Parchment Scroll, Prescription

After Wu Heng left with two Black Tiger Gang members, the courtyard was filled with worried faces.

"Shopkeeper Li, you can't pay that. Sun Li can't be that plague god's nephew—they're clearly using him as an excuse to extort us."

Li Tie stared at the token embedded in the ground and fell silent. The blacksmiths in the shop were ordinary men, even if years of hammering had given them strength beyond most.

But they were no match for true Martial Artists. And Wu Heng was just a hall master of the Black Tiger Gang. Never mind the other hall masters—above him was an even stronger gang leader.

Nor had Li Tie forgotten that the Black Tiger Gang was the biggest gang in Qingshui Town, with a good fifty men under its banner, backed by some lord in Qingyun County.

Thinking this through, Li Tie let out a long sigh, then turned to the others.

"Everyone, don't worry. Go back to forging. Let me think this over in the next couple of days."

The men wanted to argue, but no solution came to mind, so they returned to the forge with simmering anger.

Back in the forge, Su Mu felt a pang of guilt. He knew the Black Tiger Gang would have found another excuse even without the Sun Li incident, but it still involved him.

And Zhou Shan was the master who taught Su Mu forging. Wu Heng's attack on him today couldn't just be let go.

But Su Mu was still too weak to help. He knew better than to act rashly—he could only file this away in his heart.

So like the other blacksmiths, Su Mu poured all his fury into hammering iron. That afternoon, the clang of metal in the forge was deafening.

Under Su Mu's thousands of daily strikes over the past fortnight, the impurities in the dark iron ore were beaten out piece by piece, revealing a metallic sheen as the ore slowly refined into steel.

"Time for the next step."

Su Mu's eyes sharpened. Hammer blow after hammer blow, he forged the iron into a long strip, then shaped it into the rough outline of a blade. Once the basic form was done, he used cutting tools to refine it.

Though this was his first time forging a weapon, he had memorized every technique Zhou Shan taught him over the past half year and watched Zhou Shan and the other old blacksmiths at work.

By the end of the afternoon, the refined iron had taken shape, the rough form of a long blade.

Next came the blood groove, quenching, grinding and polishing, clay coating for edge hardening, tempering, and a series of other steps.

Three days later, Wu Heng swaggered into the shop with his men and took a pouch of silver from Shopkeeper Li. Li Tie, haggard, forced himself to rally after they left.

"It's over... Don't worry, the Black Tiger Gang won't come again. Let's just forget it. We've got plenty of orders these days, so I'll need you all to work hard for a while. I'll give everyone some time off after."

"Alright, everyone, go back to forging."

At lunch break, in a corner of the yard, Li Xiaohu muttered quietly to Su Mu, "Su Mu, let me tell you, those Black Tiger Gang guys are bastards. That was straight-up robbery. If it were me, I'd fight them to the death. We could just move the shop somewhere else."

"You know that old-brand bun shop in town? Sure, his buns are expensive, but the old man's a good guy. He's always helping out orphans with no one. But yesterday, he said he fell and broke his leg. I bet the Black Tiger Gang did it..."

"And there's that tavern on the east side..."

Su Mu silently chewed on his steamed bun, listening. Between the lines, he heard ten words: The good are bullied; the wicked live forever.

"Su Mu! Su Mu, are you even listening?"

Su Mu snapped back. "Ah, Brother Li, I'm listening."

But Li Xiaohu noticed his distracted look. Annoyed, he stood up. "Hmph, forget it. Those bastards will get what's coming to them."

"Here, two buns. I can't finish them."

Su Mu glanced at the buns shoved into his hand, raised one to his mouth, then stretched out his empty left hand. An invisible force flowed through his palm.

This force was steadily growing. Now, it was enough for Su Mu to throw three full-power punches. Nurturing Force couldn't be rushed—just as a three-foot freeze takes more than a single day's cold.

Downing the two buns in a few bites, Su Mu shot to his feet. If anyone had been watching, they might have blinked—his movement was like a tiger springing.

"Done eating. Time to forge."

Forging was also training for Su Mu. Every day, he felt himself improve. The sensation of growing stronger day by day was grounding.

At dusk, Su Mu banked the forge fire and left the workshop. He first went to the Medicine Shop to buy three doses of Body Strengthening Soup, tucking them into his shirt. As he walked out, his wallet ached—three silver taels gone. Body Strengthening Soup was good stuff.

"But too expensive..."

Then he bought three catties of pork at the market and headed west through town.

At the mouth of an alley, under a big Huai Tree, a group of children were jumping rope. One of them squinted at the street and muttered hesitantly, "Hey, didn't that guy just walk really fast?"

"Nah, you're seeing things."

"Yeah?"

Su Mu carried the three catties of pork to a rundown courtyard. This was Zhou Shan's home in town. Li Xiaohu had once mentioned that Zhou Shan had a wife and daughter, but they died of a cold years ago. He never remarried and lived alone.

Hearing the knock, footsteps soon sounded inside. "Who is it?"

Creak.

The old wooden door groaned as it opened.

"Master Zhou, I came to see you."

"You're a thoughtful kid."

Zhou Shan's face softened with warmth at the sight of Su Mu, but then his eyes landed on the pork and his expression hardened. "Take this meat back."

"Master Zhou..."

"If you don't take it back, don't step into my yard."

Su Mu wanted to argue, but Zhou Shan cut him off. Dropping the meat matter, Su Mu entered the yard and asked about his injuries.

"Master Zhou, how are your injuries?"

"What's there to worry about? I'm a sturdy man—that palm strike was nothing. I mixed myself some medicinal soup these past few days, and after drinking it, I'm just about recovered."

With that, Zhou Shan lifted his shirt. Su Mu looked closely and was somewhat surprised—the injuries had indeed healed by seven or eight parts.

Afterward, Zhou Shan asked about Su Mu's progress forging weapons over the past few days. As the two chatted, the sky darkened without notice, and Su Mu even tried to offer the pork as a gift.

Zhou Shan glanced at the sky. "It's late today. Why don't you stay the night here? I'll let you taste my cooking."

"Alright, then I'll go buy some wine. Tonight, we'll have this meat to go with the drink."

Su Mu agreed on the spot. He'd learned from Shopkeeper Li that Master Zhou liked a little wine in his spare time.

"That works, but don't buy too much—just half a catty or so. I've got to head back to the shop for work tomorrow."

That evening, Zhou Shan cooked all three catties of pork Su Mu had brought, stir-frying it in the wok. Su Mu poured Zhou Shan a bowl of wine. Seeing that Su Mu hadn't poured any for himself, Zhou Shan grabbed the jug and filled a small bowl for him too.

"Come on, a real man can handle a drink or two—just don't end up like Sun Li, guzzling it down."

They clinked bowls. Zhou Shan tipped his head back and took a big gulp. Su Mu copied him and swallowed a mouthful. The next second, Su Mu felt a fiery burn in his mouth, coughed several times in a row, and his breathing grew heavier.

Zhou Shan burst out laughing. "You can't hold your liquor, kid—take it slow."

After the meal and wine, Zhou Shan got drunk and fell asleep on the bench. Seeing him sound asleep, Su Mu went to the courtyard to practice the Five Animal Frolics.

Some time later, Zhou Shan stirred on the bench and sat up groggily. He suddenly spotted Su Mu practicing boxing in the yard. Seeing Su Mu lost in his movements, Zhou Shan didn't make a sound.

Zhou Shan watched for a while, gradually becoming entranced. Su Mu's body moved with extraordinary agility, his punches a delight to behold—now a fierce tiger, now a deer, ape, bird, or crane, each one vivid and lifelike.

"What exquisite boxing!"

At the height of his absorption, Zhou Shan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Startled, Su Mu realized Zhou Shan had woken up at some point. He'd been so focused on his practice that he hadn't noticed.

"Burp... It's good to practice boxing in your spare time—strengthens the body... You wait here..." Zhou Shan let out a burp, cut his sentence short, and staggered toward the house.

Su Mu moved to help him, but Zhou Shan shook him off. "Don't help me—I'm not drunk..."

Soon, the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets came from inside. Before long, Zhou Shan emerged and handed a Parchment Scroll to Su Mu.

"Master Zhou, what's this?"

"Burp, it's a prescription passed down in my family. This is the soup I've been drinking these past few days. This formula works way better than the stuff sold at the Medicine Shops in town... Later, get a few doses of this Prescription and give it a try..."

After handing the Parchment Scroll to Su Mu, Zhou Shan burped again, walked into the house, and fell into a deep sleep.

Su Mu snapped back to his senses and swallowed. He hesitated, then opened the Parchment Scroll in his hand.

The moonlight was bright. As he unrolled the sheepskin, five large characters appeared.

Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup.