’This kid is truly ruthless.’

An hour later, Qin Fang’s left index finger was bandaged, and the wound on his leg had been redressed with Elder Wu’s special medicine.

’...This works even better than the Golden Sore Medicine from Lan Gui Fang. It felt cool and soothing as soon as it was applied, and the pain eased considerably.’

’It seems to be the same medicine he used to treat the wounds on my shoulder and waist before.’

While treating the leg wound, Elder Wu naturally saw the injury... It was deep and didn’t look self-inflicted at all.

’To make it more convincing... the kid had been ruthless even with himself.’

"Don’t go out for a while. Just stay home and recover... You kid..."

Elder Wu said, a little speechless.

’The wounds on his shoulder and waist haven’t even fully healed yet.’

’And now he’s gotten injured again.’

’This kid really is ill-fated...’

"Yes."

Qin Fang replied obediently.

Elder Wu glanced around the trashed room, sighed, and said, "I’ll get someone to come clean this up in a bit. You stay in the house, don’t go out... The fewer people who see you right now, the better."

He now understood why Wang Long had found Qin Fang, and it was clear that he himself was partly to blame... If he hadn’t come to fix up Qin Fang’s house and been seen by Bald Li, Wang Long and his gang would never have found their way here.

’...Qin Fang still has too much of a refugee air about him.’

’You can tell something’s off with just one look.’

’He needs to be properly looked after and recover fully.’

Qin Fang still replied meekly.

After he finished speaking, Elder Wu prepared to leave.

But Qin Fang suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, Master."

"Hm?" Elder Wu turned to look at Qin Fang.

He saw Qin Fang suddenly hand him a bundle from beside the pillow.

"I found this on Wang Long yesterday... It’s over a hundred taels of silver. Please, Master, you take it."

Qin Fang handed the bundle to Elder Wu.

Elder Wu’s brow furrowed for a moment as he saw a few Silver Notes inside the slightly open bundle.

He was a little surprised. "For me?"

Qin Fang nodded.

"This is over a hundred taels of silver... Are you sure you want to give it all to me?"

Elder Wu looked intently at Qin Fang.

Qin Fang said sheepishly, "Master, look at the state I’m in. I can’t go out... This money is useless to me right now. You’ve also spent a lot on me recently... I just hope you won’t mind that the money is ill-gotten..."

Elder Wu looked at Qin Fang and finally shook his head. "Money is money, who cares where it came from... But you should keep it. You may not need it now, but you’ll have plenty of uses for it in the future."

"But for repairing the house and everything, Master, you’ve already spent so much..."

"I’m not so poor that I can’t even provide a place for my own disciple... Enough. That’s settled. You keep it."

Elder Wu waved his hand dismissively, preparing to leave again. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Qin Fang froze for a second, then quickly called out again, "Master, wait a moment..."

"Hm?" Elder Wu turned to look at him again.

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Fang finally said, "Alright then, I’ll keep the money... But Master, I also got something else, and I don’t know what it’s for. Could you take a look, Master...?"

"What is it?" Elder Wu raised an eyebrow.

Qin Fang took out the Qi Blood Pills.

The moment Elder Wu saw them, a surprised look appeared on his face. "Qi Blood Pills?"

Qin Fang nodded, his face full of curiosity. "These Qi Blood Pills... What are they used for?"

Elder Wu took the bottle, uncorked it, and took a sniff before speaking. "Qi Blood Pills are a type of Elixir, you could say they’re essential for Martial Artists... Martial Cultivation consumes a large amount of Qi Blood. Normal food supplements can’t make up for this deficit, which is why one needs to consume Qi Blood Pills."

"Qi Blood Pills can greatly increase a Martial Artist’s Cultivation progress... They’re good stuff, and they aren’t cheap."

"The medicinal ingredients used to make Qi Blood Pills are no ordinary herbs."

"Only one pill has been used from this bottle, leaving nine... They’re worth about ninety taels of silver, I’d say."

Elder Wu looked at Qin Fang. "However, you can’t use them yet... Your body is still too weak. After you’ve recovered for a while longer and officially begin your Martial Cultivation, then you can use the Qi Blood Pills. Just hold onto them for now."

A glint appeared in Qin Fang’s eyes...

’So it really is related to Martial Cultivation?’

"Master, when are you planning to teach me Martial Cultivation?" Qin Fang asked expectantly.

Elder Wu shot him a look. "In your current condition? Even if I taught you now, could you even practice?... Focus on healing your wounds and recovering your strength first."

"Martial Cultivation isn’t something that can be mastered overnight. You can’t rush it."

With that, Elder Wu didn’t linger. He waved his hand and turned to leave.

Qin Fang let out a soft breath, his eyes flickering...

He truly envied Wang Long’s Physique.

Now, he was really impatient to begin Martial Cultivation.

’But alas... my starting conditions are too poor.’

’Started as a refugee, nearly lost my life.’

’I barely recovered a little... and now I’m injured again.’

Even Qin Fang himself felt that he was ill-fated...

Sighing, Qin Fang lay on the bed, staring into space...

...

That afternoon, his Master brought someone over to repair the house.

He said he was coming to repair it, but in reality, he just brought that simple and honest-looking youth with the handcart... They dragged away the broken tables, chairs, and stools and brought in a new set.

Of course, the pot in the kitchen was also replaced with a new one.

Then he told Qin Fang to focus on his recovery and left.

Qin Fang was finally able to put his mind at ease...

’My Master knows the whole story, but he didn’t blame me or have any intention of turning me over to the authorities.’ That brought him a profound sense of relief.

’For the time being, I should be safe.’

’The only question is when Wang Hu might trace this back to me...’

This thought left him feeling unsettled.

He drifted off into a groggy, deep sleep.

When he next awoke, it was to the sound of wind and string instruments mixed with loud wailing.

Qin Fang froze for a moment, then looked through the window lattice to see that night had fallen.

Outside, the light of torches passed by the courtyard.

The sounds of crying drifted in.

It was a woman, endlessly crying out, "My son!"

There was also the sound of chanting sutras and percussion.

’...A funeral procession?’

Qin Fang frowned.

But he didn’t dwell on it.

He felt his stomach growl. He hadn’t eaten all day. He got up and went to the kitchen to see... his Master had brought more ingredients.

A warmth spread through his heart, and he began to start a fire to cook.

He still just diced some meat to cook with his porridge... The last time he ate braised pork, he’d had diarrhea all night, so he knew his stomach wasn’t ready for heavy, oily, and salty food yet.

’I’ll just have to recover slowly...’

After eating, Qin Fang finally let out a long breath. His stomach was full. Returning to the main room, he took out the only dart he had left.

He narrowed his eyes.

’The Darts played a huge part in successfully killing Wang Long and his men this time.’

’Since I can’t start Martial Cultivation for now...’

’I’ll practice with my Darts until I reach the next stage.’

He glanced at his progress.

’Hidden Weapon (Darts) (Minor Achievement): 164/1000’

’The next stage... is still a long way off.’

But Qin Fang wasn’t in a hurry. He let out a light breath and began to practice throwing the dart seriously...

However, with only one dart left, practicing was a bit of a hassle. Qin Fang planned to ask his Master to get him a few more Darts in a couple of days...