NOVPUBAt that moment, his strength was gradually increasing.
Having put down the large gun, Chen Jie didn’t dare to rest. He activated the Water Manipulation Palm using the Yang Chun Skill and started practicing palm techniques in the courtyard. As his palms moved, they created waves like a turbulent sea and undercurrents beneath stormy waves, each movement filled with mysterious intricacies.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes urgent, sometimes still––they truly were tumultuous and overwhelming, and the palm power he demonstrated was astonishing.
Slap, slap, slap...
Wielding his hand technique, the fastest way for a martial artist to absorb elixir was through engaging in martial arts vigorously, stimulating the whole body to move, thereby absorbing the medicinal properties most swiftly and powerfully.
While Chen Jie was practicing his palm technique, Xiao Hu came out from the house. Seeing Chen Jie training, he didn’t interrupt but silently stood to the side and started to train as well, taking a horse stance.
Jiu Si was right, his own strength was too weak. How could he help Jiu Si?
He diligently practiced; in fact, his talent was greater than Chen Jie’s.
Chen Jie practiced his hand technique until he was tired, then switched to spear technique.
It was only when dawn broke and the cries of vendors outside began that Chen Jie finally absorbed all the medicinal power.
Chen Jie calmed down the medicinal power.
He checked his progress in skill and found that, after a night of training, he was just a little short of reaching the Willow Tendon Realm. To bridge this small gap through training alone, without the aid of elixirs, would probably take at least three months for a possible breakthrough.
But since Peng Shizhong had given him two Muscle Relaxing Pills, it indicated that he wished for him to break through swiftly.
Chen Jie felt that after taking the Muscle Relaxing Pill tonight, the medicinal power would be sufficient for him to break through to the Willow Tendon Realm.
His adoptive father also said that, with his current strength, being his adoptive son wasn’t really suitable. Thinking along these lines, his adoptive father’s intent was that, on the ceremony recognising his son two days later, he should greet his father with the cultivation of Dark Force at the Willow Tendon Realm level.
Having figured out all this, Chen Jie put away the large gun and saw that Xiao Hu had also finished his stance and asked, "How is it?"
Xiao Hu said, "I should be able to break through the Skin Buff Realm in these two days."
Chen Jie said, "Hmm, let’s go. Their sisters haven’t woken up yet, right? Let’s go out to eat something and bring something back for their sisters as well."
The two left the house and found that the Big Vegetable Market was indeed bustling; it was just past five in the morning, and the streets were filled with people buying vegetables.
In this era, people went to bed early and set up their stalls early as well.
The Big Vegetable Market was most crowded with commoners and servants; therefore, breakfast stalls were numerous.
As Chen Jie and Xiao Hu walked along, they saw various snacks, primarily noodle-based dishes followed by small dumplings; there were hardly any eating fried dough sticks, but there were a few selling wheaten nests.
Chen Jie and his group ambled along, which doubled as a meal and a chance to get to know the local customs of the Big Vegetable Market.
Not far on their walk, Chen Jie and his group saw a shop with a long queue.
It had two characters written on it: Tofu!
Hmm?
When Chen Jie and Xiao Hu reached there, they noticed that those lining up were all men, each looking forward in anticipation.
Since the store hadn’t opened yet, someone murmured, "Why isn’t the Tofu Xi Shi opening up today?"
"Don’t people deserve to sleep in sometime?"
Hearing this person’s complaint, someone immediately became unhappy and loudly criticized.
Initially, these words sounded harsh, but no one refuted them, and there were even some saying, "If you want to eat, eat; if not, scram, don’t stand in front of me."
"That’s right, that’s right."
"If you don’t want to eat, scram. We won’t offer Xi Shi sister’s tofu to you."
"Hey hey, you guys, I was just saying, why are you like this?"
"No talking allowed."
...
The crowd spoke such that the man couldn’t even raise his head.
At this moment, Xiao Hu stood to the side and naively asked, "Is this tofu really this delicious?"
"Jiu Si."
Xiao Hu looked at Chen Jie, who smiled and said, "It’s not necessarily about eating tofu."
"Hmm? Not eating tofu at the tofu shop? Then what?"
Xiao Hu asked, puzzled.
Chen Jie, not saying anything, had already understood seventy percent; he didn’t expect such a business even in this era.
Meanwhile, inside the tofu shop.
Several staff members were busy, moving packs of tofu before soaking them in brine and setting some tofu into molds to solidify, creating tofu blocks.
Others were not pressed, turning into tofu pudding.
As the staff busied themselves, a curvaceous woman in a colorful cheongsam with an alluring appearance sat at a table, propping her chin with one hand.
Her long, plump legs crossed under her cheongsam skirt.
The upper part of her clothes stretched tight, and her chest seemed about to burst forth.
Truly a seductive and charming presence.
An old man behind her, with a large pipe tucked into his waist and holding a ledger, said, "Boss, we took a total of ten orders this month, including the owner of Hongtai Cloth Store... we earned eight thousand taels of silver. After paying the commissions, we profited three thousand taels."
"Ah, this business is getting tougher to run."
The woman complained after hearing the old man’s account.
At that moment, a staff member brought over a bowl of fresh tofu pudding, topped with some unknown red liquid.
The woman stirred it and took a spoonful into her mouth, leaving red juice at the corners.
The white tofu pudding with the red liquid looked almost like human brain matter, sinister and terrifying.
After she had a taste of the tofu pudding, the old man continued, "By the way, boss, someone came yesterday wanting to pay two thousand taels to kill someone from the Fishing Guild."
"Two thousand taels?"
The woman narrowed her eyes and said, "A Manager level?" 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
The old man said, "No, it’s Peng Shizhong’s adoptive son."
"Cough cough..."
The woman was suddenly choked: "Did you take it?"
