Lei breathed in deep, skin crawling as the night wind eased through his robe. Zhu Luli was scouting ahead, Fatty Lou guiding her through the narrow streets while Lei kept his eyes on the kids.

Snake looked eager, fists clenched in anticipation, nudging Stone now and then, who looked disturbingly silent. Little Mei and Little Yao, on the other hand, might as well have been strolling from the way they kept chuckling for some reason.

Lei was still nervous about bringing the kids with him, so it was good to see them like this. His only hope was that they could stay away from trouble until they reached the restaurant.

Once there, he could cook a big batch of Rootremedy to give out to Aunt Lifen. Not to mention, Zhu Luli had said she’d caught a big spiritual beast and locked it in the restaurant. Lei had more than a few ideas for what he’d do with that beast.

Firstly, he wanted to see if he could boost the Rootremedy’s medicinal effect by using a strong beast’s body parts in the mix. The medicine worked well enough on Old Ji, but there were hardly enough herbs in Zhu Luli’s toolbox to heal hundreds of sick people. By using a more potent ingredient, Lei hoped he could make up for this deficit.

Secondly, he wanted to see if he could get a breakthrough in the System by using the Earthshaker Boar as an ingredient. According to Zhu Luli, the beast was somewhere between the 8th Step of the Body Tempering Stage and Qi Condensation Stage, which could be just enough for an Earth-tier dish.

The mana Lei felt when Old Ji opened his eyes still weighed on his mind. If the plan worked and he got to heal hundreds of people through the remedy, then he would have an unspeakable amount of mana in his body. He just had to find a way to do something with it.

How do you control mana? That’s the question here.

Rounding the corner, they purposefully kept away from the Library, taking a more roundabout route to the restaurant. Even then, they came dangerously close to alerting a couple of guards on the way.

Thankfully, the guards seemed hardly aware of their surroundings. Lei’s Spiritual Sensitivity skill told him that they were just as sick as Jiangzhen’s normal folk. Most of them tattered about the squares mindlessly, leaning on their spears for support.

The cultivator guards seemed to be doing a better job of keeping their eyes open, but even they had yellowish spots all over their skin.

Why, then, had the sickness stayed away from us?

Zhu Luli was a strong cultivator, and Snake, Little Mei, and Stone were monsters by any definition. Lei himself was nearing the 4th Step of the Body Tempering Stage, and Fatty Lou was keeping up with him.

The other kids, though, especially those who lacked talent, were barely considered cultivators. How come the sickness hadn’t caught them?

Another mystery. There’s been anything but those as of late.

Lei sighed tiredly, head throbbing with thoughts. All of these, yet he felt helpless like a child. He still couldn’t believe such an outrageous thing was happening in a world where Immortals existed. Couldn’t any one of those mighty cultivators have blasted these bastards with a flick of their hand? Why must they leave Jiangzhen alone?

“Stop,” came Zhu Luli’s voice. She raised a hand and pointed at the square ahead of them, a small one with a group of guards lounging near the fountain.

“We have to pass through it,” Fatty Lou said, eyes serious. “There’s no other way.”

Lei counted a dozen guards in that group, their spears glinting under the moonlight. Half of them looked pale and senseless, some even sprawled on the ground, breaths wheezing weakly in their chests.

“We can take them,” Lei said, looking at the kids before resting his eyes on Zhu Luli. “We’ll move forward. The kids can act as backup.”

“Big Brother Lei, we can fight,” Snake said with a contemptuous gaze at the guards. “Look at them. They barely look alive. I can take them alone.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” Lei fixed him with a glare before turning to Zhu Luli. He nodded. “Let’s go. I don’t want to waste any more time.”

They left a grumbling Snake and the indifferent pair of Stone and Little Mei behind them, trudging out into the square. Soon, they broke into a run, closing in on the guards from three different angles.

Lei knew little about fighting, and those spears looked dangerously sharp, but in a world of cultivators, what really mattered was one’s strength. So when a guard swiped clumsily at him with a spear, he ducked and swatted it easily away with the back of his hand, sending the weapon clanging to the ground. The guard’s eyes widened at him and widened still as Lei’s punch continued on and drove hard into his gut.

The guard let out a choked gasp and doubled over as Lei passed by him. Just then, something flashed in the corner of his vision. He saw a flying Zhu Luli jabbing her fingers with practiced ease, leaving a line of stunned men behind her, who wobbled unevenly before plopping to the ground.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The odd beauty of the scene was broken when Fatty Lou’s fist smacked hard into another guard, sending him sprawling a few paces. Lei cringed as the poor man crashed hard and never got up.

It took them only a few seconds to deal with the sickly bunch.

“Move on.” Lei and the others shared a glance before Zhu Luli signaled to the kids.

With that, they continued down another street, the wooden shutters closed all around them.

They dealt with two more squads on their way, disarming them efficiently and leaving them sleeping on the ground. They would smart from a couple of bruises when they woke up—nothing they couldn’t handle.

When Lei opened the restaurant’s door, it took a few moments to register the hulking beast that stood in the hall. Well, parts of it, as the creature had been cleaved by what seemed like a sharp sword through the middle and the sides.

He checked it.

[Earthshaker Boar - Half-Step Qi Condensation Stage]: A carnivorous spiritual beast that has a strong earth aura.

“Uhh,” Snake muttered, one hand clamped over his nose. He scowled at the blood coating the ground. “I thought our kitchen staff was responsible for keeping this place clean!”

“Obviously they did, until Big Sister Luli brought that huge monster,” Stone rolled his eyes at him. “Look at the flesh. It’s fresh, and cleanly cut. I wonder if Big Sister Luli really used her fingers to do… that.”

“Desperate times, kids,” Zhu Luli chuckled. “Demands desperate measures. Never forget that.”

“You actually did a good job cutting this up,” Fatty Lou muttered as he poked a finger into the spiritual beast’s thick hide. “I don’t think you can cut into this with a normal knife.”

Zhu Luli flicked a finger. “Thank you very much.”

“You’re not done,” Lei said, shaking his head. Zhu Luli had separated the beast into four parts, each easily taller than Lei. There was not a pot big enough to fit these things. “I need smaller parts, and leaner, please. Get me the bones as well. I need those.”

“Yes, Chef!” Zhu Luli smiled childishly.

“What about us?” Snake chimed in, looking as impatient as ever as he tried to tiptoe around the bloodied ground.

Lei raised a finger and pointed at the bucket in the corner. “Get to work. I expect to see my own reflection on these floors, so don’t you dare leave out any corners.”

“We’re going to… clean?” Snake seemed horrified by the thought.

Lei nodded sharply before moving over to the kitchen.

…..

Lei rummaged through the shelves, pulling out all his herbs to get a clear sense of his inventory.

“I made a friend in the forest,” Zhu Luli was saying to Little Mei as Lei tried to come up with a good recipe. “I think you’re going to love her.”

“A friend?” Little Mei’s eyes glinted happily as she looked up at her. “Another furry friend? Then Little Yao might get jealous.”

Zhu Luli frowned at the squirrel perched on Little Mei’s shoulder. “I’m afraid she will have to learn to share your attention, considering your talent. This fool of a squirrel isn’t worth it, anyway.”

A claw came swiping across her face, Zhu Luli slapping it away with ease. “Learn to pick your fights, or I might start considering giving you back to Father.”

Little Yao’s bean-like eyes widened in horror, and she buried her head in Little Mei’s shoulder, earning a chuckle from her.

“Hmph,” Zhu Luli snorted before smiling down at the little girl. “Once this is over, I’ll take you out to meet her.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” Zhu Luli said with confidence.

The prep work done, Lei finally pulled out the giant heart and stared at it.

[Earthshaker Boar’s Heart: Mortal-Grade, High-Quality]

“You… sure we can use this?” he muttered as he glanced at Zhu Luli. “It looks rather strong.”

“It is, but it’s not like we’re going to use the heart itself,” Zhu Luli said. “This heart contains the life essence of the Earthshaker Boar, the lifeblood, in other words. It has a delicate balance between life essence and the Qi.”

Lei nodded, his gaze fixed on the boar’s heart. The dark-red organ almost thumped in his hand, firm and exuding a faint earth aura that tingled against his skin.

He placed it carefully on the countertop, the dim lantern light flickering in the kitchen as he pulled out his smallest and sharpest knife.

“The lifeblood, huh?” Lei murmured to himself, slicing into the heart and extracting the blood-rich core with precision. Its Qi pulsed through the thick liquid, enough to make him feel the subtle strength flowing within.

“I guess this will do,” he muttered.

Taking a deep breath, Lei used the Essence Enhancement on the lifeblood. It glowed with inner light as he kept the skill active. He could feel something shift in the liquid. He checked it.

[Earthshaker Boar’s Lifeblood: Earth-Grade, Low-Quality]

Earth grade! Finally!

He sucked in a deep breath, fingers shaking around the knife. He had to squash the boiling excitement in his chest as he moved his gaze over the other ingredients.

He began to grind a mix of herbs, working the fine powder into the boar’s lifeblood with steady hands. He added ginseng root, ground into a paste to mix with the rich aroma of the boar’s blood, then added crushed Ironleaf leaves to thicken and strengthen the effect.

The smell intensified, rich and earthy, filling the kitchen and even drawing the kids to the doorway.

“It’s… strong,” Zhu Luli said with an approving nod, watching as Lei worked.

“It needs to be,” Lei said, his voice steady. “If this is going to help Jiangzhen’s people, it has to be stronger than anything I’ve made before.”

He set the mixture in a large pot and poured in a small measure of bone broth he’d boiled down from the Earthshaker Boar. It sizzled, releasing an aroma so intense that even Little Yao, perched on Little Mei’s shoulder, started sniffing the air.

With everything in place, Lei turned up the heat, letting the remedy simmer, reducing down to a thick, concentrated mixture. He kept a close eye on it, stirring until the concoction thickened into a potent, deep-brown paste.

Once the mixture was ready, Lei ladled a portion into a small bowl, wiping the sweat from his brow. He checked the final result.

[Heartremedy: Earth-tier, Low-Quality dish]

“It’s done—“

Lei paused. A sound dinned inside his ears, coming from all around him. Blood throbbed in his head. The world started spinning madly as he wobbled a few steps. Everything jumbled in a blurry mess, and blinking only made it worse.

“Brother Lei!”

“Big Brother Lei!”

He could hardly hear the words as the color started fading from the world. The ground under his feet slipped slowly away, the walls melting all around him. Something sucked at his heart, at his soul, trying to rip him away.

Lei resisted it with all his worth, but it felt like holding his ground against a brutal hurricane. His feet couldn’t just resist the winds. He tripped and fell, banging his head against the counter. Hands held him, carrying him gently through the kitchen, but they couldn’t reach his soul.

Then, something snapped.

“At last, my disciple,” said a voice, thumping in his chest. “You have finally come over the first hurdle.”

……