Herb Gathering Hall

The gaunt, sallow-faced middle-aged bailiff grabbed the last beef bone from the plate and took a bite of the meat.

"That goes without saying. Back when I, Master Li, first spotted that bandit leader in the county seat, I sprinkled him with 'Three-Day Tracking Powder.' Do you know what this stuff is? It's the renowned tracking powder from the Herb Gathering Hall in the county. Just a tiny pinch is enough—"

The bailiff surnamed Li gestured with his pinky finger and continued with a smug look: "Within three days, no matter where that bandit leader flees, I, Master Li, can drag him out. But this stuff isn't something just anyone can get. If I weren't related to Philanthropist Li of the Herb Gathering Hall, I wouldn't have been able to get my hands on it."

"Master Li is related to Philanthropist Li of the Herb Gathering Hall?"

The other bailiffs all wore expressions of shock, letting out a chorus of exaggerated gasps.

Although they had heard this story from the old bailiff more than several hundred times and were long since sick to the point of nausea, they knew their boss loved to flaunt this connection. Thus, they always put on a show of being moved and amazed to curry favor with him.

Come to think of it, the Herb Gathering Hall was quite prestigious in Zhuqi County. Its main business was gathering herbs, and it possessed thousands of acres of fertile land, dozens of storefronts, and over a thousand retainers and apprentices. With such vast assets, it was the number one wealthy and powerful clan in Zhuqi County.

It was said that the master of the Herb Gathering Hall, Philanthropist Li, had been a desperate outlaw in the pugilistic world in his early years, notorious throughout Zhuqi County. Later, he washed his hands of the killing, joined the renowned Medicine King Gang of Ping Province, and became the master of their subordinate Herb Gathering Hall. He supplied herbs to the Medicine King Gang, earned the title of "Philanthropist Li" in the martial arts world, and had since become the wealthiest tycoon in Zhuqi County, wielding immense power and even associating with the county magistrate as an equal.

However, the common folk of Zhuqi County who knew Philanthropist Li's true background would curse him behind his back as a great villain who would devour a person without even spitting out the bones. Throughout the entire county, he was the most wicked of all—even the county magistrate, who crazily squeezed the people for every penny, wasn't half as evil as he was.

The bailiffs all knew this, but they dared not speak it aloud, only daring to mutter it in their hearts when no one was around.

The Herb Gathering Hall's status as a local powerhouse was something that they, these poor bailiffs who ran errands and worked themselves to the bone catching thieves, could never compare to. Never mind Philanthropist Li himself; even a slightly senior master from the hall could order them around at will.

A young bailiff saw that Master Li's wine bowl was empty and hurriedly picked up the large jar on the table to refill it. He poured it exactly to the brim—not a drop more, not a drop less—his technique appearing incredibly practiced.

He fawned, "Master Li, I heard something yesterday. It seems the Herb Gathering Hall is going to publicly recruit a batch of herb-gathering boys under the age of twelve in the county seat these next few days. Could you put in a good word for me so my nephew can get in and learn a trade? I will never forget your kindness, Master Li."

The other bailiffs also stopped what they were doing and held their breath to listen. Who among them didn't have a son, a nephew, or some other relative? If they could secure a good livelihood for their kin at the Herb Gathering Hall, the number one powerhouse in Zhuqi County, they would have something to look forward to and could live a comfortable life.

Even Ye Qin, who was hiding in the shadows on the side of the shed, was startled when he heard the bailiff say that the Herb Gathering Hall was publicly recruiting herb-gathering boys under twelve. His heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely felt that this was an opportunity.

Ignoring the danger, Ye Qin immediately poked half his head out from the weeds to listen carefully to what the bailiffs were saying, wanting to see what exactly was going on.

Master Li was chewing on the beef bone, but upon hearing this, he stopped mid-bite, a look of difficulty crossing his face. "About that... it is true that the Herb Gathering Hall is recruiting herb-gathering boys. But being an herb-gathering boy is definitely not a good job!"

Having said that, he thought of something and refused to say more.

Master Li had always liked to brag about his kinship with Philanthropist Li in front of the other bailiffs, but whenever the subject of the Herb Gathering Hall's internal affairs came up, he often clammed up, seemingly having some reservations.

The bailiffs grew anxious; why stop now at such a critical moment? They could overlook his silence at other times, but with the hall recruiting apprentices, such a good opportunity didn't come around every day.

They kept bringing him meat and wine, taking turns to curry favor: "Master Li, you are Philanthropist Li's relative; you know the Herb Gathering Hall better than anyone here. Just tell us brothers about this place—how can one get in?"

With bowl after bowl of wine and meat served up, Master Li couldn't resist their persuasion and said:

"Fine, since we're brothers, I'll teach you a lesson today so you don't suffer later and blame me for not warning you. The Herb Gathering Hall is divided into two sub-halls: the Inner Hall and the Outer Hall. The Outer Hall specializes in training herb gatherers to go into deep mountains, old forests, dangerous peaks, and mountain streams—the most treacherous places—to pick wild herbs. The Inner Hall is responsible for identifying, grading, drying, slicing, and processing herbs, as well as managing the storefronts and transporting goods; they usually stay in the county seat."

"If you have the connections and the money to pull strings to get into the Inner Hall, that's the life—sitting around, getting paid, and enjoying yourself. It's countless times better than us bailiffs who work ourselves to the bone and lick blood off the edge of a blade."

"But if you end up in the Outer Hall, tsk tsk, I can't tell you what it's really like inside. Don't say I didn't warn you—that job of gathering herbs on the mountains? If one or two out of ten survive, that's considered good. It's even more miserable than being a bailiff."

"This Herb Gathering Hall is a branch of the Medicine King Gang, the fifth largest powerhouse in our Ping Province. They manage things strictly, and many inside stories aren't easily revealed to outsiders. If you brothers have nephews you're planning to get into the Herb Gathering Hall, pull strings to get them into the Inner Hall; never let them go to the Outer Hall. If you don't know the truth and rashly join the Outer Hall, you're just looking for death."

The bailiffs were secretly overjoyed; as long as they knew the truth, things would be easier to handle.

As for pulling strings, wasn't there one right in front of them? The rest was just a matter of silver. Using Master Li's connections would also cost a fair amount of silver. This part was a bit tricky; as bottom-tier bailiffs, they didn't get much in the way of kickbacks. Those with some savings started racking their brains, while those without simply gave up on the idea of getting their kin into the Herb Gathering Hall.