Chapter 151: Hundred-Herb Garden

Although Han Li didn't know the conversation between the elder surnamed Ye and the elder surnamed Wu after he left, he still felt extremely stifled!

Ever since he experienced the matter with Doctor Mo, this was the first time he had encountered a situation where he knew there was a big pit ahead and he still had to jump into it. This made Han Li extremely annoyed, but it also strengthened his view that the cultivation world was also a place where the strong preyed on the weak.

"I'll go get them when I need them in the future!" Thinking of this, Han Li sneered. He would definitely let this Uncle-Master Ye know in the future that his things were not so easy to embezzle!

He stood on the ground and looked into the distance. At this time, Deacon Yu had already returned to the Hundred Machines Hall, because not far ahead was the Hundred-Herb Garden, a small basin between two hills, which had been set up with some small restrictive spells by the owner of the herb garden to prevent outsiders from breaking in.

Han Li walked for a short distance and touched the restrictive spells nearby, and was blocked by a piece of white light.

However, he was not panicked. He raised a jade token and shone it toward the front. Immediately, a green light shot out from the token and flew into the restrictive spells, and then Han Li waited patiently.

"Come in!" A dry voice came from inside, as if it were ringing in Han Li's ear. Then, the restrictive spells in front of him disappeared like ice and snow melting.

Seeing this, Han Li didn't dare to be negligent and walked in quickly.

Following this small path, Han Li stopped in front of a courtyard with a plaque hanging "Hundred-Herb Garden," which was quite large, several acres in size. Before he even entered the courtyard, a thick medicinal fragrance wafted from inside, which made Han Li's spirits lift.

"What are you standing outside for? Come in quickly, I have something to go out for!" Han Li was stunned, but immediately walked in obediently.

Standing inside, Han Li truly saw the situation in the garden clearly.

Several thatched cottages built of hay and bamboo were located in the center of the garden, while the surroundings were square plots divided by grooves, arranged neatly. Each plot was lush and green, planted with many medicinal herbs that Han Li was familiar with or unfamiliar with, and some strange-looking plants, making the entire garden full of spiritual energy. Even a cultivator like Han Li felt extremely comfortable after taking a deep breath.

"Come into the house!" The owner of the voice saw him dawdling and became somewhat impatient.

Han Li smiled lightly and walked into the thatched cottage indifferently.

Inside the house stood a withered and thin short old man, looking at Han Li who had just entered with dissatisfaction. This old man looked about fifty years old from the outside, with two withered yellow mustaches, and a pair of somewhat turbid small eyes rolling around. At first glance, he really looked like a big rat that had become a spirit.

"Are you the garden management disciple sent by the Hundred Machines Hall? You're too young, and your cultivation is so poor! Is that guy Ye perfunctory to me? Why is the person sent each time worse than the last?" As soon as the short old man saw Han Li's appearance, his face sank, and he flew into a rage.

"Disciple Han Li, greets Uncle-Master Ma!" Han Li had already known about the old man's eccentric temper from the files, so he wasn't surprised and stepped forward to bow.

"Hmph! Do you know how heavy the punishment will be if you can't complete the task? Go back now and call that Junior Brother Ye of mine to send someone else, it's still not too late!" The old man rolled his eyes and said unpleasantly.

"Is it that the scale of the herb garden must be maintained, the medicinal herbs cannot be allowed to wither, and a certain quantity of medicinal herbs must be handed in every month! If that's the case, this junior has some confidence!" Han Li said calmly.

Upon hearing Han Li's words, the old man was somewhat surprised. It seemed that this was the first time he had encountered a garden management disciple like Han Li who was full of confidence as soon as he opened his mouth. He couldn't help but look at Han Li again, but the suspicion in his eyes did not decrease at all.

"Follow me!" The old man suddenly said coldly, then walked out of the thatched cottage, and Han Li followed him without hesitation.

"How many of these medicinal herbs can you recognize?" The old man pointed to the medicinal herbs all over the garden and looked at Han Li sideways.

"One-tenth," Han Li said lightly after a glance.

Upon hearing this, the short old man was stunned, but immediately sneered:

"Little guy, if you can really recognize one-tenth of the medicinal herbs, I will hand over the garden to you to manage, and I won't say another word!"

With these words from the other party, Han Li smiled slightly and left the old man's side.

"Midnight Flower, Yellow Ball Grass, White Crane Ganoderma, Moon-Gazing Grass..." Han Li walked around the garden and called out the names of the medicinal herbs he recognized at will.

The short old man was still sneering at first, but as he listened, his face revealed a look of surprise, because Han Li actually called out many very obscure medicinal herb names, some of which he himself had to spend a lot of effort to understand their efficacy, which greatly surprised him.

"Enough!" Before Han Li finished performing all the medicinal herbs he recognized, the short old man stopped his performance.

"Very good, it seems you are not completely bragging! This herb garden will be handed over to you to manage for the time being, and I won't say another word! This is the restrictive token for this place, take it carefully!" The old man revealed a look of satisfaction on his face, took out a dark green wooden token from his body, and threw it to Han Li.

"There are my insights and experiences in cultivating medicinal herbs over the years in the house, you should also read them carefully. After all, you are still unfamiliar with most of the medicinal herbs, don't let them wither for me!" The old man touched his small mustache and exhorted.

"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle-Master, disciple will keep it in mind!" Han Li said respectfully.

"Sigh! I hope your ability can be as useful as your mouth, so that I can truly be liberated from this herb garden and not delay my cultivation anymore. This herb garden is my private herb field, so if you can truly be competent for this work, I will definitely not treat you badly. But I'll say the ugly words first: if you can't do it, then get out early and change to someone else, do you understand?" The old man said with a mix of kindness and severity.

Han Li not only didn't get angry at the other party's impolite words, but instead felt a great liking for him. He felt that this old man was much stronger than that Uncle-Master Ye, at least the other party was not a hypocritical villain. Therefore, he nodded repeatedly to show his agreement.

After giving a few more precautions for managing the garden, the short old man returned to the thatched cottage to pack up in a hurry, then left the herb garden without looking back and flew away.

Han Li watched Uncle-Master Ma go away, then chose a thatched cottage to tidy up and used it as his residence.

Because he had been busy all day without a rest, even a cultivator like Han Li felt some fatigue, so he climbed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

For him, even if something huge was about to happen outside, it wouldn't be too late to solve it after he was full of energy, and at this time, the sky had just turned dark.

Han Li's first day as a new disciple of Yellow Maple Valley passed without much trouble. When Han Li woke up full of energy the next day, his path to cultivation officially began.

In the following days, Han Li studied the old man's insights and notes during the day, and secretly buried the mysterious little bottle in a corner of the herb field at night, covering it with the magic treasure fragment he had exchanged at a high price to cover up the astonishing signs of it absorbing spiritual energy.

In this way, apart from the spiritual energy in this corner being slightly thicker than elsewhere, there was really nothing else that would attract attention, which made Han Li's secretly tense heart finally relax.

And that Uncle-Master Ye also found Han Li a few days later with the items exchanged for the so-called Foundation Establishment Pill, and handed over to Han Li the spirit stones and magic tools that were less than one-fifth of what was originally promised. As for the medicinal pills that should have been included, this Hall Master Ye seemed to have forgotten long ago, and Han Li also pretended not to know.

However, despite this, Han Li still became rich overnight. He obtained two mid-tier spirit stones, dozens of low-tier spirit stones, three well-refined magic tools, and some talismans.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 152 =====