50: Gifts from the Dead
Five minutes later:
Chu Qing found Apothecary Li.
A dozen not-so-famous apothecaries trembled when they saw Chu Qing, covered in blood.
"Everyone, I saved you. How will you repay me?"
The Crowd fell silent. After a moment, some offered gold and silver; others offered medicinal herbs.
Chu Qing smiled, committing each to memory.
Finally, he had the apothecaries ransack the temple for gold and silver, leaving only Apothecary Li behind.
After more than ten days apart, Apothecary Li was much thinner and his spirits were low.
When he saw Chu Qing, he instantly understood his identity.
"My lord, the Secret medicine wasn't lost."
"I hid it at home."
Chu Qing was silent for a moment, then said, "If I had known, I would have torn down your house instead of risking my life to save you."
Apothecary Li... Half an hour later:
The apothecaries emerged carrying large and small packages.
Chu Qing collected them all, then sent the apothecaries away.
Once they were a little further off, he retrieved his sword sheath from a tree, then set the temple ablaze.
The raging fire illuminated the path ahead.
Apothecary Li sighed, "Such a good temple, it's a shame to burn it."
Chu Qing laughed, "There's a legend in my hometown—Rebirth through fire—a dead person who walks through fire might be resurrected."
Apothecary Li... "Come, carry my assets, let's go home."
Apothecary Li looked at the packages, which weighed at least several tens of pounds, and fell silent again... The fire at Wangyou Temple alarmed many people.
About a dozen miles from Wangyou Temple, a group of burly men galloped towards it.
When they arrived, they saw the fierce blaze.
Outside the temple, scattered corpses sent shivers down their spines.
One burly man asked in a panic, "Boss, what do we do?"
"Everything's burned, everyone's dead; will the master kill us?"
Big Boss said with a solemn expression, "Bring me my white pigeon."
A subordinate handed him a white pigeon.
Big Boss sneered, "I'll send a message by carrier pigeon, report to the master to send reinforcements; once the reinforcements arrive, we'll track their traces and avenge our rebel brothers!"
All the subordinates nodded.
At this moment, a subordinate said, "Big brother, we haven't tracked down that killer from the black market last time."
"Now to track another... won't it be even more tiring?"
Big Boss laughed uproariously, "Fools!"
"As long as we catch one killer, we can torture him into confession and make him take responsibility for everything."
The subordinates... *Flap!*
The white pigeon soared into the sky, flying a thousand miles away.
Shiji County:
Some wealthy families, seeing the fire at Wangyou Temple, immediately gloated.
"Good riddance."
They knew that the monks there were all rebels.
But, they dared not take action to clear them out.
"I wonder which fierce person did it."
"Could it be a student from the Martial Academy's Inner Courtyard?"
... The apothecaries' families, seeing the fire at Wangyou Temple, were immediately alarmed and furious:
"How did those Thugs set the temple on fire?"
"I was still planning to go to the temple to burn incense and fulfill a vow when my master returned!"
An hour later:
They met their family members, who had been missing for many days, at the city gate and burst into tears, embracing each other.
After a moment, they asked where the Thugs were.
Why hadn't they come to collect the final payment.
An apothecary sighed, saying, "I saw a masked youth, with a longsword taller than himself, cut down the Thugs and the High Monk."
"Finally, he rescued us."
"That masked youth seemed to know Apothecary Li."
The Crowd was horrified... Martial Academy:
Some masters and students also frowned.
A Vice Dean, unaware of the situation, even laughed, "Did that student take on the Wangyou Temple mission?"
"Murder and arson, a Dragon; a good method."
Not long after, a master reported, "Dean, no student took on this challenge."
"We suspect it might be the work of a wealthy family."
The Vice Dean was silent for a long time, then sighed, "These recent batches of students... they enjoy the benefits of the Empire, but are unwilling to share its burdens!"
"Do they think that with the Imperial Star wavering and the Millennial Calamity approaching, they can overthrow the Empire with the rebels?"
"I hope the new students in a few days... will bring some change."
The master remained silent... He Qigou, his eyes bloodshot, looked at the fire at Wangyou Temple, silent.
He had a feeling:
The one who set the fire at Wangyou Temple was the killer of Young Master He Qi.
Originally, he should have gone to investigate immediately.
But, he waited for a full hour before twenty Iron Cavalry gathered.
The Iron Cavalry were exhausted.
Hearing they were going to Wangyou Temple, they grumbled in low voices.
But, they still dutifully followed.
Fifteen minutes later:
He Qigou examined the corpses outside the temple, his brows tightly furrowed.
"First, Thugs attacked the rebel army formation, but were counter-killed."
"Then, someone suddenly attacked from behind the army formation, cutting down nine in one go, and one of them was even a squad leader!"
"This person is not only a master, but also skilled in army formations."
Finally, he looked at the burning temple again.
He remembered that there was a rebel captain in the temple who had cultivated over a hundred Iron Tendons and more than twenty Iron Bones.
That captain, skilled in both palm and fist, was no weaker than him.
After a long time, he said in a low voice:
"The killer is about one meter seventy-eight tall: barefoot, with a heart of iron, viewing human lives as grass; uses a heavy saber, and knows saber techniques."
"The characteristics are similar to the killer of Young Master He Qi."
By the end, He Qigou's mood was heavy.
He hadn't expected the killer to know saber techniques.
"Could it be... the missing Secret Inheritance, is actually a Secret Inheritance of saber techniques?"
Things just got difficult... Pharmacy:
Chu Qing, masked, looked at the several boxes before him.
He opened the first one first: inside were over a hundred portions of Toad Secret medicine.
His finger touched the Secret medicine, and the anxiety in his heart completely subsided.
"For this bit of Secret medicine, how many enemies did I kill?"
"Do you think it was easy for me?"
Apothecary Li lowered his head, silent.
It wasn't easy for you, killing people is also very tiring.
Chu Qing tucked the box into his embrace, uninterested in the other boxes, and instead asked Apothecary Li, "What were you doing in the temple?"
Apothecary Li sighed, saying:
"Refining hemostatic powder and marching pills."
Chu Qing frowned.
These two things are basic provisions for war.
The rebels... what are they planning?
Apothecary Li timidly said, "Is a war about to break out?"
"Can Shiji County... be held?"
Chu Qing said indifferently, "War has nothing to do with you; if anyone kidnaps you again, I'll still snatch you back."
Apothecary Li... "Go, get some good rest."
Apothecary Li sighed and turned to the back courtyard.
Only then did Chu Qing open the other boxes.
The second box; a pile of silver notes.
A quick count revealed a staggering seventy thousand taels.
This much silver was enough to support a large-scale war.
The third box: seven pearls—shizhu pearls.
At this moment;
Chu Qing's hands trembled slightly.
"Back then, for one pearl, I killed He Qi and over three hundred enemies."
"If he had told me earlier that there were pearls in Wangyou Temple, why would I have killed him?"
He blamed He Qi.
Unfortunately, He Qi was only a head now.
The last box was the largest, containing a pile of jewelry.
Gem-set necklaces, hairpins, rings, jade pendants, individual gems, etc.
Although precious, converting them into cash would be very troublesome.
The rest were somebroken silver, silk, jade articles, etc.
Their value was not even as high as a single pearl.
He packed the silver notes and gold and silver jewelry into a large package, leaving some for Apothecary Li, and planning to have Madam Jin keep the rest.
As for the pearls and Secret medicine, he decided to use them immediately.
"First, the Secret medicine!"
There were a full one hundred and eight portions of Secret medicine; enough to advance the Toad Skill.
And the Toad Skill could not only cultivate a few more Iron Tendons, but also connect with the Iron Tendons of other Cultivation Techniques to temporarily enhance combat power.
As for the pearls... the profession panel showed these were ordinary pearls, using one could only increase one Golden Tendon.
"I need to find someone to secretly refine them."
And the only one who could secretly refine pearls for him seemed to be... Madam Jin?