Entering the Mountain

Ye Qin brought Daniu with him and found the Yang Family Smithy in the county town.

He had to find a way to settle Daniu down.

Letting Daniu beg in the streets and suffer humiliation was absolutely out of the question. Having finally found him, he could not let him endure such hardship again. However, given his current status and position, there was no way he could get Daniu into the Herb Gathering Hall as an Herb Gathering Apprentice.

There were few people in the county town with whom he had any connection, only his master and his four fellow disciples were somewhat close. Feng Xiao's family were tenant farmers outside the town, while Qian Ruoxiu and Sun Ying were a tailor and a weaver respectively; none of these were particularly suitable.

After much thought, only the Yang Family Smithy seemed appropriate. It was located right in the county town, and Daniu could learn the craft of blacksmithing, allowing him to earn his own living with his own hands in the future.

When Yang Yicheng had left, he had mentioned where his family's smithy was located, so it was not difficult to find.

Ye Qin soon located the Yang Family Smithy in the residential district in the southeast of the town. It was a small, dilapidated shop with a tattered flag hanging at the entrance. Inside, there was an iron furnace and some hammers used for forging and repairing farm tools like hoes and sickles.

Yang Yicheng was currently helping his father forge iron.

Seeing Ye Qin arrive, Yang Yicheng appeared delighted and hurriedly introduced him to his father as his fellow disciple, someone who was very capable. Old Man Yang was a swarthy, honest, middle-aged blacksmith; upon seeing Ye Qin, he merely nodded with a simple smile, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Ye Qin secretly found it strange how such an honest and simple man could have a son like Yang Yicheng, who was so glib and could never sit still. However, he kept these thoughts to himself, lest Yang Yicheng throw a tantrum.

Ye Qin pulled Daniu, who had been following behind, over and introduced him to Yang Yicheng, explaining his situation and hoping to find him some work at the smithy.

"A small matter!"

Yang Yicheng did not hesitate, immediately patting his chest in agreement before telling his father to let Daniu stay.

Old Man Yang, however, frowned and simply shook his head.

"Father, it's just one more person, isn't it? Wouldn't it be good to have an extra helper at our smithy? My brother is asking for help for the first time; if I can't even do this, how can I face anyone in the future?"

Yang Yicheng grew anxious; Ye Qin had looked after him quite a bit within the sect. If he lost face and damaged their friendship over such a trivial matter, how could he continue to be the senior brother?

Old Man Yang's face turned red for a long time before he finally squeezed out a few words, though they were unclear.

However, Ye Qin understood the gist: the smithy was too small, business was slow, and they couldn't afford to support another mouth.

Ye Qin had left his hometown precisely because his family couldn't afford to support everyone, so he naturally understood the difficulties of a small shop. It wasn't easy to support someone; you couldn't just hire people whenever you wanted. Without enough work, an extra person would only become a burden.

He immediately reached into his robes, pulled out one hundred copper coins, and pressed them into Old Man Yang's hand.

"Old Man Yang, this isn't much, but three copper coins a day should be enough to buy Daniu a few steamed buns, enough to feed him for a month. Any money I earn at the Herb Gathering Hall in the future will be sent here to cover Daniu's food expenses."

Yang Yicheng's face flushed, and he also reached into his robes, pulled out one hundred copper coins, and pressed them into his father's hand.

"Father, I forgot to tell you, Master gave us some money. I don't have any use for it right now, so let's just pool it together for two months of food. We go into the mountains once every month or two, and we'll definitely have more money by then. Just let Daniu stay at the smithy."

Old Man Yang, holding two hundred copper coins, clearly hadn't expected them to produce two months' worth of food money. He stood stunned, then finally nodded.

Yang Yicheng was overjoyed, patting Ye Qin on the shoulder and saying loudly, "See? I told you it was a small matter! Second Junior Brother, your fellow villager will be staying at our smithy from now on!"

Ye Qin was secretly moved. Although his senior brother was usually boisterous and occasionally bullied others, he was righteous when it mattered most.

Having settled Daniu at the Yang Family Smithy, Ye Qin finally left with peace of mind.

The next day.

The thirty or forty Herb Gathering Apprentices of the Herb Gathering Hall officially entered their training period. Divided into ten groups, they left the county town under the guidance of ten Herb Gathering Masters, heading toward the deep mountains and old forests within a radius of hundreds of miles to search for medicinal herbs.

Ye Qin and his four companions followed a young Herb Gathering Master named Xie Ze.

This Xie Ze was a disciple brought up by Vice Hall Master Ji. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, dressed in plain coarse cloth. He was tall and thin, spoke little, and was quite cold. He looked like an ordinary herb gatherer, but if one looked closely at his long, thin hands—sharp as eagle talons—one could see the power of over a decade of practice in the Plum Blossom Folding Hand. In the world of martial arts, he would definitely be a formidable character.

For some reason, Ye Qin always felt that the people of the Herb Gathering Hall, especially the seniors, possessed a cold, indifferent air and looked down on others. This was not due to their cultivation techniques, but rather a trait shared by almost everyone there.

Ye Qin carried a heavy herb basket on his back, filled with ropes, hooks, oil, salt, spices, an iron pot, a water skin, and various cloth and leather bags. He followed silently within five steps of Xie Ze, his footsteps uneven.

The burden of all six people was carried entirely on his back.

After Xie Ze learned about the cultivation techniques they practiced, he assigned roles to the five of them.

The six of them formed a well-coordinated herb-gathering unit. With Xie Ze as the center, they spread out to the front, back, left, and right. Ye Qin followed closely behind him, which was the closest and safest position.

Yang Yicheng, whose external martial arts were powerful, was responsible for clearing the path in front and killing or driving away any wild beasts they encountered. Sun Ying carried a sword and stayed on the left to support Yang Yicheng. Qian Ruoxiu, who had learned the agile Plum Blossom Folding Hand, stayed on the right to capture insects, snakes, and ants. Some of these creatures were valuable and could be used as medicine.

Feng Xiao's light-body technique was not yet needed, so he spent his time drifting around the group within a range of several hundred paces, calling it "scouting." However, it was mostly for show, though he occasionally managed to pick up a few low-value herbs, which counted as an unexpected gain that left him uncontrollably happy.

Ye Qin lacked offensive and defensive capabilities, but he possessed immense stamina. By carrying everything the six of them needed for their expedition, he relieved the physical burden on the other five. Without the extra weight, the others had more energy and could naturally travel faster and further.

Ye Qin had no complaints about this. He knew his own abilities; the introductory chapter of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra, Gathering Qi and Focusing Spirit, had a strange effect that kept his physical energy high, far exceeding his four fellow disciples within a mere six months. However, when it came to fighting, he was likely inferior to any of them and could not unleash the offensive or defensive effects expected of standard internal energy. As the book stated, this manual could only strengthen the physique and prolong life.

While trekking with his heavy load, Ye Qin practiced as he walked. That faint wisp of energy, with every major and minor circulation through his meridians, could dissolve the fatigue in his limbs and help him recover his spent energy in time.

Unfortunately, that wisp of energy seemed difficult to cultivate and strengthen; it always remained a faint, elusive thread.

Each circulation provided a limited amount of physical recovery. If his energy was depleted too quickly, it could not be fully restored.

Fortunately, Xie Ze did not move too fast as they headed toward the deep mountains in the southwest. Once they entered the forest hundreds of miles away, their pace slowed even further. They walked and stopped, observing cliffs and valleys to see if there were any herbs worth harvesting. Occasionally, they would pluck a root, stem, leaf, or flower from the edge of a cliff or riverbank.

After traveling these hundreds of miles, they had inadvertently collected many roots, stems, tubers, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruits, filling dozens of small hemp and leather bags.

Ye Qin had been following within five steps of Xie Ze the entire time, so he saw clearly and couldn't help but secretly admire the sharpness of his senior brother's eyes. Herbs that none of the five of them had noticed were spotted by this senior brother with just a distant glance.