The mountain in the southern suburbs of Baojiao County belonged to the Lian Family, one of the Eight Great Surnames in the county.
It was said that one of the Owners behind the Firewood Iron Shop was a member of the Lian Family.
The entrance to the mountain was guarded even more strictly than in the countryside. Over ten sturdy family retainers, who looked like they had trained in martial arts, patrolled with leashed hunting dogs, guarding the entrance.
"Entering the mountain to gather herbs costs eight hundred wen; chopping firewood costs one hundred wen. Both are for a single day, with no time limit," a Mountain Guard of the Lian Family at the checkpoint said to Chen Ku, who wanted to enter the mountain.
"Is chopping firewood that expensive?" Chen Ku asked curiously.
The Lian Family retainer smiled faintly. "Do you really not know, or are you pretending? The firewood on this mountain is from sequoia trees, which can be made into top-quality charcoal. It’s not something ordinary woodcutters can handle; only charcoal merchants from the city come for it."
Chen Ku understood then. Charcoal is more expensive than firewood, he thought.
It was something only the wealthy could afford—top-quality charcoal that sometimes even served as tribute for the Imperial Court and the Imperial Palace.
In Dachen Village, there was also a charcoal seller. He toiled daily, chopping firewood and making charcoal, yet his family could never afford to use it themselves. They couldn’t even afford good cotton clothes in winter. He actually preferred the weather to grow colder so he could sell the charcoal at a better price.
Chen Ku paid eight hundred wen.
The Mountain Guard of the Lian Family issued him a permit. "This is your herb-gathering voucher," he said. "Our master’s men also patrol the mountain. If they stop you, show them this voucher, and they’ll know you entered legitimately."
He didn’t mention the fate of those who sneaked in. But looking at this group, each man vigorous and formidable, Chen Ku guessed that encountering them without permission would mean a swift death.
"Thank you, I am entering the mountain now."
Chen Ku entered the mountain. It was Xushi hour, around eight o’clock at night. During the "autumn tiger" season, the sky didn’t darken too early. There was still some light in the forest, making the paths easier to navigate.
But he knew that he had to return by midnight at the latest. It wasn’t that the Medicine King Hall had a curfew, but rather that he had to work during the day. He was essentially working two jobs and needed to conserve his energy.
Half an hour after entering the mountain, he reached deep into the woods and soon made a substantial find.
"Worthy of a forest with special soil! This Poria has grown so old—about thirty years, no doubt! Great stuff, worth four taels of silver!"
Shortly after, another ten minutes or so passed.
"More good stuff! Such a large patch of Goldthread Lotus, with leaves as big as a child’s palm! With such quality, even fresh, they could sell for ten taels a pound..."
Chen Ku looked at the Goldthread Lotus growing amongst a large patch of dried leaves and vines at his feet. He dug them all out, shook off the dirt, and weighed them in his hand—a large handful, at least two or three taels.
Another two or three taels to his name.
"Great place! A wonderful place indeed!"
With his Skinny Dog Transformation activated, Chen Ku was practically in a treasure mountain.
This was mainly thanks to the few days he had spent at the Medicine King Hall, where he had handled hundreds of medicinal ingredients, wet or dry. This allowed him to learn hundreds of scent signatures, so he just needed to scan the forest and search the mountains by smell.
As time passed, it soon reached midnight.
Chen Ku estimated the haul in his basket.
"Tonight, I’ve earned at least over ten taels of silver! Indeed, herb gathering is my true calling! Joining the Medicine King Hall was merely a path for advancement. My income from these four hours tonight probably surpasses the daily wages of those master herbalists at the Medicine King Hall!"
He had heard that a regular master at the Medicine King Hall earned more than one hundred taels of silver a month, comparable to a manager or supervisor in a company from his previous life. This broke down to about four or five taels a day.
But Chen Ku could earn over ten taels in one night.
If it could be every day...
"One day I’ll become the richest man in Baojiao County," Chen Ku mused, feeling somewhat complacent.
However, he also knew it wasn’t very realistic. After all, there was only a limited amount of medicinal herbs in the mountains. With his harvesting method, it wouldn’t take more than a month or two before all the valuable, mature herbs were gone.
"Maybe in just a few months, I could buy a large courtyard house in the Inner City of the county."
The property prices in the Inner City for a decent courtyard house started at least at one thousand taels of silver.
Just as Chen Ku was tallying his harvest in his mind, suddenly, his nose twitched.
He had been using the Skinny Dog Transformation for four hours without fatigue, but now, he suddenly detected an extremely terrifying scent.
Soon, after comparing it with scents in his memory, Chen Ku’s face turned pale!
"This... this is the stench of tiger urine, the scent of a tiger! A Fierce Tiger! There’s actually a Fierce Tiger in these mountains!"
Chen Ku’s forehead broke out in sweat. He had processed Tiger Whip at the Medicine King Hall and naturally recognized the scent.
Though he had practiced martial arts, given his current physique, if he encountered a Fierce Tiger in the forest, he feared his chances of winning were less than twenty percent.
"Quickly, down the mountain!"
Smelling the Fierce Tiger, Chen Ku had only one thought: "Escape!" He didn’t dare linger a moment longer.
He took off, his figure flitting through the dense forest like the phantom of a Skinny Dog, a breeze whistling past him.
However, as he fled, his even keener nose caught a bloody reek on the wind. It seemed to originate from a mountain stream two or three miles away and was moving rapidly towards his location!
It was actually chasing him!!
At that moment, if someone could look down from high above, they would see a terrifyingly fierce adult tiger, as tall as two men, bounding over mountains and leaping across streams, stirring up a bloody wind in its wake.
"Trouble, trouble, trouble! It’s actually chasing me! Could it be a starving tiger that hasn’t eaten in days?!!"
WHOOSH! Chen Ku sprinted, pushing the explosive power and speed of the Skinny Dog Transformation to its absolute limit, continually increasing the distance between himself and the scent of that vicious tiger.
Finally, not far away, he saw torches—it was the Lian Family’s mountain patrol!
"Who goes there?!" one of the patrolmen shouted from a distance.
Seeing there were people, and also noticing that the tiger’s scent seemed to have stopped some distance away, Chen Ku could almost visualize the scene:
An imposing tiger, with black spots and yellow stripes, sat on a large boulder, its fierce gaze fixed in his direction. However, likely smelling other humans, it reluctantly turned its head and departed.
"I am an herbalist, here with a permit!"
Chen Ku stepped forward and showed his permit. The cold expressions of the three-man patrol team eased slightly. One of them advised, "Be careful when you come up the mountain at night. There are plenty of hungry wolves and Fierce Tigers. Not long ago, a Demon even appeared. If you’re not a martial artist at or above the Force Transforming realm, it’s best to come in groups in the future."
"Thank you for the advice. I’ll head down the mountain now," Chen Ku said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Even after he finally descended the mountain, he was still a bit shaken. He was lucky to have retreated quickly and encountered the mountain patrol. Otherwise, a single swipe from that tiger, with at least two thousand pounds of Palm Force, would have made him its dinner.
This is the terrifying deterrent power of a fierce beast! Chen Ku thought about the second condition to activate the Transformation Diagram and clenched his fists. Sooner or later, I will slaughter it!
That night, he hid his belongings in a place outside the city. Tomorrow, I’ll rent a temporary residence in the outer city, he thought. It’s not good to always leave things hidden outside.
It was almost Zishi hour (midnight) by the time Chen Ku slipped through the back door of the Medicine King Hall. He claimed he had been out drinking and returned late, offering profuse apologies before being allowed into the courtyard.
But unexpectedly, upon reaching his room, he saw Zhang Erniu still practicing his stances under the moonlight, even at this late hour.
"It’s so late, aren’t you going to sleep?" Chen Ku couldn’t help but ask.
Zhang Erniu, his face stern, continued his stance training. "I’m already thirty, not young like you all. At this age, how can I sleep soundly? In a few more months, my first year will be up. If I can’t stay in the Medicine King Hall then, how will I provide a good life for my family? You go sleep; I’ll practice for another hour."
Chen Ku fell silent, at a loss for words. One should respect the paths others choose for themselves.
The next day, early in the morning, Chen Ku found that Zhang Erniu was still the first one up.
And over the past few days of interacting with the other fellows in the room, he had come to understand their personalities quite well.
Zhang Erniu was a "grinder," constantly working from morning till night, seemingly determined to outdo everyone.
Che Ping was the complete opposite. Even during morning martial arts lessons, he practiced half-heartedly. At other times, he was never seen training. He seemed to have completely given up on himself, embodying a "slacker" attitude, as if he had no intention of trying to stay in the Medicine King Hall.
Huang Wenbao also had his own approach. He was neither a grinder nor a slacker, but he made a habit of always being around the apprentices from the inner courtyard and was particularly keen on serving tea and running errands for the masters, acting like a "suck-up."
The three of them—one grinder, one slacker, one suck-up—turned the small room into a microcosm of society.
During his two-hour break at noon after finishing his tasks, he went to the outer city, rented a small courtyard, and moved his things there.
Then, he went to a butcher shop. With a smile, he sincerely asked, "Are you still looking for anyone to slaughter pigs here?"