Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

"All done."

Shen Qi washed his hands in the copper basin, carefully wiped away the water stains with a dry cloth, packed the last piece of furniture into the wooden box, and fastened the copper lock with a "click".

Grandpa Qian, who had been waiting outside the courtyard gate, heard the commotion and ran over to greet them.

"My lord! You've worked so hard, my lord!" He didn't even glance at his father lying on the wooden board, his little eyes fixed on Shen Qi.

Shen Qi picked up the wooden box and completely ignored his comment.

This old man from the Qian family was quite shrewd; he quickly gave the butler waiting outside the door a wink.

The steward understood and jogged over to hand over two hundred taels of silver.

Including the previous deposit, the total is three hundred taels.

The price is far too high just for preserving the body's appearance.

"You've gone to so much trouble, sir. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find it offensive." Old Master Qian held up the silver notes with both hands.

Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious; there's no smoke without fire. Paying three hundred taels of silver to hire a mortician—even if he's disguised as an official from the Imperial Observatory—clearly indicates the Qian family has ulterior motives.

Shen Qi knew exactly what was going on.

He's just after money; he gets paid to do things and doesn't get involved in any other troubles or consequences.

He reached out and took the banknote, folded it twice, and calmly put it into his pocket.

"Farewell." Shen Qi said these two words and turned to leave.

"Hey! Sir, wait a minute!" Old Master Qian exclaimed anxiously, quickly taking two steps forward to block Shen Qi's path. "It's almost noon. Sir, you've gone to so much trouble. Why don't we move to the front hall? A feast has already been prepared. I, Qian..."

His words were full of suggestive undertones, practically screaming "I want to curry favor with someone powerful!"

"No need, I have important matters to attend to at the company." Shen Qi stepped aside and walked past the Qian family patriarch.

Qian Da's fat face twitched. Not daring to forcefully stop him, he could only stand there with a forced smile, shouting, "Please take care, sir!"

……

After leaving the Qian family mansion, Shen Qi determined the direction and headed straight for East Street.

Zhao Youtian mentioned that there is a "Tongjitang" on East Street that has the most complete selection of medicinal herbs.

This shop was four or five times larger than Huichuntang in Qingping Town, with hundreds of drawers densely packed into medicine cabinets that reached the ceiling. Several shop assistants were busy going up and down ladders to dispense medicine.

"Sir, would you like to pick up medicine or have a consultation?" A young waiter greeted Shen Qi as he entered, looking him up and down.

Although the guest was of decent appearance, his gray cloth short coat and the wooden box on his back made him seem like someone who could afford to spend money in the inner city.

Shen Qi, familiar with the process, simply took off his waist tag and slapped it on the counter.

The waiter glanced at the sign and immediately bowed deeply: "Oh! Sir, please take a rest! I'll go fetch the manager right away!"

Before long, the cotton curtain was lifted, and an old shopkeeper with a goatee walked out hurriedly.

"It's an honor to have you here, sir. I'm so sorry I didn't greet you sooner." The old shopkeeper cupped his hands in greeting, his gaze lingering for a moment on the "C" character badge on his waist. He then understood, "You're here to pick up medicine, aren't you?"

"I don't recognize you, so let me be frank. The ingredients for this body-tempering formula are strictly controlled by the prefectural government. It's priced uniformly at five taels of silver per dose, and you need to brew it once a day."

Five taels per pair!

Shen Qi's heart clenched. This potent medicine used for body tempering was ridiculously expensive!

No wonder that without the backing of a powerful family or government officials, a peasant could never hope to make a name for himself in his entire life. The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" truly carries the weight of blood.

Despite feeling the pinch, Shen Qi didn't even blink when it came time to pay.

"Give me twenty sets."

He pulled out the silver notes he had just received from his pocket and gently pushed them away with his fingertips.

The old shopkeeper was secretly surprised to see the young man spend a hundred taels of silver without even blinking. This man was indeed quite remarkable to be able to hold a position in the Imperial Observatory based solely on his martial arts lineage.

"Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go and prepare your medicine right away!" The old shopkeeper deftly tucked the silver notes into his sleeve and turned to rush into the back room.

After a long while, the old shopkeeper came out carrying two large bags of medicinal herbs wrapped tightly in oil paper.

"Please take this, sir. I must add a word of caution: this medicine is extremely potent. If you feel like your insides are burning after taking it for the first time, be sure to use your alchemy skills to neutralize its effects. Do not try to tough it out."

"Thank you." Shen Qi took the medicine bag, picked up the wooden box, and went out the door.

As the sun rose higher, the streets became busier. Shen Qi strolled south along the bluestone path, intending to visit the bookstores ahead and browse for some books on destiny and fortune.

Just as we were about to reach the corner at the end of the street, a heated argument suddenly broke out ahead.

"Refugees must not be allowed into the city! If an epidemic breaks out, who will clean up the mess?!"

"Absurd! Are we just going to let them starve and freeze to death? Brother Yan opened the Yan family's private granary, and ten soup kitchens were kept burning day and night—that's true righteousness! Now the authorities are withholding disaster relief grain, and Brother Yan's family is struggling to survive. What are we going to do?"

Several students from the academy, dressed in moon-white robes, hurried up from behind, arguing fiercely and paying no attention to the road ahead.

One of the anxious young students, having just turned the corner, couldn't stop in time and his shoulder slammed into the wooden box behind Shen Qi with a loud thud.

How vigorous is Shen Qi's blood and energy now? His feet are like the roots of an old tree, without even a sway.

The student was so shocked that he groaned, staggered back three steps, and fell hard onto the bluestone slab.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you just standing there on the street corner?" Several classmates quickly helped the student up.

The student who had fallen rubbed his sore shoulder, already seething with anger. When he looked up at Shen Qi's coarse gray clothes and smelled the faint, strange odor wafting from the cracks in the wooden box, he disgustedly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve.

"Where did this craftsman come from? Wandering around like this, reeking of filth, is truly an insult to civilization!"

Shen Qi raised an eyebrow, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, just about to lash out.

The leader of the group of students in front of them suddenly stopped and turned around.

This man had an extremely handsome face, a gentle and refined demeanor, and wore a spotless moon-white robe. His every move exuded composure, making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

Yan Qing.

Seeing Yan Qing turn around, the fallen student felt even more humiliated and was about to continue making a fuss when Yan Qing frowned slightly and gently pressed down on his arm.

"Shut up," Yan Qing said softly.

He then strode up to Shen Qi, carefully straightened his wide sleeves, and bowed deeply to Shen Qi respectfully.

"Please forgive me, sir," Yan Qing said in a clear and gentle voice. "My classmate was so concerned about the disaster victims outside the city that he lost his composure and acted rashly, offending you. I apologize on his behalf."

Shen Qi simply raised his hand slightly and returned the greeting with a fist salute, neither humble nor arrogant.

"It's alright."

Leaving behind those two words, Shen Qi adjusted the straps of his wooden box and passed by the group of frail scholars.

They quickly disappeared into the bustling streets and alleys of the inner city.