Great Fury

The six-month training period for the Herb Gathering Apprentices had come to an end.

That morning, Herbalist Wang distributed one hundred copper coins to each of the five apprentices, including Ye Qin. He granted them the day off to enjoy themselves in Zhuqi County, suggesting they buy some food or necessities. Once they followed the herb gatherers into the mountains tomorrow, they would often be gone for months at a time, leaving them with few opportunities to enjoy the comforts of the county seat in the future.

Ye Qin was incredibly excited. This was the first time he had ever possessed so many copper coins; the sum was nearly equivalent to ten days' worth of food for an average family in the county. If he went to a tavern or restaurant in town, he could even order a small table of wine and dishes to enjoy a hearty meal.

Yang Yicheng praised the decision loudly, "Master may seem cold-hearted, but he doesn't skimp on our pay!"

Feng Xiao and the others nodded in agreement.

The four of them were from the county or its surrounding areas. Since it was a rare day off, they all rushed home after receiving their money to inform their families that they would be heading deep into the mountains to gather herbs and wouldn't be back for a long time.

Ye Qin's hometown was hundreds of miles away, so he had no chance to return.

He strode out of the Herb Gathering Hall, his pockets jingling with copper coins, and wandered alone through the bustling main street of the county seat. On both sides of the street, taverns and teahouses were packed with wealthy patrons, while shops were frequented by young masters and ladies of affluent families. Farmers carried poles laden with fresh melons, fruits, and vegetables, calling out their wares along the way.

Ye Qin was already very familiar with this county seat. As an apprentice of the Herb Gathering Hall, he could feel the subtle shift in how he was perceived. At the very least, the commoners in town looked at his specialized Herb Gathering Hall uniform with a sense of awe; they no longer dared to bully him as just an eleven-year-old boy, treating him instead like someone of status.

Even the beggars huddled in the corners of the alleys dared not approach him.

Thinking back, five months ago, he had been nothing but a little beggar who only dared to walk with his head down, dodging everyone he saw. How could he have walked down the street with his head held high like this, without needing to avoid anyone? Even the martial artists carrying swords and bundles would at least look him in the eye, rather than ignoring him entirely.

Ye Qin felt a mix of exhilaration and heartache. He wondered where Daniu was now, whether he was still alive, and if he was even in this county. If he ever returned to his hometown, how would he explain things to Daniu's parents?

As he pondered this, lost in thought, he found himself in an unfamiliar area where the sounds of kicking, shouting, and screaming drifted from a nearby alley.

A hooligan leader in his twenties was barking orders at three or four ruffians slightly younger than himself, kicking and beating a dirty, foul-smelling little beggar while shouting, "Listen here, brat! Where is this month's protection money? You're begging in our county seat without paying your dues? Do you have a death wish? Beat him hard!"

The ruffians were enjoying the violence, ignoring the little beggar's pained cries.

Ye Qin saw this group head-on and couldn't help but pause. He had a vague impression of these people; when he first wandered into Zhuqi County, he had been bullied by similar thugs, though he had forgotten their faces. Yet, the cruelty in their actions was exactly the same.

A nameless fire ignited in his heart. If it hadn't been for the bullying of such thugs back then, he and Daniu would have at least been able to scrape together a living in the county instead of fleeing to the wilderness to forage, which had led to Daniu being bitten by wild dogs. They were here bullying someone again—they truly deserved to die.

He was no longer afraid of these low-life thugs.

Ye Qin lunged forward without a word, lifting his foot and kicking the hooligan leader in the leg. Despite being only eleven, he had practiced internal energy and undergone high-intensity training for over half a year, granting him considerable brute strength. An ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts might not be his match.

"Ouch!"

The hooligan, caught off guard by the sudden kick, stumbled and fell to the ground, face-planting into the mud. Seeing it was only a young boy, he flew into a rage.

"Damn you! Where did this little brat come from, daring to kick your grandfather!"

The other ruffians abandoned the little beggar and turned to pounce on Ye Qin. The four or five of them swarmed him, surrounding him to land their blows.

Ye Qin fought them all single-handedly without a hint of fear. After taking a few punches, he realized that these thugs were unsteady on their feet; their strikes lacked any real force, feeling soft and weak, like mere tickles against his body. They didn't even possess a fraction of Yang Yicheng's strength. He could easily withstand a blow or two from Yang Yicheng's iron fists.

"Pah! I'm the one who's your grandfather!"

Ye Qin stopped blocking altogether. He leaped at the hooligan leader, pinned him to the ground, and unleashed a flurry of over a dozen punches. In an instant, the leader's face was a bloody mess, his nose gushing blood as he wailed and begged for mercy, "Oh mother, it hurts! Stop, please! You're the grandfather, I'm your grandson, just stop!"

The other ruffians, seeing Ye Qin's ferocious, death-defying assault, retreated in terror. After backing away a dozen steps, they turned and fled, not daring to look back as they went to fetch reinforcements.

Ye Qin did not stop just because the leader begged for mercy. He beat the man until he was half-dead, his entire face swollen, venting all the anger in his heart before finally ceasing.

The little beggar, who had been curled up protecting his head while being kicked, noticed the thugs had stopped and were instead screaming in agony. He cautiously peeked out with his soot-covered, dirty face, staring blankly at Ye Qin.

"Qin... Brother Qin!"

The little beggar's voice trembled, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Ye Qin heard the voice and was stunned, looking down at the little beggar lying in the alley.

"Daniu, it's you!"

"It's me, Brother Qin!"

Seeing Ye Qin, the little beggar burst into loud, wailing sobs.

Ye Qin hurried over to help him up, and the two children from the same hometown embraced and wept. Ye Qin had assumed that after their parting at the gates of the Herb Gathering Hall, they would never see each other again. He never expected that after half a year, they would meet once more.

After they finished crying, Daniu wiped his tears and recounted his experiences over the past half-year.

It turned out that Cheng Daniu hadn't been driven away from the Herb Gathering Hall because of his leg injury. However, not wanting to be separated from Ye Qin, he had lingered around the hall, hoping to see him. He was soon discovered by a local gang of thugs who wanted to train him as a petty thief. The plan failed because his leg injury made him too slow to run, and the gang eventually abandoned the idea.

Daniu had been begging in the county ever since. But the other beggars in town often bullied and drove him away, and the thugs frequently demanded protection money from him.

Hearing this, Ye Qin felt a surge of hatred and returned to the hooligan leader, kicking him several more times.

Suddenly, at the mouth of the alley, twenty or so burly men in green shirts carrying heavy clubs came running toward them, led by the three or four ruffians. The leader, a hulking man in cloth robes carrying a rusted axe, shouted wildly, "Alright! Where's the brat who dared to bully my Wild Dog Gang? I'll smash his bones to pieces!"

"Boss, that's the kid right there! He hasn't run away yet! Show him your power and skin him alive!"

The ruffians shouted excitedly, running at the front.

Ye Qin looked toward the alley entrance and was shocked. He hadn't expected the ruffians to bring such a large group of reinforcements so quickly. He could handle three or four unarmed thugs, but twenty men armed with clubs and axes were far beyond his current capabilities. How could he escape?

He scanned the end of the alley quickly, preparing to take Daniu and flee.

However, things did not unfold as Ye Qin had imagined.

The hulking man caught sight of Ye Qin's attire and the prominent herb-leaf emblem on his chest. He suddenly froze, his eyes shrinking as if he had seen a venomous snake or scorpion, revealing a trace of terror.

He had assumed that some other gang in the county had beaten his subordinates, but how could it be someone from the Herb Gathering Hall?

The Herb Gathering Hall was the number one unreasonable, powerful clan in Zhuqi County, with over a thousand disciples who were all ruthless and valued money over life. If one accidentally offended a single disciple, they wouldn't even know how they died.

His small, bottom-tier gang of a few dozen ruffians wasn't even worth a flick of the finger to such people; how could he dare to touch someone from the Herb Gathering Hall?!

Don't be fooled by the fact that he is just a teenage boy from the Herb Gathering Hall; who knows if he has older brothers, sisters, uncles, or aunts backing him? If they were to provoke someone even slightly formidable, the Wild Dog Gang would become nothing more than a piece of history in Zhuqi County.

The burly man's face turned pale with fright. He suddenly flew into a rage, raining four or five heavy slaps across the faces of those ruffians. "You bastards, are you blind? Can't you see this is a big brother from the Herb Gathering Hall?! Hurry up and kowtow to apologize to him!"

The ruffians were left dizzy and disoriented by the burly man's heavy slaps. They collapsed onto the ground, frantically kowtowing to Ye Qin and Cheng Daniu while wailing loudly.

"Big Brother, Master~, we were wrong!"

"Please, sir, don't take offense!"

Ye Qin was so startled that he retreated several steps, his face full of astonishment.

Daniu, feeling a bit fearful, carefully shrank behind Ye Qin to watch the members of the Wild Dog Gang. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, unable to close; Brother Qin seemed to have become very formidable.