Chapter 37: Contracting Can Awaken Abilities

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Contracting Can Awaken Abilities

"This Mr. Yue was once a prodigy of exceptional brilliance. He was originally the Princely Heir of Duke Dingguo, holding the Tiger Talisman and commanding the military as a famous undefeated General. Had he not suffered a severe injury during a battle that broke his legs and ruined his manhood, he wouldn’t have been abandoned by the Duke Dingguo Mansion, nor would he have fallen to such a state."

"His leg injuries are incredibly severe. It’s said that even the Imperial Physicians were unable to cure him. If our Young Valley Master had intervened back then, could his legs have been healed?"

"Our Young Valley Master isn’t someone just anyone can meet. Even we can’t see him."

"Say, if the people from the Duke Dingguo Mansion find out Mr. Yue is dead, will they blame us?"

"Hmph, if they want to blame someone, they’ll blame his wife. That ugly, fat female beast is absolutely disgusting; she should have died a long time ago. Besides, we are the Medicine King Valley. Our Valley Master and Young Valley Master are so powerful—who would dare offend us? No one will ever know what we’ve done..."

Then, in her dream, Qiao Suluo saw Yue Hanzheng’s corpse being carried to the back mountain of the Medicine King Valley, a place filled with medicinal herbs. They were going to bury him there.

Witnessing this scene, Qiao Suluo bolted awake from her sleep, gasping heavily.

Seeing Yue Hanzheng treated like that and watching him die in her dream had inexplicably filled her chest with a suffocating tightness.

The System noticed something was wrong with its host. "Did you have a nightmare, Host?"

"Yes," Qiao Suluo said in a muffled voice. "I dreamed that Yue Hanzheng died."

The System completely dismissed the idea. "How is that possible? Yue Hanzheng is a major villainous boss in this world; he wouldn’t die so easily. Don’t overthink it, Host.

"It was just a dream."

Qiao Suluo understood it was just a dream, but the Yue Hanzheng she saw felt far too real.

She had seen him mistreated by the people of the Medicine King Valley. Even though he clearly knew he was being fed poison, he would still numbly swallow it. Every time he drank it, his body would tremble in agony, yet he endured it without making a single sound. Seeing that, even if it weren’t for her mission, her heart ached for him.

"It’s said that he went to the battlefield to guard the borders when he was only ten years old," Qiao Suluo murmured. "Because of the wars, his body is covered in large and small scars.

"He did so much defending the country. Why would Duke Dingguo treat him like that? And for the original owner of this body to sell him to the Medicine King Valley to become a medicine man... It’s simply too cruel."

Having grown up in a peaceful and beautiful world, she could never commit the atrocities the original owner had done.

"Then just redeem him early, Host, and none of that will happen," the System suggested.

Qiao Suluo focused her mind. "Right, I need to redeem Yue Hanzheng first. How much Silver did the original owner sell him for again?"

"Fifty taels of Silver."

Qiao Suluo’s expression changed. "Fifty taels of Silver?"

The more than 30 taels of Silver she currently had on hand were completely insufficient to redeem him.

However, another thought occurred to her. "His legs are broken; can they still be cured?

"If I ask the Valley Master or the Young Valley Master of the Medicine King Valley to treat him, will he recover?"

She also wanted to ask the people of the Medicine King Valley to help heal Que Hongjin, Bai Qianluo, and the others. But she also knew she wasn’t qualified to meet the Valley Master or the Young Valley Master right now. Such prominent figures were entirely out of her reach.

The System spoke up, "Host, I just ran a scan and discovered something. It seems there is something unique about your soul. If you form a Contract with your Beast Husbands and establish a true physical relationship, you can receive the inheritance of a Divine Doctor."

Qiao Suluo cried out in shock, "What?

"You actually want me to do such a thing? If Que Hongjin and the others find out, they’ll definitely find a way to kill me." As she spoke, Qiao Suluo subconsciously touched her neck, still remembering the terrifying sensation of being choked by Tushan Feishang.

Knowing that its host was dense and innocent when it came to romance, the System explained, "Although your Beast Husbands are currently disabled, they possess inherently powerful bloodlines. When forming a Contract, it can stimulate certain hidden potentials and allow you, Host, to awaken new abilities.

"You will receive corresponding rewards for forming a Contract with each Beast Husband."

Even with the promise of rewards, Qiao Suluo refused to entertain the idea. She merely pondered and said, "I still need to find a way to ask the Valley Master or Young Valley Master of the Medicine King Valley to save them."

From the original owner’s memories, she knew the threshold to enter the Medicine King Valley was exceptionally high. The sect was divided into the Inner Valley and the Outer Valley, with the Inner Valley serving as its true core. Every year, all the Doctors in the Outer Valley had to pass an assessment to gain entry into the Inner Valley.

The original owner had sold Yue Hanzheng to a Manager Physician in the Outer Valley. They had taken a liking to Yue Hanzheng’s constitution and high pain tolerance, plotting to turn him into a medicine man. By doing so, they hoped to achieve a breakthrough in their Medical Skills and potentially earn the chance to be accepted into the Inner Valley.

As Qiao Suluo pondered over these matters, the sky gradually began to lighten.

After breakfast, Qiao Suluo went to the county town with Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo. It had been raining for three days, so the ground was still wet and slippery when they arrived.

They first went to the Jinxiu Cloth Shop to deliver the plush dolls. After completing the delivery, Qiao Suluo took her payment of eight hundred cents and headed back to their previous stall location with Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo.

When they set up their stall, there weren’t many people at first. However, because they were situated on the main street with high foot traffic, passersby soon began stopping to browse their wares. It didn’t take long for their regular customers to show up as well.

"It rained for the past three days. I actually braved the rain to come buy your Konjac, but you guys weren’t here. Now that the rain has finally stopped, you’ve finally come out to set up your stall!" a customer exclaimed.

"By the way, is there no tofu today? The texture of that tofu was really quite good."

"We didn’t make any tofu today, but we will have some tomorrow," Qiao Suluo explained with a smile. "However, we do have candy and Peach Blossom Brew today. You could buy some of those instead, Auntie."

Since she hadn’t been sure if it would rain today, she hadn’t soaked the soybeans yesterday. Tofu would spoil if it wasn’t sold on the same day it was made, so she decided against making it.

"What is Peach Blossom Brew?" another regular customer asked curiously. None of them had ever heard of it before.

Just as Qiao Suluo was about to explain, a sneer interrupted her. She followed the sound and saw a woman in an orange dress standing not far away, staring at her with a look of pure contempt and disgust. Qiao Suluo had absolutely no idea who she was.

The man next to the woman, who was wearing an academy scholar’s uniform, asked, "Qiumei, what’s wrong?"

Lü Qiumei deliberately raised her voice. "You know how Qiao Erlin from the Qiao family was absolutely desperate to marry me, dragging out our broken engagement for so long? Well, she’s Qiao Erlin’s sister—the fake heiress who was chased out of the Capital City and sent back here.

"I heard that back then, Qiao Feishuang intentionally swapped the babies, allowing a fake country bumpkin heiress to grow up in a wealthy noble family. This entire family is nothing but bad news. Who knows if they’ve mixed something shady into the things they’re selling?"

The man in the academy uniform crossed his arms, his face filled with arrogant disdain. "How does someone like her even have the nerve to sell things?

"I advise everyone not to buy things from her so carelessly. If something goes wrong, the Qiao family won’t take responsibility. They’ll just cut and run."