Chapter 356: Ten-Item All-Rounder: Silver Tide Whale-Swallow Pill

"Master Zhou, your way of rejecting people is as heartless as ever."

Qi Fengzi gave a faint, bitter smile. "My humble self is not worthy of your discerning eye, but..."

"I have heard scattered accounts of your deeds and made some presumptuous guesses. Master Zhou is not a man of lust; mere physical beauty cannot move you."

"I am useful to you—of great use."

She reached toward her collar, and Zhou You frowned. "Wait!"

It was too late; Qi Fengzi was quite fast, pulling a length of gold chain from her collar.

"In the Qi Family, I enjoyed exceptional conditions. I came into contact with all sorts of trades—mechanisms, pharmacy, accounting, and more—and in every field, I am comparable to a professional."

"It is laughable to say, but this Shouzhen Qianji Lock was actually invented by me, only to be used on myself in the end."

A chastity lock? Zhou You felt a surge of hot blood. Good heavens, just good heavens.

If he didn't lack that particular fetish, he would have brought the little beauty to justice right there, even if there was no way in or out.

"This lock contains 100 gold needles. It is worn like clothing, but once it encounters violent tearing from an enemy, it will eject 99 needles to counterattack, which can pierce the skin of a Qi-blood martial artist if they are caught off guard."

Why is there one left over?

"If the opponent is too powerful to resist, the final needle pierces the heart to protect my purity in death."

Qi Fengzi smiled bitterly. "I am a sinner now and cannot bring shame to my family, so I was bestowed this Shouzhen Qianji Lock."

"Can it be removed?"

Zhou You asked an extra question, then immediately condemned it angrily, "It is simply feudal dross, persecuting women."

Qi Fengzi was amused by him. "Master Zhou can try."

How to try? This thing is worn against the skin, more intimate than undergarments; anyone who dares to say that is just being a hooligan.

"Ahem, let's not talk about that for now. Since you have professional skills, I can hire you as a helper."

"We'll start with a trial period. Room and board included, no salary."

How stingy! Qi Fengzi was full of complaints, but under the circumstances, she still managed to squeeze out a smile and said sweetly, "Many thanks, Master Zhou."

Zhou You thought the little girl had many tricks up her sleeve; mentioning the chastity lock was specifically to warn him not to mess around, lest they both perish together.

Clever, but still too green.

A little woman like you, living day and night with Zhou You, is just like a piece of fat left by his mouth, hehe...

"It's settled. Open your mouth!"

Qi Fengzi's eyes went wide. "What do you want to do?"

"You are capable, and I need you to handle some secret matters. I don't want any leaks, so I'm adding a layer of insurance."

Zhou You grinned and poured out a pill. "Don't worry, it's not dangerous—it's just poison!"

Listen to that, is that human speech? Not dangerous, he says—it's poison!

Qi Fengzi looked distressed, her little nose wrinkled, and she said pitifully, "Can I not eat it?"

Sensing Zhou You's unkind gaze and feeling a sense of crisis, she snatched the pill and swallowed it in one gulp without another word.

It was bitter at first, but as she savored it, there was a lingering sweetness and a breath of fresh air; it wasn't as disgusting as she had imagined.

With this, the employment relationship was largely confirmed, and Qi Fengzi was officially on board.

Zhou You still had one thing on his mind, and before Qi Fengzi left, he couldn't help but ask, "How do you usually bathe?"

Her response was a roll of her eyes!

A few days later, Qi Fengzi's abilities, like an awl in a bag, became intuitively apparent to everyone. With a pen and a ledger, she organized the supplies of Zhou Family Village in perfect order, earning the praise of the Grand Elder.

The old, messy accounts were resolved by her with a mere display of her skills, and she established a perfect registration system for incoming and outgoing accounts.

With the accounting issues solved, the next step was...

"I circled the village twice and found over a dozen loopholes. If you don't mind, I'll patch them up."

In the blink of an eye, the financial expert seamlessly switched to a master architect, guiding the village to perfect its defense system and consolidate the city wall construction.

She wasn't boasting when she said she was proficient in mechanisms.

The mechanisms Qi Fengzi designed herself, combined with the rugged terrain and defense system of Zhou Family Village, increased their power tenfold.

The day after completion, a starving male bear broke into the village to grab food, which would have been a disaster in normal times.

After all, an adult male bear is two or three people tall, and the force of its paw is enough to twist and deform steel plates several centimeters thick, while its bite force can easily pry open a human skull.

To kill such a male bear, even with Zhou Laiwei leading the team, would have required the sacrifice of at least seven or eight people.

Yet this time it was different; not a single person was lost, and the bear was strangled to death by the mechanisms buried in the stone walls.

Now, not only Zhou You's parents but even Master Shen and the others hinted that Zhou You should take Qi Fengzi into his chambers as soon as possible.

Such a remarkable woman, a "husband-booster" who is a jack-of-all-trades—it would be a pity not to marry her.

Even Qi Qingdi did not object, only emphasizing repeatedly that her elder sister should be the primary wife and Qi Fengzi the secondary.

Zhou You smiled without a word. A worker should stay at their post; he had never seen anyone promote a key business asset to be the boss's wife, wasting a capable beast of burden—what a waste! The surprise was yet to come... "You said you know pharmacy?"

"Yes!"

"Why didn't you say you had mastered the formulas for so many Secret Medicines?"

Qi Fengzi widened her innocent eyes and spread her hands. "How could I learn pharmacy without mastering the formulas? Besides, are these formulas difficult? The family had many hidden away, gathering dust at the bottom of bookshelves, ignored by everyone."

When it came to the craft of pharmacy, Qi Fengzi gave Zhou You a huge surprise.

According to Zhou You's estimation, Qi Fengzi's level of pharmacy was around level 7 or 8, but she possessed a vast variety of Secret Medicines, and the quality was generally high, roughly on par with the Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill.

They were suitable for Qi-blood martial artists to consume and required a certain level of difficulty to refine.

It was the advantage of the aristocratic environment; others couldn't envy it! Zhou You thought of how many people in Zhou Family Village practiced martial arts and consumed a huge amount daily; grain and meat alone were not enough, and they needed Secret Medicines for support.

Now that there was no shortage of medicinal herbs, what was missing was the manpower to refine them; Qi Fengzi's arrival was truly like a pillow appearing when one was sleepy.

"By the way, do you have any pills on hand that a Martial Master can consume to replenish massive Qi-blood consumption?"

After Zhou You advanced to Martial Master, his intake and output of Qi-blood were immense, and he urgently needed a Secret Medicine with high blood-replenishing properties.

Qi Fengzi pondered for a moment, "Every Silver Tide Whale Swallowing Pill, after being consumed, possesses the power to swallow a vast amount of Qi and blood like a whale."

The Secret Medicine consumed by martial masters has a strong aftereffect and expensive ingredients, differing from the Secret Medicine consumed by ordinary martial artists.

To be precise, the Silver Tide Whale Swallowing Pill should be called a Secret Pill.

After Zhou You heard her finish introducing the wonders of this Secret Pill, his heart was moved; it was tailor-made for him.

Because the Silver Tide Whale Swallowing Pill replenishes Qi and blood too abundantly, it is easy for it to exceed the limit and cause blood overflow; an ordinary martial master would have to take one Silver Tide Whale Swallowing Pill in several doses, but for him, one pill at a time is barely enough.

"I know the recipe, but I cannot refine it!"

Qi Fengzi spread her hands, "Any expert capable of refining a Secret Pill could go to the Medicine King Sect to be certified as a Herbalist."

Zhou You waved his hand, "You can't? A small matter, I will teach you."

What? Qi Fengzi was stunned; do you know what you are saying?

(End of this chapter)