That same day, Zhang Xiong took Jiang Che to the Hundred Herbs Hall. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The same elderly man with a goat-like beard, Elder Zhou, was still behind the counter.

He was a bit surprised to see Jiang Che again.

’Wasn’t this man in the Bull Skin Realm before? How is he at the Stone Skin Realm now?!’

His opinion of the young master’s ability to judge people improved slightly.

He became much more cordial toward Jiang Che as well.

However, when Zhang Xiong took out the Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat and one hundred silver taels...

Elder Zhou’s expression changed in an instant.

He made an excuse and quietly pulled Zhang Xiong into the back courtyard, whispering:

"Young Master, this is Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat! Can you just give it away like that? Shouldn’t you consult the master first?"

"No need. I can make my own decisions! I’ll talk to my father about it later," Zhang Xiong said decisively.

Seeing Zhang Xiong’s insistence, Elder Zhou sighed and said no more.

When the two returned, Jiang Che accepted the silver taels and the package of Exotic Beast Meat.

He weighed it in his hand and was somewhat surprised.

"Senior Brother Zhang, this feels like five catties! Didn’t we agree on three?"

"Five catties?" Elder Zhou looked puzzled.

Zhang Xiong deliberately winked and said:

"It’s three catties. You’re mistaken."

Jiang Che nodded and said:

"Thank you!"

He couldn’t help but feel a little touched.

’I must repay this favor in the future,’ he thought to himself.

...

...

「In the Zhang Mansion’s study.」

A middle-aged man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes was sitting in a Grandmaster’s Chair.

Beside him stood a burly youth with thick, blade-sharp eyebrows.

It was Zhang Xiong and his father, Zhang Xu.

"Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat is so precious, and you just gave it to some kid at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm?!" Zhang Xu’s face was displeased.

"Father! Please trust me! Don’t just look at the fact that he’s only at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm now. I believe he will definitely amount to something in the future!" Zhang Xiong explained.

"You! You were always bringing people home to take things, and I never said anything.

"But this Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat... we paid a great price to obtain it. We only produce about twenty-odd catties a month, and you gave him five catties in one go!

"You have to understand, five catties of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat is more than enough to recruit a Peak Martial Artist of the Stone Skin Realm! You... agh!"

Zhang Xu pointed at Zhang Xiong, wanting to scold him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Zhang Xiong retorted defiantly:

"Father! A Peak Martial Artist of the Stone Skin Realm might be powerful, but would they develop any deep loyalty to us over a mere five catties of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat?

"Besides, how do you know that this Jiang Che won’t grow to the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm in the future? Don’t forget, he not only helped the Government Office capture that mysterious Martial Artist who was causing panic recently, but he also became an Honored Guest Elder of the Seven Stars Gang! Doesn’t that prove his potential?"

Zhang Xu shook his head and said:

"Perhaps this Little Brother Jiang Che really can reach the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm in the future, or even break through to the Iron Skin Realm!

"However, first of all, he is still only at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm right now. Our Pharmacy is constantly being harassed by unknown forces, and a recent shipment of medicinal herbs was even hijacked! Can a single Martial Artist at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm intimidate those who have designs on us?

"Secondly, as you said, this person has exceptional Talent and has even won the favor of the Seven Stars Gang. How can you guarantee that after he breaks through to a higher Realm, he will still care about our little Pharmacy? Because of your five catties of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat? Or because you’re his fellow disciple? You... you think too simply of people!"

"I... I believe in his character!"

Zhang Xiong wanted to argue, but he realized he couldn’t offer any convincing reasons.

Zhang Xu glanced at Zhang Xiong and sighed.

"Forget it. Since you see something in him, I won’t say any more. We still have some Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat left, so we can still hire some high-Realm Martial Artists. You may leave. I need some quiet."

"Yes, Father."

After bowing, Zhang Xiong turned and left the study.

He couldn’t help but feel incredibly frustrated.

Although his father had agreed to his actions, it was merely out of compromise.

But he didn’t want compromise!

’One day, I’ll prove I was right!’

Zhang Xiong couldn’t help but clench his fists.

...

...

When Jiang Che returned home, he looked at the five catties of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat and five catties of Top Grade Exotic Beast Meat on his table, an indescribable sense of accomplishment welling up inside him.

’Plus the twenty catties a month from the Seven Stars Gang, twenty from Master, and another five from the Shao Mansion...’

Jiang Che calculated that he could get fifty catties of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat a month!

It felt a little unreal to him.

Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat wasn’t some common-as-dirt commodity!

An ordinary Martial Artist would find it extremely difficult to get even five catties.

Yet he was getting fifty catties a month!

’This should be enough for now...’

Jiang Che touched the beating Heart of the Black Abyss next to his own heart and thought to himself.

Next, he opened the package of Top Grade Exotic Beast Meat. Inside were long, thin strips of dark red jerky.

He sniffed it. It smelled a bit like beef, and surprisingly, the gamy odor wasn’t that strong.

Although the gamy smell was still much stronger than real beef, it had reached an acceptable level.

’As for these five catties of Top Grade Exotic Beast Meat, I should save them for later, for when I have trouble increasing my Qi Blood.’

Jiang Che made his decision.

It would be too much of a waste to use it for regular consumption.

He then unwrapped the package from Zhang Xiong.

Inside were some small, sun-dried fish.

Each fish was about the length of his little finger.

He took a sniff, and a salty, fishy smell hit him.

He steeled himself and started chewing.

It tasted bitter, salty, and fishy, with an indescribable stench.

It was somewhat like the smell of a sewer.

After forcing himself to finish it, a warm current rose in his abdomen.

But soon, the warm current was absorbed into the Heart of the Black Abyss, as if nothing had happened at all.

’What a bottomless pit...’

Although he had already accepted this fact, Jiang Che still felt helpless every time the energy was absorbed.

Suddenly, he thought of a plan.

’What if I first eat a large amount of Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat to fill up the Heart of the Black Abyss, and then eat the Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat?’

But he quickly shook his head.

’No, my digestive ability can’t keep up. Otherwise, I could just buy a huge amount of Low-Grade Exotic Beast Meat...’

’I wonder if there’s a Cultivation Technique that can increase digestive ability... I should check the Secret Market at Xuanji Tower later.’

Thinking of the Secret Market, he took out his silver and counted it.

"One thousand nine hundred and fifty silver taels."

This was all earned from selling calligraphy scrolls to Shao Jianbo.

He had wondered if it was really worth spending so much money on his calligraphy scrolls.

Could they really be resold?

But on second thought, for wealthy people of that level...

two thousand silver taels was probably just the cost of a small piece of jewelry.

It might not even count as pocket money.

He vividly remembered some rich guys from his previous life who could casually drop twenty million into a game.

They’d boast, "Don’t challenge my pocket money with your annual salary."

And the purchasing power of two thousand silver taels in this era wasn’t even equivalent to two million in his past life.

He was instantly relieved.

In fact, he even felt that perhaps he should have asked for more!

’In terms of silver, besides selling calligraphy to my second senior brother, there’s the monthly hundred silver taels from my affiliation with the Shao Mansion, two hundred from the Seven Stars Gang, one hundred from the Hundred Herbs Hall, and thirty from the Escort Agency...’

’Looking at it this way, the pay from Zhenyuan Escort Agency seems a bit low, and there’s no Exotic Beast Meat either...’

Jiang Che sighed softly.

These days, he mainly spent his silver at Xuanji Tower.

And there, any random item could cost several hundred, or even over a thousand, silver taels.

Thirty taels really didn’t amount to much.

Although the Zhenyuan Escort Agency had been good to him,

at the end of the day, it was still a paid employment relationship.

Now that he was a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist, he should logically be getting a raise.

’Maybe I should ask for a raise another day. If not, I’ll just quit...’

Jiang Che thought to himself.

Zhenyuan Escort Agency hadn’t had many escort jobs recently because of the Horse Bandits.

He had only been going on one short trip each month.

Later, they had to suspend operations for a few days because of the Blood Sacrifice chaos.

Therefore, Jiang Che hadn’t been there in a while.

’I wonder how Escort Sun is doing...’