From a country cook to a master chef

"It's you!"

Lin Jue looked at the man on the ground, his head bleeding profusely, with a surprised expression.

If he remembered correctly, this man was the same scalper who had taken money to process his ID card today.

His name was Pan Mang.

The notorious scoundrels of Xiayuanfang, relying on their connections, usually engage in shady dealings in Jiming Lane.

Pan Mang rubbed the bruises on his face, looked up at the sound, and his eyes were filled with complex emotions when he saw Lin Jue.

"You lowly brat who disturbed my sleep, get out of here!"

A cold shout came from inside the room, which frightened Pan Mang so much that he scrambled to the ground on all fours and struggled toward the gate of the courtyard.

Lin Jue stepped into the house, lit some firewood, and asked in confusion, "Brother Han, what exactly is going on?"

Han Wenqiao walked over and sat on the bench. He took out two white steamed buns from his bundle and tossed one to Lin Jue.

"They came for you, Brother Lin, but they mistook me for you." Han Wenqiao said, lifting his sleeve and pointing to his reddened arm. He said angrily, "Look, Brother Lin, those guys were really ruthless. Luckily, I reacted quickly, or I would have really fallen for their trick."

Lin Jue glanced at it casually, stuck the steamed bun on a tree branch, placed it next to the iron pot to heat it, and said in a calm tone, "Given Brother Han's status, I don't think he should be in such a remote corner as Chicken Cry Alley. Brother Han is a Qi Refiner with a special status, and he has no ill intentions towards me. If you have any advice, please feel free to speak."

The alchemists held an extraordinary status in Yucheng, as evidenced by the fact that Wuyanzi and his disciples could swagger over the city gate on their swords.

Lin Jue had heard Wu Yanzi talk about how the first stage of Qi cultivation was divided into fourteen minor stages, which Qi cultivators called the Qi Refining Stage.

Only by breaking through the fourteenth level of Qi Refining can one step into the second realm.

Foundation building period.

But getting to this point is extremely difficult; many people rack their brains, only to fail in the end.

"With the heavy snow causing disasters, I, Lin, would never believe that a Qi Refining cultivator like Brother Han would be powerless and ineffective in the city."

Han Wenqiao took a couple of bites of the steamed bun, then paused, completely surprised that the young man in front of him was so meticulous in his thinking.

After pondering for a moment, Han Wenqiao asked, "Brother Lin, do you know Fellow Daoist Wuyanzi?"

"We know each other, but we wouldn't say we're very close."

Recalling the scene of seeing Wu Yanzi and his disciples from afar at the city gate, Lin Jue was startled. Could it be that the guy had already discovered him?

Han Wenqiao got up, opened the window, pointed to the huge tower standing in the center of the outer city not far away, and a hint of longing flashed between his brows.

"Brother Lin, do you know what the purpose of that tall tower is?"

Lin Jue shook his head. He was new here and knew nothing about these things.

I just felt that the location of the tower was quite mysterious. When I went to the Four Symbols Martial Arts School during the day, I passed by the vicinity of the tower and saw ten fully armed heavy armored teams guarding it from afar.

Such heavily armored soldiers would be an absolute force capable of dominating the battlefield in any dynasty.

Nurhaci rose to power with only thirteen suits of armor, yet he was able to conquer the world.

Eight thousand soldiers fell into the river, and three thousand iron hawks—all these speak to the terrifying power of heavily armored troops.

Seeing Lin Jue shaking his head repeatedly, Han Wenqiao smiled and said, "That tower is called the Tower of Heaven, and it is the key to Yucheng's resistance to this heavy snow. Each Tower of Heaven has a cultivator with a cultivation level of at least the twelfth level of Qi Refining stationed inside."

"I am but a humble person. After more than ten years of cultivation, I have only just reached the tenth level of Qi Refining. I am not as capable as Fellow Daoist Wuyanzi in guarding the Tower of Babel and resisting this heavy snow."

Lin Jue immediately asked, "To withstand the heavy snow! Could it be that there's something strange about this snow?"

"I don't know the answer to that either. In any case, all these towers in Yucheng were built to protect against wind and snow." Han Wenqiao smiled and continued, "I think Brother Lin noticed it when he entered the city today. The scenery inside and outside Yucheng is completely different. Outside the city, snow is falling heavily. Inside the city, although there is snow, it is not as bad as outside the city, where the snow falls and freezes everything."

"This heavy snow came too suddenly and too strangely. It has lasted for more than five months now. In the entire Great Wu territory, except for important cities like Yucheng, other places have long been desolate and lifeless."

"Alas, the heavy snow has caused widespread devastation and death, yet those high-level cultivators and reclusive elders remain deaf and dumb, indifferent to all of this..."

Han Wenqiao became more and more excited as he spoke, but then he suddenly felt discouraged and slapped his thigh, sighing repeatedly.

Lin Jue had some suspicions about this matter, and now that Han Wenqiao had confirmed it, he couldn't help but sigh.

The fact that the wind and snow could cover the entire Great Wu region is unimaginable; one can hardly fathom how powerful the person behind it must be.

"Let's get back to the main point. The reason I'm here is because I was entrusted by Fellow Daoist Wuyanzi to protect Brother Lin from tonight's calamity."

Han Wenqiao explained, "Brother Lin, you may not know this, but Fellow Daoist Wuyanzi, who oversees the Tower of Babel, happened to see you walking around the city today and had a deal with Pan Mang..."

Lin Jue was slightly taken aback, then realized, "Could it be that Pan Mang, after seeing the money, became greedy and started following me?"

Eight taels of silver is not an amount that an ordinary refugee can afford to have at this time.

Two taels of silver was enough for an ordinary person's living expenses for a year.

Lin Jue recalled to himself that after making a deal with Pan Mang, he had been on guard and circled the market several times, but he still couldn't shake off Pan Mang's tail.

Han Wenqiao nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist Wuyanzi is too busy to deal with everything, so he had to send me to help Brother Lin with his tribulation. However, the little devil is hard to deal with, so Brother Lin should be careful in the future."

After saying this, Han Wenqiao got up and walked out of the house, but before leaving, he turned around and solemnly instructed, "The person behind Pan Mang also has some influence in Yucheng. Fellow Daoist Wuyanzi and I can only do our best to restrain him. The grudge between Brother Lin and that person still needs to be resolved by Brother Lin himself."

Watching Han Wenqiao disappear into the night, Lin Jue's gaze shifted upwards to the tall tower with its solitary lamp burning.

Unexpectedly, he inadvertently gained a favor from Wu Yanzi.

This person is truly remarkable and worth befriending.

Although Wu Yanzi acted as a go-between, Han Wenqiao's help was genuinely a favor to him.

This person is not bad either.

Pan Mang, seeing other people's money, harbored evil intentions. If it weren't for Wu Yanzi's secret rescue, he would probably be in grave danger.

This person truly deserves to die.

Looking at the blazing firewood, Lin Jue's eyes turned cold, filled with murderous intent.

"Learning martial arts is a matter of utmost urgency."

He had thought that he could settle down in Yucheng and then slowly prepare to learn martial arts, but now it seems that was just wishful thinking.

Early the next morning.

The first thing Lin Jue did upon entering the martial arts school was to sink nine hundred taels of silver into the pond near the artificial hill when no one was looking.

As for the jewelry, silks, and other valuables, he kept them on him for now, knowing he would need them later.

The energy consumption of martial arts training is astonishing. Although the Four Symbols Martial Arts School only has about fifty people, they eat at least a hundred kilograms of rice and meat every day, plus a large amount of vegetables.

In the past, it was fine; most things could be bought. But now, resources are scarce. Even the Four Symbols Martial Arts School has to go to some lengths to get enough food.

"Miss Ruyan, are you sure the two of us can snatch the food from the people at Qingshan Martial Arts School?"

At the entrance of the martial arts school, Lin Jue had just pushed the rickshaw out the gate when Liu Ruyan, dressed in a white dress, sat down and pointed straight ahead towards Dongning Street in Jing'anfang, saying:

"Let's go! Robbing the Aoyama Martial Arts School!"

Lin Jue looked utterly helpless. He had thought that entering the Four Symbols Martial Arts School would allow him to "go to work" in peace, but he never expected it to be such a high-risk profession.