16 Picking Herbs

In the morning.

After routinely guiding the outer courtyard disciples in their cultivation, Zhao Qing walked into the inner courtyard and arrived outside his master's study.

Zhao Qing was knocking on the door when a loud voice sounded.

"Qing'er, come in."

"Good morning, Master." Zhao Qing pushed open the door and said to the muscular middle-aged man sitting on the tiger-skin chair.

This person was the owner of the Ferocious Tiger Fist Dojo, Lu Chuanfeng, who was known as Tiger Lu.

The Visceral Tempering expert who shook Mengyang City had mastered the Ferocious Tiger Fist Technique. It was difficult to find a match for him.

Actually, Lu Chuanfeng was already over 60 years old this year. However, he had taken good care of himself and did not look old at all.

Lu Chuanfeng gestured for Zhao Qing to sit down and said, "Qing'er, the White Sand Gang sent news yesterday that a group of pirates came to Berlin Bay and wreaked havoc. They call themselves the Dark Shark Gang. They rob and commit all kinds of crimes."

Zhao Qing sat down and raised his eyebrows. "Master, the waterway is the White Sand Gang's business. If they can't handle it, the Black Stone Gang will definitely be happy to help. Even if they can't, there's still the Meng family. What does it have to do with us?"

"The waterway is none of our business."

Lu Chuanfeng nodded and changed the topic. "However, the White Sand Gang also said that the Seven Star Grass is out of stock this month. Not only this month but next month as well. In fact, as long as the Dark Shark Gang still stays in Berlin Bay for a day, we won't have access to it."

Seven Star Grass?

Zhao Qing's expression changed slightly.

He was involved in their apothecary's business, so he naturally knew that the Seven Star Grass was one of the supplementary ingredients for refining the Bone Strengthening Pill, and it was the irreplaceable kind.

Without the Seven Star Grass, they would not be able to refine the Bone Strengthening Pill.

In the future, if the disciples of the dojo wanted to forge their bones, they could only buy Bone Strengthening Pills outside. The cost would increase by at least 30%.

Zhao Qing had already passed the Bone Forging Stage, but… he had half of the Bone Strengthening Pills in the apothecary.

Without this income, who knew how long it would take to complete Purification?

Now, Zhao Qing finally knew why his master wanted to see him regarding this matter.

"Master, does the White Sand Gang want us to help exterminate the Dark Shark Gang?" Zhao Qing asked uncertainly.

If the White Sand Gang could not destroy the Dark Shark Gang and asked the dojo for help…

If the dojo intended on taking out the pirates, they would definitely send out a few stronger senior brothers or even a few uncle-masters.

Although the leaders of the White Sand Gang were not very strong, they were still a little better than him.

"There's no need. They can settle their own matters on the waterway. We don't have to interfere."

Lu Chuanfeng shook his head and said, "I called you here to ask you to bring people to Berlin Bay to pick a batch of Seven Star Grass."

After a pause, he continued, "This time, go and figure out the situation. In the future, we'll pick the Seven Star Grass ourselves."

"Yes, Master," Zhao Qing said excitedly.

Without the White Sand Gang, he would have two channels to sell the Bone Strengthening Pills. His income would definitely increase greatly, and he would be closer to reaching Purification.

As for the sudden appearance of the Dark Shark Gang, Zhao Qing did not take it to heart.

Since the leaders of the White Sand Gang did not ask for help, it meant that they thought they could deal with it.

The leaders of the White Sand Gang could be taken care of. Even if he could not, he had no problem protecting himself.

...

In the apothecary, Zhou You was reading a book. Cheng Yiqing pushed open the door and entered, casually evaluating a few knowledge points.

After getting a satisfactory answer, Cheng Yiqing nodded and said, "You'er, you remember the pharmacology very well and have some understanding of the medicinal properties of the half-finished herbs in the apothecary."

"However, this was not enough to become a qualified apothecary."

"You also need to go to the wilderness, mountains, and water, to understand the environment where various medicinal herbs grow down to the soil, the sun, the temperature, and so on."

"The same medicinal herb would grow in different environments and have different medicinal properties. The way it was handled would also be slightly different."

"If it was used on ordinary injuries, it would not be a big deal."

"However, if the medicinal properties of the medicinal soup and pills used for cultivation were too different, the effects would be obvious after taking them for a long time."

"If you don't do it well, it will ruin your reputation."

Now that Zhou You was no longer a noob, he naturally knew that Cheng Yiqing was exaggerating.

The effect of the medicine was affected by many factors. In addition to medicinal herbs, there was also the heat, pill refiner, technique, and so on.

Zhou You did not refute and nodded. "Old Cheng, are we going out?"

"Yes, we are."

Cheng Yiqing nodded. "Today, Little Jiu will bring people to Berlin Bay to pick Seven Star Grass. We'll tag along and learn from them."

"Yes, Old Cheng."

...

An hour later.

A group of more than ten people in long tops, pants, leather gloves and waist bags gathered at the martial arts arena. Then, they left the dojo and headed south along the river.

Other than Zhao Qing, Zhou You was also familiar with Luo Yong, who had just entered the inner courtyard along with the other inner disciples.

There were also a few senior outer disciples from poor family backgrounds who planned to earn money to continue practicing martial arts.

Hearing that there was work to be done in the dojo, they volunteered to sign up.

Although they did not have to go into the water on this trip to Berlin Bay where the pirates were rampant, it was very close to the water and was still dangerous.

However, a trip would cost ten taels of silver. If they picked a lot of Seven Star Grass, there would be an additional reward. It was worth it.

If they got lucky, they would be able to gather enough money for three months of school fees.

But what caught Zhou You's attention the most was the square-faced middle-aged man walking beside Cheng Yiqing.

Zhou You had seen this middle-aged man when he accompanied Cheng Yiqing to the inner courtyard to deliver medicine.

His name was Tan Fei, and he was one of Lu Chuanfeng's junior brothers. Zhao Qing called him Third Uncle-Master.

He was a powerful Visceral Tempering martial artist. His strength was ranked among the top in the entire dojo. He was also very famous in the entire Mengyang City.

"Uncle-Master Tan is actually here. It seems that this trip to gather medicinal herbs is not easy. It might even be dangerous." Zhou You thought to himself.

With Zhao Qing in the lead, the group quickly left the city. They did not go down south of Meng River, but instead entered the mountains.

They walked along the path at the foot of the mountain.

The forest was dense and the mountain path was slippery. Insects, snakes, and rats could be seen everywhere. Even the gazes of ferocious beasts had appeared more than once.

However, most of them were martial artists, so they naturally emitted powerful auras. No ferocious beasts attacked them.

After walking for more than an hour, the team arrived at a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides.

The curved lake in the valley was as blue as a mirror. It was connected to the surging Meng River like a sapphire.

As the mountain went downwards, a few peninsulas could be seen in the lake. There were also a few small islands scattered in the lake. Undercurrents surged, and the water situation was complicated.

About 100 meters away from the shore, Zhao Qing stopped and waved his hand. "I'll go take a look first."

With that, Zhao Qing darted out and disappeared into the dense forest.

A moment later, Zhao Qing returned with two green plants with straight stems and round leaves.

The leaves were fleshy, like a star with seven points.

"This is Seven Star Grass. Look carefully. Don't make a mistake later."

Zhao Qing raised the plant in his hand and showed it to the others. He instructed, "I've seen everything within a mile. There's no danger.

"However, you have to be careful when you walk. There are some poisonous insects that are hard to guard against. Don't get in their way."

"Also, don't go into the water. There are many snakes in the water. I heard that there are also crocodile dragons. If you get careless, you might have trouble getting out."