Holy body, start with the Five Animal Exercises

35: Customer, do you want to buy a sugar man?25 potential points!

Uncontrollable joy appeared in Qin Jiang’s eyes.

However, he still restrained his excitement and didn’t rush to allocate the points.

There were too many people around, and based on past experience, the improvement of Iron Arm Fist would inevitably be accompanied by changes in his Physical Body, which would be too conspicuous here.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered the matter of the lanterns, which were apparently being held in the Stone Lion River basin of the Inner City.

Thinking of the Stone Lion River, he recalled the Golden Scale Fish he had eaten that night.

Its delicious taste was secondary; the main thing was that the fish meat seemed to contain a peculiar power that could increase his Qi and boost his Martial arts experience points.

He remembered that the last time he ate Golden Scale Fish, all his Martial arts had gained a total of over thirty experience points, and that was without even finishing an entire fish.

Although the effect was slightly less than a medicinal bath, medicinal baths could only be performed once every half month at most, even though he had now cultivated the third layer.

Moreover, since he had already decided to advance Iron Arm Fist to the Perfection Realm, he wouldn’t need medicinal baths anymore.

Furthermore, if spending some silver could save some potential points, it would still be very cost-effective.

With this thought, he walked directly towards the Stone Lion River.

Before long, he arrived at a small river. Looking at the small river in front of him, though called a river, it was actually just a large stream, not exceeding four meters at its widest point.

This was because when Black Mountain City was first built, the Stone Lion River at the western city entrance was diverted into dozens of tributaries to serve as a drinking water source for the city’s population.

These dozens of tributaries almost covered the entire Black Mountain City, rejoining into one stream over thirty meters wide only upon reaching the eastern city exit, which was the true Stone Lion River, one of the sources of the Canglang River.

Walking along the riverbank, a fresh scent of grass filled his nostrils, giving him a feeling of his pores opening up.

Looking at both banks, there were hardly any people fishing. Occasionally, there were a few mischievous children using scoop nets to catch fish, but most people living near the river basically used it for daily drinking water.

Seeing this, Qin Jiang couldn’t help but sigh. People in the Outer City barely had enough to eat, and many refugees outside the city starved to death, yet people in the Inner City were too lazy to even catch the fish right in front of them.

Shaking his head, he continued along the riverbank and soon arrived at a small fish market.

“Old man, do you have Golden Scale Fish?” he asked an old man.

The fish-selling old man looked up, glanced at him, and said, “How could this old man have Golden Scale Fish? Those are treasures of the officials and are not allowed to be sold on the market. If you really want to eat them, go check the fish market at the West City Gate.”

“Oh, thank you, old man.”

After leaving the fish market, he walked directly towards the West City Gate. Along the way, he passed a relatively wide section of the river, which was where the Fishing Lantern Festival was held every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

Every year during the Fishing Lantern Festival, a fishing competition would be held, with a Golden Scale Fish King as the prize.

Before long, Qin Jiang arrived in front of the West City Gate. He looked around and saw a large fish market. After walking in and browsing for a while, he found the Golden Scale Fish.

“Shopkeeper, how much are these Golden Scale Fish?”

He watched the Golden Scale Fish swimming in the water, like pieces of gold darting around.

“A permit. No permit, no sale.”

The fish stall owner was a stout man with a round belly, holding a broad-bladed short knife. He was lying back in a recliner and, after just one look at Qin Jiang’s attire, spoke with disdain.

Qin Jiang was stunned. He needed a permit to buy fish?

After a moment’s thought, he tried taking out the token Xu Yanran had given him.

The fat stall owner sat up when he saw the token, and upon seeing the character ‘Xu’ on it, he stood up directly.

“It’s for the Xu Family, why didn’t you say so sooner! The normal price is five taels of silver per jin, but for the Xu Family, it’s four taels! How many do you want?” The stall owner’s speech quickened a bit.

This was the Xu Family! Half the sky of the West City!

“Two, please,” Qin Jiang said.

“Alright!”

A moment later, the stall owner tied the fish with a rope and said with a somewhat fawning smile, “A total of four and a half jin, I’ll charge you sixteen taels!”

Qin Jiang took the fish and paid the silver. Just as he was about to leave, a golden flash suddenly caught his eye.

He looked over and saw a water tank behind the stall, hidden by the stall owner’s recliner. Inside, a huge Golden Scale Fish, nearly half a meter long, slowly swam.

“What’s that?”

The stall owner looked over. “Oh, you mean that? That’s the prize for this year’s Fishing Lantern Festival.”

“How much?” Qin Jiang asked.

The stall owner looked troubled. “Sir, please don’t make things difficult for me. This is for the officials, I cannot sell it to you.”

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, said no more, and left directly.

Passing through several market districts, he returned to the North Market. After walking for a moment, he looked down at the Golden Scale Fish in his hand.

These two Golden Scale Fish were even larger than Li Bo’s. If nothing unexpected happened, they would be worth at least a hundred experience points.

Although the cost-effectiveness was a bit low, now was not the time to consider that.

He tightened the fish rope and quickened his pace, but as he looked up, he suddenly felt the surroundings become eerily quiet.

He looked up and froze in place, a chill running up his spine to the back of his head.

The bustling North Market, which had been so lively just moments ago, now had not a single person!

Not only were the people gone, but even the stalls were gone. The vast North Market looked incredibly empty, with only a faint layer of mist swirling around.

Hmm? Is this a ghost?

“Customer, would you like a sugar figurine?”

A sharp, high-pitched voice suddenly sounded behind his ear. His eyes narrowed, and he abruptly turned around, striking out with a punch.

“Crack~!”

Accompanied by the sound of wood breaking, a wooden cart, the length of a person, selling sugar figurines, was smashed by him.

The moment it was smashed, the woman in gray cloth who had been standing behind the cart also vanished, leaving only broken wood scattered on the ground.

“Customer, would you like a sugar figurine?”

The sharp voice sounded behind his ear again. His pupils constricted slightly, and he slowly turned his head.

He saw the cart that had just been shattered reappear intact by the roadside. The woman in gray cloth wore a white apron, her eyes narrowed, and a gentle smile on her lips.

Qin Jiang glanced downwards; the broken wood from earlier had disappeared.

Without hesitation, he directly walked past the cart and quickly moved forward.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized that the North City Gate of the Inner City, which he had been able to see at the end of the North Market just now, had now turned into a road that stretched endlessly.

Even the houses and buildings on both sides extended outwards, becoming more illusory the further they went.

“Customer, would you like a sugar figurine?”

The familiar voice sounded ahead. He looked forward, and the cart appeared by the roadside.

He looked back; the road was empty, and the cart that should have been behind him had disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the cart.

Whoosh!

His rapidly swinging arm cut through the air with a whooshing sound. Qin Jiang’s palm was broad, and he grabbed the woman’s head, slamming it down onto the ground.

Crack~~!

The woman’s body directly shattered the cart and was violently smashed onto the ground.

Puff!

After a sound like a deflating balloon, the woman’s body quickly shriveled and then dissipated into a cloud of white mist.

“Customer, would you like a sugar figurine?”

The sharp voice sounded. Qin Jiang’s eyes were cold. He slowly got up and walked to the newly appeared cart.

“Give me the cheapest one.”