Young Master

With such great treasures in hand, the father and son could hardly conceal their joy.

"Chuanzi," Lu Danian said with a smile, "this is wonderful! You have the money to learn martial arts now!"

Lu Chuan's heart burned with heat:

"Yeah! But we still need to head back quickly and see how much silver these two things can actually fetch."

The return journey became even slower due to the heavy load.

The snake head and Yellow Essence totaled over thirty catties, making the dozens of li of mountain trails truly difficult to traverse.

As evening approached, they had to spend another night in the cave where they had rested the previous night.

At the break of dawn the next day, the father and son set off immediately.

To avoid prolonged delays, they did not return directly to Kaoshan Village, but hurried instead toward Qinghe County.

Whether that Hundred-Year Polygonatum or the ferocious Great Serpent suspected of being an Exotic Beast clearly both had to be taken to a major apothecary in the city!

Hurrying all the way, they arrived at Qinghe County in the afternoon.

They sought out the largest apothecary in the city, Renhetang Pharmacy.

The storefront of Renhetang Pharmacy was imposing, and people entering and leaving to fetch medicine or consult doctors formed an endless stream.

The father and son stepped inside and found a shop assistant, saying:

"Little brother, we have some mountain goods and medicinal herbs we'd like to sell. Sorry for the trouble, but could you please have the manager take a look?"

The assistant nodded: "You two, wait a moment."

He turned and went to the back hall.

Before long, a middle-aged manager walked out briskly and said politely: "Honored guests, what goods are you looking to sell?"

"They are all right here. Manager, please take a look."

Lu Danian carefully placed the two sacks onto the open floor.

At first, the manager's expression was somewhat casual, but when Lu Chuan pulled the Hundred-Year Polygonatum out from the first sack, his eyes widened instantly.

"This... this... a Polygonatum over a hundred years old! And its appearance is so well-preserved! Rare, truly rare!"

Before he had recovered from the shock of the Yellow Essence, Lu Chuan had already untied the second sack, revealing that ferocious, pitch-black snake head.

"Hiss!"

The manager was truly startled this time.

He was a man of wide experience after all, and he recognized the background of this Great Serpent at a single glance.

Black-Scaled Iron-Thread Snake... judging by this size, I'm afraid it's nearing adulthood!

He cupped his hands solemnly toward Lu Chuan and his father:

"The two of you, please forgive my lack of discernment. Take a seat for a moment, and allow me to invite the Young Master to make the decision!"

Soon, a young man of around twenty-odd years with a gentle demeanor walked quickly to the front hall, accompanied by the manager.

He cupped his hands and smiled politely to Lu Chuan and his father:

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am Zhao Xuanhe. May I ask your names?"

Lu Chuan returned the courtesy: "You are too polite, Shopkeeper. My name is Lu Chuan, and this is my father, Lu Danian."

Zhao Xuanhe nodded slightly, then stepped forward personally to inspect the two items.

A moment later, he looked at Lu Chuan and mused:

"Brother Lu, this root of Hundred-Year Polygonatum has profound medicinal power and superb quality. As for this Black-Scaled Iron-Thread Snake... this snake is no ordinary breed. Although it has not yet reached adulthood, it is still immensely valuable."

Hearing this, Lu Chuan thought to himself:

This Great Serpent really is a kind of Exotic Beast. I'm glad we brought it back...

Afterward, Zhao Xuanhe said: "I will take both of these items together, priced at fifteen taels of silver. How does that sound?"

Fifteen taels!

Lu Chuan's heart leapt violently, but on the surface he tried his best to maintain his composure.

With these fifteen taels, not only would the ten taels of silver for the martial arts hall's half-year tuition be securely in hand, but five taels would even be left over!

Beside him, Lu Danian was completely dumbfounded upon hearing the figure of fifteen taels.

Zhao Xuanhe assumed they were dissatisfied: "If you are not satisfied, the two of you may also look around at other apothecaries..."

Lu Chuan suppressed his churning emotions and spoke:

"We trust Brother Zhao's reputation. We will go with your offer of fifteen taels."

He dared to be this reckless because he also had some understanding of Renhetang Pharmacy in his heart. True to its name, Renhetang Pharmacy was considered a rather conscientious medical clinic in Qinghe County.

"Straightforward!" Zhao Xuanhe's smile grew a bit more sincere as he immediately instructed the manager: "Fetch fifteen taels of fine silver."

Soon, the fifteen taels of silver were handed over to Lu Chuan.

The money and goods were settled.

However, Zhao Xuanhe looked at the corpse of the Black-Thread Snake and revealed a trace of strangeness:

"Brother Lu, I still have some doubts. Not only is this Iron-Thread Snake highly venomous, but it can also spit toxic mist, making it very easy for even ordinary martial artists to suffer at its hands."

"You two look like hunters from the mountains. I wonder what method you used to be able to hunt and kill it?"

Lu Chuan did not conceal anything and answered truthfully:

"This Great Serpent was indeed dangerous. We were able to succeed this time because I took advantage of the moment the Great Serpent was spitting toxic mist to shoot an arrow right into its mouth, which is how I killed it."

He spoke simply, but the precision in grasping the timing carried immense weight as it reached Zhao Xuanhe's ears.

Zhao Xuanhe's expression was astonished:

"Such daring! For Brother Lu to be so young and yet possess such means is truly admirable!"

Lu Chuan hadn't expected this Young Master to evaluate him so highly: "Brother Zhao flatters me."

Zhao Xuanhe smiled: "If Brother Lu obtains any rare medicinal herbs in the future, feel free to send them straight to my Renhetang Pharmacy. I won't dare boast about anything else, but when it comes to the price, I, Zhao, will never let you suffer a loss!"

Being able to befriend the Young Master of an apothecary was naturally a good thing for Lu Chuan.

His heart also surged with joy: "Then let me thank Brother Zhao in advance."

After exchanging a few more polite remarks, Lu Chuan and his father walked out the gates of Renhetang Pharmacy.

Once outside, Lu Danian finally spoke his innermost thoughts with a trembling voice:

"Fifteen taels of silver... Chuanzi... In all my years, your old man has never even touched this much money..."

"Dad, we'll be able to earn even more in the future." Lu Chuan's tone was resolute.

Now that the money was in hand, and coupled with the fact that he was now in the county town as well, he immediately decided to enter a martial arts hall and learn martial arts right away!

Having made up his mind, he took out five taels of silver and stuffed them into Lu Danian's hands:

"Dad, take this money and buy more grain to bring back. Mom must be worried sick at home. You head back first so she can be at ease."

Lu Danian accepted the silver and let out a sigh filled with gratification:

"...Alright, as for this matter of learning martial arts, make your own decisions."

He patted his son's shoulder and turned to buy rice.

After sending off his father, Lu Chuan asked around along the way to clarify the direction of the Kaishandao Martial Arts School.

It wasn't that he was necessarily going to choose this particular martial arts hall, but going to inspect the goods on-site could certainly do no harm.

Following the directions, an imposing courtyard appeared before his eyes after a short while.

The black-lacquered gates stood wide open, with the three large characters "Kaishandao" inscribed above them.

Inside the courtyard, shouts rolled like muffled thunder, and just hearing them made the blood run a bit hotter.

Lu Chuan stood outside the gates, looking inward.

On the spacious Training Ground, forty or fifty burly men were working up a sweat. Their sabers cleaved, slashed, and swept with the commands, their movements fierce and carrying a hardened edge.

So these are martial artists...

As he watched, lost in thought, a heavily built, stout man walked over, sized him up from top to bottom, and got straight to the point:

"Little brother, you've been lingering by the door for a while. Are you here to find Master Zheng to learn the saber?"