"Ginseng Spirit Art" (1 / 2)

"Second Brother, it's me!!!"

A familiar voice rang out. Zhao Er's eyelid twitched, and at that critical instant, he raised his arm, shifting the cleaver in his hand slightly upward. His other arm, which held the clay jar, quietly lowered as well.

Thunk!!

In the end, Zhao Er's cleaver struck the tree trunk. Beneath the blade, a skinny youth crouched halfway down.

The youth stared at the cleaver that had skimmed over his scalp, his face deathly pale and his legs weak.

"Tiger, what are you doing here? And next time you see someone coming out of the woods, make sure you call out first!"

Looking at Tiger's pale face, Zhao Er pulled the cleaver free and took the sodden black cloth off his own face.

Tiger had gotten quite a fright. This one close call ought to be enough to make the lesson stick.

Tiger was a fellow villager who had grown up with Zhao Er. Since Zhao Er was a little older, more capable than the other youths in the village, and the second son in his family, Tiger called him Second Brother.

"I... I understand, Second Brother. I came to check my snares too. I figured you probably hadn't come down the mountain yet, so I found a safe spot to wait..."

Tiger had indeed been badly frightened, but he was easygoing. Seeing Zhao Er start walking ahead, he felt the top of his head, confirmed that he was unhurt, and followed behind him.

“Good! Wait outside next time. We're already beyond the outer reaches of the Mountain Range, so there's no danger from miasma, but wild beasts can still show up...”

Zhao Er kept walking as he listened, hurrying onward, though he still offered a few words of warning.

"All right, I'll listen to you. By the way, Second Brother, how was your haul today? I caught two rabbits. I'll give you one later!"

Following behind him, Tiger lifted the two wild rabbits in his hand and gave them a little shake as he spoke.

As the saying went, those who lived by the mountains ate from the mountains. Tiger lacked Zhao Er's skills and courage and did not dare venture into the mountains, but when he had time, he set snares outside them. Occasionally, he caught a little game to satisfy his craving for meat.

"Mm, my haul was decent. Remember to save the rabbits' blood and livers for me too..."

"Of course!"

Zhao Er and Tiger moved swiftly through the woods, exchanging a few words now and then. Most of the talking came from Tiger, with Zhao Er occasionally answering.

As they hurried onward, the trees grew increasingly sparse. They were almost out of the woods.

"Oh, Second Brother, Laitou from our village has gone away to train in martial arts. Did you know?"

Once they emerged from the woods and could see the village in the distance, Tiger suddenly spoke again.

"Martial arts? He found a way in?"

Only upon hearing that did Zhao Er slow his unbroken stride.

Laitou was about the same age as Zhao Er and Tiger. The three had grown up together and once been close, but some friction had eventually turned Laitou against them.

"Apparently, he has a relative working for the Wang Family in the county town. The Wang Family has been recruiting household servants lately, and that relative took him there..."

Seeing Zhao Er's interest, Tiger immediately began telling him everything he knew.

"A household servant, huh..."

At that, Zhao Er promptly lost interest.

Martial Path cultivation was the only way ordinary people could rise swiftly in the world.

Yet that path was far from easy. Orthodox Martial Path cultivation placed the greatest demands on resources.

Leaving everything else aside, one needed good food every day. Plain tea and simple meals could never make up for the exertion of martial training. Meat at all three daily meals was the bare minimum, and that expense alone could eat an ordinary family into ruin.

As far as Zhao Er knew, the village chief had spent dozens of taels of silver sending his son to a martial school in the county town, hoping to make him a martial artist. In the end, however, his son had returned to the village in dejection. The only change was that he had considerably more strength than most people when plowing the fields.

Even if Laitou really became a household servant in the county town and obtained a Martial Path cultivation method, his daily meals would only improve somewhat. There was no way he would get meat at every meal.

With food like that, and work to do on top of it, who knew how many years it would take him just to reach the threshold of condensing his qi and blood?

"Heh, I knew you wouldn't think much of a path like that, Second Brother. Yet Laitou was strutting around with his nose in the air..."

Tiger followed behind Zhao Er, speaking with a chuckle.

But although Zhao Er thought little of it, this Martial Path was the main way most ordinary people in this world could gain access to martial cultivation.

Of course... aside from orthodox Martial Path cultivation, there were also unorthodox methods to be found. Those methods, however, often came with all manner of risks.

As they drew closer to the village, Tiger, who had been chattering nonstop, quietly fell silent and simply followed behind Zhao Er.

Zhao Er paid it no mind. At that moment, all his attention was on the clay jar in his hand.

The jar was small and held quite a few centipedes. If he took too long getting home, they would bite and fight one another. Losing even a single one would leave his heart aching for a long time.

He had risked his life for them. He could not afford to lose any.

"Second Brother! I want to train in martial arts too. I want to leave this place. I don't want to live a life where I can see the end at a single glance..."

Just as they were nearing the village, the previously silent Tiger abruptly spoke.

"That's only natural. I want to train too... Have you got something in mind?"

Zhao Er answered quite naturally, but as soon as he finished, he stopped and turned to look at Tiger, who had already halted behind him.

"Second Brother, do you know about Blood Ginseng and Marrow Lingzhi?"

"Those who eat blood-nourishing herbs like angelica and astragalus as their meals, combined with a special cultivation method, are called Blood Ginseng once they succeed, because their blood can help others cultivate.

Those who eat bone powder and herbs as their meals, combined with a special cultivation method, are called Marrow Lingzhi once they succeed, because their bone marrow can help others temper their bodies..."

Without waiting for Zhao Er to answer, Tiger explained the so-called Blood Ginseng and Marrow Lingzhi on his own. His voice was quiet, but Zhao Er heard every word with exceptional clarity.

Although Zhao Er already knew of Blood Ginseng and Marrow Lingzhi, hearing those words still sent a chill through his entire body.

This was one of the crooked, unorthodox paths of Martial Path cultivation. The cultivation method even had quite a pleasant name: "Ginseng Spirit Art."

Even ordinary people did not need to worry about being unable to afford this sort of cultivation. Herbs such as angelica and astragalus were expensive, but as long as someone was willing to practice the "Ginseng Spirit Art," there would be organizations willing to fund their training.

Beyond providing herbs, these organizations were even willing to offer additional silver as payment. What they wanted in return was the Spirit Blood produced once the practitioner succeeded.

Practicing the "Ginseng Spirit Art" consumed vast quantities of angelica, astragalus, and other herbs, along with considerable energy.

Yet the cultivation process was gentle, and breakthroughs came without bottlenecks. At advanced stages, practitioners could also possess considerable strength, while the medicinal potency of their blood grew stronger.

But drawing their blood would damage their cultivation, forcing them to expend even more herbs and energy to cultivate it back.

If too much blood was drawn, it could even harm their foundation, making it all too easy to end up trapped in a dead end.

Unless they had a reliable arrangement that allowed them to give less blood and replenish more.

Yet aside from these drawbacks, there were also plenty of other unexpected dangers involved.