The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 109 - 77 Secret Medicine

Chapter 109: Chapter 77 Secret Medicine

Xu Qing and Magistrate He finished their conversation, and Xu Qing took his leave from the Government.

On the way, he pondered over the content of their previous conversation. Currently, Magistrate He was merely giving him advanced notice; the specific operations of the business would take some time to prepare, but it couldn’t be put off for too long.

The business in question was astonishingly the opening of a brothel.

"Businesses that earn money are indeed most stable and provide long-term income through prostitution and gambling. However, the situation changes when it involves the bigwigs of the Divine Capital."

"Places for amorous encounters have always been one of the important channels for gathering information; it seems that a high-ranking official of the Court wants to strengthen the surveillance of public sentiment in South Zhili."

Old He is also very cunning; this business indeed is a good business. Because it is backed by the powerful figures of the Divine Capital, even if Old He later leaves office, Xu Qing does not need to worry about the subsequent Magistrate causing trouble for this business.

As long as it can be set up, it would mean a long-term income.

If the new Magistrate is not tactful, he may collide head-on, and simultaneously, Xu Qing’s own capabilities would be revealed.

"In fact, these two shares, Magistrate He could have given to anyone, but giving them to me indeed signifies fulfilling his promise to help me revive my family business."

Of course, it is given, but Xu Qing cannot hold the shares directly.

After all, he needs to follow the Righteous Path of scholars, being directly known as the little boss of a brothel doesn’t sound good.

Xu Qing planned to put these dry shares under the name of Xu Fu.

Xu Fu is a house slave who had signed a servitude contract, his household registration is under Xu Qing’s name, technically speaking, he is Xu Qing’s private property, what belongs to him also belongs to Xu Qing.

This is also a common tactic used by the nobles and powerful landlords of South Zhili.

Some of these wealthy slaves have made their fortunes and become new big landlords, but in reality, they are still attached to their master’s household.

It’s somewhat like feudal lords and their vassals.

Moreover, the brothel naturally needs protection, an excellent opportunity to give business to the enforcers of Yihe Hall, who will be responsible for the brothel’s security in the future.

Thus, with this business, Xu Qing would have more eyes and ears in Jiangning Prefecture and his career would also be more multidimensional.

Utilizing the name of the Officials makes things easier to handle.

If Xu Qing himself wanted to open a brothel, it would mean snatching business on someone else’s turf, inevitably leading to conflicts and feuds.

This business, in name, is an official organization of the Imperial Music Bureau, which naturally carries a different significance.

"Now, I still need to rely on others’ power; once I pass the Scholar exams and establish myself locally, I can also tentatively consider myself to have ’influence’, and then dealing with matters will be easier. Moreover, next year by capitalizing on the crackdown on bandits, I hope to promote my uncle’s position, ideally securing him a role as a Commander or a military officer so that he can command a battalion of soldiers."

Now with Inspector Wu’s help, it should not be difficult for Xu Qing to help his uncle gain merits and be promoted.

After all, under the influence, a Military Officer, especially at the lower ranks, finds it much easier to advance than a Civil Servant. The Military Officer’s circle is relatively closed, but the paths for advancement are mainly controlled by the Ministry of War, which is the domain of Civil Servants.

This is an important measure of the Court using civil control over the military.

Guarding against Military Generals is a significant issue through dynasties.

Because it’s rare for Civil Servants to succeed in rebellion, but Military Generals and nobles revolting is commonly seen in history.

Nothing else; they truly possess the weapons.

Thus, when you’re falsely accused of rebellion, it’s best if you indeed have the power to rebel.

With a weapon, one can die a glorious death; without one not only could you die kneeling, but your family might not even be spared.

Events like the Henyin Changes, trampling over the bones of ministers under the heaven street, military men simply don’t reason—they just show their swords.

Even though others say Li Gongpu is petty, Xu Qing still greatly hopes and encourages him to become a dragon in this regard.

After returning to Li Mansion, Xu Fu was in the front yard learning about horse care from Army Sergeant Zhang. Xu Fu indeed displayed the potential of a polymath, diligently learning anything Xu Qing assigned, even if he initially lacks the knowledge.

Seeing this, Xu Qing didn’t inquire further. Instead, he returned to the yard and continued practicing the Bull Demon Strong Fist with bow pulling.

After several slow pulls and releases with the bow, Xu Qing clearly felt that although there was still potential for growth in his Bull Demon Strong Fist, his body was significantly lagging behind.

"My body now, it’s like a piece of steel, repeatedly tempered through bow pulling, attaining higher quality, but here lies the limit in quantity; no matter how high the quality, the overall progress is slow."

"I am still lacking in the medicine."

Xu Qing knew that one major issue was the lack of Secret Medicine precise for the cultivation of the Bull Demon Strong Fist. Another big issue was that his foundational physique set the upper limit of his cultivation in the Bull Demon Strong Fist.

However, the bone foundation issue was not unsolvable.

Since he was young and in his growth years, his bone foundation could still be improved through the Silver Ring Firming Pill, Eight Diagram Wandering Palm, and Crane Form Skill cultivation, though currently, their effect on his physical foundation had diminished significantly.

"My growth period is still long; even if progress is gradually slowing down in this aspect, I can improve my bone foundation to a relatively high level in the future, but compared to a one-in-a-million martial cultivation prodigy, it would certainly still be insufficient." Xu Qing understood that his current bone training was limited to spine strengthening, which though a crucial part of the martial foundation, martial path’s innate gifts encompass the whole body.

He still needs a more powerful Bone Training Skill.

"There are rumors in worldly society, ’Bull Demon for power training, and Tiger Demon for bone strengthening.’ King Lin was born with extraordinary physical foundation, thus with just the practice of Bull Demon Strong Fist, he advanced his skills unmatched in Jiangning Prefecture, surpassing even the martial master who taught him. But I am different, without the Bone Training Skill, my future achievements, I fear, may not match up to King Lin."