Chapter 29: Inference Skill
"This was quite the haul. You’ve earned a full one hundred and twenty-five Merit Points. Your armor, horse, weapon, and other rewards are equivalent to three thousand two hundred and thirteen taels of silver."
The Quartermaster finished his tally, recorded Lu Yuan’s merits, and brought over the silver.
Three of them were one-thousand-tael silver notes, and the remaining two hundred-plus taels were silver ingots in a pouch.
Lu Yuan took the items and said with a smile, "Much appreciated."
After that, he headed for the armory.
He was going to exchange for the Dragon Scale Grass today and then make his breakthrough.
Once his cultivation reached the Bone Forging Realm, his combat prowess would take another leap forward.
He glanced at the supplies arranged inside the storehouse.
Lu Yuan walked straight to where the Dragon Scale Grass was kept and took it.
He handed over two thousand taels in silver notes, and the item was his.
With the transaction complete, he headed for home.
Many people turned to look at him as he walked. Lu Yuan was now well and truly famous.
Not long after he had killed the Iron Kite, he had gone on to fight a grueling battle outside the city for a month, claiming the heads of over a hundred Northern Barbarians.
This had been a huge morale boost for Icefield City.
"See him? That’s Lu Yuan. He’s the one who destroyed the Iron Kite. I heard he just spent over a month fighting outside the city, and he killed more than a hundred Northern Barbarian scouts all by himself."
"Damn... It’s been many years since Icefield City has seen someone so formidable."
...
The surrounding chatter was incessant.
Many eyes were fixed on Lu Yuan.
He just kept walking, paying them no mind.
’Increasing my own strength is what matters most.’
Lu Yuan didn’t let the praise go to his head.
After returning home, he first lit the stove, then removed his armor and stripped off his cotton clothes.
Then he sat cross-legged on the kang bed and opened the box containing the Dragon Scale Grass.
Inside lay a medicinal herb, so green it looked like a drop of jade.
It was a vibrant green all over, covered in layers of a green film that resembled Dragon Scale. It was said to grow in the nests of Flood Dragons.
It took many years to mature.
Lu Yuan picked up the Spirit Medicine without hesitation and swallowed it down.
A violent surge of energy immediately spread through his body, coursing through his meridians.
His skin began to take on a faint red glow, as if it were undergoing a Refining process.
He began to circulate the Tiger Subduing Posture, and a low hum emanated from within his body.
Every inch of his skin began to transform once more.
The Divine Substance became more active, suffusing every inch of his skin.
His power was increasing dramatically.
The Golden Bell Shield was also activated, and a faint Golden Bell materialized around his body.
It revolved around him.
Lu Yuan could feel his own power, an enhancement that fortified him from the inside out.
Even his bones were becoming increasingly resilient.
Although he hadn’t officially entered the Bone Forging Realm, his bones were likely tougher than those of an ordinary expert who had.
Time passed. He had no idea how long it had been.
When Lu Yuan opened his eyes again,
BZZZ!
a series of hums erupted from within his body.
His skin, muscles, and bones all vibrated in unison.
He knew he had broken through.
He then opened his status panel.
[Name: Lu Yuan]
[Age: 16]
[Cultivation Technique: *Breaking Blade Eight Techniques* (61209/50000, Entering the Stance. Consume 10,000 Skill Level for Inference Skill?)]
[*Tiger Subduing Posture* Body Tempering (50192/50000, Divine Containment. Break through?)]
[*Golden Bell Shield* (67190/50000, Entering the Stance. Consume 10,000 Skill Level for Inference Skill?)]
[*Wolf-Chasing Arrow Skill* (30910/30000, Perfection. Break through?)]
[*Arrowhead Array* (68101/50000, Entering the Stance. Consume 10,000 Skill Level to perform Array Inference?)]
Lu Yuan’s lips curled into a smile as he looked at the data.
’I can finally break through, and I can continue to develop my Cultivation Techniques through Inference.’
’This means my strength is about to increase dramatically again.’
’Reaching the next level will be no problem at all.’
Just then, however, an unbearable hunger gnawed at his stomach.
He knew this was a side effect of the breakthrough. Just as he was about to get something to eat and put off the upgrades for later...
BANG BANG BANG!
A rapid knocking came from outside.
"Yuan, are you there?" It was Xiao Hua.
Lu Yuan closed the panel, stood up, and walked out into the courtyard.
CREAK!
When he opened the door, he saw her standing outside, pale-faced and nervously wringing the hem of her clothes.
"Did something happen?" Lu Yuan asked quickly.
Xiao Hua nodded but didn’t say anything.
"You can tell me anything. Has something happened to your mother?" Lu Yuan continued to ask.
"Half a month ago, my mother’s illness, which had been getting better, suddenly took a turn for the worse. She started coughing up blood, and the medicine we used to buy isn’t working anymore.
But we don’t have the silver to call a physician." By the end, Xiao Hua’s voice was choked with sobs.
She knew she shouldn’t be bothering Lu Yuan, but she had no one else to turn to.
"I’ll go take a look." As he spoke, Lu Yuan headed next door.
As soon as he walked in, he caught the faint smell of blood. Xiao Hua’s mother was lying on the kang bed, her face a waxy yellow, looking completely different from the last time he had seen her.
A basin on the edge of the bed was filled with blood.
"Yuan is back. Come, sit," the Xiao Clan said, forcing herself to sit up.
"Ma’am, you rest. I’ll go get a physician." The words had barely left Lu Yuan’s mouth before he was out the door.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he returned with an old man in tow. This was the Medical Officer from the City Defense Camp, considered the best Physician in all of Icefield City.
His house call fee was steep, and ordinary people could never hope to hire him. He had only come because Lu Yuan now had influence in the army and was willing to pay handsomely.
As soon as he entered and saw the Xiao Clan’s condition, the physician’s brow furrowed. He stepped forward and began to check her pulse.
Xiao Hua stood nervously to the side, not daring to make a sound, while the Xiao Clan just coughed continuously, each one accompanied by a labored gasp for air.
"This ailment has been left untreated for a long time. It’s a good thing I came today. Otherwise, even if she survived, she’d be left with a serious chronic condition. I’ll write a prescription. You go get the medicine. Have her take this for half a month, then come find me for a new prescription. In three months, she should be fine."
After speaking, the Medical Officer sat down, took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his medical kit, and wrote out a prescription.
He handed it to Lu Yuan and instructed, "Get this medicine quickly. She must take it today. Her condition cannot wait."
Hearing this, Xiao Hua’s heart clenched.
Lu Yuan agreed immediately. At the same time, he took out two silver ingots, worth about twenty taels, and pressed them into the Medical Officer’s hand. "Thank you, Lord Tian. I appreciate you coming."
"Heh, well then, I won’t refuse. We’re all brothers-in-arms. Don’t mention trouble. Just remember to find me in half a month."
With that, he packed his things and left.
Lu Yuan turned to Xiao Hua. "Take this silver and go get the medicine. If it’s not enough, tell me. Now is not the time for pleasantries, you hear?"
He then pressed a pouch of money and the prescription into Xiao Hua’s hands.
She pursed her lips, nodded, and then took the silver and left to buy the medicine.
About an hour later, after Xiao Hua had returned, Lu Yuan went back to his own house.
Then, after roasting and eating some dry rations by the stove, he opened the status panel again and chose to apply his breakthroughs.