Medicinal Soup

In the days that followed, drawing on the experience of his past life and his current abundance of energy and vitality, Xia Dong had largely completed the Strange Tales section of the Pingyang County Gazetteer in less than half a month.

All that remained was to check a few minor historical details and polish the wording. With a little time and effort, it would be ready for finalization.

Meanwhile, the county gazetteer's revision was a rare cultural event in Pingyang County, one not seen in decades.

For Magistrate Yang, who governed the county, it was a genuine achievement in moral instruction, one that would stand out in bold ink on his year-end performance report.

So when he saw the high-quality first draft Xia Dong submitted, Magistrate Yang was in excellent spirits. He thought highly of the young scholar, whose work was efficient and writing mature, and greatly admired him.

With Magistrate Yang's favor, and Lord He quietly helping things along, it wasn't long before good fortune fell upon Xia Dong: Magistrate Yang personally recommended him, and he became Pingyang County's tribute student for the year.

A tribute student was no small matter. He was one of the best among the local scholars, also known as a "recommended student of the year."

An ordinary scholar, though he did not have to kneel before officials and enjoyed exemption from some labor service, was still only a man with an academic degree, not a true official.

But once a man became a tribute student, he not only gained the right to study at the Imperial College in the capital, but also acquired half an official status. Even if he did not go on to take the provincial examinations, he could still undergo selection by the Ministry of Personnel and be sent to a remote region to serve as an assistant official, such as a county deputy or registrar.

On top of that, tribute students received a generous monthly allowance of grain from the court, and their social standing in the region rose dramatically.

Even the wealthy landowners of Pingyang County had to treat a tribute student with respect and address him as "Old Master." They would never again dare to regard him as an ordinary, down-at-heel scholar.

Yet before the county's scholars could recover from their envy of Xia Dong's rise, Magistrate Yang swiftly dropped another bombshell: the court's new laws would be put into effect, and a martial art called the Five Animals Health Fist would be widely promoted throughout the county!

The new laws came with an official announcement that the court would soon reopen the military examinations.

The Great You Dynasty Court was not merely reopening the military examinations; it had also granted them astonishing privileges. The new laws explicitly stipulated that, from then on, the degrees earned through the military examinations would enjoy privileges that completely surpassed those of the civil examinations!

The most obvious—and most stirring—of these was exemption from land taxes. A civil scholar could receive tax exemption for at most twenty mu of land, while a Martial Scholar could have a full hundred mu exempted!

The news sent shockwaves through the gentry of Pingyang County.

Any scholar with a little insight could see that, though the civil examinations carried more prestige, the military examinations were the true road to bringing glory to one's ancestors and safeguarding one's family's wealth!

To ensure their lineages' continued prosperity, traditional gentry and landlords had no choice but to grit their teeth, cut back on their investment in educating their sons for the civil examinations, and pour their wealth into training them for the military examinations instead.

What's more, the new laws were extremely strict: anyone wishing to practice the Five Animals Health Fist had to use a specific medicinal soup formula. That formula could only be purchased for a hefty sum from an office designated by the government. Anyone caught teaching it privately would be charged with violating state law and shown no mercy!

Not only that, all nourishing herbs used in martial training were to be purchased and sold exclusively through county-wide government channels. They could only be bought and sold at officially designated pharmacies, and private transactions were also a grave crime.

It was a calculated scheme. The court wanted to strengthen its forces while using the opportunity to drain the local magnates' wealth, keeping the lifeblood of martial power and the path to advancement firmly in its own hands.

Still, as the saying went, "Those nearest the water get the moon first."

The new laws would take some time to coordinate and implement locally after their announcement.

As a man in Magistrate Yang's good graces, and someone who had already seen the related classified files, Xia Dong naturally received a discreet hint from the magistrate.

Before the news had spread among the people and Pingyang County's herb prices had gone wild, Xia Dong wasted no time in taking all his savings and secretly stockpiling a large quantity of the necessary nourishing herbs. He also used his connections at the county office to get hold of the exceptionally precious medicinal soup formula for the Five Animals Health Fist ahead of time.

As for the He Family, where Lord He was based, they had even better connections.

They had not only made their arrangements early, but had stockpiled far more herbs than Xia Dong. Riding the new laws' tailwind, they had already taken a huge lead over the other gentry and magnates of Pingyang County before the race had even begun.

He had to admit that having a nimble helper at home made life much easier. It also let Xia Dong devote more of his energy to martial cultivation.

To win her family's loyalty completely, Xia Dong made time to use the little influence he had with Magistrate Yang and Lord He to take care of a small matter: he arranged for Xiao Hong's family to place their few thin acres of land under his name as a "contribution."

Taxes in the Great You Dynasty were complicated, and life was bitter for the common farmers at the bottom.

Now that they had Xia Dong, a tribute student with tax-exemption privileges, to protect them, Xiao Hong's family had become his tenant farmers. They were free of the heavy taxes and levies, and their lives would naturally be far better than those of ordinary farmers.

Through this arrangement, Xia Dong took the opportunity to learn Xiao Hong's background inside and out, confirming that her family was indeed respectable. By having them place their land under his name, he had both shown kindness and wielded authority, binding the whole family firmly to his cause.

Cultivation was a long road, destined to be filled with hardship and solitude. Xia Dong knew he could not be in two places at once.

He needed to cultivate people he could trust, to handle the mundane details of food, clothing, daily life, and social obligations for him.

As for the Qin Family, since they had so far shown nothing but goodwill and had even generously sent him a maid and resources, Xia Dong had no reason to send Xiao Hong away.

Whether that kindness concealed some hidden scheme or an intention to secure an heir was not among Xia Dong's immediate concerns.

In the end, all schemes and tricks were illusions before absolute strength. His most urgent task now was to improve his strength at any cost.

Meanwhile, as Xia Dong recalled the classified documents he had read in the archives, he remained deeply wary of the court's grand campaign to promote the new laws.

Every clue pointed to a cruel truth: the secular martial masters were quite possibly "nourishment" for the lofty cultivators to use in their own cultivation!

If that was the case, why was the court throwing open the military examinations and even using enormous benefits to entice people across the land to practice martial arts?

Was this a struggle between imperial authority and the immortal sects, or was some deeper harvesting scheme at work?

Xia Dong couldn't figure it out.

But he understood his own situation very clearly: he had no Spirit Root and could not embark on the path of cultivation.

Martial arts were his only way to transcend the ordinary for now.

Whether the road ahead led through a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, he had no other choice. He could only keep walking this path for now, Xia Dong thought to himself. He would deal with what came later when it came.

Besides, he was not entirely without support.

His tribute student degree gave him civil standing, which meant he was effectively walking on "two legs."

Even if cultivators really were secretly hunting martial artists to nourish themselves, they would usually target unimportant, unaffiliated fighters first.

His degree from the Great You Dynasty was a protective talisman, a very good shield in its own right.

Of course, he had already intended to avoid displaying profound martial arts before others and to secretly raise his cultivation.

After sorting out his thoughts, Xia Dong settled down completely.

As for the Five Animals Health Fist being promoted under the new laws, Xia Dong had carefully studied the government's secret manual.

It was indeed a solid foundational martial art, designed to regulate the five internal organs and stimulate qi and blood. Since Xia Dong already had a foundation in the Crane Stance, he grasped the Crane Play section at a glance and learned it extremely quickly.

But he did not rush to practice the Five Animals Health Fist alongside his other arts.

Trying to chew too much would leave him unable to swallow any of it. His priority now was to use his abundant medicinal herbs and push the Crane Shadow Step to perfection in one go!

Besides, when danger struck, the Crane Shadow Step was unquestionably his most important means of survival.

With Xiao Hong looking after the household, Xia Dong no longer had to spend every day standing by the clay stove, covered in grime as he boiled medicine.

Xiao Hong was meticulous. Every day, she carefully brewed the perfectly measured Solidify Foundation and Cultivate Origin Soup until it was rich and fragrant, then brought it to Xia Dong's door at the appointed time.

The Solidify Foundation and Cultivate Origin Soup truly lived up to its reputation as a secret medicine of the authorities. Its medicinal power was potent yet gentle.

After downing a bowl of warm soup, Xia Dong felt as if an inextinguishable little furnace had sprung to life in his belly. Waves of heat spread through his meridians and all four limbs.

With that surging medicinal power, Xia Dong practiced the Crane Shadow Step day after day in the cramped little courtyard.

At first, though his steps were light and nimble, they still left traces. When his feet touched the ground, they stirred up a breeze and crushed fallen leaves.

Ten days later, the medicinal power had fully blended with his qi and blood, and his movements began to flow as he pleased.

With every step, the flexing of his leg muscles and the faint tremor of his bones formed a peculiar resonance.

On the twentieth night,

moonlight flowed like water, spilling across the bluestone slabs.

Xia Dong stood with his eyes closed in the courtyard. The medicinal power that had been accumulating in his belly for days seemed to have finally reached some kind of threshold.

Along with a long, distant chime in his sea of consciousness,

he suddenly opened his eyes. His qi and blood surged, and both feet drove off the ground.

Whoosh!

There was no heavy thud of his feet striking the ground, only the faint, sharp whisper of his clothes brushing through the air.

Xia Dong vanished from where he stood in an instant, like a cold crane skimming across the water in the dead of night.

He lightly touched the tip of his foot to a drifting dead leaf. It did not tear or fall, but instead bore his weight and let him glide along.

He leaped lightly across the stone table and the rim of the water vat, even springing from the slender bamboo pole used for hanging clothes. His speed was astonishing; beneath the moonlight, his figure even trailed two or three faint afterimages.

In motion, he was a ghost; at rest, a maiden.

When he stopped and landed steadily in the middle of the courtyard, he had not even let out a single hurried breath. His qi and blood were drawn in to the utmost, as if he had never just made such a vigorous effort.

"So this is the Crane Shadow Step at perfection..."

Feeling the astonishing spring and explosive power in his legs, ready to burst forth at any moment, Xia Dong was delighted.

"The Crane Shadow Step now is probably comparable to the qinggong in the novels from my past life."

But Xia Dong's confidence did not swell. Cultivators still stood high above him, and he did not even know how many trump cards the Great You authorities had or how deep the waters really ran.

Hard training—he still had to keep training hard!