Shabby

The herb storage house was quite large and remarkably tidy, filled with rows of woven shelves where various herbs were categorized and stored.

Deep inside, there was a slightly smaller room. The herbs kept there were different from those outside; they were items prepared for the Barbarian Warriors of the tribe, and ordinary tribespeople were not permitted to enter.

Even for the tribal physicians, entering that room—which was of vital importance to the entire Wu Mountain Tribe—usually required a written note from the Chief or Grandpa.

However, these regulations did not apply to Su Ming. Long ago, Grandpa had granted Su Ming a special status, allowing him to enter at will to facilitate his study of the herbs.

Stepping into the house, Su Ming saw Bei Ling holding Chen Xin's hand ahead of him, walking toward the small room filled with precious medicine. Outside the door sat an old man cross-legged. He wore animal-hide clothing and was thin and frail, with white hair and a face covered in wrinkles. He had been sitting with his eyes closed, but now he opened them a slit, took the note handed over by Bei Ling and Chen Xin, glanced at it, and then closed his eyes again without the slightest change in expression.

Su Ming slowed his pace. He knew Bei Ling did not wish to see him, so he remained silent and did not follow them into the small room. Instead, he walked around the rows of shelves outside. Looking at the many herbs on them, Su Ming felt a sense of familiarity; he had personally gathered almost every type of herb here at some point.

By the time he had finished looking at everything, Bei Ling and Chen Xin had still not emerged. Su Ming hesitated, his footsteps faltering outside the small room.

"Little Lasu, what are you hesitating for?" Amidst his hesitation, an aged voice reached his ears. He looked up to see the old man who sat cross-legged outside the small room, the one who guarded this place year-round.

"Grandpa Nan Song, I am no longer a Lasu..." Su Ming scratched his head and smiled.

"Ah, I remember now. Your generation of Lasu completed their Barbarian Awakening a few months ago. I suppose I can't call you Little Lasu anymore." The old man grinned, his eyes filled with kindness.

"Since you're here, why don't you go in? Don't be afraid, Grandpa Nan Song is here to back you up! Back in my day, I even dared to compete with your Grandpa for a woman, so what is there to fear!" The old man winked, joking as he spoke.

Su Ming's eyes widened. This was the first time he had ever heard such a thing. After a moment of hesitation, he gave a wry smile, pushed open the door to the small room, and walked inside.

He wasn't hesitating because of Chen Xin, as the old man had suggested, but because he didn't know how to explain himself to Bei Ling, who had been a benefactor to him. After all these years, the other man remained as cold and indifferent as ever.

Forget it... Su Ming sighed inwardly. The moment he pushed open the door, he saw the imposing figure standing beside Chen Xin, who was busy selecting herbs. The man turned his head, frowned, and shot him a cold, icy glare.

After meeting his gaze, Su Ming walked toward a shelf on the side. Ignoring the two of them, he began to examine the herbs, looking for the ones he remembered were needed to refine Mountain Spirit Powder.

Chen Xin also saw Su Ming. She had the urge to say something, but after a moment of hesitation, she remained silent. As she grew older, she had come to understand many things, and she was well aware of her relationship with Bei Ling. The faint stirrings of affection she had felt for Su Ming in her childhood had slowly faded away.

"Night Marrow Grass..."

"Thousand Leaf Flower..." Su Ming walked slowly through the small room, his eyes scanning the precious herbs until he finally found the two types he needed to refine the Mountain Spirit Powder.

It's a pity the last one is missing... Su Ming pondered, having looked over every herb in the small room.

By now, Chen Xin and Bei Ling had finished selecting their herbs. After Chen Xin greeted Su Ming in farewell, she was pulled away by Bei Ling as they exited the room. Before leaving, Bei Ling paused, not looking back, and spoke calmly.

"You do not possess a Barbarian Body; these herbs are useless to you! It would be better to leave them for other tribespeople than to waste them. Suit yourself." With that, Bei Ling left with Chen Xin.

Su Ming stood in silence, watching their departing figures. He said nothing, and after checking the small room once more, he took the two herbs he needed and left.

The old man sitting cross-legged at the door did not mind that Su Ming had taken the herbs; instead, he watched Su Ming with an intrigued expression.

"Grandpa Nan Song... it's not what you think..." Su Ming rubbed his nose.

"What is it that I think? I didn't say a word about the complicated relationship between you and those two little Lasu, I certainly didn't." The old man laughed heartily.

Su Ming's face flushed, and he felt somewhat awkward. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he crouched down to look at the old man.

"Grandpa Nan Song, have you ever seen this herb?" Su Ming asked, drawing a pattern of the herb on the ground.

The old man smiled, looked down, and fell into deep thought. A moment later, he slapped his forehead.

"Isn't this a Luoyun Leaf? We don't have this herb in Wu Mountain. It requires a special environment to grow. Among the nearby tribes, only the Fengzhen Tribe sells it. Why do you want it?"

"I saw it in a leather scroll at Grandpa's place, but I searched all over Wu Mountain and couldn't find it. So that's what it looks like." A look of realization dawned on Su Ming's face.

"Of course you couldn't find it. It's a decent cultivation medicine for low-level warriors in the Blood Condensation Realm. Even if the Fengzhen Tribe sells it, the price is very high. However, if you really want it, you could ask your Grandpa to take you to the tribal market outside the Fengzhen Tribe. There are often all kinds of herb trades and sales there." The old man shook his head with a smile.

Su Ming's heart stirred. After asking a few more questions, he stood up to bid the old man farewell and hurried away, under the old man's playful gaze, which was still lingering on the earlier scene.

Stepping out of the herb storage area, Su Ming walked through the tribe, his feet crunching in the snow, lost in thought.

"Luoyun Leaf... I can gather all the other herbs for the Mountain Spirit Powder myself, but this Luoyun Leaf... Grandpa Nan Song said it's very expensive... Sigh." Su Ming frowned and checked his pockets. Aside from a few stone coins he had scavenged from the body of Yu Chi of the Black Mountain Tribe, he had no other money.

Within the tribe, people usually bartered goods, and money was rarely needed. But once one left the tribe and entered the outside world, stone coins were required to trade for necessities.

Stone coins were a currency made from a special type of stone, minted only by large tribes. Anyone caught privately minting them would face the threat of total annihilation by the large tribe that controlled the region.

After searching his entire body, Su Ming only found three stone coins, all belonging to the deceased Yu Chi. As for Su Ming himself, he didn't have a single one.

"Without money, how can I buy it... If only I had a hundred... or a thousand stone coins... As for the tribal market, I've heard Grandpa mention its general location. Once tribespeople become Barbarian Warriors, they can go there in groups. It's not too far from here..." Su Ming gave a wry smile, a dull headache beginning to throb.