Chapter Six: The Calamity of Elixirs

He picked up the earthen medicine bottle, opened the lid, and sure enough, inside were inferior Meridian Pills—twenty small yellow pellets in all. Three hundred taels was truly a bargain.

“Hey, you filthy beggar up ahead! Hurry up and hand over that medicine to your young master!”

An arrogant voice rang out. Luo Changning frowned and turned to look.

He saw a boy with broom-like eyebrows and dog-like eyes, thin as a monkey, flaring his nostrils and pointing at him.

Clutching the bottle tighter, Luo Changning replied, “This is mine.”

“Heh! You country bumpkin, there’s nothing Grandpa Gao wants that he can’t have!” The boy laughed and waved his hand behind him. “All of you, get him! Beat some sense into this blind beggar and let him learn to fear me!”

Immediately, four shirtless brutes sprang out, surrounding Luo Changning.

One of them sneered, “Kid, you’ve only yourself to blame for offending someone you shouldn’t have. And don’t say we’re bullying the weak—it’s just as our young master ordered: we’re going to teach you a lesson.”

As soon as he finished, the four men cracked their necks and readied their fists—clearly, this wasn’t their first time picking on the defenseless.

Luo Changning’s heart skipped a beat. He gripped the bottle tightly, his mind racing: I probably can’t even handle one of them, let alone four. My Child’s Foundation Skill isn’t complete, but I can still take a beating. No matter what, I can’t hand over the pills...

With that, he threw back his head and swallowed all twenty pills at once.

The four brutes froze in shock. Was this kid trying to get himself killed? No one took Meridian Pills like that.

High-grade pills could open more meridians, making them thicker and stronger to hold more inner power, but regardless of the quality, no one ever took more than five at a time before circulating inner energy to absorb them. Swallowing too many at once, without refining them in time, could rupture all the meridians and kill a person.

Luo Changning had no idea he was being reckless. He simply thought it was better than wasting the medicine. He was far too weak, and would seize any chance to grow stronger.

Though he knew a little about medicine, he only knew Meridian Pills could help martial artists open their meridians; he was ignorant of their dangers.

Gao Haitian, the monkey-faced boy, saw Luo Changning not only unafraid, but swallowing the pills right in front of him, as if he were nothing. Enraged, he shouted, “Beat him! Beat him until this black beggar kneels and begs for mercy!”

At his command, the four brutes swung their fists at Luo Changning mercilessly, knocking him to the ground.

Though Luo Changning had trained his internal skills, his strength was too low. He had no combat experience and knew little of martial techniques. Two years of training in Child’s Foundation Skill, without a hard-style internal art to support it, had only enhanced his resilience and agility. His inner energy was weak to the point of uselessness. He was helpless but to endure the beating.

A fist, then another... Fists rained down on him like hail.

Lying on the ground, he shielded his head and groin, gritting his teeth through this unprovoked calamity.

As Luo Changning endured the pummeling in silence, Gao Haitian grew more annoyed. In his mind, he grumbled: I was already in a foul mood today. I came to teach this black beggar a lesson, but instead of handing over the pills, he swallowed them! He doesn’t beg for mercy, doesn’t cry out, just takes the beating. Does he think he’s something special? Hmph! Now you’ve really made me angry!

Earlier that day, Gao Haitian had been visiting his aunt’s home, hoping to get closer to his adorable little cousin. But she kept making excuses to avoid him—clearly, she wanted nothing to do with him.

This, for someone who’d been spoiled and domineering since childhood, was intolerable. Unable to vent his anger on his cousin, he stormed out to find a random target on the street.

Luo Changning was about his age. Though dark-skinned, he was handsome and upright—thus, Gao Haitian chose him as his scapegoat. The demand for the pills was just a pretext; Gao Haitian had already opened most of his own meridians and used better-quality pills than these inferior ones.

At first, Gao Haitian had only intended to make trouble for Luo Changning to vent his temper. But Luo Changning’s stubbornness had truly provoked him.

“Is that all you’ve got? Didn’t you eat? Stop holding back—use your inner strength! If he dies, I’ll take the blame!” he shouted.

Hearing this, the crowd around them gasped.

“Four grown men beating a child is bad enough, but now they’re going to use inner force? That’s cruel...”

Though people grumbled, no one dared intervene. In this world, strength was everything. With four internal-style fighters at his side, Gao Haitian’s family clearly wielded power. No one wanted trouble for themselves by meddling.

“Quiet! Do you know who that young master is? Look at the white tiger embroidery on his men’s clothes—that’s the mark of Blackwater County’s Divine Palm Martial Hall!”

“Ah, the Divine Palm Martial Hall—the strongest school in all of Qiuhe Prefecture! The master is rumored to be at the peak of Innate Entry level. This kid’s kicked the hornet’s nest...”

External-style fighters train their bodies; inner-style fighters cultivate inner force and techniques. But Innate-level fighters can project true energy to kill their enemies—no number of ordinary fighters can match them.

The hierarchy among Innate fighters is: Entry, Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, Perfection, and Grand Perfection. From the peak of Entry, one only needs an opportunity to reach Minor Achievement. In Qiuhe Prefecture, such a master would rank among the top three.

Of course, in the whole of Yaohua Continent, being at the Entry peak was nothing special. But this was Qiuhe Prefecture, a backward and spiritually barren place. Real masters wouldn’t be content to stay here—they’d seek their fortunes in more prosperous lands.

Thus the old saying proved true: “In the mountains with no tiger, the monkey is king!”

Luo Changning’s foundation skill was shallow and could barely withstand unarmed blows, let alone attacks strengthened by inner force. Soon, he was covered in wounds.

Coughing up blood, Luo Changning finally lost consciousness.

Seeing this, Gao Haitian grinned and said, “Alright, throw this blind fool in the sea and let the fish have him.”

“Yes, young master!”

With that, one of the brutes hoisted Luo Changning like a chicken.

Soon, the six of them arrived at the sea.

To the north of Qingyang County lay the Regretless Mountains, to the south the Heaven’s Gate Range, to the west flowed the Blackwater River and neighboring Qingyin County, and to the east stretched the boundless sea.

It was an overcast day. The air was tinged with salt and fish. The sea breeze was cool and comfortable.

Several fishing boats had just returned, unloading their catch on the shore.

Gao Haitian and his men approached a small boat. One of the brutes kicked a middle-aged fisherman, who was carrying a basket ashore, straight into the water. The poor man hadn’t even realized what was happening before he was face-first in the sand, his fish spilled back into the sea.

“Father!”

A girl of twelve or thirteen on the boat saw her father kicked and jumped ashore, pointing at the group.

She demanded angrily, “Who are you people? My father did nothing to offend you. Why attack us without a word?”

“Haha, little miss, you’re quite the looker. Since you ask, I’ll tell you—our young master fancies your little boat. We’re requisitioning it. Be grateful and thank him!”

“Don’t go too far! Qingyang County belongs to the Emperor, and the law is upheld here,” the girl retorted, eyes brimming with tears—charming and bold.

By then, the fisherman had climbed out of the sea. Seeing his daughter facing the men, his heart leapt in fear.

He hurried to stand in front of her, blocking their view. With a forced smile, he pleaded, “Sirs, if I have offended you, please forgive me. I beg your mercy.”

Seeing the man’s submissiveness, Gao Haitian was pleased and was about to speak when the girl interrupted.

“Father, these bad men want to steal our boat!” she pouted, stamping her foot in grievance.

“Ah, this... this...” The fisherman was at a loss. The boat was the family’s livelihood—if it was taken, what would become of them? But he was no fighter and could do nothing.

“Hmph, enough talk. Little girl, irritate me and I’ll sell you to the Spring Fragrance House!”

Gao Haitian was only eleven, still a child himself, but he had often overheard his men speak of such places. He vowed to visit someday, having heard the beauties there were even more alluring than his cousin.

This threat terrified the timid fisherman, who hurriedly pulled his daughter away, abandoning the boat.

She was his only treasure—he couldn’t let her come to harm. But what would become of their family now, without their means to survive?

The five laughed heartily at the pair’s retreat.

“Young master, these paupers are pathetic.”

“Hmph, that’s the power of my presence! Now, let’s get on the boat and throw this black beggar into the sea.”

They climbed aboard and set out to sea.