The Blade-Catcher

"Ah?!"

Chen Zhuo was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor; he even suspected he had misheard.

These several large barrels of Blood-Strengthening Soup must have cost at least twenty taels of silver.

Just like that, they were poured out?

Wait, one of those barrels was my own.

Chen Zhuo scrutinized Yan Ming, desperate to figure out what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd.

"Don't look at me with those eyes. I speak, you obey."

Master Chef Yan stared back at Chen Zhuo. "One barrel of Blood-Strengthening Soup, plus a table of fine dishes—calculate the cost yourself."

"If you don't want to do it, pay up."

Chen Zhuo: "..."

"You're charging for that table of food too?"

"Why wouldn't I? I only promised you one meat dish; I never intended to give you braised pork for free."

A trap, just as I thought...

Chen Zhuo's face darkened, but he had no choice but to comply.

With only five taels of silver in his pocket, there was no way it would be enough.

"Don't dawdle, pour it in quickly."

"Leave my barrel alone."

"Pay me."

"..."

Under Yan Ming's urging, Chen Zhuo exhausted all his strength to finally dump all the Blood-Strengthening Soup in the room into the pool.

Five full, large barrels of soup filled the pool to two-thirds capacity.

Chen Zhuo's heart bled.

With this much Blood-Strengthening Soup, he could have been drinking it for a very, very long time.

"Take off your clothes."

Yan Ming's voice rang out abruptly, but the words were undeniably suggestive.

Chen Zhuo recoiled a step, his hand instantly flying to the saber at his waist.

A familiar feeling surged in his heart.

Could he be another Skin-Peeler Wang?

"I am not Wang Mingyuan; I don't have those kinds of predilections."

Yan Ming glared fiercely at Chen Zhuo and shook his head. "Fine, you don't have to take them off."

Wang Mingyuan was indeed Skin-Peeler Wang's full name.

Even with Yan Ming's explanation, Chen Zhuo could not lower his guard. His right hand pressed firmly against his waist, the saber already having slipped an inch from its scabbard.

"Troublesome."

Yan Ming let out a soft sigh.

As the sound faded, he moved.

Chen Zhuo's vision blurred, and Yan Ming's figure vanished instantly.

But he didn't panic.

The arrow was already on the string; he simply went with the flow.

He drew his blade faster than ever before.

However, a hand suddenly pressed down on his hilt, attempting to force the saber back into its sheath.

Without a second thought, Chen Zhuo used his foot to kick the scabbard.

The scabbard dropped heavily, and the long blade slid out in a different manner.

"Oh? Not bad."

The voice by his ear didn't distract him; the long blade carved a swift arc through the air.

A scrap of fabric drifted before his eyes.

Furthermore, two fingers were clamped tightly onto the blade, preventing it from moving even a fraction further.

Chen Zhuo's expression shifted slightly. Just as he prepared to release the hilt and fight to the death, the owner of the fingers suddenly let go and stepped back.

"I originally thought you were merely tenacious and possessed a certain talent for knife work, but I never imagined your martial arts would be so extraordinary as well."

The stern, rigid expression Yan Ming had worn for years finally vanished completely.

"Master Chef Yan, what is the meaning of this?"

Chen Zhuo held his blade horizontally across his chest and asked coldly.

However, Yan Ming ignored the question: "You've only had these three moves of the Zhengyang Blade Technique for a day, yet you've already practiced them to this level. Good, truly good."

"It is a pity, but since things have come to this, the bond between master and apprentice is no more."

Yan Ming examined Chen Zhuo as if admiring a piece of raw jade, his words filled with regret.

"Master and apprentice?"

Chen Zhuo's vigilance did not fade, but he suddenly recalled the advice Fatty Sun had given him.

Could it be that this Master Chef Yan truly possessed other capabilities?

"Have you ever heard of a Blade-Catcher?"

Yan Ming asked.

"No."

Chen Zhuo shook his head.

Yet, as he thought about it carefully, the three words felt familiar, as if he had heard them somewhere before.

"In this world, besides humans, there are countless demons. Apart from the government offices that regularly clear out the monsters in the mountains and forests, Blade-Catchers are the main force in exterminating them."

"Those who catch, refine, and consume demons are known as Blade-Catchers."

Yan Ming explained with great seriousness.

As he spoke, he leaned down to pick up a scrap of fabric from his sleeve that had fallen to the ground, his expression growing more complex the longer he looked at it.

Chen Zhuo said: "I understand. You saw that my resilience was decent and my blade skills were not bad, so you originally intended to take me as an apprentice, which is why you made me do those things?"

Yan Ming nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying.

"It seems you truly had no ill intentions, Master Yan. It was my own petty heart that misjudged you."

Chen Zhuo smiled as he picked up his scabbard, tucked it back into his waist, and sheathed his blade.

After doing this, he took out the five-plus taels of silver from his pocket. His attitude shifted abruptly, and his tone became exceptionally indifferent: "I don't want the Blood-Strengthening Soup anymore. As for that table of food from earlier, calculate the cost, and I will pay for it."

"The inheritance of a Blade-Catcher is enough to make you a true dragon in Baiyun County. Do you not feel it is a pity that you won't be my apprentice?"

Yan Ming looked at the silver in Chen Zhuo's hand and asked in surprise.

"A pity?"

Chen Zhuo laughed. He said nothing more and turned to leave.

"Farewell."

With the system panel at his disposal, as long as he didn't die, he would reach the pinnacle sooner or later.

Why would he need a master who acted high and mighty and attacked him without a word?

If he was so impressive, why was he still hiding in the back kitchen of the government office as a mere cook?

"Hey, hey, hey, wait."

Seeing Chen Zhuo leave with such disdain, Yan Ming hurriedly called out to him.

Chen Zhuo paused and turned to look at him: "Does Master Chef Yan have any other instructions?"

Yan Ming forced a smile: "Young people are always hot-headed. I wanted to take you as an apprentice earlier, so my attitude was naturally a bit poor. Apprentices are meant to be scolded and beaten; that is normal."

"You are right."

Chen Zhuo nodded: "But what does that have to do with me?"

With that, he prepared to leave once more.

"Wait a moment."

Yan Ming spoke again, saying helplessly: "What I mean is, while an apprentice can be scolded and beaten, a junior martial brother must be well protected."

"Hmm?"

Chen Zhuo was stunned: "Junior martial brother?"

"With your talent, I am not qualified to take you as an apprentice."

"Therefore, I can only accept you on behalf of my master."

Yan Ming said earnestly: "I was rash to attack you earlier, and I apologize. But regardless, I have helped you before. Give me some face and become my junior martial brother?"

Chen Zhuo did not speak. He looked at Yan Ming, then shifted his gaze toward the small pool: "Aside from that bucket of mine, where did you get so much Blood-Strengthening Soup?"

Yan Ming blinked, glanced at the small pool, and laughed: "Is that all? Isn't there as much as you could want?"

"These soups were originally intended for your bath, which is why I told you to pour them in yourself. The most effective way to use this soup is not by drinking it..."

Splash.

Before Yan Ming could finish, Chen Zhuo jumped directly into the pool.

"Senior brother, many thanks."

Yan Ming's expression froze, his entire body locking up in an instant.

But he quickly returned to normal, clearing his throat in an attempt to dissolve the awkwardness.

"Senior Brother, who is our master? How should I address him?"

"No rush. You will naturally learn Master's name once you have formally apprenticed."

Yan Ming looked at Chen Zhuo, who had stripped down to nothing in the pool, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"Junior Brother, I'm going to add a little something extra for you. The effect will be ten times better than this ordinary Blood-Strengthening Soup, and it will be of immense benefit to you."

"It'll just be a little painful, so bear with it."

As he spoke, he took a porcelain bottle from his waist, opened it, and poured the bright red liquid inside directly into the pool.

In an instant, the Blood-Strengthening Soup in the pool began to boil as if it were water over a fire.