Chapter 53: A Bloody Case Triggered by Counterfeit Medicine

Chapter 53: A Bloody Case Triggered by Counterfeit Medicine

The night was deep and silent, the crescent moon breaking through dark clouds, casting faint light upon the earth.

"Strange", Chen Erniu muttered. "Why hasn’t Brother Leopard come looking for me yet?"

At Zhongji Apothecary, a figure stood at the door, glancing anxiously down the nearly empty street. The sparse pedestrians offered no sign of Brother Leopard or his men.

Chen Erniu’s brow furrowed. Brother Leopard had never been this late before.

"Could something have delayed him? Or did he fail to find that scholar-looking fellow?"

Even now, recalling the day’s events made Chen Erniu’s teeth clench in fury. He’d often mixed counterfeit ingredients into genuine herbs before, and no one had ever noticed—until Su Chen.

Worse yet, Su Chen hadn’t just exposed him; he’d done it publicly, nearly ruining the shop’s reputation and earning Chen Erniu a brutal scolding from his boss.

"So what if I mixed in some counterfeit medicine? Is it really worth tarnishing my reputation like this?"

Fuming, Chen Erniu had slipped out earlier to find Brother Leopard, the Medicine Gang leader who controlled this district. Leveraging their connection, he’d paid Brother Leopard to teach Su Chen a harsh lesson.

But now, so much time had passed, and Brother Leopard hadn’t come to collect his payment. Normally, the man would show up the moment the job was done.

"Fine. I’ll go check his place myself."

Resigned, Chen Erniu locked up the shop and strode into the alleyway.

"Who’s there?"

He halted abruptly. A figure stood ahead, seemingly waiting for him. The moonlight cast the stranger’s face into shadow.

"Brother Leopard sent me to deliver a message", the low voice rumbled. "The man you wanted punished is dead."

"Dead?" Chen Erniu stiffened, then burst into laughter. "Hmph! Good riddance! That bastard deserved it!"

He pulled out a pouch of silver taels. "Here—three taels. Pass this to Brother Leopard as agreed."

As he handed it over, he tilted his head, trying to glimpse the messenger’s face.

But the figure didn’t take the money. Instead, a scoff echoed out.

"Not enough."

"What? Not enough? The price was set!" Chen Erniu snapped, his temper flaring.

Then he paused, recalling the favor Brother Leopard had done. "Fine. I’ll add two more taels."

"Forget it."

"Huh?"

"Your life instead."

Su Chen’s head lifted slowly. In a flash, he lunged forward, closing the distance between them.

A single palm strike sent Chen Erniu reeling—dizzy, blood gushing from his nose and ears, collapsing lifeless.

"Hmph. Never thought my life was worth only five taels."

Su Chen plucked the three silver taels from the corpse, smirking bitterly before vanishing into the night.

Back at his residence, he washed up and resumed studying his medical tome until the late hours.

Over the next four days, Su Chen remained secluded, experimenting with herbal formulas in the kitchen. By now, his Progress Panel had reached halfway. Just five more doses of Blood Qi Elixir remained to complete the requirement.

"Thanks to prior preparation and four days of practice, my skill in refining unnamed medicine has improved significantly. Though I used nearly half my herbs—most for trial and error—I’ve refined better techniques. My success rate will be much higher now, and I can create the most effective unnamed medicine for myself."

He reviewed his notes, now over a dozen pages thick, filled with meticulous records of successes and failures. Finally, he’d charted a reliable path forward.

"After four days of Blood Qi Elixir, my body’s adaptability to vital energy has increased. Let’s try doubling the dosage. If I manage it, I can finish the Progress Panel in three days."

He set to work, spending half the day refining two bowls of herbal decoction. After drinking both, he waited.

The warmth spread through his body, his skin flushing red. He rushed to the courtyard, expending the surging energy in a frenzy before finally calming down, drenched in sweat.

"Good. My body can handle it. Time to increase the dosage further."

Meanwhile, at the Medicine Gang’s branch, a courtyard lay strewn with corpses—Brother Leopard and his men.

"Do we know who did this?"

The Gray-Robed Man’s voice cut through the air like ice. He pulled the cloth over Brother Leopard’s face, closing the dead man’s eyes, his breath steady but his fists clenched.

"We’ve dispatched investigators. Witnesses saw Leopard’s group leaving town—they were tailing someone."

"Find them. Bring them to me. I’ll make them atone for Leopard’s death with their own life."

"Yes, sir!"

"Also, before leaving, Leopard met with a clerk from Zhongji Apothecary."

"Do you know why?"

"The clerk’s dead. He had a conflict with a customer shortly before meeting Leopard. After their meeting, Leopard left town. We suspect this clerk is the culprit."

"Find him. Now."

Three days later, before dawn, Su Chen rose without breakfast, preparing his medicine.

An hour later, two crimson bowls of herbal decoction sat before him. He drank both in succession.

As the liquid coursed through him, the Progress Panel updated:

[Easy Mode: … Iron Wire Fist · Residual 0 uses (Limit Ape Arm Technique +10.8/10 portions of Vital Energy Powder per use)]

Hardly had the text appeared when the Progress Panel refreshed again—

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end