Exotic Beast

Lu Chen soon settled into life at the herb garden.

He also worked out his cultivation schedule there.

This month, the Chen Family had given him another four taels. Together with his twenty-tael monthly salary from the Wang Firm, he had twenty-four taels in all.

For an ordinary household, this was an enormous sum. Even in Scarlet Cloud County, it would have been enough for a family to live comfortably for several months.

But to Lu Chen, that silver had only one purpose.

To be exchanged for cultivation resources.

Aside from what he spent on medicinal baths and meat, he put all his remaining silver into Blood-Qi Powder.

With the ten doses Wang Shouyi supplied each month, he had a full twenty doses of Blood-Qi Powder to use this month.

Other martial artists might not receive that much Blood-Qi Powder in an entire year.

Early in the morning, before daybreak.

The herb garden was still shrouded in a blue-black chill. Snow blanketed the distant mountain forests, making them look like sleeping white beasts. Icicles hung beneath the eaves, clinking faintly as the cold wind swept past.

Lu Chen was already awake.

When he pushed open the door and stepped outside, the snow in the courtyard rose above the soles of his shoes, crunching softly beneath his feet.

He first assumed the Coiling Dragon Stance in the clearing in front of the courtyard.

His feet gripped the ground, his waist and hips sank, and his back curved like a coiling dragon.

The cold wind cut across his face with a bone-piercing chill, but the blood and qi inside him coursed like a stream, swiftly driving it away.

Once the stance had stirred his blood and qi into full circulation, he took a dose of Blood-Qi Powder from inside his robe and put it into his mouth.

As soon as the medicine reached his stomach, its potency began to spread.

A scorching current radiated from his belly, like glowing charcoal dropped into a furnace, instantly kindling the heat within him.

Lu Chen immediately practiced the Coiling Dragon Stance, gathering the spreading medicinal power into coil after coil. Like streams returning to their channels, it slowly merged with his blood and qi.

White vapor rose from the crown of his head.

Before long, the heat from his body had melted a ring in the snow beneath his feet, exposing the wet bluestone paving.

Lu Chen exhaled a hot breath, which quickly dispersed in the cold wind.

A translucent panel quietly appeared before his eyes.

[Coiling Dragon Stance Art: major mastery]

[Progress: 752/1000]

"Another little improvement!"

Lu Chen felt thoroughly encouraged.

Such was the martial path.

One punch, one stance, one dose of medicine, one meal. Progress accumulated day by day, each step leaving a solid footprint.

After finishing his stance practice, Lu Chen hurried to the dining hall, ate two jin of beast meat stewed until tender, and drank a large bowl of hot broth.

The food at the herb garden was rougher than what he had eaten in the Yam Herb Shop's back courtyard. It lacked delicate seasoning, but made up for it in quantity. Large chunks of beast meat simmered in an iron pot, sending up billowing steam fragrant with meat, sliced ginger, mountain pepper, and medicinal herbs.

His body now consumed tremendous amounts of energy every day, requiring at least six jin of meat as a baseline. The two jin he had just eaten would keep him going until noon at most.

He had barely set down his bowl when Wang Zhong came over. "Come on. I'll show you the terrain around the herb garden today."

Lu Chen stood and followed Wang Zhong out of the herb garden.

They passed through the main gate and headed up the mountain path along the northern slope.

The winter forest was silent. Snow weighed down bare branches and crunched beneath their feet. Cold wind swept through the woods, shaking showers of snow from the treetops.

As they walked, Wang Zhong said, "The northern slope is close to Wolf Trail. When Snow Wolves come down the mountain in winter, nine times out of ten, they sneak in from there."

Then he explained in detail, "The creatures in the mountains can roughly be divided into two kinds."

"The first kind is ordinary wild beasts. Wild boars, mountain badgers, black bears, and Snow Wolves all fall into that category. Fierce as they may be, they're still mortal flesh and blood. They fear blades and spears, and they fear fire."

"The second kind is mutant beasts."

"Mutant beasts?" Lu Chen asked.

Wang Zhong nodded. "Mutant beasts are stronger than ordinary wild beasts. Most have some special bloodline, or have undergone a mutation after eating a rare treasure in the mountains. For instance, a White Wolf King occasionally appears among the Snow Wolves. They have snow-white fur and a silver mark on their foreheads. They're extremely clever and can command a pack to surround its prey."

"Then there's the Red-Horned Deer. They're incredibly fast, and their antlers are treasures. Ground into powder and used in medicine, they replenish blood and qi and strengthen the muscles and bones. The effects are excellent."

"The Ironback Mountain Boar has skin as thick as armor. A blade won't even leave a mark."

"These creatures are harder to deal with than ordinary beasts, but they're worth more too. If you manage to hunt down a rare mutant beast, it might even fetch the astronomical price of a thousand taels or more."

Lu Chen's interest stirred. "A thousand taels?"

That truly was an astronomical sum.

Wang Zhong continued, "At the start of spring, hunting parties organized by the great lineages often enter the mountains to search for mutant beasts, surround them, and capture them."

"A mutant beast is a treasure from head to toe. Their blood essence is also excellent nourishment for a martial artist's blood and qi. A portion of blood essence from a rare mutant beast can often drive martial artists at major mastery or even the peak of the blood-moving realm into a frenzy!"

"Oh?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharpening. "Even martial artists at the peak of the blood-moving realm go mad for it?"

Wang Zhong nodded. "Of course."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall something. "Years ago, I heard that a Five-Colored Divine Deer appeared on Scarlet Cloud Mountain."

"They said the divine deer was cloaked in five-colored radiance, and when it ran, its feet seemed to tread on clouds. Wherever it passed, tender grass sprouted from the snow."

"A Five-Colored Divine Deer?" Lu Chen felt as though he were listening to a myth.

Wang Zhong continued, "Back then, plenty of powerful factions in the county town made their move."

"The East City Huang Family, the South City Wu Family, the Farview Escort Agency, and several major martial schools all entered the mountains."

"They cast a net across heaven and earth, intending to surround and hunt down the Five-Colored Divine Deer."

Wang Zhong paused, a trace of amusement entering his voice. "Those powerful factions poured out in full force and racked their brains, but in the end, none of them expected an outsider at the peak of the blood-moving realm to swoop in and reap the rewards."

"The divine deer was already caught in the net those factions had cast. But at the critical moment, they started arguing over how to divide the spoils, and even came to blows. An outsider seized the opportunity to snatch the Five-Colored Divine Deer away."

"Later, the major factions joined forces to track him down and found him."

"But he had already been at the peak of the blood-moving realm. After obtaining the divine deer's blood essence, he soon broke through to a higher realm. With a single palm strike, he killed a peak blood-moving realm martial artist the Huang Family had painstakingly nurtured."

"After that, however unwilling those powerful factions were to accept it, they could only swallow their anger."

After making a circuit through the woods near the herb garden, Wang Zhong led Lu Chen back.

At the entrance to the small eastern courtyard, Wang Zhong patted Lu Chen on the shoulder and smiled. "Lu Chen, focus on your cultivation. Nothing much happens at the herb garden during the day. If something does come up, I'll send someone to call you."

He paused, then added, "And if you need anything, just send someone to let me know. Since Manager Wang assigned you to the herb garden, I'll naturally make sure you're looked after."

Lu Chen cupped his fists. "Thank you, Commander Wang."

Wang Zhong waved a hand, then turned and left.

Lu Chen did not go inside.

Instead, he took off his outer robe and hung it beside the door. Wearing only his close-fitting training clothes, he walked into the courtyard's open space and began practicing the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist.

He thrust out a fist, his shoulder driving his elbow, his elbow driving his wrist. His five fingers curled like hooks, and force traveled along his spine, like an azure dragon suddenly extending its claws after a long slumber.

It was Azure Dragon Claw.

Then came Azure Dragon Coiling Body, Piercing Clouds, Entering the Sea, Dragon's Roar Pierces the Sun... one form after another.

At some point, snow began falling in the mountain forest again.

At first, only a few scattered flakes drifted onto his shoulders. Soon, the snowfall thickened. Fine flakes swirled on the mountain wind, settling on the bluestone paving, the pine trees, and Lu Chen himself.

The longer Lu Chen practiced, the more deeply absorbed he became.

Now he crouched low to gather strength, now he reached his claws through the clouds, now he coiled and spun, now he burst from the abyss...

He was like an azure dragon roaming through the wind and snow.

Countless snowflakes swept up in the wind of his punches, whirling around him like surging white waves.

When he had first entered the blood-moving realm, his Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist had been fierce, but there were always moments when his blood and qi could not keep up. He could not maintain explosive power throughout an entire set.

Now that he had reached minor mastery, his blood and qi flowed ceaselessly like a stream.

With every punch, his blood and qi naturally coursed through his meridians to the front of his fist. As soon as the force landed, another surge followed, continuous and unbroken, like a stream endlessly feeding into a river.

Throughout a prolonged exchange, every punch struck with brutal force, each carrying at least a thousand jin of power.