Chapter 16: Mrs. Wang’s Late-Night Visit

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Mrs. Wang’s Late-Night Visit

Since the boss had spoken, the old shopkeeper Chu Li obviously did not dare to disobey. He could only stand to the side with an apologetic smile and say, "Young Master Fang, please don’t be angry. My boss..."

"Elder Li." Fang Xu smiled faintly. He stuffed the silver notes in his hand into Chu Li’s grasp and said, "I’ll take seventy Qi Blood Pills. Please give me silver notes for the remaining three hundred and ten taels of silver as well."

The smallest denomination for silver notes in the Yu Dynasty was one hundred taels. Three hundred and ten taels of silver in cash would take up too much space and be inconvenient, so Fang Xu simply asked for silver notes. Seeing that Fang Xu wasn’t angry and was still willing to buy Qi Blood Pills, Chu Li paused slightly. He hurriedly took the silver notes, then instructed the shop assistants to bring out the Qi Blood Pills.

"Young Master Fang, here are your Qi Blood Pills, three hundred taels in silver notes, and ten taels of silver in cash." After quickly separating the money and goods, Chu Li stepped in front of Fang Xu and bowed.

Fang Xu briefly counted the number of Qi Blood Pills. Confirming there were indeed seventy, he cupped his hands in a slight salute and left Qinxiang House with the money and pills.

As soon as he left, Wu Ningxue walked out from the shop’s inner room again. Watching Fang Xu’s retreating back, her expression shifted unpredictably.

"Boss, about the Blood Food business..." Chu Li ventured cautiously.

Wu Ningxue narrowed her beautiful eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. "The Blood Food business in Fenglin Town doesn’t rely solely on that single shop to succeed...

"Does Lu Zhiyuan really think that just by getting that shop, he can easily replace the Zhang Family and control the entire Blood Food business in Fenglin Town?

"Elder Li, I’ll leave Qinxiang House to you for the next couple of days. I need to return home."

A happy occasion always brings out high spirits. Carrying seventy Qi Blood Pills and with over three hundred taels of silver tucked into his robes, Fang Xu was full of smiles on his way home. This time, the gold-panning squads coming his way avoided him from a distance, while some acquaintances took the initiative to greet him even more politely than before.

The incident in front of the Zhang Family manor had long spread throughout the town. Now, everyone in Fenglin Town knew that Fang Xu had formed a connection with Miss Yun from Huangzhou Prefecture. That was the Yun Family, the absolute authority of Huangzhou Prefecture! As long as Yun Wan remained in Fenglin Town, let alone ordinary people, even the Wu Family and Zhiyuan Hall wouldn’t dare plot against Fang Xu. After all, even a force as strong as the Zhang Family was destroyed in an instant when facing Yun Wan. No one knew if offending Fang Xu would incur her displeasure.

Returning home from the street, Fang Xu found that two assistants from the Blood Food Shop had already delivered all the goods. A full two thousand catties of Blood Food had been meticulously cleaned and piled up in the kitchen. The Blood Food of ferocious beasts from the mountains was less prone to spoiling and rotting compared to that of ordinary livestock. Fang Xu had heard that the corpses of high-level ferocious beasts could remain undecayed for years after death!

Placing the Qi Blood Pills in his room, Fang Xu selected a piece of Blood Food, washed it briefly, and put it in a pot to stew. He then returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began his cultivation. Taking out and swallowing a Qi Blood Pill, Fang Xu harnessed the surging Qi Blood Power and began Refining Viscera as usual. His consciousness guided the Qi Blood Power, carefully washing over and refining his internal organs. Feeling the flesh of his organs transforming bit by bit, Fang Xu immersed himself in the process, losing track of time.

For a Cultivator, Qi Blood Pills and Blood Food served similar purposes. Both provided vast amounts of Blood Qi Power to replenish the consumption of daily cultivation. The only difference was that the medicinal effect of a Qi Blood Pill was purer and fiercer. Once a pill was swallowed, the Qi Blood Power contained within would surge out like a bursting dam, flooding the limbs and bones with a massive amount of energy in a short period. In contrast, the Qi Blood Power in Blood Food was relatively sparse but much milder. After being eaten and digested, it flowed like a babbling brook, continuously releasing Qi Blood Power.

High-level Blood Food might contain more Qi Blood Power than the Qi Blood Pills from Qinxiang House. However, by the same token, the Qi Blood Pills refined by the Wu Family Ancestor were only of the lowest grade. Above them existed Elixirs of much higher quality. But whether it was high-grade Qi Blood Pills or high-level Blood Food, neither was something Fang Xu could access at his current stage.

Time flew by, and two hours quickly passed. Fang Xu slowly woke from his meditative state on the bed. Feeling the changes in his body, he frowned in regret. The Qi Blood Pill released too much Qi Blood Power at once. With his current ability to control the energy, he couldn’t fully utilize it, resulting in at least thirty percent of the Qi Blood Power being wasted.

This unutilized Qi Blood Power would settle into the flesh and acupoints of his body, waiting to be absorbed. Compared to flesh and blood, acupoints contained endless mysteries and possessed a stronger capacity to absorb Qi Blood Power. Moreover, if the Qi Blood Power within the flesh wasn’t absorbed in time through cultivation, it would gradually dissipate through the pores on the surface of the body. No wonder Zhang Mingliang failed when trying to break through to the Martial Disciple realm. It must have been because he consumed a large amount of Qi Blood Pills on a regular basis, causing the barriers of his acupoints to become incredibly tough.

Feeling the medicinal effects of the Qi Blood Pill gradually fading in his body, Fang Xu got up and went to the courtyard. The Blood Food in the pot had finished stewing, but he wasn’t in a hurry to consume it. The thirty percent of Qi Blood Power from the pill that had scattered into his flesh needed to be absorbed as quickly as possible. Delaying it wouldn’t do any good.

Standing in the courtyard, he slowly took off his shirt, revealing his lean and well-proportioned upper body. Fang Xu began practicing his Fist Techniques. This set of Fist Techniques was inherent to the Coiling Dragon Force. Although unranked, its advantage lay in quickly integrating excess Qi Blood Power into the muscles and marrow, turning it into power he could control.

With a solemn expression, Fang Xu swung his arms, his body shifting through various movements in coordination with the Fist Techniques. At times, he was like a leaping flood dragon; at others, a wandering dragon playing in the water. Between motion and stillness, every muscle and bone in his entire body could burst forth with immense strength. Occasionally, he could even produce faint sonic booms with his flesh-and-blood body!

Cultivating the Coiling Dragon Force was an extremely physically draining task. In less than fifteen minutes, Fang Xu’s face and body were covered in dense beads of sweat. The sweat traced the curves of his muscles, gradually soaking his trousers, before dripping from the hems onto the ground beneath his feet. An hour quickly passed. Fang Xu slowly withdrew his fist stance and exhaled a breath of stale air. He went to the water well in the courtyard, drew two buckets of clear, cold water, and took off his trousers, preparing to take a shower.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Wang sat alone in her room, wearing only undergarments that exposed her fragrant shoulders and half her back. Looking at her proud figure in the bronze mirror, her expression constantly shifted as she recalled the news she had heard during the day. Under the influence of the system’s mighty power, the moment Fang Xu inherited the legacy, she had already developed feelings of fondness for him. Moreover, ever since marrying Wang Ergou, she had never been satisfied. Right now, a hidden tide was already surging in her heart. Thinking back on her interactions with Fang Xu these past few days, Mrs. Wang could truly feel that Fang Xu was ten thousand times better than that filthy wretch, Wang Ergou.

"Fang has managed to earn Miss Yun’s favor," she thought. "If I latch onto him now, with Miss Yun backing him, Ergou’s brother shouldn’t dare say much either.

"Following Fang is definitely much better than being a living widow for the rest of my life."

Pinching the corner of her clothes, a faint blush crept onto Mrs. Wang’s face. After a slight hesitation, she fetched some rouge and powder from the side and quietly began to dress herself up. After applying her makeup, Mrs. Wang nodded in satisfaction at the bronze mirror. Then, she took a semi-transparent pink gauze robe from the wardrobe, draped it over her shoulders, and hurried toward Fang Xu’s courtyard under the cover of night.