Chapter 49: Through the Gushing Spring to Jiang Shaochong, Blood and Qi Great Completion

"Master Qin, spiritual fish aren't that easy to catch, you know. You mean Liang Liang Ashui? He hasn't shown his face in months…"

After eating spiritual fish, Qin Xiong had lost all interest in ordinary fish — they weren't just incredibly nourishing, the flavor was the freshest imaginable.

"Whenever spiritual fish come out, be sure to send someone to notify me."

Leaving those words behind, Qin Xiong turned and walked toward the teahouse by the road. A sidelong glance seemed to catch sight of Li Yuan; his expression cooled slightly, but he still walked into the teahouse.

In a corner, a swarthy-faced young man raised his hand in greeting:

"Brother Qin!"

"Brother Yu!"

Qin Xiong strode over, and the nearby tea-drinkers scrambled out of the way, not daring to approach — the intimidation of his build was more direct than any blade or sword.

"Brother Qin truly is heaven-blessed. If you hadn't entered the wrong school and learned the wrong Wu Gong, I'm afraid Yu wouldn't even be your match."

Yu Zhen sighed in admiration.

In this world, there are always some people who are extraordinary — some learn things incredibly fast, some have physiques of incredible strength. Qin Xiong belonged to the latter; a tiger's back and bear's waist was top-grade bone structure.

If he hadn't switched his Wu Gong once mid-way, to say nothing of internal strengthening, he should at least have achieved body-tempering like Yu himself.

"Qin Mou has only barely managed internal force — how could I dare compare with Brother Yu?"

Qin Xiong took his seat, still towering. The nearby tea-drinkers had long since kept their distance; only the owner stood nearby with a bitter face, serving tea and pastries.

After a few pleasantries, Yu Zhen lifted his cup: "Does Brother Qin know why Yu chose to stay at the Weapon-Forging Shop?"

"This…"

Qin Xiong shook his head, puzzled in his heart as well.

Yu Zhen was a martial artist who had achieved body-tempering, and far younger than Tang Tong — staying at the Weapon-Forging Shop was truly beyond his comprehension.

"To tell the truth, Yu came to Gao Liu to seek a Wu Gong — one…"

Yu Zhen lowered his voice:

"One that is at least Zhong Cheng Wu Gong, possibly even a top-grade Wu Gong!"

Zhong Cheng, top-grade Wu Gong?!

Qin Xiong instinctively glanced around, his expression shifting.

The entire Gao Liu County had only half a Zhong Cheng Wu Gong — the Tiger's Roar Blade. A top-grade Wu Gong — he had never even heard of such a thing.

"Brother Yu, this is no place to talk."

Even knowing Yu Zhen very likely had ulterior motives, Qin Xiong's heart still throbbed with desire. Forget top-grade — even a Zhong Cheng Wu Gong alone would be worth more than the entire Weapon-Forging Shop!

"Good!"

Yu Zhen smiled and nodded, though emotions churned within.

He had chased the culprit for thousands of li, spending over a year, and had even been gravely wounded by Qiu Long for it — only to find at the end a corpse and a puddle of mud mixed with brain matter!

How could he accept that?!

……

……

On the way home, Li Yuan heard mourning music — it came from where the Chai and Yu gangs were based.

"Something happened again?"

Li Yuan was briefly startled. He had been back six or seven days now; the gang members and apprentices who had died in Mount Fajiu Mountain should have long been buried.

He moved closer to ask around, and was immediately taken aback — the one dead was actually Chai Gang's gang leader, Liu Jin?

"A gang leader, just dies like that."

Li Yuan's heart chilled slightly, but he didn't approach. After a few glances, he noticed his second brother was also in the funeral procession, so he waved from afar,

then carried his things back to the alley.

In the alley, there were six or seven households in total. After he rented an entire small courtyard, only two neighbors remained, each renting their own small courtyard.

"Sister-in-law?"

Li Yuan pushed the door open and saw his sister-in-law Wang Juan washing clothes, not having gone to work.

"It rained a few days ago, the house got a bit damp. It's bright and sunny today, so I thought I'd air things out. Are you planning to stay back?"

Wang Juan set down her work in some fluster and stepped forward to take the things:

"Why did you buy so much? It's getting hot, things won't keep. You child — earn a bit of silver and can't keep your hands off it. We should listen to your second brother and find you a wife to keep you in line!"

"Someone came by?"

Li Yuan noticed his sister-in-law's fluster.

"Mm, some rogue."

Wang Juan didn't want to say more and carried the chickens and ducks to the corner.

Was it Qin Xiong?

Li Yuan's brow furrowed slightly. Over the past half year, he had figured out the relationship between Qin Xiong and his family.

When the Li family hadn't yet fallen, they had a long-term hired worker. Qin Xiong was that family's eldest son. Because of his outstanding talent, he had entered the Weapon-Forging Shop — but he seemed to harbor some improper thoughts about his sister-in-law…

Li Yuan's heart tightened slightly, but he didn't press her. Instead, he smiled:

"Sister-in-law, don't bother storing things since it's hot. Cook whatever you can. This looks like a lot, but who knows — it might not even be enough for me to eat!"

"You go rest. Your second brother went to a funeral today — who knows when he'll be back!"

Wang Juan busied herself nimbly with the hens, piling the feathers together to make a feather duster.

"Alright."

Li Yuan didn't go up to add to the chaos; he took his bundle and the little field mouse and went upstairs.

The second floor was very spacious. Mainly because those two households had moved out, and Li Yuan hadn't bought any tables, chairs, or furniture — there was only a single bed in the room.

"For hammer practice, the space is a bit small, and the soundproofing isn't great — easy to disturb brother and sister-in-law. Hmm, why not just rent the courtyard next door as well?"

The wealthy and imposing Daoist Li set the items down, while the little field mouse squeaked "Zhi Zhi."

"I haven't eaten yet; you wait a moment!"

Tying the little field mouse to the bedpost, Li Yuan flipped his wrist, and the long-handled training hammer appeared out of thin air.

The long-handled melon hammer was only temporarily borrowed; after returning from Fa Jiu Mountain, the warehouse had taken it back.

"The feel is far inferior to that of the long-handled melon hammer. In a few days, I'll walk my master's path to get those few weapons in the warehouse; I've coveted them for a long time.

But whether collecting different types of weapons or promoting the Command of Weapons Talisman, it all requires silver..."

Li Yuan calculated his assets and felt he was too poor again.

After repaying Fatty Sun, he had barely over a hundred taels of silver in total; that was enough for medicine, and perhaps he could even buy two weapons,

but...

"The Third-Rank Command of Weapons Talisman requires one thousand jin of wrought iron, one hundred taels of silver, ten taels of gold, and one tael of pure gold..."

Li Yuan felt his teeth ache.

That was a huge sum of money.

Wrought iron is twenty times more expensive than pig iron; ten taels of gold normally cost one hundred twenty taels of silver, which was one thing, but the real difficulty is pure gold.

As the saying goes, no man is perfect, and no gold is pure.

Pure gold is not a circulating currency at all; he had only heard of it from his master Zhang Ben, who said it is often added when forging supreme-grade sharp weapons.

"Still poor..."

Life is hard; the Daoist sighed.

After indulging in wild thoughts for a while, Li Yuan finally held the hammer and stepped into the Soldier Body Stance.

In four days, relying on the powerful medicinal power of the Leopard Fetus Sinew-Changing Pill, he successfully mastered all twenty-four variations of this superior stance.

"Twenty-four upright, twenty-four inverted, twenty-four combined; a superior Wu Gong is truly extraordinary."

The sound of bones and tendons rubbing arose; Li Yuan could feel his skin and flesh constantly tightening while the Zeng Xue Dan inside his abdomen digested rapidly.

"Continue, continue!"

Shi Shi Zuzu an entire afternoon, Li Yuan stood in the stance, repeatedly performing the twenty-four upright variations of the Soldier Body Stance several times, consuming nearly half a bottle of Zeng Xue Dan.

"Hoo!"

"Haa!"

Breathing deeply, Li Yuan felt extremely exhausted; his qi and blood were nearly depleted. Just as he was about to stop, a thought stirred in his heart, and he seemed to sense something.

"Yongquan!"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up.

As the exhausted blood qi regenerated, he distinctly felt a slight heat at the soles of his feet; this was one of the signs of great accomplishment in blood qi!

"Leopard Fetus Sinew-Changing Pill!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yuan popped another pill. As heat rose in his abdomen, he began the Soldier Body Stance.

Hoo!

One form, two forms; gradually, sweat appeared on Li Yuan's forehead, soaking his clothes. It was as if sweat was pouring from every part of his body, and the blood qi circulating through him seemed to ignite, turning from warm to scalding.

Bang!

At a certain moment, Li Yuan finished the twenty-four upright variations of the Soldier Body Stance, then slashed back with his reverse hand, producing a loud explosion.

Hoo!

With just that single strike, the breath Li Yuan exhaled and the sweat gushing from his entire body rose like steam!

"It's done!"

When the steamy sweat dissipated, Li Yuan was drenched, as if just fished out of water, yet his eyes shone brighter than ever before.

Scalding blood qi rose from the soles of his feet, passed through the knees and hips, traversed the shoulders and arms, and reached the fingertips!

Blood qi: Great Accomplishment!

(End of this chapter)