffed them all into a small medicine packet.

As he handed it over, he casually reminded him, "Remember, depending on one's constitution, there should be some time between each medicinal bath. If you use it too urgently, it may instead cause your qi and blood to stagnate."

"Thank you for the advice, Shopkeeper."

Jiang Qinghe clasped his fists gratefully and turned to leave.

The instant he stepped out of the pharmacy hall, he saw a youth of around fifteen or sixteen walking toward the place. He wore a silver robe and had a somewhat sinister face.

The youth stood tall and straight, yet his eyes carried an air of arrogance and disdain.

At his side followed a pretty young girl in a yellow dress. Her features were lovely, and the way she looked at the youth was filled with admiration.

"Senior Brother Qin, now that you have that Bear Tendon Pill, I believe you'll break through to the perfected realm within a few days."

"The perfected realm is nothing worth mentioning."

The Corner of Qin Wu's Mouth Slightly Raised, and a trace of pride flashed through his eyes.

"I heard that those gifted descendants of the great clans in the city had already become martial masters by my age."

A glimmer of longing appeared in his eyes.

As he spoke, his gaze casually swept over Jiang Qinghe as he emerged from the shop. Upon noticing the training uniform embroidered with the character Ping, he immediately gave a scornful laugh.

"Since when have the poor disciples of Wanping Martial Academy had the silver to buy medicine here?"

Jiang Qinghe halted, a trace of confusion rising in his heart. He found it utterly inexplicable.

Yet he did not bother with the fellow. He merely gave him a cold glance and continued onward.

Qin Wu, however, took a broad step sideways and blocked Jiang Qinghe's path. With his arms folded across his chest, his eyes brimmed with provocation.

"Move."

Jiang Qinghe frowned and said in a low voice.

Just as the atmosphere became taut as drawn swords, an angry shout rang out.

"What are you doing? Private fighting is forbidden in Anren Ward!"

A patrol of constables happened to be passing by. Their Constable was around thirty-five, with a stern and resolute face.

At that moment, his hand rested on his Iron Ruler as his sharp gaze swept over them.

Seeing this, Qin Wu immediately withdrew his hand and piled a smile onto his face.

"Captain Zhao, you've misunderstood. We were only chatting."

Captain Zhao gave Qin Wu a cold look.

"Qin Wu, I don't care how you throw your weight around in Golden Thunder Martial Academy, but in Anren Ward, don't go stirring up trouble so easily."

After nodding and agreeing twice, Qin Wu shot Jiang Qinghe a vicious glare, then entered the pharmacy hall with the girl.

Jiang Qinghe could clearly sense Captain Zhao's disgust toward Qin Wu. He clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Captain Zhao."

Captain Zhao turned his head, and a rare trace of a smile appeared on his face.

"Young brother, don't lower yourself to the level of those brats from Golden Thunder Martial Academy. Relying on a few stinking coins at home, they don't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth and look down on everyone."

Looking at Jiang Qinghe's training uniform, a trace of nostalgia flashed through his eyes.

"Strictly speaking, I'm your Senior Brother from over ten years ago."

As he spoke, Constable Zhao sighed with emotion.

"Back then, when Elder Ping had just opened the martial academy, I was among the first batch of Martial Disciples he recruited. But my aptitude was dull, and I failed to catch his eye. Later, after becoming a constable and going through several life-and-death battles, I finally opened my martial aperture."

He patted Jiang Qinghe on the shoulder. "Study hard. Don't let this opportunity go to waste!"

With that, he led the constables onward on their patrol.

Jiang Qinghe watched them leave before turning around and continuing back.

Dusk deepened, and the shops lining the street gradually lit their lanterns, casting swaying pools of light across the bluestone pavement.

The fragrance of cooked food drifted through the air, mixed with the clamorous sounds from the restaurants of Anren Ward in the distance.

After leaving Anren Ward and passing Red Leaf Wine Shop, Jiang Qinghe's steps slowed slightly.

The once bustling wine shop was now tightly shut. Two vermilion seals had been pasted in a cross over the doors, strikingly conspicuous beneath the dim night sky.

Jiang Qinghe stood there in a daze, a trace of disorientation Appeared in his heart.

Only the morning before yesterday, he had been busy alongside the other servants of the wine shop. That afternoon, he had just been about to resign to the shopkeeper.

Who could have imagined that by nightfall, every one of them would be brutally slaughtered, now reduced to cold corpses?

Given the current mixed bag of people in Shiping Ward, this bloody case would most likely be left unresolved.

In the end, it would merely become a yellowed page in the Magistrate's Manor archives.

Within half a month, once the fuss had died down, a new owner would naturally take over this storefront.

Perhaps it would become a silk shop, perhaps a pawnshop.

And the once bustling Red Leaf Wine Shop would eventually be forgotten, becoming a speck of dust in the river of history.

"What a cruel yet realistic world."

Jiang Qinghe sighed softly.