120: Anyway, they were all picked up

He could see through people's hearts, which was originally a great advantage, but his ability was not enough to control this power, so good things turned into bad.

After the shopkeeper took in Zheng Yunxu three years ago, everyone got along harmoniously.

A year ago, the shopkeeper asked him to go to Tianyuan Residence to pick up hotpot for a meal. At the time, he didn't want to do such an errand, after all, he was already at Mortal Shedding Sixth Level, not an ordinary servant, and he had a group of people under him.

He jokingly suggested that Zheng Yunxu go, saying that since she was picked up anyway, it could be considered Cultivating.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.

At that time, Zheng Yunxu was resting in the next room.

From then on, the phrase "picked up" became a needle wedged between him and Zheng Yunxu.

It was clearly a private thought in her heart, yet he could feel it.

As a result, his impression of Zheng Yunxu worsened; he called her petty and inefficient, and although he said such things rarely, the few odd-job workers under him all knew that he looked down on Zheng Yunxu, who wore a mask.

And among people, the favorite thing is to step on the black and praise the red, and some words unconsciously flowed into Zheng Yunxu's ears, deepening the conflict again.

Until half a year ago, when the shopkeeper was away, the two had a big argument.

From that month on, half of Zheng Yunxu's monthly salary would be placed directly on his desk, saying it was to repay a kindness.

He didn't want to accept it, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. The longer it went on, the deeper the rift became, and now, the two hadn't spoken for several months, becoming complete strangers.

At that time, he mentioned it to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper's original words were: 'Those who give to others often pride themselves.'

Their affairs, as long as they didn't affect business, the shopkeeper wouldn't interfere.

While Xia Zhijie regretted disrespecting others and was annoyed by Zheng Yunxu's lack of magnanimity, Jiang Hanwen had already returned to his basement.

Compared to the crudeness when he was at the Zhuang Family.

This basement, where he would be staying for a long time, was elegantly decorated, with fish tanks, potted plants, bookshelves, and a tea table.

The room was built two levels down; the first level was narrower, only about a hundred square meters, used for reading and resting.

The second level was much wider, as large as a football field, and arched.

The edges were reinforced a hundred thousand times with the Thick Wall Spell, feeling as hard as bedrock to the touch, and under the light, they emitted a smooth, bright luster like ceramics.

The second level was more varied, with one area for Cultivating, one for cultivating Spiritual Plants, and one for planting bitter apricot fruit trees and tea leaves, among other things.

Jiang Hanwen cleaned today's Silver Mist Steel, soaked it in medicinal liquid, and after confirming it was non-toxic, he mobilized Spiritual Qi to envelop it, suspending it in his mouth, then closed his eyes and sat in the underground cave.

With a puff, the surrounding soil covered him, burying Jiang Hanwen completely.

If there was light underground, one would definitely see a layer of dark gold emanating from Jiang Hanwen's skin, like ancient bronze, with a mysterious aura.

Shattering Gold Fingers could use Gold Spiritual Qi to amplify the body's hardness, making it impervious to metal, a barely usable defensive method with limited effect.

Jiang Hanwen initially thought the same, but with his Immaculate Body, his mastery of Spells advanced by leaps and bounds.

If releasing a Spell previously accumulated one unit of experience, with the Immaculate Body, it was ten. Once stacked multiple times, the accumulated insights became incredibly profound.

As he became more familiar with Shattering Gold Fingers, he discovered that after prolonged use, his hands increased in weight by one catty.

It was precisely because of the Qi and Blood Dao that he could have absolute control over his body.

After searching and searching, he finally discovered that Gold Spiritual Qi was gradually transforming the bones of his hands, increasing their hardness.

From then on, it became unstoppable. Jiang Hanwen continuously used Shattering Gold Fingers, slowly progressing from his fingers to both hands, until his entire body was covered in Gold Spiritual Qi.

Later, he adopted the method of eating bitter apricot fruit, directly putting a piece of iron in his mouth, mobilizing Qi and blood to help absorb the Gold Qi and temper his bones.

It was a lucky coincidence; it really worked, and the quantity and efficiency of Gold Qi increase were determined by the quality of the Materials.

Normally, Jiang Hanwen would "eat" Profound Steel, but today he had Silver Mist Steel, so he had to Cultivate diligently.

Five days later, at dawn, Jiang Hanwen jumped out of the soil.

It was indeed worth six thousand taels of silver; such a long period of digestion was equivalent to two months of intensive Cultivation, tempering about half of his bones. There was still 80% left until his entire body was complete.

Although the Great Village now has a population of nearly 130,000 to 140,000, it is located in the mountains, making transportation inconvenient.

Good quality steel of medium grade is hard to find, and only Jiang Hanwen had the money, otherwise, these things would not have fallen into his hands.

As for even more top-tier ones, sorry, wouldn't people hoard them for themselves?

In this world, unless there's a sufficiently large profit, Heaven And Earth Treasure is the Family's foundation. Who would willingly take it out to sell?

Just like the Three-Pattern Vermillion Fruit Lei He encountered before, which allowed him, a Mortal Shedding Seventh Level practitioner, to Breakthrough to Ninth Level, and even to Qi Induction later.

If a Family kept it, it could ensure continuous Qi Induction and lasting Family influence. Only a madman would sell it.

To accelerate his tempering speed, there was a long way to go, so he would have to search slowly.

Returning to the ground, lively footsteps sounded outside; the bookstore was already open.

Jiang Hanwen glanced at the calendar. Today was the end of the month, and it was time to replenish the Spiritual Plants in his pharmacy.

Before he even pushed the door open, he smelled a fragrance.

"Click ~"

Looking ahead, a graceful figure carrying a vermillion-lacquered food box stood in the courtyard.

"This is today's breakfast; I just brought it from Tianyuan Residence." Zheng Yunxu wore a mask, so no expression could be seen, but her tone was gentle, with a hint of anticipation.

Jiang Hanwen looked at her suspiciously. At this hour, it wasn't time for food delivery, unless she went to wait at Tianyuan Residence's door as soon as it opened, which would be more likely.

"Something wrong?"

Jiang Hanwen took the food box and opened it. The aroma of green onions and spices, wrapped in the rich scent of meat, assailed his nostrils, deeply stimulating his nasal cavity.

He couldn't help but squint his eyes. "Hmm ~ this is what you call life!"

Zheng Yunxu spoke to herself:

"I read in a book yesterday that the first broth is the most fragrant. From now on, I'll go early to get it for you."

"Believing everything in books is worse than having no books. Actually, the taste is pretty much the same. Aren't you going to treat the injury on your face?" Jiang Hanwen asked another question.

Back then, it was less about Xia Dong and his grandson saving her and more about taking her in.

How did Zheng Yunxu escape from the Black Tiger Gang?

When she was about to be abducted in the street, she disfigured herself with scissors in front of everyone, and the bloody scene scared off a group of scumbags, who called her a madwoman.

Just imagine, how deep must an injury be to scare off such scumbags?

Ever since Jiang Hanwen first met Zheng Yunxu, she had always worn a mask, never showing her true face to anyone.

His Gathering Life Technique, however, slowly worked its magic; even Gong Qing's crippled leg grew back by the end of last year.

What about the injury on her face?

Perhaps compared to the injury on her face, Zheng Yunxu cared more about the injury in her heart.

"I'm going to count books." Avoiding the question, Zheng Yunxu turned and strode away.

After eating, Jiang Hanwen used the secret passage, disguised himself, and from a courtyard a hundred meters away, arrived at the small pharmacy he owned.

"Boss, you're here." The shopkeeper was a round-faced man named Dong Kui, who smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

He also came to escape the famine. The difference was that although Dong Kui was sixty-five, he was at Mortal Shedding Eighth Level, and his spear skills were powerful, which Jiang Hanwen had acquired during a skirmish.