Persuasion, Induction (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

An hour later, Fang Shuwen cupped his hands toward Zheng Yuanpei, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Many thanks for your generosity, Old Master Zheng. I've been feeling a bit strapped for cash lately."

He secretly weighed the money pouch in his hand; based on the heft alone, there were at least fifty coins inside.

It was a pity the old man hadn't brought any Ghost Jade today. Otherwise, winning the jade directly would have saved him a trip to the National Martial Arts Hall to exchange his money.

"You brat, are you planning to go buy Ghost Jade?"

"Hmph, don't bother denying it. I can see your martial arts are improving quite rapidly; you must have been using Ghost Jade."

Ghost Jade could accelerate the progress of martial arts cultivation, a fact that had been applied to martial training as far back as the Great Yin dynasty decades ago.

However, ordinary people might not be aware of this.

While Ghost Jade could indeed greatly promote martial progress, it could not be used excessively.

Furthermore, when using it, one had to consult a qualified physician to determine the martial artist's physical attributes and tolerance levels before finding the corresponding type of Ghost Jade.

If one failed to do so and abused the jade, while their martial progress might be lightning-fast in the early stages, by the time they reached the Dark Force stage, they would either be unable to advance for the rest of their lives, or the foreign energy accumulated within their body would erupt, causing them to lose their mind from the strain.

"Take this old man's advice: while you haven't used much yet, stop now. Don't wait until problems arise later and find yourself full of regret."

Zheng Yuanpei stroked his goatee and thumped his newly purchased cane against the ground.

Fang Shuwen was slightly taken aback by these words.

What did the old man mean by that?

Could there be side effects to using Ghost Jade for martial arts cultivation?

Still, the old man's eye was truly sharp.

When they met at Wenxuan Pavilion last time, he had seen at a glance that Fang Shuwen had just entered the path of martial arts.

It wasn't surprising that he could tell he had been using Ghost Jade now.

However, he certainly didn't know that the foreign energy within the Ghost Jade was absorbed by his Martial Dao Panel, which he then used to upgrade his martial arts via skill points.

After this layer of conversion, even if there were any issues, it was impossible for it to cause him any harm.

Naturally, he couldn't tell anyone else about this.

Fang Shuwen turned the old man's words over in his mind, but kept his expression neutral, merely nodding with a smile.

"Thank you for the reminder, Old Master Zheng. I will keep it in mind."

Seeing his dismissive attitude, Zheng Yuanpei furrowed his brows, about to say more, but swallowed his words at the last second.

Young people, they never turn back until they hit a brick wall.

Wasn't he the same way back in his day?

He sighed and waved his hand.

"Fine, fine, listen or don't. I have things to do; I won't waste any more time here with you."

With that, he leaned on his cane and turned to walk toward the end of the street.

Winning three rounds against Old Master Zheng today and pocketing fifty silver dollars was quite a haul.

Adding in what he had left, he had nearly sixty coins on hand.

That was enough to buy three ordinary pieces of Ghost Jade.

However, Fang Shuwen was in no rush to head to the National Martial Arts Hall.

He remembered something.

Last time at the bookstore, he had absorbed five skill points from the copy of Tales of the Ancient Castle he'd gotten from Shen Xinyi.

That book had been classified as "foreign energy," the same category as Ghost Jade.

Fang Shuwen slung his cloth bag over his shoulder and set off toward East Street.

He intended to visit that bookstore again.

Not to buy books.

The money in his pocket had its uses; he had no spare cash for leisure reading.

He wanted to see if Shen Xinyi had any more "books" like that.

If every book could provide three or five skill points, that would be far more cost-effective than buying Ghost Jade.

After all, books didn't have to be bought—he could get them for free.

East Street, the bookstore under the parasol tree.

"Sorry, I almost bumped into you."

Fang Shuwen had just reached the entrance of the bookstore when the wooden door was suddenly pushed open from the inside.

Because it was pushed open in such a hurry, it nearly collided with Fang Shuwen.

"It's fine."

Fang Shuwen replied.

Then, his expression faltered slightly.

Because he recognized this person, or rather, he had seen her before.

It was actually the young girl whose bottom the original owner had pinched.

What a small world.

The girl clearly recognized him as well; her cheeks, which had been slightly flushed from her haste, instantly turned cold, and her almond-shaped eyes widened in shock.

"It's you?!"

She took half a step back, one hand instinctively shielding her backside, and glared at Fang Shuwen with vigilance, looking just like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"You hooligan, why are you here again? Are you stalking me?"

Fang Shuwen gave her a speechless look.

"Miss, I'm here to read books. What does that have to do with you? Do you own this bookstore?"

"You!"

The girl was choked up by his righteous demeanor, and her expression grew even uglier.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But the words died on her lips, and in the end, she just let out a heavy "Hmph."

She sidestepped past Fang Shuwen and walked toward the street corner without looking back.

After a few steps, she stopped and turned to glare at him once more.

"I'm warning you, stay away from me! Otherwise, I'll have my grandfather deal with you!"

With that, she stomped her foot and disappeared into the crowd.

Fang Shuwen watched her retreating figure and shook his head, too lazy to care.

He pushed open the bookstore door and walked inside.

The shop was as quiet as ever.

Behind the counter, Shen Xinyi was holding a book; she looked up and glanced at him.

"You again?"

"The proprietress has a good memory." Fang Shuwen smiled and walked up to the counter.

"Do you have the book Tales of the Ancient Castle in stock?"

"Tales of the Ancient Castle? You've come at a bad time. Shenghai Bookstore only sends one copy a month, and that girl who just left bought it."

Fang Shuwen frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Only one copy a month?

And it was bought by that girl?

He sighed inwardly, though he didn't pay it much mind.

It was just a copy of Tales of the Ancient Castle; if it was gone, it was gone. He could just wait until next month.

After all, it was merely one channel for obtaining exotic energy.

"Then I'll trouble you to save a copy for me next month, proprietress."

Fang Shuwen nodded at Shen Xinyi, turned around, and pushed the door open to leave the bookstore.

The sunlight outside was a bit blinding. He squinted his eyes, preparing to head in the direction of the National Martial Arts Hall.

As he looked up, he saw two familiar figures standing under a plane tree at a corner not far across the street.

The girl was wearing the light blue uniform of the Public Middle School and had a thick, dark braid—it was Cuicui.

The man had a sturdy build and was wearing a grey short jacket; he was the same youth who had been embracing Cuicui in the alley behind the Zhao Estate twice before.

The two were standing very close, and the man was leaning down, whispering something into the girl's ear.

The girl's cheeks were slightly flushed, a smile hung on her lips, and she would occasionally push gently against his chest.

Heh, I didn't expect this youth to be such a scumbag player.

Fang Shuwen glanced at them, but since it was someone else's business, he acted as if he hadn't seen anything.

As for warning Cuicui or anything of the sort, he didn't care.

Even if he told her, Cuicui probably wouldn't believe him anyway.

With this thought in mind, he stepped toward the street corner, intending to head to the National Martial Arts Hall to purchase Ghost Jade.

After walking two steps, his peripheral vision caught the woman suddenly collapsing, limp and powerless, into the man's arms.

Fang Shuwen's stride faltered slightly.

The young man glanced left and right before hoisting the girl up and carrying her into the alleyway.

The girl's eyes were half-open, her gaze unfocused.

Given Fang Shuwen's current level of martial arts cultivation, he could tell at a glance that the girl had been drugged.

Fang Shuwen stood rooted to the spot, his brows knitted into a knot.

He had originally thought the man was just a player, but he hadn't expected this!

What could this person be planning to do after drugging her?

After a moment's hesitation, Fang Shuwen felt a strange impulse and stepped forward to follow them.