Chapter 213: Glare-eyed White Tiger
“Brother Shun An, you’ve come, and just in time. The loach demon corpse you handed me a few days ago, I’ve ground it into powder and prepared a batch of pills. By the rules, this is your share.”
Jindu Great Pharmacy, in the pill room.
Golden Needle Li took a small hammer and was cracking open the skull of a monkey demon, then extracted the intact brain and sealed it in a jar of five-wheel water.
Upon seeing Chen Shun’an’s figure, he merely glanced over and instructed the apprentice nearby to hand Chen Shun’an a medicine bottle.
According to Golden Needle Li, this medicine is called ‘Essence Rehmannia Pill’, suitable for all deficiencies and weaknesses, and beneficial to take. It replenishes primal qi, strengthens original yang, nourishes kidney water, lowers inner fire, solidifies essence blood, strengthens muscles and bones…
It can be called an essential item for male martial artists.
Even for Chen Shun’an, it has considerable benefits.
Of course, in terms of martial path cultivation, it also helps stabilize qi and blood.
Naturally, his body doesn’t need it.
, is another name for loach.
That General Huang truly lived up to being a loach turned monster, especially after mixing in the Grand Canal for many years, having eaten who knows how many precious plants and eastern pearls, his whole body full of treasures.
In Chen Shun’an’s hands, he could only think of barbecuing it.
But in Golden Needle Li’s eyes, the slippery mucus could prevent medicine sticking to the furnace, the flesh body could be refined into pills, the spine could be made into a medicine jar, heart liver spleen lungs kidneys could all serve as medicine primers…
Make full use of everything.
Eat it clean and wipe it dry.
Humans have their talents, demons have their materials.
Of course, Golden Needle Li naturally didn’t handle the demon corpse for Chen Shun’an for free.
As an occupation with high technical skills, the profit in the physician trade depends entirely on the practitioner’s conscience.
For example, Golden Needle Li—Chen Shun’an didn’t even know how much benefit he got from preparing General Huang’s corpse, or from treating various rich men in the past.
And Golden Needle Li had done this much and still given Chen Shun’an a full amount of pills.
It could already be considered that Golden Needle Li had high medical ethics and was a good person!
Taking the Essence Rehmannia Pill, Chen Shun’an looked curiously at the dismembered monkey demon and said,
“Where did this demon come from? Why does it look somewhat familiar?”
“It came from the public office at Three Forked Road. I heard it was a monkey demon that died of exhaustion. That’s not important. What’s important is I’m preparing to transplant this monkey demon’s organs and various tissues into ordinary monkeys, to see if it can turn ordinary monkeys into demons. Perhaps I can find out about monsters’ meridians, inner cores, and such…”
Golden Needle Li’s expression unchanged, he made another cut.
Hearing this, Chen Shun’an looked again at the full room of monster corpses, various organs and tissues, peach-like hearts, mulberry-colored gallbladders, almond-like kidneys…
He didn’t know what he thought of, and couldn’t help feeling a bit creeped out.
The demon disaster at Three Forked Road was naturally a bolt from the blue for many commoners.
But for many martial artists and people like Golden Needle Li, it was an opportunity.
So, did everyone really want Lu Jing, Liu Qingyi, and others to successfully slay demons?
Moreover, the instigator of this opportunity, that great demon from Bewitching Bay where it resided, injured by heavenly thunder, even after so long, its wounds hadn’t healed, still bleeding profusely and shedding scales, causing demon mist everywhere.
That great demon hiding in Funiu Water Marsh could only prove one thing.
Funiu Water Marsh has special significance, worth the great demon’s determination not to move its lair and to hold that position.
Moreover, that immortal who was glimpsed asking for directions in the deep water area the day before yesterday seemed to come from the direction of Funiu Water Marsh…
According to Tun Mengzi, that immortal appears in Funiu Water Marsh every sixty years, then asks for directions everywhere.
A pit…
Chen Shun’an sighed silently.
Humans dig pits for people.
Demons dig pits for people.
Immortals dig pits for everyone.
Chen Shun’an chatted a few more words with Golden Needle Li, and once again agreed that if he obtained more monster corpses, he would hand them to Golden Needle Li for processing.
Chen Shun’an then left the great pharmacy, mingling among the peddlers with shoulder poles, preparing to return to Wuqing County.
Speaking of which, Chen Shun’an now had quite a few good things on him.
Every time he went out, his belt, saddlebag, and even boots hid essentials for killing, arson, regulating breath, and recovering blood.
Essence Rehmannia Pill, Muscle and Bone Softening Paste, and Pearl-Containing Miasma-Averting Pill, Spirit-Rhino Bone-Piercing Powder bought from the black market.
Oh, and the Obscure Bright Sand exchanged from that eerie old lady’s hand.
Chen Shun’an might not necessarily use these things.
But he had to have them.
Mainly to boost his sense of security.
“Shopkeeper Chen, Shopkeeper Chen…”
As he was thinking, a few familiar voices came from afar.
Chen Shun’an’s expression stirred; he seemed to have already sensed their identities in advance and couldn’t help stopping and turning around curiously.
“Brother Shi Lin, you…”
He then saw Shi Lin hurriedly catching up with a composed middle-aged martial artist.
The middle-aged martial artist carefully looked Chen Shun’an over, as if verifying his identity, then cautiously handed over a waist token,
“Leader Lu instructed: with this waist token, you may immediately go to the Martial Arts Hall to collect your needed items. Both token and person are here; neither can be missing. Farewell!”
With that, the man turned and left without any hesitation.
Looking at the uniquely textured, shimmering waist token in his hand, clearly no ordinary item.
Chen Shun’an was somewhat baffled.
So Brother Shi Lin had such a big face?
Just casually writing a document and operating for one night actually bypassed countless procedures and got Leader Lu to open the back door?
Chen Shun’an stared at Shi Lin with inquiring eyes.
But Shi Lin also looked baffled, no better than Chen Shun’an.
Even more curious, staring at Chen Shun’an with a very strange expression, he said,
“Old Chen, give me the inside story—what’s your relationship with Leader Lu?”
That waist token was Leader Lu’s personal item; seeing the token is like seeing the person.
He didn’t have such a big face to make Leader Lu go this far.
But…
Shi Lin seemed to think of something, his eyes showing doubt.
Senior Yun Ruo?
Why wasn’t she seen this morning?
He asked the brothers who guarded Leader Lu’s door last night; they said she suddenly disappeared in the latter half of the night.
Could it be she went off on some secret mission again?
……
Wuqing County, Zhao Mansion.
He handed the souvenirs bought on the way to the steward.
Chen Shun’an was then led by a dedicated person to the back courtyard of Zhao Mansion.
There was a warm pavilion in the back courtyard.
Outside the window was the rustling sound of falling snow, but inside the room it was as warm as spring.
Wan Niang, Qingchen, and Madam Zhao, the three women, were playing backgammon in the room, each draped in a silver fox fur blanket.
Maidservants softly sang and played music, dancing, surrounded by flowers and brocade, attending at all times.
It was truly full of spring colors.
Of course, Wan Niang couldn’t play backgammon and didn’t know such elegant pastimes; she just sat to the side, sewing cotton jackets by herself, preparing to make several more winter clothes for Chen Shun’an.
Qingchen and Madam Zhao had played a few games, each winning and losing.
“I never imagined that Miss Qingchen has such profound skill in backgammon and chess. I hear Miss Qingchen also knows Buddhist scriptures and Daoist texts?”
Madam Zhao was a woman of dignified demeanor. Though nearing forty, her breasts were full and plump, her charm enduring. Just leaning by the window exuded both the delicate grace of a great lady and the authority of a matriarch.
In fact, Madam Zhao also had quite a background.
Her father, known in the martial world as ‘Glare-Eyed White Tiger Xie Chou’, was also a True Intent Master who roamed the Capital Region decades ago. Now he was even the consul of the Five Rivers Branch, often residing in Tongzhou City.
His status second only to the president and vice president.
Together with the other four consuls, he managed water management for Tongzhou’s twenty-four counties and prefectures.
Back then, Xie Chou roamed the martial world and was saved by Zhao Guangxi’s father, so the two families became close friends and even arranged a marriage between their children.
After Zhao Guangxi’s father died, the Zhao family fell apart and declined.
Yet Xie Chou honored the engagement and insisted his daughter marry down.
She just chose the younger of the Zhao brothers, Zhao Guangxi.
And Xie Chou was also Zhao Guangxi’s greatest backer.
Qingchen pinned up her cloud-like hair, her appearance plain and elegant like an orchid in an empty valley. After placing a piece, her voice showed almost no emotional fluctuation.
“Madam Zhao overpraises me. This little woman has just stayed too long in the mountains with no other ways to pass the time, so she could only indulge in these bizarre and clever arts… Buddhist scriptures and Daoist texts are even less worth mentioning.”
Though she said so, Madam Zhao looked at Qingchen and couldn’t help showing admiration and affection.
She even couldn’t help holding her hand, reluctant to let go.
“Madam Zhao, Shopkeeper Chen has arrived.”
A maidservant came in with light steps.
“Brother?!”
Wan Niang suddenly reacted, put down her needlework, looked outside the window, and saw a familiar figure entering the courtyard.
Wan Niang rushed forward impetuously. If not for outsiders present, she probably would have flown into Chen Shun’an’s arms like a bird.
Chen Shun’an took Wan Niang’s hand and walked to the door of the warm pavilion but did not enter.
“Chen Mou pays respects to Madam Zhao.”
Inside the room,
Seeing Chen Shun’an, Qingchen thought of something and subconsciously clamped her legs together. Her calm face showed a bit of flush.
Without any teasing, years of cultivation accompanied by the green lamp were broken with just one glance at Chen Shun’an.
Madam Zhao strangely glanced at Qingchen, then stood and said,
“So it’s Shopkeeper Chen. Have things been safe for you at Three Forked Road lately? I hear Shopkeeper Chen actually tamed a group of porpoises…”
Madam Zhao and Chen Shun’an exchanged a few polite and distant words.
Madam Zhao then sat back in her original seat, bending one leg under her buttocks and covering her legs with the silver fur.
Chen Shun’an used the corner of his eye to discreetly glance over Madam Zhao.
After chatting briefly with the two women.
Chen Shun’an found Zhao Guangxi in the study room.
“Landlord, the two women Wan Niang must continue to stay temporarily in your mansion. I wish to go to Liangjiang Military Academy to collect Purple Iron Cattail Milk, enter seclusion to cultivate, and aim to break through to True Intent Realm.”
“Good, go ahead without worry. Also, Mo Long A Tai is dead, He Qiang is missing, Jiang Yutang was attacked by a group of mysterious people—fortunately he noticed and only suffered minor injuries. Tian Xuan Saint has appeared in Wuqing County; those with ulterior motives are surging like undercurrents. Be careful in your actions.”
Men’s conversations are always this simple and direct.
Either business or eating, drinking, whoring.
“There’s such a thing?”
Chen Shun’an was somewhat surprised.
He had vaguely heard about Mo Long A Tai’s death and wasn’t too surprised.
But He Qiang had actually gone missing?
What mishap had old He run into?
Could it be some enemy came knocking?
And the attacked Jiang Yutang was also one of the nine major landlords of Wuqing County water station, a steady and seasoned man already over a hundred years old, having sat in the landlord position for over seventy years.
