As a bowl of great medicine settled in his stomach, Wei Yuefu felt thoroughly refreshed and invigorated.
That single bowl cost ten taels of silver, but he did not feel the slightest sting in his pocket, drinking the great medicine as if it were a beverage to accompany his meals.
After eating his fill three times a day, he would down a bowl just to top things off.
If he had enough money, he could soon awaken his two dormant talents and then train all three martial arts to major mastery within three months.
An ordinary person could never pull that off. Drinking medicine like this would kill them long before they mastered anything.
All medicine carried three parts poison, but that could not withstand his talent, Whale Swallowing and Silkworm Devouring.
On its own, this talent was indeed merely a massive stomach. Yet combined with Dragon Vitality and Tiger Vigor alongside his little brother's Layered Tower Art primordial spirit state, it had been pushed to heights it could never have reached otherwise.
Without even one of these factors, the effect would never have been so potent.
Because of that, Wei Yuefu still could not understand how Shen Qianjun had managed it.
Shen Qianjun could not possibly have had a massive stomach as well, yet he had never seemed to eat much.
Unlike Wei Yuefu, who had only been at the Six Doors for three days and was already famous far and wide as an enormous glutton.
Shen Qianjun had trained at Sifang Martial Arts Hall for four months; if he really had possessed an insatiable appetite, how could Wei Yuefu not have known?
That sort of thing was impossible to hide.
The real issue now was... he was running low on funds.
Ten taels a meal meant thirty taels for three meals.
Thirty taels a day was an utterly outrageous expense.
He had only forty taels left in total, so he had to see how large a gift Fang Zeyan would bring him.
A conservative estimate was five hundred taels, which would keep him going for a while.
As for after that, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
In any case, there were still three days left before the mission ended. He had to attend to the immediate concerns first.
To tell the truth, he felt rather helpless at the moment, as he still had not found any trace of Yuanxiang.
Fortunately, thanks to his generosity, he had secretly recruited quite a few people to serve as his "informants."
Because of this, he had earned a decent reputation as Constable Ding, an officer eager to render meritorious service.
To the outside world, he had been conducting searches and visits under the guise of hunting bandits and pursuing criminals—a persona he had deliberately established.
Just as he finished patrolling the street, Fang Zeyan arrived right on cue.
This time he did not come alone; he brought household guards and servants.
After exchanging pleasantries and handing over the gifts, Fang Zeyan engaged in a few more polite remarks before taking his leave.
The gifts he provided were truly substantial.
Wei Yuefu had indeed accurately estimated the weight of the silver, but besides the silver, there was also a century-old wild mountain ginseng and several valuable medicinal ingredients.
Before departing, Fang Zeyan had indicated that there would be a monthly tribute, though future offerings naturally would not be as lavish as this initial one.
Wei Yuefu had simply feigned ignorance, choosing to wait until he had the items safely in hand.
Once the gifts were secured, Wei Yuefu took the silver and went straight to the pharmacy to make purchases.
He paid the money and instructed the pharmacy clerk to deliver the goods back to his residence. This time, he bought a seven-day supply.
The five hundred taels had not even grown warm in his hands before he spent two hundred and ten taels.
There was no need to worry that the pharmacy would dare pawn off inferior goods on him; his official uniform was deterrence enough.
He did not even need to haggle; they gave him the lowest price outright.
"Master Ding, I heard you're looking for suspicious individuals?" an old beggar sidled up to him.
Wei Yuefu glanced at him, finding the sight somewhat unusual. After all, it was exceedingly rare for a beggar to live to such an old age.
"That's right. Do you have a clue?" Wei Yuefu said. "If it's truly useful, there will be a reward."
At the word "reward," the old beggar's eyes lit up, and he said at once, "Someone moved into the ruined temple where I stay yesterday."
"Even though he tidied up, I've lived there for many years, so I could tell at a glance."
"That's why I hurried over to report it to you, Master Ding."
Hearing this, Wei Yuefu asked, "Why didn't you stay in the ruined temple last night?"
"I was starving last night. I couldn't take it anymore, so I had to stumble out blindly in the dark to find water," the old beggar said with an awkward look. "Because I couldn't see, I took a fall and knocked myself out."
"I only woke up this morning." As he spoke, the old beggar even showed his injuries to Wei Yuefu.
"Very well. Find another place to stay tonight, then," Wei Yuefu said. "It might be some vicious criminal. Don't throw your life away by going back."
"Do you want money, or do you want food?"
"Food, food," the old beggar answered without hesitation.
He might not be able to hold onto money, but food went straight into his stomach, safe and sound.
"Fine. I'll credit three days of scrap-meat noodles for you at that noodle shop," Wei Yuefu continued. "If this really allows me to render a service, I'll credit another month's worth for you."
"Three bowls a day. That will be plenty for you to eat."
The old beggar froze, completely unprepared for Wei Yuefu's generosity.
He had assumed he would at best receive some white flour buns, steamed cornbread, or the like. He had never imagined three days of meals would be covered outright.
Despite having "scrap" in the name, scrap-meat noodles were packed with meat, greens, and noodles.
He could never afford such a thing under normal circumstances.
"Thank you, Master Ding! May Master Ding enjoy longevity and good health! May Master Ding bring in wealth from all sides, rise in rank, and strike a fortune..." As the old beggar spoke, he began preparing to sing an auspicious lotus clapper verse for Wei Yuefu.
Wei Yuefu waved his hand and cut in, "If you've lied to me, though, you had better watch your hide."
"Rest assured, Master Ding! If I've uttered a single lie, you won't even need to lift a finger—I'll choke to death on scrap-meat noodles myself!" the old beggar said hastily.
Wei Yuefu put no stock in poison oaths. He simply turned, stepped into the noodle shop, laid out his instructions to the shopkeeper, and paid the coin.
If it had been an ordinary patron, the shopkeeper would never have agreed.
Allowing a beggar inside to eat would drive away other customers.
Yet Wei Yuefu was an Iron Ruler constable—an imperial officer. The shopkeeper had no choice but to agree with a fawning smile.
Seeing that Wei Yuefu had settled the matter, the old beggar uttered a few more auspicious blessings. Once Wei Yuefu departed, the beggar could hardly wait to dart inside the noodle shop.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper could only sigh and tell the kitchen to serve the old beggar a bowl of scrap-meat noodles.
Still, the shopkeeper did not complain. Above all, Wei Yuefu had paid handsomely, offering the price of three bowls for every single bowl of scrap-meat noodles.
Wei Yuefu was certainly no fool. His reason for doing this was simple: scrap-meat noodles were cheap, and he could use them to buy some goodwill and reputation.
Though not a monumental matter, it was merely pocket change.
Afterward, he took his little brother to stake out the location so he could have the little brother return alone tonight.
If he did not walk his little brother through the route first, then given the little brother's one-year-old intellect, even with their mental connection, the little brother might not carry out the task properly.
Wei Yuefu knew where the ruined temple was; there were only two or three ruined temples in all of Songyang County.
Moreover, the ruined temple where the old beggar stayed was known to everyone. It was hardly a desirable location, or the temple would never have fallen into ruin in the first place.
Wei Yuefu was actually worried that he might bump into his target at the ruined temple right then. If that happened, he would have no choice but to bite the bullet and... turn tail to call for backup.
There was no need to worry about losing him; his little brother could trail him. The only drawback was that he might not be able to maximize his profits.
For instance, memorizing the contents of the Eight Treasures Golden Body before destroying the Buddha statue.
Chapter 11