Li Qingshan thought to himself, Perhaps this is the true strength of the government. But it only makes sense like that. Since when was there ever the principle of the weak ruling over the strong? Anyone who gains power would strive for greater authority. How are ordinary people supposed to rule over the people of the jianghu with their powerful martial arts?
The Hawkwolf Guard must have been an important force of the government. Just like how there would be more peace to cultivate in the government, joining would save a lot of trouble. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have a chance.”
“I believe you can do it!” Huang Binghu still thought he was considering joining the Hawkwolf Guard. He had already learnt that Li Qingshan had destroyed the Dragon’s Gate sect last night in just two hours. However, as opposed to others, he had experienced a feeling of ‘just as I had thought’ when he received this news, apart from the usual shock.
Ever since he had met Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan had been rapidly growing at an unbelievable rate. He could not help but think about what Li Qingshan had said back then, “I will definitely become an innate master!” Originally, he treated it not too seriously like something a child had said, but he believed it now. As long as Li Qingshan did not die along the way, he would definitely become such a master.
Li Qingshan decided on temporarily throwing such a distant matter to the back of his head. “Apart from the tiger bone alcohol, are the bamboo baskets holding that?”
“That’s right! It’s ginseng!” Huang Binghu opened the bamboo baskets. They were actually filled with ginseng.
When Li Qingshan had purchased ginseng with his huge sum of a thousand taels of silver, the amount was probably not even a tenth of the quantity contained in the bamboo baskets. It made sense with how much tiger bone they had, but the Drawn Reins village was not a village known for foraging ginseng. He could smell blood from Huang Binghu’s body. It was extremely faint but very fresh. If it were not for how sharp the smell of blood was, he basically would have doubted himself and wondered if it were his false impression. Did his nose become more sensitive after practising the superhuman abilities?
Huang Binghu said, “We just removed a danger for the Drawn Reins village, and the ginseng was an unexpected spoil of that.” After he ingested the spiritual alcohol, not only had his body recovered, but his martial arts had also progressed further. Spurred on by the murderousness and sanguine nature of when Li Qingshan destroyed the Black Wind stronghold, he had immediately led people to attack the Ginseng King village as soon as he returned.
The Ginseng King village had never been as powerful as the Drawn Reins village. In order to find the spiritual ginseng, Yang Jun had also led a group of experts with him and made a mess of the village. They just happened to be at their weakest point, so Huang Binghu succeeded with his battle, destroying the Ginseng King village.
Li Qingshan fell silent momentarily. Although he had grievances with the Ginseng King village, they were still a village after all. They were not a nest of criminals like the Black Wind stronghold. However, he also understood that if the Ginseng King village possessed enough strength, they would have done the same to the Drawn Reins village.
Once a grievance of life and death had been developed, it basically could not be nullified peacefully. The only way about it would be to do everything to defeat the opponent. If he wanted to protect his friends and family, he needed to kill the friends and family of others. Only standpoints existed. There was no good or bad. Once he entered the jianghu, there would be no way out. There would be enough alcohol for him to never finish, enough enemies to behead for him to never get around to.
“I just happen to be in need of these, so thank you, hunting chief. The ginseng is worth quite a lot, so I can’t take it for free. Hunting chief, why don’t you give me a sum?”
Huang Binghu did not hold back. “I knew your trip to the Black Wind stronghold would be extremely worthwhile. As for the amount of silver, give me whatever you want.”
Li Qingshan handed all of the silver notes he had obtained from the Black Wind stronghold, over ten thousand taels, to Huang Binghu. The price of the ginseng would probably be worth more than that, but due to buying in such a great quantity, there had to be discounts. Li Qingshan neither took advantage of Huang Binghu, nor did he take a loss in this.
Huang Binghu felt delighted as well. As long as he had the money, the strength of the Drawn Reins village would definitely increase even more through the formulae Li Qingshan gave him. “You have to be careful these days, just in case someone is plotting against you. If the need arises, just give me a call. However, I have a feeling that you won’t lose.”
Li Qingshan said, “Thank you for your optimism, hunting chief!”
After Huang Binghu left, Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts for quite a while before suddenly seeing Xiao An sticking his head out from inside, looking at him with a ‘shining’ gaze. He could not help but smile calmly. He wanted to protect this child. There was no question about his determination.
The circumstances of his life had suddenly changed, constantly dwelling in blood and slaughter. It was not like he had experienced confusion and pain. If he were the same person from his past life, he definitely would have lost his spirit already, but now, he wanted to stand up tall, without showing the slightest hint of weakness, as that child was looking at him. If the abilities and strength granted him confidence, then his desire to protect and his responsibilities steeled his heart, turning him into a real man.
The medicinal alcohol and ginseng had been delivered at the perfect time. The tiger bone alcohol went without saying—it was extremely helpful to practising the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging. The ginseng was just as crucial too. The spiritual ginseng would require several days to produce a gourd of spiritual alcohol now, and the taste of the alcohol was no longer as heavy as before.
Li Qingshan dismissed his thoughts and formally began practising the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging.
The Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging also had a total of nine layers. Li Qingshan’s current objective was achieving the first layer. According to the black ox, as long as he achieved the first layer, he could combine it with the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength and erupt with the true power of this ability.
Li Qingshan lifted up a jar of tiger bone alcohol first and took a few sips. He moved around in the courtyard, performing the fist style form by form. His feet moved faster and faster, and before long, only a blur was left in the courtyard, rushing around with quite a gale.
He digested and absorbed the medicinal alcohol very quickly, so he stopped and drank more. He repeated this process constantly, and by noon, he felt a starving sensation once more and felt like he had overworked his mind, about to injure his vitality.
However, the effects were extremely obvious. In just a single morning, he could clearly sense his movements becoming slightly faster once again, with even greater explosive power compared to before. All of the bones in his body had become tougher as well, able to support him to perform even more violent movements and actions. He would no longer experience the feeling of coming close to fracture like when he climbed up the Dragon’s Gate mountain last night.
Li Qingshan felt extremely exhilarated. He arrived at the restaurant nearby, and when the manager saw him enter, he went up to receive him in a hurry. “Sheriff Li, what brings you here? Welcome, welcome! Please come in!”
Li Qingshan did not hold back. He ordered a whole table of food and alcohol, wolfing it down like there was no one else around. However, he could clearly sense that the restaurant had a few additional people of the jianghu, carrying blades. These people also studied him carefully, but since they did nothing to him, Li Qingshan could not be too bothered by them. He finished eating and settled the bill.
“Manager, give three, no, four meals a day with the same quantity, regardless of the dishes in the future. Deliver it to where I’m staying, and include some more meat with bone in.” He no longer had the time or energy to go hunting anymore, and he had grown sick of just eating roast meat or boiled meat a long time ago. Now that he had money, of course he had to eat better dishes and drink better alcohol. The culinary skills of the restaurant’s chef completely surpassed his half-assed cooking.
Just when the manager was paining over the losses of today, he heard Li Qingshan’s words and almost fell over. “Sheriff Li, we’re a small establishment making small profits!”
“Hmm?”
Li Qingshan did not pay too much attention when he let out that questioning interjection, but the manager’s heart almost stopped beating. He cursed himself for being too greedy, Why did I have to provoke this calamity just for some money? Am I really that sick of living?
“Do you think I’m going to freeload? Here’s the payment in advance.” Li Qingshan fished out a silver note worth a thousand taels and placed it on the counter.
