Planning to Harm Yang Heng

Soon, night fell.

As he descended the mountain, Yang Heng took out medicinal herbs worth one tael of silver from his stored supplies and returned to the camp.

Yang Heng once again became the focus of everyone's attention. Some apprentices were envious, while others were jealous, a hint of malice flashing in their eyes.

In fact, by the eleventh day of herb gathering, there were still a few apprentices who could submit medicinal herbs worth one tael of silver daily.

But the problem was that Yang Heng had a harvest every day, and a considerable one at that. It was as if he had calculated it precisely, with the value always around one tael of silver – not too much, not too little, extremely balanced.

Unlike other apprentices, who might gather herbs worth two taels of silver one day and return empty-handed the next, or only find herbs worth a few dozen copper coins.

Yang Heng's actions led the other apprentices to mistakenly believe that he had found a treasure trove where many herbs grew, and he was just taking a little each day, which explained the balanced value of the herbs he collected.

As a result, some apprentices who were far from completing their tasks set their sights on Yang Heng.

Of course, they knew the story of Yang Heng casually tossing Li Kui aside and understood that Yang Heng's strength was unfathomable, so they dared not be careless.

Thus, several of them conspired, deciding to deal with Yang Heng together.

After the medicinal herbs were registered, Yang Heng walked towards the river, intending to wash up.

Seeing Yang Heng's back disappear, a few apprentices with ill intentions headed in another direction, discussing their plan to deal with Yang Heng.

"Brothers, the deadline for the task is fast approaching, and we are nowhere near completing it. If we don't think of something, we'll likely be whipped, and our lives will be in danger," one apprentice said worriedly.

"Yes, we need to think of a way. I don't want to be whipped. One lash would take half my life, it's truly terrifying," a skinny apprentice chimed in.

His body was like a bamboo pole, emaciated. A single whip could very well take half his life.

The other apprentices nodded in agreement.

The first apprentice to speak continued, "I've observed over the past few days that this kid Yang Heng has a full harvest every day, with herbs worth no less than one tael of silver. He's already submitted herbs worth nine taels, and with just one more tael, he'll complete the task."

"Among us new apprentices, besides that lucky one who found the Lingzhi mushroom, Yang Heng has the most and most valuable medicinal herbs. We are all new apprentices, and this is our first time gathering herbs on the mountain. Why is the value of herbs Yang Heng collects more than double ours, and why does he have a substantial harvest every day? Think about it, why?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Yang Heng is indeed a bit strange, always heading into remote areas."

"Could it be that Yang Heng found a treasure spot with a large growth of medicinal herbs?" one apprentice asked doubtfully after a moment's thought.

"Yes, that's very likely," the other apprentices replied after considering it, finding it the most plausible explanation.

At this moment, the first apprentice to speak settled it, saying, "It must be so. Yang Heng found a treasure spot, a treasure spot with countless medicinal herbs!"

"I've noticed that after entering the inner mountains, Yang Heng heads in the same direction every day. If there wasn't a treasure spot there with abundant medicinal herbs, Yang Heng wouldn't be doing that; he'd definitely be looking for herbs in other directions."

"Yes, that makes sense. It's definitely like that," the other apprentices nodded in agreement.

"We are all new apprentices, and we should be in the same boat, helping each other. But Yang Heng is hoarding all the benefits for himself, not considering us brothers, which is truly detestable. Whether it's to vent our anger or to complete the task, we should teach Yang Heng a lesson and let him know the consequences of selfishness!" the first speaker said, his face hardening as he incited them.

Hearing this, the other apprentices exchanged glances, hesitant to commit.

Yang Heng's prowess had deeply ingrained itself in their minds.

Seeing their demeanor, the first speaker became frustrated and cursed, "What are you afraid of? Yang Heng is just an ordinary person, flesh and blood, not a martial artist."

"If seven or eight of us, each with a woodcutter's axe, rush him together, can't we take him down?"

When the others heard this, it seemed to make sense.

The apprentices' expressions slowly calmed down, and their fear of Yang Heng gradually faded.

Seven or eight people attacking Yang Heng, the advantage is ours!

Fortune favors the bold.

Even if the ambush failed, Yang Heng wouldn't kill them; at most, he'd beat them up.

If seven or eight people died simultaneously, the apothecary shop would surely investigate, and Yang Heng would inevitably face punishment.

If they couldn't complete the task, the apothecary shop wouldn't be merciful, and being whipped would be inevitable, with their lives hanging in the balance.

After a thorough analysis, attacking Yang Heng seemed to be the least risky option.

The apprentices gradually gained confidence and decided to go for it.

Thus, they began to discuss their strategy.

"Yang Heng is only one step away from completing his task. It's highly likely he'll gather herbs worth one tael of silver tomorrow. Therefore, tomorrow is our best chance, our only chance."

"If we miss tomorrow, once Yang Heng completes his task, he might stop gathering herbs on the mountain and stay in the camp. Then we'll be in trouble. We can't make a move in the camp; the mountain is the best place to act," the first speaker said with foresight.

The other apprentices nodded in agreement, finding his words reasonable.

One apprentice asked, "The mountain is so vast, where is the best place for us to make our move?"

"The mountain pass."

"We'll wait for Yang Heng at the mountain exit!"

The first speaker said without hesitation.

"The path down the mountain?"

"There are countless exits from the mountain. How do we know which one Yang Heng took?"

An apprentice retorted.

"Yeah, yeah."

"There are just too many paths leading out of the mountains. How can we possibly know which one Yang Heng took?"

The other apprentices chimed in with their doubts.

"You don't need to worry about that. I've been secretly observing Yang Heng these past few days. The exit he uses to leave the mountain has never changed. We'll just wait for him there."

"When he arrives, we'll swarm him and capture him. We'll force him to reveal the location of the treasure. As for whether we leave him alive or not, that will depend entirely on our mood."

The first apprentice to speak sneered, looking confident of victory. A glint of cold light flashed in his eyes.

Judging by his actions, it seemed he harbored a deep hatred for Yang Heng.

The other apprentices looked at him in shock, a thought forming in their minds: this guy must have a grudge against Yang Heng, otherwise why would he be watching Yang Heng's every move all day?

But even with their suspicions, they wouldn't refuse to cooperate with him.

With common interests at stake, let alone Yang Heng, they wouldn't hesitate to act even if the person before them were one of the Apothecary Shop's senior disciples, or even one of the masters.

After reaching an agreement, they all dispersed.

The person who spoke first was named Wu Zhi. He had only joined the Apothecary Shop six months ago. Once, when he made a mistake, Master Zhang was about to punish him, but Li Kui stepped in and helped him resolve the matter.

From then on, Wu Zhi followed Li Kui's lead.

After Li Kui died, Wu Zhi mourned for a while, convinced that Yang Heng was the murderer. This was because Li Kui had confided in him the night before, saying that tomorrow would be Yang Heng's death day.

Who would have thought that Yang Heng wouldn't die the next day, but Li Kui would disappear without a trace?

Three days later, the Apothecary Shop finally realized that Li Kui must have been killed and began investigating the matter.

He had reported Yang Heng to the Apothecary Shop, but there was no follow-up.

Yang Heng, meanwhile, was alive and well every day, completely unfazed.

So, he had been secretly watching Yang Heng's every move, and today he had finally found his opportunity. He swore to kill Yang Heng and avenge Li Kui.

Wu Zhi's eyes were filled with deep malice. Like a venomous snake, he watched Yang Heng from the shadows. He wouldn't strike unless necessary, but when he did, it would be a fatal blow.