Oak Leaf

Zhao Wenjie turned around and looked at the newcomer's figure, his expression cooling slightly.

"Deacon Huang, long time no see. How did you find the time to come down the mountain today?"

"Heh, I was just about to ask Deacon Zhao the same thing. Instead of staying properly in Oak Garden, what are you doing here at my Medicine Peak?"

Li Jun looked at the two of them trading barbs in that strange, acidic tone. There was probably some old grudge between them.

"Deacon Huang, this is my token."

He went around Zhao Wenjie and came to Huang Yi's side.

Huang Yi took the token, nodded, and casually instructed, "Senior Sister has already informed me about your matter. You can go straight to the cowshed on the back mountain. Once you arrive, someone will naturally tell you what to do."

"Yes! This disciple obeys!"

Li Jun cupped his hands, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

"The cowshed? Shen Xiyue actually wants him to feed cows?"

Zhao Wenjie's eyes narrowed slightly. To him, this was not good news.

"Does Deacon Zhao have anything else?"

Huang Yi's voice was cold, and from beginning to end, her face held undisguised distaste.

Zhao Wenjie did not mind this at all, as if he had long since grown used to it.

"Heh, I believe Deacon Huang is worrying too much. I came only to confirm Li Jun's situation. After all, if he were to commit some mistake, as his former superior, I would also have to bear responsibility."

With that said, Zhao Wenjie flicked his sleeve and left, giving Huang Yi no chance to speak.

"That fellow, what rotten scheme is he hatching in his heart now?"

Huang Yi frowned. She did not have even the slightest good impression of Zhao Wenjie.

Within the Azure Cloud Sect, the competition between Medicine Peak and Artifact Peak was known to everyone.

Although Shen Xiyue of their Medicine Peak held the position of chief disciple, she was by no means able to rest easy on a high pillow.

Among them, Yao Yuzhi of Artifact Peak was no weaker than Shen Xiyue, whether in talent or strength.

And this Zhao Wenjie was one of Yao Yuzhi's staunch supporters.

As one of Shen Xiyue's staunch supporters, Huang Yi had also had friction with Zhao Wenjie before, so naturally neither side had any favorable feelings toward the other.

"No matter what crooked ideas you're scheming, as long as Xiyue can perfect the pill formula for the Purple Foundation Pill, the position of young sect master will be nailed to the board."

"When the time comes, with the Elder Council standing on Medicine Peak's side, that Yao Yuzhi won't be anything to fear."

Huang Yi stretched lazily, then turned and walked up the mountain.

Li Jun arrived at the back mountain. Along the way, he had been thinking about why Zhao Wenjie cared so much about him.

He was only a carpenter, yet last night, the other party had not only lain in wait for him at Oak Garden, but this morning had even come to Medicine Peak.

When something was out of the ordinary, there had to be a demon!

But no matter how Li Jun thought it over, he could not figure out why.

"Moo! Moo!"

As he drew close to the cowshed, the continuous calls of cattle rose and fell one after another. Right after that, the grassy stench of cow dung rushed toward his face.

From far away, he saw a petite figure weaving through the cowshed, mixed with scolding directed at the spirit cows.

"Senior Sister, I am Li Jun, a newly arrived outer disciple. Deacon Huang told me to report here."

Li Jun came to the entrance of the cowshed and spoke politely.

"Hm? A new outer disciple?"

The petite figure inside the cowshed stopped, turned, and walked toward the entrance.

She had a thick, long braid, wore standard flax-colored training clothes, and her small face was still smeared with grass ash.

"Senior Sister, I am Li Jun. Having only just arrived, if there is anything improper in how I handle matters, I hope you will be magnanimous."

"Ah, no need to be so polite. We all work here on Medicine Peak. There aren't that many rules."

"My name is Yin Caiwei. Deacon Huang instructed me before. Come in first, and I'll show you around."

Yin Caiwei led Li Jun into the cowshed.

"Our cowshed currently has thirty spirit cows. Your task is to feed them every day, then clean up the cow dung. Every morning, you also have to collect the milk."

"The spirit cows' feed is mainly oak leaves with some spirit herbs added. The oak leaves are delivered regularly every week by the laborers from Oak Garden. As for the other spirit herbs, you need to go pick them every day, and the spring water the spirit cows drink also needs to be changed daily."

Li Jun listened seriously at the side, gaining a rough understanding of this job.

Simply put, the milk of the spirit cows was one of the important auxiliary ingredients for Medicine Peak's alchemy, and every day, he had to provide the pill room with thirty buckets of milk. This was an ironclad rule.

Apart from that, the spirit cows also had to be taken out once a week to stretch their legs, and he also had to ensure their safety.

If anything happened to the spirit cows, not only would he be expelled from Medicine Peak, he might even be expelled from the Azure Cloud Sect.

"Junior Brother Li, have you remembered everything I just told you?"

"I'll remember clearly, Senior Sister."

"Good. I'm sure you can sense it too—these spirit cows are very important to Medicine Peak. Especially since these thirty spirit cows are all premium stock, specially supplied to Eldest Senior Sister. You must be careful, careful, and careful again!"

Li Jun nodded. He more or less understood why Shen Xiyue had sent him here.

"Next, I'll take you through the work here. Also, from now on, you'll be living together with these spirit cows. The conditions in the room are a little crude, but the advantage is that it's a single room, and normally no one will disturb you."

Yin Caiwei introduced everything to Li Jun, and only then did Li Jun learn that she was actually being transferred away.

Once he became familiar with everything here, she would be transferred to the pill furnace to prepare medicinal ingredients, which could be considered a promotion in disguise.

"Senior Sister Yin, how can we make sure the spirit cows produce milk every day?"

Li Jun asked sincerely.

He could tell that the most important part of this job was the milk.

As long as he could provide milk every day in both quality and quantity, everything else was easy to discuss.

"You don't need to worry about that. You only need to feed them according to the specific method, and clean up the cow dung in time so the spirit cows stay in a pleasant mood. They will definitely produce milk every day. This point has already been verified again and again."

Li Jun nodded, then continued asking, "Then what if they produce too much milk?"

Yin Caiwei froze for a moment, then let out a charming laugh. "Junior Brother, according to my experience, even if they produce extra, it's only a few mouthfuls. But to ensure the quantity is sufficient, I usually hand it all in together."

"Of course, if you can make the spirit cows produce one extra bucket, then you'll definitely become famous. When the time comes, perhaps an elder will take you in as a personal disciple, and from then on you'll rise like a yellow crane to riches and rank, with no worries for the rest of your life."

Li Jun smiled. It seemed the spirit cows' output had already been thoroughly figured out.

However, if he was the one raising them, the situation might not necessarily be like that.

He did not know what that so-called specific feeding method was.

But if he could trigger an entry, perhaps he really could make these spirit cows produce more milk.

From now on, he would be the only one here anyway.

As long as he could guarantee thirty buckets of milk every day, if there was any extra, wouldn't the rest belong to him?

Thinking of this, Li Jun felt somewhat excited.

Right now, he was extremely lacking in cultivation resources. Not only was this milk full of abundant spiritual energy, it could also nourish the body. It could not be more suitable for the current him.

"Junior Brother, I won't waste more words. Come with me. I'll teach you the specific feeding method."

Yin Caiwei brought Li Jun to the storeroom nearby. Piled here were the oak leaves and other spirit grasses the spirit cows needed.

The two of them arrived at the storeroom, but the moment Li Jun saw the oak leaves inside, he sensed that something was off.

These oak leaves—why were they defective goods?

"Senior Sister Yin, have these oak leaves always been like this before?"

"Yes. These were all selected by Oak Garden after screening. Look, the color is still quite good. Although I don't understand much about it either, the spirit cows are still very willing to eat them."

Li Jun's gaze flickered. He seemed to understand a little why Zhao Wenjie had made a trip here specially.

As a carpenter who had worked in Oak Garden for ten years, Li Jun was much more meticulous than others.

The others merely buried their heads and worked, but he had still used his brain.

He understood the living habits of those oaks, the condition of their branches and leaves, and so on, all too well.

And the oak leaves before him, though they looked decent, were all defective goods. Many had even been eaten by insects, and were simply not so-called premium products at all.

And according to Yin Caiwei, if the oak leaves supplied to Medicine Peak had always been of this quality...

Then where had those better oak leaves and oaks ultimately gone?

That Zhao Wenjie had probably done quite a few things behind the scenes!

Li Jun sank into thought.

"I was wondering why that fellow's eyes changed when he heard I was going to the cowshed."

Zhao Wenjie was worried that he would see Medicine Peak's oak leaves.

If Medicine Peak were to learn that the oak leaves supplied to Medicine Peak were defective goods, even a hundred lives probably would not be enough for Zhao Wenjie to be killed.