Origin Mulberry Wine

As the sun slanted toward the west, the Origin Mulberry Trees spread across more than a thousand mu of Emerald Cloud Valley were bathed in golden afterglow.

After practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once more, Shen Mu collapsed onto the grass, gasping for breath. Scarlet sweat steamed from his body.

By now, he was so exhausted he could not even be bothered to move a finger.

Not far away, a group of outer disciples carried shoulder poles bearing baskets stacked as high as a man, packed with compressed Origin Mulberry Leaves. They were following the dirt road past the Origin Mulberry Field guarded by Shen Mu, heading toward the valley entrance.

A young man in gang attire walked at the head of the group. He was in charge of managing these outer gang members.

"Hey, brother, practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique?"

Seeing the scarlet sweat steaming from Shen Mu's body, the young man called out to him with a smile from a distance.

Shen Mu propped himself up and smiled. "Yeah. I didn't expect practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique to be so difficult."

"Heh, isn't that what martial arts training is all about? Through a thousand hammerings and a hundred temperings, you forge yourself into a peerless divine weapon."

The young man came over, took the gourd from his waist, and drank. Then he handed it to Shen Mu.

Shen Mu did not stand on ceremony. He took the gourd and gulped from it. The young man watched, heart aching. This fellow really didn't treat himself like an outsider at all.

"Good wine!"

As the wine slid down his throat and into his stomach, a wave of warmth surged through him in every direction. Shen Mu, who had practiced the Army-Breaking Saber Technique all day, immediately felt some of his exhaustion fade.

Unable to resist, Shen Mu took another big gulp. The young man winced, but still forced a smile as he said,

"This wine's brewed from Origin Mulberry Fruits. A gourd like this costs at least one tael of silver."

Brewed from Origin Mulberry Fruits?

One tael of silver per gourd?

Shen Mu's mouth twitched. Those few gulps he had just taken had emptied at least half the gourd.

Looking a little sheepish, he handed it back and said apologetically, "Sorry, brother. I drank half the gourd in one go. How about I buy this gourd from you?"

With that, he started to get up to fetch the silver.

"Hey, brother, no need, no need. What's one gourd of wine?"

The young man hurriedly stopped Shen Mu from rising, then asked, "You look unfamiliar. I take it you just came here to guard the fields?"

Shen Mu nodded and smiled. "I arrived today."

"No wonder."

The young man smiled. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Zhang Bohan, responsible for managing the outer gang members who pick Origin Mulberry Leaves in the valley."

"I'm Shen Mu."

Shen Mu introduced himself in turn.

"Hey, that gang member looks familiar."

At that moment, the outer gang members carrying the baskets had come closer. Seeing Shen Mu talking with Zhang Bohan, they all looked at him in puzzlement.

"Of course he looks familiar. Didn't he train his body at the Martial Arts Arena with us last month?"

Someone recognized Shen Mu. At the Martial Arts Arena, he had trained like a man possessed, barely taking a moment's rest. He had left a deep impression on many people.

"I remember you need at least the First Stage of Boiling Blood to guard an Origin Mulberry Field in Emerald Cloud Valley. Could he have reached the First Stage of Boiling Blood in just one month?"

Someone's eyes widened, and he could not help exclaiming.

"No way, right?"

The group of more than twenty people stopped in their tracks, all staring at Shen Mu in astonishment.

The scarlet sweat still steaming from Shen Mu's body immediately dispelled their doubts.

Only those at the Boiling Blood Stage displayed such an unusual sight when sweating heavily.

It was clear that Shen Mu had reached at least the First Stage of Boiling Blood!

At the thought, everyone's faces turned bitter, their hearts filled with conflicting emotions.

Back then, they had given up on continuing their body training and chosen to come to Emerald Cloud Valley to pick Origin Mulberry Leaves for five taels of silver a month.

Yet just one month had passed, and the outer gang members who had begun body training at the Martial Arts Arena on the same day as them had already reached the First Stage of Boiling Blood. They had become full-fledged gang members and were even responsible for guarding an Origin Mulberry Field.

In just one month, their positions had quietly changed.

Had they made the right choice by coming here to pick Origin Mulberries for money a month ago?

If they had started body training, might they too have made progress by now?

"Why have you stopped?"

Zhang Bohan had no patience for these outer gang members. He called out sharply, "The sun's about to set. Hurry up and carry the Origin Mulberry Leaves you picked to the valley entrance!"

Everyone shrank their necks and started walking again, heading toward the valley entrance.

But by now, they no longer felt fortunate to be earning five taels of silver a month.

Though they had only been in Emerald Cloud Valley for a month, they had already learned that gang members assigned to guard the mulberry fields earned five taels of silver in monthly wages. On top of that, they received one tael from the gang each month, as well as two jin of ungraded beast meat.

All told, reaching the First Stage of Boiling Blood brought in roughly eight taels of silver a month.

Most importantly, once they became gang members, they could continue improving their cultivation while receiving their monthly wages. Unlike these outer gang members, who had to pick Origin Mulberry Leaves all day without a moment's rest just to earn five taels of silver.

Even that five taels was available only during the two months before the Origin Silkworms spun their cocoons, when they needed to eat large amounts of Origin Mulberry Leaves.

Once that period ended, they would have to return to the city and become outer gang members with no wages at all...

"Brother Shen, was what they said true?"

Zhang Bohan looked at Shen Mu and asked with a smile.

Apparently, he had heard what the outer gang members had just said.

Still, the idea that Shen Mu had reached the First Stage of Boiling Blood in a mere month seemed hard to believe, so he wanted to ask him directly.

Shen Mu asked, puzzled, "Brother Zhang, what do you mean?"

"Didn't they say they saw you at the Martial Arts Arena last month?"

Zhang Bohan asked, "Does that mean you'd only been training your body for a month when you reached the First Stage of Boiling Blood?"

"Oh, that."

Shen Mu suddenly understood and laughed. "If they were the outer gang members sent to pick Origin Mulberry Leaves last month, then they probably started body training at the same time as me."

"I was lucky enough to break through to the First Stage of Boiling Blood a few days ago and join Yuan Mulberry Hall. That's how I got assigned to this post."

Watching the outer gang members carry their baskets farther away, Shen Mu sighed inwardly.

Just as he had thought, many people did not know what they were aiming for. They gave up on their long-term plans for the sake of immediate gain.

The main reason to join the Firewood Gang was to become a martial artist. Everything else should come second.

Putting body training on hold to earn money was like abandoning the root and chasing the branches!

In just one month, a vast gulf had opened up between them.

He could chat and laugh with the man managing them. He did not even need to do any work, yet he received a higher monthly wage than they did.

Meanwhile, if they slacked off even a little, their superior would berate them without stopping. They did not even dare show the slightest resentment.

Hearing Shen Mu confirm it, Zhang Bohan's eyes widened. He stared at him in astonishment. "Brother Shen, what kind of monster are you?"

"You reached the First Stage of Boiling Blood in just one month?"

"Do you have an iron stomach?"

"Otherwise, your rate of nurturing qi and blood is far too fast!"

Even after hearing Shen Mu say he had reached the First Stage of Boiling Blood in just one month, Zhang Bohan still found it hard to believe.

After all, for ordinary people who had yet to reach the Boiling Blood Stage, digesting just one jin of ungraded demonic beast meat took at least ten days.

And that was with frenzied body training on top of it.

Reaching the First Stage of Boiling Blood required the qi and blood nurtured by at least ten jin of beast meat—that meant three months.

Now Shen Mu was saying he had done it in just one month. What else could he be but a monster?

"No, Brother Zhang, you're wrong."

Shen Mu shook his head, his expression earnest and serious. "I owe it all to my own hard work!"

Zhang Bohan's face twitched violently.

He could acknowledge Shen Mu's hard work, but that didn't mean he had to be a freak.

He had worked just as hard when he trained his body, but it had still taken him three and a half months. To be absolutely sure, he had digested a full eleven jin of beast meat before attempting the breakthrough—and succeeded in one go.

Now some fellow was saying he had trained for only one month before reaching the First Stage of Boiling Blood?

Then what had all his effort amounted to?

Laziness? Slacking off?

Damn it!

People's joys and sorrows really were not shared!

"Brother Shen, it's getting late. I'll take my leave!"

Zhang Bohan rehung the wine gourd at his waist and walked away, looking as though he were questioning his entire existence.

"Brother Zhang, could I ask you for a favor?"

As if remembering something, Shen Mu called after him.

Zhang Bohan wanted to ignore him, but the words came out before he could stop himself. "What is it?"

Shen Mu said, "I'd like to ask you to help me buy five gourds of wine brewed from Origin Mulberry Fruits."

He had just drunk the wine brewed from Origin Mulberry Fruits, and in only a short while, he had already noticed his strength had recovered by at least a tenth. He could practice the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once more.

With enough Origin Mulberry wine to keep him supplied, he could improve his Army-Breaking Saber Technique faster, allowing the scarlet mist on a branch of the Martial Dao Tree to gather more quickly.

Guarding an Origin Mulberry Field came with a certain degree of danger. Shen Mu was naturally eager to improve his strength so he could deal with any unforeseen trouble.

Only by quickly mastering the Army-Breaking Saber Technique would he have some means of dealing with intruders who came into the valley to pick Origin Mulberry Fruits.

"You don't need to buy this wine. The whole place is full of Origin Mulberry Fruits. Just buy some strong liquor and soak them yourself."

Zhang Bohan called back from a distance, shaking his head before hurrying to catch up with the group ahead.

"Soak them myself?"

Shen Mu stared after him, momentarily stunned. His expression turned odd as he looked at the Origin Mulberry Field he was guarding.

Most of the Origin Mulberry Fruits had yet to ripen, but some of those at the tops of the branches, where they basked in the sunlight, were already ripe.

"Would that count as stealing from the fields I'm guarding?"

"No, this must be one of the unofficial perks of guarding a mulberry field?"

"If Zhang Bohan told me to pick Origin Mulberry Fruits and brew the wine myself, then he must do the same thing..."

"Besides, I don't need many Origin Mulberry Fruits for the wine. Who would know if I picked a few?"

At the thought, Shen Mu felt as if a door to a whole new world had swung open.

Damn, I've been sitting on a mountain of treasure without even realizing it.

I'm improving my cultivation and practicing martial skills. Isn't that also for the sake of contributing more to the Firewood Gang?

What's wrong with taking a bit of my reward in advance?

I absolutely can't let the ripe Origin Mulberry Fruits rot on the branches.

Shen Mu made up his mind. Tomorrow, he would return to the city!