Hair growing on the gallbladder

The long whip moved with incredible speed and at a tricky angle; it was clearly wielded by an expert.

Long Chen could have dodged, but he was holding a little girl in his arms, making it difficult to move.

A surge of anger rose in his heart.

It was too late to dodge now, so he shielded the little girl in his arms, circulated his Spiritual Qi under his feet to protect his whole body, and prepared to take the whip strike directly with his arm.

Just then, a massive figure blocked the path in front of Long Chen.

"Crack!"

With an explosive sound, A'Man, who was standing in front of Long Chen, grimaced; it was A'Man who had blocked the whip with his own back.

"Rumble."

Long Chen's eyes turned cold. By the time he looked to identify the attacker, the carriage had already sped away.

However, a soft sound of surprise drifted back; clearly, the person had been startled by A'Man's appearance, but they did not stop.

"A'Man, are you alright?" Long Chen asked, suppressing the fury in his heart.

"Brother Long, I'm fine. Since I was little, I've been beaten so many times that I've long since gotten used to it," A'Man said nonchalantly.

However, the clothes on his back were torn, and a long, bloody gash had appeared on his broad back, with blood slowly trickling down the wound.

Suddenly, a woman rushed over, hugged the little girl, and wept uncontrollably while hurriedly thanking Long Chen and A'Man.

A'Man gave a simple, honest smile. After Long Chen softly comforted the little girl, they also left.

But Long Chen was burning with rage. To drive through a busy street in broad daylight and dare to whip me? I want to see just how much audacity you have.

Although A'Man's injury looked bloody and frightening, it was only a superficial wound and nothing serious.

This made Long Chen marvel at A'Man's terrifying Physical Body. The attacker was extremely powerful, yet they had only managed to break a bit of A'Man's skin.

As the two were walking, A'Man's stomach suddenly growled loudly, sounding like thunder.

Long Chen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening; there was a steamed bun shop nearby, and waves of savory meat aroma were wafting over.

A'Man looked embarrassed and said, "Brother Long, I'm not hungry."

"It's fine, I'm hungry. Let's get something to line our stomachs."

Long Chen brought A'Man to the bun shop and found a table.

After they sat down, Long Chen tossed a gold coin to the owner and said, "Bring out all the steamed buns in your shop."

"Brother Long, I'm really not hungry. Um, actually, I just need to eat some rice," A'Man said hurriedly.

Because countless experiences had proven that anyone who saw him eat would basically cut ties with him, and A'Man was afraid of history repeating itself.

"A'Man, since you were willing to block a whip for me, you are my brother. I, Long Chen, can also block a whip for you. So, in the future, don't say things that brothers shouldn't say," Long Chen said very seriously.

For someone who was willing to take a whip for him after only just meeting, such a person was worthy of being called a brother by Long Chen.

"Brother Long… I…"

A'Man suddenly covered his face and burst into tears. After drifting from place to place for so many years, this was the first time he had felt warmth, the first time someone had treated him so well.

"Good brother, don't cry. From now on, we brothers will only shed sweat and blood, never tears. Shedding tears is the behavior of a coward," Long Chen said, patting A'Man on the shoulder.

"Okay, Brother Long, I'll listen to you. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do," A'Man said as he wiped away his tears.

Long Chen originally wanted to tell him to have some of his own judgment, but remembering how he had once covered someone's well and turned it into a chimney, he swallowed those words.

Just then, the bun shop owner brought over the entire large steamer.

Long Chen laughed and said, "A'Man, eat as much as you want. Brother Long has plenty of money in his pocket, so don't try to save for me."

"Mm."

A'Man nodded and stopped being polite. The fist-sized buns were eaten one by one, as fast as a shooting star chasing the moon.

Although he was prepared, Long Chen was still shocked by A'Man's appetite. After devouring over three hundred meat buns from the entire shop, A'Man still seemed unsatisfied.

However, the bun shop owner began to look distressed. All the buns had been brought out, and if he had to make and steam them now, it would be far too slow.

Three hundred-plus buns only cost six silver coins, but when the owner wanted to give Long Chen change, Long Chen had already left with A'Man.

Long Chen returned home and first brought A'Man to meet his mother. Madam Long was initially startled by A'Man's physique.

However, seeing that A'Man was honest and loyal, she felt relieved. When Long Chen explained A'Man's background, Madam Long readily agreed to let him stay.

After settling A'Man in, Long Chen immediately began Alchemy.

Refining Medicinal Pills at home meant he didn't have to worry about so many restrictions, so he pushed his Soul power to the maximum and accelerated his Alchemy speed to the limit.

It took three full days for Long Chen to emerge from the room.

After three days and three nights of non-stop refining, Long Chen had nearly a hundred Fengfu Pills in his hand, and all of them were Medium Grade.

In addition to Fengfu Pills, Long Chen also refined Blood Coagulation Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, and Detoxification Pills, which were in high demand on the market.

These were all to be sold to the guild to offset the cost of the medicinal herbs he had bought on credit.

Just as Long Chen walked out of the room, Bao'er approached him with a somewhat awkward expression.

Long Chen couldn't help but be stunned and asked, "Bao'er, what's wrong?"

"Young Master… this…" Bao'er said, appearing somewhat uneasy.

"Just say whatever it is," Long Chen laughed.

"It's like this, the manor… no longer has… anything to eat," Bao'er said with some anxiety.

A'Man was simply too capable of eating. Madam Long knew A'Man's background was pitiful, so she had specifically instructed the kitchen to make more food.

As a result, in just three days, he had eaten almost all of the Dragon Family's food supply for over a month.

Madam Long had secretly taken out another piece of jewelry and asked Bao'er to sell it.

Bao'er felt it would be better to discuss this with Long Chen, so she came to find him.

Long Chen laughed heartily and pinched Bao'er's little cheek, saying, "Little girl, not bad, you've learned to be smart. I'll handle this matter."

Bao'er was Long Chen's personal maid. Even when the Dragon Family was so destitute, she hadn't been willing to leave. Long Chen had long regarded her as his own younger sister.

"Young Master, there's no food for dinner tonight either," Bao'er reminded him.

After all, she was effectively the little housekeeper of the entire Dragon Family, as the accountant had likely felt there was no future in the Dragon Family and had already left.

"Mm, I know. I'll take care of it right now."

Long Chen still had a few gold coins in his hand, but that was small change.

He called A'Man, and they went out together, heading straight to the Alchemist Guild.

He didn't have a major purpose in bringing A'Man out; Long Chen just wanted to exercise his mind. Wisdom was something related to experience and needed to be improved.

Upon entering the Alchemist Guild, Long Chen went straight to the pharmacy.

When Long Chen handed the dozens of plump, full Medicinal Pills to the pharmacy attendant, the attendant was nearly scared silly.

He clearly remembered that Long Chen had only taken the herbs three days ago, so why was he here to return the Medicinal Pills today?

Usually, the time to return Medicinal Pills was about half a year to a year; this was simply too fast.

However, despite his shock, he was very professional and used specialized equipment to inspect each Medicinal Pill one by one.

Seventeen Medium Grade Medicinal Pills and thirty-six Low Grade Medicinal Pills. Even though he was extremely confident in his inspection techniques, he still almost began to doubt himself.

After confirming repeatedly that there were no errors, and after offsetting the medicinal herbs Long Chen had previously advanced, there were still some Medicinal Pills left over.

"Teacher Long Chen, for these remaining Medicinal Pills, do you intend to exchange them for more herbs, or should I convert them into gold coins for you?" the attendant asked respectfully.

The feeling of being called Teacher was not bad. Long Chen said, "Convert them all into gold coins."

"Alright, please wait a moment."

The attendant hurriedly flipped through a booklet that contained the latest market rates for Medicinal Pills, as he needed to calculate the account for Long Chen according to those standards.

"Teacher Long Chen, the total is 8.17 million gold coins," the attendant said.

Long Chen nodded. The Alchemist Guild was a non-profit organization, and this price was very fair—only about ten percent lower than the market price—but given the many privileges one could enjoy, it was very worthwhile.

"Convert it into two crystal cards for me: one for two million, and put the rest together," Long Chen said.

When Long Chen returned home, Bao'er was already waiting at the door: "Young Master, Young Master Shi Feng sent you an invitation." After speaking, she handed Long Chen a red invitation.

Long Chen opened it and couldn't help but smile. It turned out that Shi Feng had come out of seclusion, had achieved a Breakthrough into the Blood Coagulation Realm, and was hosting a banquet at the Juying Restaurant to treat everyone. Counting the days, it was about time.

"Bao'er, here. Take good care of the house. In the future, Young Master will prepare a generous dowry for you and marry you off in grand style," Long Chen said with a smile, stuffing a crystal card into Bao'er's hand.

Bao'er's little face turned bright red. However, when she saw the number on it, she couldn't help but cover her cherry lips with her small hand, her face full of disbelief.

"Little rich woman, from now on, the work of improving the Dragon Family is up to you. Oh right, go and redeem all the jewelry Mother pawned. Even if you have to pay ten times the price, it's no problem," Long Chen said.

"Mm-mm, Young Master, don't worry. Bao'er will definitely handle it properly," Bao'er promised, patting her still-developing chest.

Long Chen nodded and headed straight to the Juying Restaurant with A'Man.

The Juying Restaurant was a very famous restaurant in the Imperial Capital. The people who came here to eat were either rich or noble. Mainly, the restaurant's name sounded very grand, and the dishes were excellent, so it had become the favorite gathering place for many nobles and aristocrats.

On the top floor of the Juying Restaurant, a huge round table was already filled with all kinds of delicacies, but everyone was just chatting, with no intention of using their chopsticks.

Suddenly seeing a figure walk in, everyone hurriedly stood up: "Brother Long," "Brother Long," "Master Long."

Shi Feng, Fatty Yu, and the others all used different forms of address, but when they saw A'Man behind Long Chen, they couldn't help but be startled.

Shi Feng was already considered a strong man, but in front of A'Man, he became a small fry.

"Let me introduce you. This is my brother, A'Man."

Upon hearing Long Chen's introduction, everyone hurriedly greeted A'Man, but A'Man only nodded and gave a silly smile.

With Long Chen arrived, everyone sat down. Shi Feng raised his glass with both hands and said, "Brother Long, I won't say any unnecessary words. I, Shi Feng, will finish this first as a sign of respect."

Shi Feng kept his gratitude toward Long Chen deep in his heart. A Breakthrough that would have originally taken several years to reach the Blood Coagulation Realm had now been completed in advance, which would be of great help to his future and gave him the hope of entering a higher Realm.

"We also toast Brother Long with a bowl."

Fatty Yu led the way, and everyone stood up. They had received the medicinal liquid Long Chen had prepared for them and had quickly sensed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Both Fatty Yu and the one called Monkey, Hou Tianming, had already reached the first heaven of Qi Gathering.

All of this was thanks to Long Chen's support, and everyone was filled with gratitude toward him.

"Alright, cheers!"

Long Chen laughed heartily. Regardless of anything else, these people had helped him in times of crisis, so Long Chen also regarded them as friends.

After a few drinks, everyone opened up, chatting away, while only A'Man kept his head down and ate wildly without saying a word.

Long Chen had specifically instructed Shi Feng to order more dishes, but fortunately, he had already let A'Man line his stomach before coming, otherwise, he would have scared Fatty Yu and the others to death.

After three rounds of drinks, everyone mentioned their current treatment and couldn't help but be high-spirited. Now that they could all cultivate, their status within their families had risen accordingly.

More importantly, the news that Long Chen was an Alchemist had almost spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital, and everyone knew of the relationship between Fatty Yu and the others with Long Chen.

Therefore, their respective families had secretly told them to maintain a good relationship with Long Chen, which made everyone feel proud and elated.

As everyone was talking, a sudden sound of footsteps rang out. Shi Feng frowned slightly and said, "I clearly instructed the owner that I had booked the entire floor, so why is someone coming up?"

"Forget it, the more people, the merrier. Happiness needs to be shared," Fatty Yu said, clearly a bit drunk, his tongue slightly thick.

Just then, a voice came: "Make everyone here get lost. I don't want to dine with a bunch of lowly people."

Long Chen, who had been drinking calmly, suddenly had his face turn cold, and the veins on his hand bulged.