Separation

At the entrance of the Herb Gathering Hall, a young guard in yellow robes stood with his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the martial artists passing by on the street with an arrogant expression. Because the Herb Gathering Hall was the premier powerhouse in Zhuqi County, and because of the Medicine King Gang's revered status throughout Ping Province, even these gatekeepers carried themselves with an air of superiority seven parts greater than the guards of any other minor faction.

The county yamen runners, who usually ran rampant through the countryside, wouldn't dare let out a peep in front of these gatekeepers. Even ordinary martial artists dared not act wild on the Herb Gathering Hall's turf.

Seeing their intimidating aura, Ye Qin didn't dare approach to ask about the recruitment of herb-gathering boys. He took Daniu and retreated far away, hiding in a corner of the street, peering cautiously into the wide-open gates of the Herb Gathering Hall to see if they were indeed recruiting.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar donkey cart parked by the side entrance of the Herb Gathering Hall.

An old squire was there with his chubby young son, speaking to a man who looked like a steward. He pulled a plump money bag from the cart and shoved it over, his aged face full of fawning smiles. "Grand Steward Zhang, I leave my son's affairs in your hands! Just a small token of my appreciation, please do not refuse."

Looking at the old squire now, one could hardly see a trace of the overbearing attitude he displayed back in the countryside.

Grand Steward Zhang glanced at the silver glint peeking from the corner of the bag and weighed it; it was heavy, likely containing no less than one or two hundred silver coins. Converted to gold, that was only one or two gold coins.

A look of disappointment crossed Grand Steward Zhang's eyes as he said in a lukewarm tone, "Easy, easy! This old man will naturally look after him a bit to ensure he doesn't suffer any mishaps. However, whether he can join the Herb Gathering Hall as an herb-gathering boy depends on your son's own fortune... Actually, if you had enough money, ten times this amount would be best to send your son directly into the inner hall to become an inner-hall disciple and medicine-making boy. My word as Grand Steward carries weight."

The old squire was extremely embarrassed. He was merely a small landlord with a few hundred mu of barren, thin fields; where would he get that much money? Scraping together one or two hundred silver coins had not been easy. Moreover, this year's harvest was poor, making money even scarcer. If not for the fact that he had sired a son in his sixties and loved him dearly, wanting to secure a bright future for him, he would never have spent this fortune to send his son to the prestigious Herb Gathering Hall in Zhuqi County.

The pitiful old squire never considered the difference between the inner and outer halls of the Herb Gathering Hall, nor whether his son could endure the hardships of an outer-hall herb-gathering boy. This money was destined to be wasted.

Seeing the old squire's embarrassment, Grand Steward Zhang knew he couldn't squeeze out any more, so he impatiently took the money and led the chubby boy through the side entrance into the Herb Gathering Hall. The old squire craned his neck in delight, watching his son follow Grand Steward Zhang into the estate before finally driving his donkey cart away.

Within half an hour, at least a dozen more children aged eight to ten were sent into the Herb Gathering Hall by commoners from the city. However, they all entered through the main gate, unlike the old squire's son who had used the side entrance.

Only then was Ye Qin certain that the Herb Gathering Hall was indeed recruiting, and in significant numbers. The two gatekeepers barely questioned the children's backgrounds, letting them straight through. As for the adults, they were all blocked outside the estate and forbidden from entering.

Ye Qin saw the sky darkening and realized it would be too late if he didn't go now.

He gathered his courage, pulled Daniu along, and timidly shuffled up to the two gatekeepers. Not daring to look up, he said, "H-here, is it... are you recruiting herb-gathering boys?"

The two yellow-robed guards laughed, looking at them with disdain. "Ha, two little beggars running here to be herb-gathering boys? Do you think our Herb Gathering Hall is a beggar's den?" "Get lost! Don't dirty the steps of the Herb Gathering Hall!" The two guards, likely afraid of dirtying their own hands, didn't even bother to physically drive them away.

Before they had finished laughing, a man in his forties dressed in green robes walked out slowly, his cold eyes sweeping across the front of the estate.

The two guards' laughter cut off abruptly, and they hurriedly cupped their hands in salute. "Pharmacist Wang, why have you come out, sir!" "The two of us were watching the gate; we didn't know if you had any orders, sir!"

Pharmacist Wang stood with his hands behind his back and snorted.

"Do you not know the rules of my Herb Gathering Hall? When we recruit herb-gathering boys, we never look at their background or origin; as long as they come, we recruit them. What are you two doing? Driving away boys who came to enlist?"

The two guards broke into a cold sweat, not daring to argue, and could only beg for mercy repeatedly.

In the Herb Gathering Hall, the hierarchy was strict.

The status of a pharmacist was extremely high, and there were only a few dozen in the entire hall. They were not people two gatekeepers could afford to offend.

Pharmacist Wang didn't even look at them. "Bring these two little ones inside. Prepare them for tomorrow's medicine testing!"

"Yes, yes!"

Having received their orders, the two guards didn't care about the filth and stench on the two little beggars. They each grabbed one—Ye Qin and Daniu—by the scruff of their necks and strode into the Herb Gathering Hall.

Ye Qin was stunned, not knowing what was happening. But he heard clearly that this Pharmacist Wang intended to take them in, so he didn't struggle. Daniu was too terrified to move, being hauled along by his neck.

"Wait!"

Pharmacist Wang suddenly noticed something and barked a command to stop them.

The two guards halted, at a loss, not knowing why Pharmacist Wang had called them back.

Pharmacist Wang walked up to Daniu and glanced indifferently at the two holes in the boy's calf.

"The tendon in his calf must have been bitten by a wild dog. He'll have trouble walking and will likely be a useless waste in the future. Throw him out! Take the other one inside!"

The two guards immediately realized their mistake and secretly admired Pharmacist Wang's keen eye. One of them hurriedly tossed the injured little beggar outside, while the other hauled Ye Qin inside.

Ye Qin had never expected such a sudden turn of events. He and Daniu were being separated, and he grew frantic, struggling and shouting. Ignoring everything else, he kicked wildly at the guard, trying to break free.

The guard was no pushover. Ignoring the kicking and screaming, he hoisted Ye Qin onto his back like a hawk snatching a chick, rushed through the gates, and headed deep into the courtyard.

Ye Qin shouted in near despair, "Daniu, don't go! Wait for me!"

"Brother Qin!"

Cheng Daniu was tossed outside the gates of the Herb Gathering Hall, crying and struggling. Under the cold, hard gaze of the guard, he didn't dare approach the gate again. He wandered near the estate for the entire night, knowing there was no hope of seeing Ye Qin again, and finally left, limping away into the unknown. The two companions who had set out from their village were torn apart—one inside the Herb Gathering Hall, and one outside.

While Ye Qin kicked and struggled, the guard carried him to an unknown part of the hall, tossed him into a small courtyard, and left him there, locking the gate behind him.

There were guards watching the gate of the small courtyard as well.

Ye Qin scrambled up from the ground, intending to find a way to escape, but when he saw the situation inside the courtyard, he was stunned.

In this small courtyard, there were already hundreds of children aged seven to twelve, both boys and girls. They were divided into dozens of groups, huddled together. Judging by their clothes, these children were from wealthy rural families, commoners from the county town, or poor children from the countryside.

They all looked at Ye Qin with strange expressions. In their eyes, the guards of the Herb Gathering Hall were already figures of status. What kind of person required them to be carried in personally?

Ye Qin had never been around so many strange children. He shrank back and slowly retreated to a corner, trying his best to avoid attracting the attention of the others.

Suddenly, a chubby child in the crowd widened his eyes in disbelief, pointed at Ye Qin, and shouted in terror, "Aren't you that brat from the street? How did you get in? Is this a place for someone like you? Watch me beat you to death!" He clenched his fists and prepared to rush at Ye Qin.