From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

Gu Chengze's courtyard had six servants who worked in three shifts. Three servants were on duty in the morning when there was more work, two in the afternoon, and only one was left on duty in the evening when there was basically nothing to do.

Of course, if all those on duty have been sent out, and there's another errand to run, those off-duty will be called back. Servants can't exactly clock in and out on time; they have to be ready to obey orders at any moment.

Chen Shi had to go to Sweetwater Lane in the afternoon, which was a "task" assigned to him by Xiao Fengxiao, so for the time being he was only on duty in the morning and evening.

"You need to get into the top tier as soon as possible!"

After listening to Chen Shi recount what happened yesterday, Cui Nong frowned and said something.

From fourth-class servant to third-class servant, one has already taken the first step towards "standing out from the crowd".

But the real challenge is yet to come.

From the personal servants of the master to the cooks in the kitchen, and the guards, the Jing'an Marquis's mansion had a large and diverse number of third-class servants.

To rise above others and become a second-class servant is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge.

After all, the next step up is the steward level, which is in charge of affairs within the mansion.

In the Jing'an Marquis's mansion, there were many personal servants who were favored by their master, as well as many capable servants, but very few of them were able to become managers later on.

Although Chen Shi has managed to get close to Gu Chengze, Gu Chengze is not favored in the Marquis's household, so it's unlikely to be of much help to his promotion. Ultimately, one must have exceptional abilities to climb the ranks.

That is, what Cui Nong mentioned at the beginning, martial arts!

If one can be admitted to a higher rank, even if one is not considered outstanding, at least one will be noticed by the master and have a chance.

"At my current cultivation speed, I should be able to complete it in another two months."

Chen Shi nodded, but then frowned.

"It's just that these medicinal herbs are hard to come by."

Because Chen Shi missed the optimal age for practicing the Elephant King Stance, he can now only rely on medicinal baths to rebuild his bones and muscles.

The woman gave me two prescriptions that day. One was for regular cultivation, requiring me to take a medicinal bath every three days.

The two only need to be used once, at the final closing.

If you can survive that time, you will have mastered the nine stances and, according to the woman, your strength will increase by two thousand jin.

Compared to the first prescription, the second one is actually more important, and the medicinal materials used in it are more precious and rare.

Chen Shi helped Cui Nong and the other women with their medical treatments and earned some money. Two months later, he should have no problem affording the medicine.

The question now is, where can we buy it?

Other herbs, such as ginseng and lingzhi, are expensive but common and can be bought at pharmacies. However, there is one herb called "Jiaoxuewu" that even Chen Shi, a semi-doctor, had never heard of, let alone bought.

When Cui Nong bought the medicine, she inquired at the pharmacy, but no one had ever heard of it.

"If we can't gather these last medicinal herbs, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain, and all the suffering we've endured before would have been for nothing?"

Cui Nong thought for a moment, then continued.

"The Marquis's household is well-informed; you might as well inquire within the Marquis's household. While ordinary doctors may not know, perhaps someone in the Marquis's household will."

"Hmm, I'll go back and ask around."

Chen Shi nodded, his expression serious.

Based on his current training speed, he should be able to master the Elephant King Nine Stances in another two months.

Before that, he had to prepare the last dose of medicine.

Before sunset, Chen Shi left Sweetwater Lane as usual and returned to the Marquis's residence.

He was on duty in the morning today, but he was free to move around at other times unless summoned by his master.

Of course, the premise is that you can't go too far, so that you won't be unable to find someone when your master summons you.

Chen Shi did not return to the servants' quarters to rest, but went straight to the medicine hut.

With so many people in the Marquis's residence, it's inevitable that someone might fall ill, and constantly seeking out doctors from outside is somewhat inconvenient. Furthermore, both precious medicinal herbs like ginseng, which are usually kept on hand, and medicinal materials needed for martial arts training, require someone to manage them.

Therefore, there was a special medicine house in the Marquis's mansion, which stored various medicinal herbs and had a dedicated doctor.

Cui Nong told him to go back to the Marquis's residence to inquire, but he couldn't just ask anyone. He figured if anyone knew, it would be the manager of this medicine shop.

The medicine hut is located in the southeast corner of the Marquis's mansion. The east belongs to wood and the south belongs to fire. Medicinal materials are made of wood, and fire is needed to refine medicine.

After passing through a hanging flower gate, you can see several houses casually situated amidst a patch of green bamboo.

This was Chen Shi's first time here. After all, as a stable boy, he had mostly stayed in the stables. Anyone who didn't know better would think this was the residence of some hermit; who would have thought it was a medicine hut?

Chen Shi went straight over and didn't see any servants or attendants. Of the several rooms, only one door was open.

Is anyone home?

Standing at the door, he asked a question, but no one answered. Chen Shi hesitated slightly before stepping inside.

The simple tables, chairs, and benches had none of the grandeur of a noble mansion; they looked more like an ordinary farmhouse.

The difference is that there are rows of medicine cabinets along the wall, but unlike pharmacies, these cabinets do not have densely packed lists of medicinal herbs.

It seems the owner here knows these medicinal herbs very well, so he doesn't need a list to find out which one is in which cabinet.

Who are you?

Just as Chen Shi was looking around, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Chen Shi quickly turned around and saw a woman carrying a bamboo basket coming in.

She was dressed in white, with a few specks of yellow mud on the hem of her skirt. Looking at the herbs in her bamboo basket, she must have just returned from the medicinal herb field.

Her beauty was unparalleled, no less than Xiao Fengxiao's, and paired with that mud-stained white dress, she looked like a fairy experiencing the mortal world.

"My name is Chen Shi, a servant in Master Ze's courtyard. Greetings, elder sister."

Chen Shi snapped out of his daze and quickly greeted them.

"I'm not your sister, my name is Mu Yunsheng."

The woman placed the medicine basket by the door, tidying up her things as she spoke casually.

"Did Gu Chengze send you, or Xiao Fengxiao? What medicine do you need?"

"Neither."

"What medicine do you want to get?"

"...Blood-stained crow".

Upon hearing these three words, Mu Yunsheng stopped and looked up at Chen Shi.

Mu Yunsheng's gaze was different from others; it wasn't simply cold, but indifferent—yes, utterly emotionless indifference.

Being stared at by her made Chen Shi feel a chill run down his spine.

"What do you need the blood crow for?"

"Uh, prepare one dose of medicine."

"Poison?"

"Huh? No, no! How could I possibly concoct poison!"

Chen Shi quickly waved his hand, then came to his senses and was startled again.

"Could it be that the blood-stained crow is poisonous?"

"You don't even know what kind of medicine it is, yet you dare to use it to make medicine."

"Well, I just happened to come across a recipe that was said to be good for martial arts, so I thought I'd give it a try."

"Medicines cannot be mixed haphazardly."

Mu Yunsheng sat down, poured herself a glass of water (plain water), and ignored Chen Shi. There was no other teacup on the table.

"The use of blood-stained aconite in medicine can indeed be effective for warriors."

"That's right..."

"But it's not beneficial, it's harmful."

"harmful……"

Chen Shi's eyes widened, his face filled with astonishment.

"The Blood-Sealing Elixir has the effect of sealing off blood and qi. Once used, it can make it difficult for a martial artist to stimulate his blood and qi."

"So that's how it is."

Chen Shi nodded, understanding now.

The reason why warriors are stronger than ordinary people is because of their vigor and fighting spirit.

The ninth grade nourishes blood, while the eighth grade can initially injure people with blood and qi, blocking blood and qi and preventing martial artists from stimulating their blood and qi. This is indeed a harmful poison.

After a slight pause, Chen Shi bowed deeply.

"Miss Mu, do you have any blood crows here? If not, where can I find them?"