The gruesome scene froze the entire courtyard in silence.
Liu Ergou and the other two stared at Howling Heaven, half in shock, half in terror.
That thing's huge and savage—one swipe and an arm's gone. Is that really a dog?
Chen Changsheng patted Howling Heaven's head with a smile, swept his gaze across the three, and said calmly:
"Go, Howling Heaven—take off every hand holding a blade."
The moment the words left his mouth the trio paled, but before they could react Howling Heaven shot forward like white lightning, straight at Liu Ergou and the others!
"Aaaah! My hand!"
The fat man screamed as Howling Heaven's claws flashed; the arm that had held the knife fell, blood spurting.
"D-don't come any closer, you monster!"
Liu Ergou had never seen such brutality. Trembling, he gripped his knife, lips quivering.
Howling Heaven paid him no mind; it obeyed only Chen Changsheng.
The dog's slow pace burst into a sprint, and the next instant the shuddering Liu Ergou lost his arm as well.
"What do we do with them?"
Chen Changsheng studied the three now-powerless men, pondering whether they could be used against Liu Jinshan.
At last Liu Ergou's group panicked. They'd never had much courage, and the cold beast-stare of Howling Heaven terrified them; they dropped to their knees and begged.
"Big Brother Chen—no, Master Chen, we were wrong! You're the bigger man—spare us this once!"
"We'll never dare again; from now on we'll do whatever you say…"
The three thugs knelt bawling, and while Chen Changsheng weighed the matter a sinister voice spoke up beside him.
"Father, don't let them live—root and branch! Besides, they've seen what Howling Heaven can do!"
"Big brother, kill them!"
Chen Chuanwu, standing nearby, glanced at Chen Changsheng. Seeing no objection, he assumed his father agreed with his younger brother.
Besides, in his mind their father was an honest man, probably incapable of bloody murder.
So he hefted a club and smashed each of the three hard on the skull, shattering bone.
Chen Changsheng's mouth twitched; the vicious second son made the plan, the brutal eldest carried it out—neither looked like decent folk.
"Enough… drag them to the back hill and bury them. Don't leave the yard looking like a butcher's shop—you two clean up tonight."
He figured Liu Ergou was useless against Liu Jinshan anyway, and since they'd witnessed Howling Heaven's power, dead men told no tales.
Liu Jinshan's scheme had failed; he'd be wary now, giving the Chen Family a quiet spell to grow.
With that settled Chen Changsheng calmed his wife and went to bed, sleeping soundly with Howling Heaven on guard.
Next morning he woke to find his two sons cautiously offering bones to Howling Heaven, who remained aloof and ignored them.
Chen Changsheng whistled; Howling Heaven raised its tail, trotted over and rubbed against his leg.
"Haha, good dog!"
After feeding Howling Heaven he ignored the boys' sulky looks and sent the dog off to romp in the hills.
Once his eldest left to train with Master Wang, Chen Changsheng practiced the Five Elements Origin Cultivation Art at home.
Progress crawled like a turtle; he knew this pace wouldn't do.
He wrapped five hundred silver taels in a bundle and headed to the county town to buy herbs.
Alchemical tonics were essential—without them he'd never reach Innate in this lifetime.
The Five Elements potion was simple: one portion each of the five elemental herbs; the older, the better.
Chen Changsheng went straight to the largest apothecary in town: Sheng Yuan Pharmacy.
"Shopkeeper, what Five Elements herbs do you carry?"
With money in his purse he spoke boldly, looking ready to buy out the store.
The Shopkeeper was a wispy-bearded old man who gave him a sidelong glance and slowly produced a list.
He knew at once Chen Changsheng was a greenhorn; nearly every herb related to the Five Elements, and ninety-nine percent of his stock qualified.
So he simply handed over the inventory.
"Whoa, that many!"
Chen Changsheng exclaimed, then began reading—and cold sweat formed as he went.
Iron-leaf blossom, metal element, fifty years old, fifty taels!
Scarlet flame fruit, fire element, seventy-eight years old, one hundred and twenty taels!
After a few entries his heart pounded; at these prices his five hundred taels wouldn't last.
"This is daylight robbery!"
He blurted, and the old man chuckled:
"Price depends on age—check the last page: three-year iron-leaf blossom is only ten taels."
Chen Changsheng shot him a look, realizing the old man had been teasing him for his earlier swagger.
Further down the list prices did become reasonable.
Three-to-five-year Five Elements herbs averaged ten taels each.
Still he winced; he needed many, and with his Aptitude a bowl a day might not suffice.
One bowl of Five Elements potion equaled dozens of taels!
"Ahem, old sir, what about seeds for these herbs?"
He asked with an ingratiating smile.
"Ah, seeds are cheap—one tael buys a hundred."
Chen Changsheng immediately thought of planting them; he had half a mountain lying idle.
Besides, he still meant to claim the spiritual plant manual from the Family Treasure Trove.
Once he had that, growing herbs would be child's play.
So he waved a hand, picked five kinds of Five Elements seeds and spent fifty taels.
He then spent another one hundred and fifty taels on five batches of three-to-five-year herbs to try brewing at home.
Back in his kitchen he produced a big iron pot.
Light the fire, control the heat, and from memory he began refining the Five Elements potion.
First try: wrong heat, herbs scorched.
Second try: wrong sequence, color came out off.
After five failures he drew a deep breath, took the last set of herbs and worked with utmost care.
Heat—perfect.
Properties—perfect!
Color—perfect!
Success at last!
He nearly flipped the pot in excitement.
"A graduate student of traditional Chinese medicine in my last life, almost beaten by a simple herbal tonic… damn it was hard!"
He sighed at the pot of five elements soup, ladled a bowl and declared:
"After all that trouble I've finally nailed you—five elements soup, let's see what you can do!"