"Alright, go get the medicine quickly," Luke Lewis said.

"Master Lewis, do you have any money on you? There are pharmacies in the market that can prepare the medicine, and two doses of laxatives aren't expensive, but you still need money for them..."

Even though Henry Smith also received a soldier's allowance, all his pay was saved up by Olivia for him. He never had to worry about food, clothing, or daily needs, so his pockets were truly quite empty.

Seeing Luke Lewis staring at him in surprise, Henry Smith felt a bit embarrassed, but he couldn't just rob a pharmacy for two doses of laxatives, could he?

"Seventeenth Uncle always thinks I'm irresponsible and never lets me handle money matters. I'm happy not to get involved," Henry Smith explained.

"Oh, oh, oh, I have some silver here. See if it's enough?" Luke Lewis took a handful of silver ingots from his inner pocket and handed them to Henry Smith.

"This is too much," Henry Smith said.

"Just keep it all for now. I need to stay by the master's side, and I'll have to trouble you with anything else that comes up," Luke Lewis said.

"Alright then," Henry Smith replied.

Without further delay, Henry Smith stuffed the silver into his clothes and headed straight for the military camp gate.

The guard soldier, dozing off with an iron spear in his arms in a wall alcove, heard Henry Smith say he was going to the camp to find James Smith, and chuckled, "The tigress at Captain Xu's house is acting up again? Looks like Captain Xu will be keeping watch on the wall with us tonight!"

Henry Smith left the camp. At the ferry across the river, a boat was still docked, serving the patrol officers and soldiers. Henry Smith called the boat over, crossed the river, bought a packet of laxatives at the pharmacy, and handed it to Luke Lewis—the whole trip took less than half an hour.

After parting with Luke Lewis, Henry Smith returned home. At this time, James Smith, reeking of alcohol but looking energetic, was walking back with Andrew Smith.

"So late, where did you go?" James Smith asked.

"Couldn't sleep, so I walked around the camp a couple of times," Henry Smith replied.

"You silly kid, next time I'll take you drinking, but you can't just gnaw on pig's feet like a fool," James Smith laughed, pulling out a lotus leaf-wrapped bundle from his clothes and handing it over. "Here, have a bite!"

Henry Smith opened the old lotus leaf bundle to find a piece of cooked mutton, probably half a pound.

The time spent receiving Luke Lewis's guidance in the willow grove wasn't long, but after a trip outside the camp, Henry Smith was already feeling ravenous—he didn't remember much from his childhood, but hunger was a constant companion. On ordinary days, without any meat or fat, even eating a whole pound of wheat cakes or coarse grain rice wouldn't keep him full for half a day.

But in these times, having meat to eat regularly was a real luxury.

James Smith went into the backyard, and the sound of him whispering with Olivia Scott could be heard.

Though the house was small, the front yard had no side rooms. Opposite the main hall, facing north, was a row of three rooms.

James Smith's status was low—just a minor officer in the camp, with a simple social circle. Olivia took care of everyone's daily needs, and there were no maids or servants. The front yard didn't need a separate gatekeeper or reception room, so both Henry Smith and Andrew Smith had their own rooms.

Henry Smith returned to his room, didn't even take off his boots or socks, lay down on the bed fully clothed, and thought over all that had happened today. He quickly finished off the piece of mutton, then stood by the window and pushed it open.

The eaves blocked his view, so Henry Smith couldn't see the bright moon in the night sky from the window, but moonlight shone into the courtyard. Two pomegranate trees in front of the porch were sprouting new buds, faintly visible.

The long night stretched on. Henry Smith recalled the key points Luke Lewis had taught him in the willow grove, standing with his legs slightly bent. In the deep quiet of the night, he focused on feeling the essentials of the "lifting" and "supporting" stances of the Coiling Python Posture.

After practicing for nearly half an hour, he felt a bit tired and stopped, but it was much easier than usual.

Henry Smith swung his right arm to the side, trying out the whip-hammer move. He could feel the connection between the sweeping side elbow and the sinking elbow strike was much smoother now.

Progress is always most obvious at the beginning.

However, after practicing the sweeping side elbow and sinking side strike a dozen times in a row, Henry Smith felt the muscles along the outer edge of his right arm growing sore and uncomfortable.

Henry Smith realized that his foundation in controlling his muscles and bones wasn't very deep. If he forced himself to keep practicing like this, he might injure his tendons or bones.

Of course, now that he had grasped the basics, as long as he adapted to the new training methods and integrated them into the Coiling Python Fist and his saber and spear techniques, he would see new progress every day—there was no need to rush...

Chapter 10: Even Assassins Are Like Frightened Birds

At dawn, Andrew Smith came to knock on the door.

To the west of Baijian River, the horse trail wound through mountains and valleys, rougher than the eastern route. Large carts couldn't pass; bulk goods had to be carried by mules or on people's backs, so travel was slow.

They had to travel with the horse caravan, and if they wanted to reach the Yushan relay station sixty li away before nightfall, they needed to hurry and set out early.

"Wash up quickly and get the dry rations ready for the road. I'll go inform Old Master Walker so we don't miss the schedule," Andrew Smith said. He thought he was in charge of this trip and didn't want anything to go wrong, so he woke up early to get ready. Now he woke Henry Smith and hurried off to the relay station to see if Brian Walker and the others were up and packing.

Although things had been peaceful these past two years, yesterday bandits had already come near Huaiyuan Town. Andrew Smith didn't dare be careless; it was much safer to travel with the mule and horse caravan.