After leaving, Su Chen went to the Martial Hall, but he didn't see Hong Ming. Hong Ming had gone out on business and probably wouldn't be back for a while.
When Li Mo heard what had happened to the Fang Family caravan, he took a long look at Su Chen when they met. Only after making sure he was all right did he finally relax.
Then he dragged Su Chen into a sparring match, only to end up getting a shock himself.
He hadn't expected Su Chen, who was never at the Martial Hall to train, to be just as proficient in Iron Wire Fist as he was. He couldn't help exclaiming that Su Chen had astonishing talent.
Su Chen gave a wry smile, but didn't explain.
Li Mo still didn't know that he had already broken through. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let out just one exclamation, but two.
After saying goodbye to Li Mo, Su Chen found a tavern and ate. Once he was full and satisfied, he went home.
As soon as he reached his front door, he saw the landlord posting something on it. Before he could get a good look, the landlord spotted him.
"Su Chen, you're back at just the right time. I need to tell you something: move out tomorrow."
The landlord looked at Su Chen and spoke. Only then did Su Chen realize the notice on the door was telling him to move out.
"Old Xu, if I remember correctly, I've rented this house for less than two months, but I paid six months' rent."
Su Chen spoke calmly.
Old Xu looked troubled. "Well, I'm afraid I can't refund your rent."
"Oh? It's all written clearly in black and white. Are you trying to welsh on the deal, Old Xu?" Su Chen's brow furrowed slightly.
Old Xu gave a wry smile. "Su Chen, it's not that I don't want to pay you back. The Long River Gang has bought this house, and they didn't give me much money. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't pay you."
"That's your problem. According to our agreement, you're breaking the contract early, so you have to pay me a penalty equal to three times the remaining rent," Su Chen said.
"I—I can't pay it!" Old Xu's face darkened as he shook his head.
"If you can't pay, I'll keep living here!" Su Chen said without the slightest courtesy.
Old Xu's expression turned gloomy. He looked at Su Chen and said in a low voice, "Suit yourself. People from the Long River Gang will come to take over the house tomorrow. Don't blame me for not warning you if you offend them."
Seeing Old Xu's attitude, Su Chen didn't even bother to respond. He went straight inside and shut the door.
Old Xu stood outside for a long time. Anger made his face turn red and then pale, and at last he snorted and walked away.
They didn't even wait until the next day. That afternoon, two members of the Long River Gang came by—the same two he'd met once before.
They also brought Old Xu along. He looked rather worse for wear, with a swollen face and bruises, as if he'd been beaten.
"Master Su, this old fellow was talking nonsense and deliberately refusing to refund your rent. We taught him a lesson for you. Here's your rent and the penalty—twenty taels in all. Keep the extra as a token of our respect. Please accept it. You can move out whenever you're free."
To Su Chen's surprise, the two hadn't come to pick a fight. They'd come to apologize, and had brought Old Xu along to apologize too.
"Fine. I'll move out within two days." Su Chen took the money, left them with that, and closed the door.
After the three had left, Su Chen went out and visited a real estate agent to look for a place.
As he searched, he noticed that houses in comparable areas had become cheaper, and there were more vacant ones, too.
After spending the whole afternoon looking, Su Chen found a fairly nice courtyard house and paid five taels to rent it for six months.
He signed a contract with the landlord, and that evening he moved into his new home with all his bags and bundles.
The new house was in a good location, with plenty of vendors and shops along the street, but it was quite far from the Martial Hall.
After moving in, Su Chen didn't feel much joy. Instead, he was somewhat exhausted.
He stayed busy until late into the night. Only after washing up did he lie down and go to sleep.
The next day, Su Chen returned the old house's key to Old Xu. On his way back, he stopped by the Martial Hall, but Hong Ming still hadn't returned.
He told Li Mo that he'd moved, then slipped back home and began studying the Medical Codex.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
For those three days, Su Chen had been reading and barely went out.
The knowledge in the Medical Codex was more complex than he'd expected. Even just reading through it would probably take a long time.
The handwriting in the notes varied. A casual flip through the book revealed five or six different hands.
That meant the Codex had been passed down through at least five or six generations of the Zhu Family. Naturally, the knowledge it contained was extensive and jumbled.
Truly mastering it would probably take decades.
Su Chen knew his own limits. Hoping to match, in a short time, the accumulated knowledge of several generations was obviously a pipe dream.
So he studied with a clear focus. Apart from the basics, he concentrated on poisons and matters related to qi and blood.
Fortunately, after his earlier studies, he could just about understand the material now. He had already taken the first step toward success.
Of course, developing poisons was still far too difficult for him at present.
In three days, he hadn't even managed to develop a simple sleeping draught, let alone a deadly poison—and that was with a reference to work from.
However, today he wasn't planning to keep studying the Codex. He had something unexpected to take care of.
The previous night, while studying the Codex, he had accidentally discovered a hidden page tucked inside it.
When he took out the paper from the concealed pocket, he found a medicine formula. Comparing the properties of the various herbs, Su Chen determined it was a formula related to qi and blood.
When he realized this, Su Chen was overjoyed.
Lately, aside from studying poisons, he had spent most of his time focusing on qi and blood.
He had hoped that studying the Codex might lead him to herbs that could increase his qi and blood.
He hadn't expected the nameless medicine formula to bring him such a delightful surprise.
So today, he planned to go to the apothecaries to buy the herbs listed in the formula and test its effects to see if they matched what he had in mind.
Su Chen set out early in the morning. Since he had already memorized the formula, he went to several different apothecaries to buy the ingredients.
As he bought the herbs, he also put his knowledge to the test and discovered that one apothecary was selling inferior goods as the real thing.
Furious, Su Chen gave up on buying from that shop and went elsewhere. After winding from place to place, he had practically visited every apothecary in the city.
Still, Su Chen hadn't managed to gather all the ingredients.
"I'm only missing one herb: Red Blood Grass. There's one more apothecary up ahead, but it's rather out of the way. I wonder if they have any."
Su Chen felt helpless. Red Blood Grass was simply too hard to find. Many apothecaries either didn't carry it or had sold out.
Soon, Su Chen arrived at the apothecary. He went inside and got straight to the point. "Do you have any Red Blood Grass?"
The apprentice replied, "There's only one stalk left."
"Fine, bring it out."
No one showed up to compete with Su Chen for the last stalk of Red Blood Grass.
After paying the required amount, Su Chen had finally gathered the last ingredient.
When he got home, Su Chen began preparing the formula according to its proportions. A hint of nervousness showed on his face. "I hope it works on the first try!"
Before you continue