84: Preparations before the expedition

"Good." Lin Yu praised. "I was thinking the same thing. Yin Qi has gathered in that place for a hundred years, and evil spirits must have bred there. I compiled a list from the memory of that vengeful spirit; write it down and procure the items as soon as possible."

"Please instruct me, Master."

"First, black dog blood. The heart blood of a live dog is best, and three catties are required. Black dogs possess extreme Yang, and their blood can break through Yin evil and filth."

"Second, the throat bone of a rooster. It must be an old rooster, three years or older, that crows daily. Take the 'person'-shaped cartilage from its throat, dry it, and grind it into powder. Roosters announce the dawn, responding to Yang, and their bones can suppress ghosts and demons."

"Third, aged glutinous rice. The older the better, at least ten years old. Glutinous rice grows from the earth, nourished by Yang, and can draw out corpse poison and counter zombie evil."

"Fourth, seven peach wood nails, each three inches and three fen long. If you can find lightning-struck wood, that would be even better. Peach wood wards off evil, and thunder is supremely rigid, making it the nemesis of Yin objects."

Su Ming noted each item in his heart, his expression solemn.

Every one of these items was strange—things ordinary families would never keep prepared.

"Also..." Lin Yu's voice paused, seemingly finding it difficult to say.

"Fifth, the urine of a virgin boy. Take the urine of a boy born during the Yang hour and older than seven years, sealed in a newly fired clay pot."

Su Ming: "..."

His face changed colors rapidly before his eyes, moving from white to red, then to purple, a truly spectacular display.

"Master... what... what is the use of this?" After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked.

Lin Yu struggled to suppress his laughter and explained earnestly, "A virgin boy's body retains its Primal Yang. His urine is the essence of Primal Yang, utterly clean and pure. When sprinkled, it can defile an evil entity's physique, significantly reducing its cultivation. It is... a life-saving item for critical moments."

Su Ming took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the overwhelming sense of shame.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze had returned to calm.

"...This Disciple understands."

Watching Su Ming's expression of facing death unflinchingly, Lin Yu almost rolled around laughing inside the ring.

This child is too amusing!

...Over the next few days, Su Ming's life became extraordinarily busy.

During the day, he was still the quiet, studious top scholar, moving between the Library Pavilion and the School.

But as soon as school was dismissed, he transformed into the most mysterious procurement agent in Qingshi County.

His first stop was the Slaughterhouse west of the city.

The stench of blood and gore rushed at him. Several shirtless butchers were breaking down a freshly slaughtered pig.

Su Ming pinched his nose and found Butcher Wang, the man in charge.

"Uncle Wang."

"Oh, it's Scholar Su!" Butcher Wang, whose hands were covered in grease, flashed a warm smile when he saw Su Ming. "What wind blew a scholar like you to this filthy place of mine?"

Su Ming cupped his hands and said without changing his expression, "Uncle Wang, I wanted to ask if you've seen any black dogs lately?"

"Black dog?" Butcher Wang was startled, then grew wary. "What does the top scholar need a black dog for? Its meat is sour and tough, not good to eat. Plus, they have fierce temperaments, only good for guarding the house."

Su Ming took out a small string of copper coins from his sleeve and handed them over discreetly.

He spoke calmly, "A few days ago, I read a miscellaneous medical book in the Library Pavilion. It recorded an ancient prescription that said taking the heart blood of a black dog, mixing it with several herbs, and soaking it in medicinal wine can promote blood circulation, clear the meridians, and strengthen the bones. My father sustained old injuries while hunting in the mountains years ago, and they become unbearable on rainy days. This student thought of trying this out."

This explanation was logical and reasonable, justifying his motive while demonstrating filial piety.

Butcher Wang weighed the copper coins in his hand, and the wariness on his face turned into understanding.

"So you're treating the old Master's injuries! That's wonderful!" He patted his chest. "Leave this to me! Zhang Mazi in the East City happens to have a pure black wolfdog. It's very vicious; it bit someone two days ago. I'll go get it for you right now! I guarantee you the freshest heart blood!"

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Wang."

Having secured the most difficult item, the black dog blood, Su Ming went to the Rice Shop.

He didn't go to the large rice stores but specifically sought out isolated small alleys to find farmers who kept their own grain reserves.

"Madam, I'd like to trade for some glutinous rice," Su Ming said to an old woman who was drying grain in her yard.

"Trade for glutinous rice? Young man, mine is this year's new rice, and it smells wonderful!"

"No," Su Ming shook his head, pointing to a rice jar covered in thick dust in the corner. "I want aged rice, the older the better."

The old woman looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Su Ming had no choice but to fabricate another story, claiming he had read that aged glutinous rice, when ground into powder, could be used to starch clothes. It was supposedly better than soapberries, making clothes crisp and clean.

Finally, he used three catties of new rice to trade for a small half-jar of aged glutinous rice that had been sitting there for who knows how many years and had almost turned into stone.

As for the rooster's throat bone, he secured it at a market specializing in poultry sales. He paid a high price for a spirited, blood-red-combed old rooster, borrowed the vendor's knife, extracted the bone on the spot, and walked away with the small bone tucked away, under the astonished gaze of the vendor and the surrounding people.

The peach wood nails were the most troublesome.

He ran through all the Carpenter Shops in the city, but they only had ordinary peach wood.

In the end, it was Xu Qing who helped him.

"Lightning-struck wood?" Xu Qing frowned after hearing Su Ming's request. "That stuff is hard to find. Ordinary wood hit by lightning would have long burned into charcoal. Only old wood with extremely strong Yang Qi and tough wood grain can survive the thunder fire."

He pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I think I know where some is."

He led Su Ming to a dilapidated Daoist Temple in the southern suburbs of the county seat.

The Daoist Temple had long been abandoned, and the courtyard was overgrown with weeds. Next to the ruins of the Main Hall, a huge locust tree lay toppled on the ground, half its trunk black as ink—the mark of being struck by thunder fire.

"It was struck the summer before last during a thunderstorm," Xu Qing pointed to the tree. "The commotion was huge; half the county seat heard it. Since then, the rumors of this temple being haunted have grown fiercer, and no one dares to come here anymore."

Su Ming felt a surge of joy looking at the half-section of charred tree trunk.

Although it wasn't peach wood, the locust tree belongs to Yin, yet it survived the heavenly thunder. The Vigorous Yang Energy contained within its heartwood was likely superior to ordinary peach wood!

The two men exerted tremendous effort to pry a few pieces of wood from the iron-hard, charred trunk.

Back in the Small Courtyard, Su Ming carefully carved the wood into seven wooden nails, each three inches and three fen long. Every nail carried a faint smell of charring and strange patterns.

At this point, only one item remained on the list.

And it was the one that gave Su Ming the biggest headache.

Virgin Boy's Urine.

As a fourteen-year-old top scholar, he couldn't possibly... and he was too embarrassed to ask the seven or eight-year-old primary students at the school.

The matter remained deadlocked for two days.

That afternoon, Su Ming was reading in his courtyard when the sound of a child crying came from the neighboring Small Courtyard.

It was the child of the taciturn student next door, who was only five years old and robust-looking.

He heard the student impatiently roar, "What are you crying about! So what if you wet the bed! It's not a big deal!"

Su Ming's eyes suddenly lit up.

He put down his book, walked to the wall, cleared his throat, and called out to his neighbor, "Brother Li, are you there?"

A moment later, the student named Li Mo opened his courtyard door, a hint of confusion on his face. "Scholar Su, is something the matter?"

Su Ming wore a gentle smile, holding a small packet of pastries in his hand.

"Nothing in particular. I heard your son crying and came over to check. Children are naturally lively and active; wetting the bed is common. I have some newly bought pastries here; let the child try them."

Li Mo was somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. He was naturally solitary and had few friends at the County School, and Su Ming was the first person to actively come over and show goodwill.

He quickly invited Su Ming inside.

Half an hour later, Su Ming walked out of the Small Courtyard, looking satisfied.

In his hand, he held a small clay pot tightly wrapped in oil paper.

Inside the clay pot was a full jar of... golden-yellow liquid, slightly warm.

Li Mo and his family were deeply grateful for the half-packet of pastries and the small silver ingot Su Ming had left on the table. They simply assumed this young top scholar was a kind-hearted eccentric who enjoyed collecting strange objects for "scholarship."

Returning to his Small Courtyard, Su Ming carefully placed the clay pot on the ground.

He looked at the pile of "treasures" before him—a bucket of foul-smelling black dog blood, a bag of aged glutinous rice, seven charred wooden nails, a small pouch of rooster throat bone powder, and that jar of virgin boy's urine whose smell defied description.

The entire courtyard was permeated by a strange, indescribable odor.

Su Ming let out a long breath.

An unprecedented sense of absurdity, coupled with the tension and excitement of embarking on an unknown journey, flooded his heart simultaneously.

"Master, everything is prepared."

"Very good." Lin Yu's voice carried a satisfied chuckle. "Pack everything up. We will depart after the first heavy snow."

He looked at Su Ming's young yet resolute face, his heart filled with heroic spirit.

To hell with The Way of Cautious Survival!

I'm not pretending anymore; I'm laying my cards on the table!

Starting today, I am a Tomb Raider Captain... no, an Immortal Master Treasure Hunter!

"Are you ready, Disciple?" Lin Yu's voice became deep and powerful. "Our first lesson is about to begin."