Pests in the Soil

"The dead showed the following symptoms: their faces were half green and half red, their bodies alternated between cold and hot, some areas were swollen and oozing pus, while others were extremely stiff and bluish.

"After dissecting the corpses, it was discovered that their hearts had turned into cooked meat, their lungs had stiffened, and frost had formed inside them!"

Zhou Liang's eyes grew brighter as he read the information.

"Two types of poison, one cold and one hot. If I absorb this unusual toxin, my resistance to ice and fire attributes will greatly increase. Then, if I find a way to enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well early, I'll have a better chance of tempering my body, and it'll be much safer too."

After thinking this through, Zhou Liang no longer had the mood to keep reading. He picked up the illustrated guide and ran toward the back mountain.

After racing down the narrow path, he arrived outside Liu Erlong's courtyard on the back mountain and hurriedly knocked on the door.

"Master, are you there?"

"I'm here!"

The door soon opened. Seeing Zhou Liang panting before her, Liu Erlong asked curiously, "Xiao Liangliang, why are you in such a hurry? It's still early before seven."

"Master, I'm not here for the medicinal bath. This—where can I find these two herbs?" Zhou Liang caught his breath and pointed at the illustrations in the book.

Liu Erlong took the Basic Herbs book, flipped through it, and said, "These two herbs are both high-quality specimens of their kind, but they aren't particularly rare. Any somewhat larger pharmacy should have them."

"Does the academy have any?" Zhou Liang asked.

Liu Erlong shook her head. "Why would the academy have medicinal herbs like these? Here, take this money and buy them from a pharmacy in the city."

Liu Erlong took out a bag of money and handed it to Zhou Liang.

After accepting the bag, Zhou Liang quickly said, "Thank you, Master!"

After saying that, he turned to run outside, but a shout came from behind him.

"Once you've bought the herbs, come straight back here. I need to watch you take them. If anything happens, I'll be able to save you."

"Okay, Master."

Zhou Liang shouted his reply and hurried outside.

Liu Erlong watched his receding figure with a trace of worry, afraid that he might take the herbs himself without returning.

After running out of the academy, Zhou Liang arrived on a street.

The businesses on this street were all related to herbs. From one end to the other, there were either herb sellers, sellers of unusual plants, or businesses related to medicinal herbs.

Zhou Liang had learned about this place long ago, but while he had been in the orphanage, he had never had spare money to buy medicinal materials here.

Finding a pharmacy with a larger storefront, Zhou Liang walked in.

"Kid, are you here to get medicine? Where are your family members?"

A clerk who was slicing medicinal herbs looked at Zhou Liang as he entered and asked curiously.

"I came alone. Do you have these two herbs?" Zhou Liang asked, taking out Basic Herbal Theory and pointing to the two pages.

"Maple Leaf Grass and Firestar Pentaleaf. Our pharmacy has both, but using them together produces a powerful poison. What do you need these two herbs for?" the clerk asked with a frown.

"I need them for some experiments. How much are they?" Zhou Liang asked helplessly. He was still too young; when buying herbs, people would inevitably question him.

"Kid, how old are you? Do you even understand basic herbal theory, yet you want to conduct experiments? Not to mention these are valuable herbs with such strong toxicity. Don't end up hurting yourself!" the clerk said with an amused smile.

"Go on, go get your family. Sending a child like you to buy such dangerous medicinal herbs—what kind of parent does that?" The clerk waved his hand dismissively.

Looking at the clerk before him, Zhou Liang knew he meant well, but he was no ordinary child.

He slowly let out a breath. A yellow Hundred-Year Spirit Ring appeared from above, and he said to the clerk, "I'm a Soul Master. That little bit of poison can't hurt me."

The clerk stared blankly at the Soul Ring before snapping out of it. He hurriedly stood up and said, "My apologies, Lord Soul Master. I'll get those two medicinal herbs for you right away."

"It's fine. You meant well," Zhou Liang said, shaking his head.

The clerk sighed in relief, then hurried to the medicine shelves, gathered two portions of herbs, and returned.

"Lord Soul Master, these are two prepared portions of medicinal herbs, both complete portions. You may open them and inspect them," the clerk said respectfully as he handed them over.

Zhou Liang nodded, took the herbs, and opened them for inspection. Their quality was excellent.

Zhou Liang nodded and asked, "How much for these two portions?"

"Sir, a full portion of Maple Leaf Grass costs ten gold coins, while a full portion of Firestar Pentaleaf costs twelve gold coins," the clerk quickly replied.

Zhou Liang nodded and painfully took out twenty-two gold coins before handing them over.

The clerk accepted the coins and knew at a glance that the amount was correct. He then nodded and asked, "Sir, is there anything else you would like to buy?"

Zhou Liang shook his head and turned to leave.

He crossed the street and headed toward the academy.

"Even a slightly valuable medicinal herb costs ten gold coins per portion. This is really too expensive."

Zhou Liang thought painfully as he walked.

"No, I need to find a way to earn some money myself. I can't keep using Master's money for everything."

During this time, Zhou Liang had also gained some understanding of the academy. It had only been established for a few years. Although his master had influence and substantial family wealth, the academy had not yet made a name for itself in recent years, so it did not have much income.

The academy had no graduates yet, and no concrete achievements to show, so the Empire's funding was not substantial either. For the first two years, Liu Erlong had used her own money.

Moreover, if he could earn money himself, it would be much more convenient to spend it. He would not have to explain everything he wanted to do.

Just then, the conversation between two small merchants by the roadside caught Zhou Liang's attention.

"This year's grain harvest is poor. The price of grain will probably rise again," said a thin merchant.

"Sigh, doesn't this happen every seven or eight years, or every decade? We can hire people to clear the weeds all over the fields, but those pests are truly hard to deal with. As soon as one appears in a field, the pests spread in swarms. The insect-eating birds and frogs we raise are completely useless against a large infestation," said a plump merchant with a sigh.

Hearing this, Zhou Liang stopped. After thinking for a moment, he walked over curiously.

"Uncle, is there really nothing that can be done about those insects?"