The Power of Pills!

"Changsheng, what's wrong? Does it taste bad?"

Seeing Lin Changsheng's expression, Yu Wenjing hurriedly picked up a chopstickful and stuffed it into her mouth. Before she could swallow, her face changed at once, as though she had eaten a fly. "It's salty as hell, Changsheng. Don't eat it..."

"How about this? A little salt is fine. We'll turn it into rice soup. Add some water, and it won't be so salty."

Lin Changsheng was helpless as well. Carrying the dishes into the kitchen, he guessed that this girl had probably been a sheltered young lady at home, delicate and pampered, with ten fingers never touching spring water.

She had never cooked before, so he could not make things difficult for her.

"I'll tend the fire!"

Yu Wenjing hurried over to tend the fire.

After a round of fussing about, they each had a bowl of rice soup and dug in.

Bang bang bang!

The two had just finished eating when a burst of knocking sounded outside the door.

"I'll hide."

Yu Wenjing hid behind the kitchen.

"And you are?"

Lin Changsheng stared at the three young men standing at the door, stunned for a moment.

"Let me introduce ourselves. We're from the Black Tiger Gang. My name is Liu Zhuang. The Green Snake Gang has been wiped out, and the eastern part of the city that used to belong to them is now under our control. We're here to collect the monthly fee."

"Three copper coins from every household!"

The leader, a burly young man named Liu Zhuang, looked at Lin Changsheng as he spoke.

"I paid the Green Snake Gang less than a month ago!"

Lin Changsheng said.

"That's none of my concern. We're the Black Tiger Gang. Either you pay, or we have no duty to protect you." Liu Zhuang raised a brow.

"Here. This is this month's fee."

Lin Changsheng's eyes flickered. He took out three copper coins and handed them over.

"Mm, very good. Nice and straightforward! Same time next month!"

Liu Zhuang patted Lin Changsheng on the shoulder, then turned and left.

"Changsheng, what happened?"

Only after Liu Zhuang and the others had left did Yu Wenjing come out and ask.

"Just some thugs collecting protection money."

Lin Changsheng explained the matter with the gangs. Anger immediately flashed through Yu Wenjing's beautiful eyes. "Doesn't the yamen do anything about it?"

"What is there to do? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. The former Green Snake Gang leader's younger sister was even the county magistrate's concubine. These people have paid the yamen plenty of tribute."

Lin Changsheng sighed.

He had the strength to kill all three men from the Black Tiger Gang, but it would bring trouble.

The more trouble, the worse it was. Better to lie low in silence and raise his strength first.

Just look at the Green Snake Gang. Hadn't they contributed more than fifteen hundred taels of silver, principal and interest included?

Yu Wenjing fell silent upon hearing this, not knowing what she was thinking.

East Street.

Three li away, inside a large courtyard.

Ling Ziyu, dressed in blue, sat in a grand chair. Before him, an elderly man in black bowed and cupped his fists. "Master Ling, we discovered that six people entered the mountains before the New Year, and eleven entered after it. We ask Master Ling to personally go and verify this."

"Old Li, you handled this well. Take me there to have a look!"

Hope appeared in Ling Ziyu's eyes.

That thing was of utmost importance. It was the token for entering an immortal sect. With it, he could enter the Flowing Cloud Immortal Sect!

"Yes, Master Ling!"

Old Li nodded respectfully, then continued, "Master Ling, seeing that the Green Snake Gang was destroyed, the Black Tiger Gang in West City of Pasture City seized all of the Green Snake Gang's former territory. What do you think..."

"No matter. Let's look into those seventeen people first!"

Ling Ziyu said in a deep voice.

What he wanted was that token, not to become some local tyrant in Pasture City.

"Yes!"

Old Li bowed and nodded.

Lin Changsheng's home.

"Miss Yu, I'm going out to buy a few things."

Before leaving, Lin Changsheng informed Yu Wenjing that he planned to visit Hundred Herbs Hall.

He wanted to try some medicinal soups and the like, to see whether they would speed up the increase of his cultivation experience.

"Mm."

Yu Wenjing nodded in agreement.

After explaining himself, Lin Changsheng carried the snake cage in his hand and headed for Hundred Herbs Hall in West City. Along the way, the experience for the Azure Snake Sword Technique continued to rise.

"A hundred-tael reward for the culprit behind Ma Zhankui's family massacre? That money is tempting, but it won't be easy to claim!"

"Exactly. The culprit was able to wipe out the Green Snake Gang's leader. How could his strength be ordinary?"

"A hundred taels! I couldn't earn that much in my whole life!"

"With only a silhouette, I'm afraid he'll be hard to find!"

"..."

When Lin Changsheng reached the border between West City and East City, he saw a large wanted poster pasted onto a high wall, with more than ten people gathered around it.

It depicted a lean figure holding a bow, face covered by a black cloth.

"A bounty from the county yamen? That is... my silhouette?"

"Heh heh!"

Lin Changsheng stepped forward and looked at the portrait on the wanted poster. His gaze flickered, and with the snake cage in hand, he left the place.

It was only a silhouette, after all.

Hundred Herbs Hall.

It was the largest pharmacy in Pasture City. It carried the Body-Strengthening Decoction, Blood-Qi Decoction, Nourishing Decoction, Qi-Blood Paste, and other supplies needed by martial artists, even expensive Blood-and-Qi Pills and Foundation-Stabilizing Pills!

Its main hall was in Minnan Commandery City; this place was merely one of its eighteen branch halls.

"Hello. What do you need?"

Lin Changsheng entered Hundred Herbs Hall with his back slightly bent. A pharmacist came forward and asked.

"I'd like some medicinal soup or pills that can strengthen my qi and blood."

Lin Changsheng stepped forward, carrying the snake cage.

"Hello. Our Body-Strengthening Decoction and Nourishing Decoction are five hundred copper coins per serving. Qi-Blood Paste is one tael of silver per serving. Blood-and-Qi Pills are ten taels of silver per bottle, one pill per bottle!"

The pharmacist introduced the products to Lin Changsheng.

"Give me two Blood-and-Qi Pills and five portions of Qi-Blood Paste!"

Lin Changsheng took out twenty-five taels of silver as he spoke.

He wanted to take them back and see whether the Blood-and-Qi Pills could increase his cultivation experience. If they worked, it would be like finding a fast path to raising his cultivation!

Perhaps then he could come to Hundred Herbs Hall as an apprentice?

Pick up some alchemy?

Then he could refine pills himself and consume them. Wouldn't his cultivation advance much faster?

"Coming right up!"

The pharmacist's eyes lit up with delight. He immediately went to prepare the pills and medicinal paste, then explained to Lin Changsheng how to take them and what precautions to observe.

When Lin Changsheng returned home, Yu Wenjing was sitting cross-legged, seemingly cultivating.

He did not ask. He had long sensed cultivation within Yu Wenjing, though it seemed unstable. She had probably suffered severe injuries.

Lin Changsheng went into his own room. A ray of sunlight shone through a crack in the wall outside the window, but it did not affect the growth of his Sun-Moon Breathing Method experience.

He sat down cross-legged and took out the Qi-Blood Paste.

The Qi-Blood Paste came in a small porcelain bottle. It was pitch-black, yet it gave off a rich medicinal fragrance.

Lin Changsheng scooped out some Qi-Blood Paste and swallowed it.

At once.

A surge of heat spread from his abdomen, sweeping through his limbs and bones!

Lin Changsheng immediately circulated the Sun-Moon Breathing Method and absorbed the medicinal power!

As Lin Changsheng absorbed it, he examined his panel. His eyes immediately brightened. He discovered that the cultivation progress which normally rose by only a few points a day had increased by more than ten points in this short span of time!

"This Qi-Blood Paste really works. Then what about the Blood-and-Qi Pills?"

At that thought, anticipation appeared in Lin Changsheng's eyes.

At this rate, it would not take long for him to advance into the realm of a First-Rate Master!