Chapter 6

"Snowflakes cover the top!"

Guchen Sha struck down with both palms, knocking out another fierce tiger.

The tiger was huge, yellow, with deep fangs and a mouth full of blood. It had just hunted a wild sheep and, seeing Guchen Sha, pounced to eat him, but was defeated by his bare hands.

After knocking out the tiger, Guchen Sha took the five-colored soil and built a small altar.

The five-colored soil was abundant, so it didn't require much effort. The Altar of Heaven in the capital city, used for sacrifices to the sky, is also built with five-colored soil.

Once the altar was built, Guchen Sha took out the sacrificial talisman and placed the prepared herbs on the altar. These herbs were not rare; with money, they could be bought in the bustling capital of the Da Yong Dynasty.

Although he was often shortchanged, he still had some savings, enough to buy a few not-so-precious herbs.

These herbs were just the catalysts to alter the sacrificial power and condense the elixir.

On the altar, there was also a knocked-out wolf.

Drawing his dagger, he killed the tiger and the wolf, letting their blood drip onto the sacrificial talisman.

This time, he did not let his own blood.

Indeed, the souls of the tiger and the wolf were absorbed, releasing great power. However, when this power encountered the small array field created by the herbs and the five-colored soil altar, it began to rotate on the spot.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle......

It seemed like water being boiled. Guchen Sha saw a greenish primordial energy writhing on the altar, eventually bursting into flames.

In the flames, an elixir finally condensed.

It was green like jade.

"Indeed, it succeeded. This is the Tiger-Wolf Elixir. After a person takes it, their strength greatly increases. Although I don't need it, I can give it to my loyal subordinates to enhance their strength!" Guchen Sha was delighted.

The ancient Tiger-Wolf Elixir was finally condensed through the sacrifice.

Those simple herbs were like the gypsum used to make tofu. Without the herbs to interfere with the sacrificial power, the great strength of the tiger and the wolf would have dissipated into the air, wasted.

He did not let his own blood, so the sacrificial power did not flow into his body but returned to the void.

With the Tiger-Wolf Elixir in hand, he slowly returned to the palace. Just as he entered the courtyard, his young eunuch, Xiaoyi, stood at the door with a bruised face, missing teeth, and speaking with a lisp.

"My lord, you're finally back." He had a mournful look.

"What happened?" Guchen Sha was furious but remained calm, knowing that the small eunuchs and maidservants around him were often beaten, and even he was sometimes beaten by the princes. This was a common occurrence.

Therefore, the maidservants and eunuchs who followed him often found ways to transfer to other positions, preferring to clean chamber pots rather than stay with him. Thus, the eunuchs and maidservants around him changed frequently, with only Xiaoyi remaining loyal.

He had once suspected that Xiaoyi was a spy sent by others, but after years of observation and attention to detail, he found that Xiaoyi was genuinely loyal.

"Lord! You don't know yet?" Xiaoshun widened his eyes. "I heard from the inner palace that you are about to come of age, and the Emperor has betrothed Lou Baoyue to you. Now, all the princes are jealous and want to kill you. Today, I went to the Imperial Kitchen to get some food for you and ran into the eunuch Xiaodu, who is under the Seventh Prince. He slapped me and beat me up."

"What? The Emperor betrothed Lou Baoyue to me?" Guchen Sha was shocked. "That's impossible, right? Is it just a rumor?"

Lou Baoyue was a daughter of the heavens, and some ministers even considered her the best candidate for Empress. She herself was proud and looked down on all men.

Of course, that was secondary. The main issue was that she was extremely hostile to him because of his Xian Dynasty bloodline.

"The news from the inner palace says that the Duke of Yuan asked about the marriage, and the Emperor wants Lou Baoyue to get closer to you. Lord, if it were any other prince, this would be a great blessing, but for you, it's a huge disaster. You must refuse it to ensure your safety," Xiaoyi's voice trembled.

"I know. It's just getting closer, not an official betrothal. There's no need to panic. We'll wait and see," Guchen Sha calmed down. "If this is the Emperor's will, it might be hard to refuse. Besides, I've been pretending to be foolish for so long. Upon hearing this, I should act happy, not immediately refuse. If I do that, anyone would know I'm hiding my true intentions, making them more wary of me. For now, I'll continue to act foolish."

"I'm afraid..." Xiaoyi was still nervous.

"Afraid of what? Come with me." Guchen Sha returned to his room and took out the Tiger-Wolf Elixir. "Xiaoyi, take this medicine."

"Yes!" Xiaoyi took it without hesitation, not fearing it was poison, and swallowed it.

After a moment, a greenish aura enveloped Xiaoyi's body, swirling around him and entering and exiting his seven orifices.

The immense strength reshaped his body, and his aura changed dramatically, becoming fierce and powerful, the "Tiger-Wolf Army" of the battlefield.

As the aura calmed, Xiaoyi looked at his hands, his eyes vacant, feeling an endless surge of strength. "What is this? I feel like a different person."

"Don't worry about it. Just know that you now have immense strength, and your martial arts training will be much more effective," Guchen Sha looked around. "And keep today's events a secret."

"Yes!"

"Also, go get some qingfu. Remember, they must be alive."

"Yes!"

Qingfu is a type of insect. According to folklore, if you smear its blood on money, the money will fly back after being spent. Thus, money is also called "qingfu." However, this is just a legend, as no one has ever seen it work.

Now, the Da Yong Dynasty has started issuing paper money, but if you have gold or silver, you can still exchange it for paper money at the state bank and use it for circulation.

Ancient historical records state that using qingfu in sacrifices can yield gold and silver. Guchen Sha wanted to try it, as his monthly allowance was often short, leaving him in a tight spot. If he could really obtain gold and silver through sacrifice, he would never lack money.

He would need a lot of money to establish his own household and build a mansion.

Xiaoyi was quite capable and the next day brought a bag of qingfu to the inn.

Qingfu looks like a cicada or a butterfly and is found everywhere.

"Go outside and keep watch to make sure no one notices me," Guchen Sha instructed after taking the qingfu.

"Yes." Xiaoyi went out and looked around.

Guchen Sha took a large copper basin and placed a small gold particle, about the size of a mung bean, inside. He had accumulated some gold over the years.

He took out the qingfu, used a needle to draw its blood, and smeared it on the sacrificial talisman.

Bang!

A golden aura appeared in the copper basin, swirling slightly but not escaping, eventually settling and forming another gold particle.

"Is it really true?" Guchen Sha was overjoyed.

He was about to kill the qingfu in the bag one by one to sacrifice and form gold particles, but seeing the insects crying and huddled together, he felt compassion. "Wild beasts are fierce, and killing tigers, wolves, bears, and pythons to sacrifice to the sky is fine, but qingfu is harmless and doesn't hurt anyone. Killing them for gold seems immoral. There are other ways to earn money. Killing for profit is not righteous."

He shook his head and released the qingfu.

After doing this, he felt a great sense of relief.

"Lord, it's time. Let's go back to the palace early. If we miss the closing of the palace gates, we'll have to stay at the inn, which will cost a lot of money," Xiaoyi said softly outside.

"Alright." Guchen Sha nodded. Since Xiaoyi took the Tiger-Wolf Elixir, his strength had increased several times, and he handled tasks efficiently. If he had a few more such subordinates, it would be much easier.

The two left the inn and entered the palace through the north gate.

The north gate was a side entrance, used to transport vegetables, chickens, ducks, fish, live pigs, and live sheep into the palace and to remove the palace's garbage. It was the dirtiest part, and most eunuchs and maidservants with any status avoided it. However, Guchen Sha's courtyard was in the north of the palace, so he had to use this entrance.

This was also a way for the powerful figures in the palace to humiliate him.

After passing through the north gate, the palace was a maze of interconnected paths, like a Bagua array, leading to the Imperial Kitchen, the Purchasing Bureau, the Treasury, the Inner Affairs Bureau, the Manufacturing Department, and more. Even someone who had lived in the palace for ten years could get lost.

Guchen Sha had no idea how large the palace was. He was not allowed to enter the inner palace, and many areas were strictly guarded.

As they walked further north into a narrow alley, a large sedan chair approached, carried by eight eunuchs, with four more eunuchs holding fruits and tea, and two maids carrying gold and silver incense burners, emitting a pleasant fragrance.

The large sedan chair was made of fragrant wood, inlaid with jade and precious stones, shining brightly.

The grandeur and opulence were overwhelming.

"This is the Eighteenth Prince's sedan chair. Lord, let's step aside," Xiaoyi said.

Guchen Sha was the Nineteenth Prince, still a minor, living in the palace. The Eighteenth Prince was also a minor, and their ages were only a few days apart.

Despite being princes, their treatment was vastly different.

The Eighteenth Prince's sedan chair was carried by eight eunuchs, luxurious and grand, with a retinue of servants. Guchen Sha, on the other hand, only had a small eunuch and walked on foot.

The Eighteenth Prince was about to come of age and had already bought a large estate in the capital, built magnificently like a heavenly palace. According to the inner palace, he would be ennobled as a Duke upon coming of age.

The Eighteenth Prince's mother was one of the four "Imperial Consorts," second only to the Empress.

Her family, the Shui family, was a thousand-year-old noble family.

They were rumored to be descendants of the ancient Black Emperor.

They had existed for a thousand years, surviving through dynastic changes.

The Heavenly Talisman Emperor had relied on the Shui family to dig canals, connecting the east, west, north, and south.

With such a strong backing, the Eighteenth Prince, named Gu Hongsha, was highly skilled in martial arts, extremely wealthy, and one of the strongest contenders for the throne.

Gu Hongsha did not want to get entangled with Guchen Sha and moved to the side to avoid him, a sign of showing weakness.

However, things were not as simple as he thought. The large sedan chair stopped in front of him.

A curtain was pulled back, and a young man stepped out.

The young man wore a silver-white brocade robe with cloud patterns, looking ancient and elegant. He had a pale complexion, a tall and straight figure, and a deep, unreadable gaze, making him a formidable opponent.

"Nineteenth Brother, congratulations."

Gu Hongsha said indifferently.

"Eighteenth Brother, what do I have to be happy about?" Guchen Sha smiled foolishly. "I don't understand what you mean."

"News from the inner palace says that Father has summoned Lou Chongxiao and intends to betroth Lou Baoyue to you. Lou Baoyue is a daughter of the heavens, and many of my brothers want to marry her. Isn't this a cause for joy?" Gu Hongsha's tone was indifferent, making it hard to gauge his true thoughts.

Guchen Sha decided to remain calm and smiled foolishly. "I don't have that kind of good fortune."

"Alright." Gu Hongsha waved his hand. "Nineteenth, don't pretend to be foolish. I know you are hiding your true intentions, and anyone with eyes can see it. But that's understandable; you have your reasons."

"Ha ha." Guchen Sha still had a vacant smile, determined to keep up the act.

"Nineteenth, whether you are truly foolish or pretending, I'm giving you a way out." Gu Hongsha looked down at him condescendingly.