Being confined to the mountain meant little to Li Ping'an.
He had originally planned to focus on making money at Shushan after watching the Demon-Slaying Assembly.
Now he had simply returned a little earlier.
During the year he had been away, Run Tu had managed the entire Medicine Valley on Heaven-Reaching Peak quite well.
But Run Tu was not Li Ping'an, after all, and had no helpers nearby.
So some oversights were inevitable.
Li Ping'an made a circuit of Medicine Valley, with Old Ox following behind, carrying a little notebook.
Old Ox recorded every problem Li Ping'an pointed out. By the time they returned to the house, it was already midnight.
Old Ox brought over a large teapot and a large bowl, then poured him a bowl of tea.
Li Ping'an changed his clothes and sat in the study.
He gathered his thoughts. Ever since returning,
he had been thinking about the upheaval Liu Yun had spoken of.
Turmoil was about to sweep the world. The only thing he could do... was improve himself.
Li Ping'an lit a box of sandalwood incense and took out a large sheet of paper.
He wrote one large word: "Steady!!"
Then he pasted it on the wall behind him.
This was his goal from now on.
Steady! Seek victory through steadiness.
Earn enough starting capital in one year and enter the spirit medicine market again within five years.
Li Ping'an named it his five-year plan!
Steady!
Every day, he spent four hours tending Medicine Valley, four hours cultivating and contemplating the Dao, two hours practicing his fists and saber, and four hours reading in the Scripture Pavilion to broaden his knowledge.
Two hours were set aside for an afternoon nap.
Of the remaining eight hours, he devoted four to researching spirit medicine and four