Bounty

Zhang Bo clapped heavily. "The problem most likely lies with the Violet Palace Method."

Li Cheng asked anxiously, "Can the Violet Palace Method help with practicing the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude?"

Zhang Bo said, "The Violet Palace Method is an internal cultivation method. In the Skin Tempering Realm, most people do not value internal cultivation. They think it is too slow, and that it does not show any lethal prowess in the short term.

"But the Internal Cultivation Method trains precisely the circulation of qi and blood, the regulation of the internal organs, and the foundation for bearing a mental method.

"The Seven Forms of Settling Solitude looks like a sword technique, but its difficulty does not lie in the seven sword moves. It lies in the transformations of its mental method—how to refine qi and blood, how to send force into the sword.

"Deng Qing has practiced the Internal Cultivation Method. He was able to touch the threshold of the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude's mental method first, so his progress was a little faster."

Zhang Bo put it as tactfully as he could, but Li Cheng understood nonetheless. He could not help sighing inwardly. With this Seven Forms of Settling Solitude, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up to Deng Qing.

"Senior Brother Deng, let's stop here for today."

Li Cheng cupped his hands toward Deng Qing. "You've been tired these past few days too. Get some rest first. Once I've thought things through on my end, I'll come find you again."

Deng Qing knew he was feeling miserable, so he said nothing more. He sheathed his sword and returned it to the weapon rack, then cupped his hands to Zhang Bo and Li Cheng before turning and leaving.

As soon as Deng Qing left, Li Cheng drew a sword from the weapon rack.

The blade left its sheath, flashing with cold light.

The next moment, he slashed out fiercely. His swordplay had no form to it as he hacked and swung wildly, venting his frustration.

Zhang Bo did not try to stop him, letting him vent.

Naturally, Deng Qing had no idea how much harm he had caused Li Cheng simply by existing as a point of comparison.

After leaving the Li Family, he returned to his own small courtyard.

Though the courtyard was still dilapidated, it had been tidied up. At least wind no longer blew in from every direction, and he had added some clothes and bedding. It barely resembled a home now.

After returning home, his days fell back into their usual cycle.

Normally, he still ate at Celebration Hall, practiced at home, and went out on night patrols.

It was just that without the Li Family's meat, the progress of the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude immediately slowed.

Deng Qing could only use the one tael of silver Wu Yun gave him each month, along with the bounty silver from his night patrols, to buy meat and make up the difference. Of course, he had not let Wu Yun's daily pork offal go to waste either.

He knew very clearly that even so, it was only a drop in the bucket.

According to Fan Sheng, going from Skin Refining Second Layer to Skin Tempering Third Layer would require at least four hundred taels of silver to build up his qi and blood.

After turning it over in his mind, Deng Qing felt that he still needed to earn some extra money. Then he thought of Tianshun Apothecary.

Of all the jobs he had done, watching the medicinal furnace was still the fastest way to make money.

That day, he left home and headed straight for Celebration Hall. He found Tu Wei and brought up the matter of working at Tianshun Apothecary.

Tu Wei said that the world was growing more chaotic by the day, and there was no shortage of people who wanted money more than they wanted their lives.

Some ordinary people would rather accept half our pay and use their bodies to tough out the medicinal poison. Naturally, Tianshun Apothecary would not pay a high price to hire them.

Deng Qing was dumbfounded. He knew times were bad and that competition was everywhere, but he had never expected even ordinary people to enter the martial artists' race.

With no other choice, he could only settle his mind. He went to work as usual, cultivated steadily, and quietly waited for an opportunity.

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed. He cultivated tirelessly, and though meat was scarce, the Seven Forms of Settling Solitude had still progressed gratifyingly, reaching 19%.

The word "Initiation" had yet to flicker, but he was already on the verge of breaking through.

That morning, Deng Qing rose early and was boiling offal at home when someone knocked on the door.

When he opened it, he found that it was Steward Liu from Tianshun Apothecary.

Steward Liu wore a cotton robe and smiled as he cupped his hands. "Brother Deng Qing, it has been a long time."

Deng Qing was somewhat surprised. He returned the gesture. "Why has Steward Liu come?"

Steward Liu smiled. "The apothecary has had some work lately, and we would like to ask Brother Deng Qing to come help out. The wages will be the same as before."

Joy rose in Deng Qing's heart, but his expression did not change. "Will Senior Brother Tu Wei be going as well?"

He had heard Tu Wei mention Tianshun Apothecary's recent movements.

They had ordinary people to use now and no longer needed martial artists. Steward Liu suddenly coming to find him again gave Deng Qing no choice but to think more deeply about it.

Steward Liu said with a smile, "This job is not a large one. We will not need those people."

"The apothecary's masters have all praised Brother Deng Qing's abilities."

"Besides, I heard that Brother Deng Qing has already broken through to the Second Layer. That makes things even better."

"I dare guarantee that once this job is done, earning ten taels of silver will be certain."

The more Steward Liu made promises, the less assured Deng Qing felt. "Senior Brother Tu brought me along last time. If it were not for Senior Brother Tu, I would not have known Tianshun Apothecary had this kind of work.

"If I accepted work from the apothecary behind Senior Brother Tu's back, that would be too dishonorable. I hope Steward Liu can understand."

Steward Liu froze.

He knew very well that low-ranking martial artists were having a hard time now. He had thought that someone of Deng Qing's background would surely agree without hesitation upon hearing that the apothecary wanted to hire him.

He had not expected this kid to refuse to eat alone.

He patiently tried persuading him for a while longer, but Deng Qing refused to take the bait no matter what. Helpless, Steward Liu could only leave.

Deng Qing also endured the loneliness, going to work, eating, and practicing as usual.

After another two days, Steward Liu came to his door again and agreed to let him bring Tu Wei along.

At once, Deng Qing hurried to Celebration Hall to find Tu Wei.

Quite a few disciples had gathered beneath the notice board, craning their necks to look ahead and murmuring among themselves.

Wind poured in through the courtyard gate, making the newly posted red paper on the wall rustle softly.

Deng Qing squeezed forward and swept his eyes over it.

A new notice from the county yamen:

Capture the remnants of the Donghuang Cult.

Rewards for identifying their strongholds.

Rewards for capturing or killing cultists.

For killing Skin Tempering Realm cultists, silver rewards and Ginseng Pills would be calculated separately.

The details below were written even more clearly.

For capturing believers: three taels of silver.

For killing a Skin Tempering First Layer cultist: ten taels of silver.

For killing a Skin Refining Second Layer cultist: thirty taels of silver.

Golden light burst from Deng Qing's eyes as he read it, but he quickly calmed down. He could not look only at the rewards; the risks were far too great as well.

He forcibly steadied himself and scanned the crowd. Before long, he spotted Tu Wei among the people.

When Tu Wei saw him approach, he said with a smile, "See that? The chance to get rich has arrived.

"At the front lines, Qingzhou's troops have won a battle and are now plowing through their court and sweeping out their dens. Those Donghuang Cult people are scattering in every direction, and the county can no longer sit still..."

Tu Wei rattled on for a while. When he saw Deng Qing signaling with his eyes, he knew Deng Qing had something to say and followed him to a secluded spot.

Deng Qing then told him how Steward Liu had come to his door again and invited him to help at Tianshun Apothecary.

Tu Wei said in surprise, "It seems Steward Liu thinks highly of you."

Deng Qing said, "Senior Brother, do not misunderstand. I will not forget who taught me the Violet Palace Method, or who brought me along to earn money watching the medicinal furnace.

"I told Steward Liu that if Senior Brother did not go, neither would I.

"He left at first. This was his second visit, and he agreed to let Senior Brother take the lead.

"That is why I came to invite you."

Tu Wei's expression softened. He patted Deng Qing on the shoulder. "Junior Brother Deng is an honest man.

"But that Liu fellow is dishonorable. I cannot be bothered with him.

"He would rather have ordinary people risk their lives than use martial artists like us who know the Internal Cultivation Method. It is obvious he wants to drive down the price.

"I reckon he must have encountered some major medicine that needs refining this time. Others could not endure it, so only then did he think of looking for you, Junior Brother.

"Name your price as you please. Do not let that bastard get away with taking advantage."

"Senior Brother isn't going?"

Deng Qing was startled.