Tail

The next day.

It was not yet light. All things were still asleep, but Shen Mu had already risen early. He took Moon Embroidery from the wall, stepped outside the Bamboo Shed, and began practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique again.

The Origin Mulberry Fruits had not all ripened yet, so no thieves would choose this season to come and pick them.

That saved Shen Mu from having to keep watch at night. He could practice the Army-Breaking Saber Technique during the day and get plenty of rest afterward.

By the time the morning sun rose above the cliffs to the east, Shen Mu had finished practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once.

During his break, Shen Mu let his consciousness sink into his mind and checked the Martial Dao Tree's progress.

"Looks like things are about as I expected. After advancing to First Stage Boiling Blood, my physical strength has risen to a new level. On top of that, practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique also strengthens my body, so I'm digesting beast meat considerably faster."

Although only a day had passed, scarlet mist had already spread over roughly two or three percent of the Martial Dao Tree's second root. Shen Mu could not help feeling pleased.

After advancing to First Stage Boiling Blood, the amount of beast meat required to reach the next stage would rise accordingly.

Advancing to Second Stage Boiling Blood required digesting at least twenty jin of ungraded beast meat, while the third stage required at least thirty jin.

But since he had already advanced to First Stage Boiling Blood, his body was stronger, and he could digest beast meat faster. At the same time, practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique and strengthening his body also helped convert the meat into vital energy.

On top of that, the Martial Dao Tree gave him a digestion rate three times that of an ordinary person. The one jin of beast meat he had eaten before coming to Emerald Cloud Valley yesterday had already been more than half digested.

Before, it took him ten days to digest one jin of beast meat. Now it only took two.

Still, since advancing to Second Stage Boiling Blood required digesting twenty jin of ungraded beast meat, he would need about forty days to cultivate enough vital energy to reach the next stage.

"Once I start brewing Origin Mulberry Wine, I'll be able to make much faster progress with the Army-Breaking Saber Technique. That'll speed up my digestion of beast meat, too."

"With Origin Mulberry Wine, I should have a chance of advancing to Second Stage Boiling Blood within a month!"

After making a rough estimate, Shen Mu turned his gaze to the Martial Dao Tree's branches.

After practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique again that morning, the scarlet mist had now covered three percent of the way to the first leaf.

With the help of Origin Mulberry Wine, Shen Mu was confident he could advance the Army-Breaking Saber Technique to its first leaf within a month.

He could not help wondering what would happen once the scarlet mist spread to the first leaf.

After resting for a while, Shen Mu hung Moon Embroidery on the wall of the Bamboo Shed, then headed straight for the valley entrance.

Guarding Origin Mulberry Field was mainly meant to prevent thieves from sneaking into the valley at night to pick Origin Mulberry Fruits. During the day, he was free to move about, though he needed to ask the Deacon for leave before going out.

Shen Mu first found Hong Jingcheng and told him he needed to return to town to buy supplies. Hong Jingcheng agreed without a second thought.

After leaving Emerald Cloud Valley, Shen Mu went to the two places where he had hidden his money and retrieved the ten taels of silver he had buried. Then he hurried toward Cloud Dragon County.

He went straight to a liquor shop and spent five taels of silver on fifty jin of strong liquor.

Next, he went to the beast-meat shop run by the Hundred Generations Martial Hall and bought twenty jin of ungraded Red-Armored Ox meat, along with five jin of salt to preserve it.

Now that his workplace was in Emerald Cloud Valley, Shen Mu could not ask Hong Jingcheng for leave every other day.

He could digest one jin of beast meat every two days now. If he kept leaving the valley to buy more, he would surely reveal the secret of his strength.

He had no choice but to buy enough beast meat to advance to Second Stage Boiling Blood in one go, then preserve it with salt.

That might cost the meat some of its vital energy, but Shen Mu could not think of a better solution.

After buying the three things, Shen Mu left town without delay and headed back to Emerald Cloud Valley.

What he did not know was that two people were tailing him from behind.

He knew both of them. They were none other than Hong Jingcheng and Wei Bo, the gate guard.

On Shen Mu's second day at the valley, he had asked for leave and gone out. Worried that Shen Mu might report him, Hong Jingcheng had called Wei Bo along to follow him after he left.

"Brother Hong, looks like we were worrying over nothing."

Watching Shen Mu's back ahead of them, Wei Bo chuckled. "He probably buried the silver outside town when he was digging the other day. I bet he was worried that once he entered Emerald Cloud Valley, the other gang members would push him around and steal his money."

"As for buying liquor in town, heh, just as expected, he must know everyone's been sneaking out to pick Origin Mulberry Fruits and brew wine..."

"The only thing I find strange is, why did he buy so much beast meat and salt?"

Hong Jingcheng's gaze was deep as he shook his head. "Beast meat is used to nourish your vital energy. He bought twenty jin of Red-Armored Ox meat in advance because he's worried he'll run out later. If I don't approve his leave, he won't be able to leave the valley, and getting back to town will be difficult."

"As for the salt, he can use it to preserve the meat..."

Wei Bo's eyes widened. "Can salted beast meat still nourish your flesh and blood?"

He was thinking that it would take at least four months to digest twenty jin of beast meat.

Over such a long time, salted meat would have lost most of its vital energy. It could not possibly nourish the body's vital energy.

What he did not know was that Shen Mu would need only a month to finish the twenty jin of meat. He would not have to drag it out that long.

The Red-Armored Ox meat would probably still lose some of its vital energy, but Shen Mu could afford that small cost.

Hong Jingcheng shook his head. "I don't know either. Maybe he never planned to salt the meat. Maybe he's going to eat all twenty jin of Red-Armored Ox meat outright and use the salt for seasoning."

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

Wei Bo's eyes widened. "Wouldn't he burst?"

"Hmph."

Hong Jingcheng gave a scornful snort. "What do you know?"

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

"Back then, I was only an outer member. I once saw Master Ren and Master Yao compete in front of everyone to see who could eat more beast meat. The winner got first pick of the positions."

"Master Ren ate fifteen jin of first-tier demonic beast meat. Master Yao ate a full seventeen jin."

Wei Bo's eyes widened at that. He swallowed hard, his face full of shock.

An ordinary person who ate one jin of ungraded beast meat would not need to eat again for half a month.

Eating seventeen jin of first-tier demonic beast meat? That was terrifying.

Wei Bo changed the subject with a grin. "Brother Hong, since this guy hasn't told anyone above us about the takeout, that shows he can keep a secret. Should we let him in on our plan?"

"No rush."

A sly smile spread across Hong Jingcheng's face. "He bought fifty jin of strong liquor to take back to the valley, so he's bound to make a move tonight."

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

Wei Bo gave a wry smile. "Brother Hong, aren't we just making more work for ourselves?"

"Oh?"

Hong Jingcheng asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Wei Bo explained, "Brother Hong, think about it. We're the ones stealing from under the guards' noses. Now you want to use catching him red-handed to get leverage over him, but afterward you'll tell him what we're planning to do. How would that count as having something on him?"

"Once he does it, he'll have shown his allegiance. We'll be in the same boat, making money together and facing trouble together."

"Wouldn't crying 'thief!' while we're the thieves ourselves just be a waste of time?"

Hong Jingcheng: "..."

Thinking it over, Hong Jingcheng realized Wei Bo had a point. Why go out of his way to piss into the wind?

"Damn it, I've been whoring so much my brain's gone soft. If you hadn't reminded me, I'd have made a complete fool of myself."

Hong Jingcheng cursed under his breath, then said, "Fine. Meet at Zhou Xuan's medicinal herb field at midnight tonight. You know him, so you can go ask him to come."

"Sure."