From a country cook to a master chef

Back at the tavern, it was still early.

Yuan Rou heated up some bone broth, and Lin Jue casually ate a couple of mouthfuls before heading out to the medicine shop.

After wandering around the old streets of the market twice, Lin Jue successfully bought the medicinal materials needed to refine the Qi and Blood Powder.

"Angelica sinensis, Rehmannia glutinosa, ginseng..."

Looking at the medicinal herbs in his hand, Lin Jue was no longer as composed as he had been when he arrived.

He spent nearly fifty taels of silver to buy these medicinal herbs.

"The poor are scholars, the rich are warriors; our ancestors were right!"

Putting everything else aside, that old ginseng alone is worth twenty taels of silver.

Lin Jue sighed inwardly, calculating that of the silver he had received from the Zhao family, he now only had about three hundred taels left.

Qi and Blood Powder can accelerate the condensation of internal energy, helping him to significantly improve his martial arts strength in the shortest amount of time. It is absolutely indispensable to him at present.

Lin Jue sighed and turned his gaze away from the stall next to him. Just now, he had discovered an auxiliary herb for refining the Five Elements Reversal Pill. Although it tempted him greatly, he ultimately resisted the temptation.

Qin Chi, the leader of the Black Bamboo Gang, is a martial artist at the peak of the Divine Power Realm. He also has two bodyguards, both at the Divine Power Realm, who protect him closely. To deal with these three, Lin Jue's first choice is to use poison.

Qin Chi cherishes wine as much as his life, and he would take time every day to go to the Yaoshifang Honghualou to have a few drinks.

To ensure everything goes smoothly, Lin Jue plans to prepare for both possibilities.

One method involved poisoning the wine.

The two collected some poisonous insects and creatures, using the Spirit Seal to control them for their own purposes.

If he could obtain a venomous creature like the silver-ringed snake, his chances of successfully assassinating Qin Chi would greatly increase.

Of course, in addition to dealing with the Black Bamboo Gang, he also had to consider his future escape route in advance.

Tianwu Mountain is located near the capital, thousands of miles away from Yucheng. To reach Tianwu Mountain smoothly, one would need a considerable amount of travel expenses.

Three hundred taels of silver was not much for Lin Jue at this moment.

With this in mind, Lin Jue began to pay attention to the various shops and stalls around him, keeping an eye out for people selling poisonous insects and poisonous items.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. After looking at many stalls in the old street, he couldn't find any vendors selling poisonous insects and herbs.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the stall run by the petite woman again.

"Brother Lin, you've arrived. Are you here to buy medicinal herbs? See if any of these are what you need. If so, I'll charge you only the cost price."

Upon seeing that the visitor was Lin Jue, the girl beamed and held up a green medicinal herb, saying, "Brother Lin, look, this is a top-quality Qian Jieyi herb that's ten years old. If you want it, I'll sell it to you for at least seventy coins."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue smiled wryly and said, "I appreciate Miss Fu's kindness, but I don't need ordinary medicinal herbs right now. What I urgently need are some poisonous insects and herbs."

Fu Yuechi was slightly taken aback, but seeing Lin Jue's serious expression, she didn't think much of it and took out a brown wooden box from under the stall without hesitation, wiping the dust off it slightly with a handkerchief.

Under Lin Jue's surprised gaze, Fu Yuechi gently opened the wooden box, which was filled with bottles and jars. "Brother Lin, here are poisons, arsenic, Five Poisons Powder, and Half-Step Madness with a Smile. Which one do you want?"

"..."

Lin Jue's expression froze. He hadn't expected that the seemingly harmless little girl in front of him would secretly possess such a large collection of poisons.

He glanced at it casually, then silently picked up a bottle of Ten-Fragrance Tendon-Softening Powder and began to examine it.

This drug is colorless and odorless. It can cause the victim, while still conscious, to experience weakness and paralysis throughout their body, rendering them incapable of martial arts for a short period and completely at the mercy of others.

Lin Jue was very satisfied with the Ten Fragrant Tendon-Softening Powder and immediately prepared to buy it, but Fu Yuechi refused to accept his money and insisted on giving it to him.

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, he had no choice but to accept it, albeit impolitely.

"Brother Lin, if you want live poisonous creatures, walk to the end of the old street, turn left onto Wenxiang Road, and if you're lucky, you'll meet a strange old man there. He should have what you need."

Fu Yuechi took back the remaining poison, hesitated for a moment, and then revealed what she knew.

Lin Jue was taken aback for a moment, then happily clasped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Thank you very much, Miss Fu. I will thank you again another day."

Following the direction pointed out by Fu Yuechi, Lin Jue jogged along and soon arrived at the end of Wenxiang Road. Sure enough, he found a strange man in front of a Wugu Fish Noodle Shop.

Wearing a dirty animal skin coat, barefoot in the snow, he was staring blankly at the fish noodles in the shop with shining eyes.

Looking around, Lin Jue couldn't find any other strange people besides this one.

"Well, what's the harm in giving it a try?"

Thinking this, Lin Jue took a deep breath, walked closer to the fish noodle shop, stood side by side with the strange man, and held up a finger to the elderly shop owner.

"Uncle, one bowl of fish noodles, and also, put his on my tab."

After saying this, Lin Jue found a seat and sat down. The strange man thought for a while and then chose to sit opposite him.

"Sir, do you have any wine?"

"have."

"Warm up a pot for me, and while you're at it, treat the guy across the table to a pot of drinks too, it's on me."

"Okay, okay."

The shop owner nodded with a smile, not expecting that two strange people would come today: one who was broke but still wanted to spend money, and the other who had money but was spending it recklessly.

Before long, the shop owner brought Lin Jue fish noodles and wine, instructing him to add a spoonful of aged vinegar for the authentic taste.

The fish noodle shop in front of us is small. Inside, there are stoves and cabinets, while tables and wooden stools for customers are placed outside. A simple tent is supported by bamboo poles overhead to shield customers from the wind and snow.

After taking less than two bites, Lin Jue noticed that the strange man opposite him had already finished eating and got up to leave.

A thought struck him, and he put down his chopsticks. When he looked at the other person again, the other person had already disappeared.

Lin Jue was slightly taken aback, and angrily slammed his hand on the table. Just then, a soft voice with a hint of sorrow suddenly rang out from behind him.

"My lord, could you grant me a bowl of noodles?"

A woman in yellow tentatively asked in a soft voice, "If you've finished eating, I can give you what you want."

Turning to look at the pitiful-looking woman in front of him, Lin Jue touched his lower lip.

"Uncle, give her a bowl of noodles."

After finishing his fish noodles, Lin Qi got up, paid the bill, glanced at the woman who was wolfing down her food, and without saying anything, slowly strolled back to the tavern.

"Why……"

The snow fell heavier and heavier each day. Even with the Heavenly Array protecting Yucheng, the weather was getting colder and colder, and the government's relief efforts were becoming more and more perfunctory.

The demand for firewood in the city is increasing day by day, and the forests near the city can no longer meet the city's needs. In order to cut more firewood, woodcutters have to go to the deep mountains far away from the city to cut trees.

At first, everything was normal and nothing happened. But before people could be happy for more than a few days, more and more woodcutters began to disappear inexplicably. The patrol inspector was ordered to investigate, but all he could come up with was an explanation that a large tiger in the mountains was eating people.

Snow was everywhere on Yucheng Road, and the people who used to be responsible for shoveling snow were nowhere to be seen.

Lin Jue can return to Jing'anfang by simply passing through the bluestone alley of Yaoshifang.

Not long after he entered the alley, he saw a familiar figure—the woman in yellow who had begged him for a bowl of noodles.

She leaned against the cold, green wall and smiled at him. A gust of cold wind blew by, and her body shivered involuntarily, letting out a weak cough.

"This humble servant greets you, sir. Please follow me."