After Lu Yuan returned to the city, he went to the military armory. Everything that needed arranging had already been arranged, and his subordinates only needed to train with the battle formation. Now it was time for him to focus on his own cultivation.
He still had roughly a thousand taels of silver on hand, including his pay and what remained after buying spirit medicines.
He planned to buy some Bone Forging medicines and take them home for his cultivation.
When he arrived at the military armory and saw the dazzling array of goods inside, Lu Yuan didn't know what to choose. He turned to an official nearby and asked, "Do you have any recommended pills for the Bone-Forging Realm?"
The official, who had been flipping through a book, frowned impatiently at first. But when he saw it was Lu Yuan, his expression immediately brightened into a smile. "It's Lord Lu. People in the Bone-Forging Realm generally take Bone-Forging Pills. They're a hundred taels a bottle.
"If you need something better, there's the Black Jade Bone-Tempering Pill.
"It's said to be made by mixing Mystic Tiger bones with Mystic Jade powder. It's quite a bit better than ordinary Bone-Forging Pills, and costs three hundred taels a bottle."
As he spoke, he took out a bottle of pills.
Then he leaned toward Lu Yuan and lowered his voice. "These pills are excellent value for money. Their medicinal effect is seven or eight times that of ordinary Bone-Forging Pills, but they only cost three times as much. They're still this price in the army, but they've already gone up outside."
"Give me three bottles."
Lu Yuan took out a stack of banknotes, each worth a hundred taels.
He now had only a little over two hundred taels left on him.
That would be enough for ordinary expenses.
"Right away. I'll get them packed for you."
The official cheerfully handed Lu Yuan three bottles of pills.
Lu Yuan took them and left the military armory, heading straight home.
When he returned to the courtyard, the brazier hadn't gone out and was still warm.
The room wasn't cold, either.
Lu Yuan took out what he needed to prepare a meal.
But just as he opened the rice jar, he heard a voice outside. He had no idea when Xiao Hua had appeared at his door.
"Brother Yuan, come eat at my place. You were gone all afternoon, so I figured you probably hadn't prepared any food." Xiao Hua wore a red cloth dress today, and her long, straight legs were especially eye-catching.
Above them rose her shapely curves. He didn't know exactly how old she was, but she had a truly beautiful figure.
Combined with her pure, yet faintly noble features, she was a feast for the eyes.
Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. He nodded. "All right, I'll eat at your place today."
Xiao Hua smiled, lips pressed together.
She turned and led the way, and Lu Yuan followed.
When they reached the neighboring house, Madam Xiao was still lying in bed. "A-Yuan, we owe you so much this time. I'm afraid I really wouldn't have made it otherwise."
As she spoke, a hint of lingering fear appeared in her eyes.
It wasn't that she was afraid of dying. She was worried about what would happen to her daughter if something happened to her, and how many problems it would cause down the line.
"Auntie, there's no need to be so formal with me. As the saying goes, distant relatives are no match for nearby neighbors. We're family, so don't stand on ceremony." Lu Yuan smiled warmly.
Xiao Hua went into the inner room and began bringing out the dishes.
There was plenty of meat today: a small pot of roe deer meat and a whole rabbit that had been stewed.
The vegetables were wild greens.
The weather was gradually warming, and plenty of wild greens had sprouted across the Wasteland. Their vibrant green went perfectly with the meal.
There was also a basin of noodles.
Lu Yuan was truly hungry by now. As soon as he sat down, he began to eat heartily.
Xiao Hua sat beside him, constantly adding food to his bowl.
Watching the two of them, Madam Xiao's gaze grew ever gentler.
After dinner, Lu Yuan returned to his own home.
He took off his armor and outer shirt, then swallowed a Black Jade Bone-Tempering Pill.
As expected, this pill was much more effective than an ordinary Bone-Forging Pill. As soon as Lu Yuan swallowed it, he felt a surge of energy flow toward his bones.
Then his whole body began to heat up.
It felt as if flames were truly tempering him.
He pushed the Crouching Tiger Stance to its limits.
After all, the Black Jade Bone-Tempering Pill was several times more effective than ordinary pills.
And because of the system, Lu Yuan could absorb the pill's full effect, making its potency even more intense.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
He could even hear a sharp sound coming from his bones.
Sweat poured across his forehead.
It was about two hours before Lu Yuan finally stopped cultivating.
Then he went outside and, under the moonlight, swung the Tiger-Head Heaven-Swallowing Blade in his hands. He moved with the blade, and a white tiger phantom seemed to leap and roar around him.
His figure was almost impossible to make out.
Including the hilt, the blade was nearly three meters long. Its shadows covered the entire small courtyard.
After practicing the blade technique several times, he began practicing archery.
In short, he didn't rest for a moment all night until it was time to sleep.
He understood that since the Manyan Tribe had sent out elite cavalry, Ice Plain City would most likely send him into battle.
Only by improving his strength as quickly as possible could he stay safer on the Wasteland.
For the next while, Lu Yuan cultivated almost every day from before dawn until he went to bed at night.
Though he was exhausted, he could clearly feel his body growing stronger by the day.
Especially with the pills.
There had been a full thirty Black Jade Bone-Tempering Pills. For an ordinary person, they would have lasted well over half a year, if not a whole year.
But Lu Yuan had used every last one within half a month.
That day, just after he'd finished lunch and was about to resume cultivating—
"Bang!"
The door was flung open, and Zhou He strode inside.
After what had happened with Wu Han, he and Lu Yuan had grown closer. He came by often and never bothered knocking.
As he put it, he would consider knocking once Lu Yuan got married.
Seeing him, Lu Yuan stared wide-eyed. "Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"
"There's definitely something going on. The Captain wants you to come over," Zhou He said hurriedly.
Lu Yuan nodded, threw on his clothes, and headed for the Captain's Mansion.
On the way, Zhou He quietly warned him, "You haven't left the city lately, so you don't know. The area outside Sai City is practically Northern Barbarian territory now. Elite scouts from the Manyan Tribe have killed so many people that no one dares leave the three fort cities.
"I heard that elite troops assembled by Yellow Sand City and Tiger Hill City have already gone out. I figure our Captain is planning to send you out, too.
"This battle is crucial. A royal clan's merchant caravan was robbed, and word even reached the Imperial Capital, so the higher-ups have made up their minds. Anyone who can kill this Northern Barbarian elite force will get triple the military merit!"
Zhou He's words made Lu Yuan's brow rise. Triple military merit was quite a reward.
If he added that to the military merit he'd already earned, completing this mission should bring him over five hundred merit points.
At his current rate of being sent out of the city, it wouldn't take long to become a Chiliarch.
At that rank, he would count as one of the upper ranks in Ice Plain City.
Only Zhou Hongling would stand above him.
More importantly, he'd heard that Chiliarchs could exchange for higher-level cultivation resources and would also get a chance to receive a cultivation technique.
His City Guard could number a thousand men, and with the garrison troops included, he could command several thousand altogether.
As a Principal Seventh Rank official, he would be just one step away from matching his second uncle.
After all, above the Chiliarch was the Captain, a Principal Sixth Rank official.
That was a higher rank than Zhang He, of the second branch of the Chang family.
By the time they finished talking, they had reached the Captain's Mansion.
While they waited for the guard to go inside and announce them, Lu Yuan opened his status panel.
No matter how he looked at it, venturing deep into the Wasteland to fight elite troops from the Manyan Tribe was dangerous.
He needed to check how much his cultivation had improved over the past dozen days before deciding what to say.