Black Rye Mushroom

Taking advantage of the deep silence of night, Li Qing once again arrived in the Eternal Night World.

The blood-red moon hanging high in the sky seemed eternal and unchanging, the temperature still bitingly cold, forcing anyone going out to bundle up in cotton-padded clothes.

Inside Obsidian City, Li Qing placed the twenty-plus forged cutting knives in the courtyard, then continued his stance training off to the side.

This session of stance training lasted longer than any before. Combined with the breathing method Master Gu had taught him, he held on for nearly an entire shichen.

In the past, standing too long in the stance would leave his legs numb, but this time his blood and qi flowed with exceptional smoothness, making his entire body feel extremely comfortable.

"Hah!"

After a brief rest, Li Qing began practicing the stance repeatedly in the courtyard. Even in the Eternal Night World, where time flowed three times faster, he was unwilling to waste a single moment.

Li Qing felt that this time in the Eternal Night World passed incredibly quickly. In the blink of an eye, nearly half a day had slipped away.

Yet he felt no fatigue at all. His spirit remained quite vigorous, and his waist and legs were brimming with strength.

But even if he wanted to keep practicing, his stomach had other ideas.

The progress in his stance training had been quite effective, and with it came a sharp increase in appetite.

Having eaten nearly two portions of dinner in the military camp, he soon found himself hungry again. He needed to replenish energy—every single cell in his body seemed to crave food intake.

"Sigh, I'll just have to fill my stomach with some Black Rye Mushrooms," Li Qing sighed, unwilling to relive that peculiar taste.

He had stockpiled some Black Rye Mushrooms at home, leftovers from his past dealings with the Yan family. He had forged farm tools for them more than once, and they always paid with Black Rye Mushrooms.

The Black Rye Mushroom was good in every way—easy to store, filling, and quick to cook. But its taste was terrible. The first time Li Qing got his hands on them, driven by curiosity, he cooked up a whole pot. After tasting it, he barely stopped himself from vomiting his guts out.

It was like moldy wheat flour—sour and astringent, impossible to swallow.

In the storage room, his expression slightly grim, Li Qing once again grabbed a pile of leftover Black Rye Mushrooms and tossed them into the pot.

These mushrooms had been sitting here for nearly a year, but they looked no different from freshly harvested ones—that was the advantage of their easy preservation.

"Maybe I should bring some food here to trade, exchange it for some powerful martial arts to practice?" A bold idea suddenly sprouted in Li Qing's mind.

But he quickly dismissed it.

"No, the source of the food would be hard to explain, and it'd easily attract unwanted attention. At the very least, I need some ability to protect myself before I can start small-scale trading."

"At the very least, I need to reach Outer Strength. Otherwise, even three or five strong men could take me down as I am now. And such trades would have to be secret—I'd need to hide my identity."

"Before that, I can at least probe a little into whether this world has anything unique."

As the iron pot heated up, Li Qing let his thoughts run wild.

Soon, he set three goals for himself.

First, become an Outer Strength expert as quickly as possible. Whether escaping the military camp or making moves in this world, everything depended on growing stronger.

No one discusses fairness with the weak. This was a lawless world—if you didn't want to be devoured, you had to become strong.

Second, begin investigating the situation in this world. For example, were there things of little value here that might be priceless in the other world?

He had been in this world for quite a while, but Li Qing realized he had barely stepped outside his own street.

All he knew so far was that this was a cold, dark world. Perhaps there had once been a sun, but it hadn't appeared in a very long time.

The small city he was in was called Obsidian City. Outside the city, large amounts of Black Rye Mushrooms were cultivated, but the land all belonged to the Yan family, the most powerful force in Obsidian City.

Beyond that, he knew nothing. Now, reflecting on it, he felt his behavior had been far too careless. If he didn't understand the environment he lived in, he might very well be caught in some unforeseen disaster and die without knowing why.

Third, escape the border fortress where war was about to break out as soon as possible. Being stuck in the military camp, he felt constrained at every turn. Even entering the Eternal Night World had to be done cautiously, preventing him from fully leveraging the advantages of both worlds.

Thinking this over, Li Qing was surprised to find his mind had become much sharper and clearer.

"Hah, this is one of the benefits of martial arts training. When the body grows strong, the blood supply to the brain becomes abundant, making the mind sharp and agile. Of course, it might also just be that I'm too hungry."

Li Qing muttered to himself, then took out the now-cooked Black Rye Mushrooms.

Cooking Black Rye Mushrooms was simple—just add some water and heat, and they were ready quickly.

The steaming food gave off heat in the cold air. As it gradually cooled, Li Qing frowned, forcing himself to start eating.

Sour and astringent! Hard to swallow!

Even though he was starving, the food in his mouth still felt like dregs, no more delicious than before.

He didn't bother savoring the taste of the Black Rye Mushrooms. He shoved them into his mouth, chewed briefly, and swallowed.

After downing an entire pot, his hunger finally eased completely.

But a lingering sour, astringent aftertaste filled his mouth, constantly triggering a wave of nausea. It felt like he had just swallowed a wad of cotton.

"Gulp, gulp~"

After chugging several mouthfuls of water, Li Qing stood up, once again determined to train in his stance.

Just as he assumed the stance posture, a slow knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Thump, thump, thump!

"Master Li, are you home?"

The voice sounded somewhat aged. Li Qing immediately recognized who it was—the An family living across the street.

Originally a family of four, it was said that after some accident, the husband and wife had died outside Obsidian City, leaving only an old man and a child.

Li Qing put away his training stance, then walked slowly to the courtyard gate and opened it.

Outside the door stood a stooped old man with sparse silver hair, so thin he was nothing but skin and bones.

This was the first time Li Qing had seen anyone so gaunt—his eye sockets were deeply sunken, making him look like nothing more than a skeleton.

Even Master Gu, who was on the verge of passing, looked far healthier than this old man before him. Li Qing half-wondered if the fellow might fall apart at any second.

Old Man An carried a deformed iron pot, his face twisted in a pleading expression as he looked at Li Qing. "Master Li, could you help fix this pot?"

Li Qing cast a glance at the pot—it had clearly been smashed on purpose, likely Yan San's handiwork.

He withdrew his gaze and said, "I can."

Saying this, Old Man An pulled out a small sack of Black Rye Mushrooms, his face troubled. "There's not much food left at home. I don't know if this is enough."

Li Qing, who had just eaten Black Rye Mushrooms and felt queasy, couldn't help his brow twitching. He said, "Take those Black Rye Mushrooms back. I have some things to ask you—just answer me, and that'll be enough."

This Old Man An looked well along in years; having lived so long, he surely understood this world better than Li Qing did. It was a good chance to get some basic information about Obsidian City and the Eternal Night World from him.

"How can that be?" Old Man An grew a bit embarrassed, thinking the other was just taking pity on him.

Li Qing said calmly and steadily, "Come inside and we'll talk."