The banquet lasted more than two hours, and Bai Yu ate until his belly was round.
Once the banquet ended, Bai Yu and the others began clearing up.
Naturally, the remaining substantial dishes on the tables benefited everyone at the funeral home.
For the next few days, Bai Yu and the others would not need to cook for themselves.
Zhu Tong was especially quick-witted. He sorted through the leftover dishes and sold them to Wang the Elder across the street, making another small profit.
He did not keep it all for himself. After dividing it among themselves, Bai Yu received a hundred coppers as well.
The funeral at the Zhang Household brought Hundred Virtues Funeral Home, Willow Street across from it, and Paper Offering Street to life.
Bai Yu could not help sighing. It truly felt like when one whale fell, all things thrived.
That afternoon, Wu the Unvirtuous came to Bai Yu and patted him on the shoulder.
"Little Bai, you did well at this funeral. You saved the day at a critical moment and pulled Hundred Virtues Funeral Home out of a crisis."
"Patriarch Zhang was very pleased and rewarded you with silver."
As he spoke, he handed over five taels of silver.
Bai Yu was stunned. It had clearly been twenty taels—how had it become five?
Zhang Estate had indeed given twenty taels. Once Manager Wu handled it, twenty became ten.
Then, once Wu the Unvirtuous got his hands on it, ten became five.
Wu the Unvirtuous was not worried in the slightest that Bai Yu would object.
His uncle called the shots at this funeral home. Dealing with a mere menial was as easy as taking something out of his pocket.
As for whether Bai Yu would go complain to Patriarch Zhang—
What a joke. As a lowly funeral attendant, he could not even enter the gates of Zhang Estate.
Did he really think sharing a cup of wine with Patriarch Zhang made him somebody? He had a long way to go.
Wu the Unvirtuous smiled without warmth.
"Little Bai, do not think it is too little. Everything you have achieved today is thanks to the platform provided by the funeral home."
"You cannot forget how my uncle and I cultivated you just because you have achieved a little success."
How could Bai Yu fail to understand? He immediately said:
"It is all thanks to Manager Wu's cultivation and Manager Wu the Unvirtuous's wise leadership that I was able to achieve anything in funeral work."
He accepted the silver with a beaming smile, showing not the slightest displeasure on the surface.
Wu the Unvirtuous wore the expression of someone thinking a child could be taught. With his belly thrust out and his hands behind his back, he swaggered away like a football begging to be kicked.
Bai Yu suppressed the urge to kick him and returned to the little courtyard with the silver.
That night, Bai Yu and Old Mo each had a leftover pork knuckle, eating until their mouths gleamed with grease.
"Old Mo, in a few days, once we compound the Essence Nourishing Powder and make some money, we can eat pork knuckles every day."
"We'll eat one and throw one away. Just for fun."
After finishing the meat, Old Mo hugged the bone and gnawed on it, signaling wholehearted approval.
"Woof woof~"
The next day, behind the funeral home.
Bai Yu buried the two corpses from that day.
Qi and Blood +3, Life Experience +2! Qi and Blood +2, Life Experience +6!
He did not hurry back. Instead, he found a patch of scattered rocks.
With a casual leap, he cleared more than ten feet and landed steadily atop a rock that could hold exactly one person.
Then he jumped back and forth among several large boulders.
After several consecutive leaps, he reached a large tree. With a few swift steps, he climbed it and landed firmly on a branch.
He was as light as a swallow, and the branch barely trembled.
"Lingxu Step really is formidable!"
"If I can practice Lingxu Step until it becomes second nature, my ability to preserve my life will rise by another great step."
Next, Bai Yu practiced the Mystic Tortoise Breath Concealment Art and Five Elements Fist several times.
A few days later, Bai Yu asked Daoist Lin Jiu for leave and entered the city with Old Mo.
After entering Jiang City, Bai Yu first bought two skewers of candied hawthorn, splitting them evenly with Old Mo.
Then he went to the famed Spring Breeze Pavilion and observed from afar the living conditions of this era's young ladies.
Only then did he arrive at an apothecary called the Hall of World Salvation.
A couplet hung at the entrance of the apothecary: Better let medicine gather dust upon the shelves; only wish that no one in the world falls ill.
Bai Yu stepped inside and asked about the prices of ten-year ginseng, deer antler, polygonatum, and other ingredients.
The shop assistant broke into a broad smile.
"That will be three taels."
Bai Yu was startled.
Three taels? By his previous estimate, one dose of medicine should have cost around five taels.
Then he immediately realized that Zhou the peddler who sold medicine had taken a knife to him.
In Jiang City, ten-year ginseng cost only one tael of silver, yet that peddler had charged him two taels, plus ten coppers for running errands.
And because Peach Blossom Village was isolated, medicines such as deer antler and polygonatum cost even more there.
It seemed Jiang City was not entirely without advantages.
Bai Yu bought ingredients for one dose of Essence Nourishing Powder on the spot.
He also spent one tael on a precise scale, called a steelyard balance at the apothecary.
After returning to the funeral home, Bai Yu calmly processed the medicinal ingredients.
Then he divided them into two batches and successfully compounded the Essence Nourishing Powder.
After successfully compounding it, Bai Yu's proficiency with Essence Nourishing Powder also reached the level of first glimpsing the path.
He personally tried one packet of Essence Nourishing Powder.
Qi and Blood +0.1! Qi and Blood +0.1! ...
He could tell that the Essence Nourishing Powder compounded this time was more effective than the first batch.
Perhaps it was because he had a precise steelyard balance, or perhaps because Bai Yu's proficiency had increased.
No matter what, Bai Yu was filled with hope.
At last, he could go to the Black Market and make money.
Over the next few days, Bai Yu spent more than a hundred Life Experience to raise both Lingxu Step and the Mystic Tortoise Breath Concealment Art to the point where they had become second nature.
Lingxu Step in particular became increasingly refined under his day-and-night practice.
He could now climb trees like a sparrow.
In other words, he could silently spring into a tree, and make only the faintest sound as he landed on a branch, like a bird.
"Everything is ready. Time to set off."
That night, Bai Yu wore a hood over his head, a mask over his face, and a suit of night clothes.
He took Old Mo and headed into the darkness.
After walking for more than two hours, they finally reached a valley.
Quite a few people could be seen entering and leaving the valley.
This was Jiang City's Black Market, located outside the city and owned by the Zhao Family, one of the city's Aristocratic Clans.
Within Jiang City, aside from the authorities, there were the four great Aristocratic Clans: Liu, Zhao, Xiao, and An.
Then there were the three major gangs: Black Wolf Gang, Divine Strength Sect, and Golden Coin Gang.
Golden Coin Gang mainly operated gambling houses and brothels in the eastern district.
Divine Strength Sect mainly consisted of dock laborers and porters at the western district's docks.
Black Wolf Gang occupied the outskirts and made its living collecting protection money from the shantytowns outside the city.
Though Black Wolf Gang acted fierce and vicious outside the city, when it truly encountered great Aristocratic Clans like the Zhao Family, it still had to bow its head.
Bai Yu had gathered most of this information through both open and covert inquiries.
He took a deep breath and slowly approached the entrance of the valley. This time, Old Mo did not follow him.
Everyone entering and leaving the valley stood in orderly long lines.
It was not because they had good manners, but because several desiccated corpses had been nailed to the rock wall at the entrance, intimidating everyone.
Anyone who dared make trouble in the Zhao Family's Black Market would end up hanging on the wall.
Furthermore, a reclining chair stood at the entrance. A bearded burly man lay on it, rolling two iron balls in his hand.
Bai Yu could not see through the man's exact realm, but he was certainly a powerful expert in the Qi and Blood Realm.
Beside the bearded man stood a sign.
"Admission: five coppers. Stall fee: ten coppers. Those who fight in the Black Market shall be killed!"
Bai Yu joined the line and slowly entered.
When his turn came, he paid ten coppers for a stall and received a wooden token.
At last, he stepped into the Black Market.
Before you continue