Chapter 106: Hearing Zhi Ma

Late afternoon, Liu Qingquan ran out to greet Elder Liu, Liu Qingyan, and the following Hu Zhou at the alley entrance to bring them home.

As soon as they entered, the sharp-eyed Hu Zhou was startled and then enthusiastically circled around the Snow Sculpture World.

"Lu Lang’s hands are truly skillful!" Elder Liu exclaimed in admiration, "The needle technique he demonstrated a few days ago struck me as divine, and I didn’t expect his snow sculpture skills to be just as impressive."

Liu Qingyan’s eyes were full of laughter. She just gazed at her snow sculpture, then turned to look at Lu Zheng, saying nothing, only smiling.

"Is it beautiful?" Lu Zheng asked, leaning closer.

"Beautiful~"

"But not as beautiful as the real you!"

Lu Zheng loved teasing Liu Qingyan, finding her blushing face particularly interesting.

Madam Liu had already prepared the meal. Several people sat around the round table in the front hall, and an old servant quickly brought up a large pot of chicken stew and many steamed buns.

Elder Liu sneakily went to scoop up half a pot of wine, Lu Zheng took it, filled Elder Liu’s cup, and poured one for himself.

After dinner, Lu Zheng took his leave, bringing Hu Zhou home, and taught him the "Eighteen Mountain-Carrying Techniques" for an hour.

It must be said, this Hu Zhou kid was not only born with divine power but also suited for martial arts. In just half a month, he had already mastered the first three moves.

At this speed, it would take less than half a year for him to learn all the "Eighteen Mountain-Carrying Techniques". The rest is about continually practicing, refining the body, accumulating blood qi, and finally developing Martial Artist’s Blood Qi.

With Hu Zhou’s physical condition, cultivating Martial Artist’s Blood Qi is just a matter of time.

Compared to Hu Zhou, Lin Wan is still fussing over the first move, but even so, she has improved in reaction speed and strength.

...

The next day, Lu Zheng spent the morning teaching Lin Wan martial arts, and in the afternoon, he went to help at Renxin Hall.

While giving acupuncture to a patient with old cold legs, he saw a lean middle-aged man walk into the clinic with a basket on his back.

This was a medicine gatherer, whom Lu Zheng had seen a few times before.

A medicine gatherer is someone who ventures deep into the mountains and forests to find wild herbs and sells them to pharmacies and clinics for a living.

The medical skill legacy of the Great Jing Dynasty is long-standing, and there are quite a few pharmacies in the State Capital County. Of course, not all are wild herbs; many farmers have long relied on cultivating medicinal herbs for a living.

With herbal farmers as the upstream, the Great Jing Dynasty also has its own medicinal herb buyers, distributors, and so on, forming an industry chain, although it’s not as finely divided or as large-scale as in modern times.

Even so, although the Great Jing Dynasty doesn’t have modern-scale cultivation, the herbs grown still lack the potency of pure wild types due to less aging and nutrition.

Hence, the ancient profession of medicine gathering has not disappeared, and should they find treasures like Hundred-year-old Yellow Essence or mature Mountain Ginseng in the deep forests, the gains can allow them to rest for a year.

High risk, high reward!

Seeing the middle-aged man, Elder Liu waved and greeted, "Guo the Third, did you find anything good this time in the mountains?"

"Ah! Don’t mention it, missed out on a five-sectional mansion and ten acres of good land!" Guo the Third sighed heavily, waving his hand repeatedly.

"Woah! That’s big talk. Did the Yellow Essence on the cliff get snatched by a Mountain Demon, or did the Ginseng on the shady side of the mountain get carried off by the Wolf King?"

"Neither." Guo the Third shook his head, "The reishi grew legs and ran away itself."

"What?" Lu Zheng was dumbfounded.

Elder Liu exclaimed, "Zhi People?"

Guo the Third shook his head, "Four legs, not a person yet, Zhi Ma."

Lu Zheng blinked, realizing, "Reishi transformed, Ginseng People and Ginseng Horses?"

"Is there Zhi Ma in the mountains of Tonglin County?"

A landlord who was having a check-up widened his eyes, "Then it’s not just a five-sectional mansion and ten acres of good land you’ve lost, but also a maid to serve tea and a concubine to warm the bed."

"Don’t mention it! Don’t mention it!" Guo the Third shed tears in heartache and couldn’t help but encourage himself, "In the deep mountains to the northeast, only thirty miles from the city, I’ll gather my things and head to the mountains again. This time I’ll definitely catch it!"

"Forget it, tradition says Ginseng People and Ginseng Horses are extremely clever, only roaming the deep forests and never staying in one place long, crossing ten mountain peaks in a day and a night. What are you going to do? Don’t go too deep lest the wildcats get you."

Guo the Third didn’t answer, only sighed.

"Alright, don’t be sad, as if you could catch a Zhi Ma even if you tried." Elder Liu said irritably, "Zhi Ma is extremely clever, even if it lets you get two feet near, you wouldn’t catch it!"

"That might not be the case. In and around Tonglin County, who doesn’t know Guo the Third’s keen eyes and quick hands? I can grab a roe deer in the mountains single-handedly..."

"Alright, alright, you’re a medicine gatherer, just had the luck of running into a silly roe deer once, bragging around like a hunter." A patient couldn’t help but tease.

"But I caught it!" Guo the Third argued anxiously, temporarily forgetting his sorrow over the Zhi Ma.

"Alright, you’re destined to stay with your wife for life, be careful she learns about your secret thoughts."

Guo the Third’s eyes widened, "Ah? What secret thoughts?"

"Hahaha—"

"Alright, alright, just daydream about the Zhi Ma. What did you bring this time?" Elder Liu interrupted the teasing, clapped his hands, and went behind the medicine cabinet.

"Good stuff!"

Guo the Third took off the basket from his back and brought it to the medicine counter.

"Gotta thank Miss Liu for curing my wife’s stomachache. I immediately thought of our Renxin Hall with the good stuff."

First offering some credit, Guo the Third set down the basket and retrieved a handful of fresh herbs.

Elder Liu’s eyes lit up, "Dendrobium?"

Guo the Third boasted proudly, "I found this in a mountain hollow, gathering the best of it."

"Good goods." Elder Liu nodded, picked up a stalk, smelled it, licked it, then gave a thumbs up.

"I’ll split it with you, the other half is promised to Half Body Hall." Guo the Third said.

Elder Liu nodded, "Deal!"

So they left half of the wild Dendrobium and weighed and settled the account.

Guo the Third took the money, shouldered his basket, then hurried off.

Lu Zheng watched Guo the Third leave, then turned to ask Elder Liu, "Isn’t Ginseng People and Ginseng Horses the aged kind of reishi, with especially good medicinal properties?"

Elder Liu shook his head, "More than just good, it’s qi-boosting, calming the mind, strengthening the body, enriching the blood, a single dose could revive the dead."

The landlord being needled chimed in with a smile, "Unfortunately, no one can catch it!"

...

In the evening, after teaching Hu Zhou and seeing him off, Lu Zheng rarely spent the night in the ancient times. Instead, he went back to modern times to browse some outdoor-related knowledge and preparations.