Chapter 2 The Next Day

The next afternoon, Zhou Jing took the initiative to invite Ma Li out for a meal.

Ma Li had originally planned to stall, thinking he could make a quick buck off Zhou Jing and then they'd part ways. He didn't expect Zhou Jing to be so enthusiastic as to offer to treat him.

Frankly, he was a little surprised and flattered.

In the past, the apprentices he'd scammed… uh, taught, always ended things in anger and discord. If he didn't live in the relatively safe Furnace District, and only preyed on clueless out-of-towners, Ma Li figured he'd have been jumped and stuffed in a sack long ago.

He never thought that, with his moral character, he'd one day enjoy this kind of treatment… He was still quite clear-headed about his own nature.

Anyway, a free meal was a free meal. Ma Li simply closed up shop and went with Zhou Jing to a well-regarded local tavern.

The two ordered a mountain of food and kept refilling their drinks. As they ate and drank, Ma Li quickly became a bit tipsy.

"Bill's" physique wasn't bad, and he remained sober. Seeing that Ma Li was nearly drunk, Zhou Jing began subtly probing about the recipe.

Ma Li instantly became instinctively wary, dodging and prevaricating, revealing nothing.

Even drunk, his mental defenses remained strong, his stinginess unwavering, as he sneered inwardly.

So that's what this is about, trying to weasel my recipes out of me with a free meal, huh? Ha, not a chance…

Although the recipes Ma Li possessed were for common potions, known by many apothecaries, he simply didn't want to give them up unless he got cold, hard cash.

Seeing that Ma Li was keeping his mouth shut, Zhou Jing didn't press the issue, continuing to ply him with drinks and generously foot the bill, making the other man ecstatic.

They drank until nearly curfew before Zhou Jing helped the tipsy Ma Li out of the tavern.

"Where do you live? I'll take you home."

Zhou Jing asked softly.

After learning from this guy for a month, Ma Li had never once invited his apprentice to his home. He had to find out himself.

Ma Li was staggering, so he had to accept Zhou Jing's support, squinting sleepily as he tried to get his bearings, pointing the way.

The two traversed the winding alleys, soon arriving at a small house. Ma Li pulled out his key and opened the door, then suddenly grabbed the doorframe, blocking the way, with no intention of inviting Zhou Jing in.

"I'm here, you can go back now," Ma Li slurred.

"Alright."

Zhou Jing nodded, suddenly reaching out and grabbing his shoulder, pushing him forcefully into the house, using his foot to hook the door shut behind them.

Ma Li was startled, his hands trying to pry off Zhou Jing's arm, but he couldn't budge the seemingly thin limb. Panic-stricken, he cried, "What… what are you doing? Get out now, or I'll shout!"

As he spoke, he tried to yell, hoping to attract the attention of the patrolling guards on the street.

But in the next instant, a large hand clamped around his neck, stifling his voice in his throat.

Zhou Jing lifted Ma Li off the ground with one hand, leaving his legs to flail in the air.

"Don't yell, or my hand might slip, and your neck will snap."

Ma Li felt the pressure on his neck gradually tightening, his face turning purple, and he quickly gave in like a quail.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing released him, smiling as he brushed the dust off Ma Li's clothes.

"That's right, just cooperate, it'll be good for you. Once I get what I want, I won't hurt you."

"You… you mustn't do anything rash."

Ma Li sobered up instantly, his lips trembling, shaking like a leaf, his earlier arrogance gone.

He never expected that this damn out-of-towner would have the gall to commit robbery!

Ma Li couldn't help but touch his neck, where a red mark had formed, feeling panicked.

How could this skinny weakling have such strength?!

Because of Jason's connection, Ma Li had been prejudiced, thinking that Bill was a person with "backing," someone who wouldn't easily break the law, a decent person at the very least.

As long as he didn't go too far, it would at most be a financial dispute, not escalating to violence. At worst, they'd part ways, the guy would yell at him, and then find another apothecary to learn from.

After all, this was the royal capital, and Imperial Hunters had to follow the rules. Zhou Jing knowing a hunter only made Ma Li feel troubled, not actually afraid… Who would be afraid of a group whose job was to protect the people?

So Ma Li simply didn't expect Zhou Jing to dare do something like this. Now that he realized Zhou Jing was some kind of villain, he was truly afraid.

Zhou Jing dragged Ma Li around the house, confirming that he was alone, then put his arm around Ma Li's shoulder and chuckled,

"I don't mean anything by this, I'm just curious about the potion recipes you have. Why don't you take them out and let me see them?"

"Okay…"

Ma Li didn't dare say anything else, taking out a tattered notebook from the bookshelf and handing it to Zhou Jing with trepidation.

Zhou Jing opened it and took a look. Inside were Ma Li's notes on his experiences making potions over the years, as well as an appendix of a dozen or so recipes.

Most of these recipes were for common, general-purpose potions: healing potions, energizing potions, insect repellent potions, and so on. Besides these, there were two types of hunter potions, one to improve cardiopulmonary function and one to reduce pain.

"Oh, you know quite a bit. No wonder you didn't want to teach me," Zhou Jing said, carefully reading through them and memorizing them, then put the notebook back on the shelf.

Ma Li didn't dare reply, forcing a smile.

"Alright, don't be so scared, I'm not going to kill people for no reason." Zhou Jing patted him on the shoulder and chuckled, "Remember, tonight I just escorted you home and took care of you while you were drunk. Nothing else happened."

"Understood, understood…"

Ma Li certainly had no objections, nodding repeatedly.

Zhou Jing clicked his tongue. "Even if you wanted to report this to the authorities, you have no evidence. Besides, you charged me an exorbitant price to be your apprentice. If people found out how much money you took, who do you think would be in the right?"

"I… I didn't think that way."

"That's right. You cheated me out of a lot of money, but considering that you did teach me something, I won't ask for it back. Those potions I made these days are all yours, so you still made a profit. Just consider it a business deal and be happy with what you got. If you don't know when to stop and want to cause trouble, I might be unlucky, but you'll definitely learn the value of life."

Hearing this, Ma Li calmed down a bit and suddenly realized it made sense.

In essence, he still earned money, he just couldn't keep scamming the same person.

Although the value of those recipes exceeded Zhou Jing's efforts over the past month, letting the other man learn them wouldn't take away the knowledge he himself possessed. It wasn't much of a substantial loss.

Seeing that Ma Li had accepted it, Zhou Jing patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, issued another threat, and then swaggered away.

Ma Li immediately collapsed onto his chair, his chest heaving, his heart pounding, feeling like he'd taken a stroll on the edge of death.

He couldn't help but recall their month together, how Zhou Jing had acted like a docile apprentice, making him lower his guard, only to reveal his ferocious side tonight.

If only he'd been more firm a month ago and scared this guy away with an even higher price… Ma Li lamented, feeling like he'd brought a wolf into his house.

Although frustrated, he certainly didn't have the guts to cause any more trouble.

Messing with this villain again would only bring bad luck. Accepting this loss would allow him to continue living and enjoying his life. Ma Li just wanted to end this relationship as soon as possible and no longer have any involvement with Zhou Jing.

…

The next day, the two met again at the apothecary shop. Zhou Jing was all smiles, seemingly normal, as if nothing had happened last night.

But Ma Li's face was stiff, and he could only force a smile, no longer daring to treat Zhou Jing with his previous attitude.

After spending a day in this strange atmosphere, Zhou Jing finally requested to end his apprenticeship. Ma Li felt like he'd been granted amnesty, eagerly agreeing, practically grabbing a broom to chase him out.

Zhou Jing walked out of the apothecary shop with his dog, turning back to see Ma Li standing by the door, seeing him off.

Noticing Zhou Jing's gaze, Ma Li quickly ducked his head, no longer daring to look.

Zhou Jing withdrew his gaze, a corner of his mouth curving up.

His apothecary skill had already reached Lv4 Proficiency, and with a dozen or so recipes, he was already a qualified apothecary. It only took a month to level up, the benefits of focusing on related aptitudes were indeed astounding.

Actually, following the normal route, it would have been difficult to learn a dozen or so recipes so quickly. Even if his own learning efficiency was high, a normal apothecary wouldn't easily impart all their recipes to an apprentice without a long period of observation. It would take at least a year or two to learn that many, and he didn't want to wait that long.

It wasn't appropriate to do anything out of line to a normal teacher. Even with someone like Ma Li, Zhou Jing's methods weren't too drastic. Although the guy took his money, his teaching was genuine.

He simply used force to bypass the normal roundabout process and quickly get the knowledge he wanted, not really taking anything else from Ma Li. In the Beast World, strength was still more practical, and the most convenient.

"I'm already at the level of an apothecary, so I shouldn't be turned away from the Imperial Workshop now."

Zhou Jing walked down the street, pondering for a while, then soon turned toward the Imperial Workshop's office. That was his goal, the gathering place for all of the Terra Empire's "high-end technology."

…

At the same time, somewhere in the Royal Capital's palace.

Roman was strolling through a garden.

A confidant walked beside him, reporting in a low voice:

"...The tribal leaders from all over have replied. Whenever they are needed, the plan can be put into action."

Roman nodded, picking a leaf from the bushes by the roadside, turning it over in his fingers, casually saying, "Let them wait a little longer. The time isn't ripe yet. It's not a good opportunity to tear off the mask. The empire currently has the strength to send troops to quell."

The confidant nodded and said, "There's one more thing. Recently, the people we've planted in the Imperial Workshop sent word that they seem to have made new progress in the development of special abilities of exotic beasts."

Roman paused. "Oh?"

"The Imperial Workshop has been researching a special beast equipment, trying to use the special abilities of exotic beasts. They seem to have created a semi-finished product recently. People from the Tarn royal family personally went to see it and blocked the news... We only heard that they named this equipment Miracle Armament."

"I want to know the details. Find them out for me." Roman's tone left no room for doubt.

"Understood."

Roman paused, seemingly recalling something, and asked again, "What about the progress of the Imperial Workshop in the development of that special alien blood potion?"

"There's no progress on this. They still haven't been able to overcome the technical difficulties. They haven't been able to inherit the special abilities of alien beasts through the alien blood potion."

"Well, continue to pay attention. As soon as they make progress, tell me immediately... Especially to find out which craftsman is promoting the progress. That's talent."

Roman said slowly.

At this moment, at the other end of the garden path, several exquisitely dressed, noble-looking young people, men and women, were laughing and playing.

"They are the direct blood relatives of the Tarn royal family."

Roman secretly made a gesture to let his confidant retreat.

Then, he controlled the fat on his face, and bloomed a perfect amiable smile, and greeted them with a smile.

After three sentences, Roman naturally integrated into the young people of the Tarn royal family, chatting happily, and was quite popular.