Before long, a joint public benefit petition bearing the seals of five pharmacies had been hastily prepared overnight and posted in the most prominent spots at each shop.
The notice declared that the five pharmacies had formed a public benefit alliance and would share some of their high-quality medicinal supplies.
All medicines sold under the joint petition were guaranteed by all five shops to be of good quality, fairly priced, and honestly sold.
As soon as the notice went up, it caused quite a stir in the Outer City.
When buying medicine, the thing common folk feared most was ending up with fake or inferior goods.
Now that five pharmacies had joined together to guarantee the quality, people felt much more reassured.
What's more, the shops' shared supplies meant that customers could buy any of the other pharmacies' specialty medicines at whichever one they visited, without having to run all over town.
Over the following days, business at the five pharmacies, including Benevolent World Hall and Spring Return Hall, boomed at a visible pace.
The counters were packed with people buying medicine and seeking consultations, and the shop assistants were so busy their feet barely touched the ground.
Inside Benevolent World Hall, Lin Wan swiftly wrote prescriptions and prepared medicine for customers while wiping the fine sweat from her brow.
A bright smile, unseen for a long time, lit up her face.
She shot Lin Qing, who was helping with the accounts nearby, an exasperated look. "A-Qing, look at us. We can barely keep up."
"Why don't you skip the martial hall tomorrow and stay here to lend a hand?"
"If we earn a little more silver, we might finally have some breathing room."
Lin Qing smiled, his fingers never pausing as he worked the abacus. "Sis, I still have to go to the martial hall."
"Only when we're strong ourselves can we protect what we've built."
Time slipped by, and before long, another month had passed.
Thanks to the good reputation brought by the joint public benefit petition and the genuine medicinal ingredients stocked in the shop, business at Benevolent World Hall had finally emerged from its previous doldrums and begun to thrive.
Over the course of the month, Lin Qing carefully went over the accounts. After deducting the cost of stock, various expenses, and the value of the medicinal supplies provided to the martial hall, the shop had made a net profit of seventy-six taels of silver.
For Benevolent World Hall, which had been on the verge of closing not long ago, this was nothing short of timely rain after a long drought—a successful turnaround from loss to profit.
Much of the worry had faded from Lin Wan's face. She was still busy every day, but now there was hope between her brows.
She had even begun wondering whether she ought to buy a few lengths of new cloth and make her little brother a winter coat.
One day, Lin Qing was sorting a fresh shipment of medicinal ingredients behind the counter.
His movements were practiced and precise. His fingers skimmed over roots, stems, and leaves of all kinds, and he could judge their grade and quality almost by instinct, without needing to think much at all.
Which ingredients needed shade-drying or sun-drying, which combinations required a delicate balance—such knowledge had become as natural to him as breathing.
Just as he put away the last ingredient, sorting it according to its effects, the Heavenly Dao Record shimmered, and its characters quietly changed.
[Pharmacology (Masterful)]
[Experience: 1/4000]
A deeper, more seamless understanding welled up in his heart.
At that moment, medicinal ingredients were no longer mere inanimate things in his eyes. Their intrinsic properties and the ways they reinforced or counteracted one another seemed to form an invisible web, clear for him to see.
He could even vaguely deduce that making slight adjustments to the processing methods for certain ingredients might bring out better medicinal effects.
"Masterful. It seems my understanding of medicinal ingredients has improved again."
Lin Qing was delighted. This would be of immeasurable benefit to him, whether in preparing medicine or perhaps developing medicinal powders of his own in the future.
It was the day to deliver medicinal supplies to the martial hall.
Lin Qing carefully packed the ingredients he had prepared and took them to the martial hall's dining hall.
Master Hong Yuan inspected them personally.
He opened the package, casually picked up a piece of astragalus root, pinched the cut surface between his fingers, then held it beneath his nose and gave it a sniff.
He also picked up a few pieces of red peony root, inspecting their color and fullness.
Gradually, a look of satisfaction appeared on his usually stern face.
The quality of the ingredients affected the progress of martial cultivation, so he had to inspect them rigorously.
Though Hong Yuan was no medicine seller, he had his own experience when it came to judging the quality of medicinal ingredients.
"These are excellent. They're even better than the ingredients from the Inner City."
"Looks like your skills are no worse than A-Qing's now."
Hong Yuan nodded, his eyes full of praise as he looked at Lin Qing.
Lin Qing hurriedly bowed and replied modestly, "You flatter me, Master. The ingredients we provide to the martial hall affect the senior brothers' cultivation progress. How could I dare be even slightly careless?"
"Of course I select only the best and prepare them with care."
Hong Yuan laughed at that, clearly pleased.
He took out a ten-tael silver ingot and handed it to Lin Qing.
"This is the deposit for next month's ingredients, along with part of the payment. Take it. Next month's supply will be on the same terms!"
"Yes, Master!"
Lin Qing took the heavy silver ingot, his mind settling.
With the Hong Family Martial Hall as a steady buyer and protector, Benevolent World Hall's foundation would finally be much more secure.
That evening, after returning to Yongning Street, Lin Qing saw members of the White Horse Gang apparently carrying several crates into Blacksmith He's shop.
Old Man He hurriedly waved his hands at Chen Bao.
"Lord Leopard, I really don't dare take on this job."
"What are you afraid of? The pay for this batch is enough to feed your family for half a year."
"Besides, if you offend Third Master Shi, your whole family will be in trouble."
Chen Bao gave a vicious grin, his words edged with menace.
After catching a few words from the street corner, Lin Qing did not show himself. Instead, he turned down another street.
After wandering for nearly half an hour, he overheard some news of a clash between the gangs.
"Master Chuang of the Black Mud Gang is really something. He went straight for the White Horse Gang's territory."
"That's right. I heard they've already fought once, and neither side won."
"Better not go out much these days."
Lin Qing sighed. No matter which gang came out on top, it was always the common folk at the bottom who suffered.
Some things were better left alone.
From what Chen Bao had said earlier, it seemed the White Horse Gang wanted to ask Blacksmith He to forge some prohibited items.
Lin Qing guessed that the White Horse Gang planned to use them against the Black Tiger Gang.
After returning home, Lin Qing let out a breath of relief.
Now that he had fulfilled the previous month's order for Hong Yuan, he could finally give serious thought to preparing the Blood Nourishing Powder.
The formula was inexpensive, yet its medicinal effects were mild and long-lasting, making it ideal for his current stage of tempering his bones and building up his qi and blood.
It might suit him better than the standard formula provided by the martial hall.
To avoid drawing attention, he made another trip to Yam Market in the west of the city.
He bought large quantities of the ingredients needed for Blood Nourishing Powder from several different stalls.
Now that his pharmacology had reached the Masterful stage, he was even more precise in selecting ingredients.
They were all ordinary medicinal ingredients, but combined, their effects would surely be extraordinary.
After finishing his purchases, Lin Qing carried a full basket of medicinal ingredients back to Yongning Street.
Passing the notice board outside the county yamen, he saw that a crowd had gathered around it, pointing and murmuring at a newly posted wanted notice.
Lin Qing stopped to take a look. It was a bounty notice bearing a sketch of a plain-looking man with a sinister gaze, along with a description of his crimes.
"Zhou Heng, known as the Thousand-Faced Human Trafficker, a martial artist of the Tendon Opening Realm. He has committed dozens of heinous child-trafficking crimes in Qingping County and the surrounding prefectures and counties. His methods are cruel, and the impact of his crimes is extremely grave."
"The authorities are offering a bounty of fifty taels of silver for his capture."
"Fifty taels!"
The crowd gasped.
To ordinary people, that was an enormous sum.
Lin Qing's eyes fell on the description beneath the wanted notice.
"This criminal excels at disguises and is elusive. However, he has an irregular purple birthmark on the inner side of his left arm."
"The Thousand-Faced Human Trafficker, Zhou Heng, a purple birthmark on his left arm..."
Lin Qing silently committed the key details to memory.
Fifty taels of silver was certainly tempting, but someone who had committed so many crimes and remained at large must be extremely difficult to deal with.
His strength was still low, so he would set the matter aside for now and simply keep an eye out.
After returning to the pharmacy, Lin Qing began grinding ingredients and preparing the medicinal powder.
Building on the Blood Nourishing Powder formula, he used his experience to add several ingredients that would counteract the medicine's toxicity.
A few days later, the Blood Nourishing Powder was ready.
Lin Qing took a dose on the spot and felt a warm current surge through his body.
A single dose would keep working for at least three days.
In just a few days, once he finished tempering his qi and blood, he would be able to break through and become a Skin Refining martial artist.
Under the moonlight, Lin Qing moved through the courtyard.
Each move already carried a hint of style.
He checked his progress.
[Iron Wire Fist (Well-Practiced)] [Experience: 2689/5000]
"Almost there."
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