Chapter Sixty-Six: An Abundance of Ancient Remedies

After returning home, Su Yang lit a candle and took out all the old herbs from his bag and clothes, beginning to sort and record them one by one. Some of the old medicines were unfamiliar to him, so he thought of calling Black Lotus, who was still recuperating, into his room to help identify them. He left his room and knocked on Black Lotus’s door.

“What do you want from me?” Black Lotus heard Su Yang ask her to his room and eyed him warily. “If you have something to say, just say it. If you want to lay hands on me, I advise you to simply kill me instead.”

Gazing at Black Lotus, clad in a black undergarment that accentuated her shapely figure, Su Yang’s lips twitched slightly. Without further ado, he reached out, tucked her under his arm, and headed back to his room.

“Let go.”

“Filthy man… let go of me!”

“You’re courting death…!”

“Silence!”

“Smack!”

She was soft and resilient; Su Yang rather enjoyed it.

Inside the room.

“So you want me to help you distinguish these old herbs?”

“What else did you think?”

“Fine.”

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Black Lotus’s face. Though she felt some resentment, she still helped sort out the herbs.

As for Su Yang, at first Black Lotus harbored deep hatred, but upon reflection she realized it was she who had tried to wipe out his entire clan. Now that he had spared her life, it was already a stroke of luck. If it had been someone else, she would have been killed long ago. Thus, she felt a measure of gratitude toward the man who let her off.

Nearly an hour later, all the old herbs were classified and recorded.

There were a total of one hundred fifty-four ungraded herbs.

Fifty-three low-grade herbs.

Among them: two seventh-grade herbs, nine eighth-grade herbs, and forty-two ninth-grade herbs.

The two seventh-grade herbs were: White Frost Fruit and Leopard Deer Antler.

Su Yang intended to keep these two for himself. The rest would be used to cultivate his household servants. Including the previous White Meat Taishui, there should be fifty-one ninth-grade herbs and nine eighth-grade herbs. These all fell under the category of low-grade herbs.

As for the middle-grade herbs, Su Yang hadn’t seen a single one. Perhaps Dongmen Qing’s household had none left; even if they did, they would have been carefully hidden away, not stored in the warehouse.

Fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade herbs were collectively termed middle-grade. Even if Dongmen Qing acquired them, he would surely use them at once or keep them private, not store them in the warehouse.

Time was too short. Su Yang had only managed to scour part of Dongmen Mansion’s warehouse; the rest would likely fall to the authorities. If Dongmen Qing had won, it would have remained his property. Tomorrow, the outcome would be revealed.

Early the next day.

Hu Shi arrived at the residence to report.

Dongmen Qing was dead. Wu Song was gravely injured and imprisoned, and the details had not yet been tried in court.

Hearing this news, Su Yang felt a surge of joy—Dongmen Qing was finally dead, and from now on, his mother-in-law and sister-in-law were safe.

Yet, Wu Song’s affair was not over. Shen Lian and Pan Yinlian could not be seen; if Wu Song were released and learned they were in Su Yang’s home, things would not end well.

Su Yang ordered the old herbs to be boiled—he needed to strengthen himself quickly. He also had some ninth-grade herbs boiled for the sixteen household servants, to restore their physical constitution.

As soon as their bodies returned to normal strength, the family’s progress would be nearly complete.

A day passed.

Su Yang took a boiled herb, refined his bones, and gained in strength.

No news came about Wu Song.

He then took another seventh-grade herb, boiled and consumed it, further refining his bones and increasing his power.

Still, there was no word about Wu Song.

The Ten-Year Snake Ape Fruit, combined with these two herbs, had greatly improved Su Yang’s strength. With another seven or eight hundred incense worth of cultivation, he would be able to reach the sixth-grade martial artist level.

Once he entered the sixth grade, he would step into the ranks of middle-grade martial artists, gaining the power to protect himself.

Three more days passed.

On this day, Magistrate Zhou, dressed in a dark green official robe, entered the prison with several trusted aides, heading straight to where Wu Song was held.

“You all wait outside,” he ordered.

“Yes, Master,” the servants replied promptly, handing Magistrate Zhou the lunch box and stepping into Wu Song’s cell.

Wu Song had tried to escape when arrested, but was seriously wounded by several sixth-grade experts. His injuries hadn’t healed; now he was weaker than a common man, and with only coarse food in prison, he could not replenish his vitality, so his recovery was slow.

The prison was damp and gloomy. The floor was covered with simple straw bedding. Insects and rodents crawled underneath, and the air was thick with rot and mildew.

“Magistrate,” Wu Song managed to stand and salute, but Magistrate Zhou helped him up, saying, “Sit down, Wu Song.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Wu Song sat on a wooden block. Magistrate Zhou had someone bring in a table and set out wine and meat from the lunch box, including a bowl of braised pork.

“You must be starving. Eat quickly.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Wu Song, famished for days, could not help swallowing hungrily and began to devour the food, disregarding his appearance.

“Wu Song, why did you insist on killing Dongmen Qing?”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have ended up like this,” Magistrate Zhou said, once Wu Song had eaten his fill.

“My parents died when I was young. My brother raised me. Dongmen Qing killed him, so I had to avenge him.”

Wu Song’s eyes burned with resentment. “Sadly, I didn’t have time to destroy Dongmen Mansion entirely.”

“Oh? Didn’t you kill everyone in Dongmen Mansion?” Magistrate Zhou’s eyes arched as he asked.

Wu Song paused, then suddenly understood, falling to his knees in gratitude. “Thank you, sir.”

“Get up quickly.”

Magistrate Zhou helped him to his feet. The extermination of Dongmen’s clan was not merely for Wu Song, but more for personal gain; after all, Dongmen’s wealth was considerable.

“Wu Song, do you want to die?”

“Sir… I do not wish to die, but I have committed a terrible crime, I fear…”

“Dongmen Qing killed your brother, abducted your sister-in-law. You went to Dongmen Mansion to rescue her, were besieged by Dongmen Qing, resisted, and killed him.”

“Where is the crime in that?” Magistrate Zhou’s eyes flashed coldly as he spoke.

“Sir… is that possible?”

“Tell me, do you want to live or not?”

“I… I am willing to follow you, sir.”

“Haha… clever, very clever. Rest assured, as long as I wish you to live, you will live.”

“By the way, the constables who went with you a few days ago will all die in prison soon. Only you will survive.”

“Thank you, sir…!”