Medicine Supplement in Hand

As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, he saw He Chunli wiping down the shop's doors and windows.

When the young apprentice saw how spirited Xie An looked, he was both surprised and delighted. "Master, you look much more energetic."

Xie An was in a good mood, and even his words carried a trace of a smile. "I've been in a good mood lately, so I'm feeling more energetic too. By the way, where's Zhang Bing?"

Before his stroke, Xie An had never looked particularly old. After all, being an Appraisal Master was no rough labor, and he had taken fairly good care of himself. Though his appearance was now somewhat younger than it had been then, there was no need to hide anything.

But if he continued growing younger, and truly experienced Return to Youth... then he would really need to come up with an explanation.

He Chunli's expression dimmed. "Brother Zhang is still sleeping. He won't get up until the hour of Chen."

Xie An glanced at He Chunli's hands and saw the frostbitten cracks covering them. He understood at once.

His apprentice Han Li had taken several months' leave because something had happened to his family. There was naturally nothing to say about that.

Zhang Bing, on the other hand, had truly started treating himself as an Appraisal Master, casually ordering He Chunli around and bullying him.

Over the past half-month, Zhang Bing had only come to see Xie An twice, and each time he had gone through the motions perfunctorily.

Xie An had even keenly sensed that every time Zhang Bing came to visit him, Zhang Bing paid particular attention to his complexion.

Rather than coming to visit him, it would be more accurate to say that Zhang Bing was afraid he would recover and was hoping he would die sooner.

Xie An encouraged He Chunli for a while. "Little He, work hard. One day, you'll surely rise above the rest."

He Chunli listened in bewilderment, but still scratched his head. "Yes, Master."

Xie An said no more and turned to leave.

With Xie An's current physique, he was more than capable of returning to the shop and working. But since Master Li of Li Manor had given him three months, he might as well make good use of them.

Besides, cultivating the Health Cultivation Technique was dull and arduous, but whenever he saw his body grow stronger and his lifespan increase, he found himself enjoying it.

By comparison, he had lost much of his interest in the work of identifying objects.

When it came to the most powerful master in town, it was naturally Chen Lei, the master of Chen Martial Arts School. He had mastered extraordinary martial arts, roamed the martial world, and, after returning home in glory, opened a martial arts school to train warriors for the local community. He was unquestionably a figure of absolute authority in Wuqiao Town.

In this chaotic age, practicing martial arts was always the most exalted profession.

Though the Li family was wealthy, it was nothing before the Chen family. Even when Master Li met Master Chen, he had to lower his head and keep his tail between his legs.

And when it came to purchasing medicinal supplements for martial arts training, there was no better place in all of Wuqiao Town than Chen Martial Arts School.

Right beside the main entrance of Chen Martial Arts School stood Chen's Pharmacy.

The medicinal supplements prepared there were first supplied to the school's apprentices and martial artists. Any surplus was then sold to outsiders.

The shopkeeper of Chen's Pharmacy, Chen He, was Chen Lei's distant paternal cousin. He was forty-nine years old, and because he had practiced martial arts, he had maintained himself very well. He had privately asked Xie An to appraise quite a few antiques in the past, so the two were familiar with each other.

Martial artists tended to be forthright and cared little for formalities. Chen He had not looked down on Xie An for being of slave status; instead, he had been amazed by Xie An's extraordinary skill at appraising objects.

"Old Xie, why are you out so early? Aren't you afraid of catching a chill? ... Hey, why do you look so energetic?"

Sitting behind the pharmacy counter, Chen He looked Xie An up and down, thoroughly astonished.

Xie An laughed heartily. "Recently, I found a Health Cultivation Technique to loosen my muscles and bones. That might be the reason. By the way, do you have any medicinal supplements suited to the Five Animal Play?"

Chen He withdrew his gaze and began introducing them like a man listing his family treasures. "Of course. For ordinary effects, there's Bone Strengthening Soup. It's three qian of silver per dose, and you only need three doses a day. For someone like you, Old Xie, who's just practicing for fun, Bone Strengthening Soup is enough."

Knowing that Xie An was of slave status, his recommendation was fairly reasonable.

The problem was, Xie An was not practicing for fun...

Xie An was not satisfied. "Do you have anything better?"

Chen He was slightly surprised. "There's Blood Nourishing Soup, eight qian of silver per dose, taken morning and evening. There's also Vitality Nourishing Soup..."

"What about the best?"

Chen He was even more astonished. "The best supplement I have for the Health Cultivation Technique is Qi Generating Soup. It contains ginseng, angelica... and deer blood. Two taels of silver per dose, taken once every two days."

Two taels per dose, taken once every two days. That meant one tael of silver would be spent every day.

It was absurdly expensive...

Though Xie An's heart ached, he had decided that this was the supplement he needed. Still, he put on a troubled expression. "I'd like to buy five doses. Shopkeeper Chen, could you make it a little cheaper?"

Five doses meant ten taels.

In all the years Chen He had run the pharmacy, he had rarely encountered such a lavish customer.

With anyone else, Chen He would surely have tried to talk them into it. But facing Xie An, he still offered some advice. "Old Xie, that's no small sum. Don't act on impulse. With that much silver, you could practice martial arts. Spending it on the Health Cultivation Technique isn't worth it."

Before, Xie An would not have been willing either.

But after recently tasting the benefits of the Health Cultivation Technique, he had made up his mind. "Thank you for your kindness, Shopkeeper Chen, but at my age, I can't practice martial arts. I just want to focus on nourishing my health."

Chen He no longer tried to dissuade him. "Five doses of Qi Generating Soup. I'll charge you eight taels of silver. How does that sound?"

Xie An knew that this was already extremely generous, so he agreed. "All right."

Chen He deftly gathered the ingredients and wrapped five doses in mulberry paper. Just as he was about to collect the money, he suddenly said, "Old Xie, I have an object here. Could you take a look at it for me?"

The wealthy families of this world more or less had the habit of collecting antiques, calligraphy, and paintings.

Xie An readily agreed and took the object, turning it over in his hands.

It was a Jade Ruyi Scepter. Its color was beautiful, and its translucency was exceptionally pure, crystal clear and sparkling.

While Xie An examined it, Chen He explained its origins. "Some time ago, I bought it for ten taels of silver at the county's antique market. They said it was the Jade Ruyi Scepter of a consort from the previous dynasty. But when I took it to a pawnshop, they said it was a fake. Damn..."

Xie An examined it for quite a while, then pointed to the marlin carving on the jade pendant. "Marlin carvings originated in the late previous dynasty, but there were few imitators at the time, and they were mostly popular among the nobility in the capital. They only became widespread after the twentieth year of the Jingtai era of this dynasty. Later, as tastes changed, marlin carvings became rare."

Chen He nervously rubbed his hands together. "Is it worth anything?"

Xie An said, "Marlin carvings are unusual to begin with, and their period of popularity was short. That gives them a certain scarcity value. But calling it the Jade Ruyi Scepter of a consort from the previous dynasty is an exaggeration. It should belong to some noblewoman from the Jingtai era of this dynasty, and it's probably around thirty years old. If you find someone who knows what they're looking at, selling it for twenty taels won't be a problem."

Chen He could hardly believe it. "Really?"

Xie An was very confident in his own skill. "If you hold on to it for ten years before selling, you could double your money. If you don't believe me, you can go to the Li Family Pawnshop today. I'll buy it for twenty taels. But you'll be the one losing out."

"Hahaha, of course I believe what you say, Brother Xie." Chen He was overjoyed and unconsciously changed how he addressed him to "Brother."

When it came time to collect payment, he would only accept three taels of silver from Xie An, saying it was the cost price.

Naturally, Xie An accepted the favor.

He had little left over to begin with; saving even a little was worthwhile.

"By the way, a Health Cultivation Master will come to the martial arts school to teach in a month. You only need two taels of silver to sit in on the lessons. Old Xie, do you want to come?"

"I'll think about it."

By the time he returned to the small room in the rear courtyard of the pawnshop, the sky was already bright.

Xie An shut the door, carried a small brazier out from the corner, and lit the fire to boil the medicine.

While the medicine simmered, Xie An began practicing the Health Cultivation Technique.

Chen He's final words inevitably surfaced in his mind.

"My progress in the Health Cultivation Technique has clearly slowed down a lot lately. Besides lacking medicinal supplements, could it also be that I'm practicing incorrectly?"

The Health Cultivation Technique looked simple, but it was not easy to practice it to the required level.

Although he could slowly improve his progress by working himself to the bone, if he used the wrong method, the progress would inevitably be too slow, and he could easily take many unnecessary detours.

If he had a Health Cultivation Master to offer him some guidance, working himself to the bone would undoubtedly produce twice the results with half the effort.

It was the same with the art of appraising objects. An ordinary apprentice trying to feel his way forward alone might not accomplish anything even after ten years. If he could receive Xie An's guidance, he would make tremendous progress in two or three years.

"Looks like I'll have to spend those two taels to sit in."

As he spoke, the medicine finished boiling.

Dragging his exhausted body along, Xie An drank three large bowls of Qi Generating Soup and was instantly struck dumb.

Buzz!

The warm current in his lower abdomen had actually been injected with a stimulant. It began expanding wildly...