Monarch and Ministers
Translator: Cinder Translations
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Heng Cheng and Rong Jingyun found the little boy in the cave as described by Song Wen.
The boy, suffering from hunger and severe dehydration and bound by ropes, had already fainted. If no one came to rescue him, he might not survive until the next day.
Seeing the critically ill boy, Heng Cheng's eyes were filled with fury and murderous intent. Even Rong Jingyun had a face full of anger.
Cultivators generally have a detached attitude towards life, and they often disregard the lives of unrelated people. However, they usually do not torture ordinary people without cause. Even demonic cultivators who kill ordinary people for practice generally do so quickly to spare them pain. Some ghostly cultivators might torture ordinary people to extract resentment, but that's another story.
To see the boy tied up and abandoned by his own biological mother was even more infuriating.
"I will make that despicable Jingyu's corpse be torn into a thousand pieces," Heng Cheng said through gritted teeth.
Upon seeing the condition of his son, Heng Cheng fully believed Song Wen's words.
Rong Jingyun took out a pill and put it into an empty jade bottle, then added some clean water to dissolve it. She fed the boy a couple of sips, and his complexion visibly improved.
"Let's go. We need to find those two scoundrels in the Huafang Market."
As she finished speaking, the flying ship shot up into the sky.
When they arrived at Courtyard 87, it was already empty, and Jingyu had long since disappeared.
"Running? Can she escape?"
Rong Jingyun directed the flying ship to the Huafang Market's law enforcement team and once again found Elder Wang.
"Sorry, you two, the law enforcement team is established to maintain the peace of East Huafang Market, not for private matters of individuals. We cannot use it for your personal affairs."
Elder Wang directly refused them.
"You..." Heng Cheng glared angrily.
Elder Wang, disregarding the camaraderie, remained indifferent, which made Heng Cheng even more furious.
Rong Jingyun, however, maintained a calm demeanor. She took out the summons jade slip and presented it to Elder Wang.
"May I ask if this summons jade slip can mobilize the law enforcement team?"
Elder Wang's face changed as he looked at the jade slip. The situation had turned against him rapidly.
He clasped his hands and bowed slightly, "Greetings, Town Hall Elder."
The rank of elders is hierarchical. Elder Wang was just a regular elder within the Beastmaster Sect, while Rong Jingyun held the highest rank as the Town Hall Elder with the summons jade slip.
"I will mobilize the law enforcement team immediately and fully cooperate with you."
East Huafang Market often had cases of murder. Although most were unresolved, there were still some tracking experts within the law enforcement team.
With Jingyu's portrait, they quickly traced it to the inn where Xu Zheng was staying. Although Xu Zheng had already left, they obtained his portrait from the innkeeper.
With the portraits of the two, they mobilized the various factions in the market. In less than half an hour, they located their whereabouts.
By evening, Jingyu and Xu Zheng had purchased a flying boat from a magical artifact shop and left the market's northern side.
The law enforcement team deployed several disciples and, after several hours of pursuit, captured the two, who had fled several dozen miles away, by dawn.
However, only Xu Zheng was brought back alive; Jingyu had already turned into a cold corpse.
Her eyes were bulging as if she had experienced something unbelievable before her death, still unable to rest in peace.
Seeing Jingyu's soul already dissipated, Heng Cheng felt it was too lenient for her to die like this. He was deeply unsatisfied.
Heng Cheng's rage seemed almost palpable, causing Xu Zheng, who was kneeling nearby, to tremble in fear.
He suddenly realized: perhaps by killing Jingyu midway, he had actually helped her. Now, he would face Heng Cheng's endless wrath alone, unable to plead for mercy or die, and would suffer unimaginable torment.
At the ugly hour [1], Song Wen arrived at the market and, under the cover of night, sneaked into Courtyard 36 next door.
In the underground secret chamber:
Song Wen summoned a female Black Armored Gu and began feeding it silver-horned grass.
He started studying Rong Jingyun's alchemy notes.
Song Wen only knew how to make Blood Qi Pills; other pills were bought from elsewhere, so his understanding of alchemy was quite limited.
With Rong Jingyun's alchemy insights, he could greatly enhance his understanding of pill-making, facilitating his development of new Blood Qi Pills.
Upon seeing the method for making Beast Refining Pills, he had new thoughts.
Although he had acquired quite a few Beast Refining Pills recently, they would eventually run out. If he could make them himself, it would ensure the future growth of his Sacred Gu.
However, with Song Wen's current alchemy skills, making a fifth-grade Beast Refining Pill was beyond his capability.
After carefully studying the alchemy notes several times, Song Wen understood that the ingredients in each pill recipe could generally be classified into four categories:
- Monarch Medicine (君药): The main ingredient, essential and irreplaceable in the recipe.
- Minister Medicine (臣药): Supplements the Monarch Medicine, enhancing the efficacy of the pill.
- Assistant Medicine (佐药): Assists in harmonizing the properties of the various ingredients and aids in pill refinement.
- Envoy Medicine (使药): Activates the pill, promoting the full manifestation of its properties.
Song Wen pondered over the Blood Qi Pill recipe, categorizing each ingredient into these four classes to help him refine the formula and produce a more potent Blood Qi Pill.
Based on his previous experimental experiences, Song Wen prepared different control groups, refining pills while recording the results. He compared the final outcomes to identify the optimal formula.
His idea for improving the formula was to increase the dosage of the Monarch Medicine, Red Blood Essence, to enhance the pill's efficacy, while experimenting with different ratios of the other ingredients to achieve the best result.
After more than ten days of tireless experimentation, Song Wen finally succeeded in producing three new Blood Qi Pills.
These three pills were still blood-red but significantly larger.
Common pills are typically the size of a pinky, but these three were as large as a thumb, at least three to four times bigger in volume.
Looking at the pills in his hand, Song Wen hesitated.
From their appearance and smell, there seemed to be no apparent issues. However, recalling the tragic outcomes of Ji Yin and others who consumed the Blood Qi Pills, Song Wen was reluctant to use them without further testing.
"Perhaps I should follow Ji Yin's example and find someone to test the pills."
Song Wen put the pills away and left the courtyard.
Without wasting time in the market, he headed outside.
Once outside, he found an uninhabited area and traveled further east into the mountains.
The area was full of demonic beasts, a common hunting ground for wandering cultivators.
Song Wen planned to test the pills on a demonic beast.
After walking a short distance into the mountains, he spotted a small fox-like demonic beast.
The fox was crimson, with the strength of a seventh-layer Qi Refining stage cultivator, and was currently devouring a wild boar demonic beast it had just captured.
Song Wen's sudden appearance startled the fox. It did not flee or attack immediately but snarled fiercely, glaring at Song Wen with a menacing expression.
TL Note:
[1] The "ugly hour" typically refers to the time during the early morning, usually between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., when many people experience heightened feelings of anxiety, sadness, or restlessness. It's often characterized by a sense of loneliness and introspection, leading to a lot of negative thoughts or worries. This phenomenon can happen when the world is quiet, and people find themselves awake, reflecting on their lives or problems.
(End of the Chapter)
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