Chapter 28 - 27: Severing Ties of Gratitude and Duty (Please Favorite, Please Follow)

Chapter 28: Chapter 27: Severing Ties of Gratitude and Duty (Please Favorite, Please Follow)"I know that the secret recipe for this Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet doesn’t help Jiang in any way. In Pingling County, nearly all valuable medicinal materials are monopolized by the wealthy families. If you go to a medicine shop, you can only buy a very small quantity. The Silver Taels earned from selling the prepared meals don’t come close to the cost of the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine itself." "Moreover, doing so is likely to attract the attention of the wealthy families, and we’d be repeating the unfortunate path of our Luo Family." "All I need is for Jiang to promise me one thing. For one year, conceal the fact that you have the secret recipe for the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet. If I, Luo Yongcheng, do not become a Martial Artist within a year, the Luo Family medicine shop will naturally cease to exist. I will quietly take my family and leave Pingling County." "At that time, you are free to do whatever you want with the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet." Luo Yongcheng picked up the secret recipe for the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet and took a deep breath. His grandfather was elderly and had fallen gravely ill from experiencing extreme joy followed by deep sorrow. His father and mother cared for him day and night, and the medicine shop’s business declined day by day. If things continued this way, within a year, their family would be no better off than commoners, with hardly a few Silver Taels saved, struggling daily for their three meals. Under such circumstances, he had no other choice. Jiang was right; I am like a flightless bird making a desperate gamble—to land means death. He only hoped that after taking enough Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine, he could successfully advance to the Skin Grinding Realm within a year. If that happened, not only could he resolve his family’s medicine shop issues, but he could also redeem the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet’s secret recipe from Jiang, minimizing his losses. As for Jiang’s Martial Arts progress, it might temporarily slow, but he would compensate Jiang with extra Silver afterward, which should be enough. With these thoughts, Luo Yongcheng looked at Jiang Shu, his eyes full of hope. He was eager to hear Jiang Shu agree immediately with a reassuring "yes." Yet, even after several breaths, Jiang Shu still stood calmly before him, showing no intention of taking the secret recipe. "Brother Luo," Jiang Shu said after a long moment, shaking his head. "If the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine were just a resource for my Martial Arts practice, I would certainly help with your request. Unfortunately, this Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine isn’t as simple as it seems." "Have you ever wondered why Old Chou insists on us sparring each month? As a powerful expert in the Bone Forging Realm, does he really find it interesting to watch us—who haven’t even reached the Skin Grinding Realm—spar? He could simply stay away, prepare the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine, and let us fight, with the winner taking the medicine. Why go through all this trouble?" "I suspect Old Chou is judging our Martial Arts Talent based on our progress. The faster we advance and achieve a full circulation of qi and blood, the more likely we are to become official Disciples of the martial arts hall!" "Based on my two months of observation at the Tiger Hunger Martial Hall, Old Chou values Talent first, and vision second." "Consider Han Dali. His Talent is decent, but his vision is too narrow. If he hadn’t sold himself to the Zhou Family’s restaurant, craving the three catties of meat they gave him daily, and if Old Chou had appreciated him, he might have achieved a full circulation of qi and blood within a year. He could have become an official Disciple of Old Chou and, in the future, even a Martial Artist who reached the Skin Grinding Realm." "At that point, what restaurants couldn’t he visit? What meat couldn’t he eat? But with such a narrow vision, such short-sightedness, he’ll be confined to that small Zhou Family restaurant for life. No matter how hard he tries, he’ll never become a Martial Artist." Jiang Shu paused, the implication of his words crystal clear. It was only because it was Luo Yongcheng saying this that he, Jiang Shu, still held onto some shred of their past camaraderie. If Zhou Yang had been the one trying to buy the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine, Jiang Shu simply turning and walking away would have been an act of extreme courtesy. "Actually, Brother Luo, if you want to save the medicine shop, I think it would be better to offer the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet to Old Chou as a token of respect and ask him to intervene. In Pingling County, Old Chou is the only Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist who established a martial arts hall without backing from any prominent family. He definitely has influence with the prominent families." "As for us, even if we became Martial Artists, so what? Are Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artists really that impressive? A Martial Artist of average strength is merely a retainer in a prominent family. And how many retainers does one such family have?" "Brother Luo, your family’s thinking has been flawed from the start. Your family has only ever treated illnesses; you don’t understand commerce, Martial Arts, or how monopolies work. Would a prominent family truly covet your family’s humble Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet? What defines a prominent family? Which of their scions hasn’t consumed medicinal diets or used medicinal baths since childhood? How does the Luo Family’s Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet compare to their resources for practicing Martial Arts?" "A prominent family doesn’t just want the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet; they want a monopoly over all paths for ordinary people to practice Martial Arts. If someone wants to practice Martial Arts, they must submit to these families and be obediently exploited by them." The softly spoken words struck Luo Yongcheng like thunder. He had never considered these things. He had always believed the prominent families were after their medicine shop because it was profitable, coveting their Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet. His pupils dilated. He couldn’t believe it. And he didn’t want to believe it! If Jiang Shu’s words were true, then what did everything he had done this past year amount to? Practicing Martial Arts? If all he needed to do was present the secret formula of the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet as a gift to Old Chou... why did he even need to practice Martial Arts? He could have done it on the very first day he joined the martial arts hall to learn Martial Arts! His fists clenched, Luo Yongcheng’s breathing grew ragged. He panted heavily, staring intently at Jiang Shu. "How do you know Old Chou won’t just devour my family’s Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet like the Yao Family did!" "Brother Luo, how does your family’s Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet compare to the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine? Old Chou holds the formula for the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine; would he really need your family’s diet to enhance his martial arts hall?" "Only if you first catch Old Chou’s eye, and then offer this gift, is there a slim chance he might help. Simply sending the secret formula and expecting Old Chou’s assistance? Are you looking down on Old Chou, or on all those prominent families?" He’s afraid Old Chou would take the Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet, yet he’s not afraid that I, Jiang Shu, would take it. He doesn’t trust the bond between master and Disciple forged over a year, yet he’d trust a friendship of only two months? Jiang Shu frowned slightly, his words now tinged with cold indifference. "Jiang Shu! You’re talking nonsense! You’re the one who doesn’t want to give me the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine! You’re afraid it will affect your own Martial Arts path! You’re selfish!" "I’m not wrong! If I were a Martial Artist, I could easily become a retainer for any prominent family. The Yao Family wants the secret formula for my Luo Family’s medicine shop’s Blood-Nourishing Medicinal Diet! I’ll just find another family; there will always be one prominent family willing to stand up for me!" "I just want to protect this secret formula! What’s wrong with that?" "You can’t protect it." Watching Luo Yongcheng, who had become hysterical—clearly given the most reliable advice yet refusing to listen, lost in his own world—Jiang Shu shook his head. He uttered those final words and turned to leave.