Helping in the Medicine Room

The next day, Fang Mo went to the Martial Hall earlier than usual. It was still dark. He wanted to avoid running into people outside as much as possible.

He could deal with them once he reached Bright Force and had the strength to protect himself.

Bright Force was a martial artist's first hurdle. In this age of flourishing martial arts, it was nothing remarkable, but to ordinary gang members, a Bright Force martial artist was undoubtedly an expert.

Yunyang was no major city. A gang with a few Bright Force martial artists was already doing well; most of its members were merely ordinary martial artists. Once Fang Mo reached Bright Force, he should be able to protect himself. More importantly, he would become a true disciple of the Martial Hall. With its protection, the gangs would not dare act recklessly.

He finished a round of stance training and went through a set of punches before the others began to arrive.

"He's here early!"

"He just wants to show off. Does he think showing up early will impress Master? It won't!"

"There's working hard, and then there's pretending to work hard!"

"Heh!"

The other students quietly mocked Fang Mo as they watched him practice. Martial prowess was everything, and word that Fang Mo lacked the aptitude for it had long since spread. Naturally, none of them thought much of him.

Fang Mo never paid attention to their attitudes. He focused entirely on training until Ding Zhiyuan arrived, then stopped to greet him.

"What is it? Having trouble with your fist technique?" Ding Zhiyuan assumed Fang Mo wanted to ask about the Tiger Subduing Fist.

"It's not about the technique." Fang Mo shook his head and looked at him. "Senior Brother Ding, do you know anywhere I can get medicinal liquid and Exotic Beast Meat? The Martial Hall supplies far too little. It's nowhere near enough!"

Ding Zhiyuan hesitated. "Junior Brother Fang, you know Spirit Medicine and Exotic Beast Meat are controlled by the military, sects, martial arts academies, Martial Arts Families, Martial Halls, gangs, and other powers. They're extremely hard to find on the open market. My family can get a little through our connections, but even that supply is quite limited!"

Fang Mo nodded.

"I know. Senior Brother Ding, do you know of any way to get them on the black market?"

Ding Zhiyuan hurriedly shook his head.

"Whatever you do, don't go to the black market. Even if you find something, it'll be expensive and poor quality, and you might get cheated. The people there are ruthless. We were fooled once—spent hundreds of thousands and got nothing but unusable fakes!"

Fang Mo's expression grew grave. Without enough medicinal liquid and Exotic Beast Meat, he could not keep up his training pace.

He could, of course, ask Yue Jian for help, but he did not want to owe him too much.

Seeing Fang Mo's predicament, Ding Zhiyuan hesitated.

"If you don't need much, I can spare you some!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Ding, but you don't have enough for yourself. How could you give me any? I'll think of another way!"

Ding Zhiyuan's expression steadied. He gritted his teeth. "I can spare you five bottles of medicinal liquid and five pounds of Exotic Beast Meat each month. Make do with that for now, and I'll ask my family to see what else they can arrange!"

"Senior Brother Ding, if you give me that much, won't you run short yourself? It's all right. I can look for another source!"

"It's settled!"

Ding Zhiyuan caught hold of Fang Mo, his expression firm. "At this rate, I have no hope of breaking through. It's better to give it to you!"

"Then... thank you, Senior Brother Ding!"

Fang Mo thanked him earnestly. He was genuinely grateful. For an ordinary friend to do so much was already rare.

Ding Zhiyuan knew he had no hope of breaking through, which was why he wanted to invest in Fang Mo.

If Fang Mo broke through, perhaps he could lend a hand someday when Ding Zhiyuan's family was in trouble. The family business sometimes dealt with gangs. With a Bright Force martial artist on their side, they might at least have fewer problems.

Of course, Fang Mo was not the best person to invest in, but Ding Zhiyuan's family was not wealthy enough to invest in anyone else.

The others would not even care for what he had to offer.

Meanwhile, Fang Mo had something else on his mind: he needed to find a source of medicinal ingredients and Exotic Beast Meat as soon as possible.

His progress had noticeably slowed. Without medicinal liquid and Exotic Beast Meat, his body could not recover. He could no longer put in extra hours of training as he had before, and reaching the third stage of the Tiger Subduing Fist would take longer.

"Miao Ping, send someone over to help me grind medicine!" Pharmacist Xie called from the medicine room window into the courtyard.

"All right!" Miao Ping swept his gaze across the courtyard. The students immediately looked away. Some lowered their heads; others became utterly absorbed in what they were doing. None wanted to waste training time grinding medicine for Pharmacist Xie.

Every month, the Martial Hall purchased Spirit Medicine, which Pharmacist Xie prepared into various medicinal liquids for training.

Those liquids were essential to the students' progress, but preparing them was a great deal of work. It took a day or two each time. The students were reluctant to go: it held up their training, and there was no pay.

"Fang Mo, you go!" Miao Ping's gaze landed on him.

How precious was Fang Mo's time?

Even with his supernatural ability, he still had to put in the training himself. He had no time to spare. But Miao Ping's look brooked no argument, and Fang Mo knew refusing would cause trouble. He could only nod. "All right, Senior Brother Miao!"

The others breathed a sigh of relief when Miao Ping chose Fang Mo. Some looked at him with open glee at his misfortune.

Ding Zhiyuan opened his mouth, then said nothing. He merely sighed.

He felt the choice was unfair to Fang Mo. Helping in the medicine room took a great deal of time, and Fang Mo's aptitude was already poor. Would this not set him back further? But Ding Zhiyuan was not yet a formal disciple himself and had little say with Miao Ping.

Fang Mo entered the medicine room. Pharmacist Xie was sorting medicinal ingredients. Without looking up, he said flatly, "Grind all of these."

Fang Mo looked at the several baskets of ingredients, and his scalp prickled. Grinding them all would take ages.

"Don't be so reluctant, kid!"

Pharmacist Xie kept sorting as he spoke. "This is a good job. Those fellows don't understand. If you learn a trick or two from me, you'll never have to worry about food or clothing again!"

"What do you mean?"

Seeing Fang Mo's silence, Pharmacist Xie smiled.

"Kid, don't underestimate medicine refining. There are only a dozen or so refiners in all Yunyang. But how many martial artists are there? How much medicine do they use? Learn this craft, and you'll never worry about finding Spirit Medicine. People will bring it right to your door for you to refine. You could soak in medicinal liquid every day and have Bone Strengthening Soup and Blood Nourishing Pills too!"

"You haven't had either of those yet, have you?"

Pharmacist Xie smiled at Fang Mo.

Fang Mo's mind began to race.

Exotic Beast Meat and Spirit Medicine were controlled goods. At his standing, he had no way to buy them through regular channels. Black-market prices were too high, and the quality was not always reliable. If he became a pharmacist himself, it would help secure what he needed for training.

The idea appealed to him. He quickly said, "All right, Pharmacist Xie. I'll put my heart into it!"

Fang Mo settled down and ground the medicine carefully, asking Pharmacist Xie whenever he did not understand something.

Each ingredient had to be ground differently. It was not a matter of simply chopping and crushing it. One had to understand its properties and the proper grinding method to draw out its effects.

[Medicine Grinding: Beginner (/100)]

When he successfully ground one portion, golden words appeared on the Bronze Mirror in Fang Mo's mind.

Sure enough, his supernatural ability worked on Medicine Grinding too. With it, why would he fear failing to learn? He devoted himself even more fully to the work, grinding one portion after another.

Half a day later, the Bronze Mirror in his mind trembled, and golden words appeared.

[Medicine Grinding: Elementary Mastery (1/1000)]

Immediately afterward, a flood of information poured into his mind, and his understanding of Medicine Grinding rapidly deepened.

This was much faster than learning a fist technique. He applied himself all the more diligently, learning the properties of each ingredient as he ground it.

Pharmacist Xie noticed Fang Mo's grinding technique growing steadily more practiced. Surprise and approval flashed in his eyes.

He had never expected Fang Mo, whose martial aptitude was considered poor, to show such astonishing talent for medicine refining.