This is a natural reaction of the human body; it will pass after a while.

　　"Does this mean I can complete the 'blood exchange' faster than David Miller?"

　　Samuel Bennett thought to himself.

　　"Wipe yourself down."

　　At this moment, the old woman who had worriedly watched all night came over with a bedsheet, her face full of distress, and wrapped Samuel Bennett's body.

　　"Granny, you haven't slept yet?"

　　Samuel Bennett snapped back to reality.

　　"When you get old and change places, it's hard to sleep well. The deed was delivered by the people from the tooth shop this morning, I've put it away..."

　　The old woman brought out cornbread and thin porridge from the house, handed them to Samuel Bennett, and shared a piece of news that made him break out in a cold sweat:

　　"I just went out and saw a group of people heading toward the outer city. I heard people say there might really be a plague. If we hadn't left early, we would have been trapped in that alley..."

　　"That fast?"

　　Samuel Bennett's heart skipped a beat, feeling a bit of lingering fear.

　　In Heishan City, or rather, all of Great Ming, the methods for dealing with plague were always simple and brutal—usually isolating an area and driving all potentially infected people inside.

　　After hearing what Edward Carter said yesterday, he was already worried about being trapped in the outer city, but he hadn't expected the authorities to act so quickly.

　　Or was the outbreak even more serious than he had imagined?

　　"The inner city is still fine, but for these days, you mustn't go to the outer city."

　　Seeing Samuel Bennett gnawing on cornbread in a daze, the old woman gave a reminder before returning to her room. After a sleepless night, she was indeed tired.

　　With the outer city in such chaos, she could only delay her husband's funeral arrangements.

　　"Could this plague be related to the Liansheng Sect?"

　　Samuel Bennett pondered.

　　Yesterday, Thomas Harris had insisted he move into the inner city—there was probably a reason for that too.

　　"I need to speed up..."

　　Samuel Bennett felt a sense of urgency.

　　Heishan City seemed to be growing more dangerous by the day. Without the ability to protect himself, if danger struck, praying would be the only option left.

　　In the days that followed, except for going out to buy some necessities, Samuel Bennett barely left the house. During the day, he sharpened and practiced with his blade in the courtyard, tempering his body.

　　With each medicinal bath, his already sturdy body grew even stronger.

　　At night, he wasted no time—soaking in the medicinal bath and refining the broken blade.

　　Splash—

　　Scalding hot water was poured into the large vat, steam billowing up, and Samuel Bennett's body now showed smooth, defined lines.

　　"After this soak, I'll be out of herbs..."

　　Swallowing the prepared stones in one gulp, Samuel Bennett stepped into the vat, submerging up to his neck, and closed his eyes slightly.

　　He had already entered the 'Gluttonous Cauldron'.

　　Without any pause, he picked up the broken blade and began hacking away. Before long, as the progress bar on the cauldron wall jumped once more—

　　The refinement of the broken blade reached perfection.

　　Buzz—

　　It was as if a bronze bell in a temple had been struck heavily.

　　Samuel Bennett shuddered, and before his eyes, layers of light and shadow flickered, scenes flashing through his mind like a revolving lantern.

　　"That is..."

　　In a daze, Samuel Bennett seemed to be dreaming.

　　A dream that was vivid and clear, yet fragmented and chaotic.

　　In the dream, he saw a taciturn young man who inherited his father's profession as a prison guard.

　　He had no other hobbies, only a fondness for wielding blades and spears. Unfortunately, his family was poor, and no one could teach him martial arts.

　　After much effort, he only managed to learn a few basic moves.

　　But he practiced day and night, and over time, he actually developed some skill.

　　Relying on this blade technique, he became a prison guard and married a widow from the alley.

　　He lived diligently, his life poor but peaceful. Sometimes, he couldn't help but regret not having children.

　　But it was only regret—until that day.

　　Outside the city, he saw a beggar boy, about thirteen or fourteen, thin and small, trying to enter the city but beaten back by the gatekeeper.

　　A surge of compassion rose in his heart, and somehow, he took the boy in.

　　He brought him into the city, cleaned him up, watched him eat, and even swallowed his pride to beg Constable Harris to take him into the yamen as a runner.

　　Having a son wasn't so bad.

　　He thought to himself, after escorting the prisoners this time, he would quit this job and find something better for the boy...

　　Let him study, practice martial arts, marry and have children, let him...

　　Anything would be fine,

　　Just not end up like himself...

　　At the moment he fell off the cliff, his heart was full of regret and reluctance.

　　……

　　The chaotic memories flashed by like a revolving lantern—quickly, yet it was a whole lifetime.

　　In the end, the scene froze.

　　It was a deep, dark cave, with only a faint firelight flickering. In front of the fire, a disheveled old man squatted beside a skeleton.

　　Holding a yellowed book, he studied it page by page, muttering and gesturing.

　　"That's the old man?!"

　　Samuel Bennett's heart jolted. He wanted to look closer, but the scene before his eyes suddenly shattered.

　　At the same time, the progress bar for 'broken blade' on the cauldron wall also disappeared.

　　Samuel Bennett was a bit dazed, and only after a long while did he come back to himself.

　　"The old man didn't die from the fall—he seems to have had some kind of encounter?"

Chapter Thirteen: New Ingredients

　　Surviving a fall and gaining a fortuitous encounter—this is the kind of plot that only exists in storybooks.