paranoianovel Chapter 15 Earth Dragon Scales
Chapter 15 Earth Dragon Scales
Lin Mu closed his eyes and pulled up the booklet.
[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 5/100]
[Body Tempering Technique: Undeveloped 25/100]
The body tempering technique progressed very quickly after being tempered within the Qi and Blood Cage.
However, one cannot go to the gambling den too often.
......
The next evening, after finishing his chores at the martial arts school, Lin Mu took the silver and went to the Xihe Restaurant.
When Zhao Dayou from the kitchen saw him arrive, he grinned and took out a bowl of stewed beef from beside the stove. It was oily and steaming hot.
"Twenty coins, same as always." Lin Mu counted the coins and put them down, then squatted in the corner and finished eating in a few bites. The beef stewed until tender, a warm feeling rising from his stomach.
After leaving the restaurant, he turned into the butcher shop.
The fat, dark-skinned man was sitting behind the chopping board, deboning a bone. When he saw him come in, the knife stopped in mid-air, and he looked him up and down.
"Oh, here you are again?" He put down his knife, wiped his hands, and said, "You bought some wind deer blood last time, and you still didn't die?"
"Two catties of beef and a cup of deer blood." Lin Mu ignored it.
"Ninety coins."
The fat, dark-skinned man weighed the meat, scooped out the blood, and wrapped it in oiled paper.
"I'm buying a lot, can you give me a discount?"
"Too expensive?" The fat, dark-skinned man slammed the knife down on the cutting board.
Do you know where the blood of the Wind Deer comes from?
"Not far north of the West River lies the Eternal Night Forest."
"That place has only one month of daylight a year, and it's teeming with demons and beasts."
"If ten hunters go in, five of them are lucky to come back. How can it not be expensive?"
Lin Mu didn't say anything more, and counted out ninety copper coins and placed them on the chopping board.
Seeing that the other party had given it so readily, the chubby, dark-skinned man's dark eyes darted around:
"You bought some Wind Deer Blood last time, and it was still lively and energetic, so you're buying more... Hehe, you must be a martial artist, right?"
Seeing that Lin Mu did not refute, he continued, "Let me tell you, that Wind Deer Blood stuff is weak and doesn't last long. I have something better."
He pulled out an oilcloth package from under the counter, opened it layer by layer, revealing dark blue scales cut into fingernail-sized pieces with sharp edges and a faint, flowing sheen on the surface.
"Genuine dragon scales from the Eternal Night Forest. After consuming them, your blood and qi surge, making them countless times more effective than Wind Deer Blood."
The burly, dark-skinned man held the scales in his hand and waved them in front of Lin Mu.
"How much?" Lin Mu asked.
"One hundred gold coins." The fat, dark-skinned man held up ten fingers.
Lin Mu looked down at his coarse clothes and gave him a cold smile.
The chubby, dark-skinned man rubbed his hands together: "Well... you know, good things are naturally expensive."
"But since we're destined to meet, we can give it a try first."
He scraped a little powder off the scales, mixed it with water from a large vat, and finally dipped a bamboo skewer in it, handing it to Lin Mu, "Try it."
Lin Mu took the bamboo skewer and put it in his mouth.
A surge of heat exploded from the tip of my tongue, instantly spreading throughout my body.
His blood seemed to be ignited, and the qi and blood in his dantian surged violently, more than twice as intensely as when he drank the deer blood.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his fingers trembled slightly, and his qi and blood were completely replenished.
"How was it?" the fat, dark-skinned man laughed smugly.
"How much?" Lin Mu asked again.
"The size of a fingernail," the fat, dark-skinned man gestured, "ten taels of silver."
"I don't have enough money." Lin Mu turned to leave.
"Then how much will you say?"
Five taels.
"Five taels?" The fat, dark-skinned man's eyes widened. "Do you even know what this is? Dragon scales! I've been in this whole area for ages—"
"Five taels." Lin Mu interrupted him, put the silver back into his sleeve, and turned to leave.
The burly, dark-skinned man grabbed his sleeve, a smile plastered on his face: "No, no, no, let's talk it over. Eight ounces, that's the lowest I can go."
Five taels.
"Seven taels! Is seven taels okay? You have to let me make some profit."
"Five taels. If you don't want to sell, then forget it." Lin Mu lifted his foot and walked out.
"Hey—" The fat, dark-skinned man got impatient, grabbing his sleeve and refusing to let go. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, fine, five taels it is! I'll sell it to you at a loss, just to make a friend."
He turned to get a new one, but Lin Mu reached out and pressed down on the already scraped piece on the cutting board.
"This one will do."
The burly, dark-skinned man paused for a moment, then said, "You're quite cautious, kid."
Lin Mu counted out five taels of silver and placed them on the chopping board. He stuffed the oil paper package into his pocket, picked up the beef and deer blood, and took a piece of worthless sausage casing before leaving the house.
After he left, a plump woman emerged from behind the curtain, wiping her hands as she asked, "Was that really a dragon scale?"
The burly, dark-skinned man put the silver into the drawer and chuckled, "Of course it's dragon scales, but they're earth dragon scales."
"However, even earth dragon scales are many times more effective than wind deer blood."
"Only five taels?"
"That stuff can cause your qi and blood to occasionally go out of control, and people who know about it won't use it."
The plump woman glared at him and turned to go back to the back room.
......
That afternoon, Yan Hua stayed alone in the front yard and practiced the Long Wind Fist from beginning to end, and then from end to end.
On the seventeenth time, his fist suddenly stopped in mid-air, and he froze, like a clay sculpture.
A moment later, he threw another punch, the force of which was fierce and made a crackling sound as it hit the air.
He glanced at Lin Mu, who was also diligently practicing his boxing, then turned and walked towards the inner courtyard.
The door to the inner courtyard closed behind him.
Cui Mingyue and Ye Lang, who were practicing boxing with him, exchanged a glance.
"He went inside."
"The master promised him that once he broke through to the Ming Jin level, he could enter the inner courtyard."
"He was almost ready to agree to consider the Ye family's financial assistance."
"Things will be tough from now on."
"He probably didn't want to practice his boxing under the same roof as the servants."
......
For the next two weeks, Lin Mu worked tirelessly like a millstone.
During the day, after finishing his odd jobs at the martial arts school, he would stand at the back of the line to practice the Long Wind Fist.
While others practiced three times, he practiced five times; while others rested, he continued practicing.
When the instructor explained the advanced usage, he chewed up every word and swallowed it, then took it out again at night to savor it repeatedly.
The Long Wind Fist is fluid and smooth, with each punch accompanied by a solid gust of wind.
At night, once the gate to the old house was closed, he would practice body-strengthening techniques, directing his qi and blood to all parts of his body, and then frantically pound himself to relieve the itch.
On certain quiet nights when the itching was unbearable, he would put his homemade dragon scale water casing in his mouth—he would dilute earthworm scale powder in a five-dou water vat, pour it into a cleaned pig intestine casing, tie it into small pieces, hold it under his tongue, put on a dog head mask, and crawl into the blood cage of the Chang Le gambling den to take the heaviest punches, stop the deepest itching, and win the most money.
After finishing the fight, use the silver to buy beef and deer blood to replenish your depleted energy and blood, and then continue training.
So far, he hasn't encountered any tough opponents, and there haven't been any situations where he needed to bite through the sausage casing.
After half a month, thick calluses formed on his fists, and the veins on his forearms bulged like earthworms. He had lost weight, but he looked much more muscular.
If your temples throb unexpectedly from time to time, this is likely a sign of strong blood and energy.
That night, after he finished boxing, he closed his eyes and pulled up the booklet.
[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 38/100]
[Body Tempering Technique: Undeveloped 98/100]
His progress in martial arts was not particularly ideal.