Due to the pills he had eaten, Li Chen quickly recovered.
He decided to visit the library in Li's residence. His stepfather had refused to see him even till now.
Although he knew that something was wrong with his body, there were still differences between medicines from his world and here. He needed to study the various components to be able to get rid of the 'trash' identity.
Who said that he could not cultivate? Wait until he cures himself and shows the world his true power; the thought of it made him smile.
Li Chen gasped at the sight of the library. It was similar to the one in his medical school. The library was filled with books placed in different bookshelves, each shelf describing the type of books there.
He walked around them, finally discovering the one about medicines and various kinds of poison. He took the book out of the library and went back to his room.
On reaching his room, he opened the book, reading it. If people had seen him reading, they would have sworn that he was not following through because of the speed he used in reading it.
He realized that many of the herbs performed similar functions with the medicines on Earth. A particular herb called spirit herb possessed components that could relieve a person of a headache similar to Panadol, and when mixed with Rushing herb, could save a person from dying.
This was amazing, he thought to himself.
He placed his right hand on himself, taking his pulse. He found out that there was a blockage in his dantian, making Qi unable to enter. He needed to open his meridians up.
He decided to stroll to a shop to buy herbs and needles. He covered his face with a cap and walked out of Li's residence. Nobody cared about him or even paid him a visit.
He bought the needles and the necessary herbs, having used the gold bar his friend had dropped for him to purchase it.
Here, spiritual currency was spirit stones, and the higher the grade of the stone, the higher the quality of goods he could purchase. He found a piece of gold in his room, which he used to exchange for those resources, and thankfully, they were useless herbs to others.
He sat down on the floor and brought out the things.
"Maid Sheng, can you get me a bucket of water? Let it be hot," he called out to one of the maids.
She returned, and he quickly filled the tub with the water.
"Bring a bucket of cold water," he told her, handing the bucket back to her.
He scattered the herbs into the tub and kept the cold water by his side.
When it was time, he entered the tub, slowly inhaling the scent of the herbs. The hotness of the water mixed with herbs was burning him, but he bit his lips and stayed there.
After a while, the water was warm; he brought out the needles and stabbed them into himself, performing acupuncture on himself. If any acupuncture doctor was there, he would be shocked at the level of brutality he used. After which, he used the needles to open up his pores.
He stepped out from the tub after a while. The tub was covered in dark, smelling liquid which was absorbed into the water. He took the cold water and bathed in it.
'I have to perform this treatment three times. Where would I find spirit stones for the next one?' he thought to himself.
His eyes shone with mischief. He laughed and said, "I know where I can get spirit stones."
He went to the store of Li's residence in the night with a bag. He moved stealthily, avoiding any guard—he had learned how to move stealthily avoiding people while on Earth.
He knew where they kept their money due to the memory obtained from his predecessor. His mother brought her dowry when she moved into Li's residence.
He saw hundreds of suitcases there; on opening one, a faint glow lit up in the room. He found various kinds of spirit stones—low-grade spirit stones, middle-grade, and even high-grade spirit stones were piled like mountains of treasures.
He opened his bag and placed a few middle-grade and high-grade spirit stones into it. He hurriedly filled his bag up and topped it with a few gold bars.
Just as he finished filling his bag, the sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor. He closed the suitcase and quickly hid behind a door and listened.
"The master allowed us into this store to take a few carriages. He will be going on a trip soon," one of the guards said.
"Do you think this would be enough?" another of the guards said.
"It should be enough, let's go." They left the room as quickly as they had come in.
Li Chen stepped from the shadows and fled from the store.
The place he was staying was one of the dilapidated houses in the entire residence. The room was old, but he felt comfortable there. He laid down on his wooden bed to sleep. The bed creaked.
'Oh, I miss my bed on Earth, so comfortable,' he sighed, reminiscing about his time on Earth.
The next day, after eating the tasteless meal brought by the maid, he went off to a shop to purchase a black mask. That mask would come in handy one of these days.
Then, he purchased the herbs that would be enough for him to fully detoxify himself.
He soaked his body into the herbal mixture. The pains were excruciating, his eyes squeezed shut. He endured it. If any master had seen him, they would have taken him as their disciple because he possessed grit and tenacity.
After the session, he could slowly feel Qi moving into his body. It was a slow process, but it made him happy that he was not useless. The era of being trash was over.