Chapter Forty-Five: Tempering the Body

“But Brother Bai…”
Li Le was somewhat reassured, yet still felt a lingering sense of injustice.
“Don’t overthink it.” Brother Bai looked at Li Le’s stern, angry expression; his cold, sharp features softened slightly as he awkwardly shifted the subject.
“I prepared the medicine ahead of time today. You should temper your foundation first—it should help you gain a bit more strength.”
As he spoke, Brother Bai picked up the porcelain jar at his feet and poured its contents into the steaming wooden vat.
Li Le glanced at Brother Bai, who was clearly unwilling to talk further. Her mind raced with countless thoughts, but she decided not to press the issue, forcing herself to suppress her worries.
She turned her attention to Brother Bai’s actions.
The powder he poured out was pale blue, shimmering with a faint, magical sheen.
Inside the jar was bone powder from the Azure Tusk Beast the tribe had divided up just days before.
Li Le watched in awe and fear.
This bone powder was extremely precious. She had seen similar items at the market, sold by the gram!
The price nearly reached five silver coins!
Even during the district’s recent distribution of game, each household got only a tiny share.
Yet now, Brother Bai poured it into the water without so much as a blink.
Even someone as broad-minded as Li Le couldn’t help but feel the extravagance bordered on pain.
He poured about a third before stopping.
It was then that Li Le noticed, amidst the brewing mist, a cluster of porcelain jars set beside Brother Bai’s feet.
Some were large, some small, tall or squat, and their colors varied greatly. Some even gave off a faint, bloody scent.
Each jar was tightly sealed, its mouth covered with a layer of red cloth, carefully tied with colored hemp twine.
It was obvious they’d been purchased from various shops, pieced together bit by bit.
“So these are the shamanic medicines needed for the Muscle Tempering Realm?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Li Le watched curiously as Brother Bai picked up another jar, quickly untying the hemp rope at its mouth.
“Mm.” Brother Bai responded, methodically pulling out the stopper and shaking the jar.
A blob of pink, jelly-like substance sluggishly squeezed at the opening, reluctant to come out.
Brother Bai deftly drew the dagger from his waist and sliced off half the “jelly.”
With a swift motion, the severed half rolled into the bath barrel.
From Li Le’s angle, she couldn’t see what was happening inside the tub, but she faintly heard the bubbling sound of boiling water.
Seeing Brother Bai busy, Li Le wisely kept quiet, standing off to the side so as not to hinder him.
But as she watched, her expression gradually turned peculiar:
Something seemed terribly wrong.
Glowing herbs, suspicious black soil with a bloody scent, bone powder, and certain beast blood—those she could barely accept.
But then, palm-sized wriggling “spiders,” blood-red centipedes the size of her hand, and other vibrant insects she didn’t even recognize were tossed in as well… What was this?
If she wasn’t mistaken, those creatures had just moved—they were clearly still alive…
…Was this the shamanic bath she’d have to use for body refinement?
Unbelievable!
Could this concoction truly serve as a medicinal bath?
Li Le’s expression grew stranger, as if witnessing her teacher mix two clear chemical solutions into a pink compound for the first time in science class…
It was remarkable, really. The barrel was simply filled with water, and in this world, there was no fire—so it should have been cold.
Yet, as Brother Bai carefully added materials in the right proportions, the liquid deepened in color and began bubbling.
“Sss—”
Steam spread, and whenever he added certain live creatures, the liquid hissed with violent, discordant sounds.
Li Le watched the water’s color shift ever more ominously, her right eyelid twitching hard.

Goodness.
…Do people here really temper their bodies so ruthlessly?
Li Le glanced at Brother Bai, whose concentration was absolute as he kept adding ingredients to the tub. She finally couldn’t resist speaking:
“Brother Bai—are the things in here still alive?”
“Hmm?”
Brother Bai kept his eyes on the wooden barrel but spared her a glance.
“…It’s nothing…” Li Le tugged at her lips. “I just wanted to ask, Brother Bai, surely all these things cost quite a bit?”
Money, what money?
After saying it, Li Le regretted it, wishing she could slap herself:
What am I even saying?
Brother Bai obviously misunderstood. He paused briefly, then resumed adding materials to the tub.
“The ingredients aren’t expensive.” Brother Bai’s lips pressed flat. He looked at Li Le deeply, almost reassuringly:
“Don’t worry about coins. Our family has enough to let you continue body refinement.”
Bai Ye was actually being modest. Whether it was the wealth left by his elders or the coins he’d saved up over the years…
Not only was money not an issue—their family’s resources were almost boundless.
Even what Li Le saw today, the medicinal bath Brother Bai prepared for her, was already exceptional.
The ingredients added were so rare and diverse that even the district elder would be astonished—
Clearly, if those things…
Li Le watched as Bai Ge resealed the jar of bone powder, tying it up and setting it aside, then reached for another.