Immortality Path: From the Blind Man at the Pharmacy-Chapter 34 - Improvement

Chapter 34: Improvement

Chapter 34: Improvement

The sound of clashing swords was like a bird’s screech, tearing through the long night of spring rain, and the neighbors must have heard it.

But in Dates Lane, no one dared to come out and investigate.

Song Cheng clutched a book and carried a longsword, sprinting wildly through the rainy night.

The night was very dark, and the road was slippery, yet he moved as if it were broad daylight on a smooth path.

When he got back to the Ruyi Commerce Chamber mansion, he even caught a glimpse, over the wall, of Miss Ling sneaking back through a hidden dog hole, crouched down.

Song Cheng quickly climbed over the wall, then returned to his own courtyard…

It wasn’t something he said…

The guards at these mansions only guarded the front gate, and when real danger came, everyone looked out for themselves.

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Returning to the house, he knocked on the door, calling gently, “It’s me.”

Young Mrs. Tong hurriedly opened the door.

Song Cheng swiftly entered.

A chill followed him inside.

Young Mrs. Tong whispered, “Warm yourself by the charcoal stove, I’ll fix you some ginger tea.”

Song Cheng quickly removed his wet clothes and hung them on a clothesline over the charcoal stove.

Water dripped, “drip drop,” down, into the stove, producing smoke and wisps of white steam.

Young Mrs. Tong poured ginger tea from a slightly insulated ceramic necked pot and quickly brought it over.

Song Cheng, while drying his hair with a towel, took the tea and glanced at his wife, noticing her clothes were intact, “Why aren’t you asleep?” he asked curiously.

Young Mrs. Tong replied, “I couldn’t sleep with you not at home.”

Song Cheng set the tea down and quickly pulled out the slightly damp book, pressing it over the stove to dry. A warmth spread in his heart, along with a sense of responsibility… If anything happened to him, Young Mrs. Tong would not survive.

“I won’t get into trouble.”

“Mm,” Young Mrs. Tong responded while finding the only torn winter coat at home, draping it over the youth’s shoulders, then sat beside him without asking anything, merely staring absentmindedly at the striking red in the charcoal stove.

The air was somewhat quiet.

Song Cheng smacked his lips, ready to speak about today’s events.

He did not intend to hide anything from his companion.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Young Mrs. Tong interrupted, “Don’t say it.”

Song Cheng was taken aback.

Young Mrs. Tong said, “Tonight you didn’t go out. How could I know what happened after you went out?”

Song Cheng’s lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

Knowing something and not knowing it generated different reactions.

This matter would definitely cause a stir; if his wife knew, it would increase the risk of being exposed.

“Light me a lamp.”

“Mm.”

Young Mrs. Tong grabbed a lamp and brought it to the fire, raising the lamp grass and carefully lighting it.

Under the dim light, Song Cheng quickly began flipping through the book.

The scroll was a hand-copied one, not the original; indeed, it recorded a cultivation technique.

He carefully went through it, asking Young Mrs. Tong about characters he didn’t understand. If both were confused, they guessed together.

Outside, the rain fell hard and the wind howled, the night was boundless.

Yet within this little home, with the small flame, it temporarily shut out all the cold cruel, eerie dangers outside, becoming a haven for rest.

Very soon, the book was flipped through entirely, but it was only half a scroll.

Or perhaps not even half.

Information successfully emerged on the panel:

[Cultivation Technique]

Grass Sea Astonished Snake Form (Yellow Level Grade B) (Incomplete)

0.5% chance to deduce a complete cultivation technique

Each deduction costs 4 points

On the other hand…

Referring to the Yellow Level Grade B cultivation technique “Grass Sea Astonished Snake Form,” although incomplete, still provided some ideas.

Engaging with experts of the same level, the understanding deepened, and the future path became clearer.

“Xuanwu Willow Brushing Force” had a 3.2% chance to deduce a “Yellow Level Grade B” cultivation technique.

“Incomplete?”

It wouldn’t be normal not to feel disappointed.

There was even a small grievance that “this cheat is not working well enough.”

However, Song Cheng did not sigh.

He understood the responsibility he carried.

His sighs would only unsettle and unsettle his wife, serving no useful purpose.

Nonetheless, he at least figured out: For techniques from others, he needed to see the full set to record it, but a personal insight only required an introduction to enter the entry level.

Song Cheng tore the book’s pages and fed them one by one into the charcoal fire, watching as the flames consumed them. Once they burned out, he pulled his wife to bed…

One night…

…

…

The next day.

The clouds cleared after the rain.

Madam Tong got up early to practice her swordsmanship.

Song Cheng also grabbed his sword to spar with her.

Resources, guidance, and experience could all accelerate cultivation…

And all these, Song Cheng provided to his wife.

He needed to deduce cultivation techniques himself, needed to go out to find opponents to sharpen his skills, but his wife could get everything readily at home.

Song Cheng was very strict in his teaching and very serious in sparring.

He wielded the longsword, suppressing his ability while engaging with his wife back and forth.

In no time, Madam Tong was struck several times with the back of the sword.

Yet, Tong Jia did not complain but gritted her teeth, attacking fiercely until she was out of breath.

Song Cheng felt pained too, but he knew, if he held back now, when real danger came his wife’s enemies would not show mercy.

After resting, he glanced outside the wall, beginning to count in his mind “one, two, three”…

Calculating the time, Shi Yi’s matter should have erupted by then.

As the chief guard of Ruyi Commerce Chamber, appearing suddenly in Shanghe County, and then dying, it certainly caused a stir.

“Three hundred and fifty-six, three hundred and fifty-seven…”

…

“My dear, let’s go have breakfast first,” Madam Tong said when she saw her husband spacing out.

Song Cheng replied, “Oh, okay.”

The two dressed in the only cloth garments bought from the market and went to the Ruyi Commerce Chamber’s outer dining hall together.

Today: white steamed buns, boiled eggs, sweet water.

Those practicing martial arts could also get a slice of fragrant simmered meat, half fatty, which paired with the white steamed buns tasted heavenly.

Because of the instructions left by the young lady before she departed, Song Cheng’s dietary treatment was very high.

He could not only eat the simmered meat but also had a special serving of “demon beast meat.”

It was unclear who spoke openly, but nearly everyone in the Ruyi Commerce Chamber knew that “the mud-legged man from Tang River Village had boasted he would break into the Force Realm within twenty days, and the young lady had even shown him the family’s absolute art”…

The cook did not display much goodwill towards Song Cheng either, casually placing the cooked demon beast meat in front of him and turning away without another word.

In the cook’s eyes, this young man was nothing more than an arrogant, self-conceited character.

It was unclear who had spread this impression…

Of course, Song Cheng knew: Miss Ling.

Who else but Miss Ling?

This girl pieced things together for her lover, not only acted as a spy but also used all her efforts to suppress potential rivals, even if he, the potential rival, was still very “weak,” leaving no stone unturned.

From her standpoint, Song Cheng quite admired her.

But that didn’t stop him from being glad that “Shi Yi is dead.”

How many damn annoying matters were gone now.

It was very satisfying!

He continued counting in his heart.

“Seven hundred eighty-six, seven hundred eighty-seven…”

He counted as he quietly sliced the demon beast meat, then seized a moment when no one was watching to stuff it into his wife’s mouth.

His wife didn’t want it.

So he just forced it in.

His wife had no choice but to open her mouth, letting him have his way.

With every piece that went down, his wife felt her energy boiling, driven to go train.

And just when he was feeding the last two pieces, Ling came in wearing a thick cotton coat to eat.

In these two days, having gone out on rainy nights and crawled through the dog hole, she had already caught a cold due to her weak constitution.

“Achoo!”

Ling sat far away from Song Cheng, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

Song Cheng raised a hand, smiling, “Good morning, Miss Ling.”

Ling glanced at him.

Catching a cold, her expression was unmanageable, with a strong look of disdain, but she still replied, “Good morning.”

Song Cheng continued to silently count.

Just when he was boring himself counting to “one thousand one hundred twenty-six,” a voice came from outside.

“Something bad happened, something bad happened, something really big!!”

With this firecracker-like shouting, quite a few people from the chamber poked their heads out, all asking, “What happened?” “What’s going on?” and the like.

The informant, with a mournful face, said, “Dates… there’s been a murder in Dates Lane. The government official just came, said we need to identify someone. They also said… the deceased might be our Guard Captain Shi, Shi Yi.”

The people were momentarily taken aback, and then someone laughed.

“Are you kidding? Could something happen to Guard Captain Shi?”

“Guard Captain Shi hasn’t even come back yet, right?”

However, Miss Ling turned pale with shock, her complexion turning ashen.

Very quickly, she along with the manager and some people from the chamber went swiftly with the government officials to Dates Lane.

Upon seeing… the decapitated body lying on a straw mat, who else could it be but Shi Yi?

Miss Ling felt a darkness before her eyes and fainted straight away.

When she came to, she saw Song Cheng’s woman sitting in front of the bed, holding a bowl of steaming medicinal soup.

Tong Jia scooped a spoonful to her lips and gently said, “I’m a physician, this is a calming and heat-clearing medicine, very effective.”

Miss Ling opened her lips slightly.

Tong Jia fed her spoonful by spoonful.

When finished, Miss Ling felt a warmth spread from within, and sleepiness crept up.

However, she didn’t want to talk or express thanks, merely turning over silently to face the wall.

Outside the door, Song Cheng took a glance.

The numbers showing Ling’s fondness quietly updated.

One moment at 45, and in the next… it leaped back to 60.