Thought

In the darkness, a torch fell to the ground.

The flickering firelight illuminated five different faces.

"Let her go."

The shadow paused only briefly before quickly recovering. Shaking his head, he burst into laughter:

"You two can't even stand up, yet you're still trying to act tough? Get on your knees and kowtow obediently. Maybe then I'll still..."

Before he could finish, the shadow suddenly dropped and rolled across the ground, swiftly opening a distance of three paces.

He then knelt on one knee, cautiously looking toward the direction he had just faced.

In the gloom, Lu Cheng took off his outer robe and draped it over Liu Wan'er.

Only then could Liu Wan'er no longer hold back her tears and sobs.

"Lu Cheng! Thank goodness!"

"Why are you here?"

Fatty and Liu Chang'an were both greatly startled, but they also breathed a sigh of relief.

The shadow slowly rose with caution, staring gravely at Lu Cheng.

He rapidly weighed the strength of both sides in his heart.

Though lust had clouded his mind earlier, he had not completely abandoned his vigilance.

Yet even so, he had still failed to notice when Lu Cheng had appeared.

That could only mean Lu Cheng's strength was in no way beneath his own.

Thus, he had pretended not to notice him, intending to lower Lu Cheng's guard with words before suddenly darting away to widen the distance.

Now that he looked at it, although this newcomer was quite capable, he should have had little experience.

At that thought, the shadow finally let go of some of his tension.

"Kid, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business."

As he spoke, he drew a short blade with a shing and twirled it in his hand.

Yet Lu Cheng did not even glance at the man. He helped Liu Wan'er up and settled her against the wall.

Then he frowned as he looked at her right arm.

The seeping blood had already dyed the entire sleeve completely red.

The shadow had initially intended to seize an opportunity to retreat, but when he saw Lu Cheng attend to Liu Wan'er rather than guard against him first, his contempt deepened.

The lust that had just been extinguished surged up again.

So he really was merely a somewhat talented youth. Seeing his beloved injured, the first thing he thought of was helping her up.

A bunch of chicks who didn't know shit. It was only right that this old man enjoyed some romantic fortune tonight!

With that thought, he kicked off the ground and pounced at Lu Cheng, silently thrusting the short blade toward Lu Cheng's back.

"Lu Cheng, watch out!"

"Shameless sneak attack!"

Liu Chang'an and Fatty shouted warnings urgently.

But the three-pace distance vanished in an instant, and the cold gleam in the shadow's hand had already enveloped Lu Cheng's back.

Lu Cheng did not even turn his head. Twisting at the waist and back, he pushed off with his feet, and his entire body suddenly drifted in a blur to the shadow's side.

He shot out a palm, striking the shadow's arm first.

His force erupted, knocking the short blade away.

Then his palm became a claw, traveling from the shadow's wrist upward, past his forearm, elbow, and upper arm, until it reached the hollow of his shoulder.

Accompanied by the shadow's scream, every place Lu Cheng's hand passed produced a clear sound of bones shattering beneath his claw.

Finally, his hand stopped at the shadow's neck.

The shadow was scared out of his wits. Disregarding the pain, he immediately begged for mercy.

"Don't kill me! I'm from the Azure Dragon..."

Upon hearing the words "Azure Dragon," Lu Cheng's gaze sharpened. Before the shadow could finish, he clenched his claw.

His force erupted. With a crack, the shadow's head tilted to one side, and he never spoke again.

Fatty and the other were dumbfounded.

"He... he killed him?"

This was their first time seeing Lu Cheng kill someone with such clean decisiveness.

When he had sparred with Chen Qing at the Escort Agency before, he had also been terrifying, but he had not ultimately delivered the fatal blow.

They were clearly about the same age, yet Lu Cheng's temperament had already surpassed theirs by far.

"A villain like this has surely taken no few lives. Killing him cleans things up instead."

As he spoke, he reached out and searched the shadow's body.

First, he found a bundle on his back containing a large number of gold and silver vessels.

There was no need to say it—these had to be stolen goods this man had just taken.

Lu Cheng then searched the shadow's chest, waist, and abdomen, pulling out a pouch of silver and a wooden plaque.

The pouch of silver was heavy. A rough estimate put it at six or seven taels.

Hm?

"This petty thief actually stole my money while we were fighting."

"Hmph. He nearly got away with it."

After putting the stolen silver away again, Lu Cheng looked at the wooden plaque.

By the dim torchlight, he could vaguely make out a coiling dragon carved upon it.

"Dragon... Azure Dragon Martial Hall? Just as expected."

Looking at the thief lying dead at his feet, Lu Cheng seemed to have confirmed his earlier suspicions.

The stakes Shen Yi had demanded were worth roughly fifty thousand taels in total.

To the seventeen halls of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, fifty thousand taels could practically be called an astronomical price.

Paying that money themselves would surely leave them badly wounded.

But if they robbed it, things would become much easier.

The strength of those people who had raided Liu Village was truly frightening.

One Late Stage of Strength Refining, four Refining Strength Mid-Stage fighters, and more than ten Early Stage of Strength Refining fighters.

What bandit stronghold near Yang City could produce such strength?

If one could, Shen Yi would have wiped it out long ago.

He was eager to accumulate merit for promotion. How could he allow bandits to be so arrogant?

Therefore, only those martial sects that usually disguised themselves as respectable could casually dispatch such strength.

Even the current chaos in South City was probably because the several powers behind those guilds had pressed them too hard.

At that thought, Lu Cheng felt that he had grasped something.

Yet for the moment, he could not figure it out.

He could only set it aside for now.

He put away the wooden plaque without removing the man's face covering, picked up the torch, and returned to Liu Wan'er's side.

He had not brought any medicine for wounds, so he could not bandage or treat her for the moment.

Fortunately, the nearby householders had already heard the commotion and begun to move about.

Although the medicine kept by such wealthy households was ordinary, it was better than nothing.

Though Lu Cheng had dealt with the man, the credit was still counted toward Fatty and the other two.

The items stolen from the man belonged to five or six households and were worth at least fifty taels.

Moreover, he had been a martial artist. Ordinary street patrolmen would never have been able to restrain him.

Along with Liu Wan'er's blood-soaked appearance, the steward immediately gave them one tael of silver as medicine money and a reward.

"Damn it, that was fifty taels' worth of stuff, and they only gave us one tael as payment?"

"That old bastard definitely pocketed plenty of it himself!"

Once a thief had appeared, every household not only reported it to the authorities but also sprang into action.

With such a commotion, there was no longer any need for street patrols.

Naturally, the four of them needed to hurry back first and treat Liu Wan'er.

Fatty grumbled as they walked.

That incident just now had truly frightened him.

If anything had happened to Liu Wan'er, neither of them would have known how to explain it.

Lu Cheng and Liu Chang'an supported Liu Wan'er. Hearing this, they shook their heads.

"Why are you still worrying about whether there was more or less money?"

"Luckily I arrived quickly. Otherwise, you would have been in danger."

As he spoke, he turned to Liu Wan'er.

"Only a hundred copper coins for an entire night is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the compensation of over four thousand taels."

"You train martial arts during the day and patrol the streets at night. How can your bodies withstand that?"

"Besides, South City is so dangerous. It really isn't worth it."

Fatty shook his head.

"Sigh, how could we not know that?"

"But what else can we do? The village is already preparing to sell its land."

Lu Cheng was slightly startled.

"How has it become so serious?"

"Though over four thousand taels of silver is no small sum, you should be able to borrow it, shouldn't you?"

"If all else fails, ask that Right Vice Minister to put in a word and have the Zhang Family grant you a few more days. Surely it has not come to selling land."

Medicinal fields were valuable. No matter how much they sold for, selling them would be a loss.

Liu Chang'an shook his head.

"Zhou Yunxiang was brought in by that accountant from the Lin Martial Arts Hall."

"After the incident, the clan head filed a complaint against him, and he has already been transferred away."

"It would be inappropriate to seek out that lord again now."

"Besides, things are not actually as serious as Liu Guicai made them sound."

"Talk of selling the land was merely angry words from several elders."

"The Zhang Family said that, for that lord's sake, they were willing to send an Alchemist over to help refine medicine."

"As long as the amount of finished medicine matched what ten carts of medicinal herbs should normally yield, the matter would be settled."

"And what are the conditions?" Lu Cheng asked in a low voice.

The Zhang Family was also a martial lineage, no weaker than a sect like Emerald Cloud Abbey.

That Right Vice Minister indeed wielded considerable power, but not enough to make the Zhang Family yield so meekly.

Liu Chang'an said, "We provide all the medicinal herbs ourselves. If there is not enough, the Zhang Family can advance some, but we must repay it fivefold, with the future output of Liu Village's medicinal fields as collateral."

Fatty said indignantly, "They're clearly trying to swindle us to death!"

"The Zhang Family said their Alchemist had a sixty percent pill yield rate. From three thousand batches of herbs in ten carts, they should be able to refine eighteen hundred portions of Blood-Activating Powder."

"But in reality, fifty percent at most."

"With our remaining two carts of herbs, it would already be good if we could refine three hundred portions of finished medicine."

"With one increase and one decrease, the medicinal herbs we need to compensate directly snowball into ten thousand portions!"

"By the time it is calculated, not only will we have paid no less, it will also amount to growing medicinal fields for an entire year for nothing!"

Lu Cheng finally understood.

"So you want to earn more money now to buy medicinal herbs, so you can compensate less later?"

Liu Chang'an nodded.

"The most cost-effective method, of course, would be to directly compensate the Zhang Family with four thousand five hundred taels of silver."

"But we simply cannot gather that much silver without selling land."

"The Zhang Family has seized upon that very point to make such harsh demands."

After speaking, he shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

As Lu Cheng listened to the three of them, he suddenly recalled something and asked, "If that is the case, why don't you train or hire an Alchemist yourselves to refine Blood-Activating Powder?"

"A batch of medicinal herbs sells for only five mace of silver, but once refined into Blood-Activating Powder, it is worth three taels."

"Even if the pill yield rate is only twenty percent, it should still be worthwhile, right?"

What was more, five mace was the selling price. The cost of growing the herbs themselves would certainly be lower.

More importantly, they would not encounter uncontrollable incidents like their medicinal herbs being robbed.

Liu Chang'an shook his head.

"Alchemists cannot simply be trained, and Liu Village cannot keep an Alchemist either."

Lu Cheng asked in confusion, "Why is that? Could it be that, like martial artists, they require some special aptitude?"

"Even if that truly is the case, hiring an Alchemist should not be difficult. From what I've seen, Clan Head Liu is not a stingy person."

Liu Chang'an shook his head.

"That is not it. Uncle Xun is quite fair-minded. Over the years, aside from the portion sent to that important figure, the rest of the income was divided among the households. He himself has never taken extra."

"But Alchemists are not people you can hire merely because you have money."

"Let me ask you this: if you were an alchemist, would you spend your whole life refining nothing but Blood-Activating Powder?"

Lu Cheng said:

"Of course not. Blood-Activating Powder is, after all, only medicine for Strength-Refining Martial Artists."

"At the Body Refining Realm, there are many other pills and medicines, such as Hundred Essence Pills and Bone-Strengthening Powder. Not to mention Qi Condensation Pills after reaching higher realms. If possible, then of course..."

Before he could finish, Lu Cheng understood on his own.

Liu Chang'an nodded and continued:

"Exactly. Alchemists are no different from martial artists. Tell me, what martial artist does not wish to pursue a higher realm?"

"But Liu Village only grows the herbs for Blood-Activating Powder. Even if we had an alchemist, would we have to buy the other herbs? Those herbs are not something five mace of silver can buy. Some are not even sold to outsiders."

"Those more precious herbs not only have demanding cultivation requirements, but their survival rate is also extremely low. Liu Village's two thousand mu of medicinal fields simply cannot withstand such tossing about."

At this point, Liu Wan'er added:

"Lu Cheng, you may not know this, but of Yunshan County's three great alchemist lineages, the Zhang Family is actually the smallest."

"Yet even so, they have more than ten thousand mu of medicinal fields and over thirty thousand herb farmers!"

"Blood-Activating Powder accounts for only a small portion of it. Most of the rest are herbs needed for the Body Refining Realm and Qi Refining Realm."

"I heard that the Zhang Family's core twenty mu of high-grade medicinal fields grow the herbs for Qi Condensation Pills!"

"With those herbs to rely on, those three lineages carry considerable weight even in the prefectural city."

Qi Condensation Pills!

Lu Cheng was not unfamiliar with those at all.

Yunhuizi had come to Yang City in order to escort a single Qi Condensation Pill!

That was a Mid-Stage Qi Refining Realm martial artist, a figure who could walk sideways through all of Dongyang Prefecture!

That alone showed the importance of Qi Condensation Pills.

And since those three lineages cultivated the herbs for Qi Condensation Pills, it meant they possessed the ability to refine them!

A lineage like that, even without a Qi Refining Realm expert, would not lack influence.

Compared with them, neither Yangcheng County nor Liu Village amounted to much.

Liu Chang'an nodded.

"So unless it was for that lord, the Zhang Family would never have taken an interest in our meager herbs."

"But in Yangcheng County, no one can swallow such a batch of medicine either. So when the Zhang Family acted this way, they truly had no fear that we might object."

Lu Cheng nodded inwardly. That was indeed the truth. The Zhang Family was completely secure in its position.

"As for training an alchemist ourselves, that is even harder."

"Even ordinary medicine for treating illness requires attention to the balance of 'sovereign, minister, assistant, and guide,' taking into account conflicts and complementarities in medicinal effects. Martial artists' pills are even less ordinary; their requirements surpass those of common medicine a hundredfold."

"Even herbs grown in the same medicinal field differ in potency from plant to plant. A single prescription might contain eighteen ingredients, and every single plant is different."

"An alchemist must swiftly discover those differences during the refining process, then adjust the amounts of the other herbs according to their medicinal properties."

"But this process is extremely difficult to control. The slightest oversight or delay could ruin the medicine, and might even produce Pill Poison."

"Only those with a relatively high wood affinity can perceive changes in medicinal properties more keenly, and only then do they have a chance to become alchemists. Liu Village has nearly a thousand people, yet not one possesses such aptitude."

High wood affinity? Sensing changes in medicinal properties?

Those requirements were indeed rather harsh.

But suddenly, Lu Cheng thought of something else.

His heart immediately began to pound violently.

A packet of Blood-Activating Powder cost five mace of silver.

Yet its market price was three taels.

The profit in it was astonishingly great.

Yet what truly moved Lu Cheng was not the profit, but another thought.

It was the superior-grade pills Zhao Cheng had mentioned!

With [Heavenly Mandate] in hand, any skill or method only needed to be learned once before he could deduce the most perfect training steps.

[Fishing] and [Swimming] were like that.

[Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance] and [Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk] were like that as well.

Even the incomplete River-Blocking Halberd Technique could be fully deduced.

Then what about alchemy?

As long as he could obtain a Pill Formula, [Heavenly Mandate] could deduce the optimal refining method.

In that case, perhaps he would not need any "high wood affinity"?

The moment that thought arose, it was like a spark falling onto dry kindling.

It flared up in an instant, impossible to suppress no matter how hard he tried.

Even his voice became somewhat hoarse.

"Chang'an, from the sound of it, do you have the Pill Formula for Blood-Activating Powder?"