Shadow in the Desolate House

Jiang Liu pushed open the gate to the desolate house's courtyard. Just as he was about to enter, a figure suddenly sprang out from within, throwing a punch straight at his head! Jiang Liu instinctively raised both hands to block and kicked forward with his right foot!

Bang! Crack! Two sounds rang out! The shadow had not expected Jiang Liu to react so quickly. After taking a kick to the thigh, he hurriedly darted out through the gate and vanished like a wisp of smoke. By the time Jiang Liu came back to his senses, the man was nowhere to be found.

Hiss! Jiang Liu shook his aching hands. That man was quite strong—he was probably a martial artist too! Since when had Flowing Cloud Alley gotten a martial artist? I've never heard of anyone training at a Martial Hall!

Everyone living in Flowing Cloud Alley was a laborer or servant! Where would they get the silver to practice martial arts? At most, there were a few hooligans who were a little better at fighting than ordinary people. There were no martial artists at all!

What secret did this desolate house hold? Jiang Liu entered the courtyard and, by the moonlight, saw a chaotic pile of clothes strewn across the ground. Was that person living here?

No, that was not right. If he lived here, he should have put his clothes away. Why would they be tossed about so carelessly?

Suppressing the questions in his heart, Jiang Liu withdrew from the desolate house. He walked toward home with his head lowered, cautiously glancing around as he went. Even when he passed his own door, he did not stop and simply continued onward.

Not far from Jiang Liu, a shadow was watching him. It was the very same shadow who had attacked him earlier. "Find out who he is. Send someone to test him tomorrow! How did he find this place? It took great effort to find this spot—we can't let it be exposed just like that!" Shadow muttered to himself.

Shadow followed Jiang Liu all the way, while Jiang Liu headed toward the Southern District! Judging by his clothes, this man did not seem like someone who lived in South City.

Besides, why would someone living in South City come all the way to West City? And happen to enter our hideout? No, this brat was putting on an act! He definitely lived in West City!

Cloud Sun City was divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north! The south was home to wealthy merchants and gentry, the north to high officials and nobles, the west mostly to laborers, servants, and poor families, while government offices stood in rows throughout the east.

Jiang Liu had kept walking toward South City only out of his usual caution. He had no idea someone was tailing him. He merely felt a sense of discomfort, though he did not know whether it was the instinct of a martial artist brought about by entering the Fierce Tiger Fist.

The moment he entered South City, a bustling breath of worldly life washed over him. It was unlike the Western District, where the air everywhere carried the strange stench of piss and shit. The fragrance of wine and food mingled with the scent of rouge, drifting over on the breeze.

Many wealthy merchants lived in South City. Restaurants, inns, and brothels lined the streets; food, drink, pleasure, and entertainment could all be found here. As long as one had silver, there was no need to fear not finding something to enjoy.

Jiang Liu had rarely wandered around so late before. First, he had no money. Second, he had no time.

Jiang Liu strolled east and west until the curfew drums sounded, only then thinking of heading home. The shadow following behind him suffered miserably. Bastard! Just wait and see how you die later! Shadow muttered, spitting fiercely onto the ground.

Jiang Liu made his way into the Western District. That uncomfortable feeling still had not faded. Taking advantage of the pitch-black night, he flashed into an alley.

When Shadow behind him saw Jiang Liu disappear, he grew anxious. No longer caring about concealing himself, he hurried after him.

Watching from the darkness, Jiang Liu saw that someone really was following him! Good thing he had been cautious enough. But who was this person? Why was he so relentless about finding out who Jiang Liu was?

Unable to find him, Shadow could only mutter to himself and leave.

Jiang Liu watched the shadow gradually move farther away. He considered whether to follow, but in the end, he felt his strength was insufficient and that he could not act rashly.

He carefully returned home. He had wasted so much time tonight that he only had enough time to practice the Fierce Tiger Fist once. Tomorrow, he would speak with Doctor An Yuan. He should be allowed to help learn how to decoct medicine.

"Doctor, I want to learn to help decoct medicine. Is that alright? It'll make it easier for me to remember what I've learned!" Jiang Liu said to Doctor An Yuan with an earnest expression.

"You want to learn to decoct medicine so soon? Have you memorized the Complete Compendium of Medicinal Herbs?" Doctor An Yuan looked up at his words.

"I've already memorized nearly half of it. If I learn while helping decoct medicine and see more of it, it'll be easier to remember," Jiang Liu said.

"Oh! You've memorized half of it so quickly? Then let's do this: memorize books in the mornings, and follow along with the medicine decocting in the afternoons! Little Liu, take Jiang Liu with you when you decoct medicine." Doctor An Yuan turned and called to the senior apprentice, Zhang Liu.

"Alright, Doctor! I'll keep an eye on Jiang Liu," Zhang Liu replied without turning his head.

That afternoon, Jiang Liu followed Zhang Liu to the medicine-decocting room. As they walked, Zhang Liu introduced it to him. "We generally do not help people decoct medicine. It's only because some people find it inconvenient, or do not feel safe decocting it at home, that they come here to have it done!"

"The medicine we decoct and sell ourselves is made into pills! Those are handled by people specially assigned to do it. What I'm teaching you now is how to decoct medicine for customers. You must pay attention to the proportions of each ingredient, and you must control the heat properly. Otherwise, what you decoct will become poison."

"Understood, Senior Brother!" Jiang Liu said respectfully.

"Mhm! Study diligently. The Doctor is letting you learn medicine decocting so quickly, so he must think highly of you. Don't let down the Doctor's painstaking care." Zhang Liu looked at Jiang Liu with envy.

Back then, I had to memorize books for a whole year and suffer no small hardship before I could learn to decoct medicine! Jiang Liu had only been here a few days, yet he was already learning it. Why was the gap between people so enormous?

"Actually, there is no great trick to this sort of work. Practice makes perfect, that is all. You only need to remember the prescription ratios and the properties of the herbs. Never leave anything out, or it could easily lead to a serious disaster!" Zhang Liu said cautiously.

"I'll keep that firmly in mind!" Jiang Liu quickly answered.

From then on, Jiang Liu lived a regular life: memorizing the Complete Compendium of Medicinal Herbs in the morning, learning to decoct medicine in the afternoon, and practicing his fists at night. But without silver to buy medicinal soup for cultivation, he could only practice his boxing once a day. Otherwise, he would easily deplete his qi and blood.

Jiang Liu had also considered making a windfall, but when he thought of his weak strength, he did not dare go out and take risks.

Auxiliary System:

Name: Jiang Liu

Realm: Body Refinement (Skin Tempering)

Fierce Tiger Fist (Entry Grade 13/100)

Alchemy (Entry Grade 26/100)

Whew! Jiang Liu looked at the Data Panel. Ever since he had stopped taking medicinal soup, he could only practice his fist art once a day. Ten days had already passed, yet he had accumulated so little experience.

His Alchemy progress, on the other hand, was quite good. He could decoct medicine almost twice a day. After reaching Entry Grade, his proficiency in medicine decocting and his control over the heat had clearly improved greatly, making Zhang Liu endlessly envious and Doctor An Yuan repeatedly delighted.

His life was peaceful now, but he was poor. Although the pharmacy provided meals, they barely filled his stomach each day—and he was a martial artist.

If his nutrition could not keep up, his qi and blood would decline. He needed to eat large amounts of meat every day in order to continue practicing martial arts. He was not even sixteen yet, but he was already nearly 1.8 meters tall.

The muscles all over his body bulged, and his arms were almost as thick as an ordinary person's thighs. At a glance, he did not look like someone easy to provoke.

How should he earn silver? Right, had he not come here to learn Alchemy and make money? How had he put the cart before the horse? Had he simply grown too comfortable here? But how could he earn money by refining medicine for others? Pharmacies were everywhere around here. He should first find out the prices.

P.S.: Weapon grades: weapons that had not entered a grade were collectively known as ordinary weapons. Entry Grades corresponded to martial artist ranks. Anything above Grade Nine was called Special Grade. Special Grade was further divided into lower, middle, and upper grades.