Yesterday (Part 1)

Carefully take out a small piece of the ointment and weigh it.

Zhang Rongfang sprinkled some sugar on the surface to adjust the flavor, and then prepared some water.

He picked up the ointment and popped it into his mouth.

A cool, sweet taste with a hint of pear aroma fills the entire mouth.

After chewing it a few times, I swallowed it.

"Hmm, it tastes pretty good."

Zhang Rongfang pondered for a moment, then looked at Chen Han beside him.

"I'd like to trouble you, Brother Chen, to keep watch outside the door."

"Yes." Chen Han nodded, quickly walked outside the courtyard, closed the door, and guarded the surroundings.

This is the Chen Xiang Temple.

It used to be an abandoned Daoist Temple with rumors of being haunted, and no one ever came here on weekdays.

Only now, after the renovation, do a few tourists occasionally come to watch the excitement and stroll around.

But those people only wandered around the front temple and wouldn't rudely rush over to the Backyard.

Chen Han wasn't worried.

In the front yard, they also hired two ordinary Daoist priests to specifically greet worshippers and help with trivial matters.

Inside the courtyard at this time.

Zhang Rongfang closed his eyes, feeling the plaster in his body take effect quickly. The strong medicinal smell seemed to turn into a ball of fire, rapidly igniting his entire stomach and intestines.

The feeling was like my stomach and intestines were burning hot, but there was no pain.

He waited a little while before opening the Attribute Panel.

'You've taken your medication; you should be able to begin now.'

At this moment, in the Attribute Panel, the plus sign next to the line belonging to the Golden Toad Skill flickered slightly a few times before quickly returning to normal.

Zhang Rongfang focused his attention and clicked the plus sign three times in a row.

Swish swish swish.

With three consecutive taps of the plus sign.

Two points each time, all six attribute points disappear.

In an instant, the stomach and intestines, which had previously been just scalding hot, became stinging after the addition of the hot oil.

It felt as if I had drunk boiling water in one gulp.

Zhang Rongfang's skin quickly turned red.

Pfft! He couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood that surged up from his throat.

Blood mixed with saliva fell to the ground, and it was bright red.

Before the intense pain had subsided, a flood of memories of arduous training rushed into his mind.

That was a period of arduous self-cultivation involving taking medicine day and night, measured in years.

It's all memories of practicing the Golden Toad Skill, where I didn't even sleep and had to take medicine every so often.

Fortunately, Zhang Rongfang was already used to this kind of memory.

The excruciating pain lasted for more than ten minutes.

Zhang Rongfang vomited blood continuously, as if it were free.

His digestive system is being torn apart, reassembled, and grown into a completely different structure from that of ordinary people, as the Attribute Points accelerate.

Finally, another ten minutes or so passed.

The vomiting of blood stopped.

The excruciating pain stopped.

In the Attribute Panel, the Golden Toad Skill gradually became clearer.

The state within the parentheses has changed from the Hidden Moon Second Layer to the third level of the Hidden Moon.

But these were not Zhang Rongfang's biggest concerns.

What he cares about most is his health points.

'Zhang Rongfang – Life 37-37.'

"It's four o'clock again! This is driving me crazy!"

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sighed deeply.

It dropped from 41 to 37. The changes weren't just limited to that; there were also significant changes throughout the body.

"My heart... it doesn't feel right."

Zhang Rongfang's expression was solemn as he carefully sensed his entire body.

The continuous drop in his health points made him acutely aware that a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

This is a sign that the Heart Force can no longer sustain the body's energy expenditure.

"This is troublesome. It seems we must restore our health as soon as possible."

He glanced at the blood splattered on the ground in front of him, and slowly stood up.

But as soon as I stood up straight, I felt a slight dizziness wash over me.

"Now I'm really weak and frail." Only now did Zhang Rongfang truly realize the trouble caused by not having enough life points.

He was different from other martial arts practitioners after all.

Putting aside the stack of martial arts skills, all of which were forcibly boosted by life points to reach this level, he was able to achieve this level of skill.

Even though he had already reached the Ninth Grade, the fact that he continued to train until the eleventh rank was a much greater burden than that of an ordinary martial artist.

After stabilizing his body, Zhang Rongfang smiled wryly, knowing that he had to pause for a while and wait for his health points to recover before he could continue improving his Golden Toad Skill.

Otherwise, "Daozi, what are you doing?!" Chen Han smelled the blood, rushed in, saw the bloodstains on the ground, and was immediately shocked and rushed over.

"It's nothing, I just strained my breathing during practice and some stagnant blood came out of my internal organs. I feel much better now." Zhang Rongfang smiled. "It looks scary, but it will be fine after a few days of rest."

Chen Han looked at the pool of blood on the ground, which was almost the size of a washbasin. Such a large amount of blood, and it was bruised, didn't look like bruising at all.

But then he took a closer look at Zhang Rongfang's face.

To everyone's surprise, Daozi's complexion was rosy, and there was no sign of blood deficiency.

"Daozi, may I take your pulse?"

Why not?

Zhang Rongfang extended his hand, allowing the doctor to take his pulse.

Chen Han closed his eyes and carefully sensed.

"Your heart pulse is slightly weak, but your blood and qi are perfectly fine. You definitely need to rest and recuperate."

He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming the symptoms.

After all, Zhang Rongfang's demeanor was rather intimidating.

"I told you it was nothing, right?" Zhang Rongfang smiled.

"Then Daozi, please rest assured in the temple. If there is anything you would like to eat, just let me know, and I will arrange for someone to purchase it," Chen Han said in a deep voice.

"I know, thank you for your hard work," Zhang Rongfang said helplessly. Chen Han was becoming more and more like an old woman.

Once he was sure there was no problem, Chen Han left to arrange for some heart-nourishing porridge.

Zhang Rongfang didn't try to be brave; he actually rested properly inside the Chen Xiang Temple.

This time, because his heart was under too much strain, he dared not move an inch, for fear that he would die from a ruptured heart like Han Shisan did back then.

Time flies by in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Rongfang stayed in the temple for a full month.

Seven attribute points were added, all of which were directly added to health.

In one fell swoop, his life was restored from 37 to 44.

Only then did he feel that his heart condition had improved a lot.

But this experience made him realize that life, though seemingly insignificant, is the core and engine of all his martial arts skills.

If one's life force is insufficient, it will cause all the martial arts skills in the body to become a heavy burden, and if one is not careful, the heart will rupture.

In fact, there is another option for improving one's life.

That would directly enhance Civilian Skill, Supreme Bright Void Skill.

However, judging from the Heavenly Maiden's message, Zhang Rongfang still did not choose to improve his Civilian Skill.

It seems that the Token of the Great Dao Sect have the function of monitoring the main cultivation method.

He also considered taking on another Civilian Skill.

But Civilian Skill and martial skills are different.

This is the meticulous, painstaking process of refining the Essence, Qi, and Spirit of the entire body. Reaching the Golden Core Nascent Soul and Nascent Soul stages involves condensing the Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and spirit of the entire body into a single point, forming a holistic network around that point.

He has already condensed the Nascent Soul of the Great Dao Sect's Civilian Skill. If he wants to Civilian Skill, he can only disperse his cultivation and start over, rebuilding a new Nascent Soul network.

This is completely counterproductive. It's such a huge waste.

So it's better to just add more health. That would be safer.

Although it wastes some attributes, it's absolutely safe.

After all, even other Civilian Skill may be subject to surveillance.

But the innate Life Attribute are different.

At this point, the Golden Toad Skill's Hidden Moon level was perfected. It could now achieve a speed of one attribute point every four days.

This made Zhang Rongfang even happier.

In this way, as long as he honestly serves in Citong for a month, he will gain seven attribute points.

You can get 42 points in half a year.

By then, what martial arts skill wouldn't I be able to master? Thinking about it this way, the excruciating pain and blood I had vomited earlier became insignificant.

Unfortunately, after the Hidden Moon is perfected, the Main Herb needed for the second stage of the Golden Toad Skill — Sun Chasing —is really hard to find this time.

***Late March.

The New Year has just passed, and the inner ring of Citong is littered with firecracker casings scattered around after the holiday.

Children of various eye and hair colors chased and hit each other with bamboo poles, imitating military battles.

The girls changed into pretty, thin short skirts and short-sleeved shirts in advance, and some even wore only tube tops and shorts, and wandered around the streets.

Many sailors and boatmen also began to open their shirts, revealing the curved swords and money bags at their waists, and frequently went in and out of taverns, teahouses, Music Tower and brothels.

At this time, in the bay of Citong.

At the port, large ships were moored close to the Dock, waiting for laborers to load goods onto them.

More than a dozen laborers, shirtless, used thick hemp ropes and towels to pad their sweat, towed spacious carts, pulling loads of wooden crates to the loading point.

The cart was loaded with all sorts of goods, including a huge Blue and White Porcelain vase that was over three meters tall.

The scene included gilded, intricately detailed Statue the size of elephants, gold and silver artifacts the size of washbasins, and cartloads of neatly arranged colorful brocades.

At this moment, not far from the port, on a stretch of coastline unsuitable for unloading or loading cargo.

Zhang Rongfang Daoist Robe with black and white Taiji Diagram embroidered on the cuffs and edges of the robe.

She wore Silver Thread jade hairpin and tied her long black hair into a topknot.

Although he was tall and muscular, his outfit, combined with the beard he had grown, gave him the aura of a Daoist practitioner.

Chen Han was right behind him, along with four Da Ling Soldiers Guardian Teaching Office.

After all, he was Subordinate Third Rank official.

In the entire Citong, apart from the Prefect and the Magistrate who were of equal rank to him, all other officials were expected to treat him with the respect due to a subordinate.

Therefore, Zhang Rongfang not only had his official wife's bodyguards, but also her Mansion and government office.

It's just that the White Ten Sect is now behaving itself, and the Rebel Sect is all its own people.

With the weather calm and peaceful in Citong, his job as Guardian became a leisurely one.

Not long ago, the Snow Rainbow Pavilion's investigation team also arrived in Citong.

But this so-called investigation team only went through the motions, arresting a group of death row inmates and beheading them to take the blame before quietly leaving.

There was no accountability for Zhang Rongfang, the deputy, nor was there a specific investigation into how the princess disappeared.

Even the wanted notice for the murderer, Taijing Zi, was just for show; a few notices were posted and then it was over. This relieved Zhang Rongfang, but he also vaguely suspected that Taijing Zi was probably not simple. However, since none of this concerned him, he could continue to recuperate and accumulate strength.

Standing on the shore, Zhang Rongfang gazed at the bustling scene at the Dock.

He sighed softly.

"Live Mystic Sun Flesh Fungus. This kind of thing might have been plentiful a hundred years ago, but now, I'm afraid no one has even heard of it."