Chapter 53: Fifty Paths, Forty-Nine Manifest

On the morning of the sixth day since arriving at the Three-Fork Herb Manor, as soon as it was light, Hua Changxi finished her cultivation on time. She had just drawn water to wash up when a knock came at the courtyard gate.

Unlike the forceful knocking of the past few days, this time the knock was very polite.

Hua Changxi put down her washing supplies, walked over, and opened the courtyard gate. Seeing the thin, gaunt boy standing outside, she was a little surprised. "Why is it you?"

A Niu was a bit shy and didn't dare look directly at Hua Changxi. He lowered his head and said, "Manager Mao told me to come back and continue feeding the livestock."

Hua Changxi: "Were you the one who used to take care of feeding the livestock?"

A Niu nodded and quickly glanced at Hua Changxi. "The day you all arrived, Manager Mao had someone else feed the livestock."

Hua Changxi understood in her heart that Mao Yong was trying to use the other male menial laborers to harass her, force her to make a move, and then have a grandmaster come out to teach her a lesson.

Hua Changxi stepped aside to let the boy into the courtyard. "What's your name?"

A Niu seemed a bit afraid of Hua Changxi. He trotted into the courtyard and then kept his distance from her. "My name is A Niu."

Seeing this, Hua Changxi's eyes lowered. Two people had died yesterday. Although she hadn't personally done it, the wild boar had indeed gone mad because she attacked it with spiritual power.

People died...

That had been unexpected, but she didn't regret provoking the boar.

Those male menials had come to harass her, so of course she had to fight back. As for what consequences might arise, that would depend on each person's luck.

In this herb manor, she was just a piece of meat. If she didn't fight back fiercely, afraid of this and that, an endless stream of troubles would await her.

And sure enough, after yesterday's incident, Mao Yong sent someone else to feed the livestock. If any other male menials in the manor wanted to get close to her, they'd have to think twice.

When Hua Changxi went to eat, the moment she entered the courtyard, everyone looked at her, and then, as if by unspoken agreement, moved away from her. The earlier catcalls had also stopped.

Hua Changxi was very satisfied with this.

With no one to annoy her in the livestock yard, Hua Changxi took her breakfast back to eat there, and didn't forget to bring a portion for A Niu.

Back in the livestock yard, A Niu had already fed the cows and horses and was now feeding the hunting dogs.

"A Niu, I brought you breakfast. Come eat when you're done."

There was a stone platform next to the well. Hua Changxi put the breakfast directly on it and ate while watching A Niu work.

A Niu was a little surprised that Hua Changxi had brought him breakfast, but he wasn't used to interacting with strangers, so he deliberately slowed down the feeding of the dogs.

However, looking at the hunting dogs, who obediently cooperated and neither barked nor made a fuss, A Niu felt very puzzled.

When he used to feed the livestock, both the cows and horses would be restless, and the hunting dogs particularly fierce in their barking. But today, the animals were especially easy to feed.

A Niu quickly glanced at Hua Changxi. Could it be that not only the people in the manor were afraid of Lady Hua, but even the animals feared her?

Hua Changxi watched A Niu dawdling and not coming over to eat. Thinking for a moment, she picked up the bowl holding three large steamed buns, walked over to A Niu, and placed it by his feet.

After returning to the stone platform, Hua Changxi asked, "A Niu, are you also a menial laborer at the herb manor?"

A Niu looked at the buns by his feet and swallowed. He was just a helper at the herb manor, not a regular menial here; ordinarily, he wouldn't get to eat such good food.

"No, I'm a shepherd boy from the neighboring village of Dongchi."

Hua Changxi: "Does your village also grow medicinal herbs?"

A Niu shook his head. "No. Medicinal herbs are precious; we can't afford to grow them."

Hua Changxi asked again, "I saw women planting herbs in the medicinal fields. Where are those women from?"

A Niu: "They're all from the surrounding villages. Every year during planting and harvest season, when the menial laborers at the manor can't keep up, they have people from the nearby villages come help."

Hua Changxi looked at him. "Since you're from the neighboring village, you must know a lot about the area around the herb manor, right?"

Hearing this, A Niu finally glanced at Hua Changxi and asked doubtfully, "Know what?"

Hua Changxi smiled. "Know about the geography around here, for instance. Yesterday, I had no idea there were wild boars in the mountains. It scared me half to death. That was my first time seeing a wild boar."

"A Niu, can you tell me about the nearby woods and mountains? I really don't want to run into another wild boar."

A Niu looked at her. "Young Lady Hua, you'd best stay inside the herb manor and not go wandering. The woods and mountains around here are a bit uncanny."

Hua Changxi immediately perked up. "Uncanny how?"

A Niu looked at the buns and didn't speak.

Hua Changxi: "What, are these things not to be told to outsiders?"

A Niu shook his head: "No, I'm afraid that if I tell you, you won't believe it."

Hua Changxi smiled: "How do you know I won't believe it if you don't tell me? Since we have nothing better to do, let's just treat it as telling a story."

Seeing that she was genuinely curious, A Niu finally spoke up: "There are an especially large number of wild beasts in the surrounding forests. Over the past two years, villagers have often been eaten. To hunt the beasts, we dug many traps on the outskirts of the forest."

If it weren't for those traps, no one would have died at the Herb Village yesterday.

Hua Changxi had heard her father talk about wild beasts eating people. She had originally thought it was a rare occurrence, but she never expected it to happen so often here at Sancha Herb Village.

Was this an isolated incident, or was it like this everywhere in Great Jin?

"Besides wild beasts eating people, are there any other strange things?"

A Niu: "... I've noticed that the valleys around us have become bigger, the mountains are taller than before, and the plants and trees in the mountains are more lush than before."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi's eyes flickered: "Really? Is this just your own feeling, or does everyone feel this way?"

A Niu: "A few uncles and I who often go hunting in the mountains all feel the same way."

Hua Changxi: "Have you told the yamen about this?"

A Niu: "Yes, a few uncles went to the yamen, but the officials there told us not to spread rumors, or else they would arrest us."

Hua Changxi couldn't confirm this matter, so she could only keep it in mind. Then she asked again: "I heard in the Medical Department that new herbs are often discovered here at Sancha Herb Village. Do you know about that?"

A Niu nodded, looking a bit happy: "I know, I even found one myself. Because of that, Manager Mao rewarded me with fifty jin of miscellaneous grains."

Seeing this, Hua Changxi fell silent again. The Medical Department was very generous to those who discovered new medicinal herbs, but after layers of deductions, it was only worth fifty jin of miscellaneous grains.

"You... what herb did you find? Where did you find it?"

A Niu shook his head: "Old Man You has instructed us that we cannot tell."

Hua Changxi: "Who is Old Man You?"

A Niu: "He is the Grandmaster stationed at Sancha Herb Village."

Seeing the fear on A Niu's face, Hua Changxi did not press further about the Grandmaster: "Any other strange things?"

A Niu hesitated for a moment: "A hunter from Nanchi Village once said he met a weasel that could speak human language in the mountains."

Hua Changxi's expression stiffened, and her voice rose a few notches: "Really or not?"

A Niu shook his head: "I don't know. That hunter later went mad and froze to death last winter."

An animal that speaks human language...

This news greatly shook Hua Changxi. Before she could continue questioning A Niu, the sound of a gong signaling the start of work rang out from outside the yard.

Soon, Mao Wei and a group of people entered the livestock yard to fetch the hunting dogs, oxen, and horses.

Hua Changxi had no choice but to leave the livestock yard and go to the drying ground to collect her farming tools.

"Hua Changxi, starting today, you will work in the Herb Valley."

The death of two male laborers yesterday had suddenly jolted Mao Yong awake. The one-armed man Guo Yu was a seventh-rank martial artist, and Hua Changxi was not afraid of him, which meant her martial cultivation was above the seventh rank.

He had actually gone and provoked a martial artist above the seventh rank—he really had grown tired of living.

The injured laborers over the past few days were the best example. Although there was no trace of Hua Changxi's handiwork, he knew it was her doing.

He had a bit of authority in the Herb Village, but if he truly angered Hua Changxi, that little authority would not be enough to protect him and his brother.

The wrong had already been done. Now all he could do was send Hua Changxi far away and avoid contact with her as much as possible.

Sending Hua Changxi to work in the Herb Valley was a convenient excuse.

The medicinal herbs planted in the Herb Valley were more precious than those in the herb fields. Hua Changxi was not only fast at planting herbs but also very meticulous, making her fully qualified to plant herbs in the Herb Valley.

Most importantly, Old Man You was at the Herb Valley. With him stationed there, Hua Changxi would have to stay obediently in the Herb Valley and not dare to run around.

Once the herb planting was finished, he would quickly send this batch of helpers away and never deal with Hua Changxi again.

Hua Changxi was more than willing to work in the Herb Valley. She had been racking her brains over how to get there, and now she didn't even have to think of a way herself.

Mao Yong called over a subordinate and had him lead Hua Changxi and a dozen or so other diligent laborers to Sancha Herb Valley.

The Trident Herb Valley got its name because it lies at the junction of three Y-shaped mountain ranges. With flat terrain and fertile soil, it was originally farmland cultivated by nearby villagers, but after the Medicine Department took a liking to it, it was converted into a herb valley.

Hua Changxi walked at the very back of the group, carefully taking in everything around her.

The further she went toward the herb valley, the more she could clearly feel the spiritual energy in the air growing denser and denser.

"Chirp~"

Suddenly, a piercing bird cry rang out. Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a dark shadow diving straight down from the sky, charging at them.

Hua Changxi fixed her eyes on it, and shock immediately flashed across her face.

It was a sparrow—a giant sparrow whose wings spanned a full two meters when spread.

The crowd showed expressions of terror and scattered in all directions.

The team leader shouted as he ran, "You Lao, help!"

Hua Changxi, who had already picked up a stone from the ground and was about to strike, immediately withdrew her hand upon hearing this cry.

Just when the giant sparrow was only five or six meters from the ground, an arm-thick tree branch shot through the air, striking the sparrow square in the chest.

With a "boom," the sparrow fell from midair to the ground. The branch pierced through its body, pinning it to the earth.

The sparrow did not die right away; it struggled for a while before going still.

Watching this, everyone was terrified.

Hua Changxi looked toward the direction the branch had come from. Soon, the one-armed man she had seen before appeared.

"Alright, it's over."

The one-armed man reassured everyone, then walked over to the sparrow. With some difficulty, he pulled out the branch, hoisted the sparrow onto his shoulder, and was about to leave. As he turned, he saw Hua Changxi and paused slightly.

Still, the one-armed man said nothing; he carried the sparrow and left.

The team leader hurriedly called for everyone to follow, while he himself jogged alongside Guo Yu: "Master Guo, are the ferocious beasts in the herb valley increasing?"

Clearly, attacks by beasts like that sparrow were not the first time the herb estate people had encountered them.

Guo Yu's expression was indifferent: "Don't worry. As long as You Lao is here, he won't let anything happen to you."

The team leader was still anxious: "But this can't go on forever."

The ferocious beasts were growing in number, and there was only one You Lao—he couldn't possibly watch over everyone.

Guo Yu paused for a moment: "If the ferocious beasts keep increasing, You Lao will report it to the Heavenly Department. Then the Heavenly Department will send martial artists. You just focus on planting the medicinal herbs—don't trouble yourselves with the guarding."

Hearing that the Heavenly Department would send martial artists, the team leader's expression improved considerably.

Hua Changxi, walking at the back, pricked up her ears to listen to their conversation.

Ferocious beasts?

Were they animals like that giant sparrow?

How had a sparrow grown so big?

Was it because of the spiritual energy in the herb valley?

And the Heavenly Department...

The one-armed man's tone had been so calm, clearly this kind of thing was no longer an exception but widespread, and a mature response plan was already in place.

While Hua Changxi was pondering these things, they arrived at the Trident Herb Valley.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides with a basin in the middle, the geographic environment was extremely favorable. The area was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The team leader handed Hua Changxi and her group over to an overseer. The overseer carefully inquired about their situation, then assigned them to different teams.

About one-fifth of the people working in the herb valley were women, so Hua Changxi did not stand out here—a fact that made her breathe a deep sigh of relief.

When she saw that the herbs planted in the valley were all medicinal materials needed by high-rank martial artists, Hua Changxi was not particularly surprised. She deliberately observed the pace of the others and adjusted her own planting speed to match theirs.

Here, her goal was to blend in with the crowd. Only by blending in would she remain inconspicuous and avoid drawing the attention of the grandmasters, giving her a chance to investigate the situation in the herb valley and search for the Primordial Spirit Herb.

While Hua Changxi buried her head in her work, the one-armed man Guo Yu kept watching her. After observing her for most of the day and seeing nothing special about her, he went to the halfway point of West Mountain to see You Lao, who was sitting on a cliff, meditating with his eyes closed.

"Master, that Hua Changxi's martial arts cultivation is above your disciple's."

Old You shook his head with his eyes closed: "She's not a martial artist. There's no inner force in her body."

Guo Yu's expression shifted: "Impossible. If she's not a martial artist, how could she be unaffected by the disciple's pressure?"

Old You opened his eyes, his gaze flickering: "This world is becoming harder and harder for me, your master, to see clearly. Those above are hiding many things. I suspect that above martial artists, there should be even higher combat power."

As he spoke, he looked at Guo Yu, whose expression was shaken.

"Keep a close watch on that little girl. Perhaps we can uncover what secrets those above are hiding from her."

Guo Yu asked suspiciously: "Master, Mao Yong investigated Hua Changxi. She's just an ordinary girl from a common family. How could someone like her be connected to matters of those above?"

Old You smiled faintly: "The Great Dao has fifty, Heaven evolves forty-nine. Those above hide everything to protect their own interests, but Heaven is still fair, leaving a thread of life for those below."

"Take grandmaster martial artists, for example. Although aristocratic families produce more of them, there are also quite a few grandmasters from humble origins."

"No matter how much those above conceal things, those below each have their own opportunities."