With only 8 years to live at the start, I'm going all in.

Chapter 51 Preparation

Nangong Tian didn't say anything after hearing what the man said, but walked straight towards the bedroom.

There was another person in the bedroom who was collecting evidence. When he saw Nangong Tian walk in, he immediately stood at attention and called out, "Boss."

Nangong Tian nodded to the man, then walked to the bed and began to examine the quilt and mattress that had been chopped into pieces.

"Boss, I've checked. They're using a long sword."

The person who had been in the room immediately came over.

Nangong Tian didn't speak, but instead gathered up the tattered sheets and mattresses, and soon pieced them together into a rough shape.

"A few pieces are missing. Did you find any padding on the outside?"

Nangong Tian suddenly asked.

"This? I don't think so."

The man looked at the mattress that had been pieced together on the bed and was somewhat surprised, but he still quickly said something.

"Looks like they took it from here. Interesting."

Nangong Tian then walked to the collapsed cabinet and began rummaging through it.

"Boss, there's nothing there, but we found a small hole under the floor tiles."

As he spoke, the man squatted down, pried out a brick with his hand, and pointed to the hole below.

"It doesn't look like the soil wasn't filled in properly when the bricks were laid; half of the soil in this hole must have been filled in later."

The officer said.

Upon hearing this, Nangong Tian squatted down, touched the soil in the cave, and then said:

"It seems they found something here and took it away wrapped in bedding."

"No way, boss, is that stuff really hot?"

The officer standing nearby asked in confusion.

"Who knows."

Nangong Tian shrugged, then went to the center of the living room and looked up at the hole above.

"The head was smashed by a folding fan thrown out from inside. The fan has also been found, and after identification, it belongs to Miao Buzhen himself."

Seeing Nangong Tian's actions, a servant immediately handed him a folding fan.

Nangong Tian glanced at the folding fan, took it, then touched the notch at the top of the fan before looking at the charred corpse.

"The power of the mid-stage of the fetal organ stage. The skull of the corpse still retains the aura of the Azure Silk Demon. It seems that he is the one who created the Azure Silk Demon in Sangufang these past few days."

"After searching for a long time, we still couldn't find the statue. It seems that the statue must have been taken away. They even used a talisman to kill him. Interesting."

Nangong Tian pondered for a moment, then went outside and leaped onto the roof. He then went to the edge of the hole to examine it.

"The person on the rooftop has heavy footsteps, indicating a lack of light-footed skill. Strange, how could someone with such strength kill the god-worshipper?"

Nangong Tian looked around the rooftop, his doubts deepening.

Finally, Nangong Tian jumped back into the courtyard and waved his hand:

"Close the team!"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly gathered their belongings, put the charred corpse in a cloth bag, and carried it away. Then they followed Nangong Tian towards the outside of the courtyard.

Upon seeing this, the crowd gathered outside the courtyard made way for them, while the patrol officers ignored them and left with their belongings.

"Oh no, I won't be able to listen to audiobooks anymore."

"You still want to listen to a story? Didn't you hear what that adult said? This Mr. Miao—bah, Old Demon Miao—is from the Green Silk Temple!"

"So what? What he said in his book is indeed quite good!"

"You're a real talent!"

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Ding Yi quietly left and headed towards the martial arts school.

In Ding Yi's view, Nangong Tian seemed to have found some clues at the scene, but they were very limited, and it was almost impossible to pinpoint him based on them.

In the following days, Miao Buzhen's matter did not seem to cause a ripple in the outer city of Qingfeng County; all news about him seemed to have been erased from the sky.

Even Miao Buzhen's house has been repaired and cleaned by professionals, and it is clear that a new resident will soon move in.

Ding Yi had also visited Zuixianlou and found that they had a new storyteller, a hunched old man. However, his storytelling seemed to be much worse than Miao Buzhen's, and the number of listeners surrounding him each day had almost halved.

Although Miao Buzhen's matter seemed to have passed, Ding Yi always felt that a bigger storm was brewing in the shadows.

On this day, Ding Yi arrived at the herbal medicine shop in the city.

This herbal medicine shop is not the one owned by Xue Bao's family.

After all, Ding Yi was buying things entirely for himself this time. Although he could get a discount by buying from Xue Bao's store, Ding Yi didn't want Xue Bao to know about his business.

"What would you like to buy, young man?"

The owner of the herbal medicine shop was a middle-aged man with a big smile on his face. When he saw Ding Yi walk in, he immediately rubbed his hands together and came forward to greet him.

"Are there any elixirs that can enhance qi and blood, strengthen bones and generate marrow?"

Ding Yi glanced around the store, then asked casually.

"Ah? We don't have these. Only the pharmacies in the city have them. Even if we had them in the outer city, we wouldn't be able to sell them!"

Upon hearing this, the boss's smile immediately turned bitter.

"Oh, that's how it is."

Ding Yi nodded upon hearing this, but showed no intention of leaving.

After the skin-smoothing process comes the bone-forging process. The so-called bone-forging realm is the process of qi and blood entering the marrow and refining the essence.

The Bone Forging Realm differs from the Skin Polishing Realm; it emphasizes a long-term, cumulative process.

Of course, in this process, techniques that enhance the circulation of qi and blood, and elixirs that boost qi and blood, can accelerate the progress. Hence the saying that one part of the technique is three parts of the tendons, and one part of the elixir is five parts of the bones.

Now that Ding Yi possesses the "White Ape Turning Python Fist," all he needs to do is obtain Qi and Blood Pills.

Although the Bai Clan Martial Arts School might possess such pills, Ding Yi decided that now was not the time to reveal that he had already reached the Skin Polishing Realm. After all, the speed was too fast and might easily arouse suspicion from others.

"However, young man, we have a Qi and Blood Soup made from ginseng, angelica, astragalus, and rehmannia. Although it can't compare to the Qi and Blood Pills in the inner city, it's still quite effective. Would you like to give it a try?"

Seeing that Ding Yi remained silent, the shopkeeper quickly spoke up.

"Oh? How much is one serving?"

Ding Yi's heart skipped a beat, but he frowned and asked in a feigned displeasure.

"260 copper coins per share, or five shares for one tael of silver!"

The boss held up five fingers.

Ding Yi remained silent after hearing the price, so the shopkeeper immediately spoke again:

"Young man, don't think it's expensive. These are top-quality medicinal herbs. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Okay, give me five portions first."

After Ding Yi finished speaking, he took out a tael of silver from his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"Alright, alright! You wait, young man."

After the boss finished speaking, he quickly took the silver and went into the back room. He came out a short while later, carrying a string of medicine packets in his hand.

"Young brother, this Yin-Yang Sha is depleting your essence and vital energy. After taking my Qi and Blood Soup, you must not be exposed to Yin-Yang Sha for seven days, otherwise it will damage your five internal organs."

The shopkeeper handed the medicine packet to Ding Yi and gave him a reminder.

"I know that."

Ding Yi took the medicine packet, smiled at the shopkeeper, and then turned and left.

After Ding Yi returned home, he began to conduct experiments.

He first took out a packet of Qi and Blood Soup, wrote "Highly Effective Bone Strengthening" and "No Side Effects" on the back, and then placed it in front of him.

Three breaths later, a line of text appeared in Ding Yi's field of vision.

[Currently, the required lifespan for enhancement is 17 days. Enhance now?]

"Seventeen days is a bit long. Even the enhanced talisman only takes nine days. But this is the most cost-effective way. Yes!!"

Ding Yi narrowed his eyes, then suddenly shouted in his heart.