I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Zhao Zian froze.

Su Meiyu pointed to her rosy lips and gave Zhao Zian a seductive look.

"Here's a reward for you!"

Zhao Zian touched his cheek.

"Boss Su...you..."

Su Mei couldn't help but laugh at his innocent appearance.

"What? You don't like it?"

"Then... will you not reward me next time, sister?"

Zhao Zian's ears turned bright red.

Su Mei laughed so hard her body trembled, her full breasts rising and falling slightly with her laughter.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore."

A wooden sign indicating that lunch break is hanging on the main gate of Jishetang.

Zhao Zian went into the pharmacy alone.

Inside the pharmacy, medicine cabinets are neatly arranged.

Each drawer is labeled with the name of the medicinal herbs in small regular script: ginseng, atractylodes macrocephala, poria cocos, licorice...

He walked up to the medicine cabinet containing century-old ginseng.

In the drawer, there are several whole old ginseng roots.

In the eyes of other doctors, this was a life-saving treasure, worth a fortune.

However, in Zhao Zian's lineage, this was merely a first-grade ordinary medicinal herb, not even qualifying as a high-grade spiritual herb.

Medicines can be categorized as: Common, Ranked, Spiritual, Immortal, Divine...

Each item is further divided into nine grades.

"What a pity."

These medicinal materials can only be used to refine elixirs that cure diseases and prolong life.

To refine a true immortal cultivation pill, even the lowest-grade Qi Gathering Pill, one must at least use a first-grade spiritual herb as the main ingredient.

Zhao Zian went to see the courtyard in the afternoon.

It's a house with a small courtyard, and there's a well in the courtyard with a pomegranate tree next to it.

My sister-in-law loves pomegranate flowers the most.

With only a few dozen steps left to go, Zhao Zian's heart sank.

The gate to the courtyard was ajar, and the inside was a mess.

The packed luggage was roughly torn open, and the contents were thrown everywhere.

The table fell over, the chair overturned, and one of the stool legs was broken off.

"Sister-in-law!"

Zhao Zian rushed into the house.

The house was even messier than the yard.

"Sister-in-law!"

Zhao Zian turned around and rushed out of the courtyard gate.

His gaze swept towards the large locust tree not far away.

There, several figures were peeking out.

It was Wang Ersao.

When they saw Zhao Zian come out, they trembled in fright and stood up, wanting to run away.

Zhao Zian stopped them.

Where are they?

Wang Ersao's lips trembled.

Where did my sister-in-law go?

Zhao Zian asked again.

"I don't know..." Wang Ersao stammered, "We didn't see anything..."

"Yeah?"

Zhao Zian suddenly smiled.

"A thief broke into my house, smashed my things, and disappeared."

"My sister-in-law is a frail woman, all alone. What if something happens to her..."

"This is a matter of life and death."

"I think I should report this to the authorities."

The women had lived in this village their whole lives, and the highest official they had ever seen was the town's patrol inspector.

"No! Don't report it to the authorities!"

Wang Ersao screamed.

"Zian, listen to your sister-in-law, it's all a misunderstanding! You absolutely mustn't report this to the authorities!"

Zhao Zian's face turned cold.

"Not reporting it to the authorities?"

"My sister-in-law has gone missing, and you're telling me not to report it to the authorities?"

He took a step forward.

The women all took another step back.

"When the officials arrive, they'll have to ask a few questions, won't they? For example, who was nearby when the incident happened? Who saw what? Who heard what?"

"So, when the time comes, will you tell them or not?"

"If you speak up, you'll offend people; if you don't, you'll be accused of withholding information and deceiving the authorities... and that will get you punished."

Wang Ersao's psychological defenses collapsed.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

She told everyone she had seen.

"It's none of our business! We're just here to watch the show..."

"Not long after you left, Butcher Wang arrived!"

Butcher Wang was a tall, burly man with a face full of menacing features.

Who in the village isn't afraid of him?

He came alone.

He was also dragging someone along; it was Li Suqin's biological mother, Zhang.

Butcher Wang taught Li Suqin and Zhang a lesson.

Finally, they carried Li Suqin home.

After listening to Wang Ersao's account, Zhao Zian's face darkened.

The gossipy women were trembling with fear.

They had never seen Zhao Zi'an like this before.

He was usually a gentle and refined scholar, even somewhat sickly.

Standing there now, even though he hasn't done anything, he's like a sharp sword that's been drawn from its sheath.

"Butcher Wang's house is at the east end of the village, right?"

Wang Ersao nodded hurriedly.

"Yes, yes! It's the one on the far east side, the one with the highest courtyard wall!"

Zhao Zian walked towards the east end of the village.

Wang the Butcher's courtyard came into view.

The walls were made of blue bricks, the gate was tightly closed, and a large brass lock hung on it, locked from the outside.

Is the person not home?

No.

Zhao Zian walked to the side of the courtyard wall, took a few steps back, and then suddenly rushed forward.

He draped his arm over the wall and landed in the courtyard.

A strong smell of blood filled the courtyard.

Several bloody bones lay on the ground, and flies buzzed around them.

The main room door was tightly closed, but firelight shone through the windows.

It wasn't the dim yellow of an oil lamp, but the bright red of a candle.

Zhao Zian peered through the small hole in the window paper.

On the ground, Li Suqin was bound with thick hemp rope, and a rag was stuffed in her mouth.

Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were in disarray, and her cheeks were swollen.

Butcher Wang, on the other hand, was wearing a bright red robe.

He was grabbing Li Suqin's hair, trying to pull her up from the ground.

"Get up! Get up and start the wedding ceremony!"

"Once we've gone through the wedding ceremony, you'll be my, Butcher Wang's, rightful wife!"

Li Suqin was tied up and could only shake her head.

Her resistance enraged Butcher Wang.

"You shameless woman! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

He raised his foot, about to kick Li Suqin.

But his feet stopped in mid-air.

"You won't bow, huh? Fine! I have plenty of ways to make you obey!"

He bent down and forcibly pressed her head down.

"Bow to me! This is the first bow!"

Zhao Zian's body trembled slightly from extreme anger.

He transformed his palm into a blade and chopped down at the door bolt!

The bolt burst open in the middle.

The butcher was so frightened by the sudden turn of events that he froze.

At the entrance, Zhao Zian stood against the light.

"You...how did you get in?" Butcher Wang looked at him in astonishment.

Li Suqin, who was on the ground, saw Zhao Zian.

"Waaah! Waaah!" She struggled violently.

Zhao Zian's gaze fell on Li Suqin.

"I'll give you three breaths."

Zhao Zian's voice was very soft.

"Untie her, or I'll let you taste what it's like to have your bones removed today."

Butcher Wang burst into laughter.

"Ha! You? A spineless scholar who can't lift a finger? When I was butchering pigs, you were still hiding in your room reciting classical texts!"

"Trying to be a hero and save the damsel in distress? Don't you even know your own limitations!"

Zhao Zian did not say another word.

Before Butcher Wang's laughter had even subsided, he made a move.

Wang the butcher didn't even have a chance to react; he only felt a tremendous force strike his chest.

He fell backward and crashed into the wall.

Zhao Zian lunged forward, grabbed his collar, and slapped him across the face!

"brute!"