Taking the Pill, Insect Plague, Schemes

With his hunger sated and the table left in a mess, Lu Chen returned to that small courtyard in Sheep Dung Alley.

As night fell, Lu Chen swallowed the Plum Blossom Pill.

The medicinal power dissolved, and at first, he only felt a warm current rise from his abdomen, slowly spreading to his limbs.

He wrapped himself tightly in his quilt, lying on the heated brick bed, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Before long, that warmth suddenly stalled, immediately transforming into waves of strange, numbing itchiness, as if countless tiny insects were burrowing through his veins.

Cold sweat seeped from Lu Chen's temples.

Just then, a murmur sounded beside his ear.

At first, it was indistinct noise, but it gradually became clear.

Yet, it was a viscous, twisted whisper that he could not understand at all.

The voice grew closer and louder, until finally, it pressed against his eardrum, squeezing out words he could understand, one by one:

"Mo...ther..."

"Cut open... your belly... let me out..."

The shrill, childish voice carried a sobbing tone, yet every word was icy, as if it were crawling out from his own stomach.

Lu Chen snapped his eyes open, grabbed the bottle of white liquor from the head of the bed, bit off the stopper, and poured it down his throat.

The fiery liquor burned as it went down his gullet.

A sharp, inhuman scream suddenly erupted from his abdomen.

Immediately, all fell silent.

The strange itch and the whispers did not vanish completely; instead, they sank into a deeper place, turning into a night of grotesque, fragmented nightmares.

At dawn, he sat up, feeling that his blood and qi had solidified significantly.

He summoned the interface:

Plum Blossom Fist(Rudimentary 90.9%)

His proficiency had increased by a full 9%.

That Plum Blossom Pill was truly sinister, yet truly effective.

If he could obtain another one, a breakthrough might be right before his eyes.

He couldn't help but start planning for the next minor trial.

In the early morning, Lu Chen sat down at a street stall, ordering a bowl of soy milk and a plate of pan-fried buns.

When he bit into a bun, the filling was chopped cabbage stalks mixed with a bit of pork crackling—coarse and astringent.

In the past, he could have swallowed three plates of such buns in one go and still considered them a rare delicacy.

Now, having followed Jin Ming to restaurants a few times and filled his stomach with a few greasy meals, his palate had unknowingly become spoiled.

He didn't stop; washing it down with soy milk, he swallowed the entire plate of buns, bite by bite.

After paying a few coppers, he stood up and headed toward the martial arts school.

Halfway there, the sky darkened without warning.

Lu Chen initially thought a thick cloud was drifting over, but the darkness came too quickly, too heavily, swallowing the sun in the blink of an eye.

He instinctively looked up—

His scalp went numb.

That was not a cloud.

It was insects. Insects that blotted out the sky and covered the earth.

The smallest were the size of a human head, their carapaces gleaming with an oily, dark brown luster; the largest were comparable to galloping horses, their bloated bodies writhing slowly in the low altitude, dripping viscous liquid as their mouthparts opened and closed.

They were layered upon one another, filling the sky.

The sunlight was completely blocked, and the street suddenly plunged into an eerie, dim yellow.

The street went deathly silent for an instant.

Then, it exploded into chaos.

"Insect plague—! It's an insect plague!"

"Run—!"

Cries, screams, and the sound of stalls being overturned instantly tore through the morning calm.

People were like ants from a disturbed nest, pushing and fleeing in panic, slamming against doors to rush inside, or being tripped and trampled by those behind them.

Lu Chen didn't have time to think; he turned and sprinted toward the direction of Sheep Dung Alley!

He rushed back into the small courtyard, bolted the door behind him, pressed against the crack in the door, and looked up at the sky.

The giant insects that blotted out the sky did not descend; they merely swept over Wen'an County in a dark, oppressive mass, heading toward the north.

Within the span of a single cup of tea, the swarm vanished into the northern horizon.

Insect plagues are among the most terrifying natural disasters in this world.

They devour people, crops, and livestock. They gnaw through every living thing, leaving cities transformed into dead zones in their wake.

No one knows where these horrific insects come from or why they are born.

All that is known is that once encountered, the only path to survival for the vast majority of ordinary people is to flee.

Fortunately, this time they were merely passing through.

Yet, the terror left behind in Wen'an County was very real.

The price of grain in the city rose by nearly thirty percent overnight, and it was still climbing.

Hearts were filled with panic, and business in the markets grew sluggish; the once-bustling streets now felt desolate.

The martial arts academy even granted its disciples a few days of leave.

Unexpectedly, the business at Lu Chen's lottery stall began to boom.

The more precarious life becomes, the more people yearn to grasp at a piece of driftwood, even if it is only a fleeting dream.

Spending a few copper coins to gamble on a slim chance of sudden wealth became a way for many to alleviate their fear and pin their hopes on luck.

The crowd gathered in front of the stall was, if anything, larger than usual.

As for the stall, Blind Man and the others could look after it.

Lu Chen stockpiled a few bags of grain, locked his doors, and focused on practicing his fist techniques.

A profound sense of crisis prevented him from relaxing or letting his guard down.

This time, the insect plague was just passing through—it was luck, pure chance. But what about next time? What if they had turned and dove straight into Wen'an County?

In the face of such a disaster, what were his fists and his strength but those of an ant? He feared he would have been nothing more than a mouthful for the insects.

This fear weighed heavily upon his heart.

Lu Chen's desire to become stronger had never been as burning or as scorching as it was in this moment.

About ten days passed.

News arrived from the north: over thirty counties in Ice River Province had been struck by the plague, seven of which were picked clean, leaving no trace of life. Only a few martial artists had managed to carve a bloody path out of that sea of insects and escape.

Several counties in Northland Province had also suffered, with many lives lost.

In short, the insects were satiated, and the plague would not return for the time being.

The people of Wen'an County were safe.

On the streets, shopkeepers took down the heavy wooden boards from their storefronts one by one, peddlers fired up their stoves again, and the sounds of voices and the haze of cooking smoke slowly filled the alleys once more.

Lu Chen buried himself in his training at the martial arts academy every day.

Whenever noon or afternoon arrived, disciples from the academy would crowd around, eagerly inviting him to dine out.

Outside, some escorts from the security firms and managers of shops sent people to deliver invitations, asking him to drink with them.

Lu Chen now held a small reputation in the martial arts circle. Having practiced for only a month, he had taken first place in his first minor trial, returning with a perfect record of one against four.

Many veteran martial artists in the circle concluded that Lu Chen would surely reach the External Strength realm within a year.

Once the wind began to blow, people naturally scrambled to build a favorable connection.

Seeing Lu Chen's rising fame and the increasing number of people showing him favor, Jin Ming knew he could wait no longer.

That afternoon, he found Lu Chen.

"Brother Lu Chen, I have a great job here, and you were the first person I thought of!"

"What kind of job?" Lu Chen asked, curious.

Jin Ming chuckled and said:

"You know, our family's grain business often requires transporting grain to other counties. The roads aren't always peaceful, and we're in dire need of a capable hand to guard the carts and hold down the fort.

If Brother Lu is willing to come, that's ten taels of silver a month, with all food and lodging covered.

How about it? I had to nag my old man until my mouth went dry to secure this price; no one else is getting a figure like this!"

Lu Chen asked, "Will it interfere with my fist training?"

"Not at all. We only transport grain once a month, for five or six days—ten at the most. It won't delay your martial arts practice."

Lu Chen fell silent, pondering for a moment.

Ten taels a month for only ten days of labor, with the rest of the time free to train as usual—it certainly sounded like a profitable deal.