Medicinal Bath

At Fu Ji Bank in Linhe County, Zhang Yuan exchanged another banknote.

With the experience from last time, he directly exchanged the fifty-tael note this time.

The process went smoothly as well, without any problems.

But Zhang Yuan did not think his previous caution had been wrong. The principle that a cautious sailor could sail for ten thousand years held true in all worlds.

Next, he embarked on a major shopping spree in the county town.

Since awakening the memories of his previous life, Zhang Yuan had never fought such a wealthy battle.

He first visited a medical clinic and an herbal shop, purchasing a batch of medicinal ingredients.

Aside from the tonics for his mother, these ingredients were mainly for the Medicinal Soup formula recorded on the final page of the "Boulder Foundation Skill."

According to the manual, persisting in using the matching Medicinal Soup to aid cultivation while practicing the "Boulder Foundation Skill" would not only yield twice the result with half the effort, but also prevent any depletion of one's qi and blood.

The "Boulder Foundation Skill" was a force-entry cultivation method, primarily used to temper the skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and marrow. It placed an immense strain on the body.

Therefore, soaking in Medicinal Soup was indispensable.

However, the price of the medicine prescribed by this formula made Zhang Yuan's heart ache in secret.

He truly grasped the essence of the saying: poor scholars, rich martial artists!

After buying the medicine, Zhang Yuan purchased some rice and grain, along with various odds and ends he needed.

He filled the bamboo basket he had carried on his back to the brim.

After finishing his purchases, Zhang Yuan did not hurry back to Chen Family Village.

Instead, he went to a broker's office in town.

He asked the broker about settling down in Linhe County.

Zhang Yuan's life in Chen Family Village had been difficult, but it had been fairly peaceful, without too many twists and turns.

But Chen Yuanwai's arrival had changed everything.

Back when the Weasel-faced Advisor had extorted him in the name of Corvée, he had already begun to consider leaving the mountain village.

At the time, however, his strength had been insufficient, leaving him no choice but to swallow his anger.

Now, Zhang Yuan had some capital and confidence.

The thought of moving to the county town surfaced once more, growing stronger by the day.

Compared with the remote Chen Family Village, Linhe County was not exactly a peaceful land either, and its environment was even more complicated.

But making a living among tens of thousands of people was still better than being targeted every day in the village.

The Chen family had moved from town to the countryside; they must have had some unavoidable reason.

If Zhang Yuan went to live in town, would the Chen family still come looking for trouble?

The possibility was low.

In truth, Zhang Yuan did not fear the Chen family himself. He had even killed one of their guards.

But he feared implicating his mother.

In this world, Zhang's Mother was Zhang Yuan's only family. He could not tolerate her suffering even the slightest harm!

Thus, Zhang Yuan decided to move.

Yet things were not so simple.

The broker at the office told Zhang Yuan

that outsiders, including villagers, had to meet certain conditions if they wanted to settle in Linhe County.

First, they had to own a house in town, and it could not be rented.

It had to be their own property.

This kept houses in the county town in constant demand. Even the cheapest cost several dozen taels of silver.

Those were small, single-story houses made of earthen bricks and gray tiles.

As for the better, more expensive ones, houses costing hundreds or thousands of taels were everywhere, not to mention large estates.

Zhang Yuan certainly could not afford one.

In fact, even the cheapest house was beyond his means at present.

Second, the settler had to be a law-abiding citizen and needed someone to stand surety!

This was actually easy to resolve. The broker's office provided guarantee services; as long as one paid silver, it could be handled properly.

Finally, registering one's household required paying the yamen a fee of ten taels per person.

Moreover, Linhe residents had to pay a poll tax of three taels per person every year. If they could not pay, their property would be confiscated and sold to cover the debt, after which they would be driven out of town!

Zhang Yuan was speechless after hearing this.

No wonder he often heard the saying, "Living in the city is no easy matter." Such high expenses were truly beyond what poor families could bear.

In fact, many people lived in the villages and towns surrounding the county town, where life was easier.

But living in town also had many advantages.

The county town had a City God Temple, which could ward off most strange horrors and protect the residents' safety.

One had to know that mountain villages like Chen Family Village, though protected by ancestral halls, were often wiped out by strange horrors over the centuries, leaving no survivors in the entire village.

The county town was far safer.

Furthermore, town residents did not need to serve Corvée; the poll tax effectively paid for it directly.

Zhang Yuan did a quick calculation.

For him and his mother to move to Linhe County and live there, they would need to prepare at least one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

The more, the better.

Yet counting his last banknote, he had less than thirty taels left.

The medicinal ingredients for the formula were simply too expensive.

And future cultivation would bring another staggering expense!

Where was he supposed to find all that silver?

With a heavy heart, Zhang Yuan left the county town and returned to Chen Family Village.

That evening, Zhang Yuan used the medicinal ingredients he had bought during the day to brew a large pot of medicinal liquid.

He then poured the liquid into a wooden tub he had prepared beforehand, adding a great deal of hot water to dilute it.

These preparations were actually quite troublesome.

But to successfully cultivate the "Boulder Foundation Skill," he was going all out!

Once the Medicinal Soup was ready, Zhang Yuan took off all his clothes and immersed his entire body in the wooden tub.

He could not help taking a deep breath of the hot steam rich with medicinal fragrance.

The next moment, Zhang Yuan felt as though every inch of skin on his body had been pricked by countless fine needles.

The potent medicinal energy seeped through his pores, rapidly spreading through his muscles, tendons, and bones, penetrating deep into his Five Viscera and Six Bowels.

For a time, waves of soreness, pain, numbness, itching, and all manner of strange sensations swallowed Zhang Yuan whole.

They made one want to leap out of the bath barrel at once.

But after paying such a steep price, how could Zhang Yuan possibly waste the medicinal ingredients he had bought at great expense!

He focused his mind and calmed his breath, allowing the medicinal energy to rage through his body as he forcibly endured it.

He did not even let out a grunt.

Only when the hot water in the tub gradually turned lukewarm had Zhang Yuan absorbed seven or eight tenths of the formula's medicinal power.

He felt extraordinarily comfortable, as though he had undergone a process of bone-cleansing and marrow-washing, his entire body light as air.

Zhang Yuan subconsciously opened the Divine Nest Panel.

Host: Zhang Yuan

Divine Nest: Level 1 (30%)

Host Body: Level 2 Black Giant Ant (16%) / 4x Strength

Host Body: Level 1 Jade Mantis (2%) / Beginner Blade Technique Mastery

Qi and Blood: 85/85

Source Essence: 0

At first glance, Zhang Yuan thought he was seeing things.

Then he looked again and confirmed that he had truly not misread it!

His qi and blood had actually surged from 75 to 85 points, increasing by a full 10 points in one stroke.

And it was currently at full qi and blood.

Was the effect of this formula not far too exaggerated?

Zhang Yuan could not imagine how many points of maximum qi and blood he could gain if he kept soaking like this year after year!

But he quickly calmed down.

Presumably, only the first soak had such an excellent effect. The human body developed resistance to medicine; in the future, the qi and blood gained from medicinal baths alone would surely become less and less.

Until there was none at all.

Even so, Zhang Yuan was extremely satisfied.

It made him look forward even more to the effects of cultivating the "Boulder Foundation Skill"!