Author's note: Slight disconnect from previous chapter and time skip. I planned on writing a whole chapter about the new cultivation stuff, but decided it's better to skip that and come back to it later.

----------------------------------------

The next day, Lo Qi decided to take a break from whatever he was doing to visit Richard. He found that the rooster had started its cultivation successfully and had some visible results. Unconsciously, Lo Qi's expectations for Richard began to rise.

Meanwhile, Richard's grievances with Lo Qi were about to burst. He had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to follow the book with the fat man nowhere to be found. At first, it was the page turning. Then, there was the deciphering of confusing phrases. And, of course, the cultivation itself was a rough ride.

He stomped his foot against the ground and let out a crow. Before, this would've made a light sound as the ground absorbed the impact; now, it let out a bang as the foot broke the ground, creating a footprint and cracks surrounding it. Richard was no longer your everyday rooster in both strength and spirit.

Lo Qi misinterpreted Richard's rage as a demonstration of newfound strength and a desire for praise. So, he clapped his hands a few times. Seeing that Richard was not amused, he thought it was insufficient and wandered off.

"Follow me, I've got something to help you out," said Lo Qi with a wave.

Since everything given to him by Lo Qi was beneficial, Richard followed and dropped his grudge. Animals will quickly lose their suspicion and fear when presented with benefits like food. Richard, despite gaining sentience, was no different. He had intelligence but lacked experience.

They headed towards the garden of herbs. Inside, deep within at one of the corners, was a small shack the size of an outhouse. This was Lo Qi's home and laboratory; he slept in it and made medicine in it.

Lo Qi had Richard wait outside as he carefully slipped inside. He cracked the door just barely, making it impossible for Richard to see inside. Most likely, like the garden and house, this shack was larger on the inside than outside.

A loud ruckus was heard from inside. The sounds of another rooster crowing was heard inside alongside scraping metal and glass breaking. Lo Qi soon returned with a few things in his hands.

That crowing... Richard wanted to see and quickly rushed the door. Lo Qi, however, was faster and slammed the door shut. His face was covered in sweat and smudged with a black, charcoal-like substance.

Richard let out a crooning sound, hoping the other rooster would respond. Only silence came from behind that door. It was if the inside of the shack was another world with the only thing connection to here closed.

"Yeah, there's a rooster in there. I know how aggressive your kind is. With your new strength, you'd tear him a new one. I've got him to test if the pill only works on roosters. Meanwhile, this soot," Lo Qi wiped the black stuff on his sleeve, "is from me trying to create similar results with more common herbs."

Richard found this explanation to be reasonable but felt something was off. He wanted to see the interior of this shack. Curiosity killed the cat; what does it do to the cock?

"The results from these experiments have been... mixed. On another note, try this. It's some of the leftovers I managed to salvage from the last failure. It might amplify the effects of the pill you took. And even if it doesn't, your newfound strength can save you from dying, maybe," said Lo Qi while holding a bottle full of green powder.

He went over by the canal that provided water to the herbs and dipped the mouth of the bottle in it. A small amount of water slipped into the bottle and mixed with the powder. The water turned green as it absorbed the powder then slowed its movements down, solidifying to a sludge/slimy texture. It was not appetising and gave off a funky smell.

Leaving him no time to consider, Lo Qi forced the bottle into Richard's mouth and made him swallow it. Just like that, the medicine was inside of him. He could only wait for the effects. Fortunately, nothing bad happened; nothing in general happened.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Either delayed reaction again or conflicts with the pill you've already eaten," stated Lo Qi.

Lo Qi seemed like he wanted to say more but was interrupted by some loud shouting. It originated outside of the garden and wasn't the master of the house. Even Lo Qi, frowned at the unfamiliar voice, before rushing to the entrance of the garden. Richard followed from behind.

There, they found a man breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Yet, he was desperately shouting, "My lord!" over and over. He was wearing dirty, brown furs as clothes. His attire reminded Richard of the poorest drunkards at the tavern, who were almost always kicked out after an hour or two.

Upon seeing Lo Qi, this man sat down and tried to catch his breath. Lo Qi didn't bother saying anything, knowing that this man would talk when ready. By the man's condition, the situation seemed serious.

"Please... our village is under attack. We need the help of the master," said the man when he recovered.

"What village and what is happening? The master is currently recovering and cannot help. His servants, such as I, however, are free to help if the situation calls for it," responded Lo Qi calmly. Either he's been in this situation before or he was good at coming up with things on the spot.

"It's the hidden valley village. For the past few days, females have been mysteriously disappearing. All we've found is this at the scene and in the forest to the South," said the man while handing over some cloth.

On the cloth, there was this white stuff. Lo Qi poked at it with his finger and found that it stuck to his hands. This sticky white stuff resembled cobwebs or spiderwebs but was much thicker and was a pure white color. If made into clothes, it'd fetch a hefty price.

Lo Qi twisted it around his fingers then tasted it. When he finished examining it, he said, "You're in luck, it's a common beast, not a spirit. Master isn't necessary to combat it. Us servants are enough to kill it alone."

The man let out a sigh of relief and said, "Follow me, we need to get there as fast as possible before more women are taken. I'll be your guide."

Lo Qi laughed. How absurd. He could easily make several round trips before the man could return to the village. Besides, he had the whole island memorised. A guide would be pointless. Pointless to him... but what about Richard.

"Not me, master's other servant will take care of it. He needs combat experience to improve more," said Lo Qi while pointing towards Richard.

Both Richard and the man widened their eyes and looked at Lo Qi. One thinking why a rooster was being sent with him. The other was thinking why he had to do such a thing. Neither found the situation to be favourable.

"Don't look at me like that. Master once speculated that this rooster is actually a cockatrice disguised as a normal rooster. Richard, combat experience will speed up your growth and help you achieve 'that,'" said Lo Qi to push both parties to accept his motion.

The man immediately became respectful of Richard, assuming that the master's speculation was correct. Richard thought of being able to speak and set his mind to do this mission. Also, he appreciated the respect that the man now had for him.

"Good luck, I'm off to do more experiments. I'll check up on the situation later if I have time," said Lo Qi as he walked off.

This left the mute Richard awkwardly standing with the man. The man remained silent and bowing out of respect. Eventually, to break the awkwardness, the man got up and started walking towards his village. After taking a glance behind, he found that Richard was following, so he sped up.

The two of them rushed towards the village to rescue women from sticky white stuff.