An hour later,
Fang Shuwen cupped his hands toward Zheng Yuanpei, grinning from ear to ear as he said,
"Many thanks for your generosity, Old Master. I've been a little short on cash lately."
He discreetly weighed the money pouch in his hand. Judging by its heft alone, it held at least fifty silver dollars.
It was a pity the old master hadn't brought any Ghost Jade today. Otherwise, Fang Shuwen could have won some directly and saved himself the trip to the National Martial Arts Hall to exchange for it.
"You rascal, are you planning to buy Ghost Jade?"
"Hmph. Don't bother denying it. Your martial arts have improved quickly, so you must have used Ghost Jade."
Ghost Jade could accelerate martial arts training. This had been put to use in martial cultivation as early as the Great Yin dynasty, decades ago.
However, ordinary people might not know this.
Although Ghost Jade could greatly boost martial arts training, it couldn't be used too often.
And whenever it was used, a physician had to examine the martial artist, determine their physical constitution and tolerance, and then find Ghost Jade suited to them.
Otherwise, if they abused Ghost Jade,
their martial arts progress might be rapid at first, but once they reached Dark Force, they would either be unable to make further progress for the rest of their lives,
or the foreign energy accumulated in their bodies would erupt, overwhelming them and driving them mad.
"Take an old man's advice. You've barely used any so far, so stop while you can. Otherwise, if something goes wrong later, it'll be too late for regrets."
Zheng Yuanpei stroked his goatee and planted his newly bought cane on the ground.
Fang Shuwen was slightly taken aback.
What did the old master mean by that?
Were there aftereffects to using Ghost Jade to cultivate martial arts?
Still, the old master's eye for detail was sharp.
When they'd met at Wenxuan Pavilion last time, he'd spotted Fang Shuwen's martial arts foundation at a glance.
Now he'd noticed Fang Shuwen had used Ghost Jade, too. That wasn't surprising.
But he surely didn't know that the foreign energy inside the Ghost Jade had been absorbed by the Martial Dao Panel, after which Fang Shuwen used skill points to improve his martial arts.
After being transformed this way, even if there were problems with the energy, it couldn't possibly harm him.
Naturally, he couldn't tell anyone about that.
Fang Shuwen turned the old master's words over in his mind, but kept his face impassive and merely nodded with a smile.
"Thank you for the warning, Old Master. I'll keep it in mind."
Seeing how unconcerned he looked, Zheng Yuanpei furrowed his brows. He was about to say more, but swallowed his words.
Young people never turned back until they'd hit a wall.
Hadn't he been the same in his youth?
He sighed and waved a hand.
"Forget it, forget it. Listen or don't. I have things to do, so I won't waste any more time here."
With that, he leaned on his cane and turned toward the end of the street.
Today, he'd won three rounds against Old Master Zheng and pocketed fifty silver dollars. It had been quite a haul.
With what he had left from before, he now had a little over sixty dollars.
Enough to buy three ordinary Ghost Jades.
Still, Fang Shuwen didn't hurry to the National Martial Arts Hall.
He remembered something.
Last time at the bookstore, he'd absorbed five skill points from the copy of Tales of the Ancient Castle in Shen Xinyi's hands.
That book had been classified as "foreign energy," the same kind of thing as Ghost Jade.
Fang Shuwen slung his cloth satchel over his shoulder and headed toward East Street.
He planned to visit that bookstore again.
Not to buy a book.
The money in his pocket had other uses. He couldn't afford to waste it on leisure reading.
He wanted to see whether Shen Xinyi had any more "books" like that.
If each one could provide three to five skill points, they'd be a much better deal than Ghost Jade.
After all, he wouldn't have to buy the books. He could get them for free.
East Street, the bookstore beneath the parasol tree.
"Sorry, I nearly bumped into you."
Fang Shuwen had just reached the bookstore when its wooden door was flung open.
The person pushing it had been in such a hurry that they nearly hit him.
"It's fine."
Fang Shuwen replied, then his expression briefly froze.
He knew this person—or rather, he'd seen her before.
It was the young woman whose bottom the original owner had pinched.
What a small world.
The young woman clearly recognized him, too. Her cheeks, flushed from hurrying, turned cold in an instant, and her almond-shaped eyes widened.
"You?!"
She took half a step back, instinctively shielding herself with one hand as she stared warily at Fang Shuwen, like a cat with its fur standing on end.
"You lecher! Why are you here again? Are you following me?"
Fang Shuwen gave her a speechless look.
"Miss, what does it have to do with you if I come to the bookstore to read? Do you own this place?"
"You!"
His brazen reply left her momentarily speechless, and her expression darkened further.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But the words died on her lips, and in the end, she only gave a heavy "Hmph."
She turned sideways and walked past Fang Shuwen, heading toward the end of the street without looking back.
After a few steps, she stopped and glared back at him.
"I'm warning you, stay away from me from now on! Otherwise, I'll have my grandfather teach you a lesson!"
With that, she stamped her foot, turned, and vanished into the crowd.
Fang Shuwen watched her go, shook his head, and couldn't be bothered to care.
He pushed open the bookstore door and went inside.
The shop was still quiet.
Behind the counter, Shen Xinyi was holding a book. She looked up at him.
"You again?"
"Good memory, miss." Fang Shuwen smiled and walked up to the counter.
"Do you have a copy of Strange Tales of the Ancient Castle?"
"Strange Tales of the Ancient Castle? You've come at a bad time. Shenghai Bookstore only sends one copy a month, and that girl just bought it."
Fang Shuwen furrowed his brows slightly.
Only one copy a month?
And that girl had bought it?
He sighed inwardly, but didn't think much of it.
It was just one copy of Tales of the Ancient Castle. If it was gone, so be it. He could wait until next month.
It was only one source of foreign energy, after all.
"Then please set one aside for me next month, miss."
Fang Shuwen nodded to Shen Xinyi, turned, and walked out of the bookstore.
The sunlight outside was a little harsh. He squinted and was about to head toward the National Martial Arts Hall.
When he looked up,
he spotted two familiar figures beneath a parasol tree, near a corner across the street.
The woman wore the light blue uniform of a Public Middle School and had her jet-black hair tied in a long braid. But she wasn't Cuicui.
The man was stocky and wore a gray short jacket. He was the same young man who had been embracing Cuicui twice before in the back alley of Zhao Estate.
The two stood close together, and the man was bent toward the woman, whispering in her ear.
The woman's cheeks were flushed, and a smile played on her lips. Every now and then, she gave him a gentle push on the chest.
Well, who would've guessed this young man was such a womanizer and playboy?
Fang Shuwen glanced at them. It was someone else's business, so he pretended not to notice.
As for warning Cuicui, he didn't give it much thought.
She might not believe him anyway.
With that,
he headed toward the end of the street, planning to go to the National Martial Arts Hall and buy Ghost Jade.
After two steps, though, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of the woman suddenly fainting, going limp in the man's arms.
Fang Shuwen's steps faltered.
The young man looked around, hoisted the woman over his shoulder, and carried her into the alley.
The woman's eyes were half-open, her gaze unfocused.
With Fang Shuwen's current level of martial arts, he could tell at a glance that she'd been drugged unconscious.
He stood there, brows knitted into a tight knot.
He'd thought the man was a womanizer, but he hadn't expected this!
What was he planning to do with an unconscious woman?
Fang Shuwen thought it over, then, as if possessed, started following them.