Chapter 82: Seven-Step Poison Sand Palm

Li Hao felt as if he were dreaming! The Master bestowed a Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill, one for each person.

This pill, specially provided for Inner Courtyard Disciples, was actually resting in his palm, emitting a pungent medicinal fragrance.

"The Master's reward is also to urge you all to continue serving the martial arts hall with dedication."

After Lu Qiang handed out the pills, he added, "From now on, you will each have a monthly allowance of 20 taels."

This was also part of the reward.

After Zhou You and Li Hao were promoted to full status, although they didn't have to pay tuition and their room and board were covered by the martial arts hall, they hadn't had much income.

It wasn't until they completed this errand and received the Master's commendation that there was a turning point.

The 20 taels per month was nominally pocket money, but in reality, it was a base salary, representing that their status in the martial arts hall had risen by another level.

Of course, it still couldn't compare to the Inner Courtyard Disciples, who could afford to set up businesses and belonged to the propertied class.

"Zhou You, I've finally figured it out; without the Tiger Tooth and Gourd you offered, we would have been lucky to get 20 taels a month at most."

Li Hao had observed the whole process; he was a clever person and knew the source of the reward.

If not for the Tiger Tooth and Gourd that Zhou You had carefully prepared to please the Master, how would it have been their turn to receive the Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill? He thanked Zhou You repeatedly and made a point to guarantee, "I won't mention a single word about the Shan Shen Miao incident again."

The implication was that he would keep the matter of the Bronze Bell buried in his stomach.

The Bronze Bell itself, made of tens of thousands of catties of copper, was a massive fortune, not to mention the content of the inscriptions.

Li Hao thought he knew the value of the Bronze Bell, but in reality, he knew nothing about the existence of the inscriptions.

"That's fine. A pill is only yours once it's in your stomach; hurry up and digest it."

After Zhou You took the Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill, he entered a slow stage of digestion.

The medicinal power of this pill was far too potent, far beyond what Tiger Bone Paste or Tiger Bone Wine could compare to, and it could not be fully digested and absorbed in a short time.

He took some time to find Senior Brother Shen Sijing to build rapport.

"Senior Brother Shen, being able to complete this errand was all thanks to the firm providing lodging and food."

Shen Sijing waved his hand, "It was you who earned it yourselves."

"By the way, I heard the Master intends to promote you both; you must perform well in the future."

Shen Sijing appreciated Zhou You; he was steady in character, strived for progress, and his conduct was beyond reproach.

Especially since Zhou You's father was an old hand at the firm, their relationship was as close as it could be.

"I heard Wang Yan asked the Master for you two to be her guards. Well, you can't refuse the errand, but don't get too close to her."

Shen Sijing said meaningfully, "The eldest miss of the martial arts hall is involved in too much; don't get any ideas."

"A man should marry when he comes of age; don't worry about your marriage, I will keep an eye out for a good family for you."

Shen Sijing took the initiative to take on the role of matchmaker, intending to find a match within the firm to marry Zhou You, thereby binding him to his own camp.

Well, wealthy families raising loyal servants and death-sworn retainers generally followed this path.

Zhou You smiled and cupped his hands to thank him for his kindness.

"Senior Brother Shen, I have a batch of copper on hand and would like to entrust you to sell it on my behalf."

The weight of that Bronze Bell from Shan Shen Miao was not light, and to avoid future trouble, it had to be sold as soon as possible.

After thinking it over, the only channel currently available was Shen Sijing.

The firm handled countless goods every day and could absolutely absorb this batch of copper.

Furthermore, Shen Sijing still wanted to win Zhou You over to work for him, so it was unlikely he would double-cross him.

Tens of thousands of catties of red copper would be an astronomical price for an ordinary person, but converted to silver, it was less than ten thousand taels, which was nothing to him.

Shen Sijing laughed after hearing this; what a good lad, he really knew the ropes!

This batch of copper was definitely a benefit intercepted during the errand, and by taking the initiative to ask him to dispose of the stolen goods, Zhou You was showing his attitude as "one of our own."

Did he really think only bandits needed a "pledge of allegiance"? No matter the circle, if you want to integrate, you have to at least shed a layer of skin!

"Give me an address, and I'll send someone to pick it up," Shen Sijing said. "After the copper is sold, do you want gold or silver?"

"Silver, it's more convenient to use."

Gold was precious and easy to store, but silver was better for daily expenses.

Zhou You wasn't worried about any clues being discovered; after all, the Bronze Bell had been processed and was now just a pile of scrap copper.

Well, before he left Shan Shen Miao, he had specifically set a fire to burn it.

The fire burned for three days and three nights, scorching the ground, and directly melting the Bronze Bell into a lump of copper. If anyone went there now, they wouldn't even be able to tell what it originally was, let alone the long-since-ground-off inscriptions.

"This younger brother thanks Senior Brother Shen; I understand that all losses and expenses should be handled according to the rules."

The commission for handling the matter would be put on Zhou You's account; he couldn't let his Senior Brother pay out of pocket.

Shen Sijing was very satisfied with this and specifically gave Zhou You pointers on digesting the Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill to maximize the medicinal power.

"Senior Brother Shen, my family recently bought a painting, and the seal is quite interesting."

Zhou You traced an inscription with his fingertip, tentatively asking Shen Sijing.

"Hmm, this is one of the eighteen ancient seal scripts in epigraphy, commonly seen on calligraphy, paintings, bells, and drums. Are you interested?"

Shen Sijing waved his hand, "I'll have someone bring you a few books; read them when you have time to pass the hours."

"But don't get obsessed. Things from scholars and literati can't be eaten or worn; they are just for amusement."

He then mentioned that there was one person in the martial arts hall with the highest attainments in epigraphy.

Qi Fengzhang, the most transcendent person among the Inner Courtyard Disciples.

He was a scion of the Qi Family, a prominent family in the city, and his home contained many precious seals and jade stamps, each worth a fortune.

Shen Sijing was also from a wealthy family, but in front of the Qi Family, he was at best a nouveau riche.

They were the truly deep-rooted aristocratic family, a well-known and prestigious clan.

It is rumored that the Master had private dealings with the Qi Family, which led to him opening the martial arts hall in the city and making a name for himself.

Therefore, Qi Fengzhang's status in front of Wang Jianxiong was on a completely different level from the other fellow disciples.

Only then did Zhou You realize that the Ancient Seal Script of epigraphy was something studied exclusively by wealthy families.

Without a foundation in Ancient Seal Script, one would likely be unable to translate a single complete sentence from the inscriptions on the Bronze Bell.

The only plan for now was to teach himself Ancient Seal Script and restore the content of the inscriptions on the Bronze Bell.

This matter should not be done with great fanfare; it must be handled carefully, low-key, and in secret.

Shen Sijing was efficient in his dealings and kept his word.

Several days later, the trading firm's men dug up copper fragments from the ruins of the Shan Shen Miao, set up a furnace on the spot to melt them down, and divided them up to be hauled away.

After weighing, the copper material totaled over 89,000 catties, which converted to 9,000 taels of silver, less than 1,000 catties.

The silver arrived quickly, along with a few books on Ancient Seal Script.

Zhou You digested the Monarch Life-Swapping Pill while diligently studying Ancient Seal Script, comparing it to the content of the Bronze Bell inscriptions to translate them.

Time flew by...

The medicinal power of an entire Monarch Life-Swapping Pill had been mostly consumed, and his three attributes had all increased by 5.

The internal Tiger Fiend had been absorbed, and the Tiger Fiend skill successfully reached lv2.

At the same time, the first result of his translation also emerged.

The title of the Bronze Bell inscription had been translated into five characters: Seven... Step... Poison... Sand... Palm.

Zhou You scratched his head; judging by the name, it looked like an evil palm technique no matter how he saw it!

This palm technique included an internal cultivation method, and its grade was even higher than the Tiger-Subduing Fist and Yanxing Quan.

(End of chapter)