The next day, at dawn, Qin Hong made proper arrangements for his family affairs, had Qin Fengming's third uncle send the old doctor home, and then packed his bags, setting off with Qin Fengming towards Tenglong Town, thirty li away.
Tenglong Town is strategically located, being a necessary route between Qijia City and Luyu City. It is also the largest town within a fifty-li radius of Qin Family Village. The town has a main street with various shops on both sides. Passing merchants come and go endlessly, making it very prosperous and lively.
Upon arriving in Tenglong Town, Qin Hong and his son first went to the blacksmith shop to visit Qin Fengming's second brother. After more than a year of blacksmithing, Qin Fengming saw that his second brother's complexion was rosy, and his physique was much stronger than before.
When asked about their visit to the town, Qin Hong only mentioned selling some mountain goods and did not bring up his grandfather's injury. He merely told Qin Fengming's second brother to take good care of himself before he and Qin Fengming stood up and left.
Tenglong Town is surrounded by mountains, and the business of buying and selling animal hides in the town was booming. The father and son did not exert much effort and sold the mink and python skins for three taels of silver.
Three taels of silver was enough for Qin Fengming's family to live on for half a year, so naturally, they were both delighted.
With the silver in hand, the father and son no longer delayed and went directly into the largest pharmacy in Tenglong Town: Wanshoutang.
Inside the pharmacy, an old gentleman in his sixties sat on a wooden chair beside the counter, closing his eyes to rest, while a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth was organizing the herbs in various medicine boxes within the counter.
Upon entering the shop, Qin Hong did not speak but directly took out the snake gall and placed it on the counter.
Qin Hong's action naturally startled the old gentleman who had been resting with his eyes closed. Upon seeing it, the old gentleman immediately showed a hint of shock on his face, sat up, and held the snake gall in his hand.
"This is a python's gall. Judging by its age, it's probably one or two hundred years old. Are you planning to sell it?"
"Yes, old sir, how much do you think this can sell for?" Qin Hong quickly replied upon hearing the old gentleman's question.
The old gentleman looked at Qin Hong and his son, pondered for a moment, and said, "This snake gall is well preserved and was recently removed. It's worth five taels of silver. What do you think?"
Qin Hong did not speak but took out the prescription and placed it on the counter, saying, "Old sir, this is a prescription for treating external injuries. Can this snake gall be exchanged for these herbs?"
Seeing Qin Hong take out a prescription, the old gentleman's face showed no change. He reached out, took it, and after observing it for a moment, turned to the youth and said, "Daming, see if there's any Dragon Tooth Grass left."
"There are still three qian. I just checked," the youth, who was very quick-witted, immediately replied.
Hearing that there was Dragon Tooth Grass, Qin Hong and his son immediately felt relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
The old gentleman held the prescription, pondered for a moment, then picked up a brush and made a few strokes on the prescription. After rattling the abacus for a while, he finally said,
"This prescription is for treating external injuries. After some consideration, I've removed some excessive herbs. Five doses of these herbs would normally cost six taels of silver. However, seeing that you are mountain hunters and life is not easy, you can use this snake gall to cover the cost."
Upon hearing the old gentleman's words, Qin Hong and his son were naturally overjoyed: "Thank you, sir."
Just as the old gentleman was instructing the youth to fetch the herbs, a commotion erupted outside the shop. Following that, four burly men, escorting a young man of about twenty years old dressed in an extravagant floral robe, surged into the shop.
The young man held a folding fan and wore a hexagonal hard hat askew. Upon entering, he squinted at the people in the pharmacy, let out a soft "humph" from his nose, but said nothing.
The four burly men, however, shouted loudly, "Old Liu, do you have any Leonurus or Dragon Tooth Grass?"
As soon as he saw the young man enter, the old gentleman of the shop quickly stood up, walked out from behind the counter, and at the same time instructed Daming to bring a chair. He said respectfully, "Young Master Zhang, why have you come? If you have any instructions, you could just send someone to convey them."
Young Master Zhang squinted at the old gentleman, then waved his hand at one of his followers. The follower immediately said, "Just now, Young Master went hunting in the mountains, and Big Yellow accidentally broke his leg. We need Leonurus and Dragon Tooth Grass. If you have them, bring them out quickly."
Upon hearing this, the old gentleman's face changed slightly: "We have Leonurus, but the Dragon Tooth Grass was just sold to them." The old gentleman said, pointing at Qin Hong and his son.
Hearing the old gentleman's words, the young master did not even glance at Qin Hong, but said with a displeased expression, "I need Dragon Tooth Grass now. No matter who has it, it must be left here."
Although Qin Hong did not know who the young master in front of him was, he knew he must be a person of power. Not daring to delay, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Young Master Zhang, we need the Dragon Tooth Grass to save a life. Please be generous and let us have it."
Upon hearing this, Young Master Zhang finally looked at Qin Hong, sneered twice, and turned his head away, an expression of disdain on his face. A follower rushed up to Qin Hong, shouting,
"You need it to save a life, haha, Big Yellow's life is worth much more than yours. Our Young Master bought him for fifty taels of silver in Qijia City last month. Get lost quickly, if you displease Young Master, you might lose your lives too." After saying that, he began to push Qin Hong forcefully.
Qin Hong, being a hunter by origin, was provoked. With a surge of strength, he pushed the big man aside, sending him several feet away. Then he turned to face Young Master Zhang and said, "When buying things, there's a first-come, first-served rule. Since we bought it first, why should you take it away?"
Seeing that Qin Hong dared to resist and shouted at him with anger in his eyes, Young Master Zhang immediately became enraged. He slapped the table and said to the burly men, "Haha, someone in Tenglong Town dares to talk about first-come, first-served with me. They truly don't know what's good for them. Men, throw this ungrateful fellow out for me!"
The burly men, without a word, punched and kicked Qin Hong, pushing him out the door and saying fiercely, "If you keep making noise, be careful, we'll beat you all to death right here."
Although Qin Hong was strong, he couldn't withstand so many people. As he was pushed out the door, he stumbled and fell onto the street. Qin Fengming, seeing his father being beaten, came over to help but was slapped by a big man and also thrown out of the pharmacy.
At this time, many people had gathered on the street to watch. Some bolder individuals were whispering, "Look, Young Master Zhang is bullying people again."
"Heaven has no eyes, such a scoundrel has appeared in Tenglong Town."
Qin Fengming picked himself up, helped his father stand, and Qin Hong still wanted to go back into the pharmacy to reason with the other party, but a fellow villager pulled him back and whispered,
"Seeing that you are from the mountains, it's better not to go. That is a local tyrant, someone you cannot afford to provoke. A wise man doesn't fight against power. You should just bear with it."
Although he grew up in the mountains, Qin Hong also knew that going back would not do any good. So he stood to the side, glaring angrily into the pharmacy. Qin Fengming, only ten years old, had never encountered such a situation before. At this moment, his mind was blank, and he only had one thought: when he grew up, he would definitely get his revenge and make Young Master Zhang die a terrible death.
A moment later, Young Master Zhang came out of the pharmacy with his evil servants. Seeing that Qin Hong had not left, the evil servants sneered, "Daring to snatch things from our Young Master in Tenglong Town, you truly have a death wish. Be careful, we might drag you into the mountains to feed the wolves."
After speaking, they no longer paid attention to Qin Hong and his son and swaggered away with Young Master Zhang.
After a while, the old gentleman from the pharmacy came out, looked around, and whispered to Qin Hong,
"The Zhang Family has a large business in Tenglong Town. His father is the Tenglong Town Mayor. I heard that the Zhang Family also has a younger son who is studying immortal arts at some Blood Refining Sect. His eldest son, relying on his father's influence, bullies men and women and commits all sorts of evil in Tenglong Town. As outsiders, you should just endure it."
Qin Hong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes wide, but he did not speak.
The old gentleman stood for a moment, frowning in thought, and then said, "I'll prescribe another formula for you. Although there's no Dragon Tooth Grass, other herbs can be substituted, and the effect won't be much worse than the original prescription. I'll give you a few more doses. No matter how severe the external injury, it will definitely be cured."