Chapter 4: Into the Mountains for Herbs

Ten days had flown by.

That day, Lu Changsheng had woken up earlier than required and hurried to the secluded corner where he usually practiced martial arts at night.

The sky was still dim, but dawn was beginning to crack. Lu Changsheng had woken up so early to practice the Great River Blood Fortification Art.

For the past ten days, he had trained relentlessly. Almost every day, he could hear the blood surge through his body like the waters of a great river—an unmistakable sign that he would soon sense his blood qi.

Knowing it might happen within the next few days, Lu Changsheng trained with even greater diligence.

As usual, he assumed the peculiar stances of the Great River Blood Fortification Art. At once, his blood seemed to surge like a river. The sound grew louder, and his entire body flushed red.

Boom...!

The next instant, a roar echoed in his mind, and an image emerged. It was as if he could see a vivid crimson mass surging through his body in a particular rhythm.

"Blood qi... This is blood qi!" he murmured.

Lu Changsheng's heart leapt. At last, he had sensed his blood qi, and with this, he had officially activated the Great River Blood Fortification Art.

But as he focused on this sensation, he realized he had been wrong all along. Blood qi was not simply blood, and what he had been hearing before was not the flow of blood at all but the pulse of blood qi itself.

Blood qi was a special form of energy within the body, one that nourished and strengthened it. The stronger the blood qi, the stronger the body became.

Lu Changsheng immediately checked his status panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 99 (Ordinary and Unremarkable)

[Skills]

Basic Saber: Initial Mastery

Basic Sword: Initial Mastery

Basic Staff: Initial Mastery

Tiger Pounce Strike: Advanced Mastery

Great River Blood Fortification Art: First Layer

Just as Lu Changsheng had expected, the status panel showed that he had advanced to the First Layer of the Great River Blood Fortification Art. From what he could sense, his blood qi was a small cluster, but with continued cultivation, he could gradually expand it.

The Great River Blood Fortification Art had three layers, and he had only just stepped into the first. Reaching the First Layer meant he no longer needed to practice those awkward movements every day. He could now directly control his blood qi and circulate it through his body at will.

Lu Changsheng gave it a try, and sure enough, he could see the blood qi circulating within him again and again. Yet, after several cycles, his blood qi showed no significant increase. Instead, he felt unbearably hungry and uncomfortable.

Lu Changsheng murmured, "Old Liu once said that blood qi growth requires nourishment. That's why the martial artists in the guard unit take medicinal meals every day, to ensure their blood qi grows stronger. But I'm not in the guard unit, and without medicinal meals, my blood qi will grow as slowly as a snail moves. At this rate, it might take me several years to reach the Second Layer of the Great River Blood Fortification Art."

He frowned. Even though he had finally managed to sense his blood qi, it was still impossible for him to join the guard unit. In their eyes, taking this long to sense it was proof that he had a poor aptitude for cultivation, indicating it was pointless to nurture him any longer.

However, Lu Changsheng had another option: buying the medicinal meals himself. After all, the guard unit's meals were nothing special; anyone could purchase the meals from any herbal medicine shop outside as long as they could afford to do so. The problem was that Lu Changsheng had no silver taels, not even a single copper coin.

I need to find a way to make money,

Lu Changsheng realized, his brows knitting in frustration.

He considered his situation. As a menial apprentice, he received no wages, and he could not simply leave Miaoshou Garden. After all, menial apprentices had signed indenture contracts with Miaoshou Garden. If they fled and were caught, the punishment was death.

Of course, these contracts had a time limit of three years, the maximum allowed by the authorities. Since slavery was forbidden, any indenture had to be converted into paid employment once that term ended.

From this perspective, the authorities didn't seem so bad. At the very least, Lu Changsheng would not be stuck as an apprentice of Miaoshou Garden his entire life. But going three years without any medicinal meals would cost him dearly. He didn't want his progress in martial arts to stagnate for three whole years.

After dwelling on this issue for several days, Lu Changsheng still could not come up with a good solution. For the time being, he had to set this matter aside and take things one step at a time.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Someone called out, "Time to get up! Come on!"

That day, as usual, the apprentices gathered in the plaza.

Steward Zhang's expression was a little grim as he spoke in a low voice. "The weather has been getting colder lately, and more people are falling ill with cold-related ailments. On top of that, a group of thieves has blocked the trade routes, and our medicinal supplies are gradually running short.

"You've all studied medicinal herbs for some time now and can identify them to some extent. Today, the physicians will take you into the mountains to gather herbs. You'll be escorted by the guard unit, so you don't need to worry about safety. If you gather enough herbs, you will be rewarded with silver taels."

At these words, the apprentices' faces lit up with joy.

Silver taels!

As menial apprentices, they earned no wages, and their pockets were emptier than their faces were clean. The opportunity to earn silver taels took them by surprise. Naturally, since money was involved, none of them was daunted by the hard work that awaited them. "All right, let's move out," urged Steward Zhang.

And so, under the escort of a group of physicians and several members of the guard unit, the apprentices set out into the mountains.

A little over ten li[1]outside Nanyang City lay Recumbent Ox Mountain. The mountain was vast, its forests home to poisonous insects and fierce beasts. The deeper that herb gatherers went, the greater the dangers became. Finding the right herbs was difficult enough already, but they also had to watch out for whatever lurked in this forest.

The apprentices had been in high spirits, but soon after stepping into the dense forest, their enthusiasm turned into groans of complaint. Still, they had no choice. Since they were here, they had to complete their task. Those who collected the most amount of herbs would be rewarded with silver taels, while those who returned with an unsatisfactory harvest would inevitably face punishment.

As no one wanted to be punished, the apprentices promptly scattered to search for herbs. The guard unit patrolled within a certain range to drive off poisonous insects and fierce beasts, but they could not follow each apprentice. Before long, all the apprentices had vanished into the depths of the forest.

Lu Changsheng had rather poor luck. After more than two hours in the mountains, he had managed to find only a few ordinary herbs. With such a meager harvest, he could forget about earning silver taels. A good thrashing was all he would receive.

I've heard that some rare herbs grow deep in the mountains. Ugh, I guess I'll have to take the risk and venture deeper into the forest if I want any silver taels...

Lu Changsheng concluded.

The deeper parts of the forest would be harder to traverse. Naturally, the various insects and beasts would also pose a danger, but Lu Changsheng figured he could simply avoid them. He didn't think it would be too much of a problem. After all, the guard unit was not here for nothing; they surely had ways to drive off threats.

Having made up his mind, Lu Changsheng proceeded to go deeper into the mountains. Along the way, the thorns of the trees tore at his skin until scratches and cuts marked him from head to toe, but such superficial wounds wouldn't hold him back.

At last, Lu Changsheng spotted a valley, one filled with valuable medicinal herbs.

Is that ginseng? I never thought there'd be ginseng this deep in Recumbent Ox Mountain.

His sharp eyes caught sight of what appeared to be ginseng growing in the valley. Ginseng could be cultivated, but wild ginseng was rare, especially older ones, which were far more valuable.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the valley and began digging. After snatching several wild ginseng roots, he looked up and noticed that the cliffs surrounding the valley were also covered in rare herbs.

Then, something caught his eye. Halfway up the cliff lay a cave, barely noticeable. It was so well concealed that one could easily miss it without careful observation.

A thought stirred in Lu Changsheng's mind.

This valley was quite peculiar. Its environment seemed perfectly suited for medicinal herbs, which explained their abundance. However, such herbs had to be processed immediately after maturing, or they would rot and go to waste.

There was no way Lu Changsheng could harvest them all by himself. If he reported this discovery to Miaoshou Garden, he would just receive a few silver taels, and compared to the value of all these herbs, that was nothing.

He was in dire need of money. If he could sell these herbs himself, he could earn a fortune.

This cave could serve as a temporary storage for mature herbs. I can process and store them here first, then figure out a way to bring them out and sell them later.

Lu Changsheng's eyes gleamed with resolve.

With that plan in mind, he promptly went up the hill and entered the cave. The interior was dry, but to his surprise, there was bedding and a few simple household utensils inside.

Someone lives here?

A jolt of alarm shot through Lu Changsheng. He caught a faint rustling coming from outside the cave. He glanced around quickly, then hastily slipped into a secluded corner to hide.

1. Li (里,

lǐ

) is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. The li has varied considerably over time, but it was standardized in 1984 as half of a kilometer. ☜