Slow Cultivation

Herbalist Wang had his reasons for being so insistent, using both threats and inducements to force Ye Qin to risk his life gathering herbs. As his master, Herbalist Wang was entitled to a cut of the herbs his apprentices collected. Of the herbs Ye Qin gathered, five percent of the value went to him, ten percent to Herbalist Wang, and the rest to the Herb Gathering Hall. Naturally, Herbalist Wang wanted his apprentice to gather as many herbs as possible.

Ye Qin understood this perfectly well, but he simply lowered his head and remained silent.

Over the past year, he had earned sixty silver leaves. He was still far from the one gold leaf required to purchase a low-level secret manual, and without sufficient martial strength, why would he risk his life? The herbs belonged to others, but his life was his own. No matter how he calculated it, losing his life for the sake of gathering herbs was a losing trade. As for Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao, if they wanted to risk their lives, that was their own business.

What troubled Ye Qin was not just the monthly lecture he received from Herbalist Wang.

He was even more anxious about his own cultivation progress.

After a full year of diligent practice, he had only managed to increase the brightness of his white light orb by less than one-tenth. At this rate, it would take him at least ten years just to double the brightness of the orb.

The first, lowest level of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra: Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness required the orb to at least double in brightness to be considered complete. The second level required even more energy, doubling the requirement again.

A simple, rough estimate suggested that completing the first level would take ten years, the second level twenty years, and the third level thirty years.

By the time Ye Qin finished the first, second, and third levels of Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness, he would be a decrepit old man of seventy or eighty, ready to breathe his last.

And his lifespan was only eighty-one years.

This age was clearly carved onto his Primordial Spirit stele, decreasing by one day with every passing day. Although Ye Qin did not know why his lifespan appeared on this stone tablet, over the past year, he had come to believe in it implicitly.

Whenever he thought about dying at the age of eighty-one, a sense of helpless terror would grip Ye Qin's heart. The fear of death was a human instinct, and knowing exactly when one would die only intensified that dread. It had nothing to do with the extent of his courage.

Knowing when he would die, Ye Qin had lost all interest in Herbalist Wang's talk of becoming a master Herb Gathering Artisan, making a name for himself in the Herb Gathering Hall, or marrying and having children.

Beyond this, some changes had also begun to manifest in Ye Qin's body.

The first to third levels of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra: Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness required the practitioner to restrain all "breath" during cultivation to prevent any leakage of vital energy.

The first level required restraining outward "expressions," avoiding emotional fluctuations in his face as much as possible.

The second level required restraining internal "emotions," avoiding fluctuations in his feelings.

The third level required restraining "mental effort," avoiding tasks that would exhaust his mind or cause deep worry.

Doing so helped to conserve all vital energy and accelerate the effects of cultivation. If one could not restrain these things, it would lead to additional loss, slowing down the pace of cultivation to a certain degree.

Ye Qin had just begun practicing the first level, so he had to restrain his expressions.

Throughout this entire year, regardless of wind, rain, thunder, scorching sun, bitter winter, or the mockery of others, he had maintained a single expression: indifference. This was because it was an expression he could maintain year-round without expending any effort.

He also gradually spoke less, as talking easily changed one's expression.

Now, even if Ye Qin's emotions were fluctuating violently within, and his mind was thinking with sharp clarity, his expression remained completely unmoved.

Others did not understand the reason for this; in the eyes of those who knew him, he had undoubtedly become cold and unapproachable.

During his three years as a Herb Gathering Apprentice, Ye Qin had been calm and composed, never aggressive, possessing a natural, dignified youthful aura. He was neither competitive and prone to brawling like Yang Yicheng, who acted like a gang leader, nor was he petty and mercenary like Feng Xiao. Among the five fellow apprentices, Ye Qin had undoubtedly been the easiest to get along with.

Qian Ruoxiu and Sun Ying, the two junior sister apprentices, had both liked to chat with him in secret, sharing interesting things and bringing him pastries they had made specifically for him. Girls always matured earlier than boys and were much more thoughtful, already planning for their futures.

But since he became a formal apprentice, he only saw them occasionally when he returned to the county town once a month. They had so much they wanted to confide in Ye Qin, but each time, he grew more indifferent. He showed no reaction to the joyful things they encountered, as if a stranger were listening to a stranger's affairs. This "heartlessness" broke their hearts, turning their affection into resentment, and they stopped paying him any mind.

What could Ye Qin do, other than feel a trace of bitterness in his heart?

Even if he felt bitter, it was only within his heart; his face could no longer reveal anything other than indifference.

If he was like this with his junior sisters, his relationship with his senior brother Yang Yicheng and junior brother Feng Xiao naturally deteriorated even further.

Once, Yang Yicheng invited Ye Qin to go drinking in town with a group of apprentices from the Hall. Ye Qin refused because he did not want to go to such a crowded place. Yang Yicheng felt that Ye Qin had made him lose face and was not a true brother, and he developed a poor opinion of him.

Feng Xiao, meanwhile, thought Ye Qin was too arrogant. Ye Qin never smiled when greeting him, so he harbored a grudge. The relationship between the fellow apprentices, which had been barely passable, grew increasingly thin over the year. When they met, they would merely exchange a greeting, rarely having the chance to chat.

Herbalist Wang, however, did not care about Ye Qin's changes at all. He himself wore a cold, foul expression all day long. In Herbalist Wang's eyes, Ye Qin's indifference was actually to his liking; it was the proper attitude for a herb-gathering apprentice. What was the point of being enthusiastic? It wouldn't put food on the table. Doing the work well was what mattered.

The only thing that brought Ye Qin comfort was Cheng Daniu.

Every time Ye Qin returned to Zhuqi County, he would visit the Yang Family Smithy to see Daniu. Daniu had become a blacksmith's apprentice, a dark-skinned, sturdy fourteen-year-old lad who could skillfully forge iron farm tools under Uncle Yang's guidance; he was well able to support himself. Daniu was the same as before and did not let Ye Qin's indifferent expression create a rift between them. However, the relationship between them was no longer like that of brothers who shared thick and thin; Daniu now held more awe for him.

Ye Qin felt a sense of desolation. He had seen this look of awe in the eyes of many residents in the county town—it was the awe ordinary people felt for those in the martial world. Still, as long as Daniu was doing well at the Yang Family Smithy, he could rest easy. He could not ask for much more now.

He knew that if this continued, no one would be able to endure his increasingly intense indifference. From the moment he began practicing the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra: Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness, this path was destined to be one he walked alone.