Trying Poisonous Herbs

Ye Qin saw the little fatty too. It was the same boy who had spat at him by the city gate. Ye Qin immediately took off running, weaving through the crowd. His body was weak, and he knew he couldn't beat the fatty, so running was his only option.

The courtyard was tiny, and the little fatty was so fat—and flabby, too—that he couldn't keep up with Ye Qin's slender frame. He chased him for a short while before giving up, panting heavily and shouting curses instead. He seemed furious that Ye Qin had also joined the Herb Gathering Hall, and was staying in the same courtyard.

Fortunately, the other children weren't the sort to go looking for trouble. They lost interest when they saw how Ye Qin's hemp clothes were tattered beyond recognition. The better-off children wore coarse cloth, and even those from poorer households had clean hemp clothes. It was rare to see someone dressed in hemp riddled with holes like Ye Qin.

Ye Qin quietly surveyed the little courtyard and found a safe spot far from the little fatty. In his heart, he hated the boy to the core. The spitting was bad enough, but Ye Qin hadn't provoked him this time, and he had chased him down anyway. When Ye Qin had the strength, he would beat the boy up, even if he was the son of a gentryman.

That evening, servants from the Herb Gathering Hall brought more than a dozen large buckets of thin porridge and more than a dozen big baskets of steamed buns to the courtyard. One of them smiled and said, "Eat your fill tonight. Tomorrow you'll be testing herbs in the main courtyard. You won't have the strength if you don't eat up, and you won't be allowed to eat all day tomorrow!"

The children were already ravenous. They swarmed the food and divided it up in a flash.

Ye Qin was on the older side among them, but his body was weak, so he was no match for the younger children. He forced his way forward with all his might and managed to snatch a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun, wolfing them down. To him, that porridge and bun were the most delicious delicacies in the world.

It was the first time in more than half a year that Ye Qin had eaten so much.

But when he thought of Da Niu outside the main courtyard, grief and anger surged through him. Da Niu was all alone in the county town. How could he survive? If Da Niu died, Ye Qin would be the only one left—the last lonely member of the group from their village who had come out to find food.

The little courtyard had several rooms, but there wasn't enough space for so many children. At most, it could house a few dozen.

Though the children had known one another for less than a day, they had already started forming cliques, splitting into dozens of groups of various sizes.

Ye Qin watched them closely and saw that the groups were divided along clear lines.

Naturally, the children from wealthy households gathered together, the commoners gathered together, and the poor children from the countryside gathered together.

Their accents and clothes gave them away: those from the county town, those from the same nearby town, and those from some rural village all kept strictly apart. None mixed with the others. And no one else was as ragged as Ye Qin, like a beggar. He knew there were probably no other little beggars brave enough to come to the Herb Gathering Hall to apply as Herb Gathering Apprentices. Naturally, no one wanted to stay with him.

The few children of gentrymen among them, including the little fatty, were the smallest group. But they were the most domineering and overbearing, and simply seized the best room in the courtyard without regard for anyone else.

The small cliques of common-born children from the county town didn't dare provoke the gentrymen's children either, and took the remaining rooms.

Most of the other children, who had come from towns and villages, were timid and frail. They didn't dare speak up and could only sleep in the courtyard. Sleeping outside in the night air was a little chilly, but there were so many of them that they could huddle together for warmth.

Ye Qin curled up in a corner of the courtyard and drifted into a fitful sleep. He had a nightmare that night: the sullen face of Herbalist Wang. Ye Qin had already branded this "culprit and instigator" who had driven Da Niu away into his memory. If anything happened to Da Niu out there, Herbalist Wang would have to answer for it.

The next morning.

The largest open space in the Herb Gathering Hall's main courtyard had been prepared. A raised platform and ten small wooden huts had been set up there. Hundreds of children, aged seven to twelve, stood scattered across the open space. They had been driven here on empty stomachs as soon as they got up, to await the herb test.

Not one of them knew how the test would be conducted. They only had a vague sense that it would be dangerous.

Dozens of teenagers, fourteen or fifteen years old, stood around the open space. Their expressions were cold and haughty; they wore matching finery and held wooden swords, keeping order. Anyone who tried to run off would get a few whacks from them.

The children winced at the blows and quickly learned their lesson, not daring to wander. They did as the teenagers told them.

The children speculated about who these older boys and girls were. They were probably Herb Gathering Apprentices recruited in earlier rounds, or disciples of the inner hall. The children couldn't help envying them. The Herb Gathering Hall seemed like a fine place after all. If they could last a few years, they too might wear splendid clothes like these teenagers and learn a few impressive martial arts moves.

Once order had been more or less established, one of the haughty teenagers leaped onto the several-meter-high platform. He cupped his hands to a plump, middle-aged man dressed in silk and said, "Grand Steward Zhang, everything is ready. We can begin the herb test!"

Though he addressed him as Grand Steward Zhang, there was a trace of disdain in the teenager's voice. He was a core disciple of the inner hall, apprenticed to one of the hall's deputy masters. This grand steward was merely in charge of odd jobs. He had no martial arts skills and was beneath the teenager's notice. The teenager only called him steward out of respect for his position.

Grand Steward Zhang didn't seem to mind. If anything, he quite enjoyed the title. He nodded, belly sticking out, and stood on the platform, grandly addressing the children in the courtyard.

"Get in line! Stop pushing! Listen to my instructions. You'll be divided into ten groups, and each group will take its turn testing herbs in a hut. Whether you can become an Herb Gathering Apprentice of the Herb Gathering Hall and enjoy a comfortable life depends on whether you can pass this herb test.

"Here are the rules for the test:

"Each hut contains one hundred different herbs.

"Fifty are poisonous herbs, with varying degrees of toxicity. The mildest ones will make your whole body itch a little if you eat them. The most poisonous can kill you within fifteen minutes.

"Another thirty are harmless herbs. They won't cause pain or any other effects if eaten.

"The remaining twenty are antidote herbs that can treat the effects of poison.

"If you eat fewer than nine herbs before being poisoned, you'll be expelled from the Herb Gathering Hall and rejected.

"If you eat ten, you can become a registered Herb Gathering Apprentice in the outer hall, on probation for six months.

"If you eat twenty or more, you can become a full Herb Gathering Apprentice in the outer hall.

"If you eat thirty or more, you can become a medicine-making apprentice in the inner hall. The more you eat, the better your treatment within the hall.

"If anyone manages to eat between fifty and seventy herbs, you can become a core disciple of the outer hall, apprenticed directly to a deputy hall master.

"But before anyone takes the test, you must sign a life-and-death contract with me. It will state that you are taking the test of your own free will, that no one has forced you, and that you alone will bear responsibility for any accident. No one else will be held liable. You may enter the hut to take the test only after pressing your fingerprint on it. Who wants to go first?"