The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

Lu Jing never imagined that he would one day be so engrossed in carrying sacks, even finding a feeling akin to when he used to play Civilization V all night. His brain seemed to be controlled by some mysterious force, and after finishing one trip, he would almost reflexively start the next, feeling no fatigue at all.

He felt he could keep carrying like this until dark, or even the next day, but after an hour and a half, Lu Jing had to stop. It wasn't that he was finally out of strength, but that all twenty-four of the *feipeng* boats had been emptied.

Looking at the empty holds, Lu Jing felt a sense of loss. Only then did he remember to count the tally sticks in his hand, discovering that he had unknowingly accumulated ten long sticks and eight short sticks, meaning he had made a total of nine round trips.

The other coolies were all looking at him with the eyes one reserves for monsters, because most of them had only made four or five trips, and each time they only carried two or three sacks of millet. Even so, they were already exhausted. Many of them had sweat soaking through their shirts, and were now sitting or lying down, scooping cool well water and gulping it down.

Niu Jiu was one of them, and he was also rubbing his shoulders. The burly Niu Jiu was naturally strong, and had always been the strongest of the coolies. Therefore, when he saw Lu Jing carrying six sacks of millet and floating past him, he felt quite unconvinced.

So, on the second trip, he tried adding another sack of millet to his shoulder. As a result, he could barely stand up, and could hardly move an inch. Unwilling to admit defeat, Niu Jiu staggered a few steps, but was soon overtaken by the other coolies, and eventually had to put the newly added sack of millet back into the hold.

Now, Niu Jiu stared at Lu Jing with his bell-like eyes, seemingly trying to understand how this young man could surpass him.

However, Lu Jing had no intention of competing with Niu Jiu for such inexplicable things. His attention was now entirely on his own body. At this point, how could Lu Jing not know that he was in trouble? But the problem was that he didn't know what kind of trouble he was in. The changes in his body were clearly not something that could be explained by the science he had learned.

At this moment, there were still merchant ships unloading at the dock, but Lu Jing and his fellow coolies would probably have to rest until the afternoon before they could get more work. Lu Jing hesitated for a moment, but decided not to wait any longer.

His body was more important. Carrying millet just now had earned him more than he had earned in the previous two days. Now that he had secured his food for the next few days, he should first solve the problem with his *dantian*.

Having made his decision, Lu Jing first went to exchange the tally sticks in his hand. According to the exchange rate of one *wen* per tally stick, he exchanged a total of one hundred and eight *wen*. Lu Jing carefully put away the money, and then went to Qin Xiaotou's teahouse by the dock to ask for leave. He didn't hide anything, and said directly that he was going to see a doctor.

As a result, Qin Xiaotou's face showed a strange expression. "You're sick? When did you get sick?"

"Uh… this morning."

"Then why did you come to the dock to work?"

"To earn money for treatment?"

"But I heard that you just carried six sacks of millet by yourself, and you were walking briskly," Qin Xiaotou continued.

Lu Jing didn't expect that this matter would have reached Qin Xiaotou's ears. Generally speaking, Qin Xiaotou would go to the dock for a round of inspection in the morning, and then drink tea on the second floor of Yu Liulang's teahouse next to the dock. In the afternoon, he would take a bath in Qiu Yuanwai's bathhouse next door, and wouldn't keep an eye on the coolies working on the dock.

It seemed that someone must have told him. Lu Jing thought of the brown-clothed gentleman who had insisted on grabbing the rice bag before, and paused before saying, "I may have had a problem with my cultivation, and I'm planning to ask my teacher for help."

Qin Xiaotou seemed interested when he heard this. "You also practice cultivation? Who is your teacher? Oh, I remember, it is said that Offering Zhang is planning to take a disciple recently, is it you?"

"It's me," Lu Jing nodded.

"In that case, you're doing quite well. It's a pity to be a coolie," Qin Xiaotou's eyes turned around Lu Jing. "How about it, are you interested in working as a club-wielding enforcer under me?"

"Thank you for your high regard, but I've only been practicing martial arts for less than a day, and my teacher said that I don't have much talent."

Lu Jing had read a lot of online novels before, and the protagonists in them liked to pretend to be mysterious, obviously no different from ordinary people or only a little stronger than ordinary people, but they had to act like reclusive experts, just like the little girls on the Internet now have to turn on beauty filters and slim their faces when taking pictures.

But is this good? Lu Jing thought it was not good. People should still be down-to-earth, and eat as many bowls of rice as their ability allows. It is easy to deceive for a while, but difficult to deceive for a lifetime. You can't always play QQ romance with people online, and there will always be a day when you meet offline. Since this is the case, it is better to be honest from the beginning and treat people with sincerity.

However, Qin Xiaotou's face darkened when he heard this. "Could it be that other foremen at the dock have approached you first?"

"No," Lu Jing didn't quite understand why Qin Xiaotou would ask this. He was just an ordinary coolie. He had been quiet in the Green Bamboo Gang for more than half a year. Even if he performed better in carrying millet just now, it would be fine if it reached Qin Xiaotou's ears, but how could other foremen know?

"Heh heh, do you think I'm a fool?" Qin Xiaotou's expression sank directly to the bottom this time, pointing at his nose and asking.

"? ? ? !"

Lu Jing's face was full of question marks. He even specifically recalled the previous dialogue options in his mind, completely unaware of how the current plot was unfolding.

"I was also mistaken before. I didn't expect you kid to hide so deeply. You've been at Zhangjia Wharf for eight or nine months, right? You've been hiding the fact that you know martial arts. In that case, why don't you continue to hide it? Oh, is it because the day is coming soon, and you're starting to get carried away?" Qin Xiaotou stared at Lu Jing with a smile that was not a smile.

Martial arts? Day? There were too many槽 points in this sentence, and Lu Jing didn't know where to start asking, and Qin Xiaotou didn't give him a chance to speak again. He put down the teacup in his hand, and then slapped the table with his left hand, suddenly raising his voice by three points, "I don't think we should wait for half a month. Qin will come to learn your skills today."

Before he finished speaking, his right hand had already waved out!

The boxing technique that Qin Xiaotou practiced was called Crane Hand. It was rumored that a master was inspired by observing various postures of cranes and created a boxing technique. The original moves emphasized a sense of agility and elegance, but in Qin Xiaotou's hands, it lacked a trace of immortality and added a bit of strangeness.

He saw his index finger and middle finger extending forward, and the other three fingers slightly bent, forming the shape of a crane's beak. Then, his wrist shook, and a lightning peck came out, directly taking Lu Jing's chest, but suddenly changed his move halfway, feinting a shot and attacking Lu Jing's lower abdomen, while retracting his middle finger, changing the open-mouthed crane to a closed-mouthed crane!