Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 66 - 64: Copper Blade Catcher, One Pill of Gold for 100 Taels!
"Allow me to inspect this."
"Please!"
Su Mu spoke arrogantly, maintaining Li Feiyu’s proud posture.
At this moment, Li Zhihe took out Zhao Xuan’s wanted order and compared it with the head in front of him. His sharp eyes scanned over the features and appearance, pressing his hands on various parts of the skull and flesh.
This action was to test the skull and flesh of this head since the skull hardness of a Bone Forger Martial Artist is naturally incomparable to that of an ordinary person.
Power flowed through his fingertips; pressing the bones until they indented, and upon releasing, they buzzed and slowly restored, exhibiting immense resilience.
"Second Bone Forging, the facial features match... This is indeed Zhao Xuan’s head. In just one day, Li Feiyu has brought back Zhao Xuan’s head."
Li Zhihe was astonished, as just yesterday, he received the latest intelligence that Zhao Xuan had escaped from a Seventh-Grade Muscle-Enhancing Martial Artist in Changfeng County, yet today Zhao Xuan’s head was brought back by Li Fei.
Li Feiyu’s strength is indeed formidable.
"This is indeed Zhao Xuan’s head. I surely did not misjudge Brother Li. Someone come!", Li Zhihe called over a constable, "Quickly, go to the warehouse to fetch two boxes of Bone-Forger Ointment, the best ones."
"Yes, my lord."
After the constable received the order and quickly left, Su Mu shook his head and spoke. "Lord Li, please make a note of this ointment for now, I will collect the prescription after five sheets."
A Third-Level Wanted Order can be exchanged for two boxes of ointment, while five sheets can be exchanged for a prescription.
With the silver money earned from killing three people, Su Mu could purchase two boxes of ointment for immediate use; naturally, he was more inclined to gather five sheets to exchange for a prescription. His target was not just for the Second Bone Forging!
However, Li Zhihe waved his hand and laughed, "You misunderstood, Brother Li. The ointment is the ointment, and the prescription is the prescription; there is no conflict."
Upon hearing this, Su Mu was taken aback, realizing he understood it incorrectly.
Little did he know, his original understanding was not wrong; Li Zhihe had indeed intended as much, but after witnessing Su Mu swiftly bringing back Zhao Xuan’s head, he temporarily changed his mind.
Currently, the Demon Slayer Bureau was in need of manpower, and Li Zhihe had his eyes on Su Mu, a sharp blade.
Instead of adding flowers to embroidery, he preferred to send timely help, after all, it was just a few boxes of ointment.
Before long, a constable brought two boxes of ointment.
Li Zhihe opened one box, revealing a black amber-like ointment, with the scent far more potent than the White Jade Barbarian Bone Ointment from the Hundred Elixir Tower.
"This is Black Jade Tiger Bone Ointment, its potency at least thirty percent higher than the White Jade Barbarian Bone Ointment from the Hundred Elixir Tower."
Black Jade Tiger Bone Ointment, thirty percent more potent!
Su Mu’s eyes gleamed slightly; indeed, government-produced items are extraordinary.
"Thank you, Lord Li."
After accepting the two boxes of ointment, Su Mu cupped his fists and bowed. Li Zhihe smiled and waved his hand, "These are what Brother Li deserves. Our Demon Slayer Bureau is always fair with rewards and punishments."
Upon saying this, Li Zhihe paused slightly, "I wonder if Brother Li is willing to become a registered assassin for our Demon Slayer Bureau?"
"A registered assassin?"
Su Mu muttered, listening attentively.
"If Brother Li becomes a registered assassin for the Demon Slayer Bureau, with the Assassin’s Order, you can accept higher-reward bounties and gather more intelligence. Besides, a Copper Blade Catcher receives a monthly salary of 5 taels of silver, and the salaries only increase for Silver Token and Gold Token holders. Moreover, this order allows you to exchange for rare items within the Demon Slayer Bureau."
"Of course, after accepting the Assassin’s Order, each catcher is obligated to accept and complete at least one bounty every three months."
After finishing, Li Zhihe took out a Wolf Pattern Bronze Order from the cabinet, with ’Demon Slayer’ carved fiercely on the front and ’Assassin’ on the back.
Su Mu felt tempted, knowing that one task every three months implied limited constraints for an assassin, earning five taels monthly, which amounted to sixty taels annually equivalent to that of a white-collar job.
Better to take it than to leave it, yet what truly excited Su Mu was the possibility of exchanging items within the Demon Slayer Bureau—far more reliable than the black market or auctions by the White Jade Gang, and undoubtedly premium from the government.
"After exchanging for the prescription... the next step could be to exchange for an Eighth-Grade Martial Art."
Having one more channel is better than none. With this in mind, Su Mu made his decision without hesitation.
"Lord Li, then I shall respectfully accept it. I will take this token."
Su Mu reached out to take the token, noticing the vivid wolf’s head carved on it, as if its eyes were fixed upon him, leaving Su Mu slightly surprised. Such tokens were likely difficult to forge, and few dared to attempt it.
After exchanging a few words, Su Mu excused himself.
"Lord Li, I shall go for a drink first."
Watching Su Mu leave, Li Zhihe felt an increasing interest and expectation towards Li Feiyu, whose background remained mysterious.
"Desire is good; the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit."
"Perhaps this Li Feiyu could become a sharp blade for our Cyan Cloud Demon Slayer Bureau..."
Leaving the Demon Slayer Bureau, Su Mu confirmed there were no tails following him, then quickly made his way to the Black Heart Pharmacy in the east of the city. Business at the Renxin Pharmacy was thriving since spring.
The plump shopkeeper, with his keen eye, greeted Su Mu as soon as he saw him, "Xiaoli, take care of this first."
Then the shopkeeper led Su Mu into the inner courtyard.
"Brother Li, long time no see, I’ve missed you so much!"
Su Mu ignored him and got straight to the point.
"Do you know about the Tendon Pill?"
"What are you asking about that thing for, Brother Li? It’s not easy to obtain." The shopkeeper twirled his whiskers, seeing Su Mu pull out two taels of silver, instantly beaming with joy.
"The Tendon Pill is indeed a good item. An Eighth-Grade Martial Artist would need to temper all the tendons with power when breaking through to the Seventh Grade. Unlike bones, these tendons aren’t as tough; should the tempering go wrong, it could damage the tendons slightly or even rupture them completely."
"Once the tendons are broken, even if famous doctors can later reconnect them, full recovery is nearly impossible, ending one’s Martial Path."
"Therefore, a typical martial artist would prepare a ’Muscle-Protecting Pill’ and ’Bone Strengthening Pill’ when attempting a Second Bone Forging breakthrough. The former protects the tendons, the latter aids in tempering them; however, Bone Strengthening is risky, leading to the creation of the ’Tendon Pill,’ a dangerous medicine that temporarily elevates a Second Bone Forging martial artist to a Muscle-Enhancing Martial Artist..."
"However, there’s a cost; the Tendon Pill’s effects solidify the tendons, depleting a martial artist’s potential so that after consumption one can never progress, not even achieving Second-Time Tendon Transformation."
The shopkeeper shifted his tone, "Nonetheless, the ’Tendon Pill’ is still quite valuable; one pill turns you into a Muscle-Enhancing Martial Artist, and being a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist in Qingyun City would indeed be considered a master, something many can only dream of."
"Hence, on the black market, the Tendon Pill is extremely rare, and even a small pill could be worth at least one hundred gold taels. Yet, without considerable strength, this possession could invite disastrous consequences."
"Best to leave it be."
Upon hearing this, Su Mu felt his heart blaze, yet he feigned disappointment and sighed outwardly.
"I suppose Zhao Xuan was unwilling to consume the Tendon Pill; otherwise, this bounty would have been much tougher... Yet all of this became my opportunity!"
"These two Tendon Pills I acquired won’t be consumed by me, providing chances to exchange them later for silver or swapping for high-grade Martial Arts Secret Manuals." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
The exchange rate of gold to silver is roughly one to ten, making the two Tendon Pills from Zhao Xuan’s belongings worth thousands of taels of silver!
Stepping out of the Black Heart Pharmacy, the young man was overjoyed, his eyes gleaming brightly.
"Time to test the effects of the Black Jade Tiger Bone Ointment first!"
