Driving Away the Crowd

"Where is he? Where's that savage!"

"You shameless thing! How dare you bring a savage home! I'll beat you to death!"

"Uncle Han, calm down. Let's talk this over. We didn't call you back to beat Xiao Yu, we just thought you should come back and keep an eye on things."

"Dad, I didn't do anything wrong! What gives you the right to hit me?" Xiao Yu said, her face full of defiance.

"You dare talk back!"

Seeing that Han Wu had raised his hand, Li Shan and the other young men immediately rushed over and held him back.

"Uncle, Xiao Yu's right. She didn't do anything wrong, so what gives you the right to hit her?"

"What kind of girl brings some strange man home in broad daylight?" a woman's voice called from the crowd watching behind them.

Hearing that voice made Han Wu even angrier. His anger had begun to subside, but now that someone was calling his daughter's chastity into question, his rage shot three feet high. Even the look he gave Xiao Yu was tinged with reproach.

Seeing that things were going badly, Li Shan and the others hurriedly pinned Han Wu down, then turned and cursed, "Which long-tongued woman said that? If you've got the nerve, show yourself! Which of your eyes saw the two of them alone together? Xiao Yu was kind enough to give that man a set of clothes, and you people wag your tongues about her like this. We're all neighbors here, so show some decency with your mouths."

Listening to the commotion outside, Shen Ge shook his head helplessly. He lifted the two fingers resting on Han Lin's wrist, stood up, and said, "Brother, the customs around here are certainly simple and honest. Wait a moment, I'll go out and deal with this."

Han Wu broke free of the young men's hold and originally intended to kick his disappointing daughter. But the moment he raised his foot, he couldn't quite bring himself to do it, so he turned his foot and kicked the basket at Han Yu's feet instead.

The kick sent all sorts of medicinal herbs and stones spilling across the ground.

"This is... wild ginseng over a hundred years old, and fleeceflower root that's already taken human form! Heavens, these are all priceless medicinal herbs worth thousands of taels! Did that savage go into the deep mountain forests to the south?"

Hearing that the herbs were worth thousands of taels, the people around them couldn't help breathing more heavily. Some even had a red gleam in their eyes, their faces displaying their greed for all to see.

Han Yu hurriedly bent down, picked up all the herbs, and put them back in the basket. Then she hoisted it onto her back and ran straight to the doorway.

"Dad, these things all belong to Brother Shen. How could you just kick someone else's things like that?" Han Yu complained.

Han Wu was at a loss too. He had thought they were just some herbs. How could he have imagined they were worth so much? Despite his anger, he broke out in a cold sweat. If someone demanded compensation, he wouldn't be able to pay it even if he lost everything he owned.

Just then, Shen Ge opened the door and walked out. With a smile on his face, he said lazily, "You're being very noisy."

Though his tone was lazy, he seemed to carry the majesty of a superior. The moment he spoke, the place fell so silent that not even a crow or sparrow could be heard.

The instant those who had been overcome by greed saw Shen Ge, that desire vanished.

It was strange, as though, upon seeing him, their bodies instinctively dared not offend him.

Han Yu came back to her senses and hurriedly held out the basket. "Brother Shen, your things."

Shen Ge glanced at it, then took it and set it by the door. "Thanks."

Han Yu glanced at the basket by the door and said somewhat anxiously, "Brother Shen, wouldn't it be better to put it inside? These herbs are too valuable. I'm afraid..."

"It's fine. They're only some medicinal herbs. They're nothing much to me." Shen Ge waved a hand, lifted his head, and glanced sidelong at the crowd. In a calm voice, he said, "Everyone, since there's nothing else, please disperse. Don't crowd around here and disturb this household."

Strangely, the villagers went their separate ways as soon as Shen Ge finished speaking. Though they were unwilling, their bodies seemed to dare not disobey.

After the crowd had left, Shen Ge looked at the dark-faced, somewhat small and thin man and said politely, "Uncle, you're the head of this household, right? Sorry for the trouble I've caused you."

Han Wu swallowed, looking somewhat afraid. He waved his hands and stammered, "Well... it's no trouble, no trouble at all. But those herbs of yours, they weren't damaged by the kick, were they?"

Shen Ge smiled faintly. "It's fine. They're just little trinkets, hardly worth any money. Even if they were damaged, it wouldn't matter."

He wasn't talking nonsense. Although these herbs were valuable among ordinary people, in the eyes of immortal cultivators, they were merely ingredients for refining Qi Refining Stage trinkets. The whole basket might not even sell for fifty Spirit Stones. As for the most valuable thing, the Scarlet Blood Fruit had only just sprouted. Although the fruit tree alone could sell for around a thousand Spirit Stones, Shen Ge had no means of taking it with him.

If he forcibly moved it, he would have to worry not only about the fruit tree dying but also about it being stolen. After all, without a Storage Bag, if he openly took to the road with such a treasure, even his corpse would probably be burned to ash and scattered.

"Let's not stand outside. We can talk inside. I haven't finished examining that brother lying in there yet."

"You can treat illnesses?" Han Wu's face lit up, and he looked at Shen Ge in surprise.

Then again, Shen Ge carried so many precious medicinal herbs that even if he wasn't a professional physician, he must at least know the basics.

Han Wu's expression instantly became respectful. He bent over in a solemn bow and said, "Please, young brother, save my eldest son."

"We'll see. After all, I still don't know what illness he has, but I'll do my best." Shen Ge waved a hand.

"Thank you!"

The three returned to the room. Shen Ge glanced at Han Lin and asked the two beside him, "What illness is this? What did the previous physician say?"

Han Wu hurriedly replied, "The previous physician couldn't figure it out either. My son has had this illness for some time. He seemed to have caught it after coming back from the mountains. Every night at the hour of the rat, his chest starts to hurt, and it's only gotten worse. The previous physician examined him several times and reckoned he'd been poisoned, but he couldn't tell what poison it was."

"Poisoned?" Shen Ge frowned and looked at Han Lin. "What did you encounter in the woods? Tell me in detail."

Han Lin thought back for a while before saying, "Nothing much. I just went hunting in the mountains as usual. Apart from a few small cuts from grass and thorns, there wasn't anything else."

"What else?"

"What else? Oh, right. I came across a carcass that day. Judging by the scraps of hide left on it, it looked like a tiger. Come to think of it, that tiger must have been especially big when it was alive. Just its leg bones were a good deal thicker than my thigh. I brought one back with me. You can take a look."

Upon hearing this, Han Wu ran straight out of the room and brought the tiger bone in from another room. "Young brother, look. This is the tiger bone he brought back. It really is more than half again as big as an ordinary tiger bone."

Shen Ge glanced at the bone and knew that the tiger had already become a demon beast in life. It was probably who knew how many times stronger than Little White.

He reached out with his Spiritual Qi and sensed it for a moment. He discovered that a tiny trace of essence still remained in the tiger bone. Although cultivators would look down on it, it was something good that could strengthen an ordinary person's body and prolong their life.