A Proper Burial for Our Ally
As time passed, the disappearance of the herb gatherers was like a small stone falling into a lake, causing some ripples before it quickly returned to serenity. No one mentioned the missing people again.
The mountain forest was as quiet as ever.
The sound of something breaking through the air suddenly rang out. A sharp arrow was shot out and accurately hit a big tree.
“It’s not difficult!”
More than a hundred feet away, Jiang Ming was holding a hunting bow, his eyes calm.
Ever since he had agreed to learn martial arts with Master Zhou the other day, the other party had not kept anything to himself. When they drank together, he would often teach him some basic preparations that he needed to do before officially learning martial arts.
Learning martial arts was not a game. If one’s foundation was not good enough, it was possible to become disabled.
The first was his physical fitness. Jiang Ming’s body was far beyond ordinary people, so there was naturally no problem.
Other than that, the more important thing was the internal training of the breathing technique.
If the external training method was like an arrow that gushed out power, the internal training method of the breathing technique was like a bow that controlled power. If the breathing technique was not cultivated correctly, it would be difficult to advance on the road of martial arts and easily hurt the body.
If one wanted to learn the internal training method of the breathing technique, one had to first control one’s own way of breathing.
Archery was a skill that required a high level of control over one’s breathing.
In order to practice controlling his own breathing, Jiang Ming spent 30 copper coins to buy a hunting bow. He had been practicing archery in the mountains for the past few days, and his progress was quite fast.
Now, he could accurately hit a tree that was as thick as a man within a hundred feet. He was still far from being an experienced hunter, but he had already far surpassed ordinary people.
“Maybe it’s because I’m immortal; I don’t have the rush to finish practicing when I’m practicing archery. Because I’m calm, I’ve improved at lightning speed.”
The internal training method was indeed closely related to the state of mind. The cultivation of martial arts was a painstaking process, and the more impatient one was, the easier it was to fail.
In the evening, Jiang Ming shook his sore shoulders, picked up the hunting bow, and returned to the cave where he stayed.
In the cave, more than half of the medicinal herbs were gone. Almost all of them had been transported down the mountain in batches. Other than selling a portion of them himself, he had secretly shared some with Master Zhou.
After all, he wanted to learn martial arts from Master Zhou, so he had to give him something in return.
The next morning, dark clouds swirled around, and it drizzled.
As usual, Jiang Ming finished his boxing practice and set up a small stove at the entrance of the cave. The clay pot was steaming over the fire, and the tea inside was bubbling.
He casually sat on the ground and poured himself a cup of tea. He ate some dry cake while slowly taking small sips.
Life was long, and one had to know how to enjoy life.
A fat gray rabbit jumped out of nowhere and circled around Jiang Ming.
“Master Hui, did you find the herbs again? What kind is it?” Jiang Ming looked happy and quickly asked.
The gray rabbit quickly ran into the cave and pulled out a yellow root the size of a thumb from a pile of different herbs. It brought it back to Jiang Ming with its two front paws.
“Really? Quickly bring me there!” Jiang Ming’s eyes lit up, and he stood up immediately.
In order to train Master Hui to find medicine, Jiang Ming did not hesitate to spend hundreds of copper coins to buy a little of all kinds of precious medicinal herbs.
This yellow root was one of the top herbs. If he could find it, he would definitely make a fortune.
Soon, the human and rabbit set off, heading into the depths of the forest.
Half an hour later, in a dense forest that never saw sunlight all year round, Jiang Ming was holding a golden root that looked like a combination of a worm and ginseng, and his face was full of joy.
It was golden ginseng. One of them could be sold for 500 copper coins!
Furthermore, as long as one golden ginseng was found, there would definitely be more nearby.
“Master Hui is so awesome. In the future, if I have something to eat, I will definitely not let you go hungry!”
Master Hui jumped up and down. Then, it sprinted deeper into the dense forest.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Before Jiang Ming’s voice fell, a roar suddenly came from the dense forest.
What followed was a series of sounds!
“F*ck!”
When Jiang Ming arrived at the scene of the crime, he only saw a wild cat with messy hair biting Master Hui’s neck.
Jiang Ming immediately rushed forward with a hatchet and stabbed the murderer who hurt Master Hui. Unfortunately, he only managed to save half of Master Hui’s body.
“Master Hui, I was too impulsive.” Jiang Ming sighed and dug a pit to bury it.
Jiang Ming was already prepared for Master Hui’s sacrifice. After all, the forest was dangerous and unpredictable. He just did not expect this day to come so soon.
“Master Hui, I don’t want to pick herbs anymore without you.” Jiang Ming sighed and decided to go home for a few days to pay his respects.
Of course, there was another reason. Jiang Ming had to purchase medicinal materials to refine the familiar red liquid again. After enjoying the feeling of getting something without putting in any effort, he could not go back to the usual method of gathering herbs.
Life in Peace Town was as usual. The few herb gatherers who had disappeared seemed to be of no importance. Even the topics in the bar no longer mentioned them.
However, Jiang Ming found that there seemed to always be some faintly discernible eyes in the town, sweeping over him.
In the bar, Jiang Ming and Master Zhou sat at the same table. This time, they ordered the more expensive old ginseng wine and two more dishes.
With the increasing amount of money in his pocket, Jiang Ming’s living standard also improved a lot. He had upgraded all of his tools.
“Little Ming, do you still remember Mr. Lu?” Master Zhou asked with squinted eyes while chewing on the peanut.
Jiang Ming said calmly, “Why?” Is he dead?”
Master Zhou was stunned. He looked up at Jiang Ming as if it was his first time knowing this young herb gatherer.
He laughed bitterly and shook his head, “He didn’t die, but his tongue was pulled out, and all the money was lost. Now he’s been crying every day like a madman. You’ve sold a lot of medicine during this time, and many people have seen it!” Master Zhou ordered a few dishes for the table and said meaningfully.
Jiang Ming smiled and did not take it seriously. “I haven’t sold that much. Those people won’t break the rules for such a small sum of money.”
Master Zhou frowned, “Of course, Uncle Ba and those officials don’t care, but there are still a lot of idle punks in the town.”
“Master Zhou!” Jiang Ming drank his wine in one gulp and took a long breath, “There’s more than one way to live. I have my own way. Just wait for me to save enough money, and I’ll find you to learn martial arts.”
Master Zhou was stunned, then he sighed and said nothing more. He just thought that Jiang Ming was young and frivolous. Maybe he would suffer a little more losses, and his edges would be worn away.
Jiang Ming also did not say much. It was useless to argue about this. Only the final result would convince people.
Jiang Ming drank in the morning, strolled around in the afternoon, bought some tea leaves, rice, and noodles, and then went home. Such a life full of worldly affairs was calm and interesting.
“Eh? Why are you in such a hurry?” Jiang Ming’s pace suddenly slowed down.
This was a narrow muddy road in the fields. Usually, there was almost no one, but today, young men were blocking the way.
He turned his head and saw a few young men in tattered clothes behind him. They were avoiding eye contact, but they were approaching him step by step.
“Ming, I heard that you’ve been fortunate these days!”
The leader of the group was a strong young man. He was waving a hatchet as he slowly walked to Jiang Ming.
“We’re a little tight on cash these days, so we came to borrow some money from you.”