Chapter 70: Banquet (I)

Lin Zheyu did not stay long in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. After settling the bill, he left. He then went to several pharmacies in succession, spending 218 taels of silver to buy 15 sets of herbs for the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction.

The price was so high that it made him feel a sting of pain. Compared to grain, oil, rice, and flour, the price increase of medicinal herbs was even more shocking. Each set cost nearly 15 taels of silver on average.

Carrying the herbs, he returned to his small courtyard and hid them away in a secret compartment. Once he sold his jewelry, along with various poisons and hidden weapons he picked up, he would be able to purchase around 10 more sets of herbs, enough to sustain him for a period of training. What he lacked now was Origin Force.

However, obtaining Origin Force was relatively stable. On average, every four days, his essence, qi, and spirit would return to their peak, allowing him to break through the limits of his mind and body to gain Origin Force.

Breaking through limits meant pushing not only his physical boundaries but also his mental ones. The process of surpassing limits was one of challenging and transcending oneself. Each breakthrough was a dual trial for both body and mind, bringing immense strain upon them.

The body could quickly recover by consuming large amounts of meat for nourishment and using medicinal decoctions, but the mind could only recover naturally. It usually required four days to return to its peak, which limited the rate at which he could obtain Origin Force.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

In the courtyard, the sound of a blade cleaving through the air echoed sharply. Lin Zheyu gripped his saber and began practicing the Sixfold Saber method. Cold gleams flashed throughout the courtyard.

His figure moved swiftly, the Golden Goose Technique working in tandem with the Sixfold Saber method, lending his saber techniques a touch of agility and grace while boosting their power significantly.

With the Barbaric Ox Fist reaching Perfection, the bones in both arms had become as tough as iron, while his five viscera had also strengthened immensely. As long as his comprehension of the Sixfold Saber technique improved, he would soon be able to reach Perfection in it as well.

Lin Zheyu immersed himself in the Sixfold Saber technique. After his senior brother's guidance, his saber techniques had improved considerably, and he was now not far from Initial Mastery. After practicing for more than two hours, he finally stopped, panting heavily.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 0]

[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Fourth Stage: 67%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 1%), Sixfold Saber (Competence: 88%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness as he muttered, "Guidance from another truly is different from training alone. With my senior brother's pointers, my saber mastery advanced swiftly."

The Sixfold Saber had suddenly leapt by 40 to 50 percent in proficiency, bringing him close to Initial Mastery. The Tortoise Breath Grand Method, however, remained stuck at just 1 percent.

The further one progressed in the Tortoise Breath Grand Method, the harder it became to cultivate. Without seven or eight years, or even a decade of painstaking effort, it was nearly impossible to reach Perfection in the third stage.

Upon reaching Perfection in the third stage, one could perfectly conceal their strength even before martial experts of the Grandmaster Realm. Such terrifying control over the body was unimaginably difficult to achieve before stepping into the Grandmaster Realm.

After stretching his muscles and bones and washing up, Lin Zheyu sat cross-legged on his bed. Through recent attempts, he discovered that the time before sleep and after waking was the most effective for cultivating the Tortoise Breath Grand Method. Moreover, fully circulating the Tortoise Breath Grand Method as he entered sleep allowed him to sink into a deeper state of slumber, which greatly aided in restoring his spirit.

***

The next morning, at the Xing Family's Neiyang Residence.

This was the home of Xing Jinglong. It was the year's end, and outside was filled with festivity, firecrackers bursting everywhere. Yet within the Neiyang Residence, white mourning cloths hung everywhere, and cries of grief echoed bitterly inside.

A middle-aged woman knelt by a coffin, sobbing so hard her entire body trembled. "Long'er, my dear Long'er, how could you be so heartless and leave your mother behind? Long'er, your death was so tragic! They cannot even find your body,

wuu

..."

Hearing his mother's wails, Xing Jing'an clenched his fists, his expression dark and grim. Xing Jinglong was his full-blooded brother, and among their father's many children, the two shared the closest bond.

"Father, how goes your investigation? Are there any clues?" Jing'an asked the middle-aged man at his side.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The man was as burly as Xing Jinglong, with a thick beard and eyes as sharp and bright as copper bells. He was the father of Xing Jinglong and Xing Jing'an, named Xing Zhiyuan.

Xing Zhiyuan's branch of the Xing Family was of a collateral line, and among his generation, he ranked thirteenth. His natural talent for martial cultivation was considered decent, and he had trained to the peak of the Organ Forging Realm, which was considered outstanding among his peers.

Unfortunately, even after spending his entire life in the City Guard, honing his spirit through military formations and grasping qi and blood, he still failed to break through to the Blood Qi Realm.

"No. Whoever struck did it cleanly and left no trace," said Xing Zhiyuan in a low voice, his expression extremely ugly.

Of the dozen or so children born of his wives and concubines, only Xing Jing'an and Xing Jinglong showed outstanding martial cultivation talent.

Xing Jinglong had hope of reaching the peak of the Organ Forging Realm, though breaking into the Blood Qi Realm would take a miracle. Xing Jing'an, however, possessed even greater talent, giving him a chance of truly stepping into the Blood Qi Realm.

The rest were useless trash that could never be molded into anything worthwhile. Yet just yesterday, one of his most promising sons, Xing Jinglong, had died outside Songyi City. The matter made Xing Zhiyuan's heart burn with fury.

"Father, why don't I capture Lin Zheyu from the Feihong Gang and interrogate him? Jinglong chased him out of the city, so perhaps we can get a clue from him," Xing Jing'an suggested.

"He is only a small character. He likely doesn't know much. Anyhow, Zhao Wude and Qiao Quan were also there, along with ten elite soldiers. Killing them all to silence witnesses isn't something an ordinary Blood Qi Realm fighter could accomplish.

"Someone may be waiting for us to lose patience and act within the city. If we move now, we might walk right into the trap of whoever plotted this. There is no rush. We will make our move once Lin Zheyu leaves the city again. After the New Year, the Feihong Gang will rotate its guards at Baishi Mountain. By then, that boy should be assigned there," said Xing Zhiyuan.

"Yes, Father!"

***

At dawn, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Lin Zheyu woke up and headed out. He had asked Xie Jiang and a few others before, and indeed, there were experts in the Feihong Gang proficient in using poison, but they had rarely seen them. If he wished to become a disciple, he would need an introduction from Leader Xu, and even then, the person might not agree to teach him.

Experts in poison were exceedingly rare, their knowledge precious, and most guarded it jealously, unwilling to pass it on.

After some thought, Lin Zheyu decided to first ask around among the city's doctors to see if anyone was willing to teach him. If he failed to find anyone, he would wait for the results of Senior Brother Han Mo's inquiries. If that too yielded nothing, only then would he try seeking Leader Xu's recommendation.

Medicine and poison were closely related. Doctors skilled in healing often understood some toxicology as well.

That morning, Lin Zheyu went to several of the shops where he frequently bought herbs. These herb shops not only sold medicine but also had doctors who consulted patients. He asked at several shops in succession but found no satisfactory result.

These shops either directly recommended antidote pills and poison-avoidance pills or, if he truly wished to learn, demanded he become an apprentice and follow the doctor step by step, which would take far too long. And some outright stated that such knowledge was never taught to outsiders.