Corpse Rot Poison Water

"It was nothing much. I was just thinking about where to earn some silver." Chen Cheng chuckled, speaking lightly. With that, he sheathed his long saber, walked over, took her tender little hand like a spring onion, and rubbed it between his palms.

Though it was already March, the well water remained bitterly cold. The Chen family's water came from a deep well beneath the old locust tree at the end of Locust Tree Alley, buried deep underground and icy to the bone.

Mu Xiaowan had just washed the cotton quilt with well water. Her fair hands had been chilled slightly red, cold as ice.

Mu Xiaowan smiled with a touch of innocent sweetness, thoroughly enjoying the warmth brought by Chen Cheng's large hands. They were not merely warm, but carried a scorching heat.

Ever since he began practicing martial arts, Brother Cheng's entire body had run hot. What she loved most was nestling against his burning chest to sleep on cold winter nights. It was warm and reassuring.

Mu Xiaowan leaned closer against Chen Cheng's shoulder. Before going to sleep every night, Chen Cheng would always tell her about the things he encountered while patrolling the streets on duty.

She already knew seven or eight parts out of ten about the ways City Guard Office runners made money.

"Brother Chen, have you thought of a way?"

"No." Chen Cheng smiled.

Mu Xiaowan said thoughtfully, "How about we cut back a little on food and household expenses? The wages issued by the yamen are already quite decent."

Chen Cheng drew her into his arms and said softly, "There's still some silver at home. If we want to save, we can wait until it's all spent."

What kind of logic was that—waiting until everything was spent before cutting expenses? Mu Xiaowan knew Chen Cheng would find another way, so she could only nod obediently.

"All right, then we'll save after it's spent. Oh, Brother Cheng, aren't you practicing your saber today?"

Normally, whenever Chen Cheng practiced his saber technique, he would train for several hours straight and would not stop until it was time to eat.

Chen Cheng said, "I arranged to discuss something with Brother Liao San. I'll be back shortly."

"All right. Then I'll practice my saber technique for a while." Mu Xiaowan reluctantly left Chen Cheng's embrace, went inside to fetch a wooden saber, and began practicing.

She stayed at home all day. Once she finished the housework, there was little else for her to do. Seeing that she was bored, Chen Cheng simply passed the Chasing Wind Saber Technique on to her.

Unable to afford an iron saber, Chen Cheng had carved her a wooden one from sturdy hardwood for her to practice with first.

Mu Xiaowan was naturally intelligent and had a good physical foundation. With Chen Cheng's careful instruction, in barely over two months, she had actually cultivated the Chasing Wind Saber Technique to the minor attainment level.

Though she had only just entered the minor attainment level, her martial talent was still astonishingly heaven-defying.

Chen Cheng had also considered teaching her the Iron Garment Art. After all, it was an internal breath cultivation method rarely seen even in all of Linji City.

However, the technique had originally been incomplete. Even after Chen Cheng corrected it using the panel, it could still only be cultivated by men. If a woman tried to cultivate it, she lacked the crucial mnemonic and mental method for drawing yang energy into the dantian, making cultivation impossible.

After all, when Chen Cheng had corrected that final section of the mnemonic and mental method, he had relied on a scale weight as an external object.

Of course, after the technique had been fully corrected, Chen Cheng no longer needed to use a scale weight when cultivating it.

After watching Mu Xiaowan practice the Chasing Wind Saber Technique and casually giving her a few pointers, Chen Cheng finally left the courtyard and headed out of the alley.

During the depths of winter, most people stayed indoors to weather the cold. There were not many people on the streets, and public order was relatively better.

The year's plan began in spring. Once spring arrived and all things revived, beasts emerged beyond the city walls, while people from every trade within the city began going out to bustle about for their livelihoods. Slowly, all of Linji City became lively.

Linji Prefecture City was a large city with a vast population. People from every walk of life, all manner of characters, gathered there, so naturally all kinds of cases increased as well.

In Ruyi Ward of the South District, most of the streets and alleys were poor neighborhoods, and public order was even more chaotic.

Recently, more bandits and thieves had drifted into Ruyi Ward. Though Chen Cheng was a City Guard Office runner and carried some deterrent power, so that the petty scoundrels nearby did not dare set their sights on the Chen family, there was no telling whether wandering thieves from elsewhere, unaware of the situation, might come through.

Ordinary thieves were one thing. They did not dare act openly in broad daylight. But thieves who practiced martial arts and possessed some strength might not be so restrained, so precautions had to be made in advance.

Chen Cheng had previously heard Liao San mention that the black market sold a concealed weapon capable of spraying exceedingly powerful Corpse Rot Poison Water. Once an ordinary person was splashed by this poison water, their skin would immediately rot and melt away. Death or injury was certain.

Even a martial artist at the completed Skin-Tempering Realm, whose hide was as tough as oxhide or even bronze skin and iron skin, would suffer severe injury if splashed with Corpse Rot Poison Water.

It was said that this great killing weapon was extremely difficult to refine and could not ordinarily be found on the market. Only the black market occasionally sold it.

All four outer districts of Linji City had black markets. They opened at night and were exceedingly secretive. Bandits, desperadoes, and jianghu figures often traded all sorts of rare resources within them.

Such a lawless place was naturally extremely dangerous. Chen Cheng did not dare go there casually.

Aside from the black market, these poison-water concealed weapons were also sold through special channels. Liao San knew of a pawnshop that occasionally had them in stock, but someone would have to ask around to see whether one could be bought.

Poison-water concealed weapons were expensive. One cost five taels of silver and could only spray a few times. Once the poison water was used up, it became nothing more than an ornament.

Though poison-water concealed weapons were powerful, their weakness was obvious: their spraying speed was limited. If one was prepared, even a Skin-Tempering Realm martial artist could easily evade them.

With Chen Cheng's strength, he naturally had no need for a poison-water concealed weapon. However, street-patrolling runners had to take turns performing night patrol duty once every month.

Whenever Chen Cheng was not at home, Mu Xiaowan would inevitably be in some danger. With a poison-water concealed weapon for protection, even if she encountered a stronger thief while staying inside the house, she could deal with them easily.

As for thieves with Skin-Tempering Realm strength, they would hardly bother visiting a poor neighborhood like Locust Tree Alley.

Before long, Chen Cheng arrived at Harmony Restaurant on the next street. Liao San sat in a more secluded spot in the main hall, looking as though he had been waiting for quite some time.

There was still more than two hours before lunchtime, and there were few people in the restaurant. The scar on Liao San's face was striking, and he wore the uniform of a City Guard Office runner. At a glance, he looked like someone not to be trifled with, so the few diners present all sat far away from him.

Ordinarily, when runners occasionally rested at a restaurant, they would simply sit down, drink a little wine, then continue patrolling the streets afterward.

There was only a small dish of peanuts, a dish of fennel beans, and a pot of strong liquor on the table.

After greeting Chen Cheng and having him sit down, Liao San looked around. Seeing that no one could overhear their conversation, he lowered his voice. "A-Cheng, the concealed weapon you asked me to look into has been found. That pawnshop happens to have one in stock."

Chen Cheng smiled. "That's wonderful. Thank you, Brother San."

"We're brothers. Don't mention such formalities again." Liao San waved a hand, then continued, "It's just that this concealed weapon isn't five taels of silver this time. It's eight taels."

"Eight taels of silver?" Chen Cheng's expression stiffened. He had hesitated for a long time even over the price of five taels. After all, he only had fifteen or sixteen taels of silver left to his name. If he bought it, he truly would have to start cutting back on expenses.

If it cost eight taels, more than half his savings would vanish at once, and the days ahead would become even harder.

Seeing Chen Cheng hesitate, Liao San explained, "This concealed weapon was pawned outright by a jianghu traveler. It's a little more expensive, but it can spray poison water ten times—three or four more uses than other concealed weapons.

"Recently, none of the four outer districts of Linji City have been peaceful. The people of the Black Lotus Sect have started stirring up trouble again. You and I are weak, so we should still buy a concealed weapon for protection. If you don't have enough money, I can lend you some first."