Damn It

"And when Crisp Rice Flower is combined with Bear Bile Powder, it also produces an aphrodisiac effect." As Xiao Zongting spoke, he gave Duan Rong a strange look.

Duan Rong immediately thought of taking the medicine, the erotic dream that night, and the map all over his backside. His dark face instantly flushed red, and he bared his teeth in an awkward grimace.

"Dinner!" Just then, Zhu Xiaoqi shouted from outside.

As soon as Zhu Xiaoqi's words fell, there was a rustling from the Inner Room. The curtain stirred, and Xiao Baijiao walked out.

She happened to see the comically strange expression on Duan Rong's face. Unable to help herself, she covered a smile with her lips, then left the Main Hall and headed for the East Wing.

The faint, dark fragrance Xiao Baijiao left behind lingered for a long time!

Duan Rong glanced at Xiao Baijiao's fading silhouette and sniffed.

"You draw there—how much can you make in a day?" Xiao Zongting asked as he put away the herbs.

"About a hundred taels a day."

Xiao Zongting looked at Duan Rong and smiled faintly.

This lad had some ability. Before long, he would probably become a little rich man.

He had originally planned to apply for a separate sum of funding for Duan Rong, but it was not easy to handle.

Xu Shouxian, that old bastard in the Inner Courtyard's Chief Accountant's office, had grown closer and closer to Luan Jingfu over the years. Naturally, he and Xiao Zongting had become more and more at odds.

And trying to get silver out of Xu Shouxian, that old miser, was that not like plucking feathers from an iron rooster?

If he truly wanted to make this happen, he would have to go through Ruan Fengshan, the manager of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.

Since Duan Rong had now settled the matter of resources himself, Xiao Zongting no longer needed to worry over it.

"I'll write you a prescription. When you cultivate the second level in the future, use medicine according to this prescription." As Xiao Zongting spoke, he took paper and brush, spread them across the table, and began writing. "This was a prescription I tested back then. There was originally a medicine in it to invigorate the mind, but after testing it twice, I removed that ingredient."

Just as Xiao Zongting was explaining earnestly, Zhu Xiaoqi stomped in, puffing with anger. "I said dinner was ready, and you're still dawdling around here. The dishes will get cold in a moment..."

Xiao Zongting raised his head and actually squeezed out a smile. "Got it, got it."

For some reason, Duan Rong felt that Xiao Zongting treated Zhu Xiaoqi especially well.

"Little Seven, serve this lad a bowl of rice too!"

Hearing that, Zhu Xiaoqi froze slightly. She could not help looking Duan Rong up and down before twisting her waist and walking out of the Main Hall.

Xiao Baijiao had already laid out the bowls and chopsticks when Zhu Xiaoqi suddenly served another bowl of rice and set it on the table.

"Are you looking to die? Why did you serve another bowl?" Xiao Baijiao shot Zhu Xiaoqi a glare and scolded playfully.

"Master said that lad in the Main Hall is eating here today too."

"Really? Father said that?" Xiao Baijiao was somewhat surprised.

"Mhm."

Her father had been Chief Instructor for so many years, yet he had never invited anyone to stay for a meal! Did that lad have some sort of background?

"What is that lad's background?" Xiao Baijiao asked Zhu Xiaoqi.

"What background could he have? Isn't he just a silly Honest Lad?"

"Then why did Father keep him for dinner?"

Zhu Xiaoqi could not answer for a moment, so she teased, "Maybe he's looking for a husband for you?"

"Looking for a husband for you? You mad girl, see if I don't tear that mouth of yours apart."

"Good miss, good miss, I was wrong, all right? I was wrong!"

Seeing Zhu Xiaoqi beg for mercy, Xiao Baijiao did not pursue it further. But the next moment, her smile froze on her face, and sorrowful resentment surfaced in her beautiful eyes.

With this terrible illness of hers, how could she still have a chance to marry?

Those fated to suffer were often sensitive too, nursing hurt for a long time over one careless remark from another.

Back in the Main Hall, Xiao Zongting handed the written prescription to Duan Rong.

"Your talent is excellent. Your Mental Strength should be even stronger than mine. I removed that mind-invigorating medicine from this prescription as well."

Duan Rong's eyes shifted. His talent was excellent, but it was not because his Mental Strength was formidable. He had directly gained his realm through the Devour Artifact Spirit.

His actual Mental Strength was only Level 1. How could it compare with Xiao Zongting's?

That medicine for invigorating the mind absolutely could not be removed!

Thinking this, Duan Rong immediately asked, "Then what was the mind-invigorating medicine originally included in this prescription?"

Xiao Zongting gave Duan Rong a casual glance and replied offhandedly, "Crisp Rice Flower as well. Half a stalk."

Only after obtaining the complete prescription did Duan Rong carefully fold it and tuck it into the inner pocket of his clothes. Then he picked up the wrapped Medicine Pack.

Xiao Zongting looked at Duan Rong. "Stay for dinner before you go."

Duan Rong chuckled. "Then I'll impose on you, Old Xiao!"

The two walked out of the Main Hall one after the other and headed into the East Wing.

After dinner, Duan Rong left Xiao Zongting's courtyard in a daze.

During the meal, Duan Rong had sat beside Xiao Baijiao. Her body fragrance was like insects, burrowing straight into his nose.

"Getting close to such fragrant grace truly steals the soul!..."

In this state, Duan Rong drifted slowly out of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency and arrived before the Crude Drug Store on West Avenue.

But the Crude Drug Store had already closed. Three or four beggars lay sleeping beneath the eaves on either side, while one of them used the dim light spilling from the nearby alley to pick through his clothes and catch lice...

Duan Rong had originally wanted to buy the herbs now and go to the Medicine Furnace Room to decoct them.

But it seemed he could only wait until tomorrow.

Feeling somewhat depressed, Duan Rong returned to the dormitory.

He set the Medicine Pack beside the bed, then spotted a stack of books at the head of it.

Duan Rong immediately lunged over and pulled out Ancient Rhymes Miscellany!

As Duan Rong looked at that book, the lustful fire he had barely suppressed whooshed up again!

He poured inner energy into his right palm and slapped the book.

"Guan Yun! I'll fuck your damn ancestors!"

Ancient Rhymes Miscellany was immediately smashed into tiny pieces, scraps of paper scattering all over the bed.

Duan Rong rolled up the bedsheet and went out to wash it again... Last time, he had washed it too hastily and had not gotten it clean. There were still faint marks on it...

He had time today anyway, so he not only scrubbed himself thoroughly and deliberately used soap pod, but also washed the hair he had not washed for many days.

Clean from head to toe, Duan Rong lay down on the bed and quickly slept like the dead!

The next day, Duan Rong got up early. The moment the Crude Drug Store opened, he slipped inside.

Following the prescription Xiao Zongting had given him, he bought four doses of medicine at once.

Carrying a bundle of Medicine Packs tied with thin hemp string, Duan Rong was in an excellent mood.

One dose cost thirty-four taels of silver. It was far cheaper than that eighty-two-tael medicine.

"Old Xiao was right! What decent person writes books?"

After returning to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency, Duan Rong first went to the dormitory and placed three Medicine Packs at the head of his bed. Carrying one in his hand, he prepared to head to the Medicine Furnace Room.

But when Duan Rong reached the middle of the dormitory, he suddenly stopped.

He turned around, opened the Medicine Pack, then opened the pack of Guan Yun's prescription medicine he had received from Old Xiao the previous night.

He took half a stalk of Crisp Rice Flower and put it into the dose of medicine he had bought that morning.

Only then did Duan Rong rewrap the Medicine Pack and head straight for the Medicine Furnace Room in high spirits...