Tailgating

The next day.

Before dawn, while all things still slumbered, Shen Mu had already risen early. He took the Moon Embroidery hanging on the wall and stepped outside the bamboo shed to begin practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once more.

Currently, the Origin Mulberry Fruit had not yet fully ripened, so thieves would not choose this season to come here and harvest them.

This, in a way, spared Shen Mu from having to keep watch at night, allowing him to get sufficient rest after practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique during the day.

By the time the morning sun rose above the eastern cliff, Shen Mu had already completed one full cycle of the Army-Breaking Saber Technique.

Taking advantage of his rest, Shen Mu sank his consciousness into his mind to observe the progress of the Martial Dao Tree.

It seems to be just as I expected. After breaking through to the first stage of Boiling Blood, my physical strength has reached a new level. Coupled with the body-tempering effects of practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique, my speed in digesting beast meat has actually increased quite a bit.

Only a single day had passed, yet the second root of the Martial Dao Tree was already covered by the scarlet mist by about two or three percent, which could not help but fill Shen Mu with joy.

After entering the first stage of Boiling Blood, the amount of beast meat required to advance to the next stage would also rise accordingly.

To promote to the second stage of Boiling Blood, one needed to digest at least twenty catties of unranked beast meat, while the third stage required at least thirty catties.

However, because he had already reached the first stage of Boiling Blood, his physical strength had increased, accelerating his digestion of beast meat. At the same time, the body-tempering effect of practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique also sped up the conversion of beast meat into blood energy.

Added to the fact that the Martial Dao Tree granted him a digestion speed three times that of an ordinary person, the one catty of beast meat he had eaten before coming to Emerald Cloud Valley yesterday was already fifty percent digested.

Previously, it took him ten days to digest one catty of beast meat; now, it only took two days.

However, since advancing to the second stage of Boiling Blood required digesting twenty catties of unranked beast meat, he would need approximately forty days to accumulate enough blood energy to step into the second stage.

Later on, by brewing Origin Mulberry wine, I can significantly speed up my progress in the Army-Breaking Saber Technique, which will also accelerate the digestion of beast meat.

With the help of the Origin Mulberry wine, I should have a chance to advance to the second stage of Boiling Blood within a month!

After making a rough calculation, Shen Mu could not help but fix his gaze on the branches of the Martial Dao Tree.

Including this morning's practice of the Army-Breaking Saber Technique, the scarlet mist had now covered three percent of the distance toward the first leaf.

With the subsequent aid of the Origin Mulberry wine, Shen Mu was confident he could push the progress of the Army-Breaking Saber Technique to the first leaf within a month.

He could not help but feel curious about what kind of changes would occur once the scarlet mist spread to the first leaf.

After resting for a while, Shen Mu hung the Moon Embroidery saber on the wall of the bamboo shed and headed straight toward the valley entrance.

Guarding the Origin Mulberry fields was primarily to prevent thieves from sneaking into the valley at night to harvest the fruit; during the day, one was free to move about, though one had to request leave from the steward to leave the area.

Shen Mu first found Hong Jingcheng to inform him that he needed to return to the city to purchase supplies, and Hong Jingcheng agreed without a second thought.

Upon leaving Emerald Cloud Valley, Shen Mu first went to the two locations where he hid his money, retrieved the ten taels of silver he had buried, and then walked briskly toward Cloud Dragon County.

Shen Mu went to a wine shop and spent five taels of silver to purchase fifty catties of strong liquor.

He then went to a beast meat shop run by the Hundred Generations Martial Hall to purchase twenty catties of unranked Red-Armored Ox meat, along with five catties of salt to preserve the meat.

Now that his workplace was Emerald Cloud Valley, Shen Mu could not keep asking Hong Jingcheng for leave to go off-duty every few days.

He could digest one catty of beast meat every two days, and frequently leaving the valley to buy more would undoubtedly expose his secrets.

He had no choice but to purchase enough meat to reach the second stage of Boiling Blood all at once, then use salt for simple curing and preservation.

Although doing this might diminish the blood essence of the beast meat, Shen Mu could not find a better way at present.

After purchasing these three items, Shen Mu wasted no time in leaving the city and returning to Emerald Cloud Valley.

However, what he did not know was that two people were tailing him from behind.

Shen Mu recognized both of them; they were none other than Hong Jingcheng and the gate-guarding sentry, Wei Bo.

Since Shen Mu had asked for leave to leave the valley on his second day, Hong Jingcheng worried that he might report him, so after Shen Mu left the valley, he called Wei Bo to follow him.

"Brother Hong, it seems we were overthinking things."

Wei Bo looked at Shen Mu's back in front of them and laughed, "He was digging in the ground outside the city earlier; he probably hid his silver there beforehand, likely worried that once he entered Emerald Cloud Valley, other gang members would suppress him and snatch his money."

"As for going into the city to buy wine, heh, if I'm not mistaken, he probably knows that everyone steals the Origin Mulberry Fruit to soak in wine..."

"The only thing that puzzles me is, why did he buy so many catties of beast meat and salt all at once?"

Hong Jingcheng's gaze was deep as he shook his head, "Beast meat is used to nourish one's own blood energy. He bought twenty catties of Red-Armored Ox meat in advance, likely fearing that once his current supply is exhausted, I won't grant him leave, making it difficult for him to come to the city later."

"As for the salt, it can be used to cure the meat for preservation..."

Wei Bo widened his eyes and couldn't help but say, "Can cured beast meat still be used to nourish one's own flesh and blood?"

He was referring to the fact that twenty catties of beast meat would take at least four full months to digest.

Over such a long period, the cured meat would have long since lost most of its blood essence and could not be used to nourish one's blood energy at all.

However, what he did not know was that Shen Mu only needed one month to consume these twenty catties of beast meat, and would not drag it out for that long.

Perhaps some of the Red-Armored Ox meat's blood essence would still be lost, but this cost was within a range Shen Mu could bear.

Hong Jingcheng shook his head, "I don't know. Perhaps he never intended to cure the meat at all, but is prepared to eat all twenty catties of Red-Armored Ox meat, using the salt merely as seasoning."

"Eat all twenty catties of Red-Armored Ox meat?"

Wei Bo couldn't help but widen his eyes, exclaiming, "Wouldn't he be stuffed to death?"

"Hmph."

Hong Jingcheng let out a soft huff: "What would you know?"

"When I first joined the Firewood Gang, you were still playing in the mud."

"Back then, I was just a peripheral member, and I witnessed with my own eyes Master Ren and Master Yao of the gang having a public contest to see who could consume more beast meat; the winner got to choose their position first."

"Master Ren ate fifteen catties of first-tier beast meat, while Master Yao ate a full seventeen catties of first-tier beast meat."

Upon hearing this, Wei Bo couldn't help but widen his eyes, swallowing hard as a look of shock washed over his face.

An ordinary person could eat one catty of unranked beast meat and not need to eat for the next half month.

To eat seventeen catties of first-tier beast meat—wasn't that just too terrifying?

Wei Bo shifted the topic, chuckling: "Brother Hong, since this person hasn't publicized the delivery business to those above, it shows he is someone who can keep a secret. Should we inform him of our operation?"

"No rush."

A wicked grin appeared on Hong Jingcheng's face as he said: "Since he purchased fifty catties of strong liquor to take back to the valley, it's clear he's bound to make a move tonight."

"When the time comes, we can catch him red-handed..."

Hearing this, Wei Bo gave a bitter smile: "Brother Hong, isn't that just doing something unnecessary?"

"Oh?"

Hong Jingcheng asked, puzzled: "What makes you say that?"

Wei Bo explained: "Brother Hong, think about it. We are the ones stealing from our own post. You want to use catching him in the act as leverage, but then you plan to tell him about our own scheme afterward—how would that still count as having a hold over him?"

"As long as he goes through with this, he's essentially submitting a pledge of loyalty. It means we're in the same boat; naturally, we'll share the profits and face the risks together."

"If we cry 'thief' while being thieves ourselves, wouldn't that just be a waste of time?"

Hong Jingcheng: "..."

Thinking it over carefully, it really did seem that way. Why go through all that extra trouble for nothing?

"Damn it, I must have whored too much; my brain's turned to mush. If you hadn't reminded me, I really would have made a fool of myself."

Hong Jingcheng cursed under his breath and said: "Fine. At midnight tonight, we meet at Zhou Xuan's herb field. You know him, so you go and fetch him."

"You got it."