Ten Thousand Remedies.
Back room.
Shuan crouched beside broken glass. Carefully picked up largest pieces.
Serpent Venom Extract.
Greenish liquid pooling on floor. Smelled sharp. Acrid. Wrong.
One drop on skin could kill normal person in minutes. Cultivator might last hour. Painfully.
Used cloth to absorb liquid. Wrapped glass in same cloth. Sealed in container.
Careful. Always careful.
Found second jar. Shattered worse. Contents: dried red petals.
Phoenix Ember Flower.
Used for fever reduction. Harmless unless burned. Then became toxic smoke.
Third jar intact but cracked. Dark purple paste inside.
Sniffed carefully. Shadow Root paste.
Used in darkness-affinity cultivation methods. Also mild hallucinogen if ingested improperly.
Master Qian appeared in doorway. Watching.
"You know them."
Not question. Statement.
"Some. Learned basics before."
"Where?"
Careful.
"Previous employer. Sect apothecary. I... assisted occasionally."
Partial truth. Elder Feng had taught him. Just not in apothecary context.
Master Qian nodded slowly. "Which sect?"
"Small one. Northern region. Disbanded two years ago."
Complete lie. But unprovable.
"Hmm." Master Qian stepped closer. Examined Shuan's handling of venom-soaked cloth. "Good technique. Proper caution. Most young people are reckless."
"Recklessness with poison is suicide."
"Exactly." Picked up Shadow Root jar. "This one's cracked. Contents compromised. Dispose of it."
"Could be salvaged—"
"Could. But not worth risk. Shadow Root paste degrades when exposed to air. Becomes unpredictable." Set jar down. "Lesson two: Know when to salvage and when to discard. Applies to herbs. Also to people."
Walked back to front room.
Shuan finished cleaning. Disposed of compromised materials properly.
Waste.
But necessary waste.
Sometimes cutting losses is smartest move.
Returned to sorting. Pulled down next jar.
No label. Contents: crystalline powder. Pale blue.
Examined closely. Sniffed. Didn't recognize scent.
Unknown.
Brought jar to front room.
"Master Qian. What's this?"
Old man looked up. Squinted at jar. "Ah. Frozen Tear Crystal. Rare. Very rare. Where was it?"
"Top shelf. Back left corner."
"Been looking for that for six months." Took jar. Held to light. "Beautiful, isn't it? Forms only in extreme cold. Thousand-year glaciers. Fifty-year winters."
"What's it used for?"
"Cold-affinity cultivation primarily. Also certain advanced pills. And..." Paused. Considered. "...experimental medicine."
"What kind?"
Master Qian looked at him. Assessing.
"You're curious. Good. Curiosity means learning. But some knowledge is dangerous."
"All knowledge is dangerous if misused."
"True." Small smile. "Frozen Tear Crystal can be used to forcibly open blocked meridians. Dangerous. Painful. Fifty percent failure rate resulting in death or permanent crippling."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"But if successful?"
"Meridians that were completely blocked become partially functional. Allows cultivation where none was possible before."
"For someone with naturally poor meridians?"
"Theoretically. Never tried. Too risky. Too expensive." Set jar carefully on shelf. "Why? You know someone with blocked meridians?"
"Just curious."
Master Qian's eyes narrowed slightly. "Curious about very specific thing. Hmm."
Returned to his examination work. But added: "Frozen Tear Crystal also extremely expensive. Single dose costs hundred gold coins. Don't get ideas."
Hundred gold.
Far beyond reach.
For now.
But information was free. And information had value.
Filed away for future.
Returned to back room. Continued sorting.
Hours passed. Made progress. Created categories:
Medicinal herbs (healing, energy restoration) Poison ingredients (sorted by lethality) Cultivation aids (Qi enhancement, breakthrough support) Rare materials (expensive, dangerous, or both) Unknown (needed Master Qian's identification)
By evening, had organized roughly one-quarter of chaos.
Progress.
Slow. But visible.
Master Qian appeared. Surveyed work.
"Not bad. System makes sense. Continue tomorrow."
"Should I—"
"No. Stop. Rest. Tomorrow is long day." Paused. "Also. Week's trial starts officially tomorrow. Today was... preview."
Preview.
Meaning today didn't count toward trial week.
Clever old man.
"Understood."
"Good. Lock back door when you leave. Front door I handle."
Master Qian left.
Shuan finished current jar. Washed hands thoroughly. Triple-checked for any poison residue.
Paranoid.
But alive.
Locked back door. Went upstairs.
Upstairs room.
Evening.
Sat at small desk. Pulled out stolen pills from Elder Feng's stash.
Two left:
Essence Restoration Pill (one remaining) Bone Mending Pill (one remaining)
Used Berserker Pill during prison break. Gone.
These two were valuable. But also traceable. Using them risked identification.
Save them. Emergency only.
Set pills aside. Examined own condition.
Cultivation: Qi Condensation Third Level. Barely.
Grade Eight roots. Damaged meridians. Progress would be incredibly slow.
Years to reach Foundation Establishment again.
If ever.
Unless...
Thought about Frozen Tear Crystal. Forced meridian opening.
Fifty percent failure rate.
But fifty percent success rate too.
Risk versus reward.
Not now. Too expensive. Too dangerous without proper preparation.
But possibility existed.
File it away. Research more. Plan carefully.
Stood. Stretched. Body still ached. Ribs from prison break mostly healed. But deep damage remained.
Consequences.
Always consequences.
Practiced basic cultivation exercises. Slow Qi circulation. Gentle. Careful not to stress damaged pathways further.
One hour. Minimal progress.
Pathetic.
But better than nothing.
Stopped. Ate simple dinner—rice, dried vegetables, water.
Cheap. Filling. Tasteless.
Fuel. Not pleasure.
Window showed Gray Haven's night market starting. Lanterns lighting. Different crowd emerging.
Tomorrow night.
Explore then.
Tonight: rest.
Lay down. Closed eyes.
Sleep came easier than expected.
Maybe exhaustion. Maybe routine. Maybe having roof overhead and locked door helped.
Dreams still came. But quieter. Distant.
Progress.
Small.
But progress.