Chapter 40

The night passed without incident.

After dawn, Luo Qingchen greeted Yang Guang and left the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

"Go ahead, Brother Luo. I'll wait a while longer."

Yang Guang was currently being teased by two young women in the corner of the first floor, looking like he was enjoying himself immensely and reluctant to leave.

As soon as Luo Qingchen stepped out of the building, he ran into Zhao Yun, who was returning from the main entrance.

Zhao Yun was wearing thin, revealing clothing and shivering in the morning chill. Upon seeing him, she instinctively lowered her head.

"It's cold. Remember to wear more clothes next time."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Luo Qingchen immediately felt he had said something foolish.

The women in the pavilion went out to solicit customers specifically by wearing thin, revealing gauze to attract them; how could they possibly wear more clothes?

A faint smile forced its way onto Zhao Yun's face, but she said nothing more, only whispering, "Mm."

Luo Qingchen didn't press the matter further; he nodded and headed toward the backyard.

Zhao Yun stood still, watching his back. Only after his figure disappeared around a nearby corner did she lower her head and enter the building.

Swish!

Luo Qingchen began his cultivation as soon as he returned to his room.

The medicinal energy his body had absorbed from the herbal bath the previous night was still flowing steadily through his bones.

It was the perfect time to cultivate!

He took a nap in the afternoon and continued his training after waking up in the evening.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen days had passed.

By this time, he had used up all the blood in the second blood bar within his body for his medicinal baths.

His cultivation progress had rapidly increased to 600/1000!

Fortunately, things had been calm during this period; no one had died in the pavilion, and no one had come to the backyard to spy.

This had given him the opportunity to take his baths and cultivate in peace.

Boom!

He threw a punch, and his strength had nearly doubled compared to before.

The toughness and defensive capabilities of his skin, flesh, and bones had all increased significantly.

His breathing had become deeper and more powerful, and his senses had grown much sharper.

The progress was clearly visible!

"I'm still 400 points away, but I have no blood left to use."

He took out his bulging money pouch and poured out all the silver pieces inside.

Due to the high-intensity training, he had frequently gone out to buy meat to eat, so of the 120 taels of silver, only 110 remained.

He planned to go out and buy blood today.

He had to continue the medicinal baths to progress quickly.

After pondering for a while, he changed his clothes and headed out.

Yang Guang happened to be returning from outside, holding a steaming hot flatbread. Seeing him, he immediately held it out with a grin. "Brother Luo, just bought this. It's still hot. Have one."

Luo Qingchen thanked him but didn't reach out to take it. "I'll just eat in the kitchen."

The two had been patrolling together at night for some time now, and they got along quite well.

After eating breakfast in the kitchen, he left the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion and arrived at the Blood Shop on North Street.

This was the same shop where he had sold his blood for money in the past.

The same old man in black robes was there. Whether or not he recognized him, he asked in an indifferent tone, "Selling or buying blood?"

Luo Qingchen took out some silver pieces and said, "Buying. How much for a bowl?"

"Fifty."

"How much?"

Luo Qingchen thought he had misheard and quickly asked again, "How much for a bowl?"

The old man in black robes seemed impatient and raised his voice. "Fifty taels a bowl!"

Luo Qingchen's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but say, "Why is it so expensive? When I came to sell blood, it was only seven taels a bowl, and I was a cultivator, too."

The old man in black robes offered no explanation, his expression blank. "That's the price. If you think it's too expensive, don't buy it."

Luo Qingchen froze, then silently withdrew his silver.

"I'll think about it."

He didn't linger, turned around, and walked out of the shop.

He then visited several other shops to inquire, only to find that the prices were much the same.

One shop even sold it for eighty taels a bowl, claiming with a flourish, "This is the blood of disciples from the sects above, and specifically from female disciples who are still virgins. The medicinal bath effect is far superior."

Luo Qingchen wandered the streets for a few rounds before preparing to return to the building.

He only had 110 taels of silver left on him; if he spent it all at the Blood Shops, he could afford at most two purchases.

For his current progress, that was far from enough.

If I encounter someone selling their own blood and buy it privately, it should be much cheaper.

The thought suddenly popped into his mind.

But he knew such people were not easy to find.

Moreover, doing so carried great risk; it would be tantamount to offending every Blood Shop in Medicine Man Town, and perhaps even the people above them.

Then what should I do?

He couldn't just rely on time and patience to cultivate slowly like other practitioners.

No, he could not wait.

Even if he could, his younger sister could not.

The Ten-Soul Banner could not hold out for much longer.

Just as he decided to spend the exorbitant sum on a bowl of fresh blood to temporarily sustain his medicinal bath, a shrill, miserable howl suddenly erupted from a butcher shop nearby.

Turning his head, he saw several men pinning down a wild boar, preparing to slaughter it.

With one strike of the blade, fresh blood sprayed out.

The boar howled in pain and struggled violently, but it was bound too tightly to escape.

As the thick, rich blood flowed into a wooden basin placed underneath, Luo Qingchen suddenly felt a familiar sensation surge from within his body!

The blood-sucking skill of the second blood bar in his body had actually reacted!

Pig blood?

His heart gave a violent jolt, and he stared fixedly at the blood spraying from the boar, feeling utterly incredulous.

Before long, the boar had been bled dry and was completely dead.

By then, the wooden basin on the ground was filled with more than half a basin of fresh blood, with plenty more splattered across the floor.

Suppressing the burning heat in his heart, Luo Qingchen waited a moment longer. Seeing the men preparing to carry the pig blood away, he walked over with a calm expression and asked, "How much for this pig blood?"

The butcher shop owner was a shirtless, bald man, currently holding a sharp knife and preparing to butcher the carcass.

Hearing this, he glanced at him and said, "How much do you want?"

Luo Qingchen looked at the blood in the basin and said, "All of it. My family likes to eat it."

At this, a young butcher's assistant nearby chuckled, "The blood from this pig is quite gamey."

The bald man glared at him, held up one finger, and said, "One tael of silver."

Seeming to fear he had set the price too high, he added an explanation: "Naturally, it wouldn't be this expensive outside, but here, it's different. Besides, this pig blood sells well. Many medicine men come to buy a few chunks of pig blood to nourish themselves after having their own blood drawn."

As the saying goes, you are what you eat.

Many medicine men would buy pig blood to eat after being bled, hoping to replenish their vitality.

However, most people knew it didn't actually have much effect.

Luo Qingchen frowned and said, "Outside, a whole pig only costs two taels of silver."

In truth, outside, even a young maid was only worth two taels of silver.

The bald man snorted coldly, "You said it yourself, that price is for outside. This isn't outside! Take it or leave it, and if you don't want it, get lost! I still have a carcass to butcher!"

The bald man's temper seemed rather foul.

Luo Qingchen pretended to ponder for a moment before saying, "Fine. But I don't need it cooked; I'm in a hurry to get back to work, so I'll take it back and cook it myself. Just help me pack it up so it doesn't leak."

"You don't need it cooked?"

A woman nearby looked at him with some curiosity before heading inside to find a container.

Luo Qingchen took out a tael of silver, hesitated for a moment, and then handed it over with visible reluctance.

The woman brought out a large ceramic jar and set it on the ground.

Two young men lifted the wooden basin and began carefully pouring the blood into the jar.

Watching the murky red liquid splash into the jar, Luo Qingchen maintained a calm expression, though his heart was filled with irrepressible excitement.

If his blood-sucking skill could absorb even pig blood, it meant he could use it for cultivation.

If that were truly the case, then from now on, he wouldn't just be limited to human blood; he could absorb the blood of animals for his own use!

In that case, he would never run out of blood for his medicinal baths again!