My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 50 Daoist Bones
As Chen Mu walked into the gathering area, he paused involuntarily, facing the setting sun.

The market street, which was relatively tidy in the morning, is now in complete chaos.

Broken pottery jars, exposed bamboo baskets, and straw mats torn into several pieces.

"Is this a follow-up to last night's incident?"

Chen Mu walked silently behind a large tree.

The lips moved, and the Five Ghosts Bag opened.

He stood in the shade of a tree, quietly observing the hurried flow of people.

The laborers haven't come down the mountain yet.

The usual street vendors are nowhere to be seen.

Several constables were lurking nearby, shouting and chasing away anyone they saw.

An old man was dragged out of the tent by the yamen runners.

They stormed into the tent and ransacked and looted it.

Finally, he kicked the old man a few more times, then left cursing.

……

Old Liu felt utterly unlucky.

Business was just starting to pick up, and we finally sold three bottles of the "power pills".

That night, not only were his money confiscated by the constables, but he was also beaten.

Old Liu sighed as he covered his bruised forehead with a gray cloth.

"What's going on?" A detached voice suddenly rang out from behind.

Old Liu was startled and turned around abruptly. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.

"It's you, Brother Yang. I thought those black dogs were back again." Old Liu said, still shaken.

Chen Mu nodded expressionlessly, appearing taciturn and reserved.

"County Magistrate Li Qing was dissatisfied with the construction progress, so he sent that group of black dogs to supervise the work."

“In this gathering area, adult laborers must go to repair the altar.”

"It's a good thing you weren't here, otherwise I would definitely have been conscripted."

Chen Mu felt a sense of relief, but his brows furrowed involuntarily.

"It wasn't because the strong man died and Lu Jin was seriously injured, it was because of the altar."

"Conscripting men? That's a bit of a hassle."

"The gathering area is going to become a place of trouble."

Old Liu sighed as he gathered up the medicinal herbs that had been scattered all over the ground.
"What are your plans next?" Chen Mu suddenly asked.

"What else can we do but pack our things and leave?"

"Being disciplined three times a day, my old bones can't take this kind of abuse," Old Liu said dejectedly, shaking his head.

He was getting old and had originally planned to make some money and then settle down in a rural village to live out his remaining years.

Then the yamen runners suddenly barged in, and they ransacked my house three times in one day, leaving me with nothing for my funeral. Thinking about my future, I felt completely lost.

Continue working as a traveling healer? And then, who knows when, I'll die far from home? My future is uncertain...

Chen Mu looked at the medicinal herbs on the ground thoughtfully: "I need a batch of medicinal herbs."

"You're not planning to leave?" Old Liu was taken aback.

The cluster area is clearly no longer suitable for living.

Unless you want to go up the mountain to work as a laborer.

“The demand is huge, can you find it?” Chen Mu asked calmly.

Given his current strength, if he hides, it will be difficult for the constables to find him.

"Are you serious?!" Old Liu was overjoyed.

"Deliver the collected medicinal herbs to my cabin, and I'll pay upon delivery," Chen Mu said.

"Don't worry, Brother Yang, this old man will do everything in his power to deliver the goods." Old Liu rubbed his hands excitedly.

Chen Mu wanted both medicinal herbs and inconspicuous plants from Xiaodong Mountain.

They bought them cheaply from the laborers and sold them to Chen Mu at a high price.

He made a lot of money on the last trade!
Chen Mu didn't care about the premium.

The preservatives used in Fantuan Bigu Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine) are mostly local plants from Xiaodongshan Mountain.

He needs to collect a large quantity as soon as possible to facilitate the production of grain reserves.

……

Outside the wooden house at the foot of Xiaodong Mountain.

Chen Mu's expression was not good.

Pots and pans were scattered all over the floor, and the books on the table were torn to shreds. It was as if someone had been searching through them page by page, unwilling to give up.

The two dried wild rabbits hanging under the eaves also disappeared.

Those greedy yamen runners, under the guise of overseeing the conscription of laborers, ruthlessly plundered the settlement. Even their own homes were not spared.

"We can't stay here any longer."

Fortunately, he put the important items into the Five Ghosts Bag, otherwise the loss would have been much greater.

the next day.

Chen Mu packed up the stove and bedding, and took the tent that he had left over from wallpapering the Five Ghost Bags.

As soon as it was light, I carried a bamboo basket and ventured into the misty Xiaodongshan Mountain.

He will leave in about ten days.

There's no need to clash with the government.

Find a place in the nearby mountains to hide from the overseers and officials, and say goodbye to this place when the departure date arrives.

……

Two days later

On the north side of Xiaodongshan, behind Qingfeng Temple, there is a pool of water at the foot of a small, stepped cliff.

Bubbling constantly rose from the water's surface, and spring water gushed forth.

A stream juts out from the edge of the pool and flows down the mountainside.

Wisps of smoke rose from chimneys beside the pond. Chen Mu, wearing a gray scarf, wielded a spatula with incredible speed.

The fish meat, shredded into thin strips, is flipped over as soon as it touches the bottom of the pot. The residual heat penetrates inward, evaporating moisture and caramelizing the surface.

Spices, honey, and medicine—all sorts of flavors slowly blend together, creating an enticing, sweet, and slightly burnt aroma.

He has been living in seclusion here for two days.

They pitched a tent and created a makeshift shelter.

I didn't plan to stay long; I just wanted to prepare my travel provisions here and wait for my departure date.

He tried to ask Jiejia if he could leave early, but Jiejia flatly refused.

Chen Mu was utterly baffled. Were there really so many assassin missions in Qingshan County?
While he was concentrating on frying meat floss and making fasting pills.

A childish voice suddenly came from above: "What are you doing?"

Chen Mu looked up.

On a small cliff four meters high, a little Taoist boy, as delicate as a porcelain doll, was squatting.

Chengming? How did this little Taoist boy find his way here?
Was it discovered by Qingfeng Temple?
Will they send someone to arrest me and make me repair the altar?
Chen Mu felt somewhat helpless. Had he only settled down for two days, and now he had to move again?

Living like this, constantly hiding and dodging, is really a disgrace to a time traveler.

"It smells so good." The young Taoist priest didn't get a reply, his eyes were fixed on the pot, and he kept swallowing his saliva.

"Want some?" Chen Mu asked with a smile.

"Yes!" The young Taoist boy Chengming's eyes lit up immediately.

Chen Mu's smile vanished, and he said coldly, "Go back and have Fatty He, the cook, make it for you."

Chengming: "..."

"Brother Chen, please let me have a taste, I promise, just one bite!" The little Taoist boy was not discouraged at all. With his short legs, he ran like a rabbit along the path beside the cliff to Chen Mu.

"You still remember me?" Chen Mu asked in surprise.

They last met a year and a half ago.

The two people didn't interact much, and they barely exchanged a few words a day.

Moreover, the other party was just an eight or nine-year-old Taoist boy.

"Of course!" Chengming said proudly, head held high. "My master said I have a special talent, which is called photographic memory!"

Chen Mu: “…”

I'm a little envious, what should I do?

Even I, a time traveler, don't have a photographic memory, yet you, a mere Taoist disciple, possess such an ability?
"Brother Chen, can I have some? I promise, just one bite!"

……

On the stone table beside the stove, Chengming held a large bowl shaped like a human head, filled with deboned and pan-fried fish slices.

"So, you came here on your own." Chen Musong breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Ming ignored everything and just kept stuffing food into his mouth, his cheeks bulging out like a hamster.

Chen Mu snatched the porcelain bowl away.

Chengming looked at Chen Mu with a wronged expression and nodded: "Master and my fellow disciples are always busy and I can't see them all day, so I ran out to play by myself."

Chen Mu returned the bowl to the young Taoist.

At least you don't have to worry about being driven away or arrested.

"Don't tell the Taoist temple about my presence here," Chen Mu said sternly.

"Can I still eat fish slices tomorrow?" Chengming was not afraid at all; on the contrary, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Chen Mu.

"Yes!" Chen Mu rolled his eyes. You're really something, learning to extort money at such a young age.

"It's a deal!" Chengming continued to eat heartily.

After eating a large bowl of fish, my stomach was still flat.

"Uncle He said I'm a good-for-nothing," the young Taoist priest said proudly.

Look at you, thinking you're so capable!
"Here, have two good things." Chen Mu smiled and handed over two fasting pills.

"What is this?" Chengming took it and put it in his mouth.

How naive! They'd eat it just because it was given to them.

"The Bigu Pill," Chen Mu said solemnly.

Chengming stared at Chen Mu with a tense expression, saying nothing.

"Rice ball, rice ball, pork floss rice ball!"

"Give it back to me if you're not going to eat it!"

"Eat!" The little Taoist immediately stuffed another one into his mouth.

She ate three in a row and wanted more. But Chen Mu didn't dare give her any, afraid she'd overeat.

Chengming stared longingly at the fasting pill in Chen Mu's hand, his stomach still flat.

"You really are a glutton." Your appetite is about the same as his.

……

“That’s normal.” Jie Jia deftly picked up a piece of pan-fried fish fillet: “If someone is born with a strong constitution, it’s not surprising that they have a large appetite.”

Daoist bone? Chen Mu heard a new term.

"Don't think about it. They're from a different world than us," Jie Jia said calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"Ten years to train the form, a hundred years to nurture the soul. Even with exceptional talent and relentless practice, one can be called a genius if they master the Soul-Traveling Technique by the age of thirty." Jie Jia suddenly said with deep feeling.

"Afterwards, accumulate essence and strengthen the wandering spirit. When the wandering spirit is perfected and becomes armor, a lifetime will have passed."

"But those born with the Daoist physique can complete the physical training in a hundred days and the armor-like spirit in three years."

"Can this kind of person be compared to us?"

This was the first time Chen Mu had ever seen Jie Jia talk so much.

"Is courage really that hard to cultivate?" He was already proficient in it and didn't find practicing the form technique difficult, nor did he take courage seriously.

Seeing Jie Jia's sigh, Chen Mu couldn't help but feel uneasy.

He immediately thought of Chengming.

Could this little guy be one of those people born with a Taoist spirit?
"Don't even think about it. People like that are taken away as soon as they appear. You'll never see them."

“There are plenty of people with huge appetites. Those born with superhuman strength, possessing the bloodline of exotic beasts, or taking shape-changing drugs can all lead to excessive eating,” Jie Jia said in one breath, then slowly wiped his mouth with a white silk cloth. He quickly composed himself and returned to his calm and collected demeanor.

……

After the meal, watching Jie Jia disappear into the thick mountain fog, Chen Mu pondered the Dao Bone with a grim expression.

This world is so unfair.

I toiled day and night for a year and a half, yet I still couldn't complete the physical training. Meanwhile, some people seem to achieve mastery of the physical form effortlessly.

A sense of powerlessness rose in Chen Mu's heart, and his face grew increasingly gloomy.

And then there's courage. Even after practicing armor until one's hair turns white, one still needs to cultivate courage. A person with a refined character, however, only needs three years.

Chen Mu clenched his fist so hard that his nails dug deep into his flesh, gritting his teeth as he thought, "If armor is this difficult, what about me?"

His predecessor was just an ordinary scholar with a poor physique. He also practiced a common and unremarkable cultivation technique called the Red Falcon Body Refinement Technique.

"Tendon-strengthening, bone-strengthening, and marrow-strengthening"

"Ten years to train the body, a hundred years to train the spirit."

"I've been diligently cultivating for a year and a half, and I still haven't completed the Marrow Transformation!"

"When will I, an ordinary low-level martial artist with no resources, no master, and no backing, finally get my chance to rise to the top!" Chen Mu stared at the gray wall of proficiency in front of him, his face full of grief and indignation.

Red Falcon Form Training Technique: 5209/10000/Tier 3;

"Hmm? It only takes three months at most to complete the physical training?!"

Chen Mu blinked.

"Humph!"

He forcefully pulled the gray wall away.

"These external things!"

"You've disturbed my Daoist mind!"

"It's better not to watch it!"

(End of this chapter)