This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 30 - 23: Young Lady, Can the Money Be Cashed Out?

Chapter 30: Chapter 23: Young Lady, Can the Money Be Cashed Out?

Qingtian Town, Great Mist Mountain.

A figure darted through the mist, occasionally stopping to search the area.

This figure was none other than Lin Yan. A bamboo basket on his back was already filled with medicinal herbs—the fruits of his trip into the mountains.

’Three stalks of ten-year-old Ginseng, four stalks of five-year-old Resurrection Grass... This haul should be worth over twenty taels of silver.’

Taking stock of his harvest, Lin Yan gazed into the thick fog ahead. He was now approaching the core region of Great Mist Mountain.

The toxic miasma of Great Mist Mountain grew denser—and deadlier—the deeper one went.

He dared not venture any further!

’The True Understanding of Earth Veins is truly useful.’

Lin Yan marveled inwardly. This wasn’t his first time in the mountains; it was his third trip this month.

With his vision obstructed by the thick fog of Great Mist Mountain, he had relied entirely on the skill of observing Earth Qi—learned from the True Understanding of Earth Veins—to find herbs by examining the terrain and the growth patterns of the vegetation.

’With these herbs, I should be able to reach Second-Time Skin Smoothing within three days. Then I can focus on my Cultivation and break through the barrier in one go.’

After he achieved Second-Time Skin Smoothing, he could venture deeper into Great Mist Mountain.

Descending the mountain and returning to his courtyard, Lin Yan set down the bamboo basket, washed the herbs clean, and then decocted them into a medicinal soup.

As the concoction slid down his throat, Lin Yan dared not delay. He stood in his courtyard and began his Cultivation.

In his mind, the Martial Arts Tree had reached a height of just over one foot and nine inches.

It was almost two feet tall!

Lin Yan took a deep breath, assumed his stance, and began his daily Cultivation.

——

「Two days later.」

Night fell, and a faint moonlight spilled into the courtyard.

Lin Yan stood in the center of the courtyard, bare-chested.

Today, he had applied three times his usual amount of Muscle Strengthening Ointment.

The Qi Blood within him churned like boiling water, and the flesh beneath his skin seemed to swell faintly, as if countless ants were crawling over it.

Lin Yan raised his hand and threw a Mountain-Splitting Fist.

Once, twice, three times...

The Martial Arts Tree in his mind slowly grew taller. The moment it reached two feet, it trembled and swayed violently!

At the same time, the churning Qi Blood in his body seemed to find an outlet, surging violently toward the flesh and blood throughout his body.

In just a few breaths, Lin Yan’s body expanded rapidly, like an inflating balloon.

An unknown amount of time passed...

BOOM!

A muffled clap of thunder seemed to ring in Lin Yan’s ears.

Then, everything returned to tranquility.

Lin Yan opened his eyes.

The moonlight was the same moonlight, the courtyard was the same courtyard, but in his eyes, everything had changed.

He could clearly see the slight swaying of a few weeds at the base of the wall thirty feet away and feel the direction of every wisp of air as the night wind brushed against his skin.

Lin Yan looked down at his hands. His skin was firmer than before, but it wasn’t the thick, rough callousness one might expect. Instead, it was like a layer of supple, thin leather. When he pressed a fingertip against it, he could feel the burgeoning Power beneath.

CRACK!

He threw a punch, and the air cracked with a sound like the snap of a bullwhip.

Where the force of his fist passed, a few withered leaves on the ground were blown more than ten feet away, tumbling along the surface.

This was the power of Second-Time Skin Smoothing.

If Single-Time Skin Smoothing made the skin tougher and more resilient, then Second-Time Skin Smoothing infused that strength from the skin into the flesh.

Now, the force of his punch was two to three times stronger than before.

More importantly, his senses had become much sharper. This meant that in a fight, he could perceive his opponent’s movements faster and react with greater precision.

The difference between Second-Time and Single-Time Skin Smoothing was all-encompassing: Power, speed, reflexes, Perception...

’Stone Waist Barbarian Ridge!’

Lin Yan whispered the words in his mind. His waist and the pillar of his spine instantly arched, and the muscles all over his body tensed, causing his entire frame to swell by thirty percent.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He threw several punches in succession, the force of his fists howling like the wind, even more terrifying than before.

’This Stone Waist Barbarian Spine Root Bone is incredibly strong. It actually increased my power by another thirty percent.’

Lin Yan had no intention of revealing his Stone Waist Barbarian Spine Root Bone. It was his hidden trump card.

However, he didn’t plan to hide his breakthrough to the Second-Time Skin Smoothing Realm.

The faster he broke through, the greater his potential appeared. Perhaps his master would be pleased and give him another reward. Besides, the Tang Family’s stipend for affiliated Martial Artists differed between the Single-Time and Second-Time Skin Smoothing Realms.

He knew from Zheng Xun that the Tang Family provided an extra monthly bottle of Vital Tendon Pills to affiliated Martial Artists at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing Realm, with a market price of thirty taels of silver.

As for the actual cost, only the Tang Family knew that.

...

「The next day.」

Lin Yan went to Ji Ming’s residence. He found Ji Ming leisurely drinking tea with Zheng Xun and another Martial Artist.

"Lin Yan, what’s this? Did the sun rise in the west today?"

Zheng Xun was the first to speak upon seeing Lin Yan arrive.

In the several months since Lin Yan had arrived, he spent all his time training in his courtyard when he wasn’t on patrol. He never visited anyone, and rarely even stepped out of his own gate.

"Eh?"

Ji Ming studied Lin Yan for a long moment before suddenly standing up. "Lin Yan, have you broken through to Second-Time Skin Smoothing?"

The moment these words were spoken, Zheng Xun, who was sipping tea, did a spit-take. A spray of tea shot from his mouth. He didn’t even bother to wipe it away, his eyes fixed on Lin Yan. "Lin Yan, you succeeded in reaching Second-Time Skin Smoothing?"

The other Martial Artist also put down his teacup, a look of shock on his face.

"Captain, you have a sharp eye," Lin Yan admitted with a smile, then asked curiously, "How could you tell?"

Ji Ming smiled faintly and pointed to Lin Yan’s exposed neck and wrists. "When one has just broken through to Second-Time Skin Smoothing, the Qi Blood enters the flesh, causing the veins to bulge and the body to look a bit more swollen than usual. After three to five days, once it settles, it won’t be noticeable anymore."

Zheng Xun leaned in to scrutinize Lin Yan’s face, muttering, "Why can’t I see anything...?"

Ji Ming shot him a look. "You’re only at Single-Time Skin Smoothing. What would you be able to see?"

He turned back to Lin Yan, a smile on his face. "To go from Single-Time to Second-Time Skin Smoothing in less than five months... that speed would place you among the top ranks, even among the Martial Arts Academy Disciples."

Lin Yan smiled. "I was lucky. It’s all thanks to the Captain’s daily care."

"None of that," Ji Ming said with a wave of his hand. "What care did I give? I treat all of you equally. Reaching Second-Time Skin Smoothing this quickly is purely your own achievement."

The four of them sat down again.

Zheng Xun was still staring at Lin Yan as if he were looking at a monster. "Lin Yan, be honest. Did you secretly take some kind of Treasure Medicine? I’ve been at Single-Time Skin Smoothing for almost a year and I haven’t even touched the threshold of the second level."

"I just ate a few extra stalks of Ginseng," Lin Yan said casually.

Zheng Xun rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he hadn’t eaten his fair share of Ginseng. But compared to Lin Yan, he had been at the Single-Time Skin Smoothing Realm for ten months and was still some distance from a breakthrough.

"If you trained as hard as Lin Yan every day, you’d be on the verge of Second-Time Skin Smoothing too."

Ji Ming interjected, deliberately cutting Zheng Xun off. Every Martial Artist has their own opportunities and secrets. They might not even tell their own brothers. Prying into such matters was taboo.

Pouring a cup of tea for Lin Yan, Ji Ming’s tone became a bit more familiar. "The Boss will increase the stipend for affiliated Martial Artists at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing Realm. But with the end of the year approaching, it’s not necessary to make formal changes right now. I’ll write a note to the Boss to inform him of your situation so you can start receiving the Second-Time Skin Smoothing benefits first. We’ll sort out the rest after the new year."

"Thank you, Captain."

Lin Yan raised his teacup and toasted Ji Ming. This was the very reason he had come.

"Don’t thank me. The Boss is generous. Another boss might have made you wait until next month for the change in benefits. Let’s all raise a cup to the Boss."

...

On the road back to the city from Qingtian Town, Lin Yan was once again traveling with Zheng Xun.

"Lin Yan, no matter what, you have to come out and have some fun with me this time."

"No money."

Lin Yan spread his hands. "I spent it all on medicine and training."

"Fine, then it’s my treat. We’ll call it a celebration for your breakthrough to Second-Time Skin Smoothing."

Zheng Xun felt a little helpless. For a Martial Artist, each of the latter three stages of Skin Smoothing was a major hurdle. A breakthrough was usually met with overwhelming excitement, calling friends for a big celebration. But for Lin Yan, it was as if the breakthrough was as simple as drinking water; he showed no sign of excitement at all.

...

「Tingchun Pavilion.」

Zheng Xun looked at Lin Yan with a helpless expression. "How am I supposed to enjoy my drink with you acting like this? If you’re not satisfied, should I get you a fresh one?"

"If possible, just give me the cash equivalent. I appreciate the sentiment."

Lin Yan ignored him and picked up a piece of snake meat, placing it in his mouth. After he swallowed it, a slight warmth spread through his abdomen. It was clear this snake meat had the effect of nourishing one’s Qi Blood.

"Fine, let’s just drink like this then."

Zheng Xun rolled his eyes at Lin Yan. The woman accompanying them showed no change in expression, smiling gracefully as she poured another cup of wine for Zheng Xun. "Perhaps Young Master Lin just isn’t into our kind of fun."

"Lin Yan, you don’t have... the passion of Longyang, do you?"

Zheng Xun’s expression faltered. As if struck by a thought, he silently scooted his chair back a little.

"If I had the passion of Longyang, do you think you—Young Master Zheng, with your delicate skin, tender flesh, and handsome face—would still be sitting here drinking peacefully?"

Lin Yan’s chopsticks paused, and he replied irritably. Zheng Xun thought about it for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. "That’s true. Xiaoru, you really scared me."

"Young Master Zheng, I never said Young Master Lin had the passion of Longyang. You can’t go blaming me for that."

The woman feigned annoyance, her tone coquettish. Zheng Xun asked in confusion, "Then what else could it be?"

"Oh, men have all sorts of peculiar tastes. Some like them young, some like them old, and some even like them pregnant. A few days ago, we had a guest, a Vice Gang Leader from the Three Heroes Gang, who specifically asked for a pregnant girl."

"There are kinks like that?"

Zheng Xun’s mouth fell slightly open. Although he was a frequent patron of brothels, his tastes were quite conventional.

"Isn’t that right? I heard from the madam that this guest seems to have hit a bottleneck in his Martial Arts Cultivation and wanted to find some pregnant girls to change his luck. He asked for ten of them right off the bat! Oh dear... what am I doing, talking about such sordid things in front of you two young masters. Young Master Zheng, Young Master Lin, please don’t be offended."

Lin Yan’s expression remained unchanged. He continued to eat his snake meat and asked coolly, "So, do you have any pregnant girls here?"

"Lin Yan, don’t tell me you’re into that too?" Zheng Xun stared at Lin Yan in disbelief.

"No, I’m just asking out of curiosity."

"Young Master Lin, how could we have pregnant girls here? We’re all fresh, untouched maidens... at least, we are for today..."

The woman shot him a seductive glance, but Lin Yan paid her no mind. He didn’t ask any more questions, but a thoughtful look appeared in the depths of his eyes.