Divine Tang Era

"You've all learned to identify medicinal herbs quite well recently, but what if you don't have any medicine on hand when you're healing? We'll have to collect them on the spot and make medicine to treat your injuries. So for the next few days, I'll take you and a few of my senior brothers to the wild to collect medicinal herbs, and also give you some training, so that you don't end up practicing martial arts all day and then getting scared out of your wits when you encounter wild animals. That would be a joke," Lu Shizong said.

Upon hearing this, the martial arts school disciples began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"Grandfather, have you been outside the city?" Liu Xuan asked.

"I've been there," Xu Dan said casually.

"Is it fun outside?"

"You've never been there?"

"Yes, Father won't let me play outside, and so will Mother. They say there are bad people everywhere outside, and huge, ferocious beasts that could swallow me whole," Liu Xuan said earnestly.

"It is indeed dangerous outside, but it's not that scary."

Liu Xuan wanted to ask more questions.

Lu Shizong then said, "Meet here early tomorrow morning. The martial arts school will provide each of you with a basket and a medicine hoe. Bring your lunch and water, as well as anything else you want to take, but not too much. We'll be walking out of town, and no one will help you carry anything, or care if you get tired. So, bring only what you can carry, and don't bring too much. Okay, that's all for today. Go back now!"

"Grandfather, what are you going to bring tomorrow?" Wan Zhen asked.

Liu Xuan and Fan Meng also gathered around.

"There's not much to bring, just some food and water, and a handy weapon. Bringing too much would be a hassle to walk around in." The main reason is that Xu Dan has a storage bag, so it doesn't matter whether he brings anything or not, as the storage bag contains everything.

However, he is still young, all alone, and has no background. It would be very dangerous for him to reveal that he has a storage bag.

Therefore, unless in a critical moment, it is best not to expose yourself.

Moreover, not every martial arts school disciple has a storage bag; he has only seen a few people with them.

Liu Xuan and the other two listened, seemingly lost in thought.

Xu Dan didn't really have much to bring. Since he was eating out for lunch, he asked Yun Niang to put extra rice in the rice cooker the next morning, scoop out a bowl of dry rice, put it in a bamboo tube, drizzle it with lard and soy sauce, and make lard rice, along with some boiled vegetables. It's just one meal, so he'll make do. He also brought some beef floss and red sausage made from golden yak.

Deep-fry the red sausage until cooked, slice it, wrap it in oil paper, and place it in a bamboo tube.

Actually, the food was pretty good. The bamboo tubes were used up and then thrown away, so there was no need to bring them back. It was simple.

When he arrived at the martial arts school early the next morning, he saw his fellow students carrying large bags and bundles, especially Liu Xuan's enormous package, which really dazzled him. Did these guys think they were going out for fun?

Upon seeing Xu Dan, Liu Xuan waved his hand and shouted, "Grandfather, come here quickly, I have something good for you."

Left with no other option, Xu Dan had to walk over.

"Here, this is for you. My dad made this roast chicken for me overnight. It tastes amazing." Liu Xuan didn't care whether he wanted it or not and just stuffed a package of oil paper into his arms. Xu Dan saw that Wan Zhen and Fan Meng both had some, so he accepted it.

Liu Xuan's family owned a restaurant, which was very successful; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to fatten him up like that.

Xu Dan glanced at the package, speechless. "How are you going to travel with so much stuff?"

Liu Xuan looked conflicted. "I didn't want to bring so much, but everything is useful. I don't know what to do." As he spoke, he pulled out some items. "Look at this little folding chair, you can sit on it when you're tired; this toilet paper, you can use it to wipe your bottom; this handkerchief, you can use it to wipe your sweat..."

Liu Xuan showed them everything he had brought, each item with a reason and each having a purpose.

Xu Dan sighed, "Why don't you do what I did and only bring food, water, and weapons, and leave everything else at the martial arts school? It's only one day anyway, so just make do. Otherwise, you'll be exhausted before you even leave the city with all this stuff."

"How can this be? I finally managed to get this sorted out," Liu Xuan said, his eyes wide.

Unfortunately, reality is greater than ideal.

Furthermore, when Lu Shizong arrived and saw the large bags and bundles, he strictly ordered them to put down everything except for food, water, and weapons. Only then did they reluctantly begin packing again.

Liu Xuan tried to shrink the package as much as possible, but food made up a large portion of it, and no matter how he packed it, there was still a lot.

Xu Dan and others could only help bring a little bit.

"Thank you, I'll treat you to a nice lunch." Liu Xuan thanked him while stuffing the handkerchief into his pocket and putting the toilet paper in his basket. He could throw away anything, but not toilet paper. Otherwise, how would he wipe it? With stones? He couldn't stand that.

After packing their things, Lu Shizong led a group of martial arts school disciples out of the city.

This time, he wasn't the only one escorting the disciples on this training trip; some of his fellow disciples were also there.

These people surrounded them, fearing that something might happen.

When they left the city, the soldiers guarding the city seemed to be used to it, and they chuckled as they watched the chicks being protected so tightly by their senior brothers and mother hens.

Outside the city gate, crowds could be seen moving about from time to time.

As we left the city gates and entered the wilderness, the number of people gradually dwindled until they disappeared from sight. As far as the eye could see, there was only endless green. Suddenly, small hailstones began to fall, but they were fleeting. Then the wind picked up, howling loudly.

One of the disciples couldn't help but ask, "Senior brother, where are we going?"

"Go to Jinshan. There aren't many medicinal herbs here; you have to go to Jinshan to find them," Lu Shizong replied.

Upon hearing the name Jinshan, the group immediately became lively.

"Gold Mountain! I heard there's gold all over there."

"My father once picked up gold over there, and our house was built by selling gold."

"My father also panned for gold there and sold it for a lot of money. We used the money to expand our house."

"My father also found gold. That time, our family roasted a big, fat sheep, and it took us three whole days to finish it."

Xu Dan hadn't expected that everyone in the group was wealthy. It made sense; a martial arts school charged ten taels of silver to learn, something ordinary people simply couldn't afford. And that wasn't all; it was just for learning the Demon-Slaying Fist as a foundation. To learn swordsmanship, they had to pay extra.

However, Xu Dan felt that paying ten taels was worthwhile.

He taught boxing, administered medication, taught acupoints and meridians, provided massage therapy, and helped identify and distinguish medicinal herbs.

Each of these items could earn you a living outside, not to mention the martial arts school also helps arrange jobs. They're incredibly generous; ten taels of silver is practically a fortune.

Hearing the martial arts students discussing this, Xu Dan couldn't help but ask Fan Meng, who was standing next to him, "Did your father find any gold?"

"My dad's a bit slow, he didn't find it." Fan Meng scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed.

Xu Dan wanted to comfort him, but then he heard him say, "But my father found a medicinal herb. My mother said that my father was incredibly lucky. If he hadn't found the herb, she planned to remarry so that she wouldn't have to suffer with him. My mother said that if my father hadn't found the herb, I probably wouldn't be alive now, and I wouldn't be able to come to the martial arts school to practice martial arts."

Ok!

One after another, they either found gold or dug up rare herbs; the borderlands were indeed the easiest place to make money.

It seems he also reaped good results.

Wan Zhen chimed in from the side, "I heard my father say that we used to have many good things here, with medicinal herbs all over the mountains and gold that could be picked up at will. Later, as more people came, the good things gradually became fewer and fewer. Now, let alone picking up gold, even panning for gold takes a lot of effort, and you have to go to very far places to find good herbs, but the farther the place, the more dangerous it is."

"I've heard there are many ghosts in the wilderness at night," Liu Xuan said furtively, leaning closer.

"I'm not afraid. My mother went to Donglai Temple and got me a peace charm." Fan Meng pulled open his clothes and showed the charm hanging around his neck to his friends.

"I have one too." Liu Xuan also took out his own amulet, which was a jade pendant.

"I have one too." Wan Zhen grinned and pulled out the wooden plaque around his neck.

The three of them looked at Xu Dan. He didn't want to do something so childish, but if he didn't, he would be out of place! Helpless, he could only take out the divine general talisman given to him by the Lord of Mingfeng Tower.

"Huh, I've never seen this talisman before?" Wan Zhen said.

"This isn't a talisman, it's a divine tablet. Not only can it ward off evil spirits, but it can also summon divine generals to protect you in times of crisis. It's not something money can buy," Liu Xuan said quietly.

"That amazing?"

"Alright, everyone, let's rest here for a bit and then continue our journey." Seeing that some disciples were running out of energy, Lu Shizong paused the rest and gave everyone water to help them recover.

As soon as he rested, Liu Xuan felt hungry, so he took out a roast chicken from his basket and ate it in big bites.

Xu Dan shook his head repeatedly; it wasn't even noon yet, and they were already eating.

The disciples watching were envious, but remembering it wasn't noon yet and they had only brought one portion of food, they gave up their desire to eat. Some disciples who had brought extra food also started eating. Instantly, the aroma of food filled the air.