Ordinary sect disciples like Su Wan 'er and Wang Qian were not allowed to go to the city. Once they stepped out of the mountain range where the sect was, they would be punished, and severely punished. They would only have some freedom if they succeeded in their studies one day and became the upper echelons of the sect.
It was also because of this that the ancient martial arts sects were too strict. Some people with wild thoughts or evil intentions found it difficult to endure this kind of life deep in the mountains. As such, there were many sect traitors who escaped every year. After all, not everyone could endure hardships, practice wholeheartedly, and see through the world of mortals.
Some people who were greedy, lustful, and ambitious could not endure the poor life deep in the mountains. Once they succeeded in their studies, they would betray the sect and go out to commit crimes. Because of this, although the rules of the Huatian Palace were strict, there was never a time when the enforcers of the Four Major Palace Halls were not busy. Every year, the Huatian Palace executed more than 5,000 traitors from the various ancient martial arts sects.
Many ancient martial arts sects rarely recruited people from the outside. Some sects did not even recruit people from the outside at all. Most of the resources for disciples were found from within. For example, some of the children born by the disciples of the sects had never come into contact with the outside world, so they would not be blinded by the colorful world outside.
Wang Qian was usually very busy. She was only a disciple of the lowest level. Usually, other than practicing, she had to do many chores. However, Wan 'er was already at a critical juncture. It was very likely that she would be expelled from the sect. As such, Wang Qian resolutely decided to put aside what she was doing and try her best to help Wan' er complete her task. Fortunately, she had just completed a seven-day period of gathering medicinal herbs. As such, she had some free time these few days. She could also ask others to help with the ordinary chores or refuse them.
"Wan 'er, are you really bringing him along?" Wang Qian saw Mo Wen following behind Wan' er and could not help but frown. Yesterday, she had been somewhat against Mo Wen going. After all, gathering medicinal herbs was a technical job. It was not efficient with more people. Even with her help, she was not very confident that she could help Wan 'er overcome her difficulties. Wouldn't bringing along a burden like Mo Wen make things worse?
"Elder Sister Wang Qian, Big Brother Mo wants to help me. Also, he is very powerful. He can smell the scent of medicinal herbs from far away," Wan 'er said softly.
Wan 'er said softly. She took Wang Qian's hand and shook it. She looked like she was telling her sister not to be angry. In reality, Wan'er did not have much confidence in Mo Wen. After all, gathering medicinal herbs was not an ordinary job. People who did not know how to do it would not be able to do it. She was also not sure if Big Brother Mo really knew medicine. However, she could feel Brother Mo's good intentions. He genuinely wanted to help her. There weren't many people who treated her well, so she didn't want to hurt his pride.
"Alright, let's hope our luck is good today. Otherwise, we'll be in big trouble."
Wang Qian sighed and glanced at Wan 'er somewhat helplessly. She did not have a good expression towards Mo Wen. If it were not for him, would Wan' er be in such a predicament? Not only did they not ask for anything in return, but he also came to drag them down.
Wan'er said he could smell the herbs from ten miles away! This was not the way to brag. Only Wan'er would believe him when he said something as ridiculous as this. She simply did not believe that Mo Wen really knew how to gather medicinal herbs.
"Don't worry. With me around, your luck will definitely not be bad."
Mo Wen did not seem to notice Wang Qian's dissatisfied expression. He spoke without any self-awareness, looking as though he could solve anything as long as he was around.
"I hope so."
Wang Qian rolled her eyes at Mo Wen. She scolded him in her heart, "Only a fool would believe you."
"Alright, let's go."
Wan 'er pulled Wang Qian and strode out. She could see that the atmosphere between Big Brother Mo and Sister Wang Qian was not right.
The Taihang Mountains were located in the eastern part of Hua Xia and spanned across many provinces. It was an important mountain range and geographical boundary of Hua Xia Country. There were naturally many ancient martial arts sects hidden in such a huge primeval forest. The area that the Five Tigers Sect occupied was only a very small part of it. Even so, this area was enough for an ordinary person to walk non-stop for three months before they could finish exploring it.
Wan 'er was very familiar with the surrounding forest environment. She had lived in this area since she was young. It was common for her to go down the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. Hence, she could very skillfully determine where there were medicinal herbs and where there were none.
Su Wan 'er and Wang Qian kept walking forward without any intention of stopping. It was as though they were not looking for medicinal herbs but were instead rushing on their way.
"Where are the two of you going?" Mo Wen said leisurely as he followed behind the two of them.
They had already walked more than thirty miles. The two of them did not even stop and continued to rush on. Fortunately, their cultivation levels were very low. They were unable to maintain their Qinggong and could only walk on foot. Otherwise, they would most likely be able to walk a hundred miles in two hours.
"Of course, we are looking for medicinal herbs. Do you know how to gather medicinal herbs? Do you think that gathering medicinal herbs is easy? Do you think that you can just randomly pick up precious medicinal herbs from nearby?"
Wang Qian said unkindly. She had said that Mo Wen was purely here to cause trouble and did not know how to gather medicinal herbs at all. Otherwise, someone who often gathered medicinal herbs would understand that it was impossible to gather medicinal herbs near the mountain gate. The medicinal herbs that could be gathered would most likely have long been gathered by others. Right now, it was winter and not spring. There were almost no medicinal herbs that could be gathered within a fifty-mile radius of the Five Tigers Sect.
"Big Brother Mo, are you tired?"
Wan 'er looked at Mo Wen with some worry. Big Brother Mo was injured and did not practice ancient martial arts. He was just an ordinary person. He would certainly not be able to take such a long and arduous journey.
"If you are tired, you can go back by yourself. Fortunately, we have not walked too far. You can still make it back. If you follow us, it is very likely that you will walk one or two hundred miles. Think carefully. Can you walk that far? You are a big man. Don't ask us two little girls to carry you back. "
Wang Qian could not wait for Mo Wen to give up halfway. If he was smart, he would go back by himself. That way, no one would be a burden to the other. Wan 'er was already in such a difficult situation. Why did he have to come and join in the fun?
"I am not tired. It is only one or two hundred miles. It is very easy," Mo Wen said with a smile. Even one or two thousand miles would not matter to him, let alone one or two hundred miles. Although he was injured, his stamina was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
"You are bragging. You are trying to be brave now, but don't cry later. I am only responsible for leading the way. I am not responsible for bringing you back."
Wang Qian could not stand people like Mo Wen who bragged. He was clearly trying to be brave, but he pretended that nothing had happened.
"Sister Wang Qian …" Wan 'er tugged at Wang Qian's sleeve, looking at her pitifully.
"Alright, alright. I won't say anymore," Wang Qian said helplessly.
"Miss Wang, you don't have to walk so far to gather medicinal herbs. Most of the truly good medicinal herbs grow in strange, hidden, and dangerous places. No matter how far you walk, you might not be able to find anything good," Mo Wen said with a smile.
Mo Wen said with a smile. Traveling thousands of miles to search for medicinal herbs was not a big deal, but it was targeted. For some extremely rare medicinal herbs, Mo Wen had traveled all over the Hundred Thousand Mountains and various dangerous places in order to obtain a stalk of rare medicinal herbs.
However, for gathering medicinal herbs without a specific target, there was no need to walk so far. They could just pick them on the spot. The reason why Wan 'er and Wang Qian did not gather medicinal herbs in this area was because the medicinal herbs in the places that were easy to find had already been picked by others. They could not find the medicinal herbs in the places that were difficult to find.
However, Mo Wen was different. With his familiarity with medicinal herbs, those medicinal herbs that were slightly hidden could not escape his eyes at all. Moreover, he also had Deified Soul Power, which was a divine technique for searching for medicinal herbs.
"What you said makes sense. If you have the ability, then find a stalk of medicinal herb." Wang Qian rolled her eyes. Who didn't know how to say a few words to fool people? In any case, she was certain that Mo Wen was here to cause trouble.
"Wan 'er has a piece of Zhu Ling that has been growing for thirty years under her feet. You have medicinal herbs under your feet, yet you want to go a hundred miles away to find medicinal herbs. Isn't that giving up what's close at hand for what's far away?" Mo Wen said with a faint smile. He could understand that Wang Qian did not agree with him. After all, his current situation was like a person wearing beggar's clothes saying that he was a billionaire. It was very difficult for others to believe him.
"You aren't spouting nonsense, are you?" Wang Qian looked at Mo Wen suspiciously. She subconsciously thought that Mo Wen was spouting nonsense and was simply spouting nonsense. However, his expression was serious and he seemed to be telling the truth.
Also, if this kind of lie was fake, it would be exposed immediately. No matter how thick-skinned or how shameless a person was, they would most likely not tell such a lie so easily at this time.
"Is it true?"
Wan 'er looked at the ground under her feet. She was exceptionally shocked. Zhu Ling that was older was a rather valuable medicinal herb. She had never picked a thirty-year-old Zhu Ling before. The environment that Zhu Ling grew in was somewhat special. It grew under pine trees. However, its exact location was very difficult to find. Also, not every pine tree had Zhu Ling under it. If one could not determine its location, they could only dig up the surrounding five meters around the pine tree and slowly search for it before they could find it.
However, this was under the condition that they had confirmed that there was Zhu Ling under the pine tree. If there was no Zhu Ling, then even if they dug up a hundred meters around the pine tree, they would still not be able to find the herb.
Pigs could use their special sense of smell to find Zhu Ling under the pine tree. Hence, it was also called Zhu Ling. To find this kind of medicinal herb, most people would bring along a well-trained pig and use its sense of smell to find the exact location.
"Won't you know if you dig a bit? It's just a meter below your feet. It's not very deep, so it's easy to dig," Mo Wen said with a smile.
Wan 'er did not hesitate. She took out the tools from the bamboo basket and immediately started digging. She was quite skilled at digging. She had been doing the same thing for the past half a month. Digging was a piece of cake for her. After all, she was also an ancient martial art practitioner.
Thirty-year-old Zhu Ling was a rather valuable medicinal herb. If she could dig it up, she would have almost completed one-third of today's task. The standard of the sect's task was not based on the number of medicinal herbs, but on the quality of the medicinal herbs. The higher the quality of the medicinal herbs that were dug up, the more they could offset a day's task. (To be continued.)
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