Loan Cultivation to Martial Saint

Chapter 169: Chapter 97: General Han Is Old and Dim-Sighted. Could He Have Used the Money to Treat His Eyes?

In Pingzhang Commandery, there was only one Outer Gang Martial Artist surnamed Han who could be called a General. Therefore, Zheng Jun’s target matched perfectly.

”Outer Gang First Layer. Exactly what I want,” Zheng Jun thought coldly. If it were the Outer Gang Second Layer, he might not be a match. But against an Outer Gang First Layer, Zheng Jun was confident he wouldn’t lose!

Killing him on the spot, however, would be somewhat difficult. After all, the opponent wasn’t True Man Yuan Yi. Zheng Jun was unfamiliar with the man’s Martial Arts and skills; if the opponent truly realized he couldn’t win, he could still choose to run away. By the same logic, the opponent felt the exact same way about him.

”PHEW.”

Zheng Jun exhaled a long breath. Having decided on his first course of action, he closed his eyes to rest and quietly regulated his breathing.

The carriage bumped along the road. In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, it brought Zheng Jun to Ningxiang Pavilion. Although Ningxiang Pavilion was called a pavilion, it was actually a former residential area near the city’s river. It mostly consisted of multi-story pavilions and lofts, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

Once the carriage came to a steady halt, Zheng Jun gave a slight nod, leaped down, and walked into the courtyard. The scenery inside was quite pleasant, seemingly designed with a special emphasis on feng shui. However, Zheng Jun didn’t care much about such things.

As soon as he entered, he saw Qingdai waiting in the courtyard with a bright smile. Seeing his return, she said, ”Young Master, the porridge is ready. Please have a taste. While you were at the Governor’s Mansion, Shopkeeper Zhang from the Pingzhang Commandery branch of Jishi Hall came by. Knowing you’ve been working hard lately, he specially delivered a bottle of True Essence Pills. He gave us a discount and only charged three thousand taels of silver.

”In addition,” Qingdai continued, ”Shopkeeper Zhang mentioned that a batch of Condensing Gang Powder recently arrived in Pingzhang Commandery. They are two thousand five hundred taels a dose. He asked if you needed any.”

”I’ll take as many as they have.” Zheng Jun walked over briskly, responding to Qingdai as he looked at the dining table that had already been moved into the courtyard.

He immediately sat down. ”Don’t worry about silver coins. If we don’t have enough, just buy it on credit for now. I am based right here in Black Mountain County; surely I have enough face to buy some things on credit?”

”Rest assured, Young Master. Everyone at Jishi Hall is family. If not for a few Elders in the hall being dissatisfied and claiming that ’Jishi Hall has no custom of giving away gifts,’ the Chief Shopkeeper would have wanted to just give these items to you for free.” Qingdai nodded slightly and added, ”The Chief Shopkeeper recently learned that a special type of Earth Evil Qi appeared in Pengzhou, known as the ’Longevity Profound Gang.’ It is said that after absorbing it, there’s a chance it can infuse one’s Gang Qi with a botanical essence. He’s planning to buy it and gift it to you, Young Master!”

Hearing this news, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. Next, Qingdai brought over a few plates of refreshing side dishes and served Zheng Jun a bowl of porridge.

”Qingdai, Senior, let’s eat together. There’s no need to be so formal.”

After taking his seat, Zheng Jun immediately invited Qingdai and Cai Liu to join him. Hearing his words, both of them felt a bit surprised. Qingdai looked delighted and immediately complied, taking a seat, while Cai Liu hesitated for a moment before sitting down opposite Zheng Jun.

Qingdai then scooped out two more bowls of porridge. Without any hesitation, Zheng Jun began to eat in large mouthfuls. With every sip of porridge, he would eat a bite of pickled vegetables. As soon as it entered his stomach, Zheng Jun felt something was different.

This porridge... The quality of this medicinal diet seemed better than what they had in Black Mountain County.

Seeing Zheng Jun’s expression, Qingdai took a small sip of her own porridge and said in a crisp voice, ”Young Master, there’s a wider variety of herbs in Pingzhang Commandery. Black Mountain County only has a few local specialty herbs, so the medicinal diets made here in the commandery have much more room for variation.”

”Qingdai, Senior. Something unpleasant happened today when I visited the Governor’s Mansion.” After finishing his porridge, Zheng Jun put down his bowl and chopsticks. He looked at the two of them and said, ”Could you investigate a bit and gather some information for me regarding Squad Commander Han, Han Hu?”

”Han Hu.” Qingdai softly repeated the name. ”Got it, Young Master. I’ll go ask around right now.” Saying so, she stood straight up.

Hearing this, Cai Liu was momentarily stunned before nodding in agreement. The Cai family also had some businesses in Pingzhang Commandery, which he could use to make inquiries.

After the meal, Zheng Jun stood up and took out the True Essence Pill that Qingdai had handed him earlier, his eyes burning like torches.

The True Essence Pill was extremely renowned. By swallowing it dry and refining its medicinal power, one could clear their meridians and accelerate their cultivation speed, doubling the width of their meridians in a short period and allowing their cultivation speed to double as well! The duration of this effect varied from person to person. However, after consuming one pill, a second one could not be taken within a short period of time. If one consumed too many, or if their realm was not high enough, it would riddle their meridians with holes and cause them to collapse completely, resulting in shattered meridians and reducing the person to a cripple.

Furthermore, this True Essence Pill was only useful to Martial Artists below the Outer Gang realm. For those at the Outer Gang realm and above, it was virtually useless.

”Not bad at all. Although it doesn’t accelerate the process of Refining Gang like the Condensing Gang Powder, being able to speed up the absorption of True Qi is still a tremendous help for Refining Gang.”

With this thought in mind, Zheng Jun casually tossed the True Essence Pill into his mouth. He chewed it as if it were a piece of candy before swallowing it down. After taking the pill, Zheng Jun didn’t waste a single second. He immediately entered his room to cultivate his Inner Power.

As he circulated the Broken Jade Skill, the Spiritual Qi in heaven and earth seemed to be drawn in by an invisible hand. It formed a powerful suction that pulled all the surrounding Spiritual Qi entirely into Zheng Jun’s body. With the influx of Heaven and Earth True Qi, a faint azure glow surfaced on Zheng Jun’s body. It was the physical manifestation of True Qi gathering, circulating, and being refined within him.

If someone were standing beside him right now, they would definitely feel a refreshing coolness. Wherever Zheng Jun was, even the air itself became noticeably fresher.