Chapter 70

After dealing with the delinquents, Song Shuhang felt refreshed both mentally and physically. Humming a tune, he strolled towards Li Yangde's dormitory.

"More exercise? What a joke, to come back and beat us up again after exercising?"

"Damn, what a devil. This guy definitely crashed into me on purpose, absolutely!"

The punk with the rooster comb hairstyle cried in pain, tears streaming down his face. Just two minutes ago, he thought the other guy was a fool, but it turned out that the real fools were himself and his companions.

The other party was clearly looking for trouble and came to torment them!

"Ashen, we'll remember this grudge. Next time, we'll gather more brothers and take turns dealing with him. If five people can't beat him, then ten, if ten can't, then twenty, fifty! I don't believe he's a superman who can handle a hundred at once!" The punk with the blonde hair said fiercely.

"Right, we must take turns dealing with him," the rooster comb punk gritted his teeth.

Their decision was exactly what Song Shuhang wanted.

As the delinquents were talking, a short-haired girl yawned and approached the scene.

She was a very pretty girl, still looking charming even without makeup. Moreover, she had the rare "three-no" attribute—no expression, no emotion, no words. Her cold demeanor made her look absolutely amazing.

Under normal circumstances, the rooster comb punk and his gang would definitely surround such a girl, pin her against the wall, and tease her. Then they would take her to a nearby small hotel to do some embarrassing things.

But today, they were lying on the ground, unable to do anything.

The short-haired girl approached, her pitch-black eyes staring at the delinquents on the ground. After a moment, she muttered, "Someone actually stole my kill?"

What? Stole her kill? What does that mean? This girl isn't playing a game, right?

The rooster comb punk looked puzzled, and then he felt a pain in his back.

The short-haired girl actually stepped over them, treating them like trash, and yawned as she walked away.

"Damn, bitch, stinky bitch. May you two die a bad death!" The rooster comb punk felt a sharp pain in his back and cursed nonstop. He wasn't an M, so being stepped on definitely didn't excite him.

But the blonde punk beside him looked enviously at him, "I'm so envious. I wish I was the one being stepped on."

An M was right there.

***

Song Shuhang bought three steamer baskets of small buns and three cups of soy milk, then went to Li Yangde's rental apartment. He knocked on the door forcefully.

After a while, Tubo, with bloodshot eyes and a strong smell of alcohol, struggled to open the door.

"Hey, it's Shuhang." After opening the door, he glared at Song Shuhang, then stared at him from head to toe—damn, this kid looked so fresh and clean, not at all drunk.

When did this kid's alcohol tolerance get so high? He remembered that Shuhang used to have the same level of alcohol tolerance as Gao Moumou, and he could drink four Gao Moumous and three Song Shuhangs down.

But last night, Song Shuhang had drunk him, Li Yangde, and the almost-drunk Gao Moumou under the table. What the hell?

Did this kid drink water instead of alcohol last night?

"Looks like you just woke up? You've skipped the first two classes of the morning," Song Shuhang smiled, holding the small buns and soy milk. "I brought you some breakfast, do you want to eat?"

Tubo snatched the breakfast from Shuhang's hands and teased, "At least you have a bit of conscience."

Li Yangde came out of the room, rubbing his head, "I smelled the food. You came just in time, I'm starving!"

"Where's Gao Moumou?" Shuhang asked.

"He's still lying there. This guy is so annoying, he was talking in his sleep all night. Something about 'virginity,' 'Yayi, I'm sorry to you,' and 'No, no, no,' and so on," Li Yangde laughed.

Song Shuhang pinched his chin, "Looks like we have a good leverage. If we run out of money in the future, we can use this to force Gao Moumou to treat us to a meal."

"Right, we can consider it. We can probably use it two or three times, but if we use it too much, he might just give up," Tubo agreed.

"I suggest the 'Ten Fragrant Fish Head' in the southern part of the university town. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water," Li Yangde nodded.

"You three... do you want to die a thousand times?" Gao Moumou came out with a gloomy face, rubbing his temples. He felt that the greatest misfortune of his life was sharing a dormitory with these three guys.

They were all damn jerks.

After resting for a while in Li Yangde's rental apartment, Song Shuhang approached Li Yangde and asked, "Yangde, can you help me find out where I can buy these herbs in Jiangnan District?"

Song Shuhang took out the note given by the药师 (Pharmacist), which listed four very rare Chinese herbs.

"Are you sick or something?" Yangde asked after taking the note.

"I'm fine, these herbs are needed by a 'friend' I know. He's not sure where to buy them in Jiangnan District, so he asked me to help him find out. I thought of you because you're the best with computers in the dorm," Song Shuhang flattered him a bit.

"Finding it is easy. Nowadays, most Chinese medicine stores across the country are part of a central system. I just need to input the herbs and filter the results to find which stores have them. I can also post on relevant forums and groups to find out about the stores that aren't part of the system. I should have the information by tomorrow at the latest," Li Yangde said confidently.

"Thanks a lot!" Shuhang said, then added, "If you can find it, after the sports meet, I'll treat you to 'Ten Fragrant Fish Head,' not Gao Moumou."

"Deal," Li Yangde licked his lips, drooling.

"Deal," Song Shuhang smiled.

Turning around, he clenched his fists in secret.

With Li Yangde's help, he could find out where to buy these four herbs in Jiangnan District, narrowing down the search area. If the 'mastermind' really bought these herbs, Song Shuhang could trace them and find the person.

***

10:00 AM.

Song Shuhang left Li Yangde's rental apartment and headed to the药师 (Pharmacist)'s place.

His roommates planned to rest a bit more after eating, to recover from the hangover.

Since it was still early, Song Shuhang decided to go and help the药师 (Pharmacist).

The药师 (Pharmacist) had helped him a lot, and the only way he could repay him was by helping to perfect the 'simplified body-strengthening liquid' formula.

The药师 (Pharmacist) had specially bought an induction cooker and a hot pot of the same brand and model as the one in his dormitory to make it easier for Shuhang to refine the medicine.

The steps and formula for refining the body-strengthening liquid remained the same, but today the药师 (Pharmacist) asked Song Shuhang to replace the 'water' with a 'herbal broth' he had prepared.

This herbal broth was made from five common Chinese herbs.

This was the first step in the药师 (Pharmacist)'s plan to transfer Shuhang's method of refining the body-strengthening liquid from the 'induction cooker and hot pot' set to a proper alchemy furnace.

Shuhang's method was good, but it couldn't be expected that every alchemist in the cultivation world would learn to use an induction cooker and a hot pot, right?

Imagine every alchemist in the cultivation world having a hot pot and an induction cooker in their room; just thinking about it made one's heart ache.

So, improvement was necessary!

Moreover, according to the药师 (Pharmacist)'s calculations, this 'herbal broth' could reduce the time needed to refine the body-strengthening liquid.

Three hours later, at 1:07 PM.

As the药师 (Pharmacist) had predicted, the refining time was indeed shortened significantly.

"Success." Song Shuhang took a deep breath, then pinched his nose. The next moment, the hot pot lid was pushed up by the medicinal liquid, and a thick black mist and a foul smell spread.

"Haha, no need to pinch your nose, watch this." The药师 (Pharmacist) laughed and threw a bead-like object, making a hand seal, "Absorb!"

Instantly, a suction force emerged from the bead, absorbing all the black mist in the room and sealing it inside.

Song Shuhang's eyes sparkled with admiration, wishing he could use magic right away.

"Here." The药师 (Pharmacist) threw the bead to Shuhang, "Be careful not to drop it. If you hit it hard, it will explode and release all the foul smell and thick mist inside."

Song Shuhang hurriedly caught the bead, "Senior, do you have to be so tricky!"

After catching it, he realized that the bead seemed to be the shell of a herb.

"This is the shell of a core fruit, a useless thing that we usually throw away. Today, I had a sudden idea to use it to contain the foul smell and thick mist from the body-strengthening liquid you refined," the药师 (Pharmacist) said proudly. "Moreover, as I mentioned before, the foul smell produced by your body-strengthening liquid is a nightmare for First Stage cultivators who have opened their nasal acupoints and Second Stage True Masters who can't control their sense of smell. If you ever encounter a Second Stage True Master-level enemy, this thing could be used to surprise them. If used well, it might even turn the tide of battle."

This thing came just in time!