After a moment's thought, Jiang Che decided to try his luck at a pharmacy first.
After all, medicine and poison were two sides of the same coin.
Some poisons could be used in medicine.
And some medicines could be used as poison!
The city's major pharmacies were all concentrated in the East District.
Jiang Che turned a corner and saw a pharmacy.
The sign above the pharmacy's entrance bore the three large words "Hundred Herbs Hall."
On the pillars on either side was a couplet:
"May the people of the world be free from illness, why then worry of dust gathering on our shelves."
'This is the one!'
Jiang Che walked inside.
As soon as he entered, a rich medicinal aroma wafted over him.
In the spacious hall stood many medicine cabinets.
Countless small drawers were labeled with the names of various medicinal herbs.
Behind the counter stood an old man in a long indigo robe, his neatly trimmed goatee bobbing as he weighed herbs with a small steelyard scale.
"Shopkeeper," Jiang Che walked up. "Do you have any medicine that can instantly paralyze someone or make them completely weak?"
The old man's hand trembled, and a few slices of astragalus root fell from the scale pan.
He looked Jiang Che up and down and said in a low voice, "You must be joking, sir. Our Hundred Herbs Hall is a respectable pharmacy. We only sell medicines that cure illnesses and save lives."
"I am trying to save someone. The patient needs to be anesthetized immediately..." Jiang Che persisted, not giving up.
"Our shop truly doesn't carry such things. If you aren't buying anything else, sir, please see yourself out." The old man with the goatee raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to leave.
Helpless, Jiang Che could only leave.
'Looks like getting my hands on poison won't be easy…'
As Jiang Che walked down the street, he suddenly saw two young boys fighting.
One of them was knocked to the ground, but he suddenly grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into his opponent's eyes.
The other boy couldn't dodge in time and got a face full of dirt, immediately flailing in confusion.
In an instant, the tables had turned.
The boy with dirt in his eyes couldn't see clearly. He was tripped, took several punches, and finally had to beg for mercy.
Watching this, Jiang Che suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
'I can use Lime Powder!'
In his past life, he'd read many martial arts novels where using Lime Powder to blind opponents was a tried-and-true tactic.
The stuff boils when it comes into contact with water, so you can't wash it out with water—only oil. That makes it difficult to deal with in a hurry!
'And Lime is cheap and easy to buy!'
Jiang Che immediately went to a general store and spent half a tael of silver on a large bag of Lime.
The owner wrapped it in three layers of thick oil paper, tied it tightly with a straw rope, and warned him to keep it away from moisture at all costs.
With the Lime tucked away, Jiang Che felt a greater sense of security.
「The next morning.」
Jiang Che arrived at the Martial Arts Hall to see Zhang Xiong gnawing on a piece of jerky from some unknown animal.
The jerky didn't seem to taste very good. He frowned as he chewed, looking like he might gag a few times, but he still managed to swallow it.
"Senior Brother Zhang, what are you eating?" Jiang Che asked curiously.
As he got closer, he caught a strong, gamy smell and his brow furrowed.
"Exotic Beast Meat," Zhang Xiong said as he chewed.
"What's Exotic Beast Meat?" Jiang Che asked doubtfully.
Zhang Xiong's eyes widened. "You don't even know what Exotic Beast Meat is?!"
Seeing Jiang Che's silence, he had a moment of realization. "No wonder your Qi Blood has always been so weak."
Then, he began to explain to Jiang Che what Exotic Beast Meat was.
Exotic Beast Meat comes from capturing Black Beast Cubs and raising them from a young age on a special diet of drugs.
Once they mature, these Black Beasts lose their wild nature.
Then, these Black Beasts are used as breeding stock to crossbreed with normal wild animals.
This produces mutated beasts that possess the bloodline of a Black Beast.
The meat from these mutated beasts is Exotic Beast Meat.
If ordinary people eat this meat, they will be poisoned.
But for a Martial Artist who has broken through to the Qi Blood Realm...
...not only will they be fine, but it is also a great supplement for strengthening their Qi Blood!
"Strengthen Qi Blood!"
Jiang Che's eyes lit up.
Wasn't this exactly what he desperately needed right now!
"Want to try some?" Zhang Xiong broke off a small piece and handed it to him.
Jiang Che took it and sniffed.
An intensely strange odor immediately assaulted his nostrils, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
It was a gamy smell, like a mixture of uncastrated pig and sheep, but ten times stronger.
But as long as it could replenish his Qi Blood, Jiang Che didn't care.
He popped it into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it whole.
A short while later, Jiang Che felt a wave of warmth spread from his lower abdomen. His Qi Blood had actually grown a little stronger!
'It really works!' Jiang Che was secretly shocked.
Seeing Jiang Che's naive look, Zhang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head.
"This is just the most common dried Pig-Sheep Beast meat. It's considered Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat. It costs ten taels of silver for a pound, which can last you ten days, so it's not particularly expensive. As for the effect, it's just so-so."
Jiang Che's eyes widened. It cost ten taels of silver for a pound, and the effect was already this good, yet Zhang Xiong said it was just so-so.
He finally understood how far behind others he was when it came to supplements!
"Low Grade? Does that mean there's even better Exotic Beast Meat?" Jiang Che asked.
"Of course." Zhang Xiong took another bite, his face twitching involuntarily. "There's also Middle Grade. Middle Grade meat is much more effective, but it costs a hundred taels of silver per pound. And it has a price but no market; only small quantities show up at auctions. Besides that, some major powers have it, but they don't sell it to outsiders, keeping it for their own people."
Jiang Che nodded. That made sense.
"And then there's Top Grade," Zhang Xiong continued. "Top Grade is practically priceless. It's said that only the Government Office, the Five Great Noble Families, and a few top-tier powers possess a small amount. They say that even someone with the worst Talent could eat it and smoothly break through to the Iron Skin Realm!"
"It's that amazing?!" Jiang Che was dumbfounded.
"We shouldn't even dream about it," Zhang Xiong sighed.
Jiang Che nodded. "So where did you buy this Exotic Beast Meat? I'll buy some too."
He did a quick calculation. After buying the Soft Armor, Hand Stab, and Lime, he still had about sixteen taels of silver left.
Enough to buy a pound of Exotic Beast Meat!
"Huh? I brought this from home," Zhang Xiong said.
"From your home?" Jiang Che was a little surprised.
Zhang Xiong nodded and said,
"My family owns a pharmacy. It's not as renowned as Jishi Hall, but we have everything we need."
Jiang Che stared at him in shock.
'No wonder he didn't choose to affiliate with any other faction back then…'
But then he looked at Zhang Xiong's burly frame and imagined him diagnosing patients and prescribing medicine…
'What? You say my medicine doesn't work? Then let's see how well my Cloud-Stacking Fist works!'
And then a fist the size of a clay pot would come flying…
Jiang Che couldn't help but find the image a bit comical.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Xiong felt a little creeped out by Jiang Che's constant staring.
"Ah... it's nothing!" Jiang Che shook his head hastily.
"After we finish our fist practice, I'll take you to my family's shop. I'll give you a discount," Zhang Xiong offered.
"I... how could I accept?"
Jiang Che scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it. We're fellow disciples, why act like strangers? Besides, we'll still make a profit," Zhang Xiong said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.
After the two finished their fist practice, it was already getting late.
So, Zhang Xiong took Jiang Che to his family's pharmacy.
Jiang Che was filled with anticipation.
Along the way, the two walked and chatted, exchanging some insights on their Fist Technique.
Although Jiang Che's Qi Blood was insufficient, his Fist Technique was solid, and Zhang Xiong learned quite a bit from him.
He, in turn, shared some of the tips he'd discovered for increasing Qi Blood, clearing up many of Jiang Che's doubts.
Before they knew it, they had arrived in front of a pharmacy.
Jiang Che looked at the pillars in front of the door, which seemed familiar. He looked up.
"Hundred Herbs Hall?!"