Entering the City

He walked into the shop.

The shop was not large. Animal hides hung on both walls, along with various sundries.

A somewhat scrawny old man was sorting through the goods in the shop. Seeing a customer enter, he hurried over to greet him.

"Youngster, are you here to sell something?"

Old Man Zhang smiled.

Li Xiao was dressed in coarse hemp clothes. At a glance, he clearly did not look like the sort of wealthy person who could afford fur.

"Shopkeeper, do you buy deer hides?"

Li Xiao nodded and asked.

"Yes, yes. This is my trade. Take out your goods and let me have a look."

Old Man Zhang replied with a smile.

Li Xiao removed the pack from his back, took out the deer hide, tanned smooth and supple, and laid it on the counter.

Sunlight streamed in through the shop's small window, making the deer hide's fur gleam without the slightest hint of roughness.

Old Man Zhang's eyes lit up. He hurried forward and turned it over.

"Good stuff! This deer hide has been tanned cleanly, and it's quite intact!"

He looked up at Li Xiao.

"This deer hide is top-grade quality. I'll price it at six hundred coppers," Old Man Zhang said briskly.

"How about it?"

Li Xiao nodded. Before coming, he had asked Old Dad about it. This price was already considered fair.

"Boss, I also have some rabbit hides. Take them all as well."

Li Xiao pulled out several more rabbit hides.

Old Man Zhang took the rabbit hides and ran his fingertips over the grain of the fur, smiling as he said,

"They're all proper mountain goods. The fur is dense, with no damage. Thirty coppers per hide, one hundred and fifty coppers for all five."

Li Xiao nodded in agreement as well.

The boss lowered his head and took money from the drawer. Copper coins spilled out with a clatter. Old Man Zhang licked his fingers and counted them three times before handing over a heavy string of coins.

"Seven hundred and fifty coppers in total. Count them."

Li Xiao counted them. There was no mistake, so he turned to leave.

"Take care. If you have goods like these in the future, bring them to me. I guarantee you a fair price."

Old Man Zhang smilingly saw Li Xiao out of the shop.

What remained were all herbs. Li Xiao found a relatively large pharmacy and went inside.

This pharmacy was called Zheng Family Pharmacy. Its storefront was more orderly than the sundries shop's. Though the lettering on its wooden signboard was somewhat weathered, it carried an ancient simplicity.

Upon entering, he saw a row of black-lacquered medicine cabinets, their drawers covered in densely packed labels naming medicinal ingredients. The air was thick with the rich fragrance of herbs.

An Old Physician with a goatee was sitting behind the counter taking a pulse. When he saw Li Xiao enter with a bulging basket of herbs on his back, he looked up.

"Youngster, are you here to sell herbs or fill a prescription?"

"I'll sell herbs first, then fill a prescription."

Li Xiao took out the neatly bundled herbs one by one.

"There's Bupleurum, Huang Qi, and some Gastrodia. Please have a look at their quality."

The green Bupleurum still carried moisture. The Huang Qi roots were plump, while several stalks of Gastrodia were yellow and lustrous, with clear patterns. They were clearly fine goods that had been carefully dug up.

The Old Physician's eyes brightened. He picked up a stalk of Gastrodia, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it before nodding in praise.

"This Gastrodia is firm in texture and hollow-free. It's top-quality stuff!"

Just as he was about to name a price, his gaze suddenly fell on the plant at the bottom of the basket, carefully wrapped in oiled paper—its leaves emerald green, its roots plump and tender, fine rootlets still clinging to its tip. It was a stalk of Ginseng!

The Old Physician hurriedly unwrapped the oiled paper and gently rubbed the ginseng's body with his fingertips.

"This is... Ginseng? Though it's only two or three years old, it's wild-grown and brimming with vitality!"

Li Xiao's heart settled slightly. He had found this Ginseng in a crack between rocks while going up the mountain a few days ago. He knew it was too young to be worth a fortune, but it was still a rare thing.

"Even wild Ginseng with only a few years on it is a rare item, seldom seen on the market."

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The Old Physician fondly stroked the ginseng, then looked up and gave his price.

"Bupleurum is twenty coppers per jin, Huang Qi thirty-five coppers, and Gastrodia eighty coppers per jin. You have twenty-one jin of herbs in all, so that comes to seven hundred and thirty coppers.

"This small Ginseng, I'll give you six taels for it. How about that?"

This price was far higher than Li Xiao had expected, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Especially the Ginseng—it was not easy to come by, and the older it was, the more valuable it became.

Seven hundred and thirty coppers for the herbs, plus six taels of silver.

Converted into copper coins, that was six thousand seven hundred and thirty coppers. Adding the seven hundred and fifty coppers from selling the hides earlier, he had earned over seven thousand coppers from this trip into the city.

"I'll weigh out the silver properly for you."

The Old Physician took out a small scale from beneath the counter, weighed the silver, then counted out another seven hundred and thirty copper coins and pushed them all toward Li Xiao.

"Youngster, these herbs were gathered properly, especially this Gastrodia and Ginseng. Anyone can see you know your trade.

"If you have any more good goods in the future, bring them to my Huichun Hall. I guarantee the price will be higher than elsewhere."

Li Xiao put away the money. The heavy cloth pouch dragged at his waist, but it made his heart feel exceptionally secure.

"Thank you, Physician."

Remembering his father's leg injury, he added, "I'd also like to get some medicine for treating a leg."

Li Xiao described the symptoms to the Physician, who immediately began preparing the medicine.

"First, disperse the blood stasis. Then set the bone, and finally nourish Qi and Blood. Not one step can go wrong."

The Old Physician instructed him while gathering the medicine.

"This is Safflower and Peach Kernel." He picked up two handfuls of dark red herbs.

"They're specially used to break up stagnant blood. With a broken leg, there must be blood clots blocking things inside. They have to be dissolved with these, or new flesh won't grow."

"These two are excellent medicines for bone setting. Radix Dipsaci can slowly align broken bones, and Resurrection Fern—its name says it all. Even shattered bones can be mended with it."

Li Xiao leaned closer to look. Fine, dense patterns still covered the Radix Dipsaci roots, looking remarkably like the texture of bone.

The Old Physician then took Angelica Sinensis and Prepared Rehmannia Root. "Once the blood stasis has dispersed and the bones have been set, you need to replenish Qi and Blood.

"His Blood Qi has been severely depleted. Angelica Sinensis nourishes the blood, while Prepared Rehmannia Root nourishes yin. Only by using the two together can you fill up that depleted body."

Looking at the medicine packets piled upon the counter and the jar of black ointment, Li Xiao finally relaxed. If this had been delayed any longer, recovery might have become difficult later on.

The Old Physician wrapped up the medicines one by one and gave him detailed instructions again.

"Thank you, Physician." Li Xiao took out his money pouch, counted out the copper coins, and handed them over.

The other man accepted them with a beaming smile.

"By the way, Physician, do you know which martial arts halls in this city are recruiting disciples?"

Li Xiao asked. A man who could establish such a large pharmacy in the Outer City surely knew quite a bit about the news there.

The Old Physician froze upon hearing this. He set down the medicine scale and looked Li Xiao over.

"What, you want to learn martial arts?"

Seeing Li Xiao nod, he stroked his goatee and pondered for a moment.

"There are several martial arts halls in the Outer City, and their tuition fees are not cheap."

"If we're talking about the best value, it would have to be Qingshi Martial Arts School.

"The Master of the Hall used to be a military instructor. His Hard Kung Fu is solid, and he teaches his disciples earnestly.

"It's just that the rules are strict. You have to get up before dawn every day to practice Horse Stance, and laziness will be punished."

The Old Physician paused, then added,

"If you want to train in something more nimble, Feiyan Martial Arts School is not bad. It specializes in Lightness Skill and movement techniques. The Master of the Hall is a woman and is patient with her disciples."

The Physician mentioned several more martial arts halls, and Li Xiao listened carefully.

He had heard of several of those martial arts halls before. Some even had disciples serving in the gang his former self had belonged to.

After hearing everything, Li Xiao smiled bitterly.

Even the cheaper martial arts halls required dozens of taels of silver.

Li Xiao squeezed the heavy money pouch. More than seven thousand coppers converted to only a little over seven taels of silver, still a long way from the tuition fee of dozens of taels.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he said quietly,

"Thank you for the guidance, Physician. As for those martial arts halls... I'll think about it."