Chapter 28

Outside the window, the night faded away.

The next day, when Luo Qingchen emerged from the first house, Chen Ju was in the nearby stone house, humming a tune while brewing medicine, looking to be in quite a good mood.

Luo Qingchen's gaze shifted to the second house next door.

The bloodstains at the entrance had not yet been cleaned.

The door was left ajar, and the figures of Wang Long and Wang Hu were no longer inside.

Last night, after he had retrieved several bags of iron nails from under his bed and set up the room, he had pried off the roof tiles and left, hiding himself in the first house.

He was naturally well aware of what had transpired just a wall away.

The hunters had suddenly become the hunted, much to the benefit of other predators.

He did not know how much blood those hunters lurking in the shadows had taken from the two brothers in total, but they likely "showed mercy" to ensure the brothers did not die on the spot.

After all, every Blood Medicine here had their own master.

If two of them died at once, and the respective masters truly came to investigate, everyone here might find themselves in trouble.

Moreover, they were different from those higher up.

Those above did not care if a Blood Medicine lived long, as they had more than one; but the people here, lacking their own Blood Medicine, understood the value of long-term gain.

The longer the subjects lived, the more opportunities they had to obtain fresh blood again.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, they would not drive a person to their death.

Luo Qingchen entered the second house and collected his belongings.

Leaving the room, he walked over to the stone house.

Inside, Chen Ju stood before the stove, stirring the medicinal broth in the pot with a spatula while humming a cheerful tune.

A thick, pungent scent of herbs permeated the entire room.

"Brother Chen seems to be in a very good mood."

Luo Qingchen spoke from the doorway.

Chen Ju turned his head to look at him, his face instantly breaking into a smile: "Brother Luo is up? How are you feeling? You had quite a bit of blood taken yesterday; I was worried about you."

Luo Qingchen replied calmly: "Many thanks for your concern, Brother Chen, I am fine."

As he spoke, he looked toward the pot and asked: "Is Brother Chen preparing a medicinal bath? Did you get some fresh blood?"

Chen Ju laughed: "There's no fresh blood to be had. I'm just brewing some medicine to test it out, same as you did before."

He stirred the broth while letting out a long sigh: "For cultivators like us, poor and without backing, it is no easy task to obtain fresh blood for cultivation."

Luo Qingchen nodded: "Brother Chen is right. By the way, where is Head Zhang? I haven't seen him for a few days."

Chen Ju said: "It's because of the murder cases in the building. The Town Guard has been running around in circles lately, so they had him go over to help. Why, does Brother Luo have business with Head Zhang?"

"Nothing, just asking."

Luo Qingchen did not say more and prepared to take his leave.

Chen Ju suddenly added: "Oh, right, Brother Luo probably doesn't know yet, does he? Last night, Wang Long and Wang Hu went out for some reason, and both returned injured. Neither of them can walk for the time being, and they are extremely weak. So, tonight, the two of us will have to take their shift for the night patrol."

"Oh?"

Luo Qingchen looked at him and asked: "Are they in their room recovering now?"

Chen Ju replied: "Yes, Brother Sun and I went to visit them this morning. Would Brother Luo like to go pay them a visit?"

"Of course, we are all brothers, after all."

Luo Qingchen smiled faintly and walked toward the house of Wang Long and Wang Hu.

Chen Ju watched his retreating back, his face still wearing a smile.

Once the figure had walked far away, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he muttered to himself: "This kid is truly formidable. Those two brothers are not easy to deal with, yet in the first encounter, they were nearly killed. It seems I must be even more careful in the future."

"Thump! Thump!"

Luo Qingchen arrived at the door of Wang Long and Wang Hu's room and knocked.

From inside, Wang Long's tense and cold voice immediately rang out: "Who is it?"

Both brothers were injured now, so they were likely on guard against others at all times; when sleeping or recovering, one was likely awake while the other slept.

Luo Qingchen said: "I heard that the two brothers were injured, so I, Luo Qingchen, have come to pay a visit."

Wang Hu had woken up as well, and upon hearing the name, he could not help but curse angrily: "Get lost! We don't need a little bastard like you to come here and act hypocritical!"

Wang Long suppressed his anger, gritted his teeth, and said: "Many thanks for your concern, Brother Luo, but we are both injured and are not in a state to receive guests."

Both of their voices sounded very weak.

Seeing that they were indeed still alive, Luo Qingchen said no more, offered a polite "sorry to disturb," and turned to leave.

It seemed those people truly did not dare to kill easily.

With that, he felt at least slightly more at ease, no longer needing to worry about being assassinated at any moment.

However, even so, he could not afford to be the least bit careless.

No one could guarantee that those people wouldn't see blood and lose their minds next time, killing for the sake of it.

Furthermore, that Heart-Plucking Monster remained hidden in the darkness, ready to leap out at any moment and deliver a fatal blow.

He returned to the second room.

After setting up his traps, he lay down on the bed, preparing to sleep for a few hours.

He still had to patrol tonight, so he needed to maintain his best mental state.

As he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, Chen Ju had already finished brewing the medicine, moved the tub into his room, locked the doors and windows, and began his medicinal bath.

The collision between the Demon Stone and the fresh blood quickly transformed into a powerful surge of medicinal energy.

Chen Ju groaned in comfort.

In the other two rooms, Sun Tong and Zhou Yan were also soaking in the thick medicinal broth with expressions of enjoyment.

Only the brothers Wang Long and Wang Hu lay weakly on their beds, groaning in pain.

"Swish!"

After Luo Qingchen rose, he continued his cultivation.

The remaining medicinal energy within his body tempered his bones at an even faster rate.

Pain and pleasure coexisted.

By evening, he took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and left the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

The streets were desolate, exceptionally cold and quiet.

Zhao Shi sat alone at a roadside stall, his gaze vacant, lost in thought.

When Luo Qingchen walked over, Zhao Shi was about to call out, but upon recognizing him, he said with pleasant surprise, "A-Chen, it's you."

Luo Qingchen walked over and sat beside him, looking at him as he asked, "I heard something happened to Uncle Zhao?"

The expression on Zhao Shi's face turned somewhat wooden. "Yeah, Father met with an accident. They said he was walking down the road and was bitten to death by a mad dog. I didn't even get to see the body."

Luo Qingchen remained silent, saying nothing.

Just as he had expected, those people would never tell Zhao Shi the truth.

"A-Yun came by yesterday. She said that on that night, Father went to the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, slept with a girl without paying, and ran up a debt."

After Zhao Shi finished speaking, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on his face.

He looked at the youth beside him and asked, "A-Chen, do you look down on me and my father? Living off a weak woman, even needing A-Yun to pay for our visits to the brothel."

Luo Qingchen did not answer, instead asking, "Why didn't you go to Clear River City back then?"

At these words, Zhao Shi's face was filled with bitterness. "A-Chen, not everyone can enter the city. Even if one can get in, it doesn't mean everyone can survive there."

Luo Qingchen fell silent.

"For people like us, just staying alive is hard enough."

After Zhao Shi finished speaking, he was silent for a moment before saying in a complex tone, "Actually, with Father dead, A-Yun is finally free. Back then, to force her into prostitution, Father did many terrible things to her, and he was always going to her for money."

Luo Qingchen did not interrupt, listening quietly as he poured his heart out.

Regarding the sudden death of Zhao Laosan, Zhao Shi did not seem to have much emotional fluctuation. After saying a few words, he asked Luo Qingchen, "A-Chen, are you doing well at the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion?"

Luo Qingchen replied, "Quite well."

Zhao Shi gave a bitter laugh. "If you were truly doing well, you wouldn't be borrowing silver everywhere. Even though you've become a cultivator now, I know your situation isn't much different from us ordinary Blood Medicine. You still have to offer blood, you still have to eat, and you could still be made to disappear at any moment."

Luo Qingchen nodded.

That was indeed the case.

The two of them looked at the pedestrians on the street, who moved like walking corpses, and neither spoke again.

Luo Qingchen sat with him for a while longer before rising to take his leave.

"A-Chen, live well."

Zhao Shi offered him encouragement.

Luo Qingchen looked at him and said, "Brother Shi, you too."

By now, night had fallen.

Luo Qingchen returned to the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion and went straight inside. Just as he was preparing to patrol the various rooms, the manager, Sun Ping, walked over with a cold face and questioned him, "Guard Luo, Qingmei said that when you were patrolling the second floor that night, you tried to force your way into her room to molest her. Is there any truth to this?"

The eyes of several girls and maids nearby all turned toward them.