42: Ten Blood Qi Pills, and a murderous intent appears!
Stepping into Hundred Herbs Hall again, the medicinal fragrance refreshed his spirit.
He walked straight to the counter on the first floor.
The same attendant from last time recognized him at a glance, his face piling up with a professional smile.
Usually, only wealthy people came here.
Of course, there was no lack of attendants making purchases.
But attendants making purchases were rare.
Mainly because the second half of the sentence about 'purchasing' was cut off!
"Guest, what would you like to buy this time?"
"Do you have anything here that is easy to carry and can quickly replenish physical strength?" Li Qing got straight to the point.
"Something for Martial Artists to use while out."
Upon hearing this, the attendant understood immediately.
"Guest, you've asked the right place!"
He nimbly took out a black porcelain bottle from under the counter and carefully placed it on the tabletop.
"This item is called the Blood Qi Pill."
"It's made using thirty catties of Vicious Beast Lean Meat, supplemented by several types of medicinal herbs that nourish Qi and blood."
"Simmered over a gentle fire for seven days and nights to remove the dross and preserve the essence, it is finally condensed into a single pill."
He pulled out the stopper and poured out a pill the size of a pigeon egg, dark red all over, emitting a faint fragrance.
"One Blood Qi Pill is enough to support the needs of a Body Tempering Realm Martial Artist for three days of high-intensity travel."
"Easy to carry, no need to start a fire; it is an essential item for Martial Artists going out for training or long-distance raids."
Li Qing's breathing quickened slightly.
Thirty catties of Vicious Beast Lean Meat to refine just one?
Good stuff!
"How much is it?"
"Twenty taels of silver per pill," the attendant quoted the price with a smile.
"Since you are from the Fierce Wind Martial Arts Hall, I can give you a regular customer price: one hundred and ninety taels for a bottle of ten."
This is robbery!
This price was several times more expensive than buying Vicious Beast meat directly.
Ten catties of Vicious Beast meat only cost five taels of silver.
However, this money was well spent.
It saved the trouble of processing and cooking, and it could be stored in concentrated form; this craftsmanship itself was worth the price.
He suppressed his emotions and took out the four fifty-tael silver notes from his bosom.
"I'll take one bottle."
The smile on the attendant's face grew even more brilliant.
He hadn't expected this inconspicuous-looking attendant to be so generous.
It seemed he was running errands for some big shot.
He nimbly packed the porcelain bottle and gave Li Qing ten taels of Loose Silver in change.
"Here you go, guest. Please come again!"
Li Qing tucked the porcelain bottle and Loose Silver into his bosom and turned to leave without staying for a moment.
With these ten Blood Qi Pills, tonight's evolution was secured!
He walked out of Hundred Herbs Hall and merged into the bustling crowd.
He didn't go straight back to the martial arts hall, but as per his routine, began weaving through the complex alleys of the Inner City.
This was a habit he had developed over the past Nine Heavens to shake off any potential prying eyes.
However, just as he turned two street corners, his footsteps paused slightly.
Something was wrong.
Behind him, an aura was constantly following him, neither too close nor too far.
That person was very professional, hiding in the noise and shadows of the crowd.
If it were the previous Li Qing, he would definitely have been unable to detect it.
But now, his Dao of Lying Low was becoming increasingly proficient.
Since the person tracking him could be perceived, their strength shouldn't be very high.
Who was it?
Young Master Qian's people?
Not quite like them.
Those useless bunch wouldn't have this kind of tracking skill.
An attendant from Hundred Herbs Hall?
Seeing an attendant like him spending so lavishly, did they develop evil intentions?
Possible, but not very likely.
For Hundred Herbs Hall to be so large, its rules must be strict.
Thoughts whirled rapidly in Li Qing's mind, but his pace remained steady, still maintaining the previous rhythm of aimless wandering.
He turned into an even more remote narrow alley.
The footsteps behind him followed in, and they were gradually drawing closer.
The alley was very deep, ending in a high wall—a dead end.
Li Qing walked to the depths of the alley, and as if only just discovering there was no way out, he turned around in frustration.
At the entrance of the alley, a man wearing gray short clothes, a bamboo hat, and a black cloth covering his face blocked his path.
In that person's hand, he held a cold, glinting dagger.
"Kid, hand over everything valuable you have on you."
The Masked Man's voice was hoarse, deliberately altered.
Li Qing felt a sense of relief instead.
He was just after money.
It seemed his actions at Hundred Herbs Hall had been targeted by someone with intentions.
"Hero, the money is all here."
Li Qing pretended to tremble with fear, shakily taking out the money bag with the change and throwing it over.
The Masked Man caught it, weighed it, and let out a disdainful cold snort.
"Just this much?"
His gaze fell on the other side of Li Qing's chest, which he was clutching tightly.
"What else is there?"
There was the porcelain bottle containing the Blood Qi Pills.
"No, nothing, there's really nothing left!"
"Hmph!"
The Masked Man didn't bother with words; he lunged forward, reaching out to grab Li Qing's chest.
A martial arts hall attendant certainly wouldn't be a Martial Artist.
As a Body Refining Realm Peak Martial Artist, handling trash like this was as easy as pie!
His movements were fast, carrying a gust of wind.
He seemed to be an old hand.
Just as his hand was about to touch the lapel of Li Qing's clothes.
The previously terrified Li Qing suddenly exploded with a robust aura from within his body.
His eyes, which had been cast down, snapped up.
"Courting death."
Two words spat from his mouth.
Alarm bells rang in the Masked Man's heart, a sense of fatal crisis making his hairs stand on end.
He wanted to withdraw his hand and retreat.
But Li Qing's hand had already grabbed his wrist at some point.
That hand looked thin, but it was like a red-hot iron pincer, containing a terrifying Great Strength.
"Crack!"
The crisp sound of bone fracturing echoed in the narrow alley.
The Masked Man's wrist was crushed by sheer force!
The intense pain caused the black cloth on the Masked Man's face to be instantly soaked with cold sweat.
He let out a shrill, miserable howl; his other intact hand abandoned the attack and instead frantically tried to pry away Li Qing's fingers.
He couldn't budge them!
"You... you're not an attendant!"
The Masked Man's eyes were filled with fear.
This power, this Qi and blood!
It was absolutely not something a menial attendant could possess!
Brother, you have such strength but don't show it.
Is it fun to pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger?
Li Qing did not answer him.
He just expressionlessly raised his other hand and clenched it into a fist.
With one punch, he smashed it toward the Masked Man's chest.
The fist went whistling through the air.
The Masked Man's pupils constricted violently.
With his wrist held in a death grip, he couldn't move at all and could only watch helplessly as that fist grew larger and larger before his eyes.
"No!"
Bang!
A dull thud sounded, like a heavy hammer hitting a broken drum.
The Masked Man's chest visibly caved in, and the sound of ribs snapping was clearly audible.
His body arched violently, and a mouthful of fresh blood mixed with internal organ fragments sprayed out from his mouth, staining the ground in front of him red.
Li Qing let go.
The Masked Man slumped limply to the ground, his body twitching twice.
The light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and he soon lost all signs of life.
One punch.
A Body Refining Realm Peak, dead.
Li Qing looked down at his fist.
What a terrifying Great Strength talent!
His Physique was also constantly improving.
The countless amounts of ferocious beast essence blood swallowed by his Clone at the bottom of the river had long since refined his Physical Body to an inconceivable level of strength through the feedback to this body.
He crouched down and began searching the Masked Man's body.
Aside from that dagger and the money bag he had thrown over, there were only a few taels of Loose Silver.
A pauper.
Li Qing pulled off the other man's black mask.
It was an unfamiliar face, about forty years old, with high cheekbones and a shallow scar at the corner of his eye.
It seemed he wasn't one of Young Master Qian's people, nor from Hundred Herbs Hall.
Just a Lone Bandit who saw an opportunity for wealth and ended up kicking a steel plate.
Li Qing stood up and looked around the deathly silent narrow alley.
He dragged the corpse to the deepest corner of the alley, where there was a blocked sewage drain.
He exerted force to lift the heavy stone slab, and a foul stench hit his face.
Without changing his expression, Li Qing threw the corpse along with the dagger down into it, then covered it back with the stone slab, stepping on it to ensure it was tightly sealed.
Having done all this, he then clapped the dust off his hands and picked up the money bag from the ground.
Turning around, he walked out of the alley composedly.
In this world, there is no right or wrong, only strength and weakness.
It's all for survival!
If you aren't strong enough, even breathing is a mistake...