After delivering the meat.
Li Yun recalled what he had just seen.
A feeling of unease suddenly stirred in him.
By his reckoning, the emergence of an organization like that was usually a sign of turbulent times.
And now it had appeared in the Outer City.
He couldn't keep slowly building up his vital energy like this. He had to find a way to earn money and buy things that could increase it.
So he headed to the Bounty Pavilion to take a look.
Although he had never taken a task before, Li Yun had been there several times and was already somewhat familiar with the Bounty Pavilion.
As usual, he went straight to the task area on the first floor.
As soon as he entered, he noticed something different from usual.
A screen had been set up by the entrance, with a portrait hanging on it.
Beneath it were the words:
"Two hundred taels of silver for the capture of a lecher.
Appearance: sword-shaped brows and bright eyes, a high nose and thin lips, about eight feet tall.
..."
Li Yun gave it a glance, then lost interest in reading further.
It had little to do with him.
He continued looking over the wooden plaques on the wall, searching for a suitable task.
"Crow Mountain hunting guide?"
A little puzzled, Li Yun thought:
Could that Miss Huang be going hunting again?
He would ask Senior Sister Yu about it that afternoon.
After scanning all the plaques on the wall, Li Yun finally found an excellent task.
He memorized its number and went to the counter.
"Hello. I'd like to ask about task 2501."
The attendant flipped through a ledger and quickly found the detailed record, then answered Li Yun:
"Master Zhang, from Fortune Lane in the eastern district of the Outer City, is looking for a miraculous weight-loss remedy.
"The reward is one hundred taels of silver, but for further details, you'll need to discuss it in person at his residence."
Heh.
It was that Master Zhang again.
Li Yun couldn't help but smile. It seemed he really did have a connection with that square-shaped cousin of his.
But the man truly doted on his daughter, willing to put up a hundred taels for her.
There was no danger, and the reward was generous. There was no reason not to accept the task.
"All right, I'll take it."
"Just go straight there. Master Zhang will keep the task posted until someone finds a remedy."
"Fine."
Li Yun followed the address to Zhang Mansion.
Two green-stone lions crouched beside the gate, lending the place quite an imposing air.
No wonder he had so much money and was willing to help his daughter lose weight.
Li Yun raised his hand and knocked. The copper ring struck the wooden door.
Clang, clang~
Before long, the side door creaked open, and a middle-aged-to-elderly man peered out. Several deep furrows marked his forehead.
"Sorry to trouble you. I accepted Master Zhang's bounty at the Bounty Pavilion and have come to present a remedy."
The man didn't respond. Many people had come by over the past two days, but they had all brought fake prescriptions, hoping to swindle a reward.
He looked Li Yun up and down.
Li Yun stood straight as a pine, his eyes bright. He didn't seem like an ordinary person.
But his face was too youthful. He looked no older than twenty.
The man turned the matter over in his mind, unconvinced that someone so young could have much ability.
Still, he said nothing more and instead led Li Yun to see his master.
"Please, come with me."
Li Yun followed the man into Zhang Mansion.
After passing through two courtyards, they came to a pavilion.
There, Li Yun saw a somewhat portly middle-aged man who was probably Master Zhang.
Beside him were two maids, and also...
A mountain of flesh.
She was sprawled in a chair, layers of flesh sagging down, her arms as thick as an ordinary person's waist.
The fat around her collar strained it open. With every breath, the flesh on her body wobbled, while a heavy snore rumbled in her throat.
It took a certain talent to eat oneself to this size.
"Master, this gentleman says he saw the bounty at the Bounty Pavilion and has come to offer a remedy."
"Mm."
Zhang Yang paused, his fat hand clutching a piece of candied fruit, then turned to look at the newcomer.
So young?
This kid doesn't even look twenty. What could he possibly know?
But the bounty had been posted at the Bounty Pavilion for half a month. The people who came were either swindlers or offered bland, watery recipes that didn't work.
Since the boy was here anyway, he might as well hear what he had to say.
"What method do you have for helping my daughter lose weight?"
Li Yun glanced at the food on the table: candied fruit, greasy meat...
With all those high-calorie foods, it would have been strange if she weren't fat.
"If Miss Thousand-Catty does as I say, she'll see results within a month."
To make himself sound more convincing, Li Yun added:
"You can pay me the reward after a month, once you've seen the results."
"Oh?"
Hearing Li Yun say this, Zhang Yang raised his brows slightly, somewhat surprised.
The people who had come by in recent days had either bragged themselves hoarse, talking up their recipes as if they were wondrous beyond compare,
or barely waited until they'd opened their mouths before eagerly reaching out for an advance. Every one of them had an ugly face.
But this young man didn't seem the least bit boastful. Instead, he was willing to wait until his remedy worked before collecting the reward.
That alone eased some of the disdain Zhang Yang had been harboring.
"All right. If it works after a month, I can increase the reward.
"First, tell me what my daughter will need to do."
Li Yun naturally wasn't going to explain "high-calorie" foods to Zhang Yang.
The man wouldn't understand the term. He would only think Li Yun was talking nonsense.
Li Yun organized his thoughts, then explained simply:
"Master Zhang, people don't put on weight out of nowhere."
His gaze swept over the glistening fatty meat and the candied fruit coated in sugar. He pointed at them.
"Weight and food are tightly bound together. It's not that your daughter can't eat these things; she just needs to be selective.
"Take these candied fruits, for instance. They're coated in honey, and all that sweetness builds up inside her.
"And she mustn't touch that fatty meat.
"Starting today, I'll weigh your daughter, calculate how much she should eat each day, and prepare a meal plan for her to follow.
"She'll also need to do a suitable amount of exercise.
"In a month, we'll see the results."
He would calculate the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats down to the last detail.
If the calories she ate were lower than the calories she burned,
her body would naturally use up its excess fat to make up the difference.
As long as she watched what she ate, she would naturally slim down.
Zhang Yang listened as Li Yun spoke with such confidence that he seemed to know what he was doing.
He believed him about thirty percent.
Then he turned to look at his daughter, Zhang Meili.
Seeing her father's questioning gaze, Zhang Meili steeled herself and nodded in agreement.
Not being allowed to eat all those delicious foods would be terribly hard for her.
But she was already twenty-five and still unmarried.
She was growing truly anxious.
Seeing that his daughter agreed as well, Zhang Yang gave his consent.
"Fine. Write the prescription now."
"All right. I'll dictate it, and you can have someone write it down."
Li Yun wasn't worried that Zhang Yang would renege afterward.
Even setting Li Yun himself aside, Zhang Yang wouldn't get past the Bounty Pavilion.
Next, Li Yun had someone weigh Miss Thousand-Catty.
Then he calculated the maximum number of calories she could consume each day.
He divided them proportionally among the three main nutrients.
As for exercise, it was essential.
Otherwise, after Miss Zhang slimmed down, her excess skin wouldn't tighten.
Then Li Yun wouldn't be able to collect the extra reward.
High-intensity exercise was out of the question. Her weight made that impossible.
The only thing Li Yun could think of was swimming.
Even if she couldn't swim, she could walk around underwater.
She could learn to swim after she had lost some weight.
So he asked Zhang Yang to have a simple swimming pool dug in the residence.
The man didn't question it and immediately ordered the servants to get to work.
Before you continue