Precious Saber

Lu Chuan did not deny it. "I couldn't hide it from Master. This disciple has had decent luck these past few days and brought down quite a few prey animals. That was how I gathered enough resources to attempt the Blood Pass."

"To succeed on your first attempt at breaking through is no small feat."

Old Zheng nodded, seeming to regard Lu Chuan even more highly.

After pondering for a moment, Old Zheng pointed at the pile of Tiger Bone on the ground.

"These Tiger Bones are of excellent quality. Since you need to exchange them for funds, as your master, I will not take advantage of you. I will buy them for Fifty Taels of Silver. Are you willing?"

Fifty Taels! Lu Chuan's heart jolted.

He had asked Senior Disciple Brother Zhou to estimate them. After deducting the Tiger Bones the two of them had used, the remainder should have sold for roughly thirty or forty taels of silver. He had not expected Master Zheng to be so generous!

Clearly, Master Zheng also intended to support him.

"Master has shown me such favor. How could this disciple refuse?" Lu Chuan immediately clasped his hands in salute.

"Good." Old Zheng nodded in satisfaction, then turned and entered the room. A moment later, he returned with a palm-sized Silver Note and handed it to Lu Chuan.

"Keep the Silver Note safe. If you acquire Great Medicine or precious materials rich in qi and blood like these in the future, you may bring them to me for a look as well."

He paused and looked at Lu Chuan.

"Moreover, now that you have broken through, you can be considered to have truly stepped over the threshold of the Martial Way. If you encounter any doubts you cannot resolve in the Mountain Splitting Saber in the future, come directly to me."

"Thank you for Master's guidance! This disciple will remember it!" Lu Chuan accepted the money and hurriedly bowed.

Revealing his realm was not entirely a bad thing. At least for now, Master Zheng clearly valued him more.

After leaving the Backyard, Lu Chuan had barely reached the training grounds in the front courtyard when Zhou Ming Chuan came looking for him, a money pouch in hand.

"Junior Brother Lu! I've finally caught you."

Zhou Ming Chuan wore a smile, though he also seemed somewhat embarrassed as he handed over the pouch.

"Here. This is the money for the Tiger Bones. Count it."

Lu Chuan accepted it. It felt like around thirty taels. "Senior Brother, this is too much..."

At market price, although the Tiger Bones he had given him were good, they were only worth about twenty taels.

Zhou Ming Chuan's expression turned solemn.

"Junior Brother Lu, you went into the mountains this time specifically to take a risk for my sake. By rights, I ought to give you more..."

"But to be honest, Senior Brother is truly strapped for funds while attempting Second Qi and Blood this time... There are thirty taels of silver here. Take them first."

Then he untied the saber at his waist and presented it with both hands.

"Also, I noticed that you seemed rather interested in my saber that day, so I am giving it to you. Do not refuse."

Lu Chuan looked at the saber held out before him. It was none other than that precious saber bearing the words "Heaven Rewards Diligence"!

"How could I possibly..." Lu Chuan had intended to offer a polite refusal, but the moment his eyes landed on the saber, he could not get the words out.

He had wanted this saber for far too long. He had originally been planning to find an excuse to ask Senior Disciple Brother Zhou to sell it to him. Now, Zhou Ming Chuan was giving it to him outright!

Seeing the delight in Lu Chuan's eyes, Zhou Ming Chuan let out a breath of relief.

"It is good that Junior Brother likes it. A precious saber belongs in the hands of a righteous man—then it has truly been put to its fullest use."

With things said to this point, further refusal would only be pretentious.

Lu Chuan solemnly accepted the saber and clasped his hands. "Many thanks for Senior Brother's generous gift! I wish Senior Brother swift success in this period of closed-door cultivation—may you break through in one stroke!"

"I'll accept Junior Brother's auspicious words!" Zhou Ming Chuan's face was full of anticipation. "Then I'll go make my preparations first. Junior Brother, take care!"

"Senior Brother, take care!"

After bidding Zhou Ming Chuan farewell, Lu Chuan picked up the fifty jin of Tiger Bones he had set aside and left the Mountain Splitting Saber Hall.

Only once he was walking down the street did he begin calculating the total gains from this trip to Mount Erlong.

He had originally possessed twenty taels of silver. He had picked up more than twenty taels in inheritance from Long Er's lair, earned thirty taels from selling tiger meat, received Fifty Taels of Silver for selling Tiger Bones to Master Zheng, and gotten another thirty taels from Senior Disciple Brother Zhou for the Tiger Bones...

Altogether, he now had more than one hundred and fifty taels in cash!

More than one hundred and fifty taels... To an ordinary farming household, that was an enormous sum they might not save in an entire lifetime!

Even for an ordinary martial artist, it was a substantial fortune capable of supporting cultivation for a long time.

And there were also fifty jin of high-grade Tiger Bone—especially the precious saber at his waist. To him, those were truly priceless treasures!

Lu Chuan felt more secure than ever before.

"This time... I've really struck it rich!"

With this money, he would not need to worry about cultivation resources at least until he attempted Second Qi and Blood!

He could buy Qi and Blood Pills without hesitation, improve his family's life, and acquire better equipment...

However, he quickly calmed down.

"I nearly forgot something important." Lu Chuan smacked his forehead. "Brother Zhao also extended me fourteen taels of silver on credit."

Changing direction, he headed toward Renhetang Pharmacy.

Upon entering Renhetang Pharmacy, Lu Chuan immediately saw Zhao Xuanhe with his head lowered, writing something. He strode over quickly.

"Brother Zhao."

Zhao Xuanhe looked up and saw Lu Chuan. A smile had just risen to his face when he caught sight of the dust and blood covering him.

"Brother Lu, you... have you just come back from the mountains?" Zhao Xuanhe's tone held some surprise.

"Why rush over to see me like this? You should go back and rest for a couple of days, recover properly."

Lu Chuan waved a hand, took out Fifteen Taels of Silver from his chest, and set it on the counter.

"Brother Zhao has placed such trust in me. I wouldn't dare let you down. This settles the previous debt—fifteen taels. Brother Zhao, please count it."

Zhao Xuanhe lowered his head to glance at the silver ingots, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Looks like Brother Lu succeeded on this tiger hunt."

A faint smile curled at Lu Chuan's lips.

"That's right. I killed a Mountain Lord—the one from Mount Erlong."

After their several dealings, he had found Zhao Xuanhe to be someone worth befriending. Some secrets did not need to be kept from him.

At this, obvious shock appeared on Zhao Xuanhe's face.

"The Mountain Lord of Mount Erlong?" He had clearly heard of that tiger as well.

"That old beast has occupied the mountain for years and taken quite a few lives. Several groups of Martial Artists went in, yet none succeeded. I reckon it was probably a Second Qi and Blood Exotic Beast. Brother Lu, you..."

Lu Chuan had no intention of hiding it from him. Over the past few months of dealing with each other, Zhao Xuanhe had proven reliable and tight-lipped.

So he briefly told him the important parts: how he had broken through the Blood Pass, entered the mountain and encountered Long Er, seen through the scheme, and slain the Mountain Lord.

After hearing it all, Zhao Xuanhe fell silent for a moment, then let out a long breath.

"Who would have thought... so many people had vanished in Mount Erlong over the past decade or so, all because someone had been laying out a trap behind the scenes."

He looked at Lu Chuan, his gaze now carrying several more degrees of solemn respect.

"For Brother Lu to see through it at a glance and then turn around to eliminate the evil—such courage and discernment are truly rare."

"Now that Brother Lu has broken through the Blood Pass and slain that beast besides, your future is boundless."

Lu Chuan said modestly, "I was just lucky."

He had no intention of lingering on the subject. He directly took out a Fifty Taels Silver Note and Ten Taels of Silver from his chest and pushed them over.

"Brother Zhao, please get me thirty Qi and Blood Pills."

"Thirty?" Zhao Xuanhe was only surprised for a moment before going to retrieve the pills.

Before long, he brought out three white porcelain medicine bottles, each containing ten Qi and Blood Pills.

"Brother Lu, here are thirty Qi and Blood Pills, of the same quality as last time." He pushed the package toward Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan nodded and carefully put away the medicine bottles.

Before leaving, he turned back.

"Oh, right, Brother Zhao. Please keep my breakthrough and my hunt for the Mountain Lord a secret. I don't want too many people knowing about this."

"I understand." Zhao Xuanhe nodded in agreement.

"Rest assured, Brother Lu. Since you trust me so greatly, how could I possibly betray you?"

"Many thanks, Brother Zhao." Only then did Lu Chuan leave Renhetang Pharmacy's front doors in satisfaction.

"Next, it's time to go back and see what this saber is made of..."

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