Misty Swamp

The Seven Star Gang's dining hall was abuzz with voices.

The smell of sweat mingled with the fragrance of food and the vigorous vitality of the young men, weaving together in the air.

Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing each carried a large platter of roast chicken, squeezed through the noisy crowd, and found an empty table in the corner.

Only one person sat by the window beside the table.

It was Li Qingxue.

She wore Plain White Clothes, her posture straight as a lone pine. Before her sat a bowl of plain congee and two plates of vegetables, which she was eating quietly.

The surrounding clamor and greasiness seemed to have nothing to do with her.

She was cold and aloof all by herself, like a distant mountain capped in ice and snow.

Even when the enticing aroma of roast chicken drifted over, she never turned her head, as if the only scent beneath her nose were the faint fragrance of plain congee.

A large area around Li Qingxue always remained empty, with no one daring to approach.

Only Chu Fan shamelessly squeezed in to sit beside her every day, enjoying twenty days of peace and quiet as a result.

Zhao Tianxing tore off a Chicken Leg and held it out to Li Qingxue. "Senior Sister, would you like a Chicken Leg?"

Chu Fan: "..."

If this sort of tactic could actually win over a girl...

I'll write the character Chu upside down!

Li Qingxue did not even raise her head. Her voice was indifferent. "No."

Zhao Tianxing awkwardly withdrew his hand and bit into the Chicken Leg.

The roast chicken had been cooked to a glistening golden brown. Its skin was crisp, and wisps of steam still rose from it.

As its rich meaty fragrance spread, it immediately overwhelmed the scents of the vegetables around them.

The disciples at several nearby tables could not help sniffing, their eyes turning toward them with envy.

At that moment, the Short Fat Youth who chopped wood alongside Chu Fan came over and stared at the roast chicken. "What happy occasion is there today? How come you're being so extravagant?"

Chu Fan only buried his head in his meal, pretending not to see or hear him.

Zhao Tianxing glanced at the Short Fat Youth, then at the roast chicken on the table. After hesitating for a moment, he tore off another Chicken Leg and held it out.

"Thanks, Brother Tianxing!"

The Short Fat Youth was overjoyed. He took the Chicken Leg and sat down beside Zhao Tianxing.

Brother Tianxing was truly loyal.

That kid Chu Fan only knew how to play dead. He had not even offered a polite word.

As the Short Fat Youth gnawed on the Chicken Leg, he stared at the roast chicken on Chu Fan's plate, unable to look away.

Seeing his ravenous expression when he raised his head, Chu Fan could not help saying, "I've already given you a Chicken Leg. How dare you keep staring at the other parts of the roast chicken?"

He paused, then added, "Forget it. You can have the chicken butt!"

The Short Fat Youth flushed red and defended himself in a low voice. "This Chicken Leg wasn't from your roast chicken to begin with... And I didn't come just because you had roast chicken."

"I came to warn you..."

"Chu Fan, did you offend someone?"

Chu Fan buried his head in the chicken and ate with great concentration. "What makes you say that?"

The Short Fat Youth said, "Just now, outside the dining hall, I saw a group of people gathered together. They said they would find a chance to teach you a lesson today!"

"Perhaps you heard the wrong name." Chu Fan's voice remained calm. "Every day, I only go back and forth among my lodgings, the Wood-Chopping Courtyard, the dining hall, and the Training Ground. Since I came here, fewer than ten people have spoken to me. Who could I have offended?"

As he spoke, the Short Fat Youth suddenly lowered his voice. "It's them. Look!"

His gaze drifted toward the entrance of the dining hall.

Chu Fan raised his head and swept his eyes over it.

Five people entered through the doorway. He did not recognize a single one of them.

But all five looked toward him, their eyes radiating hostility.

Chu Fan paid them no mind and turned to Zhao Tianxing. "Tianxing, you've mentioned the Misty Swamp several times before. How much do you know about that place?"

Zhao Tianxing's eyes lit up. "You're willing to go to the Misty Swamp?"

Chu Fan sighed. "A roast chicken costs two hundred copper coins. If I ate one by myself every day, that money would last me a month."

"But freeloading off meals like this every day, you'd be lucky if it lasted half a month."

"So naturally, I have to think of ways to make money."

Zhao Tianxing chuckled twice and took large bites of meat.

The Short Fat Youth's eyes widened at once. "You two... actually want to go to the Misty Swamp?"

"Brother Tianxing, you used to be a hunter, so you know best how dangerous the Misty Swamp is. You still dare take Chu Fan there?"

"I heard that deep in the Misty Swamp, there's a great demon that eats people without even spitting out their Bones!"

"We're not going into the depths." Zhao Tianxing said, "The Misty Swamp nurtures precious medicinal herbs that are hard to find in the outside world. The value of even a single plant is enough to make a martial artist risk his life!"

"When I was fifteen, I once entered the Misty Swamp to hunt. I almost died in there..."

"You almost died and you still dare go?" Terror appeared on the Short Fat Youth's face.

Zhao Tianxing did not explain. He merely chuckled twice.

Before learning martial arts, he had already been able to exchange blows with a blind bear.

With that archery of his, he had also hunted and killed quite a few Tigers and Leopards.

Now that he had learned martial arts, he would be able to condense his third strand of Blood Qi in a few days and break through to the Blood Nourishment realm.

Even his Twelve Forms Boxing would break through to Minor Accomplishment in the Five Forms within a few days.

With such strength, why could he not go to the outskirts of the Misty Swamp?

Besides, Chu Fan was there too.

Although Chu Fan's Blood Qi was inferior to his, his Twelve Forms Boxing had already achieved Minor Accomplishment in all twelve forms. His overall strength was even greater than Zhao Tianxing's!

The two of them working together could even venture into the deeper parts of the Misty Swamp and make a foray there!

By then, whether they gathered several herbs or killed several Exotic Beasts, it would be enough for them to advance steadily from Blood Nourishment to Blood Refining!

Zhao Tianxing continued, "The Misty Swamp lies north of Qingyang Ancient City, more than two hundred li from the city. It is covered year-round in grayish-white, damp, and chilly mist, hence its name."

"Various rare flowers and herbs that are seldom seen in the outside world grow in the swamp. Even a single plant is worth a fortune."

"So there are always Herb Gatherers who aren't afraid of death. They hire martial artists for protection and carefully venture into the outskirts of the swamp to gather herbs, following 'safe' routes faintly marked out by the Bones of their predecessors."

"I still have a map of the Misty Swamp..."

"It was drawn by many old hunters with Fresh Blood and their lives. I'll bring it to you when I go back and let you take a look."

Chu Fan nodded slightly.

Both he and Zhao Tianxing were about to break through to Blood Nourishment.

After Blood Nourishment, the Second Stage was Blood Refining.

The resources required for Blood Refining far exceeded those for Blood Nourishment. It was absolutely not something that three bowls of Blood Nourishing Medicinal Soup a day could sustain.

That day, when he and Zhao Tianxing had seen Ling Feng buy Blood Refining Pills, those pills were precisely for attempting the Blood Refining breakthrough.

A single Blood Refining Pill cost five mace of silver.

At one pill a day, that came to fifteen taels of silver a month.

What an astonishing expense...

However, if they truly wanted to go to the Misty Swamp, they would at least have to wait until their Twelve Forms Boxing reached Perfection, or until their Ninefold Thunderclap Saber achieved Minor Accomplishment.

By the window, Li Qingxue gently set down her Bowl and Chopsticks. The bottom of the bowl was so clean that not a single grain of rice remained.

Suddenly, she took a small wooden box from her robes.

The wooden box was dark and muted in color. It had clearly been carried close to its owner's body for a long time, steeped in her warmth and carrying a faint, elusive cold fragrance.

Her movements were unintentional, yet they drew the eyes of Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing, who were eating roast chicken beside her.

Li Qingxue's slender, jade-like fingers gently flipped open the tiny Copper Clasp on the box and lifted the lid.

A far richer medicinal fragrance instantly spread through the air.

The scent carried the earthy tang of soil, yet it was incomparably mellow. When inhaled through the nose and mouth, it actually refreshed the spirit and sent warmth through the Limbs and Bones.

Resting quietly on the red lining inside the box was a ginseng.

Its form was exquisite, its long, dense tendrils resembling Dragon Whiskers. Its main body was plump, with tightly packed scales.

The ginseng was an overall healthy yellowish brown, faintly suffused with abundant spiritual energy.

One glance was enough to tell that it was many years old and absolutely no ordinary item. It was a true treasure capable of strengthening one's foundation, cultivating one's vitality, and assisting in cultivation!