79 Three Years
Jiang Ming practiced martial arts, gathered herbs, and refined medicine according to his plan. Although life was a bit boring, it was fulfilling and free.
Mushrooms were in season. Jiang Ming began to make mushroom soup every day. Now he could almost distinguish whether each mushroom was poisonous or not, and pick them out. The non-poisonous ones were thrown away directly, and the poisonous ones were kept for the soup.
His palate was becoming more refined. Anything that was not poisonous was not fresh enough and did not have any use!
His martial arts cultivation and beast-taming plan were also progressing steadily, and everything was going according to schedule.
“Now, we just have to wait for Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest to make a move.”
Jiang Ming believed that there must be some other secret in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest beside the King of Medicine, which only appeared once every hundred years. The secret might be related to the King of Medicine and was more valuable.
Otherwise, the Liang family would not have spent so much effort in nurturing the Shi family in Great Cloud City to explore the secrets of the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest.
It was just that the Liang family probably did not expect that the dog that they had spent money and energy to train would be strangled by someone halfway. Even the treasure that they found had been taken away.
After the Shi family was destroyed, the Liang family frantically chased after the murderer.
“It’s probably because of those yellow crystals, which means that they must be very important to them. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find out what they’re used for.”
In the bar, Jiang Ming’s hair was disheveled, and his clothes were ragged like a beggar’s.
He had been in the mountain for more than two months. His progress in martial arts cultivation was faster than he had expected. This morning, he had cultivated the Leather Tiger Bone Technique fully. He was now at the peak of the second class.
In the bar, Jiang Ming also heard that the Liang family had sent wave after wave of people to Great Cloud City to investigate the Shi family’s annihilation in the past few months. Even the first-class martial artist forces such as the Wang family and the Tiger Hunting Village were questioned by the Liang family.
“If I can find the place where the Shi family found the yellow crystal, I might be able to find its secret,” Jiang Ming whispered. He had to expand his team of beasts as soon as possible. Exploring the forest required numbers.
Three days later, Jiang Ming carried his groceries and went back into the mountain.
Jiang Ming was not afraid of being conspicuous at all. He had always shown an interest in medicinal herbs ever since he had transmigrated.
Now that a few years had passed, Jiang Ming’s medical skills had also improved day by day with his understanding of herbs. He was not comparable to Dr. Sun, but he was also well-known in Peace Town.
“I just don’t know when the Liang family will enter the mountain.” Jiang Ming was a little curious. The Liang family had sent people to the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest for a long time, but it seemed that they were only looking for the murderer and had not explored the area.
“Could it be the same as when it was for the King of Medicine’s appearance? Whatever, I have all the time in the world, so there’s no need to rush!”
Jiang Ming was thinking about his next move. He would drain his blood every morning and then study the Flowing Cloud Technique that he had snatched from the Old Snake Gang in preparation for his advancement to a first-class martial artist.
The Shi family’s first-class martial arts technique was not bad, but it would easily make Jiang Ming stand out. He would then be targeted by those who wanted to wipe out what remained of the Shi family.
“I can refer to the notes to study. As for the technique, I’ll give it to someone someday.”
It suddenly started to drizzle. The area was covered in fog, and the road ahead was almost impossible to see. Jiang Ming put on his bamboo hat, held his groceries tightly in his arms, and ran forward into the misty rain.
* * *
It was hard to measure time in the mountains.
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
One of the two marquises of the country of Yan, Marquis Zhou Pingshi, returned after traveling for several years.
Hearing that the remnants of the Green Mountain Army were still guarding the North Peace City, Marquis Zhou scolded the officials in the court for being incompetent. He led the Imperial Army to the north.
In just three months, Marquis Zhou’s army had destroyed North Peace City and killed hundreds of thousands of enemies. Only Lord Cangshan and a few others had escaped from the city.
Marquis Zhou was furious and ordered a massacre for three days, seizing all the treasure and women in the city. In an instant, blood flowed like a river, and less than a tenth of the people in the city survived.
The whole country was shocked. Some rough martial artists praised Marquis Zhou’s unparalleled power, while some scholars scolded him for being cruel and slaughtering the people for fun.
In any case, Marquis Zhou’s name became infamous. He was unparalleled.
After this battle, the countless forces that were ready to make a move suddenly died down. The entire country of Yan appeared to be peaceful and restored to its former prosperity.
* * *
Deep in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest, in a wooden house, a small stove was burning. The teapot on the stove began to whistle.
A furry little paw quickly reached over and carefully picked up the teapot. It poured a large cup of strong tea and carried it out of the room.
When it passed by the roof, a fat tiger who was lying down and pretending to sleep heard the footsteps and raised its eyes slightly. It laughed at what it saw.
The fat white rabbit glared at the fat tiger. The latter immediately froze on the spot.
The fat white rabbit snorted in satisfaction, turned around, and continued to move out with the tea.
The mountain stream surged rapidly and violently.
A figure was standing on the shallow bank by the river, practicing a set of fist techniques. The river water flowed past his feet, splashing a fine spray.
His fist technique was continuous and light. It was as elegant as the clouds in the afternoon sky.
The fist technique suddenly became fierce, erupting with force. It was like a storm that had begun pouring down on unsuspecting people.