All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 8 You need to be full to have the energy to go
The next morning, the neighbors helped Zhou Qing carry Zhou Xian's body up the mountain.

Then, as usual, Zhou Qing searched for poisonous insects on the mountain.

Five days passed quickly, and he maintained his regular lifestyle.

Every day at the crack of dawn, I would get up and go up the mountain, where I would stay all day searching for poisonous insects.

After dinner, he would go to the alley opposite the Datong Gambling House in Changle Lane and watch Zhang Dahai in the dark.

Zhang Dahai sleeps during the day and stays up all night to manage the venue.

I usually return to my home in Xin'an Lane around 5:00 AM.

Zhang Dahai has two older brothers, but they have already separated from the family.

His elder brother, Zhang Jian, worked as a servant in the Zhao family, so he basically lived in the Zhao residence.

Zhang Cheng, the second brother, works as a thug in a small gang in town called the Wild Wolf Gang.

Zhang Cheng lives in Xin'an Lane, but his house is quite far from Zhang Dahai's.

The three brothers unite when bullying outsiders, but their relationship is generally average, and they don't meet often.

This evening.

Zhou Qing carried a half-basket of mulberry leaves on his back and ate a cornbread given to him by his grandmother as he walked along the main street of the market.

He was in a good mood.

The silkworms that had eaten the Green Silkworm Cake were mostly still spinning silk.

Normally, silkworms only need two or three days to spin silk and form cocoons, while the silkworms at home take at least four days to spin silk.

Nearly one-third of the silkworms are still spinning silk, and the cocoons they produce are more than twice the size of normal cocoons.

Most importantly, the quality of this batch of silk is quite good.

The profit from this batch is conservatively estimated to be one and a half taels of silver.

This is the price for selling silkworm cocoons directly.

If he spends another two or three days reeling silk and then sells it in the county, he might be able to get three or even four taels of silver.

Zhou Qing kept some silkworm cocoons so that the silkworms could mate after hatching and thus produce higher quality silkworm eggs.

Based on the current silkworm rearing progress, each subsequent batch will earn an extra tael or two of silver.

Moreover, half of the silkworms died this time, so there was only the profit from half a silkworm.

In other words, from May to September, conservatively speaking, his monthly income from raising silkworms could be consistently above two taels of silver.

With money, I learned martial arts, and became stronger, so I was able to carry back more mulberry leaves.

At that time, it's fine to raise just two silkworms.

Should we go to the county town or not?

Zhou Qing hesitated.

You can get a good price by selling silkworm silk in the county town.

However, the mountain road stretches for dozens of miles, taking more than a day to walk, and there are too many uncertainties along the way.

However, if they don't sell in the county town, they are very likely to be offered lower prices.

After practicing martial arts, the amount of money spent will definitely increase.

"If all else fails, we'll have to go up the mountain and find more poisonous insects."

He had saved up thirty-one coins in total from selling poisonous insects over the past few days.

The reason we were able to store so much is because it rained heavily the day before yesterday, and we had a good harvest that day.

In order to save money for the trip to the county town, he made the Green Silk Gu eat fewer poisonous insects these past few days.

"I must register as soon as possible and obtain the status of a martial arts school apprentice."

A month was merely a delaying tactic by Zhou Qing.

Zhang Dahai might come to check on his silkworm rearing progress along the way.

"Aqing!"

Zhou Qing was walking home with her head down when she suddenly heard a shout behind her.

He turned around and saw Liang Chao running towards him, wearing a blue training jacket.

"Let me help you." Liang Chao reached out to help Zhou Qing carry the basket.

"No need," Zhou Qing shook his head.

"I've practiced martial arts, let me show you my strength!" Liang Chao insisted.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing put the basket down.

"Look at this! It's so heavy!" Liang Chao picked up the basket and estimated it to weigh about seventy or eighty pounds.

"Give it to me." Zhou Qing reached out his hand.

Liang Chao put down the basket, and seeing Zhou Qing easily lift it onto his back, he stubbornly said:

"I'm just tired from practicing martial arts today. Once I reach the Skin Refining Realm, my arm strength will easily exceed 200 jin with one arm. Just you wait and see!"

Zhou Qing's pupils dilated slightly at the sight of "two hundred pounds of arm strength."

In my previous life, the average adult's arm strength was between 60 and 120 pounds. An arm strength of 200 pounds was close to the world record.

Moreover, Liang Chao just said that he easily weighed over 200 pounds.

According to what Liang Chao said before, martial artists undergo four major refinements: skin, flesh, tendons, and bones. The skin refinement realm is only the first level of entry.

No wonder everyone wants to become a martial artist!
"Hmph!" Seeing Zhou Qing's surprised expression, Liang Chao was somewhat smug, as if he had already entered the Skin Refining Realm and become a martial artist.

"Hey! Isn't this Aqing and Achao?!"

Just as Liang Chao was feeling smug, a tall, burly man with a face full of scars emerged from the alley around the street corner. He was dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt, and his exposed arms were full of strong muscles, except that his right arm was bent and in a sling.

"Zhang Dahai." Liang Chao's expression changed when he saw the person who had arrived.

Although he had previously acted as if he looked down on Zhang Dahai, he didn't dare to call him "Old Fart Zhang" when they actually met.

"What? Ah Chao, you think I'm easy to bully just because I lost my hand? You're not even calling me Brother Zhang anymore?!"

Zhang Dahai's eyes widened, and the fat on his face trembled.

Liang Chao felt a little intimidated by his gaze, his fists clenched and then relaxed, his face flushed.

"Brother Zhang." "That's right! Don't think you can ride on my head just because you've practiced boxing for two days. When you break through to the Skin Refinement stage, I'll even call you Brother Chao." Zhang Dahai sneered.

As he spoke, he walked up to Zhou Qing, who was standing to the side, and patted him on the shoulder with his left hand.

"Aqing, if you count the days, your silkworms will probably start spinning silk in about four or five days, right?"
Remember to sell it for a good price when the time comes, so you can make up for it for your brother Zhang.

Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll give you another month!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing remained silent for a moment. He then looked up, appearing honest and somewhat dazed. "Thank you, Brother Zhang."

"Sure, sure! Hahaha!"

Zhang Dahai left triumphantly.

"What's with the arrogance! If you were really that good, you wouldn't have had your arm broken!" Liang Chao spat lightly after Zhang Dahai had walked away.

"Was his hand broken?" Zhou Qing asked.

When he went to check on Zhang Dahai last night, his hand was still perfectly fine.

"One of my senior brothers from our boxing gym got into a fight with a student from another martial arts gym in the casino. Old Zhang tried to break up the fight, but my senior brother punched him and broke his right arm."

The casino manager came out to mediate, and my senior brother finally relented, paying some money to settle the matter.

Don't let Zhang Laopi's usual imposing manner fool you; he's just a paper tiger. My senior brother hasn't even reached the Skin Refining Realm yet!

Liang Chao looked disdainful, as if that senior brother was himself, and the person who had been so timid just now was not him.

"Is that so?" Zhou Qing gazed thoughtfully in the direction Zhang Dahai had left.

"Ah Qing?" Liang Chao saw Zhou Qing's silence and assumed he was still worried.

"Don't worry, once I break through, I'll help you deal with Zhang Dahai!"

"Thank you, Chaozi." Zhou Qing didn't say much; he was already grateful that Liang Chao had the thought.

"Don't be so polite, we're neighbors, we should look out for each other." Liang Chao waved his hand, feeling that Zhou Qing's trust had restored his dignity.

"Oh right, Chaozi, I just remembered I still have something to buy. Why don't you go back first?"

Zhou Qing then changed the subject.

"Okay, I'll head back now." Liang Chao nodded.

After Liang Chao left, Zhou Qing carried a basket and went into a small restaurant at the end of the street.

He looked at the wooden menu hanging on the wall, found a table against the wall, sat down, and took out all thirty-one coins.

"Waiter, could you please bring me a roast chicken and a big bowl of rice? With the rest of the money, bring whatever you can get."

"Alright! Just a moment!" The waiter smiled, picked up the money, wiped the table with the cloth on his shoulder, and then poured Zhou Qing a large bowl of tea.

A short while later, a plate of roast chicken, a large bowl of rice, three steamed buns, and a small dish of pickled vegetables were brought over by the waiter.

Zhou Qing swallowed, poured some tea into his palm, rubbed off the mud on his hands, and then vigorously rubbed his hands on the clothes around his waist.

Get started!
He simply reached out and pulled off a chicken leg, stuffing it into his mouth.

Fragrant!
He quickly finished all the food in the bowl and plate.

Finally, he used a small piece of steamed bun to sandwich some pickled vegetables, first wiping the plate containing the roast chicken to fully absorb the oil, before stuffing the bun into his mouth.

Looking at the few grains of rice left in the bowl, Zhou Qing poured in some more tea, stirring up the rice and oil in the bowl, and then tilted his head back to drink it.

"Hiccup~!"

Zhou Qing sat for a while to recover from the large meal, then patted his round belly, let out a big burp, and walked out of the restaurant satisfied.

This meal was the best and most satisfying Zhou Qing had eaten in the two months since he came into this world.

He felt like he had already swallowed it all.

If he could still eat a little, he would drink an extra bowl of dishwater.

"Sure enough! Only when you're full can you have the energy to think about other things."

Zhou Qing's gaze turned icy, and he no longer hesitated.

3:30 AM (寅时两刻)

"Lang ge li ge lang~!"

Zhang Dahai walked along the narrow alley leading from Changle Lane to Xin'an Lane, humming a song as he went.

Although my right arm was broken while I was trying to break up a fight yesterday, I received compensation.

The casino manager even let him go home early to rest today, so he was in a good mood.

Of course, the main reason the casino manager treated him so well was that his elder brother had recently broken through to the Skin Refining Realm and become a manager in the Zhao family.

"Just wait, I'll be there soon too," Zhang Dahai muttered to himself.

Once he seizes Zhou Qing's family fortune and scrapes together some more money, he can go back to the martial arts school to train for another three months. This time, he's sure to break through!

"What's coming soon?"

A cold voice rang out from the alleyway entrance, which was just inches away.

"Of course," Zhang Dahai answered subconsciously, suddenly feeling the hairs on his body stand on end.

A man dressed in black with his face covered by a black cloth appeared at the entrance of the alley, and suddenly raised his hand, scattering a large handful of white ash.

Zhang Dahai reacted quickly, holding his breath and raising his hand to protect his eyes while retreating rapidly.

He sneered inwardly.

What a fool!
To launch a sneak attack and then announce it beforehand, what are you pretending for?
Zhang Dahai had just taken two steps back when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, followed by an intense itching and burning sensation that shot straight to the top of his head.

"Ah—Ugh!"

Before Zhang Dahai could even scream, a living creature darted into his mouth, crawled into his throat, and blocked his airway.

boom!
A brick hit him on the forehead.

thump!
Zhang Dahai fell straight to the ground.

The next second, a black cloth covered his head.

bang bang bang! ! !
Zhou Qing gripped the brick tightly and smashed it against Zhang Dahai's head seven or eight times until a large patch of blood spread from the back of the man's head before he stopped.

He lifted the blood-stained black cloth and saw that Zhang Dahai's skull was shattered and his head was dented in a large area; he was definitely dead.

(End of this chapter)