Medicinal Bath Without a Tub

"Martial Spirit Incense has all been handed out. You can all leave." Wu Shan waved a hand, his gaze falling on a figure bending over to pick up a spearhead. "Xie Kuang, you stay behind. Clean up the scraps, then we'll talk about paying to replace the spear shaft."

"..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the outstanding students in the field scattered like birds and beasts. Those who had received Martial Spirit Incense could barely suppress their smiles, while those who had not—and had even insulted Jiang Qiu—flushed red and left awkwardly.

After putting away his spear, Jiang Qiu lowered his head to look at the two portions of Martial Spirit Incense in his left palm. Suddenly, a figure blocked part of the daylight falling into his eyes. "Don't use both portions the first time you use Martial Spirit Incense. It's better to fill the water higher."

When he looked up, Wang Guanjia had already clicked shut the adjacent weapons cabinet and turned to leave.

"Don't use two portions the first time?"

Jiang Qiu murmured as he watched his back, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Then he silently turned to another weapons cabinet. Liu Zili happened to push its handle shut, brushed aside the loose strands of hair by her face with her right hand, and ran over. "Congratulations. You got Martial Spirit Incense in your first month—and two portions, at that."

"Mm."

Jiang Qiu was about to speak when the tugging sensation from his left ribs gently pulled apart his thoughts. "Xie Kuang's spearhead grazed past here just now. It probably injured your flesh and bones, right? Those diamond-shaped spearheads have very strong penetrating power..."

A cut on Liu Zili's fair left arm was still vividly red. Her fingertips pinched the torn corner of his black shirt, while her other hand pulled out a roll of gauze from her pocket. Then she froze. "Eh?"

The tear in the black shirt gaped open like a wolf's mouth. Beneath his armpit, a narrow slit two inches long resembled the back of a hand cut by cogon grass, squeezing out two or three crimson beads of blood.

There was no imagined wound deep enough to expose flesh and bone.

"You've already developed Copper Skin?"

Liu Zili blinked. The corner of his shirt slipped out of her grasp and swung back, while the gauze she had pulled out was slowly pushed back into her pocket.

"Mm. Xie Kuang's spearhead was sharp, but it had already lost most of its force by the time it flew over, so the damage wasn't serious." Jiang Qiu nodded and strolled toward the door. "But if his spear shaft hadn't broken and he'd forcibly steadied that thrust, I might have ended up at the school hospital."

"Alright, then he might've ended up in the emergency room." Liu Zili walked slowly beside him, revealing bright teeth and bright eyes as though the tide had receded from sand. "With such high talent in spear technique and body tempering, once you use Martial Spirit Incense for the first time, you'll definitely make a huge leap. Maybe you'll have a chance to catch up to Li Juefeng before the college entrance exams."

"I will."

One tall and one short, the two figures stepped into the sunset as usual, crossing the campus stone path and leaving.

Creak—

Pushing open the door to the little brick house, Jiang Qiu clutched the two reagent bottles and hurried into the entryway, then pushed open the bathroom door with another tap.

His gaze swept around the room. A towel frayed in the middle like a fishing net, several clothes hangers bent out of shape, a chipped bar of soap, a faded blue washbasin at the bottom...

There was no bathtub.

The hot blood that had surged to the top of his head ebbed away in an instant. Jiang Qiu pulled out the large basin used for laundry, touched its rim with his fingers, and fell silent for a long while. "Can I fit inside this?"

"I should just go out and buy a wooden tub. I have two thousand in cash and four thousand in my balance. That should be enough."

Creak—

The little brick house's door shut again. Jiang Qiu stepped out with his chest raised, clutching a wrinkled roll of red banknotes, hope in his eyes.

"Ah, you want the kind of big tub that can hold a person? No, we don't have those. Those things aren't useful for much anyway. Who would sell them? If you want one, go check the districts up ahead. You might find one."

"What about a bathtub?"

"Whoa, you want to buy a bathtub too? The big mall in our Eighth District has them, but even without the installation fee, they cost several thousand. Hardly anyone in the Eighth Commoner District installs one. I don't have one myself. You're so young—don't always be thinking about enjoying yourself. Spare a thought for your parents."

"Thanks for your time."

As he stepped out of a small supermarket, the cold wind of sunset lifted the torn corner of Jiang Qiu's black shirt over his left ribs. Brass-colored skin flickered into view, with a long strip of blood scab tightly stuck to it.

Clutching the two portions of Martial Spirit Incense in his palm, his clear black eyes happened to reflect two worlds, one tall and one short.

The main road around the district split them in two. To the right, apartment buildings competed in height and splendor, while several rays of dusk light spilling through landed upon the low brick houses to the left.

"The Outer City Ninth District has more than ten li of roads in each district. With so many supermarkets and shops along the way, I probably won't finish walking through them tonight."

Jiang Qiu shook his head, turned into Eighth Shanty Town, and once more threw himself into the embrace of the houses' shadows, lowering his head into the glow of his phone screen.

[Smart Bathtub]

[23,999 yuan]

[Porcelain Bathtub]

[6,599 yuan]

[]

[Wooden Bathtub]

[1,888 yuan]

[]

[Portable Plastic Bathtub]

[999 yuan]

After pausing for a long time, his thumb fell onto the final item once more. On the order page that popped up, a line of small text was etched deep into Jiang Qiu's pupils—

[Sorry, due to inconvenient transportation, this product currently cannot be delivered to Outer City shanty towns.]

Tap, tap, tap.

A series of heavy, powerful footsteps scattered Jiang Qiu's thoughts. He abruptly raised his head and looked over.

In the distance, a girl with short hair hanging to her shoulders happened to turn out from another narrow alley. The sleeve of her black shirt had slipped down her arm, and her delicate, lotus-root-like hands supported a large wooden tub bound with planks at an angle.

"Miss, that's a pretty big tub. Need help carrying it for a while?"

The bun shop owner happened to catch this strikingly mismatched scene. He casually wiped his flour-white hands on his grimy black apron and made as if to head out and help.

That little girl was all skin and bones, while the wooden barrel was as big as one of those ancient ceramic vats used to collect rainwater. Who knew what her family needed it for, making her carry something so heavy all by herself?

"It's not heavy, it's not heavy. No need to trouble yourself, sir. Do you know where Jiang Qiu lives?"

Dimples appeared at the corners of Liu Zili's lips, her pearly teeth gleaming against her flour-pale face.

The bun shop owner curled his lip. "Jiang Qiu? He's right behind you."

"Hm?" Liu Zili turned around. The round almond eyes of hers caught the glow of the setting sun. "Jiang Qiu, do you need a barrel?"

The moment their eyes met, Jiang Qiu's steps suddenly slowed, and his index finger twitched upward.

Didn't she go home?

That barrel...

Does her family sell barrels too?

Jiang Qiu hurried forward. The girl holding up the huge wooden barrel stood right in the gap of the sunset, one side of her smiling face bathed in warm light.

That's great!

No need to take leave tomorrow and search through the previous Outer City districts!

The wooden barrel, weighing dozens of pounds, landed on the concrete with a thud. Delighted, he pulled out a roll of cash from his pocket. "Thank you. How much is this?"

"Ah, no money needed. Um, no—that is, this barrel isn't for sale." Liu Zili waved her little hands like a fan. The explanation she had been preparing in her heart finally squeezed out between her lips. "My family only has this one barrel too. My dad brought it home from his work unit before. We still use it normally, so it isn't for sale.

I just thought that very few households on these dozen or so streets have a barrel this big, and you just received two portions of Martial Spirit Incense, so you might need it. That's why I brought it over."

"Then let's count it as a rental. These two hundred..." Jiang Qiu was lowering his head to pull two bills from the roll of red notes when hurried footsteps sounded. By the time he looked up, Liu Zili had already hopped away like a startled rabbit, waving goodbye over her shoulder. "No need! The barrel isn't worth much. Just return it when you're done!"

Jiang Qiu was left alone beside the wooden barrel, which stood as high as his chest. Silently, he tucked the red bills back into his pocket.

Not far away, the bun shop owner watched the two part ways. With his hands on his hips, he muttered as he retreated into his shop, unable to stop himself from sighing, "I'm getting old... Watching young people give each other a barrel is enough to make my scalp tingle."