The air in the mountain was especially refreshing and carried the scent of wild chrysanthemum.
The pillaring trees in the midst of the wild forest, along with the thorns and wild grass, covered the small routes in the mountain. One could sometimes see one or two chickadees being alarmed by the wooden carriage. They would suddenly fly from the grass and land on a tall maple tree.
This mountain was named Mount Wang Wu. There were many ferocious beasts and birds. The Ma Cang Eagle shot down by the sisters could only be considered a medium-sized bird. Little Sister Ji said that she had seen a huge bird with two heads and a ten meter long body, and the wings spanned around the size of a windmill’s fan.
There were many strange animals in the dense forest. This Mount Wang Wu was considered an ancient mountain. People living at the base of the mountain would only go to the edge to hunt for medicinal herbs and some beasts; they essentially didn’t dare to enter any deeper. There was once a brave person named Long Chao who dared to go deeper to hunt beasts, but he was never seen again.
How big was this mountain range was exactly? Even the Ji sisters didn’t know clearly. They only spent seven or eight days inside the mountain near the peripheral.
“Clank clank!”
The wooden carriage slowly forced its way on the narrow and steep mountainous path. One side was a tall mountain while the other was a bottomless cliff, and one could easily fall down in an accident, breaking into many pieces.
Feng Feiyun sat on the wooden carriage filled with medicinal plants, and next to him was also the Ma Cang Eagle. It was indeed very big. Essentially, it occupied the whole carriage. Feng Feiyun could only sit in the corner. He reached for a medicinal plant next to his pants and started to play around with it, sniffing it with his nose.
This medicinal plant was as long as a finger and its body was as long as a rice leaf. The color was also blue; between the three blades of leaves was a blue flower.
“What grass is this?”
Feng Feiyun curiously asked.
Older Sister Ji was walking in front with her weak shoulder tied to a rope the size of a finger. The other side of the rope was strapped to the wooden carriage. She was having quite a difficult time pulling the wooden carriage and sweat was dripping from her forehead.
The wooden carriage was not only carrying the Ma Cang Eagle, weighing several hundred pounds, but also a “sickly patient” — Feng Feiyun. With the increase in weight, the two people had to try their best. And not to mention, they were only sixteen or seventeen year old girls.
If she didn’t have a touch of spirit energy, she wouldn’t have been able to pull this wooden carriage at all.
Feng Feiyun felt bad in his heart while watching this scene. If it wasn’t for him being unable to exert even a strand of energy, he would rather die before letting a girl pull him. This kindness could only be kept silently in one’s heart.
In today’s world, where could one find such a kind and hardworking girl? I’m afraid that there was none!
“This is the Lan Long Grass. Beggar, you shouldn’t touch it, it is very valuable. One grass could sell for twenty bronze coins. My sister and I had to pick grass for three days in the yellow earth on top of the vertical cliff before finding only thirteen. If you break even one leaf, you wouldn’t be able to repay it.”
Ji Xiaonu looked at her sister who was struggling to pull the wooden carriage. She became even more hateful towards Feng Feiyun. A man with arms and legs yet couldn’t even walk — truly a piece of trash.
She always suspected that this beggar was pretending to be sick and was too lazy to walk. She thought that he only wanted to torture her sister to take him back into town.
Ji Xiaonu walking behind the wooden carriage sometimes grinned her shining white teeth and glared at Feng Feiyun. She wanted to beat him up, then throw him into the ravines to feed the wolves.
“So expensive, ah! If I could pick a few of them, I would become rich.”
Feng Feiyun sighed and then put the Lan Long Grass back into its previous location.
There were many types of different medicinal plants on the wooden cart, not just the Lan Long Grass. They totaled to several hundred and had a variety strange shapes. Some looked like roots, others like a toad; some had white leaves while others had black leaves. In the end, they were very different and he couldn’t tell what they were.
“The Lan Long Grass is used for healing and is able to stop the wound from bleeding in the shortest time. This type of grass is usually bought by the military physicians with very reasonable prices.”
“This is the Xiyi Grass; it is used for detoxification. In the mountain with a lot of miasma, this grass has the effect of restraining the poisonous property of the miasma.”
“This is the Linglong Root; it is normally grown between the cliff crevices. I heard that this is an ingredient to make medicinal pills, and it is also the most expensive one. With just a short root, it would still sell for a hundred bronze coins.”
***
Next to the highest cliff, the wooden carriage stopped amidst the fresh, green forest. In this place, the dense trees blocked the hot sun in the sky, so it felt much cooler and more comfortable. Older Sister Ji was also a little tired so she sat in the corner of the bronze carriage. She taught Feng Feiyun about the usage of each medicinal grass.
She was still gentle like before, and her fingers lightly touched the hair on her forehead; there was some sweat on her finger. Her face was also slightly red and had a trace of weariness.
Feng Feiyun basically was not listening to what she was saying. He was only gazing at her, and he felt that the more he stared, the harder it was to restrain himself. His fingers were grasping his sleeve; he wanted to wipe the sweat off her forehead. However, his hand only came up halfway before he put it back down. This kind of action felt a bit inappropriate because it was simply too intimate.
This was a proper girl. If he committed any inappropriate actions, it would leave her with a bad impression.
“Cough cough! Miss Ji, I see that this cart, with all of the medicinal grass along with the Ma Cang Eagle, could be sold for at least a few thousand bronze coins. It is enough for the two of you to get by for more than half a year. With so much money, how come you don’t buy a decent dress for yourself? Even just a pair of flower-embroidered shoes would be good, ah?”
Feng Feiyun asked.
Older Sister Ji was a bit surprised, and then she bitterly smiled:
“We are all girls from a poor family, how could we put on such beautiful clothes? Even a piece of jewelry would be too much. And as for the flower-embroidered shoes, those aren’t something that girls living in the mountain — like us — could wear. Only the heavenly miss of the Lui Clan at our town could wear something like that.”
Although she said so, Feng Feiyun still saw a hint of longing in her eyes. Naturally, those words were not her true thoughts. What kind of girl didn’t want to wear beautiful clothes?
“But you earned all of this money, how will you spend it?”
Feng Feiyun was even more curious.
Older Sister Ji replied:
“The money made from the beast and medicinal grass… Three parts are given to the Chief Manager of the Three Mysterious Gate, three parts to the Grand Master of the Green Maple Town, and three parts goes to the military at Fire Beacon City. Only the last part will be our own income.”
She said it clearly, and it was apparent that she didn’t feel there was anything wrong about it.
Giving some to the Three Mysterious Gate was so that the masters in the immortal gate would protect them — it was necessary; giving some to the Grand Master of the Green Maple Town… This was the law of the Godly Jin Dynasty — it was necessary; giving some to the military at the Fire Beacon City was so that they could protect this location — it was also necessary.
However, in Feng Feiyun’s point of view, this was clearly exploitation, ah! Such hard labor yet they have to give away nine parts… It was no wonder why the two sisters obtained a lot yet was still poor like before, and they didn’t even have a decent pair of shoes.
Feng Feiyun was in a daze. Then he asked:
“The Three Mysterious Gate is an Immortal Sect, how could they ask for money from ordinary people?”
Older Sister Ji was a bit surprised, and she answered with her own question:
“Should we not do this? We give the immortal gate money, then we can cultivate the supreme methods of the immortal gate — this is very satisfying.”
Feng Feiyun said:
“………..”
These tiny sects really know how to do business. Throwing some random garbage cultivation methods was enough to obtain the respect from all of the people, and the people even willingly offer three parts of their income. This… This was such a good scheme, ah.
The one strand of spirit energy from the big sister must be from the trashy cultivation method. No wonder why she felt grateful towards this Three Mysterious Gate. And she didn’t know that this incomplete method would never allow her to break through to the Spirit Realm rank.
Isn’t this very detrimental to other people?!
“Oh right, isn’t the payment for the Godly Martial Army issued by the court? Why do you still have to pay them money?”
Feng Feiyun felt that this was hard to believe.
“The Godly Tiger County is at the southern border of the Grand Southern Prefecture. It is next to the Po Luo Country, Da Shi Country, and Luo Man Country. Because it is at the frontier border, there is perennial war and bandits as well as evil people. This one thousand mile area became a lawless land, and even the army of the dynasty will not be stationed here.”
“Fire Beacon City is not an official large city of the Godly Jin Dynasty, but instead, a city for mercenaries. Anyone who comes to this place would either be fierce people who didn’t care for their lives, or people who were running and filled with hatred, or even the extremely evil ones who were chased away by the immortal sects and have no other places to go. In order to live in this place, there needs to be a protector to maintain order. And these people are the Godly Martial Army in Fire Beacon City.”
When Older Sister Ji said Godly Martial Army, she didn’t mean the real Godly Martial Army of the Godly Jin Dynasty, but one formed by numerous mercenaries.
However, because these mountainous people were grateful for their protection in this desolate land, they called them the Godly Martial Army.
“Godly Tiger County! Fire Beacon City!”
Feng Feiyun’s brows jumped. Wasn’t the Godly Tiger County right at the southern edge of the Grand Southern Prefecture? This was the border of the Godly Jin Dynasty! Many people who were cornered and had no places left to go would all escape to this place. The official Godly Martial Army would not be easily deployed to the border. This would cause chaos in the nearby countries, and it could even cause a great misunderstanding, resulting in a war between the nations.
Because of such a special location, the true Godly Martial Army would never chase to this place. Thus, this area became the most dangerous place in the entire Grand Southern Prefecture. All of the weaker sects, along with the thieves and robbers, the decisive assassins, and murderous demons who kill without blinking an eye, were all gathered here.
Because Feng Feiyun was near a small town in the mountains, he didn’t see the chaos in this place. However, once he reached Fire Beacon City, then without superb skill, staying alive would definitely be difficult.
Violence was basically a custom with all of the evil people hidden as well as thieves everywhere… The mercenaries were the ones who were maintaining the order, so who would the little people show gratitude towards if not them?
‘I didn’t expect to arrive at Godly Tiger County that is several ten thousand miles away; especially not such a dangerous and murderous region in the southern desolate border in the legends. Not bad, not bad, this will be easier to avoid the evil woman, Xiao Niulan. At the very least, within a few months, the disaster would not spread to this chaotic Fire Beacon City.’
The evil people and fierce assailants at this city — Feng Feiyun was not scared of. How could they be more frightening than the evil woman, Xiao Nuolan?
To be able to escape from the grasp of Xiao Nuolan… Even if Fire Beacon City was ten times more chaotic, Feng Feiyun still wouldn’t mind. On the contrary, he was even a bit excited!
Feng Feiyun’s favorite thing was to be villainous against other villains. In the end, all of the various powers within the Grand Southern Prefecture wanted to kill him. To come to such a troubled, desolate border might not be a bad thing.