Chapter Seventeen: The Living Ghost Becomes a Dead One

The Poor Pursue Letters, the Rich Pursue Martial Arts!

The path of a martial artist does not, in truth, demand as much innate talent as people imagine. Instead, it is the need for resources that is immense. An apprentice from an ordinary farming family—even if born with exceptional gifts, a unique constitution, and natural strength—will still struggle to master even the basics of stance training in a short time, simply because he lacks the resources to eat his fill and keep himself warm.

This is because the essence of stance training is consumption. Only those with a solid foundation can withstand such expenditure; those without it must endure by relying on time alone.

That is why so many apprentices, clever and diligent as they are, still require ten days, half a month, or even a month or two to grasp the rudiments of stance training. What holds them back is never aptitude—it is constitution, the ability to eat one’s fill and have enough to replenish the great physical cost of training.

Yet it is precisely for this reason that another quality becomes all the more precious: comprehension.

All the apprentices recruited by the Liu Family Apothecary come from impoverished backgrounds. Their “foundations” are thin, and their basic conditions amount to three days of training time and three portions of nourishing soup.

In other words, under such modest circumstances, the less time an apprentice takes to master stance training, the higher his comprehension must be.

Just like Xu Lihao before.

Seven days to entry, a year to minor accomplishment.

He immediately stood out from the other apprentices and became a physician’s apprentice.

This time, the talent displayed by Chen Yushu surpassed even that of Xu Lihao, instantly attracting Qian Qian’s attention.

“You two go back to your chores for now. I’ll come guide you again tomorrow,” Qian Qian said to Lü Liang and Zhao He.

The two glanced at each other, as if they had expected this. Though a little resigned, they dared not object and simply nodded before leaving.

“If I recall correctly, your name is Chen Yushu. If you have any questions about stance training, you can ask me. From here on, I will guide you carefully. If you have any needs, just tell me. If it’s within my power, I will do my best to help you,” Qian Qian said with a faint smile.

“Master Qian, you’re too kind. I have no requests at the moment,” replied Chen Yushu quickly, though he remained watchful in his heart.

“There’s no need to be nervous. Teaching you is my duty,” Qian Qian said with a smile. After a moment’s thought, he continued, “Let me be honest with you. I need your help.”

Seeing Chen Yushu remain silent, he went on, “A month from now, someone will come to our apothecary and stay for a time. One among them is very important to me. I’ll take you to meet him, and all you need to do is demonstrate your talent and earn his approval.”

“Approval? And what would that entail?” Chen Yushu asked in return.

“You’ll need to reach at least the proficient level in the King of Medicine Stance,” Qian Qian replied, then continued, “Of course, I won’t let you suffer any loss. As a reward, I’ll teach you well during this period, and your daily meals can be at the same standard as this morning. If you achieve minor accomplishment in stance training, I can even teach you a martial art—a real combat technique.”

“I am deeply grateful for your instruction, Master Qian,” Chen Yushu said, bowing respectfully.

In just one day, he had already experienced hunger several times; he knew better than anyone how crucial a full meal was to martial training. Such compensation was impossible to refuse. But more importantly, reaching proficiency in the King of Medicine Stance within a month was not difficult for him. A month would be more than enough.

“Hahaha, excellent! I always knew you were a grateful and loyal person, Yushu,” Qian Qian laughed heartily, then added, “By the way, the apothecary also gives rewards to those with outstanding martial aptitude. I’ll put in a word for you with the manager. It may not amount to much, but at the very least, it will make things easier for you.”

“Thank you, Master Qian,” Chen Yushu bowed again. Then, as if remembering something, he asked cautiously, “Have you ever heard of ‘ghosts’?”

He still harbored a deep wariness toward the thing in Room Three. But it was not easy to explain that he could actually “see” it; after all, such things were shunned by everyone.

“Hmm? Have you encountered such things?” Qian Qian started, then quickly said, “But don’t worry. It’s impossible for such things to exist in our shop. You should know that the Liu Family Apothecary is well-known in town, and the manager is acquainted with Head Xu of the Yin Office. Every month, the Yin Office sends people to inspect the premises. If such things ever did appear, they would be swiftly dealt with. There’s really nothing to worry about.”

“I’ve encountered one before… still a bit afraid, so I wanted to know if there are any practical ways to deal with them?” Chen Yushu said after a moment’s silence.

As for the Yin Office, he knew it to be an official department specializing in dealing with such supernatural entities.

“Just practice martial arts. Martial artists aren’t afraid of ghosts. Our blood and energy are vigorous, and if we have ever killed, we carry a deadly aura. Such things flee at the very sight of us. Even if some reckless spirit dares to possess us, all we need to do is release our energy and blood, and it will burn them to death,” Qian Qian said with confidence.

Of course, he knew that Chen Yushu’s constitution was still weak and that a real encounter would be dangerous. So he thought for a moment and added, “If you want to be cautious… I’ve heard they fear certain things with strong yang energy, such as cocks’ blood, black dog’s blood, or the urine of a pure child. Unfortunately, ordinary people can’t see them, and even martial artists can’t unless they’ve reached the Yuan Gang level. If you can’t see them, you can’t hit them. If you could see them, splashing these things on them would deal with all but the most powerful ones.”

“Understood. Thank you, Master Qian,” Chen Yushu replied sincerely.

This time, his gratitude was heartfelt—because he truly could see such things. All morning, he had been pondering how to deal with it when night fell.

There was no escaping; he had nowhere else to stay. Moving out was even less realistic. But to share a room with such a thing, without any means of protection, was absolutely out of the question.

Now, after Qian Qian’s advice, he suddenly understood. Ghosts varied in strength; those newly dead, no matter how fierce, shouldn’t be too powerful—at most like the one that Uncle Zhong had beaten to death.

According to Uncle Zhong, such minor spirits posed little threat, and a courageous soul could handle them. Now, if he armed himself with these yang-infused items and splashed them on the ghost—it would surely turn even a living ghost into a dead one!