Only four more chapters until chapter twenty; something spectacular is coming. －－－－－－－ Ye Qin brought Da Niu into the county town and located Yang Yicheng's family ironworks.
He needed a way to settle Da Niu properly. Letting Da Niu beg in the county town, only to be humiliated again, was absolutely out of the question. After finally finding Da Niu, he couldn't bear to see him suffer further. However, given his current status and position, there was no way he could get Da Niu into the Herb Gathering Hall as an apprentice collector.
Few people in the county town were on friendly terms with him; only his Master and the other four junior martial brothers were somewhat close. Feng Xiao’s family were tenant farmers outside the town, while Qian Ruxiu and Sun Ying were a tailor and a weaver, neither of whom were suitable.
After much thought, only the ironworks belonging to Yang Yicheng’s family seemed appropriate. Da Niu could live right there in the town, and moreover, he could learn the trade of blacksmithing, enabling him to earn his own keep someday.
When Yang Yicheng had left previously, he had mentioned where his family’s place was in the county town, so it wasn't hard to find.
Ye Qin soon located the Yang family ironworks in the commoner district southeast of the town. It was a very small, dilapidated shop, with a tattered flag stuck near the entrance. Inside, there was an iron furnace and a few hammers, used for forging and repairing farm tools like hoes and sickles.
Yang Yicheng was helping his father work the bellows.
Upon seeing Ye Qin arrive, Yang Yicheng was extremely pleased and eagerly introduced him to his father as a very formidable fellow disciple. Old Man Yang was a dark-skinned, honest, middle-aged blacksmith. Upon seeing Ye Qin, he only gave a simple, honest smile and nod, unable to utter a full sentence for a long time.
Ye Qin inwardly found it strange. How could such an honest and simple man have fathered Yang Yicheng, who was so glib and restless all day long? However, this thought remained only in his mind, lest Yang Yicheng start ranting again.
Ye Qin pulled the trailing Da Niu forward and explained the situation of his fellow townsman, Cheng Da Niu, to Yang Yicheng, hoping Da Niu could find some work at the Yang family ironworks.
“A piece of cake!”
Yang Yicheng didn't hesitate. He immediately slapped his chest and agreed, then turned to tell his father to keep Da Niu there.
Old Man Yang, however, looked troubled and kept shaking his head.
“Father, it’s just one more person! Isn’t it perfect for the Yang family ironworks to have an extra hand? My martial brother asks for help for the first time, and we can’t manage it? How am I supposed to face people later?”
Yang Yicheng grew anxious. Ye Qin had looked out for him quite a bit in the sect. If he lost face and damaged their relationship over such a small matter, how could he possibly remain the senior-most disciple?
Old Man Yang’s face flushed deep red for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a few indistinct words.
However, Ye Qin understood the general meaning: the ironworks were too small, business was slow, and they couldn't afford to feed another mouth.
Ye Qin, having left home precisely because his own family couldn't support him, naturally understood the difficulties of a small shop. Supporting one more person wasn't easy, and you couldn't just hire whomever you wanted. If there wasn't enough work, one extra person would only become a burden.
He immediately took out one hundred copper coins from his robes and placed them in Old Man Yang's hand.
“Old Man Yang, this isn't much money. Three copper coins a day for Da Niu’s steamed buns should last him a month. Any money I earn at the Herb Gathering Hall in the future, I will send over as Da Niu’s food allowance.”
Yang Yicheng’s face turned red as well. He fumbled in his own robes and pulled out one hundred copper coins, pressing them into his father’s hand.
“Father, I forgot to tell you—Master gave us some money. I don’t need these coins right now anyway, so let’s pool enough for two months of food. It takes us one or two months to make a trip into the mountains. By then, we’ll surely have more money, so let Da Niu stay here at our ironworks.”
Holding the two hundred copper coins, Old Man Yang was clearly stunned that the two of them would offer enough for two months of food expenses. He finally nodded.
Yang Yicheng was overjoyed and clapped Ye Qin on the shoulder, announcing loudly, “See? I told you it was a piece of cake, Second Junior Brother! Your fellow townsman will stay at my Yang family ironworks from now on!”
Ye Qin was secretly touched. Although Senior Brother was usually careless and occasionally bossy, he was loyal when it mattered.
After settling Da Niu safely at the Yang family ironworks, Ye Qin left with relief.
The next day.
The thirty or so apprentice collectors of the Herb Gathering Hall officially entered their training period. They were divided into ten groups, each led by one of the ten experienced collectors, and they left the county town, heading separately toward the dense mountain forests hundreds of miles in all directions in search of medicinal herbs.
Ye Qin and the other four followed a young collector named Xie Ze.
This Xie Ze was a disciple brought up by Deputy Hall Master Ji. He was now about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, dressed in plain coarse cloth, lean and tall, speaking little, but exceedingly cold. He looked like an ordinary herb gatherer, but if one looked closely at his long, thin, sharp hands—like an eagle's talons—one could detect the skill of over a decade of Eagle Claw technique. In the martial world, he would undoubtedly be a formidable figure.
For some unknown reason, Ye Qin always felt that the people of the Herb Gathering Hall, especially most of them, carried an aura of coldness and indifference, looking down on others. This wasn't due to their cultivation methods, but seemed to be the disposition of nearly everyone.
Ye Qin carried a heavy basket of supplies on his back, filled with ropes, hooks, salt and spices, an iron pot, a water bladder, and various cloth and leather sacks. He followed five paces behind Xie Ze, sometimes sinking ankle-deep, silently keeping pace.
He was carrying the combined weight for all six of them.
After learning about their cultivation techniques, Xie Ze assigned tasks to the five apprentices.
The six of them formed a clearly demarcated gathering team. Centered around the collector Xie Ze, they spread out in the four directions—front, back, left, and right. Ye Qin followed closest behind him, affording the most security.
Yang Yicheng, whose external martial arts relied on powerful palms, was responsible for clearing the path ahead, striking down or driving away ferocious beasts. Sun Ying, with his sword on his back, covered the left flank, providing support to Yang Yicheng. Qian Ruoxiu, who specialized in the nimble Plum Blossom Hand technique, covered the right, capturing insects, snakes, and small beasts—valuable ones could also be used as medicine.
Feng Xiao’s movement technique was not yet truly useful, but he constantly drifted about within a radius of several hundred paces around the group, ostensibly "scouting." In reality, there was a larger element of showing off. Occasionally, he managed to pick up a few low-value small herbs, which was an unexpected bonus that made him involuntarily joyous.
Lacking offensive or defensive capabilities, Ye Qin compensated with superhuman endurance, carrying everything the other five would need for collecting herbs, thus relieving their physical strain. With no burden, and good stamina, the others could naturally travel faster and farther.
Ye Qin had no complaints about this arrangement. He knew his own abilities. The preliminary chapter of the Sitting in Oblivion Scripture,
While traveling under the heavy load, Ye Qin continued cultivating as he walked. Every minor circulation of that faint wisp of energy through the meridians dissolved the fatigue in his limbs, allowing him to recover spent physical strength in time.
It was unfortunate, however, that this wisp of energy seemed difficult to nurture and strengthen; it remained perpetually faint.
Every full cycle of circulation offered only a limited recovery of stamina. If physical exertion was too rapid, he couldn't keep up with the recovery.
Fortunately, Xie Ze did not walk too quickly. They headed southwest, deeper into the great mountains. Once they entered the forest hundreds of miles in, their pace slowed even further. They moved haltingly, pausing to examine cliffsides and valley edges for any herbs worth harvesting immediately. Occasionally, Xie Ze plucked an herb from a cliff edge or riverbank, taking roots, stems, or leaves.
Over the journey of these few hundred miles, they inadvertently collected a large quantity of medicinal materials—roots, stems, tubers, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruits—filling dozens of small hemp sacks and leather pouches.
Ye Qin maintained his position within five paces of Xie Ze, allowing him a clear view. He couldn't help but admire the sharpness of Senior Brother Xie Ze's vision. This Senior Brother could spot herbs with just a distant glance that none of the five apprentices had noticed.