Huang Yuanya saw that it was almost noon, and Sui Ping also looked exhausted; after all, he was old and had traveled for so long, and the huang jing zhi (polygonatum) had not yet been found, so there was no need to rush at this moment.
He let Sui Ping go to the village first to eat and rest, and asked the village chief to send people to take him back to get the medicine.
Sui An originally wanted to go down with his grandfather, but Huang Yuanya merely glanced at him indifferently, so he had no choice but to give up. He knew that Huang Yuanya didn't trust them and would always keep one of them as a hostage.
The village chief, after descending the mountain, gathered all the villagers and held a temporary meeting.
Soon, over a dozen strong men, in pairs, scattered in all directions. Their objective was to purchase huang jing zhi (polygonatum) from nearby villages and towns.
The village chief personally led the remaining laborers, carrying tools, to the small mountain to construct wooden houses.
Hundreds of people were divided into several groups: the men were responsible for felling trees and leveling the land, while the elderly and women were responsible for pruning the felled trees. Although there were many people, under the village chief's command, they were busy but not chaotic, each performing their duties.
Huang Yuanya looked at the busy crowd before him and nodded. It seemed Niu Hu had some capability to be the village chief. If he could truly recover, he wouldn't mind giving him some benefits.
Then, he held two light blue objects in each hand, recovering his magical power and treating his injuries.
To speed up progress, everyone's lunch was eaten on the mountain. The women responsible for cooking directly carried large pots up the mountain to start a fire and prepare food.
Naturally, there wouldn't be any delicacies in the mountains, just a large pot of stew and several large pots of coarse rice.
Sui An specifically served a bowl for Huang Yuanya, who was sitting cross-legged, but Huang Yuanya just shook his head, indicating he didn't need it.
Sui An had no choice but to gently place the food on a large stone beside him and returned to the crowd to eat.
He was indeed ravenous, eating a full large bowl of the coarse pottery bowl-sized meal before letting out a satisfied burp and putting down his chopsticks.
After eating, the villagers rested for a short while and then resumed their work. Sui An, unable to help much, sat down not far from Huang Yuanya and took out his grandfather's herbal medicine book from his small medicine chest to study it slowly.
The herbs in this world were very different from those in his previous life; not only were there more varieties, but their medicinal effects also differed. All of this required time to gradually memorize and research.
Although the villagers worked very hard, building a wooden house on this desolate small mountain was still quite difficult.
Just leveling the land on this stony hillside was not an easy task. Fortunately, there was no shortage of trees, and for some unknown reason, the trees here were noticeably thicker and more lush than in other places.
The villagers had already felled dozens of large trees, most of which had been cut into thick planks. It looked like the wooden house should be completed before tomorrow afternoon.
It wasn't until dusk that everyone gathered their tools and descended the mountain. Although Sui An really wanted to go down with them to see his grandfather, he looked at Huang Yuanya, who was still meditating, and ultimately didn't do so.
He also secretly grumbled to himself, 'The patience of these Cultivators is truly extraordinary. Huang Yuanya hasn't eaten or drunk anything all day, maintaining a cross-legged posture. Doesn't he worry about his legs falling asleep?'
Soon, several villagers brought dinner, two tents, bedding, toiletries, and other items. Seeing that Huang Yuanya showed no intention of acknowledging them, they set up the tents and then went down the mountain.
Sui An, however, keenly noticed that a few people, as they left, cast a few extra glances towards Huang Yuanya.
Although the villagers were all simple and honest, Sui An was unwilling to think the worst of people, but the eyes of those few individuals gave Sui An a very bad premonition.
The allure of Cultivation to Mortals was simply too great, especially when facing a severely injured and dying Cultivator. It was hard to guarantee that no one would harbor ill intentions.
Even a small benefit obtained from a Cultivator would be enough for an ordinary person to live a life of wealth. If someone had incredible luck and obtained a Cultivation Technique, that would truly be like a pheasant transforming into a Phoenix, an immense fortune!
Moreover, if it weren't for the fact that this body's age was truly too young, Sui An estimated he himself would have been tempted to act.
Thinking of this, Sui An subconsciously touched his sleeve, where a finely crafted hand crossbow was hidden. He had gone to great lengths to have the old blacksmith forge it.
Due to size limitations, the hand crossbow's power was not great, with a range of only twenty paces. However, the arrowheads had all been poisoned by Sui An, making its close-range lethality absolutely not to be underestimated.
Of course, Sui An's self-defense methods were not limited to just a hand crossbow; he also had some other small items on him. Dealing with two or three people was not an issue, but these were all prepared for Mortals. Facing a Cultivator, he had no confidence at all whether they would still be effective.
Sui An clearly understood the principle that 'a man's wealth is his ruin.' He also had reason to believe that some people would take risks, as the temptation of Cultivation was simply too great.
Now, what he needed to do was anticipate what would happen next and how to extricate himself from danger, avoiding the disaster of 'the city gate catching fire and affecting the fish in the pond.'
Of course, it would be best if he could 'fish in troubled waters' and gain some benefits, acting as a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
When the village chief, Niu Hu, returned home for dinner, his old wife still wanted to ask what the Immortal looked like, but Niu Hu stopped her.
"Hurry up and eat. I've been busy all day and I'm exhausted. Don't ask about the Immortal's affairs. This is not something we mountain folk can discuss. Be careful of eavesdroppers! If any rumors get out, even if we had eight heads, it wouldn't be enough to lose!"
Niu Hu appeared to be a genuinely honest man, but his mind was very active; he was one of the few intelligent people in the mountains.
This time, when he sent people out to buy medicine, he sent both of his sons and his nearly adult grandson, and they went to different towns.
His daughter-in-law also returned to her maiden home, just to prevent any accidents from implicating them.
Only his ten-year-old granddaughter, Niu Xiaoxiao, remained at home to take care of his old wife's meals.
Niu Xiaoxiao deftly brought out the prepared dishes. This was how it was in the mountains; children who were half-grown were already laborers in the family.
The meager material foundation could not raise pampered individuals.
Knock, knock, knock-knock-knock.
As they were eating, there was a knock at the door. Niu Xiaoxiao obediently got up to open it.
Soon, Niu Xiaoxiao led three people in. When Niu Hu saw the newcomers, his eyes narrowed, and his Face darkened as he gestured to his old wife to go to the inner room.
His old wife said nothing, wisely taking Niu Xiaoxiao and heading to the inner room.
The newcomers were the three people who had just delivered the tents to Huang Yuanya: two were Niu Da's younger brothers, Niu Er and Niu San, and the other was named Niu Dashan.
They were all villagers from the village, and while not exactly idlers, they were all rather lazy and shirked hard work.
The three entered the house and unceremoniously sat at the table. Niu Er didn't even use chopsticks, just pinched some vegetables with his hand and threw them into his mouth.
Niu San and Niu Dashan placed the snacks they brought for drinking on the table, along with a jar of strong liquor.
They also poured a large bowl for each person; the liquor was a bit cloudy. This couldn't be helped; getting good liquor in the mountains was not an easy feat.
Niu Hu knew the character of these few men and didn't bother to argue with them, picking up his wine bowl and drinking by himself.
"Heh heh, Village Chief. We've come to you because we have something good to discuss."
Niu Er also took a large gulp of liquor, saying with a cheeky smile.
Niu Hu didn't even look at Niu Er, just lowered his head and drank.
"If you have something to say, just say it. This old man doesn't have time to beat around the bush with you."
Niu Er gestured with his chin towards the small mountain, lowering his voice and saying, "Village Chief, you see that person is so badly injured, even if he has immense power, he probably can't use any of it, right? Why don't we..."
After Niu Er finished speaking, he made a gesture of slitting a throat.
Upon hearing this, Niu Hu's heart sank, and he cursed, "You scoundrels! Get out of here right now! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"
Niu Er hadn't said anything yet, but Niu San, who was the most impatient, spoke up: "Village Chief, we came to you because we respect you. It's not too late to scold us after you've heard us out."
"You ignorant dogs! What do you think Cultivators are? They can crush us Mortals with just one finger! Get out now, and I can still pretend you were never here."
Niu San and Niu Dashan, seeing the village chief being so disrespectful and immediately cursing them, both glared at him with displeased expressions.
Only Niu Er remained unconcerned, still wearing a cheerful smile.
"Village Chief, no matter what you say, we brothers are determined to do this! You just need to add something to his food when you deliver it, and we'll take care of the rest. After it's done, you'll certainly get your share of benefits. If you don't agree, that's fine too; we naturally have other ways."
