22. Crazy Spending

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The three of them came to a quiet room to discuss matters.

Lu Yao cleared his throat and took the lead, "The ones targeting us are the Hailong Gang and the Haoran Martial Arts Hall that colludes with them. These people definitely won't give up easily."

Liao Ya clenched the pitch-black Great Lance by her side, her silvery teeth tightly biting, "Let them come! Having replenished my strength these past days, now even with a weapon I'm not afraid of martial masters from the Marrow-Cleansing Realm!"

"Looking at the challenge they issued, they will likely resort to underhanded tactics," Lu Yao said, stroking his chin.

"Whether I need to treat my illness, or we want to protect ourselves, we must improve our strength as quickly as possible. Elder sister, do you have any miraculous medicines or rare treasures we could use? No matter how much silver it costs, I can afford it—I have plenty of money."

Lu Yao made it clear he was not short of money and wanted to pay to win.

But he had overlooked one thing—the sisters were not the sort of women to be excessively greedy.

The two women believed that taking advantage of the medicinal tonics was already a great boon and did not wish to splurge further.

The sisters exchanged a glance, and Liao Ya softly said,

"Younger brother, I appreciate your kind intentions. You have already helped so much; I can't let you spend any more. And don't forget, you yourself still need to cultivate to the Blood-Exchange Realm to treat your illness—there are plenty of expenses ahead."

Liao Qe also cleared her throat and added, "My sister is right. Your body is weak, and you need to spend more money on martial arts training."

Realizing that the two women wanted to save him money, Lu Yao laughed and said,

"I'm not your average rich guy, don't worry about the cost of silver, just list whatever methods might be helpful! Come on, elder sister, suggest something."

Lu Yao urged her repeatedly, and after hesitating for a long time, Liao Ya could only suggest, "Then let's use the ointment secret formula we acquired from the Golden Tiger Martial Arts School."

"Golden Tiger Bone-Strengthening Paste?" Lu Yao remembered; that was contributed by the eldest disciple of the Golden Tiger Martial Arts School.

He had seen the recipe too. It was similar to Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup, both considered medicinal tonics, only one was for external application and the other for internal use.

Liao Ya nodded, "This recipe is good, it strengthens muscles and bones and nurtures the foundation. We can all use it."

The young woman reluctantly added just one more medicinal tonic to their regimen, taking into account that everyone could use it—clearly not wanting to waste Lu Yao's money.

"You're still being too polite; I've already said you don't need to save money for me."

Lu Yao really wanted to shout— I'm seriously wealthy, I really want to pay to win, can't you be a bit more generous!

But he didn't shout it out because he understood the sisters' character very well—they were good girls with lines they wouldn't cross and values they would stand by.

"Seems like I'm being looked down upon... Looks like I need to bring out some real skills to make the sisters see the situation clearly," Lu Yao thought as he took out the prescription, deep in thought.

At this moment, Liao Qe glanced at the sky and said in a delicate voice, "This recipe is good, everyone can use it, let's settle on this for now. I need to go cook~"

Lu Yao smiled and said nothing more, getting up to help.

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Upon entering the courtyard, he saw a large basket of vigorously struggling crabs by the well.

Liao Ya also saw this scene and immediately frowned, "Why is it... again? Changing it up occasionally would be nice, when can we finally have some meat? If we can't afford meat, fish is fine too."

Tying on an apron, Liao Qe laughed, "Lu Yao likes to eat crabs, so I bought them. You swallow everything whole anyway, so it's all the same to you."

Keeping her hands busy, she cleaned the large crabs, put them in a pot to steam, and worked the bellows to stoke the fire. Within minutes, they were done.

Liao Ya frowned, picked up three crabs, then closed her eyes and ate them with crunching sounds as if they were medicine, before heading out to train.

Now only the two of them remained in the house. Lu Yao suggested, "Let's go for a walk after dinner."

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"Sure, sure~" Liao Qe hurriedly agreed, as she loved going out the most.

Then, the girl cheerfully fed Lu Yao crab. She was able to gently squeeze open the tough pincers and extract the most succulent tender meat.

Lu Yao licked the delicate fingers that were brought to his lips, and Liao Qe blushed but didn't seem to mind.

Seeing this, he gently sucked on them once more and immediately felt a lingering taste on his lips and teeth.

Liao Qe's cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red, and her eyes darted away, unable to meet his gaze; her coy and bashful demeanor was exceedingly charming.

Lu Yao quickly entered a focused state, fully appreciating the sight of the beauty's blushing cheeks, while contemplating how to take things a step further.

As he was pondering whether to hold her hand or wrap his arm around her waist, he suddenly noticed that there were traces of blood seeping out from beneath Liao Qe...

He was stunned for a moment before he realized what it was and gently reminded her, "It seems you've started your period."

Liao Qe quickly looked down, then her face turned red up to her neck, down her spine, and all the way to her heels.

Immediately after, she bolted away as if shot from a cannon, while the stool spun several times in place.

~~~~~~~

Quite some time had passed, and Liao Qe still hadn't appeared.

Lu Yao went to her room and knocked on the door, saying, "Can you still go shopping... or is it just me going alone?"

The door opened to reveal Liao Qe in a change of clothes. The young girl, slightly shy, turned her face away and said softly, "I can still go."

Lu Yao smiled and said, "That's good, it would really bother me if you didn't go. Oh, and hold onto the silver for me."

As he spoke, he handed over a backpack containing 40 taels of silver he had brought from Blue Star.

Liao Qe hugged the silver, stunned in place, "Am I to hold onto all of it? You're just giving it to me?" It was the first time she had seen so much money, and to be trusted with it like this.

"Just hold onto it for now; we'll spend it all later~ Let's go~" Lu Yao said without a second glance, walking away.

"Wait, spend it all!!! What are you going to buy!?"

"You'll see soon enough."

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The town had been short on grain for a while, and rice shops were limiting purchases, but Lu Yao went straight to the meat shop on the same street.

There were no restrictions on buying meat since not many could afford it. There wasn't large-scale farming in the old society, so the price of meat always remained high. Most people only got to eat meat during festivals and holidays.

Moreover, the recent surge in grain prices had caused meat prices to double, quashing the ordinary family's desire for meat.

Seeing the two of them from afar, the meat shop owner Zhu hurriedly came out to greet them, saying obsequiously, "Miss Liao Ya, Young Master Lu, are the two of you here to buy meat?"

Liao Ya had risen to local fame after a street fight, not just showcasing her strength, but reminding many that she was a martial master who could kill in the street with impunity.

Lu Yao glanced at the meat, which looked fairly fresh, and promptly said, "Master Zhu, I'd like to order meat from your shop. Please deliver ten pounds of meat and ten pounds of bones to the martial arts school every day. How much will that cost?"

Ecstatic about the big sale, Master Zhu was overjoyed, "I, Zhu, have welcomed guests for over twenty years with honesty and integrity. For you, I will charge — 1,000 copper, an absolute fair price!"

Liao Qe quietly tugged at Lu Yao and whispered, "That's too expensive, the prices have skyrocketed recently, maybe we shouldn't buy it."

But Lu Yao, after doing the math, found the meat much cheaper than on Blue Star and readily threw over three silver ingots, saying, "Let's start with a month's supply from today then."

Master Zhu caught the silver ingots, bit into one, and his face bloomed with a smile, "Young Master Lu is as generous as the rumors say! Rest assured, I guarantee the best selection delivered to your residence every day!"