Chapter 28 – The supporting actors are great
Huang Ye was currently cultivating with the two women.
They planned to wait for a chance here. To be a good hunter, one must have some capital.
The greatest capital was to enhance their strength.
After nine breakthroughs, Huang Ye's speed indeed slowed down.
Even with his day-and-night diligence and the two women taking turns, the effect was not obvious. It had been seven or eight days without a breakthrough.
The two women also stagnated after three breakthroughs. Although all three felt that the speed of absorbing spiritual energy hadn't slowed, the results were minimal.
Huang Ye understood that they had likely reached a bottleneck.
In cultivation, the higher the level, the more spiritual energy of heaven and earth is required.
From reading novels in his past life, he knew that a major realm was a hurdle that required a certain level of comprehension to break through.
Minor realms also had hurdles, appearing every three or four levels. Qing'er and Yue'er seemed to be at such a hurdle now.
Having undergone two Primordial Yin nourishments, he had broken through more minor realms than they had.
At this stage, they could only rely on techniques and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation, with too few methods.
He envied those who, after transmigrating, had awesome systems that gave daily gifts and rewards for completing tasks.
His own system was almost useless for immortal cultivation, storing only knowledge, and modern at that, which was practically useless.
Some people had incredible luck, constantly obtaining spirit stones, spirit herbs, and spiritual medicine as cultivation resources.
Leveling up was as simple as eating and drinking, picking up spirit stones while walking, and finding spirit springs in any mountain stream.
But here he was, stuck in this place with nothing, assassinated at the start, and traps everywhere.
If not for the changes in his physique due to transmigration and accidentally cultivating immortal techniques, he would be an ordinary person.
Damn it, without comparison, there's no harm. Damn you, heavens, I thank your ancestors for eight generations.
He dared not say these curses aloud, only muttering them in his heart. Angering the heavens might bring heavenly lightning.
That afternoon, an old man came to the small courtyard.
"Hello, Uncle Wu!" Qing'er bowed and greeted.
"Hehe, hello Qing'er. Congratulations, the young master is finally awake. Now you can truly warm his bed."
Qing'er's face flushed; the old man's words were too blunt.
"By the way, how is the young master?"
"You should go in and see for yourself." With that, she let Uncle Wu into the room.
Uncle Wu entered and saw Huang Ye sitting in a wheelchair, holding a fruit plate, eating grapes.
His movements were slow and stiff.
"Hello, young master!"
Huang Ye looked blankly at the old man, then turned to Yue'er beside him.
"Young master, this is Uncle Wu, the steward of the mansion."
Huang Ye slowly turned his head, "Wu, Uncle Wu, hello!"
"Young master, please don't call me that, it really humbles this old servant. Just call me Old Wu." Uncle Wu bowed.
"Old, Old Wu!"
"Young master, when you see this old servant in the future, just call me that!"
"Qing'er, it seems the young master is in good condition after waking up. How is his walking?"
"Yue'er and I can help him walk a few steps. He seems unsteady, but the young master improves every day. It won't be long before he's back to normal."
"Good, then help him walk often. I'll find a doctor to take a look."
"We asked the young master, and he said there's no need for a doctor. He feels he's recovering quickly."
"That's good. I'll go back and report to the master."
"By the way, the master instructed me to have nutritious soup prepared for the young master each time."
"I've already instructed the kitchen. You can go there to get it when needed."
"Thank you, Uncle Wu!"
"Thank me for what? You should thank the master. He was very pleased to hear the young master had woken up."
"But he's busy with official duties, so he sent me to check first."
"Then I'll thank the master on behalf of the young master."
"Young master, I'll take my leave. Please rest well."
Huang Ye ignored him, staring intently at Qing'er, a drop of liquid slipping from his mouth.
Steward Wu bowed and exited.
Hearing Steward Wu's footsteps leaving the courtyard, Huang Ye refocused his gaze.
"You two did quite well as extras."
"Extras? What's that?"
"Extras are background actors, supporting roles."
The two women were still confused. The young master's language was strange after waking, full of new terms.
"Young master, should we retrieve the soup the master arranged?"
"Of course, retrieve it."
"But we can't determine if it's poisoned."
"I know. I've heard silver needles can test for poison. Prepare some silver needles."
"Young master, you're definitely in danger now. How about we taste the food first? If it's safe, you can eat it."
"Hehe, we won't eat it either. I'll go out at night to get food."
"Young master, since that woman died, the guards have increased patrols. The dense forest is surely unsafe. We should be cautious."
"No worries, I can avoid them. I have sharp ears and keen eyes, easily spotting their positions."
"By the way, are there any guard dogs in the City Lord's mansion?"
"Young master, it seems there aren't."
"Are there people in the city who keep dogs?"
"Some wealthy families keep dogs for protection, but it's rare."
It seems keeping pet dogs isn't popular here. There won't be any Golden Retrievers, Poodles, or Samoyeds.
To test if the food is safe, it's best to have animals for experiments. There certainly aren't any lab mice here.
"Does no one keep pets here?"
"Pets? Does the young master want to use animals to test the food?"
"Exactly!"
"I heard some people keep pets, like three-horned cats or three-eared rabbits."
"Three-legged cats? Aren't cats supposed to have four legs?"
"Young master, the three-horned cat refers to the horns on its head, not its legs. It's called that because it has three bumps on its head."
"Uh, misunderstood."
"See if you can find such pets and bring a couple back."
"If our food is highly toxic, silver needles can detect it."
"But for slow-acting poison, silver needles might not work. These animals might."
"Young master, we don't eat the mansion's food, so why test it?"
"I want to know if someone is poisoning us, to see what methods they're using against me."
"Understood, know your enemy and yourself, and you'll never be defeated." Qing'er finally showed some insight.
"Exactly, that's how we lure the snake out of its hole. Plus, we might have leverage against them in the future."
"Young master, leave it to me. I'll go get it!" Qing'er volunteered.
With that, she hurried out.
By evening, seeing Qing'er return, Huang Ye felt a surge of emotion.
"Qing'er, did you go to the market?"
"Young master, I had no choice. After searching everywhere, I only got these two creatures."
"Well, you're talented!"
"Young master, these aren't ordinary chickens and ducks. They're battle chickens and battle ducks!"
"They're great at fighting!"
"Uh!" Huang Ye was speechless. Damn, I wanted animals to test for poison, not for fighting. Your understanding is a bit ahead of the curve.
Looking closely at the two creatures, they were indeed different from ordinary chickens and ducks, their four small eyes glaring fiercely at him.
Fortunately, they were in a cage, or the two would charge out.
"Leave them in the courtyard. How long they live depends on their luck."
Qing'er carried the cages out. If this girl dressed as a man, others would surely think she was some rich playboy.
But buying these chickens and ducks seemed pointless, especially the chicken, which could even eat the five poisons, naturally immune to poison.