Snake skins, snake skins, snake skins!
The courtyard was littered with green snake skins.
It was the intense, fishy stench emanating from these skins that made it hard to breathe.
The Blood Raven, however, was thrilled, like a starving man who had just entered a buffet filled with an array of delicacies, cawing incessantly.
Tang Wen covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief, which had been provided by one of the maids at home.
The handkerchief carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Before he could speak, Old Crow, wearing a makeshift gas mask resembling a pig's snout, exclaimed in surprise, "It's only been a few months, how has your Blood Raven grown so large?"
"Is that so?" Tang Wen stroked the Blood Raven's wings. "It's normal for it to grow big."
Old Crow was momentarily speechless, then impatiently waved his hand. "Get out, take your potions and get out."
After a large number of Superior Exotic Beast-level Green Water Pythons were killed, their brains and snake gallbladders were extracted to make the Secret Elixir.
The effects were similar to the previous elixir, mainly enhancing physical constitution, but this snake medicine also had the added benefit of detoxification.
Tang Wen picked up a simple wooden box, lined with dry grass, containing three small bottles. "Such a big box, so little medicine. Can't you give me a few more bottles?"
Old Crow turned his back, ignoring him.
Tang Wen continued, "What would happen if I fed this medicine to the Blood Raven?"
Old Crow suddenly turned his head. "This medicine is worth hundreds, even thousands of taels of silver!"
"Oh, so it can be fed. Would one drop at a time be too much?" Tang Wen stroked the Blood Raven's glossy black feathers, his tone indifferent.
After a pause, Old Crow pulled out two more small bottles from somewhere. "If you really want to try, use one bottle for a bath and dilute the other for drinking. Finish them in ten days. But be careful, the process is painful. If the bond between you and this creature isn't strong, it might abandon you!"
Tang Wen clasped his hands in thanks, endured the stench to chat a bit more, then turned to leave.
Creak!
Xiao Liu opened the door from the courtyard, her voice cheerful. "The young master is back!"
Xiao Taozi, like a runaway lamb, ran over and hugged Tang Wen's leg, lifting her small face to look up at him with her ink-black eyes full of spirit.
Inside the house, Taozi's mother, Cuilian, helped Tang Wen change his clothes.
As usual, he took a bath, rested, and chatted with the three women about recent household matters.
There wasn't much to talk about. After the women finished their usual chatter, Xiao Liu and Taohua both looked at Cuilian, as if there was something they found hard to say, leaving it to the eldest sister to speak.
Tang Wen curiously gazed at their beautiful faces.
Cuilian, having been married before, was bolder. She slightly straightened her ample chest. "Young master, all three of us have become Martial Apprentices!"
With her leading the way, Xiao Liu quickly added, "Miss Tang Tang said we could soon become Second-Class Martial Apprentices."
Tang Wen looked at them with appreciation, feeling a stir in his heart. "Good, good."
Although he never expected them to become top-tier experts, he couldn't let them remain defenseless forever.
The camp was surrounded by dangers; they couldn't stay within its confines forever.
Taohua, blushing, also said, "We've been diligently practicing the techniques you taught us, young master."
After speaking, she looked at Tang Wen with a fiery gaze.
With Zhou Bing absent for many days and Tang Tang also away from home, the three women were feeling a bit bold.
Seeing their eager expressions, Tang Wen smiled. "Then let's practice!"
The three women began practicing the Eight Section Brocade in unison, their waists swaying gracefully and their figures utterly captivating.
Though they were practicing a Taoist mystical art, the way their eyes seemed to both resist and invite at the same time gave Tang Wen the illusion of watching a dance in a brothel.
Who could possibly endure this?
He picked up a cup of cold tea and kept drinking it.
He couldn't resist the temptation!
He simply couldn't resist it!
Xiao Taozi ran into the room and, standing beside her mother, started mimicking the movements of the three adults.
Tang Wen quickly fixed his gaze on the happy little girl, and it took him a while to slowly shake off his awkwardness.
After finally sending the three women away, Tang Wen secretly breathed a sigh of relief: This was unbearable! I can't stay at home anymore!
A deep longing for strength surged within him.
I'll endure it a little longer, just a little longer!
Once I become Transcendent, once I undergo my transformation, I'll definitely spend three days and three nights—no, thirty days and thirty nights—at the Pleasure House!
Tang Wen steeled his heart, painting countless big, round, and white promises in his mind.
He opened the wooden box, took out a bottle of snake medicine, and downed it in one gulp.
A fiery sensation spread from his mouth and throat all the way to his stomach.
Then came the lingering aftertaste, bitter to the core.
So bitter that he couldn't even feel his own tongue anymore.
Tang Wen frowned, his mind wandering: Whoever endured hardships by tasting gall must not have tasted this kind of snake gallbladder.
This is just too intense!
After brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth with saltwater, he finally managed to rid himself of the bitter taste.
He lay down and fell asleep, waking up only after the medicine had been fully absorbed.
[Body: 8.78 → 8.8]
Before drinking it, he already knew that this Secret Elixir made from the essence of a Superior Exotic Beast would probably be of little use to him.
But he hadn't expected it to be so utterly useless.
He gave the remaining medicine to Tang Tang.
He kept two bottles for himself and, following Old Crow's instructions, fed the Blood Raven and gave it a medicinal bath.
"Caw! Caw!"
The Blood Raven struggled, its wings flapping wildly as it tried to jump out of the wooden basin.
Tang Wen, quick on his feet, grabbed another wooden basin and covered it.
"The bitterness is only temporary. After today, you'll become stronger!"
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
The Blood Raven thrashed about, cawing curses.
Tang Wen paid no mind and continued to comfort it: "You'll transform, you'll fly higher, farther, and faster!"
"Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!"
The Blood Raven flapped even more violently, causing the wooden basin to shake.
Tang Wen added, "Endure it, and you'll surpass all other Blood Ravens!"
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The Blood Raven went into a frenzy, pecking at the wooden basin with its hard beak.
Just as it seemed about to lose its mind from the discomfort and the basin was on the verge of breaking, Tang Wen shouted, "When that happens, all the female Blood Ravens will be yours! You can marry as many as you want! Be with whoever you want!"
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the commotion under the basin ceased.
"Caw? Caw! Caw! Caw!"
The Blood Raven's cries were restrained, patient.
But the meaning behind them was crystal clear—Really?
"Really! Truer than gold! Think about it, all those powerful leaders of the wild tribes we've seen, don't they all have multiple wives and countless offspring?"
"Caw!"
Tang Wen removed the covering basin, and the Blood Raven stopped causing a fuss.
Even though it trembled with discomfort, its claws remained motionless, its entire body submerged in the medicinal liquid.
Tang Wen's eye twitched: Damn it! Aren't Blood Ravens supposed to be monogamous, never seeking a new partner even after one dies?
Why is mine so unique?
They say pets resemble their owners, but this doesn't seem to apply here!
I wonder who it learned this from.
At this thought, he paused for a moment.
It wasn't me, definitely not me, but it hasn't been in contact with anyone else…
He fell silent, but his eyes lit up the next second.
Wait, there's Old Crow!
When it was young, it followed Old Crow.
That's right, it must have been influenced by Old Crow!
Having shifted the blame, the Blood Raven calmed down and stopped flapping, and even the Experience Panel showed changes.
Tang Wen revealed a satisfied smile.
[Beast Taming Art, Mastery → Proficiency (1/6000)]
Starting from painting a rosy picture for the Blood Raven.
The experience value of the Beast Taming Art surged dramatically.
It directly broke through the mastery level and leaped over the rank.
Tang Wen marveled inwardly: No wonder my boss in my previous life loved painting rosy pictures so much. This feeling is really great!
With the skill breakthrough, new knowledge and images flooded in like a tide.
He calmly absorbed it, sensing that a subtle connection had been established between him and the Blood Raven.
And that mid-level Mutated Beast, the Wuzhui Horse.
He could feel it strutting around in the palace stables, throwing its weight around.
Relying on its strength, it drove all the other horses into the corners, except for a few handsome, uncastrated young stallions, not allowing any other horses to approach it.
Noticing this, Tang Wen felt a bit uneasy.
"Why is this horse like this? Oh, betrayal, right! It must have witnessed the betrayal of its old companion, Black Cloud Treading on Snow, in the wilderness. That's why it'
s like this! Yes, that must be it!"
Tang Wen nodded repeatedly, confirming that it wasn't his fault.
Knock, knock, knock!
At lunchtime, someone knocked on the door.
"What are you eating? It smells so good!"
It was General Zhao who entered.
(End of Chapter)