Chapter 187: Zhao is About to Arrive
The steam-filled bathroom.
Tang Wen lay in the medicinal bath, attended by several maids.
They cut his hair and trimmed his nails.
When the time was up, he stood and rinsed off the dregs of the medicine, which looked like black mud.
He couldn’t help but look at his near-perfect body in the mirror and shake his head to himself.
His Constitution was too strong. A Martial Master Level medicinal bath had no effect on him whatsoever.
"Young Master, are you feeling alright? As you instructed, we doubled the amount of medicinal ingredients in today’s bath."
The housekeeper gazed at his powerful physique, her eyes filled with fervent adoration.
’If not for the ever-present fear of being killed by the Hall Master, she would have pounced on him on the very first day!’
’Sigh, Young Master Tang Wen, why aren’t you a little more proactive?’
’A beckoning finger, even just a look would be enough.’
After the maids helped him dress, Tang Wen frowned and said, "It’s not enough."
The housekeeper didn’t immediately understand. ’What’s not enough? Was our service not thorough enough?’
’Could he be hinting that I should be more forward?’
The housekeeper, whose daily life was usually dull, felt her heart flutter, and a silver glint lit up her eyes.
Tang Wen had no intention of wasting any more time. "My body’s natural Talent is exceptional; I can lift a cauldron weighing thousands of pounds. But in the past month, my Constitution has barely improved. Go contact a physician. I need a much stronger Potion."
"Ah, this...?"
Tang Wen’s tone left no room for doubt. "Do as I say. Tell them I’ve ingested fresh Extraordinary Blood Marrow raw before. I’m not afraid of the Potion being too potent, only of it being useless!"
The housekeeper’s eyes filled with awe, astonishment, and worship.
’The Young Master is actually that powerful.’
Her gaze drifted downwards discreetly.
’That must be amazing, too!’
Sensing her gaze, Tang Wen remained as calm as still water.
Ever since entering a state of secluded training, his ability to resist temptation had improved considerably.
By Tang Wen’s own estimation:
Although in his normal state, his resistance was worse than that of an ordinary Martial Artist.
But once he entered a state of prolonged Cultivation, his willpower was even stronger than a Veteran Extraordinary’s.
The reason for this was the [Experience Panel].
Eighty percent of his achievements came from the Experience Panel.
They weren’t the result of long, arduous training.
Thus, in his normal state, it was easy for him to indulge himself.
Likewise, because the [Experience Panel] existed.
For him, Cultivation progress became a visible metric.
As a result, his motivation for Cultivation was infinitely boosted. Faced with this kind of enjoyment, women?
Hah!
’They would only slow down my Cultivation speed.’
The housekeeper lowered her head. "Understood, Young Master. The Hall Master might get involved."
The person most concerned with Tang Wen’s Cultivation progress...
...aside from himself, was Shui Yun.
"Of course we have to tell Senior Sister. Ask her to find a physician and arrange for the Potion."
’Being a freeloader!’
’It’s so fragrant and soft, who wouldn’t want a bite?’
"Yes."
"Prepare the carriage. I’m going back to my residence today."
That morning, Tang Wen returned to his courtyard.
"Young Master, you’re back?"
"Young Master!"
Xiaorou and Ah Shui dropped what they were doing and hurried over to greet him.
In the days he was gone, it was as if the three women had lost their backbone.
Led by a Female Martial Artist, they had been passing the time with daily Martial Arts Training to strengthen their bodies.
Tang Wen’s return brought with it ready-made delicacies.
It was a nice improvement to their meals.
After eating, he found an opportunity to retrieve the message tube from the Blood Crow.
The tube was tiny, about the size of a girl’s little finger.
The entire tube was coated in several layers of wax.
The narrow strip of paper inside had also been treated with wax, making it waterproof.
He carefully unrolled it, and a single line of text met his eyes:
[Zhao, will arrive soon]
’General Zhao is coming?’
’No wonder. They knew the Blood Crow’s round trip would take two months, yet they used such a small message tube.’
’It’s much safer to say whatever needs to be said in person.’
Besides, even if this short sentence was intercepted, it wouldn’t matter.
There was no definitively useful information on it.
Anyone who saw it would only know that someone with the surname Zhao was about to arrive somewhere.
As for where that place was, when they would arrive, or what they would do upon arrival, it was all a mystery.
"CAW!"
"CAW!"
In the private training room in the backyard,
the two crows met.
Their intelligence was very high.
There was no confrontation, just a greeting in crow-speak.
Tang Wen stared at that short line of text for a long while.
’The handwriting is elegant. Could it be Sister Bing’s?’
’Hmm, I haven’t really seen her write before, so I can’t be sure.’
’Maybe it’s my sister’s.’
’Although I haven’t really seen my sister write either.’
Tangtang has a ledger, but she doesn’t let anyone see it.
Suddenly, his thoughts froze.
’When I sent my letter, I think I wrote about the situation at Four Seas Camp.’
’That shouldn’t have been a problem on its own.’
’But, if General Zhao goes to Four Seas Camp first, all he has to do is ask around a little.’
’No, he wouldn’t even need to ask intentionally.’
’He might hear my name.’
Tang, Gan Shan City, Hei Shui Bang, Seventh Young Master Wen.
’Once he hears the name, if he pays a little more attention...’
’...he’ll be able to find my portrait at the Four Seas Inn.’
’He’ll definitely be able to connect the face to the name.’
’This...?’
Tang Wen thought for a moment.
Not daring to delay, he quickly grabbed the Blood Crow.
He began stuffing all sorts of Extraordinary Elixirs down its throat one after another.
The Blood Crow, choking, stretched its neck straight. ’I just flew thousands of miles!’
’Is this how you treat me?’
"CAW CAW CAW!"
Tang Wen sent a few waves of spiritual soothing its way, not letting his mouth rest either. "Only by suffering the most bitter of hardships can one become... the crow above all crows!"
"These are all Extraordinary Elixirs! If you eat and digest them, you can transform from a regular High-Level Mutant Crow into a powerful High-Level Mutant Crow!"
These words might not work on any ordinary cat or dog.
But the Blood Crow’s intelligence was high.
With high intelligence comes desire.
And with desire, it’s easy to fall for grand promises.
The medicinal power of the Extraordinary Elixirs flooded its entire body.
Tang Wen quickly sent the coachman outside to buy several bags of saltpeter.
By the time the saltpeter was brought back,
the Blood Crow was red all over, its flesh practically medium-rare.
Tang Wen quickly plunged it into a bucket of ice.
Then he continued to feed it elixirs.
The Brown-tailed Crow’s beady little eyes took in the entire scene.
It was surprised, envious, and puzzled all at once.
It cawed, asking, "It just had such a hard flight back. Why not wait a couple of days for it to recover before you strengthen it?"
Tang Wen, who was in the middle of scooping ice water to pour on the Blood Crow, froze. ’This little thing knows quite a lot!’
’It even knows how to question its master.’
’With an IQ like that, it could probably pass a college entrance exam, huh?’
He glanced at the Blood Crow, which was dazed from the heat and struggling to adapt to the medicinal power.
Tang Wen shot the Brown-tailed Crow a glare. "It’s better for you if you don’t ask about the ways of the world!"
"CAW?"
"What’re you cawing about!"
After a brief pause, Tang Wen came up with an excuse. "These elixirs have already been opened. Their potency will decrease over time. So it has to eat them as soon as possible. The sooner it eats them, the better the effect and the higher the success rate of the strengthening."
"Caw caw caw (Understood)."
’Finally managed to fool it.’
"Caw caw caw caw... (Then should I eat mine now, too?)"
Tang Wen: "..."
’The kid’s grown up.’
’Not so easy to trick anymore.’
He said irritably, "What’s the rush? If you eat yours now and can’t recover in time, who’s going to stand guard tonight? Who’s going to protect the house? Who’s going to protect it?"
The Brown-tailed Crow seemed to only half-understand.
It wasn’t until a few hours later, when the Blood Crow had successfully been strengthened, eaten and drunk its fill, and rested until evening, that it took to the sky with a new letter.
Only then did the Brown-tailed Crow realize. ’Shouldn’t it stay and guard the house after its strengthening was complete?’
’Why did it fly away?’