Chapter 311: Medicine Boy

Duan Rong and his group walked down the stone steps and stopped in front of a courtyard.

The stone-built courtyard wall was simple and primitive, yet it was stacked quite thick and tall, blocking the group's line of sight so they could not see the buildings inside.

The arched top of the courtyard gate, however, was covered with a layer of glazed tiles, which did not match the style of the wall at all, looking somewhat incongruous.

As they drew closer, they saw that beneath the arch was an old wooden door that had already cracked and warped in several places.

Hanging on the wooden door was a dark, nondescript sign carved from some unknown wood, with two crooked characters written on it, seemingly in cinnabar: Lower Courtyard.

This was clearly the place where they were to report.

The group looked at each other, their eyes filled with disappointment.

They were born in a remote and isolated place, and in their hearts, the Sect had always been an exalted existence.

Being able to enter the Sect and become a Registered Disciple was a life-changing event in Xiangu County, something that could bring honor to one's ancestors.

But looking at the courtyard before them, it was truly indescribably dilapidated and shabby; there was not a shred of the Sect's majesty to be found.

Ximen Kankan muttered, "Just this place? It doesn't even have as much prestige as the City God Temple back in our county! Isn't it said that the Sect is the sky of Qingzhou? If the blue sky is so high and distant, and the courtyard is so dilapidated, the disparity is just too great."

Duan Rong said, "Let's go. Never mind whether it's dilapidated or not, as long as we haven't come to the wrong place."

Duan Rong had never really cared much about such things.

Duan Rong lifted his foot and walked toward the courtyard gate, and Ximen Kankan and the others followed.

Duan Rong intended to knock on the door, but as soon as he touched it, the door opened; the courtyard gate was actually left ajar.

Duan Rong pushed the door open and saw that the ground inside the courtyard was paved with stone bricks, with quite a bit of moss and weeds growing in the cracks.

Yet, in the spacious courtyard, there was not a single soul to be seen.

Duan Rong's gaze flickered slightly as he stepped into the courtyard.

Just as they walked into the courtyard, a black shadow suddenly flashed by their side.

Xiao Yu only felt a terrifying face, a mix of red and yellow, flash before her eyes.

Xiao Yu was so frightened that her face turned pale; she took a step back and bumped into Duan Rong's embrace.

Duan Rong grabbed Xiao Yu, and then they heard a series of loud, chattering cries.

They looked closely and saw a baboon under the eaves nearby, clutching its stomach and appearing to laugh heartily.

Duan Rong's face turned black in an instant, because the bundle on Xiao Yu's shoulder was already in the baboon's hands.

Xiao Yu was both angry and annoyed; Duan Rong's figure flashed, his right hand forming a claw as he lunged toward the baboon.

Seeing Duan Rong attack, the baboon suddenly leaped to the other end of the eaves.

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. "This beast is fast!"

Seeing the baboon was so agile, Xiao Yu and the others also unleashed their movement techniques and began to surround and intercept the baboon.

The baboon was not the least bit flustered, darting through the gaps between the four of them, occasionally letting out a few mocking laughs.

Xiao Yu's face was flushed from the chase, and her heart was in a state of utter chaos.

Her bundle contained some dry rations and food, but that didn't matter; the crucial thing was that the bundle also held some of her clothing, including two intimate undergarments. If the baboon were to rummage through them, how could she face anyone?

Just then, a figure walked out from a side room on the east side; it was a young man wearing a loose Daoist robe, looking to be in his twenties, with a fair complexion, sword-like eyebrows, and bright eyes.

Upon seeing the scene in the courtyard, the man said, "Are you all the Registered Disciples here to report?"

Duan Rong said, "That is correct!"

The man glanced at the baboon holding the bundle under the eaves not far away. The baboon looked at them with a provocative gaze.

The man shook his head and sighed, "This beast is a plaything kept by one of our Sect's Elders. I never imagined that over time, it would somehow master an extraordinary Lightness Skill. Since then, it has become a real nuisance."

The baboon suddenly thrashed the bundle in its hands and let out loud, chattering cries at the fair-skinned young man, clearly very dissatisfied with being called a nuisance.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted, and he suddenly turned his head to say to Ximen Kankan, "Kankan, let's try to intercept this beast one more time."

Ximen Kankan was already panting with exhaustion, but when Duan Rong called to him, he still nodded.

Xiao Yu said, "Duan Rong, why don't we... just forget it!"

The baboon clearly possessed superb Lightness Skill, far surpassing the few of them; how could they easily intercept it?

Duan Rong gave Xiao Yu a faint smile without answering, then his figure flashed as he charged toward the baboon.

Seeing Duan Rong charging at it again, the baboon actually let out an excited cry and leaped away once more to dodge him.

The baboon clearly hadn't had enough fun yet and was just itching for people to chase it.

At this moment, Ximen Kankan also moved to intercept the baboon, but the baboon veered its body and leaped in another direction.

Duan Rong leaped, heading straight toward the baboon.

Seeing Duan Rong's figure suddenly flash toward it, the baboon laughed mockingly while preparing to leap away.

Just then, Duan Rong suddenly threw the bundle from his own shoulder toward the baboon.

The baboon was, after all, just a beast; when someone threw something at it, it subconsciously reached out to grab it.

Especially since what Duan Rong threw to it was the very bundle it had been snatching.

But the moment the baboon caught the bundle Duan Rong had thrown, Duan Rong's figure swayed and he had already flashed past the baboon's side.

Xiao Yu's bundle, which had been in the baboon's hands, was now in Duan Rong's grasp.

The baboon froze for a moment before it suddenly realized it had been tricked.

The baboon was furious and flung away the bundle Duan Rong had thrown to it, only to find that the bundle was empty, containing nothing but a stone.

The baboon grabbed the stone and hurled it at Duan Rong; Duan Rong infused his Internal Breath into his hand and smashed the incoming stone into powder with a single punch, which then scattered in the wind.

The baboon was so angry that it bared its fangs and screeched wildly...

But the group was now on guard, and since the baboon only knew Lightness Skill, it angrily snapped a few tree branches in the courtyard before jumping onto the wall and leaving.

Watching the baboon leave, Duan Rong shook his head slightly and smiled, "This beast..."

Duan Rong dusted off the bundle and handed it to Xiao Yu.

Looking at Duan Rong's thoughtful manner, warmth and a flutter of emotion intertwined in her heart; she was even more grateful to Duan Rong for resolving her crisis.

Xiao Yu's gaze was as deep as a dark pool; she lowered her head and took the bundle.

"Thank you."

Once the words were out, Xiao Yu felt her face burning.

Ximen Kankan watched from the side for a moment, then suddenly said, "Oh... Xiao Yu, why is your face so red? It looks just like that baboon's backside."

Xiao Yu glared with her almond eyes and snapped, "Get lost! Do you believe I'll twist your mouth off!?"

Ximen Kankan hurriedly jumped away and hid behind Duan Rong.

Duan Rong walked over, picked up the empty bundle the baboon had thrown down, and put his own few pieces of clothing from the corner of the eaves back inside.

The fair-skinned young man stood under the eaves, watching Duan Rong, a look of keen interest appearing in his eyes.

It was the first time he had seen someone manage to retrieve a bundle from that baboon's hands.

Like throwing a sandbag, tossing an empty bundle to the baboon. Because of the beast's natural reaction, it would go to catch it, and in the instant it caught it, the bundle in its hand was taken away.

This person's wit could be called stunning and ingenious!

Although it was only dealing with a beast, it was like a brilliant move during a game of chess; one couldn't help but slap the table in admiration and applaud!

The fair-skinned young man couldn't help but look at Duan Rong a few more times.

Duan Rong finished strapping on his bundle, looked at the fair-skinned young man, and said, "Senior Brother, may I ask, where do we go to report?"

In this courtyard, under the eaves of each of the three buildings—east, west, and north—there were several doors, and a sign hung next to each door.

The fair-skinned young man smiled and said, "Come, I'll take you over."

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Then many thanks, Senior Brother."

The fair-skinned young man smiled and said, "May I ask, Disciple, where are you from?"

Duan Rong said, "Yuanyang Prefecture, Xiangu County."

The fair-skinned young man said, "Yuanyang Prefecture? That's quite far!"

Yuanyang Prefecture is in the far southwest of Qingzhou, a basin landscape surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Poor mountains and treacherous waters breed unruly people!

The fair-skinned young man led them to a door of the building on the west side, stepped inside directly, and said, "Lao Qin, a few more Registered Disciples have arrived..."

An old man with a sallow complexion and cloudy eyes was dozing off there; he raised his head and muttered, "How is it that there are still people reporting at this hour?"

The fair-skinned young man said, "They're from Yuanyang Prefecture! Qingzhou is so big, isn't that the most remote place?"

The fair-skinned young man looked at Duan Rong and the others, pinched his voice, and said, "Why haven't you taken out your Sect Cloud Tokens to show Elder Qin yet?"

Duan Rong understood, immediately took the Sect Cloud Token from the inner pocket of his robe, and handed it over.

Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizhi then each placed their own Sect Cloud Tokens on the old man's desk.

The old man sighed and impatiently picked up Duan Rong's Sect Cloud Token.

Seeing that the old man had taken it, the fair-skinned young man walked out the door in silence. Duan Rong turned his head to look at the young man's back with gratitude, thinking to himself: This Senior Brother is quite warm-hearted!

The old man opened his pair of dead-fish-like cloudy eyes and stared at each of their faces in turn.

The Sect Cloud Token not only contained a simple portrait but also a detailed description of stature and appearance.

After the old man carefully compared them and confirmed there were no errors, he took out a yellowed booklet.

He flipped through the booklet, first picked up Shen Mizhi's Sect Cloud Token, studied it for a while, then suddenly looked up at Shen Mizhi and said in a deep voice, "You, go to the Elder Council, as a Maid."

Shen Mizhi's expression changed. "The Elder Council? A Maid?"

The old man sneered and said, "What? Looking at that expression, do you think it's an insult to you? I know you're a young lady from an official's family! Let me tell you, if you weren't a young lady from an official's family, you wouldn't even be able to enter this Elder Council! Do you think just anyone can be a Maid in the Elder Council?"

Shen Mizhi was frightened by the old man's nasty attitude and shrank back, but still asked timidly, "Are there any other places?"

The old man glared at Shen Mizhi, and seemingly noticing the fear in Shen Mizhi's eyes, his expression softened slightly as he said, "The Elder Council is the best place to go. Where else do you want to change to? This is the Taiyi Sect, the heaven of Qingzhou! A dog in the Taiyi Sect is bigger than a county magistrate outside, let alone being in the Elder Council."

The old man said this because Shen Mizhi's file stated that her father was a county magistrate.

These files had been submitted a year ago, back when Shen Yanliu's promotion order had not yet come down.

Shen Mizhi wanted to say something else, but seeing the old man's cold expression, she swallowed her words.

She was originally a young lady; how could she end up becoming a Maid for others after entering the Sect?

The old man put down Shen Mizhi's Sect Cloud Token, picked up Xiao Yu's, and said, "You, go to the Stone Workshop to be a stonemason?"

"Stonemason?" Xiao Yu's mouth hung open; she really hadn't expected that she would one day be a stonemason.

Without waiting for Xiao Yu to speak, the old man picked up the Sect Cloud Tokens of Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan, his gaze sweeping over the two, and said, "You two, go to the Weapon Workshop and forge iron, okay?"

"Forge iron?" Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan also felt their hearts sink.

Stonemason, forging iron, Maid—so these Registered Disciples were just here in the Sect to do odd jobs!

Ximen Kankan said indignantly, "Old man, what kind of work are you assigning us? Forging iron, stonemason—are you treating us like livestock?"

The old man sneered and said, "You came so late, what kind of work do you still want? Do you think you were brought to the Sect to be masters?"

"You..." Ximen Kankan was just about to explode when he was pressed down by Duan Rong.

Duan Rong turned his head, looked at the old man, and smiled, "Elder Qin, please don't be angry. Registered Disciples are here to do odd jobs; we know our status! I just don't know if there are any other places? Please, Elder, give us some guidance."

The old man looked at Duan Rong, his heart skipping a beat.

He had seen many of these Registered Disciples; they were all children of noble families, and he really couldn't stand that arrogant, ignorant-of-the-world attitude they had.

But this kid in front of him could actually say that Registered Disciples were there to do odd jobs, which really made him look at him with new eyes.

Based on the old man's attitude toward them and the places assigned to them, Duan Rong instantly understood the hierarchy of so-called Registered Disciples within the Sect.

The old man said, "Over at Pharmacist Shang's place, they are still short of a Medicine Boy. But the requirements are quite high; you must be able to identify a hundred herbs! Can you do it?"

As the old man spoke, his eyes swept over them with contempt.

When Ximen Kankan heard that he could be a Medicine Boy, his eyes immediately lit up.

This Medicine Boy sounded much easier than forging iron.

Ximen Kankan said, "My family runs a Raw Medicine Shop; I've been holding medicinal herbs since I was a child."

"Is that so?" The old man let out a cold snort and took a wooden board from under the side table, on which three medicinal herbs were nailed.

The old man placed the wooden board on the table and said coldly, "If you can recognize even one, you pass."

Ximen Kankan looked toward the three medicinal herbs.

The three medicinal herbs did not look like ordinary herbs at all; one was withered and yellow, one was frost-white, and one was covered in black hair.

Ximen Kankan looked at the three medicinal herbs, and his expression immediately darkened; he actually did not recognize any of them.

Seeing Ximen Kankan's expression, the old man knew he did not recognize them.

Pharmacist Shang Xiangyu was so strict with his Medicine Boy; how could a kid from a Raw Medicine Shop in a county town catch his eye?

The old man said, "Aren't you someone who grew up holding medicinal herbs? What? You haven't held these three?"

Just as the old man was speaking, Duan Rong suddenly pointed at the withered yellow herb and said, "This one should be Xuantu Vine!"

The old man's expression, which had been full of mockery, suddenly froze on his face.

Duan Rong continued, "This frost-white one should be an immature Frost-Hair Mugwort. This one covered in black hair is a mature Black Velvet Betel."

Duan Rong finished speaking in a calm tone and then stood to the side.

The old man looked at Duan Rong with an expression as if he had seen a ghost, unable to speak for a long time.

Seeing the old man's shocked reaction, Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and the others knew that Duan Rong had gotten them all right.

Especially Ximen Kankan, whose family ran a Raw Medicine Shop. He hadn't even heard of the three herb names Duan Rong mentioned; this was too bizarre.

Ximen Kankan looked at Duan Rong and said, "You recognize them all?"

Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan and said, "It's normal that you don't recognize them. These three aren't medicine! They are all poisonous herbs!"

"Poisonous herbs?!"

As soon as Duan Rong said this, not only were Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and the others startled, but even the old man's heart skipped a beat; his hand, which had been pressing on the edge of the wooden board, was pulled back as if burned by fire.

The old man's face turned black; he actually hadn't known that those three were poisonous herbs either!

(End of this chapter)