Cliff, Wolf Den

Yang Heng decided not to tell the Apothecary Shop about this matter for now. He would inform them after the incident occurred.

Why not use the Apothecary Shop's hand to get rid of Master Zhang?

While it would be satisfying to eliminate Master Zhang himself, it was, after all, dangerous. If the Apothecary Shop lost a master for no reason, they would inevitably investigate thoroughly, and the investigation might even lead back to him.

Yang Heng wouldn't put himself in danger just for a moment of satisfaction.

Once the medicinal herbs were stolen, the Apothecary Shop would surely fly into a rage. Upon learning that Master Zhang was the informant, they would make his life worse than death, subjecting him to severe torture.

This would be far more satisfying than Yang Heng taking action himself.

With less risk and greater reward, there was no reason not to do it.

After some more time passed, Yang Heng took a detour back to his residence.

He worried that Wang Ming was a cunning old fox and might be waiting at the exit of the road, watching to see who emerged.

Wang Ming was from Black Wind Stronghold. He must have employed many schemes and tricks in the past, and his mind was deep and unfathomable. He couldn't be too careful.

As expected, when Yang Heng returned to his residence from another direction, Wang Ming was indeed lurking in an inconspicuous spot, his gaze fixed on the small path leading to the river.

Noticing Yang Heng's return, Wang Ming even nodded at him.

Yang Heng boldly approached Wang Ming and said, "It's so late, and you're still not resting?"

Wang Ming smiled, pointed to the room, and said, "You know, the smell inside is too strong, I couldn't stand it, so I came out for some fresh air."

"You too?"

Yang Heng nodded.

"It's been quite a while, the smell should have dissipated. Shall we go back together?"

"Okay," Wang Ming nodded.

Wang Ming thought to himself, it was late at night, and no one would go towards the river. The chance of someone overhearing his conversation with Master Zhang was slim. Waiting any longer would yield no results.

It was better to go back and rest.

If a master who got up in the middle of the night saw him still outside so late, it would be difficult to explain.

After thinking it through, Wang Ming returned to the residence with Yang Heng.

Indeed, when Yang Heng returned to the room, the smell of urine was barely perceptible, and the areas splashed with urine had been cleaned up. It was no different from any other day.

Yang Heng went to his bed, took off his shoes, and lay down, falling asleep fully clothed.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, as dawn was breaking, all the apprentices had already woken up. After breakfast, they prepared the tools, food, and water needed for collecting herbs on the mountain and then rushed up the mountain.

Time waited for no one. If they didn't complete their task within the allotted time, being whipped was no joke.

Each lash would tear a piece of flesh from their bodies. The thought alone was agonizing.

A few more lashes, and half their lives would be gone.

To avoid being whipped, the apprentices didn't want to waste a single moment, striving to spend as much time as possible on the mountain to find medicinal herbs.

Today, not a single apprentice lingered around the outskirts of the mountain. Yesterday, some apprentices, fearing danger, dared not enter the inner mountains and searched for herbs in the outer areas. As a result, after a whole day, they found nothing, let alone medicinal herbs.

Entering the depths of the mountain, everyone went their separate ways, choosing different directions to leave.

Yang Heng still headed towards the path he had taken yesterday.

Firstly, he was relatively familiar with this path, and some of the herbs he had collected yesterday were still there.

Secondly, when he fled in a hurry yesterday, he had taken some secluded paths that few people had traveled, increasing the chances of finding medicinal herbs.

Just as Yang Heng had expected, not long after taking this path, he discovered a herb growing under a bush – Wood Root.

Wood Root, as its name suggested, looked like a wooden root. It was three inches long, as thick as a chopstick, grayish-white, and bare. It had the effect of clearing heat, relieving cold, resolving phlegm, and stopping coughs.

The apothecary shop's external purchase price for one jin of Wood Root was fifty copper coins. The internal purchase price was relatively higher, but not by much.

This single Wood Root was worth about two copper coins, which was better than nothing.

However, the growth habit of Wood Root was different from other herbs; it grew in clusters.

Where there was one Wood Root, there were bound to be more around.

Yang Heng moved closer, approaching the bush. With a swing of the cleaver in his hand, a flash of silver light appeared, and with a crack, the bush in front of him fell backward like wheat.

Looking around, dozens of Wood Roots came into view, growing beside the roots of the bush, previously hidden by the tall, dense foliage.

Yang Heng dug out these Wood Roots one by one with a wooden shovel and put them into his herb basket, then continued forward.

Although there seemed to be many Wood Roots, they weren't worth much. At most, they would fetch around one hundred copper coins, which was still far from his goal of ten taels of silver.

Yang Heng did not intend to spend the next ten days solely on searching for herbs.

He decided to spend three to four days collecting herbs to complete the task.

For the remaining time, he would find a secluded spot to practice martial arts and improve his cultivation.

In this chaotic world, strength was paramount.

He didn't want to waste time searching for medicinal herbs all over the mountains and fields; that would be putting the cart before the horse.

Yang Heng immediately adjusted his strategy, heading straight for remote and dangerous places like cliffs and animal dens.

As expected, after this adjustment, the effect was immediate, and the harvest was bountiful.

Beside a cliff, Yang Heng, relying on his excellent movement techniques, moved as lightly as a swallow, picking many precious medicinal herbs on the cliff face, including Dendrobium, Yin Wind Vine, Coptis Seed, and so on.

Dendrobium benefits the stomach and produces saliva, clears heat, and detoxifies. It is quite precious and is a main ingredient in detoxification pills. One tael of Dendrobium is worth one tael of silver.

The Dendrobium Yang Heng picked was almost one tael, a considerable harvest.

Yin Wind Vine is an uncommon and quite rare medicinal herb with a high price. Its main efficacy is in treating stroke and is also very effective for headaches.

One root of Yin Wind Vine is worth five hundred copper coins.

The value of Coptis Seed cannot compare to the previous two medicinal herbs, but it far exceeds that of Wood Root.

Coptis Seed looks very similar to orchids. One plant of Coptis Seed is worth one hundred copper coins. Yang Heng picked a total of three plants.

Actually, there were two more plants on the cliff face, but they grew too close to the bottom of the cliff, almost at a ninety-degree angle to the cliff face.

Growing in such a dangerous place, Yang Heng wouldn't risk his life for a mere two hundred copper coins.

Yang Heng walked along the edge of the cliff, but apart from these few medicinal herbs, he found no traces of any other herbs growing.

Thus, Yang Heng left the cliff and began searching for wild animal dens.

He located their caves based on the droppings and footprints left by wild beasts, or the occasional roars.

After a thorough search, Yang Heng found a wolf den.

A wild wolf was lying inside, fast asleep, completely unaware of the uninvited guest in its home.

It wasn't until Yang Heng approached it that the wolf woke up.

Upon seeing the two-legged beast before it, a fierce glint appeared in the wolf's green eyes, its fangs bared, and it let out a howl.

Its body immediately returned to an offensive stance, its body slightly crouched, forelegs extended forward, and tail lowered.

"Awooooo..."

The wolf roared and suddenly lunged at Yang Heng, its mouth wide open, biting towards Yang Heng's throat.