Watching Shu Yu enter the adjacent house and disappear from sight,
Liang Hui also closed his door and went to the kitchen to lift the cover off the food box on the table.
A few exquisitely made pastries immediately caught his eye.
Having tried the method recorded in the fist manual to ensure they were not poisoned, he removed his mask before picking up a piece of pastry to eat.
"Hmm, the taste is indeed good,"
Liang Hui mumbled, chewing on the pastries and exclaimed with appreciation.
He pinched the pastries one by one and brought them to his mouth.
After cleaning the now-empty food box and placing it on the table, he planned to return it the next day.
After all, such a fine food box did not appear cheap.
Having prepared everything, Liang Hui then went to the bedroom to lie down on the bed and fell asleep.
...
The next day, early morning.
As the sun had just risen, Liang Hui, after breakfast, carried the food box to the door of the next house.
Knock! Knock!
He knocked lightly on the door.
"Who is it?"
An elderly voice came from inside the house, and footsteps continued to approach the door.
Creak!
As the door opened, it revealed an old man with white hair, a lean body, and a goatee.
"Old sir, I live next door, this is the food box Miss Shu Yu left behind when she gave the gift yesterday, I cleaned it and have brought it back,"
Liang Hui pointed to the food box in his hand and handed it over.
"So it's a neighbor, would you like to come in and sit?"
The old man took the food box.
He examined Liang Hui's mask carefully as the latter's figure still stood at the doorstep, without making way.
Liang Hui, of course, saw what the old man was thinking and shook his head.
"Old sir, I have some other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you."
"Then you go on and be busy."
After a few exchanges of small talk, Liang Hui left the courtyard.
As the young man's figure gradually disappeared on the street, the old man shut the door.
"Dad, who was that just now?" Soft words came from behind the old man in the house.
Turning around to look at his daughter, who was walking out of the house, he said with a touch of concern,
"Come inside, it's too cold out now, and your body can't withstand it."
Moving quickly forward, he took his daughter by the arm and headed into the house.
As they walked, he pointed to the food box in his hand and said. "The neighbor from next door came to return the food box."
"It seems he's a person who understands etiquette," Shu Yu said with a gentle smile on her face.
She paused before continuing, "Dad, go to the medical hall and get busy, I'll be enough to handle the house by myself."
"Alright, don't go out, it's not safe in the city these days."
The old man instructed cautiously, at the same time searching for the medicine box in the house.
"I know."
...
Elsewhere,
Liang Hui walked on the street, heading toward the herbal shop he had already scouted out.
Today, he planned to buy some herbs for cultivation to test their effects.
Before long, he arrived in front of a shop named Ji Shi.
At this time, a shop assistant inside was wiping the dust off the counter.
Seeing a customer, he immediately put down his work and hurried forward to greet him.
"Guest, are you here to buy herbs or to seek treatment?"
"To buy herbs."
Liang Hui approached the counter and spoke, then he proceeded to list the names of the herbs.
"Dong quai, Panax notoginseng, Astragalus, Rhubarb, Han...,"
There was nothing secretive about the names of herbs that aided in cultivation; what needed to be kept secret was the proportion of the various herbs.
Of course, Liang Hui also listed a few unnecessary herbs.
"Do you have these herbs here?"
"Guest, most of these are fairly common herbs, and we also have a few of the more obscure ones," the shop assistant replied politely.
"I'll take three portions of these herbs," Liang Hui requested.
"Guest, please wait a moment; it'll be ready shortly."
Upon hearing this, the shop assistant immediately picked up the medicinal herbs.
Liang Hui did not have to wait long before the assistant packed the medicinal herbs and placed them on the counter.
"Guest, that will be fifteen taels."
Liang Hui did not hesitate; he took out fifteen taels from his chest and placed them on the counter.
Afterward, he carried the medicinal herbs and walked towards his home, not willing to delay his cultivation even for a moment.
Suddenly, a somewhat familiar figure appeared in his field of vision, and the eyes beneath the mask revealed a hint of surprise.
The person approaching was the goateed old man he had just met that morning.
Their eyes met, they nodded slightly at each other, and then went their separate ways.
Once back home, Liang Hui immediately began preparing the medicinal herbs.
The fist manual prescribed medicinal recipes for both oral consumption and external application; both needed to be used together for the best effect.
Therefore, it was not until noon that he finished preparing the prescriptions.
Looking at the three days' worth of medicine before him, Liang Hui stored two days' worth away.
He then took the remaining day's herbs to the kitchen, where he set up two clay pots of different sizes and started boiling them.
Turning up the fire, Liang Hui returned to the courtyard to practice his boxing.
At the same time, he continuously circulated the green Inner Strength throughout his body, as time ticked away.
Only when the sound of boiling water came from the kitchen did he stop his boxing and quickly went back to the kitchen.
Watching the brown liquid in the small pot bubble fiercely, his brows furrowed slightly.
Nevertheless, he took it off the stove and poured it into an empty bowl.
After the medicine had cooled down somewhat, he drank it all in one gulp.
Cough... cough...
It was so bitter!
Liang Hui couldn't help coughing, and he even felt the urge to vomit.
However, he managed to suppress these instinctive physical reactions.
After adding some firewood to the other large pot, he quickly went to the courtyard to resume practicing his boxing.
No sooner had he started than he felt a furnace-like heat in his abdomen, sending warm currents to every organ in his body.
Without any hesitation, he exerted full force in his Green Wolf Fist.
His punches became faster and faster, whipping up a blowing wind.
At the same time, Qi-Blood was continually born within his body, moving towards the outer layers of his skin and then dissipating.
With each moment, his skin became tougher.
One time, two times, three times...
Apart from needing to enter the kitchen to add firewood and water, Liang Hui did not cease his cultivation.
It wasn't until his physical strength was nearly depleted that Liang Hui finally stopped practicing and stood still to rest.
By then, he did not know how much time had passed.
Whew~
A dense breath of white air slowly left his mouth.
Moving his trembling feet, he headed towards the kitchen.
By now, the liquid in the large clay pot had turned from brown to almost black, and even the various sizes of medicinal herbs had been boiled down to dregs.
Picking up the large pot, he poured its content into a wooden tub next to him, already filled with cold, prepared water.
Leaving the pot aside, he checked the water temperature. Finding it just right, Liang Hui took off all his clothes and jumped into the wooden tub.
What a relief!
Warm currents slid over his fatigued body, seemingly massaging and driving away his exhaustion.
In such a state, Liang Hui decided to submerge his head in the water as well.
He only emerged from the tub an hour later.
Pinching his skin, he could feel the enhanced toughness and the substantial increase in Inner Strength within his body.
The corners of Liang Hui's mouth curved up slightly.
He then immersed his consciousness into his mind.
(Skin Refinement 82.14%)
"It's close! Very close! Soon I will reach another level," he muttered to himself.
...
Evening.
In Yuanshui City, at the official residence,
a dim light flickered in a constable's room.