Chen Family Bell Doctor Secret Codex

"That's true. Don't go asking questions, or you might get swept into the whirlpool," Yang Feng said gravely.

"I understand, I understand. You're an honest man, Brother Yang." Shen Lian smiled.

"The city isn't peaceful. Prepare early, and don't let your guard down," Yang Feng added.

"I understand." Shen Lian nodded.

"Farewell!"

Yang Feng turned and left. Behind him, Shen Lian looked thoughtful, a flicker of worry in her eyes.

Before long,

Yang Feng arrived at the Martial Arts Arena.

"Oh, Lord Yang, you're here!" Gao Feng spotted him and immediately came over with a smile.

"Any promising seedlings here?" Yang Feng asked, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.

"A few." Gao Feng pointed out seven or eight people, including Lin Qing.

Yang Feng looked them over, then finally settled his gaze on Lin Qing.

"This boy isn't bad. If he trains hard, he might become proficient in half a year."

"You're right, my lord," Gao Feng agreed with a smile.

Yang Feng did not stay long. After watching for a while, he turned and left.

Hearing their conversation, Lin Qing felt reassured.

He had not revealed that his martial arts had reached Minor Mastery. Instead, he had shown only a little more strength than the others. That way, he could earn Yang Feng's appreciation without raising suspicion over how quickly he had improved.

Back at the Artisans' Office courtyard,

The night was deep.

Lin Qing got up and went outside to train more in the courtyard.

But tonight, he was not alone. Two others were practicing too.

The two seemed to be competing in secret, with hostility in their eyes.

Lin Qing paid them no mind and kept to his own pace. An hour later, he finished his exercises, exhaled, and returned to his room.

The next day, Lin Qing was eating when he suddenly heard a cry.

"Wang Xing collapsed!"

"Wang Xing, wake up, you brat!"

Clatter!

A crowd rushed over. Lin Qing rose too and saw a young man lying on the ground, his face pale and his food scattered everywhere.

The young man was one of the two who had trained late the night before.

"Make way! Carry him inside!" Shen Lian came out and had the others carry him into a room.

Everyone began talking at once.

"Wang Xing trained too hard. His body couldn't take it!"

"Without meat, we'll all train ourselves into wrecks sooner or later!"

Not far away, Han Jue took a huge bite of chicken and sneered. "If you have no money, why practice martial arts? A pack of dirt-poor fools dreaming in broad daylight!"

As Lin Qing listened, he felt a surge of unease.

I need meat. If this goes on, I'll end up like him.

He could feel his body weakening by the day, his exhaustion growing worse. Training like this was bound to end badly.

That morning,

Lin Qing was halfway through his bone-tempering exercises when a constable from the Night Patrol Office arrived.

"Another group of refugees came to the East City Gate. Quite a few died. The Constable Chief sent me to bring some people to move the bodies."

Lin Qing stood at once. The constable picked five or six others and took them straight to the Cremation Ground courtyard.

Lin Qing was assigned an old man's body. His clothes were thin, his face was bluish-purple, and frostbite covered much of his skin.

[Deceased: Physician? Lin Qingyuan]

[Realm: None]

[Deliverance progress: 0%]

[Reward: One Talent, martial art, or skill]

With a crackling roar, Lin Qing pushed the body into the cremation furnace, where the flames rapidly burned it to ash.

On the panel, the deliverance progress kept rising—from 0% to 20%, then 30%. The instant the body turned completely to ash, it reached 100%.

In a flash, countless fragmented images surfaced in his mind: memories the old man had left behind.

Lin Qing closed his eyes slightly as image after image flashed through his mind.

A moment later, they faded. Lin Qing opened his eyes and sighed softly. "Another poor soul."

War had made the man a refugee. He had practiced medicine for more than sixty years and saved many lives, yet he had frozen to death at the East City Gate.

As Lin Qing pondered this, more information appeared before him.

[Please choose one martial art, skill, or Talent to copy]

1. Spiritual Medical Heart (Fourth Tier · Elite)

An understanding of medicine and pharmacology far beyond ordinary people's. Observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking seem divinely aided; flashes of inspiration often come when devising prescriptions.

2. Health-Preserving Five-Animal Fist (Minor Mastery)

A folk health-preserving fist art widespread in southern Shu Region. It imitates the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and bird. Practicing it nourishes the blood and qi and strengthens the body.

3. Chen Family Bell Doctor Secret Codex (Perfect Mastery)

A medical text handed down through the Chen family. It combines the strengths of many schools and excels at pairing common herbs to remarkable effect, particularly in treating difficult and unusual illnesses.

4. Herb Identification (Major Mastery)

A skill Chen Qingyuan accumulated over more than sixty years of crossing mountains and valleys. It enables identification of the appearance, properties, and flavors of more than eight hundred medicinal plants.

After a moment's thought, Lin Qing chose the third option: Chen Family Bell Doctor Secret Codex.

Medical knowledge was useful in any era, especially when it came from a secret manual passed down through the Lin family.

Over the next few days, Lin Qing repeated the same routine: work in the morning, martial arts practice in the afternoon, and extra training at night.

After Wang Xing, several others at the Martial Arts Arena found their bodies could not endure the strain and were forced to give up.

Lin Qing's body, too, had been running beyond its limits. His need for meat grew more urgent by the day.

One evening,

Lin Qing was training beneath the moon when, halfway through, a door creaked open and Shen Lian stepped out.

"Lin Qing, come here. I've got something to tell you."

Lin Qing finished his exercise and hurried over. "What are your orders, Lady Shen?"

"Your movements are precise, and your form is graceful. Are you about to cross the threshold?" Shen Lian asked with a smile.

"I'm still a long way off."

"I don't think so. You'll cross the threshold within two months at most. Your talent and comprehension are among the best of this batch of hired hands." Shen Lian leaned against the doorframe, arms folded across her chest.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, my lady. I'll work hard." Lin Qing nodded.

"Unfortunately, plenty of things in this world aren't fair. You thought the assessment was only about strength? Wrong. Money matters too. So does your background!" Shen Lian reached over to the table, grabbed a handful of roasted soybeans, and tossed a few into her mouth.

"Please speak plainly, my lady." Lin Qing cupped his hands.

"The man teaching you martial arts this time is Jiang Baihe. He's greedy and lustful. As far as I know, Han Juetong has already paid him a hefty sum for the Corpse Collection Team's only opening." Shen Lian smiled brightly.

"Please show me a way forward, my lady." Lin Qing bowed.

He suspected Shen Lian had another reason for calling him over so late.

"You're clever. I'll give you two paths. The first is to pay him.

"Jiang Baihe is blinded by greed. If you offer him more than Han Juetong did, the opening will naturally be yours." As Shen Lian spoke, she grabbed a few more roasted soybeans.

"That path is closed to me, Lady Shen. I come from a poor family. If I had that much money, I wouldn't have endured three years of hardship to fight for this one chance." Lin Qing gave a bitter smile.

"The second path is to reach Minor Mastery within half a year. On the day of the assessment, the directors of the Night Patrol Office, the Yin-Yang Bureau, and the Netherworld Pacification Bureau will all be there. If your performance is dazzling enough to put you a whole realm ahead of Han Juetong, the opening will still be yours. Jiang Baihe won't be able to stop it." Shen Lian tossed a few more soybeans into her mouth. They crunched as she chewed.

"Minor Mastery in half a year? That will be extremely difficult," Lin Qing murmured.

"What? Thinking of giving up?" Shen Lian raised an eyebrow.

"I'm willing to give it everything I have," Lin Qing said quietly.

"Aren't you afraid of offending Jiang Baihe?" Shen Lian teased.

"With your help, Steward Shen, I dare to try." Lin Qing's expression turned serious.

"You really are clever. Jiang Baihe and I don't get along. With me here, he won't dare do anything to you. Here are some training notes with plenty of insights into the Eight Strikes of the Spirit Snake. They can help clear up your doubts." As she spoke, Shen Lian took a yellowed booklet from a nearby drawer.