Medicine Furnace Room

Duan Rong laughed along with her.

Only then did Hu Huanhuan look Duan Rong over. He had a square face, slicked-back hair, dark skin, and features so ordinary he would vanish in a crowd. Yet his eyes shone like stars, especially when he smiled, as though a sky full of stars were blinking at you.

"Where did this little slick-tongued brat come from? Your mouth's sweeter than honey." Hu Huanhuan shot Duan Rong a sidelong glance and scolded him with a smile.

Seeing Hu Huanhuan's expression, Duan Rong knew today's matter had been smoothed over. Smiling, he said, "With elder sisters as lovely as blossoming flowers, who wouldn't be delighted to see you?"

"Enough. Pack up your stall and get lost. Once you start talking nonsense, there's no end to it!" Hu Huanhuan scolded with a laugh.

"Aye... I'm going, I'm going." Duan Rong cupped his hands in another bow before returning to pack up his stall.

"What are you all still standing around for? Get back already and do whatever you ought to be doing!"

The courtesans queued before the stall immediately scattered in all directions.

As Duan Rong packed up his stall, he suddenly called out, "Elder sisters, come here tomorrow at Shen Hour!"

Two of the running courtesans heard him and turned back to answer, but after Hu Huanhuan glared at them, they stuck out their tongues and turned their heads away again.

Duan Rong grinned at Hu Huanhuan, then, like a human-shaped rack laden with goods, left from beneath the Old Locust Tree with all his things hanging off him.

Flower Shadow House opened at three quarters into You Hour, and its music and revelry continued through the night.

Duan Rong had just told them to come at Shen Hour, which was still one hour before Flower Shadow House opened.

Naturally, it would not affect Flower Shadow House's business, so Hu Huanhuan had nothing more to say.

Duan Rong had already calculated it. In one hour, he could finish roughly ten paintings, which meant one hundred taels of silver.

One hundred taels a day was absolutely a top-tier income in this world.

With that income, there would definitely be no problem supporting himself with medicinal supplements until he finished cultivating the Second Level of Inner Breath.

Now that he had a steady and substantial income, Duan Rong could go to the Crude Drug Store and buy a dose of the prescription he had previously been too reluctant to purchase, just to test its effects.

His earnings today had already surpassed two hundred taels. Though one dose cost eighty-two taels of silver, it was not an expense he could not afford.

Thinking this, Duan Rong turned his feet and headed for the Crude Drug Store, his entire body still laden with goods.

By now, night had fallen, and the Crude Drug Store was nearly at closing time. Suddenly, a dark figure came up to the entrance and, with a clatter, piled a heap of things beside the shop door.

"What ghostly thing is that? I haven't even closed up for the day, and you're already taking up space to sleep!" a shop assistant cursed toward the entrance.

The Crude Drug Store's doorway was wide, and its eaves offered shelter from the rain. Beggars from the county streets often slept there at night.

But they only came after the shop had closed for the day. Coming now was simply asking for a beating, wasn't it?

"No, sir, I'm here to buy medicine." Only then did Duan Rong step in from the pitch-black night.

The cursing assistant's face immediately turned green when he saw that it was a customer coming in to buy medicine, and he hurriedly began apologizing.

The lean middle-aged assistant behind the counter recognized Duan Rong at once. He was the customer who had come a few days ago to ask about the prescription medicine. The man shot the other assistant a fierce glare.

The Crude Drug Store was a high-profit business, with a grand storefront and strict rules. Shouting at a customer like that, even if it had not been intentional, would still earn him a vicious beating. He might even be dismissed.

The assistant who had cursed was merely an apprentice. It had taken him great effort, through connections and favors, to get into the Crude Drug Store.

If he lost this job, his family would beat him to death when he returned home.

Duan Rong took out the prescription and handed it to the lean middle-aged assistant behind the counter. Smiling, he said, "Sorry to trouble you. Please prepare one dose according to the prescription."

"Please wait a moment, sir."

Tall lamps hung on all four walls of the Crude Drug Store, illuminating it as brightly as day. Following the prescription, the middle-aged assistant laid out the herbs one by one across the counter. After weighing them himself, he called over another assistant and had him check the prescription against the ingredients.

Only then did he wrap up the medicine, tie it with hemp cord, and hand it to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong accepted the Medicine Pack and paid the silver in full. The lean middle-aged assistant came out from behind the counter and personally escorted Duan Rong out of the shop.

This was also an apology for Duan Rong having been cursed at by the assistant when he entered. "Our shop has failed to keep our assistants in line. We did not attend to you properly. We hope you can forgive us, sir."

"It's nothing. It's dark, and people can't see clearly. That's only normal."

Duan Rong even spoke a few words in the assistant's defense.

However, when the lean middle-aged assistant saw Duan Rong load that huge pile of things onto himself piece by piece, then finally hang the Medicine Pack and lantern together from the hilt of his sheathed Oxtail Saber, his expression became rather strange.

Duan Rong naturally noticed the doubt in the lean middle-aged assistant's eyes. He gave an awkward smile and said, "I just packed up my stall. I have a little too much stuff."

The lean middle-aged assistant smiled and nodded. Looking at the frame tucked beneath Duan Rong's right arm, he found its shape quite peculiar. Though he had seen much in his time, he could not tell what it was for, and could only sigh inwardly, The martial world is full of strange folk!

Had Duan Rong heard that, he surely would have translated it into plain words for him: When the woods are big enough, every kind of bird can be found.

The lean middle-aged assistant watched Duan Rong vanish around the street corner before returning to the shop and ordering it closed for the night.

Still like a walking rack, Duan Rong returned to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.

At this time, quite a few people were still practicing martial arts in the Martial Arts Field of the escort masters' Middle Courtyard. The moment they saw Duan Rong's bizarre appearance, those who knew him immediately gathered together and began whispering among themselves.

Duan Rong first returned to his dormitory and put all his things in his room. Then, carrying the medicine, he prepared to go to the Medicine Furnace Room to decoct it.

To the west of the Martial Arts Field in the Middle Courtyard stood the Medicine Furnace Room. One furnace cost one qian of silver, with fine firewood and mountain spring water provided free of charge.

Rather than crossing the Martial Arts Field again, Duan Rong took a side path directly to the Medicine Furnace Room.

The Medicine Furnace Room was actually quite small, only a single low building. Duan Rong saw a bed set beside the entrance, its bedding black and greasy with oil and grime. From beneath the darkened blanket poked a head of grizzled white hair.

Duan Rong walked over and nudged the person beneath the blanket. "Old Man, I need to decoct medicine. Are there any empty furnaces?"

The grizzled head stretched farther out, revealing a pair of dead-fish eyes. Staring fixedly at Duan Rong, he rasped, "There are empty furnaces."

As he spoke, the Old Man rolled over and sat up. "Where's your Waist Tag?"

When the blanket lifted, Duan Rong caught a vexing, bizarre stench of mildew mixed with urine.