The Big Worm (Please Follow)

Then she spoke plainly. "Young Master Li, I imagine Zhao Qin has already explained in his letter that I invited you here today for something other than a match."

"I know my status is lowly and that I'm not worthy of someone like you."

She began by taking a step back to advance, adopting a humble posture and offering Li Yuan a gentle compliment.

Only then did she get to the point. "I invited you here because I need your help.

"My father went into the mountains to gather herbs a few days ago and was unfortunately injured by a black bear. His left arm was hurt, so he can't go into the mountains to gather herbs anymore.

"Our family is short on herb gatherers now. And with turmoil cropping up everywhere lately and grain prices starting to rise, it's hard to avoid running into people who like to cause trouble."

Su Wan paused. Seeing that Li Yuan had made no response, she continued:

"I may need you to retrieve some precious medicinal herbs. Also, if trouble comes knocking, I'd like to ask you to help deal with it.

"I know you practice martial arts and need good things to replenish your qi and blood. We truly can't afford to hire a martial artist at the Stone Skin Realm, but my family has several maps marking where precious herbs grow.

"If you agree, I can give them to you as payment."

When she had finished, Su Wan quietly watched Li Yuan and said no more.

She had left the decision entirely in his hands.

Listening to Su Wan, Li Yuan had to admit that she was clever.

She knew that what he needed most right now was resources to replenish his qi and blood.

Sometimes, even if you had silver, you couldn't necessarily buy anything good. Take the Red Rhino Meat he'd eaten last time, or the Black Paste from Yang Chong.

Those were the sort of things other martial artists would be loath to part with, let alone sell easily.

Precious herbs would certainly help her cultivation. And going into the mountains to gather herbs and hunt was indeed a good choice.

As for protecting the Su Family, that would be little more than a favor for him.

Li Yuan looked at Su Wan but didn't agree right away. Instead, he asked, "You're telling me all this just like that. Aren't you worried I'll take the maps and then go back on my word?"

Su Wan smiled faintly, her tone certain. "I trust the people Zhao Qin recommends."

She didn't trust Li Yuan; she trusted Zhao Qin's character.

Li Yuan nodded. This woman was clearheaded and straightforward. He liked that.

"All right. I'll take the job."

Seeing that Li Yuan had agreed, Su Wan said nothing more. She went inside, brought out a wooden box about a foot long, and pushed it over to him.

"Since you've agreed, I won't stand on ceremony.

"The shop is short on a few medicinal herbs right now. The maps in the box show roughly where they grow.

"The Blood Orchid is especially urgent. It would be best if you could bring it back within five days."

Li Yuan opened the box. Inside were several maps.

He looked through them and found that, besides the maps showing where the herbs Su Wan had mentioned grew, there was another, far more detailed map.

"Is this a map of the mountain forests within dozens of miles?" Li Yuan asked, surprised.

He studied it closely and saw that it carefully marked the areas where fierce beasts often roamed, as well as routes that used the terrain to avoid danger. It had been drawn with great care.

No wonder these herb gatherers dared to go into the mountains. If they followed the map and steered clear of danger, they could find the herbs they wanted as efficiently as possible.

With this map, he wouldn't have to waste time searching for fierce beasts. It would make hunting easier, and he could even seek out beasts to speed up his progress with the Five Animals Fist.

These maps had probably been passed down through generations of herb gatherers. To Li Yuan, they were practically priceless.

"Whew..."

"Good thing I wasn't late this time. I hit the jackpot." Li Yuan let out a breath, finally at ease.

After leaving the Hundred Herb Hall, he found the small gang he was affiliated with and told them to keep an eye on the Hundred Herb Hall.

When he got back to his room, he studied the map carefully. Before long, he spotted a mark not far from where the Blood Orchid grew. Beside the words "suspected Big Worm activity," someone had drawn a simple tiger's head.

According to the map, it was somewhere in the mountain forest about twenty miles outside Wuxi County.

"Perfect." Li Yuan's eyes lit up.

He'd been troubled by how slowly he was making progress with the Five Animals Fist, and he couldn't find a suitable beast to practice the Tiger Form Fist on. This was a gift from heaven.

He didn't waste any more time. He tucked away the map.

Then he took his bow and arrows, a short knife, and some essentials—lime and poison powder—and headed straight out of the city.

At Li Yuan's current pace, he covered the twenty miles in no time.

Following the map, he gathered the medicinal herbs Su Wan needed without much trouble.

Although the herbs grew in remote spots, with his current Stone Skin strength, retrieving them was a piece of cake.

Along the way, he also killed two venomous snakes that tried to ambush him. They couldn't even pierce his defenses; they'd chipped their teeth on him.

He finished gathering the herbs while the sun was still high.

Li Yuan unfolded the map and checked it against his current position.

"Five miles northeast." Li Yuan looked toward the mountain hollow not far away.

He hadn't gone far when a faint smell of blood drifted over on the wind.

Li Yuan readied an arrow, crouched down, and crept closer without a sound.

He parted the thick undergrowth. In a clearing ahead, an enormous tiger was bent over, gnawing at a corpse that had long since become a bloody mess.

Judging by its shape, it was obvious the person had been caught by... something.

These days, even fierce beasts had started eating people.

"That thing looks pretty fierce..." Li Yuan sized up the Big Worm, weighing his chances.

It wouldn't be good if he lost.

He felt the arrows in his quiver, wondering whether to smear anesthetic on the tips.

But then he thought better of it. He was here to hone his fist techniques, and using drugs might ruin the effect.

A fight to the death was the best way to bring out his potential.

"Damn it, I'm going for it! With one arm, I reckon I've got two or three hundred jin of strength now, and my Stone Skin defense has increased greatly. One swipe shouldn't kill me. If I can't beat it, I'll run.

"If I can, this'll be a great sparring partner I can practice with every day. I'll finish it off once I've gotten what I need from it."

Li Yuan made up his mind. High risk, high reward. If he wanted to speed up his cultivation, how could he do it without paying a price?

With that thought, Li Yuan stopped hiding and deliberately snapped a branch with a crack.

The Big Worm immediately raised its head. Its amber eyes spotted Li Yuan at once, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.

It was warning him not to come closer.

Fierce beasts like this generally didn't want to hunt again for a while after eating their fill.

Li Yuan took a deep breath and assumed the opening stance of the Tiger Form Fist. His qi and blood stirred faintly as he shifted his feet and slowly approached.

"ROAR!!"

When Li Yuan finally entered its sensitive safety range, the Big Worm flew into a rage and let out a deafening roar.

It abandoned the food at its feet, kicked off with its hind legs, and lunged at Li Yuan in a rush of foul wind, moving incredibly fast.

Li Yuan didn't dare meet it head-on. He shifted his steps nimbly and dodged to the side.

The Big Worm missed. Its claws raked several furrows into the earth.

It reacted with astonishing speed. The instant it landed, its thick tail whipped back like an iron staff.

Li Yuan dodged the sweep and took the chance to step in, his right fist clenched as he struck the tiger's soft abdomen.

"Thud!"

His fist landed solidly, but it felt like he'd punched tough ox hide. The sensation was unpleasant.

The Big Worm howled in pain and fury, twisted its body, and swung a forepaw straight at Li Yuan's head.

Li Yuan hurriedly raised both arms to block. A faint gray-white glow shimmered across them.

"Smack!"

A tremendous force slammed into him. Li Yuan's arms went numb, and he staggered back three steps before regaining his balance.

"Good grief, that swipe must have had three or four hundred jin of force!" Li Yuan was secretly shocked, but then he felt a surge of delight. "Good thing I can take it."

Now that he had a rough idea of the beast's strength, Li Yuan felt much more at ease.

He stopped dodging and began attacking, treating the Big Worm as the perfect sparring partner.