Unusual Beast (Seeking Follow-ups)

Lu Chen's days at the herb garden soon settled into a steady rhythm.

He had also arranged his cultivation plan for his time at the herb garden.

This month, the Chen Family had funded him with another four taels. Added to Wang Firm's monthly salary of twenty taels, he had a total of twenty-four taels.

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

But for Lu Chen, this silver had only one purpose.

To exchange for cultivation resources.

Aside from medicinal baths and meat, he exchanged all his remaining silver for Blood-Qi Powder.

Together with the ten doses Wang Shouyi supplied each month, he had a full twenty doses of Blood-Qi Powder at his disposal this month.

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

Early in the morning, before dawn had broken.

The herb garden was still shrouded in a bluish-black chill. The distant mountains lay buried beneath snow, like sleeping white beasts. Icicles hung from the eaves, clicking softly against one another whenever the cold wind passed.

Lu Chen was already awake.

When he pushed open the door, the snow in the courtyard rose past the soles of his shoes. Each step sank in with a soft crunch.

He first assumed the Coiling Dragon Stance in the open space before the courtyard.

His feet gripped the ground, his waist and hips sank, and his spine coiled like a dragon.

The cold wind struck his face with bone-piercing chill, but the qi and blood within Lu Chen coursed like a stream, swiftly driving away the cold.

Once his qi and blood had been roused by the stance art and fully set into motion, he took out a dose of Blood-Qi Powder from his chest and swallowed it.

The medicine quickly dissolved in his stomach.

A searing warmth spread from his belly, like charcoal falling into a furnace and igniting the heat within him in an instant.

Lu Chen immediately practiced the Coiling Dragon Stance Art, winding the scattered medicinal power around itself layer by layer. Like streamwater returning to its channel, it slowly merged into his qi and blood.

White vapor rose from the top of his head.

Before long, the snow beneath his feet had melted into a circle from the heat of his body, exposing the wet bluestone ground below.

Lu Chen exhaled a breath of hot air, which quickly scattered in the frigid wind.

A light screen silently appeared before his eyes.

[Coiling Dragon Stance Art: Mastery]

[Progress: 752/1000]

"Another bit of progress!"

Lu Chen was greatly encouraged.

The martial path was just like this.

One punch, one stance; one medicine, one meal; accumulated day by day, step by step.

After finishing his stance practice, Lu Chen headed to the dining hall. He ate two jin of beast meat stewed until tender, then drank a large bowl of hot soup.

The food at the herb garden was rougher than that in the rear courtyard of the Yam Herb Shop, lacking delicate seasoning, but it made up for it in quantity. Large chunks of beast meat simmered in iron pots, their aroma mingling with ginger slices, mountain pepper, and medicinal herbs as steam billowed out.

Lu Chen's body now consumed an immense amount every day. He needed at least six jin of meat daily just to maintain himself. These two jin of beast meat would at most last him until noon.

Just as he set down his bowl, Wang Zhong came over and said, "Come on. I'll take you around the terrain surrounding the herb garden today."

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

The two left through the main gate and followed the mountain path up the northern slope.

The winter forest was silent. Snow weighed down dead branches, while their feet crunched across the snow. Cold wind swept through the woods, shaking loose snow from the treetops in a soft patter.

As they walked, Wang Zhong said, "The northern slope is close to Wolf Trail. When snow wolves come down from the mountain in winter, there's an eight or nine out of ten chance they'll sneak in from there."

He then explained in detail, "The things in the mountains can roughly be divided into two kinds."

"The first kind is ordinary wild beasts. Wild boars, badgers, black bears, snow wolves—they all fall into this category. Fierce as they may be, they are still flesh and blood. They fear blades and spears, and they fear fire as well."

"The second kind is unusual beasts."

"Unusual beasts?" Lu Chen asked.

Wang Zhong nodded. "Unusual beasts are stronger than ordinary wild beasts. Most have some special bloodline, or have eaten rare treasures in the mountains and undergone some kind of mutation. For instance, a White Wolf King occasionally appears among snow wolf packs. Its fur is white as snow, it bears a silver mark on its forehead, and it is extremely intelligent. It can command wolf packs to hunt."

"There are also Red-Horned Deer. They run incredibly fast, but their antlers are treasures. Ground into powder and used in medicine, they replenish qi and blood, strengthen sinews and bones, and are exceptionally effective."

"Ironback Mountain Boars have hides as thick as armor. A single slash won't even leave a mark."

"These creatures are harder to deal with than ordinary wild beasts, but likewise, they are worth more. If one can hunt a rare unusual beast, it may even sell for the sky-high price of over a thousand taels."

Lu Chen's heart stirred. "Over a thousand taels?"

That truly was a sky-high price.

Wang Zhong continued, "When spring comes, great families often organize hunting parties to enter the mountains, search for traces of unusual beasts, and encircle and capture them."

"Every part of an unusual beast is a treasure. Moreover, their essence blood is excellent nourishment for a martial artist's qi and blood. A portion of precious unusual-beast essence blood can often drive even martial artists at Blood Moving mastery or the peak of Blood Moving into a frenzy!"

"Oh?" Lu Chen raised a brow, his gaze narrowing slightly. "Even martial artists at the peak of Blood Moving would go mad over it?"

Wang Zhong nodded. "Of course."

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

"They said the divine deer was draped in five-colored rosy light. When it ran, it seemed to tread upon clouds, and wherever it passed, tender grass would sprout from the snow."

"A Five-Colored Divine Deer?" Lu Chen felt as though he were listening to some mythic legend.

Wang Zhong went on, "Back then, many powerful figures in the county city were stirred into action."

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

"They laid down a net that covered heaven and earth, intending to encircle and hunt the Five-Colored Divine Deer."

Wang Zhong paused, a hint of amusement in his tone, before continuing, "Those powerful forces in the county city had practically poured out in full force and exhausted every scheme, but in the end, no one expected an outsider at the peak of Blood Moving to snatch the prize."

"The divine deer had already fallen into the net that covered heaven and earth set by several factions. But at the critical moment, they began arguing over how to divide the spoils and even came to blows. An outsider took the chance to seize the Five-Colored Divine Deer."

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

"But that man had already been at the peak of Blood Moving. After obtaining the divine deer's essence blood, he soon broke through to a higher realm. With one palm strike, he killed a peak Blood Moving martial artist the Huang Family had painstakingly raised."

"After that, no matter how unwilling the powerful figures of the county city were, they could only swallow their anger."

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

At the entrance to the eastern courtyard, Wang Zhong patted Lu Chen on the shoulder and smiled. "Lu Chen, cultivate well. There is usually nothing much going on at the herb garden during the day. If something does come up, I'll have someone call for you."

After a pause, he added, "If you need anything, just have someone send word to me. Since Shopkeeper Wang arranged for you to come to the herb garden, I'll naturally look after you properly."

Lu Chen clasped his fists. "Many thanks, Chief Wang."

Wang Zhong waved a hand and turned to leave.

Lu Chen did not enter the room.

Instead, he took off his outer robe and hung it beside the door. Wearing only a fitted martial outfit, he walked into the open courtyard and began practicing the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist.

He thrust out a fist. His shoulder drove his elbow, his elbow drove his wrist, and his five fingers hooked like claws. Force traveled along his spine, like an azure dragon that had lain dormant for ages suddenly extending its claw.

It was the Azure Dragon Claw.

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

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

At first, only scattered flakes drifted down onto his shoulders. Soon, the snowfall thickened. Fine snowflakes were swept along by the mountain wind, falling onto the bluestone ground, onto the pine trees, and onto Lu Chen's body.

Lu Chen became increasingly immersed in his practice.

At times, he crouched low to gather force; at times, he extended his claws to pierce the clouds; at times, he coiled and spun; at times, he suddenly burst from the abyss...

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

Countless snowflakes were swept up by his fist wind, whirling around Lu Chen like white waves churning.

When he had first entered the Blood Moving realm, the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist had been fierce in his hands, but his qi and blood would always fail to keep up at certain moments. It was impossible for a full set of punches to maintain its explosive force from beginning to end.

Now that he had advanced to Minor Mastery, his qi and blood flowed like an unceasing stream.

With every punch, qi and blood naturally traveled through his sinews and veins to the edge of his fist. Once the fist force landed, the qi and blood behind it immediately followed, endless and unbroken, like a stream constantly flowing into a great river.

In a prolonged fight, every punch would be brutally powerful, each carrying at least a thousand jin of force.