Medicine Town Ao Mountain Village, Dumb Girl

"Alas, still no Red Blood Grass!"

After wandering around all the Medical Halls, Su Chen helplessly accepted this reality.

Because of the Yellow Stone City rebellion, not only was Red Blood Grass priceless, but even some other herbs became in short supply.

On the way back, Su Chen inadvertently passed by the market and saw a corpse hanging in the middle of the market. It was none other than Chu Ming.

It must have been hanging for a while, as the corpse had become terrifyingly disfigured, like a dried corpse, emitting a strange smell.

The surrounding people, seeing this, were not surprised at all. When passing by, they would subconsciously cover their noses, revealing disgusted expressions.

Su Chen didn't pay too much attention to the corpse, but instead looked at the content written on a sign next to the corpse.

The content wasn't much, very concise, roughly revealing Chu Ming's identity as a traitor and proclaiming the government's achievements.

Although the words didn't mention Su Chen, Su Chen could see some clues from it.

"I wonder what the Rebirth Sect people will think after seeing Chu Ming's corpse. With their strength, they probably already found out that 'Yang Guo' was the one who did it."

Although Su Chen was confident that he hadn't been exposed, nothing is absolute. If he was exposed, he was afraid that he would face a violent revenge from the Rebirth Sect.

"In the future, I have to be extra careful when using my alias. For the time being, let's keep a low profile with the Yang Guo alias. I might as well take this time to go to Medicine Town to take a look."

After lingering for a moment, Su Chen secretly warned himself, then turned and left.

Since he had decided to go to Medicine Town, Su Chen didn't delay for too long. The next day, he set off for Medicine Town.

Medicine Town was about a hundred li away from White Stone City, and because it was close to the Hundred Li Mountain Range, it was relatively remote.

Of course, remote didn't mean not prosperous.

On the contrary, because it sold various cheap medicinal herbs, many medicinal herb merchants would come to Medicine Town to purchase goods.

Over time, Medicine Town developed from a dilapidated village into a small town supplying medicinal herbs, which also drove the development of many surrounding villages.

When he arrived at Medicine Town, it was already evening. After entering Medicine Town, Su Chen found an inn and stayed there.

The fatigue of a day's journey was dispelled after eating and drinking his fill.

Because it was late, Su Chen just read a medical book for a while before falling asleep.

The next morning, the first ray of sunlight shone into the room, and the streets were filled with the sounds of vendors hawking their wares.

Su Chen got up and saw that the morning in Medicine Town was particularly lively. It was only just dawn, and the streets were already bustling with people moving around, very lively.

After washing up, Su Chen ate a simple meal and then went out.

He didn't go to the address the Medical Hall clerk gave him right away. The person wasn't in Medicine Town, but in a place called Ao Mountain Village.

Su Chen asked the waiter last night, and Ao Mountain Village was north of Medicine Town, about seven or eight li away, not too far.

He planned to wander around the town first to see if he could find Red Blood Grass. If he couldn't find it in the town, it wouldn't be too late to go to the person.

Medicine Town was indeed worthy of its name. The entire street had more medicinal herb shops than all the Medical Halls in White Stone City combined.

He hadn't been out for long before he found a medicinal herb shop. He went in and came out shortly after.

Su Chen asked from one shop to another, from the initial expectation to the disappointment in the middle, and finally to the numbness at the end. The time it took was less than an hour.

Almost like the replies given by the various Medical Halls in White Stone City, the replies from the medicine shops were either a shake of the head or a direct statement that they didn't have it.

After asking around, Su Chen had no choice but to test the shop assistant with some money, and only then did the other party reveal the reason.

To Su Chen's surprise, even the Red Blood Grass in Medicine Town had been seized by the Medicine Gang, and no medicine shop was allowed to sell it.

In White Stone City, Su Chen didn't think the Medicine Gang was that powerful, but in Medicine Town, the Medicine Gang was the undisputed local tyrant.

Anything involving medicinal herbs could not avoid the Medicine Gang, and even the government's influence was less than that of the Medicine Gang!

After hearing this news, Su Chen gave up on asking around.

He had originally planned to buy Red Blood Grass from the Medicine Farmers, but after a second thought, he felt it was impossible.

At least, openly buying it was impossible, as the Medicine Gang's infiltration of Medicine Town was all-encompassing, including the Medicine Farmers.

"These gangs are truly the biggest obstacle to my becoming stronger. If I still can't find it in the end, I'll have to start with the Medicine Gang!"

Su Chen made up his mind to go to Ao Mountain Village tomorrow. If he still couldn't buy Red Blood Grass, he would go directly to the Medicine Gang.

Although he didn't want to provoke the Medicine Gang, this was the only option for now, a last resort.

In the afternoon, Su Chen went to a few more places, the markets where Medicine Farmers sold medicinal herbs, which were considered the trading centers of Medicine Town and were very prosperous.

After wandering around for about an hour, Su Chen gave up in disappointment.

As soon as these Medicine Farmers heard that he wanted to buy Red Blood Grass, they shook their heads like rattles, refusing him without hesitation, so much so that Su Chen didn't even have a chance to offer a price.

If only one person was like this, Su Chen wouldn't care, but the key was that almost everyone was like this.

Moreover, Su Chen also noticed that whenever he asked about Red Blood Grass, the people next to him would prick up their ears and observe Su Chen.

When Su Chen asked them, they would react in the same way as the previous person.

After observing for a while, Su Chen gave up asking, realizing that the Medicine Gang's control over the Medicine Farmers was deeper than he had imagined.

However, he didn't give up and deliberately wandered around near the market in the evening.

He thought that some Medicine Farmers would take this opportunity to secretly come to him, but he was overthinking it. Su Chen didn't see a single Medicine Farmer until it was dark.

Looking at the few people left in the market, Su Chen's face turned slightly ugly, and he finally left.

Early the next morning, Su Chen left Medicine Town and headed to Ao Mountain Village.

Ao Mountain Village was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and most of the villagers made a living by planting and collecting medicinal herbs, making it one of the many medicinal herb supply areas for Medicine Town.

According to the address given by the shop assistant, Su Chen arrived at the market in Ao Mountain Village, which was slightly simpler than the market in Medicine Town.

As soon as he entered the market, Su Chen saw a group of people lined up in a long queue, either carrying bamboo baskets or carrying coarse cloth bags.

At the front of the queue stood several burly men dressed a little more decently, each holding a large burlap bag, and one short man was negotiating with the Medicine Farmers.

After watching for a while, Su Chen knew the identities of these people. They should be members of the Medicine Gang coming to Ao Mountain Village to collect medicinal herbs.

"Found it!"

His gaze didn't linger on these people for long, but swept across the long queue.

It wasn't until he saw a thirteen or fourteen-year-old Dumb Girl at the end of the queue that his eyes lit up slightly.

Among the adults, this girl stood out like a sore thumb, small in stature, sallow and emaciated, wearing patched and tattered clothes, standing alone at the back of the line.

Just as Su Chen was about to step towards the girl, he suddenly stopped.