Herb Gathering Hall

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

"Of course. When I spotted that bandit chief in the county seat, I sprinkled some 'Three-Day Tracking Powder' on him. Know what this stuff is? It's the famous tracking powder from the Herb Gathering Hall in the county seat. Just a tiny pinch..."

The constable surnamed Li gestured with his pinky, then continued smugly, "For the next three days, no matter where that bandit chief runs, I, Master Li, can drag him out. But ordinary people can't get their hands on this stuff. If I weren't related to Philanthropist Li of the Herb Gathering Hall, I couldn't have gotten any either."

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

The constables all looked astonished and burst into exaggerated exclamations.

They had already heard the old constable surnamed Li tell this story hundreds of times—more than enough to make them sick of it. But they knew their boss loved to show off this connection, so every time they put on a moved, admiring look and cried out in wonder to please him.

As it happened, the Herb Gathering Hall was very prestigious in Zhuqi County. Its main business was gathering medicinal herbs. It owned thousands of mu of fertile farmland, dozens of storefronts, and had over a thousand retainers and apprentices. It was a vast, powerful household—the strongest in Zhuqi County.

They said that in his early years, the hall master of the Herb Gathering Hall, Philanthropist Li, had been a desperado in the martial world, infamous throughout Zhuqi County. Later, he washed his hands of violence and joined the renowned Medicine King Gang of Ping Province. He became the master of the gang's Herb Gathering Hall, supplying medicinal herbs to the Medicine King Gang. He also earned himself the title of Philanthropist Li in the martial world. Now he was the richest and most powerful man in Zhuqi County, wielding immense influence. Even the county magistrate treated him as an equal.

But the people of Zhuqi County who knew Philanthropist Li's true origins cursed him behind his back as a great villain who devoured people without even spitting out their bones. No one in the entire county was more vicious than him—not even the county magistrate, who crazily squeezed the people for every last drop of their wealth, was half as evil.

The constables all knew this, but they didn't dare say it aloud. They only muttered it to themselves when no one else was around.

The Herb Gathering Hall's position as a powerful household in Zhuqi County was far beyond the likes of these poor county constables, who ran themselves ragged chasing bandits. Never mind hall master Philanthropist Li—even some slightly senior instructor could order these constables around at will.

A young constable saw that Officer Li's wine bowl was empty and hurriedly picked up the large wine jar on the table to refill it. He filled the bowl right to the brim, not a drop too much or too little, pouring with practiced ease.

He ingratiated himself with a smile. "Master Li, I heard something yesterday. It seems the Herb Gathering Hall is going to openly recruit a batch of herb-gathering apprentices under the age of twelve in the county seat. Could you put in a word for my nephew and get him in there to learn a trade? I'll never forget your kindness, Master Li."

The other constables also stopped with their wine bowls in hand and listened, holding their breath. Who among them didn't have a son, nephew, or other relative? If they could get their children or nephews into the Herb Gathering Hall—the most powerful household in Zhuqi County—they'd have something to look forward to and could live comfortably.

Even Ye Qin, hiding in the shadow at one side of the thatched shelter, stiffened when he heard the constable say the Herb Gathering Hall in Zhuqi County was openly recruiting herb-gathering apprentices under twelve. His heart thumped, and he sensed that this might be an opportunity.

Ye Qin immediately risked poking half his head out of the patch of weeds to listen closely to what the constables were saying and find out what was going on.

Officer Li was biting into a beef bone when he heard this. The bone stopped halfway to his mouth, and he looked troubled. "Well, it's true that the Herb Gathering Hall is openly recruiting herb-gathering apprentices. But being a herb-gathering apprentice is absolutely no easy job!"

At that, he seemed to remember something and fell silent.

Officer Li had always liked boasting to the other constables about his connection to Philanthropist Li. But whenever the Herb Gathering Hall came up, he often clammed up, as though he had some reservations.

The constables grew anxious. Why stop talking at such a crucial moment? If he usually kept quiet, fine, but the Herb Gathering Hall was recruiting child apprentices now. It wasn't every day such a good opportunity came along.

They hurriedly brought him meat and poured him wine, taking turns to flatter him. "Master Li, you're related to Philanthropist Li, and no one here knows the Herb Gathering Hall better than you. Tell us about it. How can we get in?"

With bowl after bowl of wine and meat set before him, Officer Li couldn't resist their urging and said:

"Very well. We're all brothers, so today I, Master Li, will give you a word of advice, so you don't suffer later and blame me for not warning you. The Herb Gathering Hall has two divisions: the Inner Hall and the Outer Hall. The Outer Hall trains a batch of herb gatherers to go into deep mountains, old forests, perilous peaks, and ravines—the most dangerous places of all—to gather wild medicinal herbs. The Inner Hall is responsible for sorting, identifying, drying, cutting, and preparing herbs, running the storefronts, transporting medicines, and so on. Its people stay in the county seat most of the time.

"If you have connections and money, and can pull some strings to get into the Inner Hall, then you'll have it easy—sitting around, earning money, and enjoying yourself. It's countless times better than us constables, who work ourselves to death and live by the blade.

"But if you get into the Outer Hall, tsk, tsk... I can't say exactly what goes on in there. Don't say I didn't warn you: when it comes to gathering herbs in the mountains, you're lucky if one or two out of ten make it back alive. It's even more miserable than being a constable.

"The Herb Gathering Hall is one of the Medicine King Gang's branches. The gang is the fifth most powerful faction in Ping Province and runs a tight ship. They don't easily reveal their inner workings to outsiders. If any of you have children or nephews at home and are thinking about getting them into the Herb Gathering Hall, pull strings to get them into the Inner Hall. Never send them to the Outer Hall. If you don't know the truth and recklessly join the Outer Hall, you're asking for death."

The constables were secretly delighted. As long as they knew the truth, things would be easy.

As for pulling strings, wasn't there a connection right in front of them? All that remained was the matter of silver. Using Officer Li's connections would still cost quite a bit. That was a little tricky. These low-ranking constables who ran errands usually couldn't skim much for themselves. Those with some money would think of a way; those without any simply gave up on getting their children or nephews into the Herb Gathering Hall.