Chapter 37: Secret Manuals and Alchemical Recipes (Please Keep Reading!)
Shang Mingqiu longed to visit his ancestral tomb.
But it was far too late now; if he accidentally ran into an ancestor out for a midnight stroll among the graves, it would be awkward—not easy to hide, and not quite proper to greet them either.
Better to leave it for another day.
“Lu’er, you must be hungry. I’ll go get you something to eat.”
Wu Guizhi had none of these concerns. Her only worry was that her son had not eaten yet. As soon as Shang Lu had changed his clothes, she turned and went to the kitchen, bringing out the dishes she’d kept warm on the stove.
Shang Lu really was hungry.
He’d left home at dawn and had only eaten breakfast. Whether it was the official examination or the act of avenging murder, both had drained him physically. Although his vital energy flowed through the Ren and Du meridians, nourishing his strength, he still needed real food.
Still, what he craved most was San Niang’s secret recipe of fresh, bloody meat paste. But since Wu Guizhi had already brought out the food, he couldn’t refuse. Smiling, he accepted it.
“Thank you, Mother. I truly am hungry.”
Though the food was plain and lacked any richness, with his Temple of Five Viscera and the Spirit of the Spleen idol, it could still be transformed into a good amount of refined vital energy.
While eating, Shang Lu took out the books he had acquired earlier and flipped through them.
One was titled “True Explanation of Meridian Opening.” Judging by the words on the title page, this was a secret manual from a particular sect. How it ended up in Zhao Hai’s hands was a mystery.
“True Explanation of Meridian Opening” mainly taught how to use vital energy to better pierce acupoints and open meridians, and after the channels were opened, how to nourish them with vital energy to strengthen acupoints and reinforce the meridians.
This was exactly what Shang Lu needed right now.
Though he had entered the Meridian-Passing Realm, he only knew the Five Beast Vitality Nurturing Technique.
Originally, Shang Lu had planned to visit a few martial schools in the county after the examination to see if he could learn anything about piercing acupoints and opening meridians.
Now, with “True Explanation of Meridian Opening,” he had no worries—even if he found nothing else.
There was also a saber manual, the Whirlwind Blade Technique, which Zhao Hai had mastered.
This technique was characterized by its speed, explosive power, and relentless, storm-like attacks. Once unleashed, it was like a gale sweeping away clouds—a challenge for any opponent.
Compared to the Whirlwind Blade, the Tendon-Severing Bone-Splitting Blade that Shang Lu had learned at the yamen was more precise and nimble, but lacked raw power.
The two saber techniques complemented each other perfectly.
Another book was titled “Tiger Step Technique.” At first, Shang Lu thought it was merely a footwork manual, and after skimming through, he realized that was true—it indeed improved agility and reaction. But it was also a form of stance training, strengthening the lower body, muscles, and flesh.
In addition, it contained several kicking techniques. If mastered, they would provide new offensive options in combat.
Shang Lu finally understood why, during the killing of Zhao Hai, San Niang had controlled Xu Biao to tightly restrain Zhao Hai’s limbs. It was to prevent him from using the Whirlwind Blade and Tiger Step Technique.
Wind follows the tiger, and the tiger creates wind. The Whirlwind Blade and Tiger Step worked in perfect harmony; used together, they unleashed formidable power.
If Shang Lu had faced an unrestrained Zhao Hai, perhaps San Niang’s wedding dress would have turned into mourning garments.
Having a wife was indeed a blessing—it greatly increased one’s chances of survival.
Shang Lu sighed inwardly.
He closed “Tiger Step Technique” and put it aside with the saber manual and cultivation notes for later study, choosing to read “True Explanation of Meridian Opening” while eating.
After finishing his meal, he planned to practice the Five Beast Vitality Nurturing Technique to absorb the refined energy from the Spleen Spirit idol, then attempt to pierce acupoints.
He didn’t expect to break through two meridians at once as he had before; it would be enough to open acupoints steadily and gradually improve his cultivation.
After a few pages, Shang Lu suddenly found a sheet of parchment tucked inside the book.
He didn’t know what animal the parchment was made from.
He picked it up and glanced at it—a pill recipe.
At first, he was intrigued, but after a closer look at the ingredients and method, his face darkened.
It was a wicked formula for refining pills using human beings!
Who knew where Zhao Hai had found such a nefarious recipe, hidden with his gold, silver, and valuables. Most likely, he had already used it and tasted its benefits.
But Zhao Hai clearly knew that human alchemy was forbidden sorcery, so he had hidden it deeply.
Until today, Shang Lu had not heard a whisper of it.
On reflection, with all of Zhao Hai’s dark enterprises—kidnapping and human trafficking—it would have been all too easy for him to get people for alchemy.
No one would suspect that the missing or sold people had actually been killed by Zhao Hai, their hearts and livers used for pill refining.
“Truly unforgivable!”
Shang Lu could only regret that Zhao Hai’s death had been too swift and simple.
He should not have split his skull with a single axe blow, but let him suffer a thousand cuts!
Shang Lu did not keep the human-skin pill recipe. He burned it to ashes with a candle.
Such evil things were a curse to keep; better to destroy them as soon as possible.
San Niang stood by and watched him burn the recipe silently.
Her face, hidden beneath a blood-red veil, betrayed no expression.
After the meal, Shang Lu urged his parents to rest early and returned to his own room.
He had barely closed the door when San Niang brought out a bowl of fresh, bloody meat paste and set it by the bed.
She also brought a set of incense candles.
Shang Lu focused his mind on his dantian and glanced at them.
As he expected, the incense before the Spleen Spirit idol in his Temple of Five Viscera was nearly burned out and needed replacing.
“San Niang, you remember the time to change the incense even better than I do,” Shang Lu said with a smile, though he was thinking to himself: When it comes to paying conjugal dues, will San Niang keep track of the time this precisely too?
He silently spat at himself: We haven’t even shared a bed yet, and I’m already worrying about such things? Besides, with my body, what is there to fear about paying conjugal dues? Surely I’ll battle San Niang for a thousand rounds, and in the end, yin and yang will unite and we’ll achieve the great path together!
With a wry face, Shang Lu first choked down the incense candles.
This stuff was as hard to swallow as ever.
He wondered when the incense in his inner shrine would finally grow on its own, endlessly renewing itself.
After forcing down the incense, he exhaled a turbid breath and, after a pause, picked up the bowl of bloody meat paste.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered the spiritual fat he had received as a reward during the examination and quickly took out the food box, opening it like a treasure.
“San Niang, this is my reward for today—a piece of spiritual fat. Come, let’s share it.”
San Niang shook her head and waved her hand, whether out of refusal or disdain, he couldn’t tell.
Looking closely at the spiritual fat, Shang Lu couldn’t help exclaiming.
So this was spiritual fat?
Red and bloody, it looked remarkably like the bloody meat paste San Niang always gave him.
He picked up the spiritual fat and compared it to the meat paste. They really did look alike.
Except the meat paste was colder, as if taken from an ice cellar, and contained more meat, while the spiritual fat seemed more like a solidified lump of some kind of rich, fatty oil.
“San Niang, what you give me to eat—isn’t it also something like spiritual fat or spiritual essence?” Shang Lu looked up at San Niang, curiosity in his eyes.