My Three No-Nos

It was late autumn, and the world was filled with a sense of desolation.

The chill drifted in from the north, quietly permeating the streets and alleys. The old parasol trees along the roadside shook off fragmented leaves, staining the long street a pale yellow.

In Qingping County, on Yongning Street, stood Benevolent World Hall.

Lin Qing sat alone behind the counter, holding a yellowed copy of Commentary on the Materia Medica, yet his gaze drifted involuntarily past the cold, quiet hall toward the bustling scene across the street.

Security Hall had just opened there; gongs and drums thundered, lion dancers leaped, and the atmosphere was vibrant and festive.

Several stewards dressed in silk robes were smiling broadly, handing out free anti-plague sachets to passersby, drawing a crowd that was lively and boisterous.

Compared to that, Benevolent World Hall was so deserted that one could hear a pin drop.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at the open ledger on the counter, where the ink marks were sparse.

The most recent entry was from three days ago: Old Woman Wang from the end of the street had bought a qian of styptic powder on credit.

"Sigh, how did it come to this..."

Life was not easy; Lin Qing sighed.

Just a few days ago, he had been nothing more than a corporate slave grinding for performance metrics, but in the blink of an eye, he had become the young master of this pharmacy on the verge of bankruptcy.

Here, there were martial artists who could leap high and move with such power they could overturn rivers and seas, killing people as easily as pinching a chick.

But overturning rivers and seas had nothing to do with him; being the chick that got pinched was a much more accurate description of his current situation.

Every trade in the county was controlled by gangs and martial arts schools.

For an ordinary person without a foundation, trying to get ahead here was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

His predecessor's mother had passed away early, and he had relied entirely on his father and elder sister to raise him through hardship. Although the family had not been wealthy, they had lived in peace.

But a few days ago, with the war in the northern border intensifying, the imperial court forcibly conscripted able-bodied men. Under a single conscription order, his father had been dragged away by fierce, wolf-like clerks to join the troops heading to the frontier, all to take the place of his sickly son.

Now, in this vast home, only he and his elder sister, Lin Wan, were left to rely on each other.

To this day, he still felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

"Ah Qing, what are you daydreaming about?"

"The wind is strong; be careful not to catch a cold."

A gentle, slightly hoarse voice came from behind him.

Lin Qing turned his head to see Lin Wan walking over slowly.

She wore a coarse cloth dress that had been washed until it was pale, and her brows were etched with an irrepressible weariness.

Although her skin was somewhat rough, her figure was shapely and quite beautiful.

"I'm fine, Sister. I was just looking at the weather."

Lin Qing suppressed the turmoil in his heart and squeezed out a smile.

Lin Wan's gaze swept over the empty shop, and the worry in her eyes deepened: "With them opening across the street, I'm afraid our business will be even harder."

Lin Qing knew it was more than just hard.

Benevolent World Hall had reached a point of life and death.

The family savings had long been exhausted to prepare his father's travel pack and purchase necessary items for his survival.

This ancestral pharmacy was the last hope for the two siblings.

Now, however, Security Hall had almost sucked the business out of the entire street with their low prices and a wide variety of pills, powders, and ointments.

Lin Qing set down the book in his hand and closed his eyes to focus.

An ancient scroll, visible only to him, slowly unfurled in the depths of his consciousness:

[Pharmacology (Beginner)]

[Experience Points: 387/500]

This was the Heavenly Dao Record that had accompanied him through his transmigration.

Although it could not directly grant him the hands of a divine doctor, it could convert all his efforts into tangible progress known as experience points.

As long as he remained persistent, he could continuously improve, never trapped by a bottleneck.

While he was deep in thought, the shop door was pushed open.

A clerk dressed in black soap-colored robes stepped inside, his expression cold and rigid.

"Young Master Lin."

Clerk Liu slapped a slip of paper stamped with a red seal onto the counter and spoke coldly: "Next month's market tax is increased by thirty percent."

Without waiting for him to react, Clerk Liu added: "Also, the street is being tidied up. Your old sign is an eyesore. You are limited to replacing it within seven days. You must use a craftsman designated by the government, and you will cover the costs yourself."

Lin Qing picked up the slip and saw the three taels of silver listed as the required fee; his heart sank instantly.

"Official Liu, could you grant us a few days of grace on these three taels?"

"Or, could we use a sign from another craftsman..."

Lin Qing tried to negotiate.

"An extension?"

"These are the county office's fixed regulations; how could they possibly be open to your haggling?"

Clerk Liu glared, his tone chilling.

"Seven days from now, if the requirements aren't met, you will be charged with defying government orders, resulting in the shop being sealed and fined!" Having said that, he let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeves, departing.

Seal the shop?

If that truly happened, then he and his sister would have no way to survive.

This was clearly Security Hall colluding with the clerk.

They wanted to force Benevolent World Hall to its death!

"A-Qing..."

Lin Wan stepped forward, her face somewhat pale.

"Sister, don't worry, I'll find a way."

Lin Qing forced himself to calm down, soothing her in a low voice.

At the same time, his brain raced.

Three taels of silver, seven days—where could he get that?

Lin Wan watched his furrowed brows, then suddenly bit her lip, as if she had made a difficult decision.

She turned and walked quickly into the inner room, returning shortly with a heavy little cloth bag, which she shoved into Lin Qing's hands.

It felt heavy in his palm. Lin Qing opened it to find several hundred copper coins and a jade bracelet inside.

"Sister, this..."

"This is what I've saved from my needlework, along with the dowry Father prepared for me before he passed."

"Take it if you need to; Benevolent World Hall cannot fall."

Lin Qing gripped the cloth bag, still warm from her touch, and looked at his sister's forced composure; a surge of warmth welled up in his heart.

But he still shook his head: "Sister, let's wait until we truly reach that point."

With that, Lin Qing moved to push the bag back.

Lin Wan refused to take it back, saying: "A-Qing, I remember Father had an old friendship with Master Hong of the Iron Thread Fist Martial Hall. Most of their Blood-Strengthening Powder and bruise salves were purchased from our shop in the past."

"If you can refine some decent medicinal powder, you could try to see if you can reconnect with them."

"If you succeed, our shop will be saved."

Lin Qing's heart stirred at these words.

He had prepared the formula for Blood-Strengthening Powder a few times himself.

However, the shop was currently missing many of the medicinal ingredients required for the powder, so he would have to find a way to gather them.

"Sister, I understand." Lin Qing nodded solemnly.

After Lin Wan handed over her private savings to Lin Qing, she headed off to the knitting shop to pick up work.

Before leaving, she repeatedly urged Lin Qing to be polite and accommodating to any customers.

Not long after his sister left, someone else came into the shop.

A mountain dweller wearing coarse cloth attire with a dark complexion peeked in furtively, clutching a cloth bundle.

"Young Master, are you buying medicinal herbs?"

The mountain dweller lowered his voice and opened a corner of the bundle, revealing several roots that looked like ginseng, still covered in fresh soil.

"Freshly dug wild ginseng. I'm in urgent need of money, so I'm selling it cheap..."

His desperate need for funds made Lin Qing's heart skip a beat.

If this were truly wild ginseng, reselling it would immediately resolve his urgent crisis.

He took the bundle and examined it carefully; the shape of the roots was quite deceptive, and the soil was fresh and damp.

Just as he focused, the experience points of the Heavenly Dao Record flickered slightly.

[Identify medicinal herb, experience +12!]

[Pharmacology (Beginner)]

[Experience: 399/500]

Lin Qing instinctively frowned. If this were truly the wild ginseng he had seen before, it would be impossible for it to grant so much experience.

After all, repeatedly identifying the same type of herb yielded almost no experience.

Furthermore, although the rhizome head and the markings on the ginseng were identical to the genuine article, there was an earthy, fishy scent that did not belong to wild ginseng, making him instinctively feel that something was wrong.

"How much?" Lin Qing asked tentatively.

"Two taels of silver, and it's yours."

The mountain dweller quoted a shockingly low price.

Lin Qing's heart rate accelerated abruptly.

Was it a trap, or was this genuine luck?

He took a deep breath; in the end, reason prevailed, and he decided to proceed with caution.

After all, in his conduct and dealings, he had always adhered to a principle of three "don'ts."

First, never do anything where the risk outweighs the reward; without ninety percent certainty, he would never make a move.

Second, if he could run, he would never fight head-on; as long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood.

Third, never do anything that would expose his true strength; the more trump cards one held, the longer one lived.

Moreover, the reputation of Benevolent World Hall was the lifeblood of his father and ancestors; in these precarious times, he absolutely could not let it be ruined in his hands.

"This ginseng... the age seems insufficient, and its medicinal properties are lacking. You should try another shop."

Lin Qing pushed the cloth bundle back, his tone as calm as he could manage.

The mountain dweller was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting to be rejected. He gave him a disgruntled look, tucked the cloth bundle away, and hurried off.

Watching the mountain dweller's retreating back, Lin Qing let out a sigh of relief, yet felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

He had rejected a potential trap, but he had also cut off a chance that might have resolved his current predicament.

"I remember now." Lin Qing patted his forehead as fragmented memories surfaced.

"Father once said that if the shop ever faced a life-or-death crisis, I should carefully examine the Commentary on the Materia Medica. Could there be a hidden mystery within it?"

Recalling his father's instructions, Lin Qing's thoughts raced.

He immediately retrieved the thick Commentary on the Materia Medica and began to flip through it page by page, checking it carefully.

After several hundred pages, he finally discovered a yellowed piece of parchment hidden within the lining.

He unfolded it, and his expression instantly became incredibly vivid.

For written upon it were...

The medicinal herb foraging routes, Of the Lin family ancestors!