Holy body, start with the Five Animal Exercises

24: Shishi River, golden scale fishQin Jiang was stunned to hear this, ”Naked?”

Wang Minglang took a puff from his large pipe, exhaled a cloud of white smoke, and grinned, ”A young lad like you still cares about that? There are no outsiders, just the two of us, what are you afraid of?”

Qin Jiang’s eyes darted back and forth, then he nodded with some hesitation, ”Alright then.”

With that, he immediately began to take off his clothes.

”Hey, hey, hey, are you really taking it all off? I was just kidding, just the upper body is fine. The medicinal bath is for your arms, not your legs.”

Qin Jiang took a deep breath, silently removed his cloth shirt, and then leaped directly into the copper tub.

”Heh, see how smart I am? I knew from the start that I had to use a copper tub. If it were a ceramic tub, it would have been shattered countless times by now!”

Wang Minglang, with the large pipe in his mouth, used a long tube to draw water from the trough into the copper tub.

In a short while, the water in the copper tub had reached above Qin Jiang’s shoulders, leaving only his head exposed.

No longer adding water, Wang Minglang walked to the shelf on the left, grabbed a few herbs, and then went to the right to pick up a mortar and begin pounding the medicine.

A moment later, the herbs were pounded into a paste. He carried the mortar to the copper tub, ”Raise your arms.”

Qin Jiang raised both arms, and he directly grabbed the medicinal paste and smeared it onto Qin Jiang’s arms. In just a few seconds, the paste formed a soft shell on his arms.

”Alright, you can lower them now,” he said.

As his arms submerged into the water, a chemical reaction seemed to occur, and the perceived temperature of his arms rapidly rose.

Wang Minglang walked aside, took out a porcelain bottle from a hidden compartment, and then walked to the copper tub to pour a yellow liquid into the water.

In an instant, a layer of yellow mist, accompanied by a pungent odor, diffused into the air. At the same time, the clear water quickly turned pale yellow, and the heat sensation in his arms rapidly intensified, becoming scorching.

Not idle, Wang Minglang walked to the medicine shelf and pressed a button.

Whoosh—!

A sudden gust of wind appeared beneath the copper tub, and in the blink of an eye, flames ignited.

Only then did Qin Jiang realize that there was a fire channel beneath the copper tub.

The water temperature inside the copper tub gradually rose. Wang Minglang picked up a few relatively fresh herbs from the medicine shelf and came to the copper tub.

”After achieving the first level, you should have already felt the presence of inner Qi. For the next few hours, you must use all your strength to control the inner Qi within your body to remain in your arms.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiang immediately closed his eyes and controlled the inner Qi in his body to surge towards his arms. The scorching sensation grew more intense as the water temperature in the copper tub rose.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Time passed continuously, and Wang Minglang occasionally threw herbs into the copper tub.

After an unknown period, Qin Jiang could no longer perceive the passage of time. He could only feel his arms gradually becoming scorching hot, to the point where they felt as if they were being roasted.

Much later, it had already grown dark outside the window, and Wang Minglang wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Qin Jiang. It was only because it was Qin Jiang; he wouldn’t be so dedicated for anyone else.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to do anything else all day.

A moment later, Qin Jiang opened his eyes, and a faint glimmer flashed and disappeared.

He looked into the copper tub. The originally pale yellow liquid had turned dark green, and the burning sensation in his arms had disappeared, replaced by a cool and refreshing feeling.

”Alright, come out, I have something to tell you.” Wang Minglang sat on a nearby stool, legs crossed, smoking his large pipe.

Qin Jiang leaped out of the copper tub, circulated his inner Qi to dry the water, and put on his clothes, ”What is it?”

Inhale—

Wang Minglang took a puff from his pipe and slowly exhaled, ”I saw what happened last night.”

Qin Jiang’s eyes subtly changed upon hearing this, ”You saw it?”

Wang Minglang nodded slightly, ”Yes, your experience is still a bit lacking. I’ve taken care of everything for you. In the future, if something like this happens again, don’t hide it from me.

Oh, and for the three words ’Jin Yu Pavilion,’ just pretend you’ve never seen them. If anyone asks in the future, just say you don’t know.”

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, ”Understood.”

Wang Minglang smiled with satisfaction, ”Alright, go back.”

Walking out of Wang Minglang’s courtyard, Qin Jiang glanced back, then silently turned and left.

On his way back to Shanman Restaurant, he looked at his panel.

【Current Martial arts】

Longevity Five Qi Skill (First Level) (9/250)

Iron Arm Fist (First Level) (65/200)

Earth Dragon Body (First Level) (3/200)

【Potential Points: 6.1】

The potential points in the jade pendant had absorbed some more, and the experience value for Iron Arm Fist had increased by 50. The effect of the medicinal bath was indeed outstanding.

To put it another way, it saved him at least seven days of hard work.

”Qin-ge! Qin-ge!”

From a distance, a shout came. At the end of the street, Li Bo waved his arm and walked quickly towards him.

”Haha, I was just calculating the time, and sure enough!” he said with a laugh.

Qin Jiang suddenly remembered the ’hard dish’ Li Bo had mentioned earlier in the day.

Li Bo straightened his clothes, ”Shall we go, Qin-ge? The dishes have already been arranged.”

Qin Jiang nodded, ”Hmm, I’m hungry.”

When the two arrived at Shanman Restaurant, Li Lang was already waiting outside the building. Seeing them, he quickly waved, ”Brother, Qin-ge, you’re here.”

Li Bo nodded and looked at Qin Jiang, ”Xiao Lang was a bit rash that day. Tonight, let him properly apologize to you.”

Qin Jiang smiled, ”No need to be so polite.”

Entering Shanman Restaurant, the three went up to the second floor. Li Lang called out to a waiter, ”You can serve now.”

The waiter wiped a table and responded, looking somewhat surprised at Qin Jiang, who was being escorted up to the second floor. He hadn’t expected the distinguished guest Master Li spoke of to be Qin Jiang.

Upon reaching the second floor, the three entered a private room. The aroma of various dishes made Qin Jiang’s mouth water.

Qin Jiang looked at the dishes on the table; there were sixteen in total, with a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, all appealing in color and aroma.

This one table alone was worth three taels of silver! It was even more valuable than his jade pendant.

The three sat down, and Li Bo gestured slightly, ”Qin-ge, quickly try it. The head chef of this Shanman Restaurant was originally the head cook of a restaurant in the Inner City. Later, he gambled away his money, owed silver, and had his leg broken, which is why he ended up in the Outer City.”

As he spoke, he looked at Li Lang, ”Go and hurry them up.”

Li Lang nodded slightly and got up to leave.

Qin Jiang didn’t stand on ceremony, picked up a slice of meat, and began to eat. It was salty and spicy.

After a while, Li Lang walked in carrying a plate and placed it on the table. It was a carp covered entirely in golden scales.

”Qin-ge, this is a Golden Scale Fish, a rare species from Stone Lion River. Normally, one of these would sell for ten taels of silver! I heard it has many benefits for the body. Quickly try it and see how it tastes,” Li Bo said with a smile.

He had pulled strings to get this from the Inner City, and it had cost him more than ten taels of silver.

Qin Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly. Stone Lion River was the river where fishing was done when Black Mountain City was still a fishing village. It ran through the east and west of the city and passed through the Inner City.

It seemed to be a tributary of the Canglang River, the largest river within Yuan Province.

And the Golden Scale Fish was a specialty of Stone Lion River. It was said to have once been presented as tribute to the imperial capital.

He picked up a piece of fish meat and put it in his mouth. It was tender and incredibly fresh, perfectly preserving the original aroma of the ingredient.

This chef’s skill was impressive!

After eating the fish, a warm current flowed from his stomach into his limbs and bones. This sensation was like being massaged.

He looked at the panel. The experience values for all three Martial arts had increased somewhat, especially Longevity Five Qi Skill, which had directly increased by 4 points.

His eyes showed surprise. It seemed that if he had time, he could go to Stone Lion River. Occasionally improving his diet wouldn’t be bad either.

”It tastes very good, you should try it too.”

Ten days later, in the backyard of Shanman Restaurant, Qin Jiang wiped the sweat from his upper body and applied the arm-washing secret medicine to his arms.

”Master Qin, your meal is ready. I’ll put it here for you.” The young attendant from the restaurant obsequiously placed the dishes he was carrying on the table in the courtyard.

Ever since the owner of Shanman Restaurant learned that Qin Jiang was someone Li Bo treated with respect, he had separately enclosed an area in the backyard with wooden planks, specifically for Qin Jiang to use as a training ground.

On one hand, for the owner of Shanman Restaurant, Li Bo was already a big shot, so Qin Jiang naturally went without saying.

On the other hand, he was also afraid that some drunk diners might be careless and offend Master Qin.

Those who could dine at Shanman Restaurant were basically wealthy and influential figures from the Outer City, and offending any of them would not be a good thing.

”Good, thank you for the trouble,” Qin Jiang said with a smile.

”No trouble, no trouble, Master. Please enjoy your meal. I’ll come back later to collect the plates.” The attendant bowed slightly, exited through the wooden door cut into the fence, and closed the door behind him.

Qin Jiang walked to the table and sat down, looking at his panel.

【Current Martial arts】

Longevity Five Qi Skill (First Level) (20/250)

Iron Arm Fist (First Level) (199/200)

Earth Dragon Body (First Level) (10/200)

【Potential Points: 6.8】