"The Guard Hall was different from the Dustforgetting Court. Its monthly salary was thirty taels of silver."
"For me right now, that was a drop in the bucket. It was hardly any use."
"But Sun Feifei mentioned that patrol missions outside the city were where the real money was..."
"Killing a single weak Evil Spirit earned a hundred taels of silver."
"That was worth considering..."
Lu Mian felt that with his current strength, facing weak Evil Spirits that had yet to reach a ranked realm should pose no problem.
It was also the fastest way he could find to make money.
All that remained was to see whether he could kill a few more Evil Spirits and Weird Beings when he left the city in a few days.
After leaving the blacksmith's shop, Lu Mian turned and went into the pharmacy next door.
Besides buying equipment to temper his body, his more important reason for coming here was to collect his ten Qi-Nourishing Pills.
Inside the pharmacy, a middle-aged man in a gray-blue robe was tapping a stack of prescriptions into order.
"Hello. Are you looking for any medicinal ingredients?"
The middle-aged man asked.
"I'm here to collect my Qi-Nourishing Pills."
Lu Mian showed his Demon-Sealing Jade Token.
"Please hand me your Demon-Sealing Jade Token. I need to verify it."
The middle-aged man spoke softly.
After accepting the jade token from Lu Mian, he took out a register and carefully checked it.
Once he confirmed that everything was in order, he took a medicine box from beneath the counter.
"Here are your ten Qi-Nourishing Pills."
"These pills greatly replenish blood and qi. After taking one, you must wait fifteen days before taking another."
"Otherwise, your blood vessels could easily rupture."
After explaining how to take the Qi-Nourishing Pills, the man opened the medicine box.
Ten dark red pills, each the size of a longan, appeared before Lu Mian.
"Understood. Sorry for the trouble."
Lu Mian nodded slightly.
As for the man's advice, he had not taken a single word of it to heart.
With his gluttonous stomach, being too weak to handle nourishing medicine simply was not an issue.
I could eat as many as they gave me!
The man said nothing more. He simply closed the medicine box and returned it to Lu Mian along with the Demon-Sealing Jade Token.
A private room in the Tongfu Restaurant.
Bang!
A long-haired man slammed the table and said angrily, "Brother Yu, was that corpse collector really so arrogant that he wouldn't even show you any respect?"
"I disliked that brat from the moment he arrived."
Another man, this one cross-eyed, spoke coldly as well.
"A Qi-Nourishing Pill only sells for around three hundred taels on the market. Brother Yu offered three hundred, and he still refused to sell. What an outrageous price he must be after."
A short, stocky man chimed in.
Hearing his teammates' remarks, Yu Hao sneered. "No need to get so angry, gentlemen. When we go out on our mission in a few days, we'll find a chance to take him out."
"He'll definitely be carrying those Qi-Nourishing Pills with him. Afterward, we can split them."
"What do the three of you think?"
Yu Hao knew that his chances of succeeding alone were not very high. He had to bring a few others in.
At his suggestion, all three men were tempted.
He was only a corpse collector, rootless as drifting duckweed in Thousand Chimes City. As long as they killed him cleanly, there would be no trouble.
"Brother Yu... I'm just worried about Captain Han and Sun Feifei..."
The long-haired man hesitated.
The only obstacle was Han Can.
"Don't worry, Brother Sun."
"You know what Captain Han is like."
"He's cold-hearted and selfish by nature. All he cares about is breaking through to qi accumulation."
"As long as we give him two Qi-Nourishing Pills afterward to keep his mouth shut, there won't be any problems."
"As for Sun Feifei, she's a smart woman. She knows what not to say."
Yu Hao spoke with complete confidence.
After hearing him out, all three nodded.
Their willingness to act against Lu Mian certainly had nothing to do with how close they were to one another.
It was entirely because of those ten Qi-Nourishing Pills.
Those pills were quite precious to them, too.
Using them on a corpse collector truly was a waste.
"In that case, let's kill him!"
"Exactly. He's only a corpse collector. Who does he think he is?"
All four stood at once and clinked their bowls of wine together.
The reception room of the Han Residence.
"Can'er, are you going to break through to the first realm this year or not...?"
"Our entire branch's resources have been poured into you."
"A few days ago, Han Qing from another collateral branch successfully broke through to the first realm and returned to the main branch. You reached blood-qi perfection before he did, so how have you fallen behind him now?!"
An old man with graying hair and a heavily spotted face sat in the seat of honor, sighing.
He was Han Can's grandfather, Han Peng.
In Thousand Chimes Commandery City, entering the first realm and reaching blood-qi perfection were two entirely different things.
Han Peng had placed great hopes in his grandson, Han Can. Yet years had passed, and he was still standing in the same place, leaving Han Peng deeply disappointed.
Han Can said solemnly, "Grandfather, give me a little more time. I'll break through to the first realm soon."
Han Peng shook his head slightly. "I've heard that far too many times."
"Lately, your second and third uncles have been complaining more and more."
"Starting this month, your supply of Blood Lingzhi Pills will be temporarily cut in half."
Han Can's expression changed. "Grandfather, I'm at a crucial point in my breakthrough!"
"How am I supposed to break through with fewer pills?"
Han Peng had already made up his mind. "I've given you too many chances... It's time to allocate some resources to the other members of the family."
"If you want to break through, find a way yourself."
Han Can's expression shifted several times.
In the end, he rose and left without a word, his face dark.
But he knew that anything he said now would be useless.
Han Peng clearly intended to give up on him.
You old bastard!
Once I break through to the first realm and return to the main branch, I'll strike you from the family register!
Han Can glanced back, his heart seething with vicious resolve.
After leaving the Han Residence, he did not return to his own home. Instead, he took a winding route to a secluded house and knocked softly on the door.
Creak...
An ordinary-looking woman with a gentle smile opened the door.
"Captain Han, is there anything I can help you with?"
The woman smiled when she saw Han Can.
"What you told me before... was it true?"
Han Can asked.
"Of course. I wouldn't lie to you."
"Come inside. We'll discuss it in detail."
The woman nodded.
Han Can took a deep breath and stepped into the house.
Over the next few days.
Lu Mian trained diligently.
He took one Qi-Nourishing Pill every day, alternating between the Tortoise-Snake Fist, the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade, and the Iron Shirt.
The Qi-Nourishing Pills were indeed potent, steadily increasing Lu Mian's blood and qi.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the patrol outside the city arrived.
That morning, light snow drifted from the sky.
Lu Mian stood bare-chested in the courtyard, swinging the Golden Melon Hammer with his right hand and smashing it hard against his chest, abdomen, back, and legs...
That was how the Iron Shirt was trained: by ravaging one's own body to make the muscles, bones, and flesh extraordinarily tough.
With his gluttonous stomach, whenever Lu Mian battered his muscles and bones, his injuries would rapidly heal as long as he had enough medicine. Then he would begin damaging them all over again.
Most of the Qi-Nourishing Pills' medicinal power was also consumed by his Iron Shirt training.
Before you continue