When a Whale Falls, All Things Live

The feast lasted for over two hours, and Bai Yu ate until his stomach was round.

Once the banquet ended, Bai Yu and the others began to busy themselves with cleaning up.

Naturally, the remaining delicacies on the tables also benefited everyone at the Mortuary.

For the next few days, Bai Yu and the others wouldn't have to cook their own meals.

Zhu Tong, ever so clever, gathered the leftover dishes, tidied them up, and sold them to Granny Wang across the street, earning himself a small profit.

He didn't keep it all to himself; he divided it among a few people, and Bai Yu received one hundred copper coins.

The Mortuary, both inside and out, along with Willow Street and Paper Offering Street across the way, had become lively because of the Zhang Family's funeral.

Bai Yu couldn't help but sigh, feeling that this was akin to "a whale falls, and all things thrive."

In the afternoon, Wu the Unvirtuous found Bai Yu, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"Little Bai, you performed well at this funeral. You improvised and saved our Hundred Virtues Funeral Home from a crisis."

"Patriarch Zhang is very satisfied and rewarded you with silver."

As he spoke, he handed over five taels of silver.

Bai Yu was stunned. It was clearly twenty taels, so how did it become five?

Zhang Estate had indeed given twenty taels, but once it passed through Manager Wu's hands, twenty taels became ten.

And after Wu the Unvirtuous got his hands on it, ten taels became five.

Wu the Unvirtuous wasn't worried about Bai Yu objecting in the slightest.

His uncle was in charge of this Mortuary, and dealing with a mere errand boy was a piece of cake.

As for whether Bai Yu would go to Patriarch Zhang to complain...

What a joke. He was just a funeral worker; he couldn't even get through the gates of Zhang Estate.

Just because he had a drink with Patriarch Zhang didn't mean he was somebody; he was far from it.

Wu the Unvirtuous said with a fake smile:

"Little Bai, don't feel like it's too little. You owe your achievements today to the Mortuary's platform."

"You can't forget my uncle and my cultivation of you just because you've had some small achievements."

Bai Yu understood perfectly and immediately said:

"Thanks to Manager Wu's cultivation and Director Wu's capable leadership, I've been able to achieve something in funeral arrangements."

He grinned as he accepted the silver, showing no displeasure on the surface.

Wu the Unvirtuous had an expression that said, "a child can be taught," and walked away with his belly sticking out and his hands behind his back, looking like a football just waiting to be kicked.

Bai Yu resisted the urge to kick him and returned to the small courtyard with the silver.

That night, Bai Yu and Old Mo each had a leftover pork knuckle, eating until their mouths were greasy.

"Old Mo, in a few days, once we concoct the Essence Nourishing Powder and make some money, we'll eat pork knuckle every day."

"We'll eat one and throw one away, just for fun."

Old Mo finished the meat, hugged the bone, and gnawed on it, expressing his full agreement.

"Woof woof~"

The next day, behind the Mortuary on the back mountain.

Bai Yu buried today's two corpses.

[Blood Essence+3, Life Experience+2!]

[Blood Essence+2, Life Experience+6!]

He didn't rush back but instead found a rocky area.

He leaped casually, jumping more than ten feet away, landing steadily on a stone just big enough for one person to stand on.

Then, he jumped back and forth between several large stones.

He jumped repeatedly, finally reaching a large tree, climbing up the tree in a few steps, and landing steadily on a branch.

He was as light as a swallow, barely shaking the branch.

"Lingxu Step, truly powerful!"

"If I can practice Lingxu Step to the point of mastery, my ability to protect myself will increase significantly."

Next, Bai Yu practiced the Mystic Tortoise Breath Concealment Art and the Five Elements Fist several times.

A few days later, Bai Yu asked Daoist Lin Jiu for a leave of absence and went to Jiang City with Old Mo.

Upon entering Jiang City, Bai Yu first bought two candied hawthorns, sharing one with Old Mo.

Then, he went to the famous Spring Breeze Pavilion to observe the living conditions of the young ladies of this era from afar.

Finally, he arrived at a pharmacy called "Hall of World Salvation."

At the entrance of the pharmacy, there was a couplet: "Rather let the medicine on the shelves gather dust, than wish for people in the world to be without illness."

Bai Yu stepped into the pharmacy and inquired about the prices of ten-year-old ginseng, antler velvet, and yellow essence.

The shop assistant beamed:

"That'll be three taels, please."

Bai Yu was taken aback.

Three taels? According to his previous estimates, a dose of medicine should cost around five taels.

Then, he immediately realized that he had been ripped off by that traveling medicine peddler from before.

In Jiang City, ten-year-old ginseng was only one tael of silver, but that peddler charged him two, plus ten copper coins for delivery.

Moreover, because Peach Blossom Village was remote, the prices of antler velvet, yellow essence, and other medicinal materials were also higher.

It seemed that Jiang City wasn't entirely without its advantages.

Bai Yu bought a prescription for Essence Nourishing Powder on the spot.

He also spent one tael to buy a precision scale, which the pharmacy called a "steelyard."

Back at the Mortuary, Bai Yu calmly and methodically processed the medicinal materials.

Then, he divided them into two batches and prepared the Essence Nourishing Powder.

After successfully preparing it, Bai Yu's proficiency with Essence Nourishing Powder reached the level of "Initial Understanding."

He personally tried a packet of Essence Nourishing Powder.

[Blood Essence +0.1!]
[Blood Essence +0.1!]

He could feel that this time, the Essence Nourishing Powder was more effective than the first time.

Perhaps it was due to the precision steelyard, or perhaps it was because Bai Yu's proficiency had increased.

In any case, Bai Yu was filled with hope.

He could finally go to the black market to make money.

In the following days, Bai Yu spent over a hundred life experience points to raise both Lingxu Step and Mystic Tortoise Breath Concealment Art to the level of "Proficient."

Especially Lingxu Step, he practiced it day and night, becoming increasingly skilled.

He could now climb trees like a bird.

In other words, he could silently leap onto a tree, and the sound of him landing on a branch would be as light as a bird.

"Everything's ready, time to set off."

That night, Bai Yu wore a cloak, a mask, and a set of night clothes.

He led Old Mo towards the darkness.

After walking for more than an hour, they finally arrived at a valley.

He saw many people going in and out of the valley.

This was Jiang City's black market, located outside the city and owned by the Zhao Family, one of the city's prominent families.

In Jiang City, besides the government, there were the four major families: Liu, Zhao, Xiao, and An.

Then there were the three major gangs: Black Wolf Gang, Divine Strength Sect, and Golden Coin Gang.

The Golden Coin Gang mainly operated casinos and brothels in the eastern part of the city.

The Divine Strength Sect was mainly composed of laborers and porters at the western city docks.

The Black Wolf Gang occupied the area outside the city, making a living by collecting protection fees in the shantytowns.

Despite their ferocious reputation outside the city, the Black Wolf Gang had to bow their heads when they encountered the Zhao Family and the other major families.

Bai Yu had gathered most of this information through both overt and covert inquiries.

He took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the entrance of the valley. This time, Old Mo did not follow.

The people entering and exiting the valley were very disciplined, forming a long queue.

Not because they were well-behaved, but because several dried corpses nailed to the stone wall at the entrance intimidated everyone.

Anyone who dared to cause trouble in the Zhao Family's black market would end up hanging on the wall.

Moreover, a burly man with a thick beard was lying on a recliner at the entrance, twirling two iron balls in his hand.

Bai Yu couldn't see through his exact realm, but he was definitely a Blood Essence Realm expert.

Next to the bearded man stood a sign:

"Entry fee: 5 copper coins, stall fee: 10 copper coins. Anyone who fights in the black market will be killed!"

Bai Yu stood in the queue, slowly moving forward.

When it was his turn, he paid the ten copper coin stall fee and received a wooden token.

Finally, he stepped into the black market.