A Chance to Escape

After pondering for a moment, Extreme Yin pulled another small booklet from his robes and tossed it to Song Wen.

"This is my own summary of experience in cultivating spirit herbs. Take it back and study it carefully. Starting today, you will be responsible for the spirit field to the east. As long as you manage it well, in half a month, the entire spirit field will be entrusted to you. When that time comes, I will grant you tremendous benefits."

The western spirit field was planted with red arrow and lilac daphne, auxiliary ingredients for refining Blood Qi Pills. They could be found in the deep mountains around Salt City and were not particularly precious.

Extreme Yin felt at ease letting Song Wen use them for practice.

As for the benefits Extreme Yin had promised, they were merely bait. In his view, allowing Song Wen to live two more years was already a tremendous act of grace.

"Thank you, Master. This disciple will certainly do his utmost to cultivate them and will not disappoint Master's expectations."

Song Wen accepted the booklet and spoke respectfully.

Song Wen left the second floor with the two books in hand. Having taken on the task of growing spirit herbs, he could not yet tell whether it was a blessing or a curse.

Work hard to grow the spirit herbs well. Perhaps it will delay the time when I am made to test the medicine.

Song Wen silently told himself.

After returning to his room, Song Wen first read the handbook containing Extreme Yin's cultivation experience. Extreme Yin had cultivated only eight kinds of spirit herbs, all of which were needed to refine Blood Qi Pills.

He then flipped through Detailed Guide to Cultivating Low-Grade Spirit Herbs, found all eight spirit herbs cultivated by Extreme Yin, matched them one by one, and silently studied the methods of growing them.

After gaining a certain theoretical foundation, Song Wen went to the eastern herb field.

This herb field was not large, only about half a mu.

Extreme Yin had tended the spirit field well. It was arranged in neat rows and sparsely planted with thirty red arrow plants and thirty lilac daphne plants.

Song Wen carefully inspected the spirit field and pulled out a small amount of weeds along the way.

He examined each spirit herb one by one, numbered them, and recorded them in a register. He made detailed notes of the growth and watering conditions of every spirit herb.

Ten days later, having watched all of this, Extreme Yin handed the entire herb field over to Song Wen.

Extreme Yin himself went into seclusion once more. He was going to refine Blood Qi Pills again.

After repeatedly warning Song Wen to take good care of the Blood-Red Vine, Extreme Yin entered the alchemy cave abode and shut its stone door.

The Blood-Red Vine was the most important ingredient for refining Blood Qi Pills, as well as the hardest spirit herb to find. Back then, in order to find it, he had mobilized the Heavenly Baleful Gang's forces and nearly turned over half of Gan Kingdom before finding this single fifty-year-old Blood-Red Vine. Each time he refined medicine, he only dared to take a few branches, afraid of affecting its growth.

Song Wen learned from Second Ox that every time Extreme Yin secluded himself to refine pills, it would take more than ten days. His heart began to race; he felt that his chance to escape was close at hand.

Without betraying anything, Song Wen entered a small wooden hut in the herb field. The farming tools needed to cultivate spirit herbs were kept there.

Song Wen searched through the hut, hoping to find something that could help him escape. Yet after searching it from top to bottom, he found nothing useful besides ordinary farming tools.

However, he did find a dagger about twenty centimeters long.

The dagger had a leather sheath. When he removed it, the blade was pitch-black, its edge gleaming with a cold, razor-sharp light that seized the soul.

What a blade!

Song Wen inwardly exclaimed. Gripping the hilt tightly, he slashed at a piece of wood in the hut.

At once, a thumb-thick wooden stick snapped in two.

Song Wen's eyes gleamed. This dagger was absolutely a top-grade divine weapon, an excellent tool for self-defense.

Song Wen slid the dagger back into its sheath and tucked it into his boot.

After searching the wooden hut once more and finding nothing else, Song Wen carried his hoe out of the hut.

As he tilled the spirit field, his gaze repeatedly drifted toward the alchemy cave abode and the cliff face to the west.

Even the lowest part of the cliff was five zhang high, while the tallest exceeded ten zhang. It was bare from top to bottom, without a single tree or blade of grass, though plenty of damp moss grew upon it.

Yet the abundance of moss clearly made climbing more difficult.

Song Wen considered using tools to climb the mountain, but he found no usable rope anywhere in the courtyard. If he felled trees and made a ladder, it would also be difficult to avoid drawing the attention of the guards and Second Ox.

Should I seek out Second Ox and Zhang Cheng and cooperate with them? But I cannot tell what they are thinking. Judging by the reverence they hold for Extreme Yin, I fear it would be difficult to persuade them. I might instead expose myself.

After finally waiting for Extreme Yin to enter seclusion and gaining an opportunity to escape, Song Wen found himself trapped by the terrain and unable to flee. His heart grew somewhat restless.

His hoe slipped in his hand. Instead of digging up a weed, he nearly severed a spirit herb.

Song Wen jolted awake, realizing that he had been acting too rashly today.

Those who sought great accomplishments had to possess enough patience.

After steadying his mind, Song Wen began tending the spirit field in earnest.

That night.

Song Wen tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

He got out of bed, quietly opened his door, and stepped outside.

The moon shone bright, the stars were few, and all was silent.

Song Wen stared at the cliff face, lost in thought. He had not expected this five-zhang-high cliff to become an impassable chasm between him and survival.

In a daze, Song Wen seemed to see firelight flickering atop the mountain.

"Someone is on the mountain?"

Song Wen was startled and looked more closely. Sure enough, a cluster of firelight appeared and vanished from time to time atop the mountain.

"Could it be that Heavenly Baleful Gang members are stationed on the summit?"

Song Wen seemed to have discovered another piece of information unfavorable to himself.

Upon further thought, the mountaintop ought to be guarded by the Heavenly Baleful Gang.

The Heavenly Baleful Gang had fortified its entire territory until it was as solid as a golden citadel. They had even built a rudimentary version of city walls around the perimeter and stationed heavily armed guards there. There was no reason for them to leave this mountain entirely undefended.

Moreover, setting up a watchpost atop the mountain would make it easier to monitor all movement in Salt City. Should a great army ever come to surround and suppress the Heavenly Baleful Gang, it could provide the gang with timely intelligence and serve as an escape route.

With that thought, Song Wen completely abandoned his plan to flee through the back mountain. With strength only slightly greater than that of an ordinary person, there was absolutely no way he could pass through the blockade of those well-trained Heavenly Baleful Gang members in the mountains, not to mention the many martial arts experts among them.

Song Wen returned to his room in low spirits. He no longer tried to sleep and began cultivating instead.

Only by accumulating enough strength would he have a chance to escape the Heavenly Baleful Gang.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

As Song Wen cultivated day and night without pause, his cultivation had quietly reached the middle stage of the first level of Qi Refining.

That day, while Song Wen was working in the herb field, he suddenly saw the stone door of the alchemy cave abode open. Extreme Yin emerged from within, looking as pleased as spring breeze.

Song Wen's expression changed slightly, and unease filled his heart.

It seems a new round of medicine testing is about to begin. I just wonder who will be testing the medicine this time. Will I be dragged in as well?