Chapter 7

Xiao Shi took a sip of chicken soup, while Zheng Gongming nervously watched his wife.

During this period, Xiao Shi had also tried to eat and drink some "delicacies," but each time she put them in her mouth, she would spit them out untouched after a short while.

"Huh?" Xiao Shi held the chicken soup in her mouth, feeling a taste she had never experienced before stimulating her tongue.

Swallowing it down, she didn't feel nauseous. Still uncertain, she signaled her daughter to feed her another spoonful.

By the second sip, she not only didn't feel nauseous but also felt an urge to continue eating.

"How, how is it, Lady?" Zheng Gongming felt a glimmer of hope and asked anxiously.

"Delicious!" Xiao Shi had already taken the spoon from her daughter and started scooping the soup herself.

"Really, really effective!" Zheng Yueying and her father exchanged glances, both reading the surprise in each other's eyes.

Xiao Shi's appetite was wide open, and she drank the chicken soup spoon by spoon, even occasionally swallowing a few pieces of chicken. This long-lost hunger made her extremely excited.

Due to the long period of not eating, Xiao Shi's stomach had shrunk. After drinking half a bowl of soup, she already felt bloated. She didn't dare to drink more and regretfully wiped her mouth with a silk handkerchief, looking at the remaining soup with longing.

"Lady, how do you feel?" Zheng Gongming asked with concern.

"There is such a delicious thing in the world!" Xiao Shi looked at Zheng Gongming tenderly, "My lord, it seems I can accompany you for a few more years."

"Good, good!" Zheng Gongming was so excited that he couldn't speak coherently, tightly holding Xiao Shi's hand.

"My lord, this time we really owe it to Tingting." Xiao Shi smiled, though she still looked pale, she had a certain charm.

"Haha, that's true, we have a good daughter." Zheng Gongming, who already doted on his daughter, felt even more pleased now, "Tingting, whatever reward you want, as long as Father has it, I'll give it to you."

"Father, I don't lack anything, but Mother still needs this 'Sai Shenshan' to recover. This time, I got some because of Liu Qiqi's favor, but we can't keep taking favors without giving anything in return, or people might say the Zheng family doesn't know the rules."

"That's true, the Fragrant Flower Palace cured your mother's illness, I must give a generous thanks!" Zheng Gongming said generously, "But what exactly is this 'Sai Shenshan' that has such a miraculous effect?"

"Father, there's still half a bowl of chicken soup, do you want to try a spoonful?" Zheng Yueying's eyes twinkled as she urged.

"Alright, I want to see what's so special about the chicken soup that can defeat anorexia." Zheng Yueying's words hit the mark, and Zheng Gongming took the spoon without hesitation, scooping a spoonful into his mouth.

As the chicken soup entered his mouth, Zheng Gongming's eyes lit up.

There is such a delicious thing in the world!

Was what I ate before pig feed?

He kept scooping the chicken soup into his mouth, unable to stop.

Soon, the half bowl of chicken soup was finished. As a cultivator, Zheng Gongming had a better appetite than ordinary people, so he slurped up the chicken in the bowl as well.

Looking at the empty soup bowl, the head of the Golden Saber Sect wiped his mouth, still feeling unsatisfied, and looked at Zheng Yueying with anticipation.

"Father, that's all we have, and we don't know when we'll get more. We need to save it for Mother's recovery." Zheng Yueying, seeing her father's pitiful look, pointed at the paper package in her hand, feeling both amused and exasperated.

"Ah, what a wonderful 'Sai Shenshan'! After tasting such deliciousness, how can I go on?" Zheng Gongming looked worried, and when his eyes met Xiao Shi's, they both read the mutual understanding in each other's eyes.

*****************************************************************

After spending all the salt he had made to pay respects to the two beauties, Zhong Wen was once again in despair at dinner time.

After tasting the chicken soup at noon, the contrast made dinner even harder to swallow.

If only he had kept some for himself, Zhong Wen regretted deeply.

Looking at Lin Xiaodie sitting opposite him, he found that the little girl's condition wasn't much better.

"Zhong Wen, do you have any more 'Sai Shenshan'?" The little girl looked at Zhong Wen pitifully.

After being washed by the salt, the little girl's taste had greatly improved, and she had no appetite for the food cooked by Aunt Wang.

"Xiaodie, bear with it for today. I'll go out tonight to find some materials and make another jar tomorrow." Zhong Wen shook his head, deciding to go to the Medicine King Valley again tonight.

"Oh." Hearing that she could improve her diet tomorrow, the little girl's spirits lifted a bit, and she quietly took a bite of rice.

After dinner, Zhong Wen studied the ancient script of the Great Dry for a while.

It was almost the hour of the Pig, and there was no sound of Liu Qiqi practicing her sword in the courtyard. Zhong Wen quietly left the courtyard and headed towards the Medicine King Valley.

Now, Zhong Wen's feet moved with the "Cloud Walking Step," and he hummed "Riding My Beloved Motorcycle," moving swiftly like a shadow in the forest.

Compared to the early morning, he felt that his spiritual energy was even more abundant, making his journey much easier.

In less than two hours, he was back in front of the stone wall at the entrance of the Medicine King Valley.

Familiar with the way, he quickly arrived at the "Library."

This time, Zhong Wen came prepared with a clear goal, heading straight for the "Spirit Pattern" books and reaching out to touch them.

With the knowledge of herbal medicine and alchemy, Zhong Wen tried to refine a pill in the afternoon but found that he had an excellent alchemy furnace but no alchemy fire.

The flame used for alchemy in the Medicine King Valley lineage was generated by a special spirit pattern, and without knowledge of spirit patterns, Zhong Wen was helpless, only able to stare.

Fortunately, with the "New Hua Zangjing Pavilion" as a cheat, as long as he collected some spirit pattern books, drawing spirit patterns would not be difficult for him.

"Discovered 'Spirit Pattern' book 'Basics of Spirit Patterns' Volume 1, do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Spirit Pattern' book 'Basics of Spirit Patterns' Volume 2, do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Spirit Pattern' book 'Flame Spirit Pattern Manual' Volume 2, do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

...

"Collected 100 'Spirit Pattern' books, please draw a reward: 1. Spirit Pattern Pen Guide; 2. Great Dry Beauty Rankings; 3. Deadly Sword Technique."

"Congratulations, you have received the reward: Spirit Pattern Pen Guide!"

Not bad! When you need a pillow, someone sends it. Zhong Wen was quite satisfied with this reward.

The research on spirit patterns in the Medicine King Valley was quite limited, mainly serving alchemy and herbal cultivation, so there were only about a hundred books in total, not very rich. After collecting all the spirit pattern books, Zhong Wen still felt unsatisfied and turned his attention to the core category of the Medicine King Valley's library: medical books.

Looking at the medical books, they were further divided into categories such as "Medical Theory," "Pathology," "Pharmacology," "Nourishment," "Acupuncture," and so on, with nearly a thousand books in total, a wide variety that made his eyes dazzle.

"Collect!" Seeing that it was still early, he finally made up his mind.

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'Thousand Treatises on Cold and Miscellaneous Diseases,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'Soul Chasing Acupuncture Technique,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'Toxicology,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'Medicine King Divine Treatise,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'A Thousand Cases of Abdominal Surgery,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'A Hundred Cases of Brain Surgery,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

"Discovered 'Medical' book 'Meridian Theory,' do you want to collect it? Yes/No."

...

Even after cultivating the 'One Qi Longevity Technique,' Zhong Wen was exhausted by the time he had collected all the medical books. However, the small line of text he had been longing for finally appeared on the bookshelf interface:

"Collected 100 'Medical' books, please draw a reward: 1. Comprehensive Animal Language; 2. Three Hundred Tang Poems; 3. Empty Hand Technique."

"Congratulations, you have received the reward: Comprehensive Animal Language!"

Zhong Wen: "..."

Finally, you're not letting me be human anymore...

Fortunately, this time he had collected a lot of books, and another small line of text appeared:

"Collected 500 'Medical' books, please draw a reward: 1. Great Dry Bilingual Dictionary; 2. Story King; 3. Empty Hand Technique."

"Congratulations, you have received the reward: Empty Hand Technique!"

"Collected 1000 books, please draw a reward: 1. Tai Su Xuan Yin Technique; 2. Finger Snapping Technique; 3. Flower Transplanting Technique."

Wow, these options are quite impressive!

Looking at the three spiritual techniques that appeared for the final draw, Zhong Wen was moved to tears.

It seems that the rewards for reaching the total number are much better than those for reaching the category number. Unlike the previous draw, what was 'Story King'?

Was it planning to make me tell stories to the little girl for the rest of my life?

Zhong Wen felt frustrated just thinking about it and quickly calmed down, silently chanting "draw."

"Congratulations, you have received the reward: Flower Transplanting Technique!"

Looking at the bookshelf, a thick 'Comprehensive Animal Language' appeared in the 'Miscellaneous' category, and a 'Empty Hand Technique' appeared in the diamond-grade 'Spiritual Technique' category.

What made him extremely happy was that the last book, the star technique 'Flower Transplanting Technique,' was classified as 'Star Spirit Grade'!

Without hesitation, Zhong Wen spent a few seconds flipping through the two spiritual techniques, then sighed deeply, feeling very emotional.

His skill tree is really getting more and more skewed!

It turns out that 'Empty Hand Technique' is an extremely advanced stealing skill, passed down from the first great thief of ancient times, Yun Kongkong. This person's thieving skills were unparalleled, stealing from all major sects in the world without a single failure. In the end, he got bored and actually stole a female sage's undergarments at the Spirit Venerable level. The female sage, enraged, chased him to the ends of the earth and dismembered him.

And 'Flower Transplanting Technique' is the signature technique of the top sect of ancient times, the Flower Transplanting Sect. It can transfer spiritual energy at will, and when perfected, can even return an enemy's attack, using their own methods against them.

Please call me Zhong Xiaoyao!

Please call me Murong Wen!

Although he doesn't know how powerful the Star Spirit Grade is, as the signature technique of a top sect, it must be quite good. Zhong Wen felt that he had made a great profit and was very pleased.

After a sleepless night, Zhong Wen didn't dare to stay up all night. Estimating that it was around midnight, he decided to stop and went to the saltwater lake, taking out the alchemy furnace from his ring and started filling it with lake water.

Even with the knowledge of a great alchemy master, his top-grade alchemy furnace had never even touched the herbs, only being used as a water container.

Using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken doesn't even begin to describe Zhong Wen's extravagance; it's more like using an Italian cannon to swat a mosquito.

Zhong Wen himself was completely unaware. After filling the alchemy furnace, he still felt unsatisfied and took out the earthenware jar he had bought during the day to continue filling it with water.

While filling the jar, Zhong Wen suddenly felt his spiritual energy flowing much faster, and his dantian felt swollen again, his body slightly warm.

Having experienced this before, Zhong Wen quickly put the jar aside, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to focus on circulating the 'One Qi Longevity Technique.'

Soon, the swollen feeling slowly subsided, and another half-circle appeared in his dantian.

He knew he had opened the second human wheel.

It turns out that leveling up is so simple!

Zhong Wen thought happily, picked up the jar again, filled it with lake water, and threw it into the ring space, then turned and left.

That night, he slept very soundly...

*****************************************************************

A nimble figure appeared on the rooftops of a row of buildings in the northern part of Fufeng City.

In the cover of night, the black attire was almost invisible to the naked eye.

Soon, the black-clad figure appeared in front of the most luxurious mansion in the row.

By the moonlight, the sign above the mansion gate read "Jile Gang" in large characters.

"Finally, the day has come, Duan Changhong, I will make you pay with blood!" the black-clad figure muttered, leaped onto the high wall of the mansion, and silently flipped into the courtyard without making a sound...

*****************************************************************

"Good morning!"

It was still dark, and Zhong Wen greeted Liu Qiqi, who was practicing in the morning, with a smile.

Liu Qiqi nodded, her eyes wandering, not daring to look at him directly.

"Liu, how can I get to Fufeng City? I want to go to the city to buy some things," Zhong Wen asked.

Hearing the word "merchant," Liu Qiqi's hand trembled, almost losing her grip on the sword.

Did he find out?

Liu Qiqi thought anxiously, momentarily forgetting to answer.

"Liu?" Zhong Wen saw her spacing out and called out again.

"Oh... At the village entrance, there's an Uncle Zhao who raises unicorns. You can rent his unicorn carriage, it takes about an hour to get there," Liu Qiqi finally came to her senses.

"Thank you!"

Zhong Wen had already changed into a blue robe chosen by Aunt Wang. Although the material wasn't high-end, the style was very suitable, reflecting Aunt Wang's delicate feminine taste. The only eyesore was the dirty cloth bag on his back.

"Is there anything you need me to bring?"

Liu Qiqi shook her head, "Are you leaving now?"

"Yep, I'll try to be back before lunch," Zhong Wen waved casually, shouldered the cloth bag, and walked out of the courtyard gate.

Watching Zhong Wen leave, Liu Qiqi's fair face showed a hint of worry...

Breaking through to the second human wheel, Zhong Wen's "Cloud Walking Step" was even faster, and he reached the village entrance in just two hours.

Uncle Zhao's house was at the edge of the village, far from neighbors, making it easy to recognize. Near the door, Zhong Wen could hear the faint neighing of horses.

A middle-aged man in his early forties, wearing short sleeves and shorts, was cleaning a black carriage. In the stable beside him, five unicorns were eating feed, one of them lively and playful, lifting its head to look around after each bite.

This was Zhong Wen's first time seeing unicorns, which were very similar to horses from his previous life, except for a sharp horn on their heads. This didn't give the animals much of a divine aura, and Zhong Wen was disappointed, having expected to see legendary creatures like "unicorns."

"Uncle Zhao?"

"Hey, you look unfamiliar, not from this village, right?" Uncle Zhao was outgoing and friendly.

"Yep, I've only been here for a few days," Zhong Wen replied, "I want to take your carriage to Fufeng City, how much does it cost?"

"One silver coin for a one-way trip, two silver coins for a round trip," Uncle Zhao said, "But it's too much of a loss to take just one person, so I usually wait until I have four people before leaving."

Silver coins again!

Holding a large amount of red Mao Zedong notes, you all ask me for one-yuan coins!

"Uncle Zhao, do you have a hundred silver coins?" Zhong Wen took out a spirit crystal and said confidently, "Can you change some small change for me?"

"So you're the one who bought a hen with a spirit crystal, you... young man!" Seeing the spirit crystal, Uncle Zhao's eyes lit up, almost drooling.

Zhong Wen: "..."

He really wanted to give Uncle Zhao a "One Yang Finger."

"A hundred silver coins, will you change it?" Zhong Wen said sternly.

"Change, change! Wait here, I'll get the money." Uncle Zhao ran quickly, afraid that Zhong Wen would change his mind.

Although it was said that one spirit crystal was worth a hundred silver coins, no one would be foolish enough to exchange a spirit crystal for silver coins. The value of the two was not on the same level, and Uncle Zhao felt a psychological advantage in taking advantage of the mentally challenged.

"What's this?" Zhong Wen asked, looking at the stack of paper notes Uncle Zhao handed over.

"You don't recognize silver notes?" Uncle Zhao looked at Zhong Wen suspiciously, even more convinced that the young man was not mentally sound.

Looking at Uncle Zhao's expression, Zhong Wen felt his dignity severely wounded.

"Never seen such cheap currency," Zhong Wen said arrogantly.

Uncle Zhao: "..."

While hurting each other, they carefully studied the silver notes.

After a long time, Zhong Wen had to admit the reality: he was not only illiterate but also couldn't count.

Fortunately, this didn't affect his ability to count. There were ten notes in total, and he took one out and gave it back to Uncle Zhao.

"Ten silver coins, I'll take your carriage, no need to wait for others."

"Alright!"

Uncle Zhao not only got the spirit crystal but also made an extra profit, feeling extremely pleased. He hummed a tune and chatted with Zhong Wen from time to time.

The carriage swayed slightly, and Zhong Wen responded casually while closing his eyes to read the books in his mind. The sun climbed higher, and the temperature gradually rose, but it wasn't too hot. A gentle breeze occasionally blew, making the ride quite pleasant.

An hour later, the tall city gates of Fufeng City came into view.