Chapter 256: Wang Tong's Nine-Refinement Medicinal Formula

In such an age, human life is as cheap as mustard.

Ever since Wan Lian's entire family was killed, this young lady, who once never had to lift a finger and lived without a care, changed.

To seek revenge, she infiltrated the upper-class circles of Yangyue Prefecture, hoping to use her beauty to marry into a wealthy family and then leverage their power to avenge her kin.

Unfortunately, which of those powerful elites in Yangyue Prefecture wasn't the type to eat people without spitting out the bones?

With Wan Lian's methods, she was naturally played in circles by those people.

Later, she returned with a big belly, her heart turned to ash.

Now, not long after giving birth to her child, she chose to commit suicide.

Lin Chao looked at the little girl crying to the side and sighed inwardly.

The old physician had saved his life, so no matter what, he had to take good care of his granddaughter.

As for the man who bullied Wan Lianjie... Lin Chao secretly kept it in his heart.

As he was now, he had absolutely no capital for revenge.

The powerful elites of Yangyue Prefecture were people even the Medicine Gang couldn't afford to offend, let alone him.

"Strength..."

It was his foundation for standing in this world, and also his reliance for stepping into the Ninth Tier.

The next day, Lin Chao buried Wan Lian.

For poor people like them, there were no special requirements for a burial.

A straw mat, the body rolled up, and buried in a pit—that was considered a remarkable treatment.

Even the process of having a funeral feast was skipped.

In this world, a great number of people died every day and were abandoned in the wilderness.

When Lin Chao went to gather herbs every day, he often saw corpses, their bodies barely covered.

After laying Wan Lian to rest, Lin Chao continued to gather herbs and save money every day.

The days were repetitive and dull, just as before.

Lin Chao did not feel it was bitter; such a life was far more interesting than his time in the Heavenly Vault.

There were birds chirping, flowers in full bloom, and mountain springs tinkling.

"Xu Ling, someone of status is looking for you."

One day, when Lin Chao returned to the Medicine Gang, he was called over by a steward.

Following the steward, Lin Chao entered a courtyard.

His heart was filled with vigilance.

"You are Xu Ling?" In the courtyard, a middle-aged man wearing fine silk spoke.

Judging by his attire, he was the type of person like a steward of a wealthy household.

"This humble one is." Lin Chao nodded.

"Mm." The middle-aged man held a bag in his hand. "My young master was always on good terms with Miss Wan Lian, and upon hearing of her passing, he felt deep grief.

Hearing that Miss Wan Lian had given birth to a daughter, he specifically sent me here; this is a small token of his sincerity."

The middle-aged man handed the bag to Lin Chao.

"Many thanks to the young master for his kindness." Lin Chao's expression was blank, as if he were truly grateful.

The middle-aged man nodded, gave a few more instructions, and then turned to leave.

Lin Chao put the money bag inside his clothes and sighed inwardly.

The young master mentioned by this middle-aged man might be related to Xiao Jing's father.

They had finally come.

However, they did not take Xiao Jing back; there must be some hidden reason for this.

"It seems I need to be even more careful." Lin Chao was vigilant in his heart.

Being noticed by such people was not a good thing.

"I must practice martial arts quickly and gain more strength for self-preservation."

If the other party suddenly changed their mind and wanted to kill him, an insignificant herb gatherer, it would be the easiest thing in the world.

Lin Chao did not want to entrust his fate to the hands of others.

With some strength for self-preservation, the other party would not kill him at will.

After going to Liu Guafu's place to bring the child back, Lin Chao returned to his dilapidated shack.

"Eight large coins?"

Looking at the money given in the bag, there were eight large coins, equivalent to eight hundred wen, not even a single tael of silver.

Perhaps, to those powerful elites, it wasn't even enough for a single meal.

Lin Chao didn't have many thoughts on it.

Eight large coins were enough for him to save for a year.

He boiled some thin porridge and fed it to Xiao Jing.

As a result, Xiao Jing kept crying non-stop.

Lin Chao was very patient, coaxing Xiao Jing.

"Much harder to coax than Yingxue." Lin Chao thought of Qi Yingxue, and his heart couldn't help but ache.

According to what that Alien Demon said, his daughter had jumped down from the city tower.

Unfortunately, he was trapped within this world and had no way to reach the Wu Kingdom.

"If I cultivate to the Main God Realm, can I find the Wu Kingdom?" Lin Chao sighed slightly.

But immediately, he suppressed such thoughts.

Never mind reaching the Main God Realm; right now, even just settling down and making a living is difficult.

The next day, Lin Chao went to gather herbs as usual.

The two of them walked to a dense forest deep in the mountains.

Wang Gai's face was a mix of green and red; he looked as if he had been beaten up.

"Xu Ling, could you lend me some money?" Wang Gai asked, his eyes darting around as he carried his basket, "Three large coins will do!"

"You... gambled again?" Lin Chao asked in return.

A look of agony appeared on Wang Gai's face: "I owe Liu Shan one tael of silver; he said if I don't pay it back this month, he'll chop off three of my fingers."

Some time ago, instigated by some friends, he had entered a small-scale gambling den.

After winning some money at the start, he became trapped in it.

As a result, he suffered a huge loss the next day.

In order to win back his principal, he went to find the moneylender Liu Shan and borrowed a few coins.

As a result, the more he gambled, the less money he had.

"I heard that some noble in the prefecture gave you and Wan Lian some money; lend me three coins, and I'll go win back my principal today.

Believe me, I will definitely win it back!

Once I pay back Brother Liu, I will never gamble again," Wang Gai said, his voice agitated.

Lin Chao looked at the burning intensity and agitation in Wang Gai's eyes, his own gaze calm: "I have no money."

Wang Gai was already deeply mired in gambling at this moment, still thinking of borrowing three large coins to turn his luck around.

Lin Chao knew that if he lent Wang Gai three large coins, Wang Gai would certainly come to borrow more after losing the money.

Most importantly, although Lin Chao's strength was gone, his insight remained.

Wang Gai's heartbeat was very abnormal right now, and his gaze was also quite evasive.

His heart was beating very fast right now; he was very nervous.

"Xu Ling, lend me three large coins, good brother, just three!" Wang Gai hugged Lin Chao's leg, snot streaming down his face.

"I don't have any," Lin Chao felt calm inside.

"You really won't help a brother?" Wang Gai's tone rose, his voice growing coarse.

Lin Chao remained unmoved.

"You're forcing me!" Wang Gai's gaze suddenly turned fierce.

A gleaming dagger appeared and stabbed toward Lin Chao's lower abdomen.

An Ordinary person, facing such a sudden attack, would undoubtedly die.

But Lin Chao was not an Ordinary person.

He struck, precisely pinching Wang Gai's wrist, and with a forceful twist, the dagger in Wang Gai's hand was instantly dropped.

Lin Chao kicked out, and Wang Gai instantly fell to the ground.

He picked up the dagger from the ground and, under Wang Gai's crazed gaze, stabbed it into Wang Gai's chest.

"Sigh," Lin Chao panted.

The body he was in now was, after all, that of an Ordinary person.

Even killing an Ordinary person was this strenuous.

This Wang Gai had prepared the dagger in advance; it was clear that borrowing money was a lie, and robbery was the truth.

It was just that Wang Gai had mistaken Xu Ling for the former Xu Ling.

After all, under a surprise attack, the former Xu Ling would have had no path to survival.

Unfortunately, Lin Chao was no longer the former Xu Ling.

He looked at the corpse on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and began to loot the body.

"Not a single copper?" Lin Chao felt that this Wang Gai was truly too deeply addicted to gambling.

"Eh? What is this?" Lin Chao discovered in surprise that there was a piece of sheepskin parchment inside Wang Gai's clothes.

"Wang Tongshou Nine Refining Prescription... it's actually this?"

A look of surprise flashed in Lin Chao's eyes.

Wang Tongshou was a ruthless man in the nearby prefectures, a great bandit who occupied the mountains as king, his fame spreading far and wide.

Once, when the Zhenwei Escort Agency of Tianyi Prefecture was transporting goods, Wang Tongshou blocked the road to rob them, killing the head Escort Head of the Zhenwei Escort Agency with three punches.

Wang Tongshou subsequently became famous across several prefectures.

According to what Wan Lian's father had said, Wang Tongshou was previously a well-known doctor.

One day, while he was out shopping with his daughter, they were harassed by a lecher.

He took out a wooden stick and beat that lecher unconscious.

As it turned out, that lecher's family had considerable power in the prefecture; they used the government to oppress him, forcibly framing Wang Tongshou and throwing him into prison, using both threats and inducements to take Wang Tongshou's daughter as a concubine.

In the end, less than half a year later, Wang Tongshou's daughter could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide.

According to rumors, it was because that lecher habitually liked to exchange concubines with other powerful figures, and Wang Tongshou's daughter could not accept it.

From then on, Wang Tongshou also disappeared.

Eight years later, Wang Tongshou reappeared, displaying powerful Martial Arts, and wiped out the entire family of that lecher.

Wang Tongshou's reputation shook the region, and he was famous in the nearby prefectures for several years, but two years later, someone saw Wang Tongshou's corpse by the river.

According to Wan Lian's father, the reason Wang Tongshou was able to become so strong so quickly relied not only on talent, but even more on his uniquely created Wang Tongshou Nine Refining Prescription.

"The old man said that this prescription has huge side effects; it can consume a person's lifespan to forcibly boost Qi and blood, increasing the speed of practicing Martial Arts.

Even though Wang Tongshou returned after mastering it, he only lived for two more years before dying; it was because his lifespan was consumed too much."

A look of surprise flashed in Lin Chao's eyes.

This medicinal formula was simply a perfect match for him.

His lifespan was infinite and inexhaustible, so he had no fear at all of a medicinal formula that depleted one's lifespan to increase strength.

"Is my luck just too good?"

Just as he wanted to increase his strength, he found this medicinal formula that suited him best.

Following this formula, even if his talent were Ordinary, his speed in cultivating Martial Arts could still be accelerated.

"After all, this world is barely considered to be created by me; it is only normal that my fortune is a bit better..."

After all, in a certain sense, he could be considered the Child of Destiny of this world.

No, he was the Heavens themselves.

Lin Chao looked up at the sky, but unfortunately, he still could not tell where he was.

He looked at the medicinal formula, memorized it for a while, and did not take the parchment with him.

As for the corpse on the ground, he kicked it into the cliff.

There were many wild beasts on the mountain, so he estimated that Wang Gai's corpse would be gone in a few days.

Lin Chao went up the mountain to gather herbs every day as usual.

Three days later, a steward from the Medicine Gang came and asked Lin Chao if he had seen Wang Gai.

Lin Chao naturally denied it.

The steward did not say anything else.

For herb gatherers like them, one or two would disappear every few months.

Wang Gai's disappearance did not cause any great stir.

Things continued along their original trajectory.

Lin Chao also kept saving money.

One day, on the way back from gathering herbs.

"Xu Ling, do you want to go to Chunhua Pavilion to have some fun?" Beside him, a sturdy man had a look of longing on his face.

"No money, I have to support Xiao Jing." Lin Chao refused.

Chunhua Pavilion was an affordable brothel in Yangyue Prefecture, but for herb gatherers like them, it was still a large expense.

"Sigh, you don't know, the girls at Chunhua Pavilion, their little hands and feet are so soft, their skin is so white, Baishahua and dazzling to the eyes; I'm afraid even the concubines in the imperial palace aren't as white as them." The sturdy man said, his face full of lewd smiles, "It's more fun than being an immortal!"

"What's Chunhua Pavilion? If you're going, you should go to Qingping Building; I heard there are many female family members of fallen high-ranking officials there." A man with yellow teeth spoke up, "When I save enough money, I must go and taste what those big shots' wives are like."

Lin Chao walked along without saying anything.

He had heard such talk many times.

People like this were not few among the herb gatherers.

But they were still considered okay; at least they were not addicted to gambling.

Of course, most of the herb gatherers were still honest and simple.

Some saved money for a dowry, while others planned to save enough to change to a different trade.

Gathering herbs all the time had no future.

"Xu Ling, listen to brother's advice: life is short, enjoy it while you can.

You already have Xiao Jing now, you don't lack a future wife, and you don't need to save for a dowry.

You might as well enjoy yourself now." The sturdy man said.

In their view, raising a child bride was the most normal thing in the world.

Lin Chao did not refute, nor did he have any intention of changing their views.

He felt that in this world, he was just a passerby among the masses.

Or rather, just an observer.

Thanks to 【Zhen Di San Cun Rao Zhi Rou】 for the thousand-coin reward, thanks to 【Mo o Ke】 for the tip, thank you!

PS: There will be an update today, I will return what I owed yesterday, don't worry!

(End of chapter)