Dangerous Intuition

Half a month later.

With the "Evening Moon" taboo period over, Li Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief after being in a state of constant tension.

Although he appeared relaxed these days, he had actually been extremely cautious.

Now he could finally move around freely outside without fear of suffering that irresistible, inexplicable harm.

Meanwhile.

The gang leaders of the Pingshan Society began leading their men to frequently harass the vicinity of the Lishan Gang, and the conflict between the two sides officially began.

" Doctor Li, quickly save Wang Mazi!"

Several people carried a gang member with minor injuries to the medical clinic.

Li Mo signaled for Hei Wa to look after the person he had previously treated, then approached Wang Mazi. Upon seeing that the man only had superficial wounds, he showed a nonchalant expression.

"Put him over there."

A Trauma Medicine patch was applied to the wound, and the man immediately let out a yelp of pain.

"Keep the wound dry. Come back for a follow-up check in three days."

Then Li Mo waved his hand, signaling for the person to leave.

"Thank you, Doctor Li, thank you, Doctor Li!"

Li Mo didn't want to say more. He stole a moment of leisure to look out the window. Because the two gangs had officially started fighting, fewer people were willing to spar with him. He even had to resort to joking, threatening them with future medical treatment, just to get the powerful gang leaders to show speechless expressions and patiently spar with him. In secret, they had also changed their address for Doctor Li to Li the Martial Arts Fanatic.

As if influenced by the previous changes of the "Evening Moon," Li Mo became even more diligent.

" Doctor Li!"

Someone else had arrived.

Li Mo glanced at the person and was about to have his apprentice handle it when he saw that this person was a subordinate of Jade Fox Wang Ying. Recalling the promise he made to Wang Ying, he had no choice but to pause his martial arts practice and carefully bandage and treat the person.

After a while, the person was sent away.

"I wonder how long this will last."

He shook his head and sighed.

Two months later.

Time had come to the Dragon Boat Festival. Although the Pingshan Society had prepared quite a bit of medicinal herbs in advance, after more than two months, the herbs for treating bruises and sprains were running low.

Especially the wound-healing powder, which was completely out of stock.

"Big Brother, we're not doing well, but those bastards from the Lishan Gang are even worse off!"

"Exactly!"

"At most, we've only lost less than twenty brothers during this period. The Lishan Gang doesn't have Doctor Li, so they must have lost at least fifty to sixty men. Even their gang leader, Grasshopper, has been captured by us. I think in another two months at most, the Lishan Gang will be doomed!"

"Success or failure hinges on this battle!"

The crowd was emboldened and fought more fiercely.

Bloodface Lion Gao Po, after some thought, finally looked at the silent Li Mo.

" Doctor Li, is it possible to use other herbs to temporarily substitute for the wound-healing powder to treat the brothers' stab wounds?"

Everyone looked at Li Mo.

Li Mo pondered for a moment and replied, "It's possible, but the effect is far inferior to the original, and there's no stock in the pharmacy. I'll have to go into the mountains to gather herbs."

Gao Po heard this and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Divine Doctor. After this battle, you will be credited with the greatest contribution!"

Li Mo heard this and, thinking about how he had been generously spending money lately and was indeed short on Silver, decided that earning some Silver for being the top contributor wouldn't be bad. Anyway, he couldn't leave this place this year, so he might as well focus on cultivating his martial arts to great success as soon as possible.

The next day.

Li Mo left the mountain stronghold alone to gather herbs.

He was now familiar with the terrain, geography, and herb distribution around the Pingshan Society, so Hei Wa no longer needed to lead the way.

About an hour and a half later.

He arrived at a cliff. After confirming that there were indeed many Blood Red Flowers below, he took out the rope from his carrying basket and some food. He rested here for a while to ensure his stamina was at its peak.

Blood Red Flowers generally grow on cliffs, which greatly tests the agility of herb gatherers.

After resting well.

Li Mo secured the rope and checked it carefully before beginning to pick the Blood Red Flowers on the cliff. His luck was quite good; in just two hours, he had gathered a full basket of Blood Red Flowers, all potent.

Just as Li Mo was about to leave, his peripheral vision caught sight of a red flower in a rock crevice.

"A century-old Blood Red Flower!"

Once the medicinal properties of the Blood Red Flower exceeded a hundred years, they would undergo a qualitative change, possessing all sorts of incredible uses. According to market prices, this single century-old Blood Red Flower would be worth at least seven to eight taels of silver.

How could Li Mo not be tempted?

So he quickly tried to get closer.

This was also thanks to him being a martial artist. Having practiced the Three-Way Swordplay, his agility was quite remarkable. Otherwise, he wasn't a professional herb gatherer, and the century-old Blood Red Flower grew in such a steep and perilous location. If he accidentally fell off the cliff, he would surely die.

Only after obtaining the hundred-year-old Blood Red Flower did Li Mo finally relax, a smile of excitement spreading across his face.

This hundred-year-old Blood Red Flower might just save a life someday.

By the time Li Mo climbed back up the steep cliff, it was already around Weishi (1-3 PM) in the afternoon.

He coiled up the rope, let out a long breath, and headed back towards the mountain stronghold.

Just then!

Li Mo suddenly felt a prickling sense of danger on his back. Almost instinctively, he sidestepped, and immediately saw a figure lunge past where he had been, landing in front of him.

It was a leopard!

Judging by its size, it was a good deal larger than a normal adult, its weight seemingly on par with an adult human. It exuded a dangerous aura, letting out low growls. After a brief standoff, it moved with swift agility and lunged at Li Mo again.

Now, Li Mo understood the limits of martial arts practitioners.

Without mastering internal energy, and lacking specialized hunting weapons, dealing with carnivorous beasts of similar weight was the limit for ordinary humans.

Some adult grey bears and tigers in the mountains, even if not magically enhanced, often weighed several times that of an ordinary person. In a one-on-one fight, even a so-called peak second-rate expert could only flee for their lives.

For slightly smaller large beasts like hyenas, wolves, and leopards, if their size was comparable to a human's, a martial artist of the second-rate level would have about a fifty-fifty chance in a one-on-one fight, depending on the specific circumstances.

The leopard before him clearly belonged to this category. Its explosive power was astonishing, its reflexes incredible. It launched a series of attacks, biting and clawing at Li Mo. The beasts of Eighteen Mountain seemed even more formidable than those outside, all of them large creatures on the verge of sentience!

Constantly dodging, rolling, and fleeing, Li Mo was only grazed by its sharp claws. His coarse linen robe was torn, and blood flowed from his shoulder.

The leopard, now tasting blood, became even more ferocious!

Li Mo continued to weave and dodge, in a rather sorry state.

This wouldn't do. Li Mo knew he had to counterattack, otherwise, once his stamina ran out, it would be a dead end.

So, he held his sword and suddenly executed a "returning horse spear" maneuver, thrusting with all his might at the leopard, but it dodged nimbly.

Seeing the leopard land its front paws and turn to lunge at him again, while Li Mo, due to his aggressive counterattack, had momentarily lost his balance and was about to fall, just as the leopard was about to lock its jaws on his throat, he suddenly extended his left hand. A bamboo tube hidden in his sleeve sprayed a cloud of white smoke towards the leopard's face.

The leopard was caught off guard, its eyes stung. It rolled away, trying to escape.

Its startled roars echoed through the forest.

Li Mo's heart pounded. Seeing that his last resort had worked, and the leopard had lost its sight, tumbling uncontrollably through the woods, he quickly approached with his sword.

Having learned from the black inn incident with the Zhang siblings, Li Mo had abandoned his medical ethics.

Great achievements require overlooking minor details!

This bamboo tube dart was made by mixing lime powder with a potent anesthetic. It was highly effective for surprise attacks in close combat and was one of his signature moves. Seeing that the beast was subdued, Li Mo acted swiftly, his sword repeatedly striking vital points.

A moment later, the leopard finally fell to the ground, dead.

"Hoo."

Once everything settled, the pain from his wound spread. Li Mo gritted his teeth as he bandaged it, then retrieved his carrying basket and gathered the scattered Blood Red Flower.

"This guy... could it be because of that hundred-year-old Blood Red Flower?"

He had often heard herb gatherers say that potent herbs were often guarded by fierce beasts.

However, potent herbs were used by cultivators for alchemy. This hundred-year-old Blood Red Flower was merely an herbal medicine; how could it be compared?

What surprised him, however, was his sudden dangerous intuition!

The moment the leopard attacked, he clearly felt that chilling sense of danger, which allowed him to evade in time. Looking back, his recent acts of generosity and helping others hadn't been in vain; all his efforts were worthwhile.

"First, I need to figure out how to transport this thing back. It's quite heavy. If I skin it, I can make a fur cloak, though it might not be enough, only a vest. The meat can be shared, the bones can be used to make wine, and the penis is a great tonic. I'll give it as a gift to the two bosses to practice martial arts with me? No, better give it to Wang Ying..."

When Li Mo returned to the mountain stronghold, many of the squad leaders came out of their rooms, looking at the leopard Li Mo had carried back.

Little Arhat Han Kui exclaimed in surprise, " Doctor Li, did you hunt this alone?"

"Just lucky."

Li Mo was almost breathless from exhaustion.

Speaking of Han Kui, a monk from the Chan Yu Temple, Li Mo had sparred with him a few times. Although it seemed like a draw, Li Mo knew he was no match for him. It was precisely because of him that Li Mo realized he had been practicing in isolation, lacking real combat experience and failing to cultivate the so-called dangerous intuition, which led him to embark on a series of intensive training sessions.

Squad leader Tang, known as Tang San Dao, laughed heartily upon seeing this.

"Haha! As expected of Doctor Li, not only is your medical skill superb, but you also possess such martial prowess! I am truly impressed!"

His words were genuine.

Tang San Dao had sparred with Li Mo many times. In the beginning, they were evenly matched, but as time went by, he found it increasingly difficult to gauge Doctor Li, feeling that his martial arts progress was astonishingly rapid.

After resting for a while, Li Mo got up again, carrying the Blood Red Flower back to the medical clinic.

And so it went.

The conflict between the Pingshan Society and the Lishan Gang, which began in early spring and continued through the Dragon Boat Festival, and then through the Mid-Autumn Festival, lasted for a full half-year, ultimately ending with the defeat of the Lishan Gang led by Ke Chen'e, the Dragon of Zhenjiang.

Like a falling tree, the birds scattered.

The Lishan Gang was thus wiped from the map of Eighteen Mountain.

The Pingshan Society, after absorbing some of the ruffians from the Lishan Gang and accepting the surrender of some squad leaders, not only restored its cooperative relationship with the three major escort agencies in Songjiang Town but also occupied several trade routes previously controlled by the Lishan Gang. For a time, they were in high spirits.

Li Mo also received a reward of thirty taels of silver for this.

Down the mountain, that was enough to buy a young maiden.

Thinking back to the betrothal gifts required to marry Zhao Siman, which were also thirty taels of silver, he no longer had any desire for these external possessions. Therefore, he was not stingy, and once again generously spent his money, befriending various squad leaders and constantly sparring with them.

For a time, his reputation as a martial arts fanatic even overshadowed his fame as a divine doctor.

This place was a melting pot of people from all walks of life, each with their own past. However, those with long-term goals for the future were few and far between.