Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup?!
Su Mu's eyes lit up, and joy surged in his heart. For days, he'd been thinking that once he'd built up enough strength in his body, he'd go to the Black Market and see if he could buy a prescription. The Body Strengthening Soup sold at the Medicine Shop was simply too expensive.
Today, Su Mu had only come to visit Zhou Shan. Zhou Shan had always treated him well and had even taught him the art of forging. In short, Su Mu had come with no ulterior motive.
Yet he hadn't expected that after seeing him practice Five Animal Frolics, Zhou Shan would give him a prescription he'd been yearning for day and night.
"Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup. An improved version of the Body Strengthening Soup prescription created by the renowned physician Hua Sheng's lineage. Besides promoting the flow of qi and blood and soothing the muscles and bones, long-term use can also improve one's constitution to a certain degree, as well as sharpen the eyesight and hearing... Hence the name Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup."
It didn't just have the effects of ordinary Body Strengthening Soup; it could also improve one's constitution and sharpen the eyesight and hearing!
Su Mu's heart burned with excitement. If the description was accurate, this Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup was surely worth far more than ordinary Body Strengthening Soup. And according to Master Zhou, buying the ingredients himself and following the prescription would make it much cheaper.
The day Su Mu had asked about prescriptions, one Medicine Shop had discreetly quoted him a price of one hundred taels. If an ordinary Body Strengthening Soup prescription was worth a hundred taels, this Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup had to be worth at least several hundred taels of silver, if not more!
Besides, Su Mu had also come to a realization.
Ever since Wu Heng of the Black Tiger Gang had come to his door with his men, Su Mu had been puzzled. Wu Heng had claimed he'd held back, but Su Mu had felt the powerful strength behind his attack.
Several masters who'd tried to help had been sent tumbling away. It was clear that palm strike had been anything but as light as Wu Heng claimed.
But how had Zhou Shan, an ordinary man, recovered so quickly after taking a blow infused with the strength of a Qi Refining Martial Artist?
Now Su Mu understood.
"It's this Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup..."
Its long-term use could improve one's constitution to a certain degree. That was probably the reason.
If it had such an astonishing effect on Master Zhou, who didn't practice martial arts, what kind of marvelous results could it have for a martial artist like him?
For a moment, Su Mu's breathing grew ragged. His estimate of several hundred taels had surely been far too low.
The next day, Su Mu asked to copy down the prescription and then returned the Parchment Scroll. Zhou Shan had woken early and was still somewhat dazed. He couldn't quite remember why he'd given Su Mu the scroll the day before.
But he'd already given it away. How could he take it back?
Zhou Shan waved his hand. "That Parchment Scroll isn't worth much anyway. Besides, I've already memorized everything on it. I couldn't forget it if I tried. You can keep the scroll, but don't pass it on to anyone else."
"Yes, Master Zhou. I certainly won't share it with anyone."
Su Mu thanked him solemnly.
Zhou Shan looked puzzled, unsure why Su Mu was being so serious. In his eyes, the prescription wasn't anything precious, just an ordinary one.
Besides, drinking too much of the soup made your whole body feel hot and uncomfortable. Zhou Shan only bought a few doses each winter.
After finishing a full day of forging, Su Mu could barely contain his excitement as he left the Iron Shop. To avoid drawing the attention of anyone with designs on him, he didn't visit the Medicine Shop where he usually bought Body Strengthening Soup. Instead, he deliberately went to a different one to buy the ingredients.
"What can I get for you, young man?"
Su Mu immediately recited a list of ingredients. With each one he named, the Pharmacy Apprentice opened the corresponding drawer and took some out. Before long, he'd gathered everything.
"That'll be one thousand eight hundred and nine coins. I can waive the odd nine. We've just received a batch of pretty good wild ginseng. Would you like some?" The Pharmacy Apprentice had noticed that most of the ingredients were for nourishing qi and blood, so he tried to sell him some wild ginseng.
Su Mu shook his head, paid, then turned and left with the ingredients. His face lit up with delight, and he couldn't help muttering to himself.
"Sure enough, medicine is a hugely profitable business in any world..."
According to the amounts listed in the Parchment Scroll, the ingredients he'd bought today were enough to make three doses of soup, with several ingredients left over. The next time he bought supplies, he could leave those out or shop at a different Medicine Shop. That way, no one would learn the prescription's proportions.
In the end, each dose cost only half a tael of silver—exactly half the price of the ready-made soup sold by the Medicine Shop.
"I just wonder how effective this Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup is."
Full of anticipation, Su Mu returned to Dongbian Village and immediately set about brewing the medicine. The ingredients for Body Strengthening Soup weren't complicated to prepare, but since this was his first time, he followed every step to the letter.
"One qian of sliced Solomon's seal, two qian of red-leaf flower... grind the poria into powder, then simmer for an hour."
Once the ingredients were prepared, the rest was simple. He only had to add them to the clay pot in batches and simmer them for the specified times.
Su Mu wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Seems easy enough?"
Before long, the medicine in the clay pot came to a boil, and a richer herbal fragrance than that of ordinary Body Strengthening Soup filled the room. Su Mu's nostrils flared, and his anticipation for the Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup grew.
An hour later, Su Mu lifted the lid. He swallowed as he looked at the pot of ink-black soup. It looked far thicker than the decoction made from the ready-made medicinal powder sold by the Medicine Shop.
At the same time, its bitter herbal smell was much stronger—so pungent that it stung his nose.
Su Mu frowned several times and sucked in a sharp breath. Then he took several deep breaths where he stood before finally gathering the courage to ladle out a bowl.
Gulp, gulp—
The first rush of enthusiasm quickly faded.
Su Mu tipped back his head and gulped down a bowl of Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup. Before his body and taste buds had time to react, he strode out into the courtyard and began practicing Five Animal Frolics and Tiger Subduing Fist.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Su Mu's body swayed in motion, his spine undulating like a great fish, his arms cutting through the air with a whoosh. He moved into position with practiced ease, starting with the Crouching Tiger stance. Then came the tiger's roar, the tiger's claw—each movement flowed smoothly into the next.
After performing the thirteen forms of Tiger Frolic just once, Su Mu could feel the Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup taking effect. Though the early-spring night was still filled with howling cold wind, Su Mu wore only thin clothes, yet warmth spread through his body as if he were bathing in the midday sun.
"The medicinal effect is incredible... at least twice as strong as ordinary Body Strengthening Soup!"
Five Animal Frolics (Great Accomplishment 18%)
Tiger Subduing Fist (Beginner 25%)
It was early morning before Su Mu finally let out a breath and stopped practicing. After training all night, both Five Animal Frolics and Tiger Subduing Fist had improved. Things had gone much as he'd estimated.
A single night had brought such a rise in proficiency. The Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup really was twice as effective as the ordinary kind sold by the Medicine Shop, perhaps even more than twice as effective.
Once he'd confirmed this, Su Mu's eyes lit up. With Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup, his training speed would surely far surpass what it had been before. What's more, he'd be able to halve his future spending on medicine.
"With effects that let me get twice the results for half the effort, this Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup is worth a thousand taels of silver!"
He'd spent the entire night training, yet Su Mu didn't feel very tired. Strength circulated through his body, leaving him full of energy.
In the days that followed, Su Mu devoted himself to forging weapons by day and training by night. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
Sizzle, sizzle.
Su Mu plunged the red-hot long saber into a bucket of water. Hearing it hiss, he couldn't help feeling nervous.
This was the final tempering. It was time to see what he'd accomplished this month.
Taking a deep breath, Su Mu used the iron tongs to pull the saber from the bucket.
As the blade emerged, a cold glint flickered across it. Its edge was sharp and smooth, and water slid cleanly from the blade. For a moment, Su Mu felt dazed.
Nearly a month of memories flashed before his eyes: Li Xiaohu and the late Sun Li hauling in two baskets of iron ore, over ten days of hammering and folding, and now, at last, the cold, gleaming long saber in front of him.
Su Mu's steady hands gripping the tongs suddenly began to tremble.
Forging (Great Accomplishment 1%)
At that moment, inspiration struck. As Su Mu finished forging his first long saber, his Forging skill broke through from Minor Accomplishment to Great Accomplishment.
A warm current formed in his abdomen and flowed through his limbs and veins. Much of the fatigue from a day of forging vanished, and Su Mu felt subtle changes in his body. His mind suddenly grew a little clearer.
[Comprehension: 7 (Modest Potential)]
After his Forging skill reached Great Accomplishment, the Comprehension stat on Su Mu's attribute panel changed as well. His Comprehension, which had just improved a few days earlier when Tiger Subduing Fist reached Minor Accomplishment, had risen again.
"Hmm?!"
Zhou Shan, who'd been watching Su Mu, let out a startled sound. He was about to speak when someone else beat him to it, their voice filled with astonishment.
"May I have a look at this saber?"
A dark-skinned man hurried over, visibly moved. It was none other than Li Tie, the Iron Shop's shopkeeper.
At the sound of Shopkeeper Li's voice, all the blacksmiths in the workshop set down their hammers and turned to look, curiosity and confusion on their faces.
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