From behind Lu Changsheng, a man in a red robe slowly stepped forward.
His face was also covered, masking his appearance.
Even so, Lu Changsheng could faintly sense the surging, tempestuous qi and blood inside the man—he was certainly no ordinary martial artist.
"You want these Strengthening Blood Pills?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"Indeed. There are roughly three thousand of them here. I will take the entire batch for one thousand taels of silver. What do you think, sir?" the red-robed man asked calmly.
"Deal."
Lu Changsheng did not hesitate in the slightest.
With so many Strengthening Blood Pills, it would be difficult to unload them all unless he set up a stall in the black market.
Yet how long would it take to sell them that way?
Obtaining a thousand taels of silver all at once made offloading the entire lot an easy choice.
Having pocketed the thousand-tael banknote, Lu Changsheng was just about to turn and leave when the red-robed man suddenly spoke up. "Are you interested in Strengthening Blood Pills, sir?"
"Hm?"
Lu Changsheng said nothing, merely staring at the man in red.
The red-robed man continued, "A little over a month ago, Strengthening Blood Pills suddenly flooded the black markets of Nanyang Prefecture in vast quantities.
"Because of their low price and excellent efficacy, martial artists in the Strengthening Blood Realm flocked to them in droves.
"However, I brought some Strengthening Blood Pills to apothecaries for verification and discovered that many of the medicinal ingredients within them are far from cheap. Selling them at their current price is a venture operating at an utter loss.
"Behind these Strengthening Blood Pills, there is bound to be an earth-shattering conspiracy! I have already uncovered a few leads. Are you interested in investigating together, sir?"
Lu Changsheng scrutinized the red-robed man.
It seemed others were not foolish either; they had realized something was amiss with the Strengthening Blood Pills and had even begun investigating.
Even so, Lu Changsheng vaguely sensed that the waters ran extraordinarily deep. He had no desire to wade into such murky waters.
"My apologies, but I am not interested."
With that, Lu Changsheng paid no heed to whatever the red-robed man might think, turning on his heel and walking away.
Upon returning to Miaoshou Garden, Lu Changsheng did not dwell on the matter of the Strengthening Blood Pills.
For now, he had no wish to court trouble; he only wanted to temper his internal organs in peace.
As for his lack of martial skill manuals and his inability to swiftly increase his comprehension, Lu Changsheng was not overly anxious either.
After all, his current comprehension was already quite remarkable.
With comprehension like this, reaching the Divine Strength Realm would pose no problem whatsoever.
The matter of martial skills could be set aside for the moment.
Right now, all he wanted was to temper his internal organs in tranquility, forging his five zang and six fu organs to be incomparably resilient, and then choose to break through the life-and-death gateway to advance to the Divine Strength Realm!
The Divine Strength Realm was the single most vital priority for Lu Changsheng!
Everything else could be temporarily shelved.
Time flew by, and another month passed.
Lu Changsheng had already been holding consultations for a full month.
Many patients had even come to recognize him.
They knew that the renowned physician Wu Jing had trained a disciple of outstanding medical skill.
By now, Wu Jing was completely at ease with Lu Changsheng.
He had even begun handing over patients with somewhat more difficult ailments to Lu Changsheng.
Gradually, Lu Changsheng had become fully capable of holding down the fort on his own.
"Changsheng, your medical skills are now sufficient for you to complete your apprenticeship," Wu Jing said with a smile.
"In truth, there is nothing left for me to teach you. I have a medical text filled with the insights, reflections, and difficult cases I have encountered across my decades of practice; you should study it diligently.
"In a few days, I will explain the situation to Miaoshou Garden. After that, you can be promoted to physician and truly open your own clinic for consultations!"
Wu Jing was thoroughly satisfied with Lu Changsheng, feeling deeply gratified.
In truth, he had taken on quite a few disciples over the years, but all of them had been mediocre talents; not a single one had pleased him.
Only Lu Changsheng could truly be said to have inherited his mantle.
In time, Lu Changsheng might even carry his medical legacy to greater heights!
"Thank you, Master!" Lu Changsheng bowed respectfully.
Although he had already spent a month examining patients in the clinic, his official status was still that of an apothecary, not a physician.
Only after Miaoshou Garden verified his credentials and allowed him to hold consultations independently would he truly be considered a physician.
And that day was no longer far off!
Looking back, he had been nothing more than a beggar in the beginning.
Now, in less than two years, he was already on the verge of becoming a physician.
What was more, his true identity was that of a formidable Refining Organs martial artist!
"Huh?"
"Why hasn't Apothecary Cheng come today?"
"Yeah, Apothecary Cheng is usually the most punctual. He's never late."
Having spent the entire morning in the pharmacy, Lu Changsheng noticed that everyone was talking about Apothecary Cheng.
Apothecary Cheng and Wu Jing were longtime partners.
One processed medicinal herbs while the other treated patients and saved lives; the two worked in seamless harmony.
At one point, Miaoshou Garden had wanted to assign a different apothecary to Wu Jing, but Wu Jing had refused, insisting on keeping Apothecary Cheng as his partner.
"Old Cheng has always been punctual," Wu Jing said, frowning slightly.
"Zhang Huan, go to Old Cheng's house and ask what happened."
Having worked alongside Apothecary Cheng for over a decade, Wu Jing knew the man had almost never been late. This was indeed somewhat strange.
"Right away, Elder Wu."
Sharp and nimble, Zhang Huan immediately left the pharmacy and hurried toward Apothecary Cheng's residence.
About an hour later, Zhang Huan returned.
However, his expression was grave. Glancing at Lu Changsheng and Wu Jing, he lowered his voice and said, "Elder Wu, Doctor Lu, Apothecary Cheng has gone missing!"
"According to Apothecary Cheng's family, he left home early this morning to head for the pharmacy and hasn't returned since.
"Yet no one at our pharmacy saw him arrive.
"What's more, I've heard bits of news along the way. Early this morning, across the major pharmacies and even at Miaoshou Garden's headquarters, many apothecaries and physicians went missing. To this moment, there has been no word of them."
Lu Changsheng's expression turned solemn.
For apothecaries and physicians to vanish was clearly abnormal.
"What about Miaoshou Garden? Have they sent people to investigate?" Wu Jing asked.
"Miaoshou Garden has already dispatched the guard team, with Refining Organs experts leading groups to investigate, but that will take time."
Zhang Huan's words put Lu Changsheng on high alert.
Over the next few days, the disappearances continued...
Not only Miaoshou Garden, but other pharmacies also saw apothecaries and physicians vanishing under bizarre circumstances.
Yet because Miaoshou Garden employed so many apothecaries and physicians, it suffered the highest number of disappearances.
Nearly a fifth of all apothecaries and physicians in Miaoshou Garden had gone missing.
This was no small figure.
Even so, Miaoshou Garden's investigation still yielded nothing.
"Changsheng, you must be careful on your way home these days," Wu Jing warned him.
"Master, I will keep my guard up," Lu Changsheng replied with a nod.
At dusk, the pharmacy closed its doors, and Lu Changsheng rose to leave, preparing to return to his courtyard.
His residence was situated inside Miaoshou Garden, quite a distance from the pharmacy.
At twilight, the streets bustled with activity.
Perhaps it was some festive day, for lanterns had been hung in many places along the thoroughfare.
Lu Changsheng wandered through the streets for a while before leisurely heading back toward Miaoshou Garden.
However, as he turned a street corner and stepped into a pitch-black alley, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he came to a halt.
At some point, three dark silhouettes had appeared behind him.
"This little physician is Wu Jing's prized disciple. Remember to be careful—don't go killing him."
"Understood."
Two of the silhouettes darted forward with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they closed in behind Lu Changsheng, their hands reaching out to seize him.
Chapter 41