Before heading to Hao Yongtai's home, Chu Qiguang paid another visit to the Daoist temple to see Daoist Fayuan.
After slipping the Daoist ten taels of silver, good cheer was instantly restored between host and guest. Fayuan ordered a Daoist acolyte to serve a table of food and wine, and sat down to feast with Chu Qiguang.
Chu Qiguang smiled and asked, "Daoist Fayuan, isn't your sect bound by monastic rules forbidding alcohol?"
Fayuan gave a faint smile and raised his cup. "This is no ordinary wine. It is ritual wine, brewed and simmered from a variety of medicinal herbs. Though it carries the flavor of spirits, it is not truly wine."
Chu Qiguang had grown quite familiar with Fayuan over these past days and knew that the Heavenly Master Sect indeed possessed strict monastic precepts. A century or so ago, most ordained Daoists with cultivation in the sect had been virtuous men who strictly observed the rules, and the general conduct had not yet degraded.
In these times, however, corruption and graft ran rampant not only through officialdom, but within the Heavenly Master Sect as well. Things were going downhill day by day, and hearts were no longer what they once were.
More and more Daoists were chasing worldly pleasures and riches, concocting one clever loophole after another to bypass the precepts.
Chu Qiguang quietly analyzed the phenomenon in his heart: *The shift from the founding of the Great Han Dynasty to the present day is the result of rapid commercial expansion. Not only has the wealth of the ruling elite ballooned, but money can buy ever more luxuries, fostering a culture of increasing extravagance.*
*On top of that, stories of merchants striking it rich overnight have spun countless legends of sudden wealth. This has only accelerated the trend, driving society to celebrate the pursuit of money. From the Six Ministries to the Nine Courts, officials talk openly of silver and gold, routinely judging a person's worth by their ability to earn.*
*In turn, this has sparked an intellectual and cultural liberation, bringing a surge of new ideas. Many people of the Great Han now view the moralists of old as pedantic and cling fiercely to pragmatic utility.*
*Naturally, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. People can't survive on thin air, so pursuing material gain makes perfect sense. But faced with this cultural and spiritual upheaval, some have gone astray and taken it to extremes...*
*If this intellectual shift had followed a healthy path, perhaps the Great Han would have placed greater value on practical affairs, followed by technologies that generate profit, eventually driven by interest to develop a scientific framework...*
*Still, the current state of affairs works out quite well for me...*
With a faint smile, Chu Qiguang traded several more rounds of drinks with Daoist Fayuan before casually inquiring about certain pills made within the Heavenly Master Sect.
Fayuan was by no means dealing with his first customer seeking the sect's internal elixirs. Seeing that Chu Qiguang was rising rapidly in Qingyang County, he gave his prices without beating around the bush.
"I am merely a humble demon-subduing ritual master in Qingyang County, and the goods I can obtain are limited. Brother Chu, I see you are a dragon among men with a bright future ahead, so I will quote you an honest figure, consider it building good karma between us..."
According to Fayuan, the only internal pills he could offer for sale were Eye-Opening Pills, Ear-Opening Pills, and Nose-Opening Pills. As for higher-grade elixirs, either he currently lacked stock and would have to order from Dragon Snake Mountain or the White Moon Temple in the capital, or he had to reserve them for his own use.
Chu Qiguang knew Dragon Snake Mountain was the headquarters of the Heavenly Master Sect; the pills and talismans available there were generally far superior to those found in local shrines like Qingyang Temple.
Chu Qiguang only needed Ear-Opening Pills, which Daoist Fayuan sold for forty taels apiece.
That did not sound much steeper than Hundred-Refined Ointment, but the catch was that a single Ear-Opening Pill only lasted about the burn time of an incense stick. Taking eight or ten a day would easily burn through several hundred taels of silver.
Daoist Fayuan also warned Chu Qiguang that pills like Eye-Opening Pills, Ear-Opening Pills, and Nose-Opening Pills relied on violent medicinal potency to stimulate the meridians, temporarily heightening vision, hearing, or smell. Taking them two or three times a day was acceptable, but overindulgence could cause pill toxins to seep into the brain, leaving the user crippled at best or dead at worst.
After all, the Heavenly Master Sect had developed these three pills for combat, tracking, and ambushing demons; very few people were lavish enough to use them for routine training.
Even prominent clans in Qingyang County like the Wu and Hao families never trained with Ear-Opening Pills on a daily basis. Only Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi, with their peculiar backgrounds, would harbor such an extravagant notion.
Most martial artists, after all, relied on slow, grinding perseverance to elevate their cultivation drop by drop.
Still, relying on Ear-Opening Pills alone without the other two medicinal components meant he likely would not achieve the third stage within a month as Qiao Zhi had estimated.
Even using only Ear-Opening Pills would likely run him over three thousand taels a month.
Chu Qiguang sighed inwardly. *They aren't wrong when they say literature is for the poor, but martial arts are for the rich. The cost of martial training truly knows no ceiling.*
*I've earned over a thousand taels of silver these past days, yet under the relentless expense of daily pills and training, not even two months have passed and every copper is gone.*
*If I have to take these pills going forward, the expenses will be far worse. I doubt even the Hao and Wu families sink every last cent of their silver into martial cultivation like this.*
After all, for families like the Haos and Wus, using a few more pills or a few less was merely a matter of arriving a few years earlier or later. In any case, the highest peak was only the fifth realm of martial arts; how many people under heaven could actually succeed in entering the Dao? Ordinary martial artists hardly dared dream of reaching it.
Besides training, the great clans also had considerable expenses in real estate, business ventures, social obligations, and building connections.
Chu Qiguang, however, knew that a chaotic age would likely arrive within a few decades. He could already imagine the grim state of an empire in its dying days. That was why he had to seize every single day to build his strength and climb the ranks as fast as possible. For him, this was a compounding snowball: the faster he leveled up, the better.
After agreeing to return for the pills later, Chu Qiguang took his leave of Daoist Fayuan and made his way to the Hao estate.
***
Inside the garden of the Hao residence, Hao Yongtai beamed at Chu Qiguang. "Brother Chu, you have no idea how He Wenyan has been squirming like an ant on a hot pan these past few days. Your scheme truly worked wonders.
"In a few more days, Nangou Township and the other twelve townships will probably come to blows again. When that turns into a full-blown civil uprising, forget measuring land and equalizing taxes—He Wenyan might not even keep his post as county magistrate."
Chu Qiguang nodded and cautioned, "We still need to be careful. I have a feeling matters won't be that simple."
Hao Yongtai brushed off the warning, insisting instead that Chu Qiguang stay to share a feast.
Looking at the table laden with dishes and wine, Chu Qiguang—who had just finished a full spread at the Daoist temple—rubbed his belly helplessly. He could not shake the feeling that he was back in his previous life, stuck in endless business banquets.
*What else can I do... Drink up, then...*
As the cups clinked and the atmosphere grew increasingly warm, Chu Qiguang judged the timing was right and spoke up: "Brother Tai, have you ever heard of Gold Wine?"
***
After several rounds of toasts, under Chu Qiguang's relentless urging, Hao Yongtai was thoroughly plastered. Chu Qiguang had also successfully pitched Gold Wine, agreeing to bring some over tomorrow for Hao Yongtai to try.
Chu Qiguang then had a servant lead the way while he supported Hao Yongtai back to the wing room. Along the way, he seized the chance to take a sample of Hao Yongtai's blood, intending to let Qiao Zhi examine it upon his return.
Just as Chu Qiguang stepped out of Hao Yongtai's quarters, he saw Hao Xiangtong looking back at him with furrowed willow brows and a sullen, clouded face.
Chapter 77