Great Cloud City
Heavy rain fell, and the mountain touched the clouds.
The fall mountains were beautiful but also terrifying. Poisonous insects were active. Wild boars and black bears went out to hunt for food, which could cost people their lives if they were not careful.
Most of the herb gatherers were only active in the outer perimeter during this season. They picked some wild mushrooms, vegetables, and firewood in preparation for the winter.
However, the prices of seasonal herbs in fall and winter rose due to this. As a result, some herb gatherers still took the risk to enter the mountains for a stroll.
Jiang Ming met two of them in the mountains and learned from them that the situation in the town was getting more and more lively. About half of the herb gatherers had been “invited” away by the old men of the city. It was said that they had brought strong men to pave the way in the mountains and collect herbs wantonly.
There seemed to be a war somewhere, and the demand for medicinal herbs had significantly increased.
“You’re too impatient.” Jiang Ming couldn’t help but shake his head when he thought of this.
The medicinal herbs in the mountains seemed to grow randomly, but in fact, they all had their own unique growing environment. Such a large number of people opening up a path in the mountains would be devastating to the survival of the medicinal herbs.
In addition, those old men would probably not care about the environment like the herb gatherers.
However, all of this didn’t affect Jiang Ming. He hid in the mountain and had peace and quiet. Every day, he studied the breathing technique of the Tiger Subduing Fist. When he was tired, he would drink tea, read books, and sleep. The fall wind was blowing outside the cave, and sometimes it would drizzle. He lived like an idle man in the wild.
“I can’t keep doing this. I need to build a house.”
When people are idle, it’s easy for them to get bored. Jiang Ming looked at the messy cave and couldn’t stand it. He wanted a nice living environment.
Moreover, he didn’t know when the situation in Peace Town would stabilize. Jiang Ming didn’t plan to go back for a while, so it was better to build a residence.
“If I were in my hometown, I wouldn’t even have a plot of land. Now, I finally have a chance. But I don’t have any materials. It’s time to go to the city.”
Jiang Ming had been in this world for a few months, but he had never been to Great Cloud City. He wanted to take a look.
He thought for a moment, then carried his herb basket and walked out of the cave for a stroll.
It had just rained, and the wild mushrooms in the mountains had popped up.
Jiang Ming picked a basket full of hazelnut mushrooms and returned with a full load. He was going to bring them to the city to sell. Wild goods from the mountains could also be sold for a good price in the city.
One had to pay an entrance fee to enter the city. When the people at the foot of the mountain entered the city, they would usually bring some mountain goods to sell. If they entered the city empty-handed, they would attract attention.
It wasn’t a good time to collect herbs now, so Jiang Ming could only get something else. However, the hazelnut mushroom was the most delicious when used to stew chicken, so he didn’t have to worry about selling it.
The next morning, Jiang Ming set off with his herb basket and a few strings of copper coins. After he went down the mountain, he bypassed Peace Town and went straight to Great Cloud City.
He had taken away all the money in the house, except for a few salted fish in a jar, so there was nothing valuable left.
After walking along the yellow dirt road for nearly four hours, the travel-worn Jiang Ming finally saw a city in front of him. The city wall was several feet tall. It reflected a cold luster under the sun and looked terrifying.
At the city gate, there was a long queue. Most of them were villagers from the countryside or traveling merchants with small businesses. They were at the side gate, bowing and scraping to the soldiers guarding the city, paying money to enter the city.
As for the main gate, it was the passage for the officials and nobles. As the carriage rolled over, the soldiers guarding the city nodded and bowed, trying to send them off.
Jiang Ming followed at the back of the team and slowly moved to the city gate. He paid two copper coins before he was let into the city.
As soon as he walked through the door, he saw some notices on the left wall, with a few fierce faces drawn on them.
Next to the notice, a junior official in black was reading out loud, probably for the commoners who could not read.
“The rapist, Jia Shen, raped and killed three women. He has been on the run for weeks and has a pockmarked face. The captor will be rewarded with eight hundred copper coins if he is caught!”
“There is a wanted murderer! They massacred a hundred people! You will be rewarded fifty taels of silver if you capture them!”
* * *
Jiang Ming listened as he walked, and his eyes revealed a look of surprise. Who did this person massacre to actually attract the government’s reward of fifty taels of silver?
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to earn this money.” Jiang Ming shook his head and guessed that the murderer was most likely a martial artist. Otherwise, it would not be worth the government spending so much money.
The city was very prosperous. After all, it was the main city of a prefecture. There were rows of shops on both sides.
There was also Qinghe Tower, where the top host, Miss Xue’er, was talked about every day.
Many vendors squatted on the side of the street, peddling all sorts of trinkets or mountain products.
Jiang Ming looked around and found a trade market nearby. He sold all his hazelnut mushrooms to a vendor who was collecting goods and got some money.
He was in disguise, so he was too lazy to set up a stall and directly sold the goods at a low price.
Next, he went to a few ironware shops and bought an axe from the cheapest one. He also bought a bag of broken tea leaves from a roadside stall, some cooking ingredients, and some miscellaneous things.
“What?”
As Jiang Ming walked, he stopped in front of a house that occupied a large area and looked surprised.
The words “Tiger Hunting Village” were written on the plaque on the gate of the house.
At this moment, the door was wide open, and one could see a large open space inside. It was paved with stone and blue bricks, and a few bare-chested men were busy around a long table.
On the table, there was a big multicolored tiger. Its eyes were closed, and it had been dead for a long time.
At this moment, the few burly men were skinning and cutting off its flesh.
“No wonder he’s an expert of Tiger Hunting Village. He actually managed to hunt such a big tiger. It’s worth quite a bit of money.”
“That’s right, the master of Tiger-hunting village is a first-class martial artist!”
“Hey, he’s just showing off to attract young and vigorous men to join Tiger Hunting Village. Usually, the door would not be open.”
Around the gate, many pedestrians stopped and talked about the gate.
Jiang Ming took a few more glances and felt his heart flutter. It was not because of the tiger, but because Master Zhou once said that his Tiger Subduing Fist was learned in this Tiger Hunting Village.
“Since the village head is a first-class martial artist, it means that the Tiger Hunting Village must have a more comprehensive martial arts technique.”
However, he wasn’t even a martial artist now, so it was still too early to think about this.
Jiang Ming shook his head and continued to walk forward.
Not far from Tiger Hunting Village was Ji Shitang, a clinic. There was an endless stream of patients, and business was booming.
“What if I stopped being a herb gatherer? It’s not bad to open a clinic.”
He tasted hundreds of herbs every day in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest. Jiang Ming’s attainment in the field of herbs had far exceeded that of ordinary herb gatherers.
If he studied and practiced hard in the medical path, he might be able to become a famous doctor in no time.
“Ah, I can learn when I have free time.”
The road to immortality was long and endless. Seeking knowledge was fun.
In the east of the city, a large family was celebrating a birthday and invited an opera troupe to perform. Jiang Ming and a group of people in white silk squeezed against the wall and listened to them. It was not until the sun set that he went out of the city gate with a full herb basket.
At the city gate, a few beggars with unkempt hair and dirty faces were wandering around casually, but their eyes kept sweeping over the people entering and leaving the city.
“He just seems to be a poor merchant. He won’t have much,” a beggar glanced at Jiang Ming and whispered.
The others didn’t even look at him and searched for their next target.