Chapter 52

The accommodation conditions at the medicine manor were naturally not very good, as they were all large communal dorms. It was easy to arrange for the male servants, but when it came to Hua Hua Changxi, Mao Yong was in a dilemma.

He wanted to give Hua Hua Changxi some trouble, but once he thought about how this girl was someone even the one-armed Guo Yu feared, he didn't dare to act recklessly.

Disciplining Hua Hua Changxi required a valid reason; otherwise, he couldn't move a Grandmaster.

Mao Yong thought for a while and finally brought Hua Hua Changxi to the livestock yard, pointing to the hut beside the courtyard gate: "You will live in this room!"

The Three-Fork Medicine Manor managed thousands of acres of medicine fields and also connected to the mountains, managing the medicine valley at the foot of the mountains. It was very difficult to manage so much land with just manpower, so they raised dozens of cattle and over a dozen hunting dogs.

In addition, the medicine manor often had to escort medicinal herbs to the Medicine Department, which required horses, so they also raised dozens of horses.

In the livestock yard, not only was there the smell of cow dung and horse manure everywhere, but one also had to be careful not to be bitten by hunting dogs. Mao Yong felt very proud of arranging for Hua Hua Changxi to live here.

Seeing Hua Hua Changxi looking at the livestock yard without saying a word, Mao Yong smiled: "What, you don't want to live here? If you really don't want to live here, I won't force you; you can go live in the communal dorm, if you dare."

Hua Hua Changxi glanced at him: "A private courtyard, I am very satisfied. Thank you, Manager Mao."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Mao Yong's face disappeared: "As long as you are satisfied." Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

The smell in the courtyard was too strong. After Mao Yong left, Hua Hua Changxi raised her hand to cover her nose and walked into the thatched hut.

The inside of the room was even worse than the outside—dirty and messy. More than half of the space was used to stack miscellaneous items, and only in the corner was there a bed made of a few wooden boards pieced together.

The bed was covered with thatch, and on the grass was a tattered quilt whose original color could no longer be distinguished.

Hua Hua Changxi looked at the room where there was nowhere to step, walked out, circled the courtyard, and seeing no one, went to close the courtyard gate.

Returning to the thatched hut, Hua Hua Changxi stood by the window, used a disintegration technique, and turned the thatch and tattered quilt on the wooden bed into powder.

Then, she activated the Purification Technique, and in an instant, a whirlwind blew up in the room.

At the doorway, dust flew, and soon the dust was blown far away.

When Hua Hua Changxi stepped into the thatched hut again, although it was still messy, it was finally clean and had no strange odors.

After tidying up the miscellaneous items a bit and clearing out some space, Hua Hua Changxi sat on the wooden bed, took out the steamed bun and pickles from her bundle, and ate slowly.

After eating, she lay down, closed her eyes, and began to run the bird-like breathing and cultivation method.

Soon, Hua Hua Changxi opened her eyes in surprise.

The spiritual energy at the medicine manor was even more concentrated than at the Medicine Department.

It made sense; this was the place where the Origin Spirit Grass grew. Without sufficient spiritual energy, how could the Origin Spirit Grass appear?

She had to hurry and figure out the situation here, find the Origin Spirit Grass early, and then refine the Origin Spirit Pill; only then could she quickly improve her realm.

Devoting herself fully to cultivation could restore physical strength and energy faster and better than sleeping.

Having traveled for a day and a night, although Hua Hua Changxi wasn't very tired, she had consumed a lot of physical strength. Before long, she was immersed in cultivation.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

"Open the door, open the door quickly."

"Woof, woof, woof~"

Hua Hua Changxi, immersed in cultivation, could not perceive the passage of time. When she was awakened by the knocking and opened her eyes, she realized it was already dark.

"Is the person inside dead? Someone, come and break the door open for me!"

Mao Wei was clamoring for people to break the door, when the door opened with a 'creak'.

Seeing Hua Hua Changxi walk out, Mao Wei was dumbfounded and retreated a few steps in fear, pointing at her: "You... why are you here?"

Hua Hua Changxi glanced at Mao Wei and then at the dozen or so people behind him.

Each person was holding a majestic hunting dog.

"I am here to help pick and plant herbs."

Female servants coming to the medicine manor were mostly being punished. Even if Mao Wei knew this, he didn't dare to say anything at this moment. There was no way around it—he couldn't beat her, so he could only signal his men to quickly lead the hunting dogs into the courtyard.

"Woof, woof, woof~"

The hunting dogs barked wildly at the newcomer.

Most young ladies would be scared upon seeing so many hunting dogs. Mao Wei looked at Hua Hua Changxi, whose expression hadn't changed at all, and complained in his heart that she wasn't a woman.

Noticing his men staring at Hua Hua Changxi with glowing eyes, he didn't warn them. After leading the hunting dogs back to the kennel, he walked away quickly.

Others also hurried to eat, but after glancing at Hua Hua Changxi with ambiguous expressions, they followed.

Hua Hua Changxi frowned, closed the courtyard gate, returned to the thatched hut, and closed her eyes to continue cultivating. Just as the spiritual energy had run for a few cycles, the courtyard gate was knocked on again.

The people who came this time were all leading cattle. Dozens of cattle were led into the courtyard, and the air became suffocating.

Like the people leading the hunting dogs, these people also scrutinized Hua Hua Changxi with strange eyes for a while.

Hua Hua Changxi kept a straight face, patiently waiting for these people to leave. Just as she was about to close the courtyard gate after they left, a boy as thin as a hemp stalk walked out from the courtyard gate.

"Do... do you need something?"

The boy pointed to the thatched hut: "I want to get my quilt."

Hua Hua Changxi was stunned: "You lived here before?"

The boy nodded.

Hua Hua Changxi thought of the tattered quilt she had disintegrated and felt very sorry: "That... I'm sorry. I cleaned up the room earlier and burned your quilt."

The boy's expression became anxious, wanting to say something, but finally lowered his head and turned to leave, dejected.

"Wait a moment."

Hua Hua Changxi called the boy, ran back to the thatched hut, took a piece of broken silver from her bundle, and handed it to the boy: "I'm really sorry, I thought this room was unoccupied."

"Is there a place to buy things near the medicine manor? Take the silver and go buy a new quilt."

The boy looked at the silver in Hua Hua Changxi's hand and shook his head: "My quilt isn't worth much."

Seeing this, Hua Hua Changxi directly stuffed the silver into the boy's hand: "I burned your quilt without your permission, so I should compensate you. It also takes time for you to go buy a quilt, which delays your time. Take the silver, otherwise, I will feel bad."

The boy looked at Hua Hua Changxi, holding the silver, somewhat awkward.

Hua Hua Changxi was silent for a moment: "Do... do you have anything else? I'm quite tired. If you have nothing else, I'm going to rest."

The boy shook his head: "I have nothing else."

Hua Hua Changxi: "Then... I'm closing the door."

Watching the tightly closed gate, the boy gripped the silver in his hand, stood for a moment, and turned to leave.

Listening to the sound of footsteps fading away, Hua Hua Changxi breathed a sigh of relief, but when she saw the messy courtyard, she frowned again.

"Woof, woof, woof~"

"Moo~"

"Neigh~"

In the livestock yard, the stables were to the north, the cow shed to the east, and the kennel to the west. The barking of dogs, the mooing of cattle, and the neighing of horses floated constantly over the courtyard.

The thatched hut was located in the south, next to the gate. The person living here was essentially a gatekeeper.

Hua Hua Changxi really couldn't stand the stench in the courtyard. With a wave of her hand, a gust of wind swept by, and the air suddenly became a bit fresher. Only then did she turn and return to the thatched hut to continue cultivating.

When Hua Hua Changxi ran the bird-like breathing and cultivation method, the hunting dogs, horses, and cattle that had been barking and making noise in the courtyard all fell silent simultaneously. If one observed carefully, one would find that the posture of the cattle, horses, and hunting dogs was exactly the same—all kneeling and lying on the ground.

"Brother, do you know that Hua Hua Changxi has come to the medicine manor?"

Mao Yong looked at his younger brother, who had rushed into the room shouting, and felt a headache: "I went to pick them up; how could I not know?"

Mao Wei rubbed his jaw. Because he had lost his molars, his face looked smaller: "Brother, Hua Hua Changxi has come to our territory; you must vent my anger for me."

Mao Yong glanced at him: "Rest assured, brother won't let her have an easy time. But remember, you are not allowed to provoke her."

Mao Wei thought of Hua Hua Changxi's martial arts strength and naturally wouldn't ask for trouble: "Brother, how do you plan to deal with Hua Hua Changxi?"

Mao Yong smiled faintly: "A woman has come to the medicine manor, and she's quite good-looking. Do you think the male servants in the manor can sit still?"

"I have already handed over the task of feeding the livestock to others. We just need to sit and watch the show. As long as Hua Hua Changxi dares to hurt someone, I will go ask Master You to make a decision."

Mao Wei's expression brightened: "Brother, you really have a way."

Mao Yong looked at his brother: "Bullying a young lady is ultimately unmanly. Fortunately, we aren't plotting against Hua Hua Changxi; we are using an open strategy. It just depends on whether she takes the bait."

The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, Hua Hua Changxi opened her eyes. There was a well in the courtyard. After washing up, she prepared to go eat breakfast. Just as she opened the courtyard gate, she saw two male servants with fleshy faces walking over.

"Yo, little sister, you're up so early. We were just saying we'd come to wake you up."

"Little sister, did you sleep well last night? The weather is still a bit cold; isn't it cold sleeping alone? Do you want us brothers to come keep you company at night?"

Seeing the two walking toward her, Hua Hua Changxi took a few quick steps, bypassed them, increased the distance, and without answering, walked away quickly.

Seeing this, the two male servants couldn't openly chase her, so they could only curse and enter the courtyard to feed the livestock.

After seeing the two enter the courtyard, Hua Hua Changxi turned back, stood at the courtyard gate, cast a spell of spiritual energy, and then walked away quickly again.

The next moment, barking sounds erupted in the courtyard, and not long after, screams followed.

Hua Hua Changxi entered the courtyard where they ate, ignored the scrutiny of the people around her, went to the kitchen to get food, and seeing that the tables in the courtyard were already occupied, she sat directly on the stone steps under the eaves to eat.

Seeing her like this, Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow, Mao Yong and Mao Wei exchanged silent glances, and others discussed it among themselves.

Just then, someone rushed into the courtyard.

"Manager Mao, it's bad! The hunting dogs in the livestock yard have gone mad and are biting Guang and Bing."

Hearing this, Mao Yong and Mao Wei looked at Hua Hua Changxi simultaneously, and even Zhu Yu looked over.

Hua Hua Changxi remained unmoved and continued eating her food.

Mao Yong glanced at Hua Hua Changxi and took Mao Wei and the others to the livestock yard.

Upon learning that the younger brothers of the two servants had been bitten by hunting dogs and it was unknown if they would be able to use their parts in the future, Mao Yong and Mao Wei both clenched their legs tightly.

Mao Yong questioned the two, but couldn't find evidence that Hua Hua Changxi had caused the hunting dogs to go mad, so he could only treat the matter as an accident.

After breakfast, it was time to assign tasks.

Hua Hua Changxi was assigned to the medicine fields near the foot of the mountain. The soil in these fields was relatively dry and hard, making it difficult to plant herbs, and one had to run far away to water and fertilize them. It was the land the people at the medicine manor least wanted to manage.

Knowing that Mao Yong was deliberately making things difficult for her, Hua Hua Changxi didn't say a word, took the farm tools and medicine seedlings, and went to work.

【Shennong Planting Technique (Introductory): Planting Common Plants 1/10】

When Hua Hua Changxi planted a medicine seedling into the medicine field, familiar data appeared in her line of sight.

After planting ten, her mind was filled with various knowledge about planting common plants. These common plants included not only medicinal herbs but also grains and other foods.

"This..."

Hua Hua Changxi thought that since Shennong was the ancestor of medicine and agriculture, she felt relieved.

Originally, she came here just to find the Origin Spirit Grass, but she didn't expect to have extra gains. This made Hua Hua Changxi very happy, and to upgrade the data, she worked extra hard.

Mao Wei led the hunting dogs to patrol the medicine fields, intending to see if Hua Hua Changxi was slacking off. Unexpectedly, after arriving at the foot of the mountain, he found that Hua Hua Changxi was actually the most efficient worker.

He wanted to be critical of her work, but the medicine seedlings she planted fully met the standards and were even better than those planted by many veterans in the medicine manor.

Unable to find any faults, Mao Wei could only leave angrily.

【Shennong Planting Technique (Minor Success): Planting Common Plants 100/100】

Reaching one hundred planted seedlings, Hua Hua Changxi received various knowledge and related spells on how to pick and plant spiritual herbs and spiritual grains.

The spells included: Soil Turning Technique, Pest Removal Technique, Pest Repellent Technique, Fertilization Technique, Spiritual Rain Technique, Temperature and Humidity Control Technique, as well as how to set up Spirit Gathering Arrays and Spiritual Energy Shields.

Having learned so many spells, Hua Hua Changxi was truly extremely happy.

【Shennong Planting Technique (Great Success): Planting Common Plants 1000/1000】

Reaching one thousand planted seedlings, Hua Hua Changxi received knowledge on how to plant divine plants.

Although she wanted to learn all the Shennong Planting Techniques quickly, Hua Hua Changxi still intentionally slowed down her speed. She hadn't forgotten that she came to the Three-Fork Medicine Manor to find the Origin Spirit Grass, and she didn't want to finish the work early and be sent back to the Servant Hall.

Knowing that for the first few days, she would be watched closely by Mao Yong and Mao Wei, what Hua Hua Changxi had to do was to make them unable to find any faults and not give them a chance to go to the Grandmaster.

If not absolutely necessary, she didn't want to be at odds with a Grandmaster.

Even if she wasn't afraid of a Grandmaster, if she were noticed by one, it probably wouldn't be so easy for her to find the Origin Spirit Grass.

Adhering to this principle, in the face of various harassments from the male servants, Hua Hua Changxi endured them all, only secretly retaliating in the dark.

A female servant had come to the medicine manor, and the male servants all wanted to take advantage of her.

However, this female servant was somewhat eerie.

On her second day, two male servants used feeding the livestock as an excuse to go over and take advantage, only to have their parts bitten by hunting dogs.

On her third day, two more male servants used feeding the livestock as an excuse to try to take advantage, but accidentally fell into the steaming cow dung and ate a big mouthful of it.

On her fourth day, four male servants went to the livestock yard at the same time, but encountered a stampede of horses and all had their legs broken.

On her fifth day, the male servants didn't dare to go deep into the livestock yard and wanted to block Hua Hua Changxi at the foot of the mountain to drag her into the forest, but they encountered a wild boar in the woods and, while fleeing, fell into a trap for hunting wild beasts, with two people dying on the spot.

After this, even those with lustful hearts didn't dare to approach Hua Hua Changxi.