Fantasy: Starting with a bowl, you can exchange it for endless cultivation.

"When you go to Baoyaotang in Qingping Town to serve as a guard, you need to do one thing," He Xiangdong said. "Go and secretly investigate the cause of death of Xu Dongqing, the former guard of Baoyaotang. A few days ago, we received news from below that he suddenly died in the wilderness, and the government is still investigating the cause of death."

"We can't place all our hopes on the government. Go down there secretly to investigate and find out the real cause of his death. The Medicine Pavilion will reward you."

Baoyao Pavilion was, after all, an enterprise under the Danzong, and yet a second-rate expert-level guard suddenly died.

If the culprit isn't found, how can we save face?

This could easily lead outsiders to believe that the guards of their Baoyao Pavilion can be killed at will.

Therefore, in addition to entrusting the government to help with the investigation, they also sent people to investigate secretly themselves.

"Yes." Gu Chen accepted the order. He had wondered how such a good thing could fall into his lap so easily; it turned out there was a side mission involved.

Gu Chen looked at He Xiangdong and said, "Manager He, the situation in Qingping Town is still unclear. Could I get an advance on a month's salary?"

He just used his monthly allowance to improve his swordsmanship.

Now he has no copper coins left.

Going to Qingping Town is a completely unfamiliar place, and it will be inconvenient if I don't have some money on me.

Moreover, according to He Xiangdong, the cause of death of the former head nurse of Baoyaotang in Qingping Town has not yet been determined, and there may be something fishy about it.

He needed money even more then.

With another ten taels of silver, he could improve his swordsmanship to the perfect level.

Traveling to Qingping Town is now safer.

"Okay." He Xiangdong took out fifteen taels of silver and handed it directly to Gu Chen.

On the day.

Gu Chen then left Cangshan County and headed to Baoyaotang in Qingping Town.

Before leaving, He Xiangdong gave him a guard token. With this token...

He could then directly serve as a guard at the Baoyaotang pharmacy in Qingping Town.

Qingping Town is a hundred miles away from Cangshan County. Gu Chen rode at full speed and arrived at his destination before dark.

Baoyaotang Pharmacy in Qingping Town.

Gu Chen showed his guard token.

He successfully entered the Precious Medicine Hall.

That night.

In a large restaurant in Qingping Town.

"Come, let's raise a toast to the ancient guard."

Nine people sat upright in front of a table laden with food and wine.

Besides Gu Chen, four of the other eight people were guards from the Baoyao Hall in Qingping Town, who would become Gu Chen's subordinates.

The other four.

One person is the head of Baoyaotang, one person is the resident pharmacist of Baoyaotang, and the other two are the physicians and heads of two medical clinics under Baoyaotang.

This banquet was specially prepared by them to welcome Gu Chen and congratulate him on his arrival as a bodyguard.

Knowing that Gu Chen was exceptionally talented and was highly regarded by He Xiangdong, the eight people raised their glasses to toast him.

"Gu Chen is so young yet possesses such strength, earning the trust of the steward and being appointed as a guard. His future is undoubtedly bright," said Li Linfeng, the head of the Precious Medicine Hall, raising his glass to Gu Chen.

"Indeed, seeing how young Husband Gu is yet with such impressive cultivation, he is bound to become a top-tier expert in the future, and even has the potential to become a Xiantian master." The pharmacist from Baoyao Hall also raised his glass in praise.

Upon seeing this, the other six people all began to flatter Gu Chen and fawn over him.

"You flatter me, everyone." Gu Chen raised his wine cup and toasted each of them.

"With Elder Gu serving as our Baoyao Hall's guard, our safety will be assured in the future. We hope Elder Gu will continue to take good care of us." A guard stood up, toasted Gu Chen, and flattered him.

This guard's name was Wei Zhong. It was Wei Zhong who received Gu Chen when he first arrived at the Treasure Medicine Hall and led him inside.

"No problem." Gu Chen drank a cup with him.

The other three guards also stood up and toasted Gu Chen, hoping that Gu Chen would take good care of them in the future.

After a banquet, Gu Chen became quite familiar with everyone.

We also learned about the specific situation of Baoyaotang in Qingping Town.

Baoyaotang in Qingping Town has two medical clinics under its jurisdiction, and the main staff are the eight people who came today.

The two clinic owners are both clinic owners and resident physicians.

Li Linfeng, the head of Baoyaotang, is the person in charge of the entire Baoyaotang. The pharmacist in charge is usually responsible for refining pills and preparing decoctions.

The four guards are responsible for the daily patrols of Baoyaotang and its two affiliated medical clinics.

Of the eight people, four guards were third-rate experts, two clinic owners and pharmacists were second-rate experts, and the hall master, Li Linfeng, was a first-rate expert.

Each of his two clinics had a few apprentice physicians, while the rest were all menial workers, ordinary people.

The welcome banquet has ended.

On the way back to Baoyaotang, Gu Chen returned with four guards.

Back at the Baoyao Hall, guard Wei Zhong led him to his arranged residence.

It was a rather large residence, much larger than the small courtyard where Gu Chen lived in the Baoyao Pavilion in Cangshan County.

"Old Master, this house used to be where Boss Xu lived. Now it's vacant, so you can live here from now on," Wei Zhong said.

Gu Chen naturally knew who the Xu Laoda he was talking about was—Xu Dongqing, the former head guard of Baoyaotang who died in an accident.

"Okay." Gu Chen nodded.

"Old Master, this mansion used to have two maids, but Boss Xu didn't like having all the other people around, so he dismissed them. If you need them, I can have them reassigned," Wei Zhong explained.

"No need, I don't like having other people around where I live, so let's leave it at that," Gu Chen refused.

He possesses the secret of the copper bowl, so it's best if there aren't too many people living in his residence.

"Okay." Wei Zhong nodded and led Gu Chen into the courtyard to familiarize himself with the place.

"We live in the next courtyard. If you need anything, just let me know, Elder Gu," Wei Zhong said as he led Gu Chen around.

Gu Chen wandered around the courtyard. The bedding in the rooms was all new, and it must have just been changed. There was a simple tea set in the living room, but nothing else.

Gu Chen looked at Wei Zhong, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Wei Zhong, let me ask you something. Has the government released any results regarding Boss Xu's death? Do you know what happened when he died?"

"He was a second-rate expert; there shouldn't be many people in Qingping Town stronger than him. Why would he suddenly die in the wilderness?!"

He was a second-rate expert, not the strongest in Cangshan County, but in Qingping Town, he should be considered one of the top people. It's impossible for him to have died suddenly for no reason.

Gu Chen's words stumped Wei Zhong.

The new Boss Lao is also interested in the cause of death of the former Boss Xu?

After a moment of silence, Wei Zhong spoke up: "Boss Xu's death was very strange. There were no wounds on his body. His body was not discovered until the next day outside the town. His eyes were wide open, and he died with his eyes open, as if he had discovered something extraordinary before he died."

"However, I don't know the specific reason either. The government is still investigating and has not given a specific conclusion. They just told us to wait for news." Wei Zhong replied.

Seeing that he didn't know much either, Gu Chen didn't ask any more questions.

The cause of death has not been determined by the authorities to this day. How did the person die? Was it caused by evil spirits, demons, or was he killed by someone else?

Is it hard to judge?

Is it that they don't want to investigate, or is there some hidden reason behind it?

It seems He Xiangdong was right; they can't rely entirely on the government and have to investigate themselves.

That night.

After Wei Qing left, Gu Chen washed up and went into his room to prepare for sleep.

Before falling asleep.

Gu Chen took out the fifteen taels of silver he had received for his monthly allowance that day and put ten taels into a copper bowl.

I plan to first master the Lightning Five-Strike Combo.

With this combined with his late-stage Blood Refining Realm cultivation, he would be considered top-tier among first-rate experts.

Even against a top-tier expert, he could exchange a few blows.

Qingping Town may not be as simple as it seems on the surface; only by further strengthening our own capabilities can we ensure greater safety.

Gu Chen placed the silver into the copper bowl and chose to exchange it for a perfect level of sword technique insight.

As the ten taels of silver disappeared, Gu Chen instantly gained a wealth of insights into sword techniques.

It was as if he had practiced this sword technique for decades, and had thoroughly mastered it to perfection.

After achieving his goal, Gu Chen continued to try to improve.

I want to see if my swordsmanship can be improved after I reach perfection.

The information feedback appeared in the copper bowl:

[Spend fifty taels of silver to exchange for insights into swordsmanship at the "Divine Mastery" level.]

Gu Chen was surprised to learn that it could still be exchanged.

After perfection comes sublime skill.

A perfect level of swordsmanship is comparable to the swordsmanship skills that top-tier masters can achieve.

Such superb swordsmanship—could it be a sword technique only possessed by experts at the Innate Realm?

However, reaching this level requires fifty taels of silver, and he probably won't be able to reach it in the short term.

Let's elevate our level first.

He's only a first-rate expert right now, still some distance from being a top-tier expert, so there's no need to overthink it.

First, we should settle down in Qingping Town and steadily improve our strength before considering other matters.

This includes investigating the cause of Xu Dongqing's death.

We should investigate slowly first. If there is any danger involved, he can choose not to do it.

The mission was naturally not as important as his own life.