Although his hands were getting more fragrant, Xiao Zou wasn't flustered.
Five Poison Palm should only need two or three more days to advance to the next stage.
By then, the fragrance would gradually fade.
However, before the Cultivation Technique reached Major Achievement, he was destined to be a man with a faint, lingering scent...
In the following days, the Yang Manor remained lively, fueled by the continuous banquet.
With a new Martial Artist in the family, and one with great potential, celebrating with a seven-day banquet wasn't an overreaction.
Xiao Zou and the other servants were incredibly busy, with almost no rest time except at night.
Of course, Li Rui was the most miserable.
During the day, he worked like a dead dog, and at night, he had to endure the pain of Cultivating and the hardship of studying.
Neither the detoxifying herbal soup nor the medicines for calming the mind and aiding sleep could do more than alleviate his symptoms; they couldn't cure the root cause.
After observing Li Rui's condition, Xiao Zou was almost certain that within ten days, even if Li Rui didn't die, he would likely suffer a mental breakdown.
Chronic poisoning, coupled with the pressure of high-intensity study, meant both his mind and body were being tormented.
Yet, to this day, no suitable successor had appeared.
He still couldn't figure out why Yang Yanpeng never made it onto the list; otherwise, he could at least help Li Rui share the burden.
Another three days passed, and the banquet finally had only one day left.
It was almost over; the servants of the Yang Manor were truly on their last legs.
Before dawn, Xiao Zou finished his extra practice and slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi.
At this time, he was still in the state of operating his Cultivation Technique, his palms completely black.
The entire room was filled with an uncomfortably sweet fragrance.
Logically, places like woodsheds are most prone to being infested by snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
But if someone were to search, they would be surprised to find that, apart from Xiao Zou himself, there were no other living creatures whatsoever in this woodshed.
The reason was simple: Xiao Zou had become the biggest source of poison in the vicinity; snakes, insects, rats, and ants would smell the wrong scent and not dare to approach.
After a long while, Xiao Zou suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "It's done!"
"Five Poison Palm (Minor Achievement), Progress: 1%"
"compendium of materia medica (Minor Achievement), Progress: 48%"
The Five Poison Palm had finally broken through to the second stage.
As for the compendium of materia medica, since it was merely knowledge to be learned, its progress was naturally faster.
This was also because he had too little free time recently; otherwise, the compendium of materia medica could have been learned even faster.
After retracting his Cultivation Technique, the blackness on Xiao Zou's palms quickly faded.
He felt incredibly strong now.
He almost wanted to find someone to spar with and test himself.
Unfortunately, the Five Poison Palm was simply not suitable for sparring.
It was still the same old saying: if the opponent knew he used poison and was prepared, then because the Five Poison Palm's Moves lacked any subtlety and its striking power was very weak, as long as the opponent wasn't too weak, he would likely be beaten to a pulp.
But if the opponent didn't know he used poison and was hit or inhaled too much toxic Qi, their end would most likely be instant death.
Therefore, he really couldn't just casually go looking for people to spar with.
This truly echoed that famous saying: Only kill the enemy, don't perform!
Thinking of this, Xiao Zou became even more aware of the limitations of the Five Poison Palm.
In short, the biggest flaw of this Cultivation Technique was its inability to confront enemies head-on.
And in the future, there would certainly be situations where a sneak attack failed, forcing a head-on confrontation.
So, to put it plainly, only Cultivating the Five Poison Palm was not enough.
Poisoned attacks were indeed a great killer, but the premise was being able to hit the opponent.
It was time to Cultivate a movement Martial Skill to complement the Five Poison Palm.
So, the question was, where could he get a movement-type Martial Skill?
Furthermore, Li Rui was truly on the verge of collapse; after the Five Poison Palm reached "Minor Achievement," the venom required for Cultivation would need to be more potent.
At that time, the side effects of Cultivation would naturally be more severe.
Xiao Zou couldn't think of a solution for a while, so he had to temporarily set it aside and go out to work.
Since it was the last day of the banquet, there was no need to prepare extra ingredients, so it was relatively easier.
Even Luo Yong, the head chef, had leisure time to smoke a few puffs of dry tobacco.
He had also been exhausted recently, feeling like he had more gray hairs.
As for Li Rui, his eyes were sunken, and his gaze was unfocused; he seemed to be in a state where he could collapse at any moment.
Luo Yong shook the tobacco pipe in his hand, unable to bear it any longer, and said, "Li Rui, you go back and rest first. It shouldn't be too busy today."
"Oh..."
Li Rui nodded numbly, then swayed as he left the kitchen.
This scene made Xiao Zou's heart ache.
His Five Venoms Skill had achieved success, but Li Rui had paid a heavy price for it.
Someone was truly urgently needed to take over for Li Rui.
And Luo Yong noticed Xiao Zou's expression of concern for Li Rui, which made him sigh with emotion once again: This child truly has a compassionate heart!
"Xiao Zou, come here for a moment."
Xiao Zou immediately put down his work and walked over to Luo Yong.
"Master, do you have something to instruct me on?"
Luo Yong leisurely said, "How far have you read the first volume of the compendium of materia medica?"
Xiao Zou saw no need to hide his abilities in this regard, so he directly replied, "I've read it through several times; only some details still need more memorization."
"Which herbs, when used with Earth Treasure Fruit, will produce toxicity?"
"Purple Mallow Flower, and also Tinder Grass."
"Can Black Ginseng Sand be eaten with beef?"
"Yes, and it has a significant auxiliary effect for Body Refining Martial Artists, but the daily intake should not exceed..."
Thus, Luo Yong asked a series of questions, and Xiao Zou answered fluently.
By the fifth question, Luo Yong was stunned.
What a talent!
This kid felt wasted as a chef.
However, he was ultimately of a lowly status, and currently, there was no better prospect than being a chef.
Stopping the examination, Luo Yong nodded with satisfaction: "The storeroom is missing quite a few medicinal food ingredients. I'll make a list later, and you can go to town this afternoon to procure everything."
Xiao Zou was startled upon hearing this, then respectfully bowed and said, "Thank you, Master!"
He certainly had to express his gratitude; procuring ingredients was a lucrative task.
No matter what, he could always get some kickbacks.
Normally, these ingredient procurement matters were personally handled by the chef.
After all, qualified chefs were well-versed in the compendium of materia medica, so there was no issue of being scammed.
Now, Xiao Zou, as a mere apprentice, had received such a lucrative task, showing that Luo Yong completely regarded Xiao Zou as one of his own.
After finishing the work for the midday rush, Xiao Zou, under the astonished gazes of everyone in the back kitchen, finished a basin of rice and several pounds of meat.
Finally, he also stuffed in a few plates of fruits.
During the banquet, there was no issue of secretly eating leftovers.
Even beggars from the county could come outside the manor to beg for food, let alone these servants of the Yang Manor.
Any leftover food was freely distributed in the back kitchen, and there was always enough meat.
The benefits were even better than during the New Year.
This also invisibly solved a problem Xiao Zou had originally faced.
That was, during Martial Skill practice, nutrition absolutely had to be kept up.
Especially a large amount of meat was needed.
Xiao Zou being able to Cultivate the Five Poison Palm to its current progress in such a short time was also related to eating well.
It wasn't entirely due to Li Rui bearing the burden.
After eating and drinking his fill, Xiao Zou greeted Luo Yong and left the Yang Manor.
He didn't need to carry money with him; as a servant of the Yang Manor, he only needed to show his token when procuring, and the shopkeeper would directly provide the goods.
As for settling accounts, a dedicated person from the manor would handle it at the end of each month.
But even so, the procurement staff could still reach a tacit understanding with the shopkeepers and engage in small tricks.