In the middle of the night, Song Yan knelt before Lin Yuan and recounted, detail by detail, every action Lin Qi had taken before his death.
In the brazier before the mourning hall, paper money burned faintly.
Lin Yuan suddenly grabbed a vase beside him and smashed it down on Song Yan, raining blows over his head and face.
He cursed, "Bastard! Fool! Why didn't you explain everything to me sooner?!"
Song Yan slammed his head against the floor with a bang, weeping bitterly and sobbing without end.
In Ping'an Alley, the sounds of firefighting in the distance had completely died away, and the world seemed to have sunk once more into the stillness of the dark night.
Chen Xu gathered up his tangled emotions, extinguished the oil lamp on the table, then opened the Cauldron Scripture in the darkness to inspect his latest gains.
[Accumulated Likes: 863] [Free Attribute Points: 23] [Firework Value: 409]
A bountiful harvest!
[I Cooked a Demon Who Eats People with Fire, and the World Called It Spectacular] had directly earned Chen Xu ninety-six likes.
That might have seemed less than Old Madam Lai could earn from selling pancakes once, but as Chen Xu watched the [+1 +1] still constantly popping up on the Cauldron Scripture's panel, he could foresee that once word of this spread, the likes he gained would continue to increase.
The long-tail effect brought about by such legendary events was far greater than simply cooking a few meals or selling a few snacks.
Chen Xu immediately fell into thought. It seemed he had found another new track.
But people and work were alike: greedily biting off more than one could chew would only leave it unmanageable. No matter how many tracks there were, he needed to advance steadily and securely, first grasping what lay within reach. That was the proper way.
Continuing through his gains, there were three more curios worthy of note.
[Evil Thought Bead], [One Tael of Joy, Three Parts Melancholy], [one qian of Heart Fire Divine Lotus].
The first two needed no further mention. The important part was that Chen Xu had found a way to obtain more [One Tael of Joy, Three Parts Melancholy].
He guessed that acquiring such curios was connected to his "slaying evil."
As for [one qian of Heart Fire Divine Lotus], its effects delighted Chen Xu.
Using it as the main ingredient to brew [Lotus Flower Wisdom-Enhancing Soup] could greatly enhance one's memory after consumption, while slightly improving one's comprehension.
Chen Xu's memory had never been poor to begin with. After grasping the practical uses of the Divine Soul, he had reached a realm close to photographic memory.
Yet such photographic memory was often immediate in nature.
In other words, he could cram everything into his mind at once, but afterward, he would still easily forget it. Only by reviewing it repeatedly could he truly remember something firmly.
But what if his memory could be strengthened once more?
And comprehension—improving one's comprehension was even rarer than improving one's memory!
Chen Xu immediately spent 100 Firework Value and entered the Embers Kitchen.
He spent 80 Firework Value to unlock Lotus Flower Wisdom-Enhancing Soup, then another 160 Firework Value to unlock Wood Chopping Level Two.
At that point, he had only sixty-nine Firework Value left.
It looked like a bountiful harvest, yet Firework Value was forever scarce and never enough. He could not even afford Fire Control Level Two. There was nothing to be done about that.
There were no further disturbances in the latter half of the night, and dawn arrived without another word.
Chen Xu studied and practiced diligently in the Embers Kitchen. Whenever he grew tired, he rested briefly and ate the [Lotus Flower Wisdom-Enhancing Soup] he had carefully brewed.
This item required only Jade Dew Spring Water and polished rice as supplementary ingredients. After unlocking it, Chen Xu quickly succeeded in making it.
Only after using up all twelve hours in the Embers Kitchen did he return to reality and fall asleep amid the silent night.
The next day, Chen Xu awoke refreshed and invigorated. His arms felt especially powerful, and his thoughts were clear.
Though none of his Threefold Attributes had increased by even a single point, he felt that he had become far stronger than he had been the previous night.
The flow of every thread of Vital Blood within his body was as clear to his senses as if illuminated by brilliant light.
His eyesight had become even more terrifying. A spider beneath the eaves was drawing silk as it crisscrossed its web. Chen Xu merely glanced at it casually, yet in an instant, he saw every pattern on its body.
He could see even its fine, tiny hairs, every vulnerable point at the joints of its segmented limbs, and even the place where it spun its silk.
Or rather than saying he was "seeing" with his naked eyes, it would be more accurate to say that he was combining his vision and Divine Soul to carry out an exquisitely subtle perception.
This was Wood Chopping Level Two: Microscopic Vision!
Wood Chopping Level One focused on moving Vital Blood, while Wood Chopping Level Two focused on perceiving the minute.
To perceive the minute, to observe the weaknesses in firewood—only then could one achieve the greatest result with the least force.
Just as Butcher Ding dissected an ox, so too was wood chopping.
[Wood Chopping Level Two (21/1000)]
Chen Xu was in an excellent mood. Wood Chopping Level Two, even though he had only just entered it, gave him a wonderfully complete sense of control.
An increase in strength always brought people an exceptional sense of security.
Now everything was ready. Once he gathered 1,000 likes, he could immediately max out his Threefold Attributes and achieve perfect Foundation Establishment!
Chen Xu was delighted, but he did not slacken in the slightest. After washing up, he immediately went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
The food he had deliberately left behind the previous night had all vanished from the kitchen. In its place, another little item had appeared on the stove.
[Worry-Dispelling Grass. Consuming it can make living beings feel cheerful for ten breaths. Side effect: for a quarter of an hour, the eater's urge to express themselves will grow strong. It can be made into Worry-Clearing Fruit Tea together with hawthorn and crabapple.]
This was the Rat Demon's payment.
Chen Xu found it rather interesting. He tucked the sprig of Worry-Dispelling Grass, which looked no different from dead grass, into his sleeve. In truth, he took the opportunity to send it into the Embers Kitchen.
Then he swiftly made a large pot of breakfast, still keeping it simple with Five-Color Porridge and Egg Pancakes.
He did not use meat because all the meat had been used up yesterday, and Chen Xu had not yet had time to replenish his supplies at the market.
There was also what he had experienced the previous night. For roughly the next two or three days, Chen Xu did not want to eat meat, nor did he want to prepare meat dishes.
The fragrance of his breakfast had only just drifted out when Granny Lai came looking for him of her own accord.
First, they settled the copper coins from yesterday's sale of meat-and-scallion pancakes: one hundred coins in all, fifteen of which were Granny Lai's payment.
Then there were the pancakes for this morning, which Chen Xu also entrusted Granny Lai to sell.
Granny Lai happily accepted the goods and left with her basket over her arm. She also left Chen Xu a string of likes, while little Shi Tou next door kept giving likes as well. "Smells so good! Egg smell, porridge and pancake smell! I want to eat!"
[Likes +1 +1 +1...]
A splendid start to the day.
After seeing Granny Lai off, Chen Xu hurriedly ate a little himself, then went to South Market Street and bought a large quantity of ingredients.
This time, he mainly wanted supplementary ingredients for various spirit foods, such as red beans, red rice, red ginseng, and the like needed for [Five Reds Blood Nourishing Soup], as well as leeches, centipedes, ticks, and the like needed for [Mud Pellet].
He had already obtained the qualifications to unlock several spirit food recipes, but he had not yet had time to buy the ingredients or make most of them.
For one thing, he lacked Firework Value. For another, he lacked supplementary ingredients.
Chen Xu bought every supplementary ingredient he could find in South Market Street in one go. For those unavailable there, he went to medicinal shops to purchase them.
Besides that, he bought quite a few common ingredients and seasonings. He intended to store all of them in the Embers Kitchen for unforeseen needs.
After sorting everything out, Chen Xu filled all three shelves in the Embers Kitchen to the brim.
He worked diligently in his room, using his thoughts from afar to arrange the Embers Kitchen. Just as he was feeling pleased, the courtyard gate outside was pounded on again.
It turned out to be servants from the Lin Family delivering funeral notices. The man dressed as a steward wore mourning cloth on his head and spoke to Chen Xu with a grief-stricken face. "My family's Eldest Young Master has decided to keep the Second Young Master's coffin for seven days and hold several more rites.
Starting tomorrow, we will receive relatives and friends who come to pay their respects. Young Master Chen, please do not forget to come and see my family's Second Young Master off."
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