The Medicine Guest

The figures on the other side finally noticed Yu Ci as well. Half a mile was hardly a distance. Even in the dark, it only took two or three breaths before they met. The group emerging from the forest was taken aback, and the atmosphere immediately became tense. But soon, someone on the other side laughed.

"Ha, little brother Yu, it's been a while. You look quite well."

It was indeed an acquaintance. Before the other person could speak, Yu Ci had already recognized them by their auras. The speaker was Lu Bing, the leader of the group. He was the one who, a few months ago, had knocked on the empty door frame outside the desolate mountain temple. He was a man of principle, and Yu Ci had a good impression of him.

Lu Bing was originally a martial artist, with a cultivation at the peak of Long Breath. His body was filled with true energy, capable of tearing apart tigers and leopards. Apart from lacking spiritual resonance, there was no substantial difference between him and someone in the Luminous Aperture realm. He was quite renowned in the martial world. This time, he had accepted a mission from Bai Ri Mansion, gathering over a dozen fellow martial artists to come to Sky Rift Valley to collect herbs. It was an unusual combination for this area.

After their chance encounter in the temple that night, they had traveled together for a few days, establishing a certain degree of camaraderie. Yu Ci stepped forward a couple of paces, cupped his fists, and smiled, "Brother Lu, you too, and everyone else..."

As he spoke, Yu Ci glanced around and saw that the number of people in the group was less than half of the original. His brow furrowed.

Those who were missing had likely met a grim fate.

After all, collecting Shrimp Whisker Grass was no easy feat. One had to be constantly vigilant against strong winds and fog while climbing sheer cliffs, and also guard against poisonous insects, fierce birds, and ferocious beasts that might dart out. A single mistake could lead to utter annihilation. Moreover, Sky Rift Valley was hardly just a place for collecting herbs.

As they spoke, the two groups drew closer. Lu Bing noticed his thoughts but, being a seasoned adventurer, had long since come to terms with life and death. He simply laughed and shifted the focus:

"Brother Yu, it's fate that we meet. Ahead, where the firelight is, are some brothers we recently met. They're all straightforward folks. This forest is dark, and traveling alone isn't much fun. Why don't we gather together?"

Yu Ci's pre-arranged resting place was occupied, and he was troubled about how to spend the night. Hearing this, he readily agreed, going with the flow. However, his left hand subtly gripped the edge of the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror, maintaining a degree of caution, and he assumed the others were doing the same.

After several months in Sky Rift, anyone without such caution had likely perished.

The bonfire blazed, the aroma of wine and meat wafted through the air, and voices buzzed. The area illuminated by the firelight seemed like a different world from the dark forest surrounding it.

Yu Ci took the wine gourd from a nearby herb collector and took a hearty swig without hesitation. It was homemade liquor brewed by the herb collectors. It was pungent going down but carried a medicinal fragrance, making it quite unique.

Lu Bing's judgment was indeed trustworthy. Most of the people he had befriended were native herb collectors from Juebi City. They had traveled between Sky Rift Valley and Juebi City multiple times over the past decade and were quite skilled at harvesting Shrimp Whisker Grass. They also knew something about the background of Bai Ri Mansion.

A group like this was unlikely to resort to robbery and murder, thus ensuring their safety.

After a simple dinner, the more than twenty people from both sides, with nothing else to do, began to chat aimlessly. For various reasons, both parties deliberately avoided discussing their respective hauls. However, it was impossible to completely ignore it, so after a few turns of conversation, some people from Juebi City started recounting secret anecdotes and gossip about Bai Ri Mansion, and the atmosphere was lively and not at all lonely.

The topic eventually circled back to Shrimp Whisker Grass, but this time the discussion focused on its medicinal value.

More than half of the people present were professional herb collectors, some of whom knew its properties, while others could only guess. Thus, one person would mention their prescription, another their pill, and the twenty-odd people, divided into several factions, gradually moved from discussion to debate, and then to argument, heating up the atmosphere.

Just as several points were hotly contested, someone suddenly shouted, "All nonsense! It's not that simple!"

At this outburst, everyone turned to look. The person who shouted was from Juebi City, apparently named Li Hong. He seemed to be drunk, his face flushed red, and he probably didn't even know what he had just said.

His companions, seeing how drunk he was, nudged him to sober up. But Li Hong was concerned about his reputation and was truly quite inebriated. Seeing that he had made a striking statement, his desire to talk grew even stronger, and he took the opportunity to reveal a major secret he had overheard:

"Don't disbelieve me. While Shrimp Whisker Grass is usually used in simple prescriptions to treat minor ailments like headaches and fevers, Bai Ri Mansion is a major power. In their eyes, obtaining eighty or a hundred stalks of this stuff is no different from common weeds. Why else would they go to such great lengths to hire us to collect it?

"In the end, in our hands, this grass is just grass, used as a folk remedy. But in the hands of Bai Ri Mansion, it can turn lead into gold..."

He emphasized the crucial part, then paused, feigning mystery. Such an attitude could only be annoying, but what could one do with a drunkard like this?

At this moment, a herb collector sitting next to Yu Ci, sharing the same wine gourd, chuckled and said, "Old Li Si has a sister who married a lowly servant in Bai Ri Mansion. He hears the most gossip..."

Yu Ci found it interesting and wanted to learn more. Meanwhile, Li Hong, having milked the suspense to his satisfaction, and prompted by many, laughed and said:

"It's nothing if I tell you. Actually, Bai Ri Mansion buys this Shrimp Whisker Grass because they can produce a kind of medicinal liquid. If you soak a large quantity of Shrimp Whisker Grass in it for a period of time, the best quality and most complete stalk among them might be 'soaked alive'..."

At this moment, seven or eight people asked doubtfully, "Soaked alive?"

"Heh, whether it's alive or not, I don't know. All I know is that my brother-in-law told me that this 'soaked alive' Shrimp Whisker Grass will absorb the medicinal properties of all the other herbs into itself. If the medicinal power is sufficient, this stalk of Shrimp Whisker Grass will undergo a new transformation, just like caterpillars turning into butterflies, becoming a new medicinal herb. At that time, Shrimp Whisker Grass will no longer be called Shrimp Whisker Grass, but... Fish Dragon Grass!"

"Fish Dragon Grass?"

There was a moment of silence around the bonfire, followed by a clamor. Everyone first asked Li Hong about the uses of Fish Dragon Grass, but by this point, Li Hong had already spilled all he knew. He managed to say a few more words before starting to answer questions irrelevantly. However, the atmosphere had already been ignited, and when people couldn't get a definitive answer, they began to let their imaginations run wild, attributing all sorts of miraculous abilities to Fish Dragon Grass and fantasizing about the benefits they would gain if they possessed this treasure.

At this point, his drinking companion next to him handed the gourd back, inviting him to drink together, and asked with a grin, "If you had this immortal grass, what would you trade it for?"

Where would there be any immortal grass? This man was also quite drunk.

Yu Ci glanced at him. Disregarding his drinking buddy's look of concern, he drained the gourd of its homemade wine. The fiery alcohol, mixed with the medicinal fragrance, surged to the top of his head. He was suddenly filled with a burst of inspiration and let out a long laugh:

"I want eternal life! Who can give it to me?"

The area around the bonfire suddenly fell silent, and then erupted with laughter and shouts. Nine out of ten people thought Yu Ci was joking. Although they hadn't spent much time together, Yu Ci was not only handsome and powerful but also treated people with great generosity. Everyone had a good impression of him and responded with good-natured jeers, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

However, some people could sense Yu Ci's true intentions, or at least understand that his aspirations were extraordinary. Lu Bing opposite him raised his gourd in a gesture of acknowledgment, and Yu Ci smiled in return, everything understood without words.