Blade-Catcher

"Ah?!"

Chen Zhuo was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor. He even wondered if he'd heard wrong.

Those several big barrels of Blood-Strengthening Soup had to be worth at least twenty taels of silver.

And he was just supposed to dump them all in?!

"Wait, one of those barrels is mine."

Chen Zhuo studied Yan Ming carefully, eager to see what he was up to.

"Don't look at me like that. I said, you do it."

Master Chef Yan met Chen Zhuo's gaze. "One barrel of Blood-Strengthening Soup, plus a table full of good dishes. Work out for yourself how much that should cost."

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

Chen Zhuo: "..."

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

"Why wouldn't I? I only promised you one meal with meat. I never said I'd give you braised pork for free."

So there was a catch after all...

Chen Zhuo's face darkened. He had no choice but to do as he was told.

He had only a little over five taels of silver on him. No matter how he counted it, that wasn't enough.

"Stop dawdling. Hurry up and pour it in."

"Leave my barrel alone."

"Pay up."

"..."

At Yan Ming's urging, Chen Zhuo exhausted himself, but finally poured all the Blood-Strengthening Soup in the room into the pool.

Five whole barrels of soup filled the pool two-thirds of the way.

Chen Zhuo's heart bled.

There was enough Blood-Strengthening Soup here to last him a long, long time.

"Take off your clothes."

Yan Ming's voice suddenly rang out, but the words that came out of his mouth were unmistakably the stuff of a lecher's dreams.

Chen Zhuo abruptly retreated a step and immediately placed a hand on the saber at his waist.

A familiar feeling washed over him.

Was this another Skin-Peeler Wang?

"I'm not Wang Mingyuan. I don't have those kinds of interests."

Yan Ming glared at Chen Zhuo, then shook his head. "Fine, you don't have to take your clothes off."

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

Even with Yan Ming's explanation, Chen Zhuo couldn't let down his guard. His right hand clamped tightly around the saber at his waist, and the blade had already slid an inch or so from its sheath.

"Troublesome."

Yan Ming sighed.

As his voice fell, he moved.

Chen Zhuo's vision blurred, and Yan Ming vanished in an instant.

But he didn't panic.

His arrow was already on the string. He simply let it fly.

He drew his saber far faster than before.

But a hand suddenly pressed down on the hilt, trying to force the saber back into its sheath.

Chen Zhuo didn't hesitate. He used his foot like a hand and kicked the scabbard.

The scabbard slammed down, and the long saber came free in a different way.

"Oh? Not bad."

The voice by his ear didn't distract him. His saber swiftly carved an arc through the air.

A scrap of cloth fluttered before his eyes.

And two fingers clamped tightly around the blade, stopping it from moving another inch.

Chen Zhuo's expression shifted. He was just about to release the hilt and fight to the death.

But the owner of those fingers suddenly let go and stepped back.

"I thought you were merely tenacious, with a good deal of talent for the saber. I never expected you to be so exceptional in the martial arts as well."

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

"Master Chef Yan, what does this mean?"

Chen Zhuo held his saber across his chest and asked coldly.

But Yan Ming didn't answer his question. "You've only had those three moves of the Zhengyang Blade Technique for a day, right? And you've already practiced them to this level. Good. Very good."

"What a pity. Since that's the case, you and I are not fated to become master and disciple."

Yan Ming studied Chen Zhuo carefully, as if admiring a piece of uncarved jade. His words were full of regret.

"Master and disciple?"

Chen Zhuo remained wary, but he suddenly recalled what Fatty Sun had told him.

Could this Master Chef Yan really have another skill?

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

Yan Ming asked.

"No."

Chen Zhuo shook his head.

But as he thought it over, those three words seemed oddly familiar, as if he had heard them somewhere before.

"Besides humans, there are countless demons in this world. The government Yamen periodically clears demons from the mountains and forests, but Blade-Catchers are another major force in demon extermination."

"Those who capture demons, refine demons, and eat demons are Blade-Catchers."

Yan Ming explained in all seriousness.

As he spoke, he bent down and picked up the scrap of clothing that had fallen to the ground. The longer he looked at it, the more complicated his expression became.

Chen Zhuo said, "I understand. You saw that I was resilient and had a decent hand with the saber, so you wanted to take me as your disciple. That's why you told me to do as you said?"

Yan Ming gave a slight nod, neither confirming nor denying it.

"Looks like you really didn't mean me any harm, Master Yan. I was too suspicious."

Chen Zhuo smiled as he picked up the scabbard and put it back at his waist, then slid his saber into it.

After that, he took the little over five taels of silver from his robes. His attitude changed at once, and his tone turned exceptionally indifferent. "I don't want the Blood-Strengthening Soup. As for that table of food from earlier, work out how much it cost. I'll pay."

"The Blade-Catcher inheritance would let you become a true dragon in Baiyun County. Aren't you sorry you couldn't become my disciple?"

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

"Sorry?"

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

"Farewell."

With the status panel on his side, as long as he didn't die, he would eventually stand at the peak.

Why would he need a master who acted all high and mighty and attacked him without so much as an explanation?

He talked a big game, but wasn't he still holed up in the Yamen's back kitchen, working as a cook?

"Hey, hey, hey, wait."

Seeing Chen Zhuo walk off so dismissively, Yan Ming hurriedly called after him.

Chen Zhuo stopped and turned to look at him. "What else do you want, Master Chef Yan?"

Yan Ming forced a smile. "Young people are always quick to anger. I wanted to take you as my disciple just now, so naturally I was a little harsh. Disciples can be beaten and scolded. It's perfectly normal."

"You're right."

Chen Zhuo nodded. "But what's that got to do with me?"

With that, he started to leave again.

"Wait."

Yan Ming spoke again and said helplessly, "I meant that disciples can be beaten and scolded. But if you were my junior fellow apprentice, I could only look after you properly."

"Hm?"

Chen Zhuo stared at him in surprise. "Junior fellow apprentice?"

"With your talent, I'm not qualified to take you as my disciple."

"Therefore, I can only take you as my junior fellow apprentice on behalf of my master."

Yan Ming spoke earnestly. "I acted rashly when I attacked you just now. I apologize. But you have to admit I've helped you, so do me a favor and become my junior fellow apprentice."

Chen Zhuo said nothing. He looked at Yan Ming, then shifted his gaze to the little pool. "Apart from my barrel, where did you get all this Blood-Strengthening Soup?"

Yan Ming paused, then glanced at the pool and smiled. "This? I can get as much as I want."

"I had this Blood-Strengthening Soup prepared for your bath in the first place. That's why I had you pour it in yourself. The most effective way to use this soup isn't to drink it..."

"Splash."

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

"Senior Brother, thank you."

Yan Ming froze, his whole body going completely still.

But he quickly recovered and gave a light cough, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Senior Brother, who's our master? What should I call him?"

"No rush. You'll learn our master's name once you formally become his disciple."

Yan Ming looked at Chen Zhuo, who had already stripped naked in the pool, and a sudden smile appeared on his face.

"Junior Brother, I'll add something to the pool. It'll be more than ten times as effective as ordinary Blood-Strengthening Soup and do you a world of good."

"It'll hurt a little, but bear with it."

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

In an instant, the Blood-Strengthening Soup in the pool boiled like water over a fire.