Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

Are there still people who can't read?

Gu Shuxian almost blurted it out, but quickly realized what he meant.

It's really hard to say!

Strictly speaking, I am a time traveler and understand the importance of literacy.

Even when they were penniless and living a life of constant displacement, they never missed any opportunity to learn to read and write.

My life has been full of ups and downs, like walking on thin ice. I don't know how long I spent eavesdropping and secretly learning outside various private schools before I finally mastered the skill of recognizing characters.

The Great Yan Dynasty, which prioritized military strength, naturally did not have compulsory education for literacy. Most families who could afford to teach their children to read had some assets.

And those kinds of families, if they spend some money, can at least get their children accepted into the outer sect.

In other words, most of the handyman disciples were probably illiterate.

Upon realizing this, Gu Shuxian's eyelids twitched, and he gasped.

Thinking about it this way, it seems a bit like I'm asking for a beating to be standing among a bunch of illiterate people, pretending to read a book.

Gu Shuxian wiped away his cold sweat, trying to minimize the hatred in his eyes:

"I recognize some of them."

"marvelous!"

Qian Le, unaware of his inner thoughts, grinned and clasped his hands together, saying, "I've been wanting to see you for a while, but I haven't been able to find an opportunity to meet you alone, haha!"

Gu Shuxian had always been in Li Dashuan's small group, and Qian Le struggled to find an opportunity to talk to him privately, since it's better to have as few people know about such things as possible.

"Wait a minute, Senior Brother Qian hasn't explained what this has to do with literacy yet," Gu Shuxian said, frowning.

Qian Le sighed.

"Mountain products are highly seasonal. They're okay to pick in the fall, but in winter, with heavy snow covering the mountains, you can't even find them... Besides, the profit from selling mountain products is ultimately meager; you can't make much money that way. We need to do big business..."

"A big deal?"

Qian Le didn't rush to speak. Instead, he cautiously looked outside to make sure no one else was there before lowering his voice and saying:

"Medicinal herbs!"

Gu Shuxian raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.

Qian Le beamed, "You don't know, the pharmacies down the mountain buy ginseng, polygonatum, and lingzhi for more than ten times the price of ordinary mountain products! Our Sui Mountain is a treasure trove. A good quality wild ginseng can sell for over five hundred coins, and if it's a hundred-year-old ginseng, it can be exchanged for silver directly!"

"Then go ahead and dig. What does that have to do with literacy?"

Qian Le said with a bitter face, "We only recognize a few kinds of medicinal herbs. There are many valuable herbs that grow right in front of us but we don't even recognize them... But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that if you don't know anything about them, it's very easy for people to try to lower your price..."

"Once, we dug up a basketful of Solomon's Seal and took it to the herbal medicine shop. The shopkeeper insisted it was worthless Sophora flavescens and bought it for a dozen or so coins. I don't know if he was trying to trick us into buying something cheap..."

Thinking about this, Qian Le felt deeply resentful.

"So we decided to learn about herbs, but unfortunately, we are all illiterate!"

Having learned his lesson, Qian Le realized the importance of knowledge. However, the doctors had their own lineages and could not teach them. It was already a favor if the owner of the herbal medicine shop didn't cheat them. So he had to look for books on herbal medicine, but unfortunately, he couldn't read.

So he secretly planned to find other menial disciples to join him, but after trying to find out, he found that most of the menial disciples were illiterate, and those who knew a little could only write their own names. Since the outer disciples could not join them, he had to give up his idea.

It wasn't until Gu Shuxian, this oddball who was clearly a menial disciple but could read, appeared that his old ideas started to resurface.

"I see, I think I understand now."

Gu Shuxian nodded in response, pondering to himself.

To be honest, he wasn't very optimistic about the plan. Qian Le also knew that the sects patrolled the mountains regularly, so how could they leave behind expensive medicinal herbs for them? How many miles would they have to dig to find a single valuable herb?

But Gu Shuxian caught a key point.

book!

Qian Le told me they wanted to buy a book on herbal medicine!

"From what I've heard from Senior Brother Qian, you're going to buy me books so I can learn to identify medicinal herbs?"

"That's right, exactly! Let's partner up and split the profits equally!"

"Learning a skill is probably not something that can be done in a short time..."

"It's alright, learning for a year or two won't hurt. Our time as menial disciples isn't valuable. The rest of the time you can just follow us and do business selling mountain products!"

Several concerns were addressed.

If Qian Le really has a way to get down the mountain, then joining him wouldn't hurt.

Gu Shuxian pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Alright, then thank you very much for your guidance, Senior Brother Qian."

"Hehe, no problem, no problem!" Qian Lexi smiled broadly when Gu Shuxian agreed.

"Now...no, tomorrow I'll take you down the mountain to buy a book on herbal medicine!"

"become."

Qian Le left satisfied, saying before he left that he needed to make some preparations for going down the mountain.

Gu Shuxian didn't ask any more questions and continued reading the Disciple's Code.

Apart from having a meal at the main kitchen, I spent the rest of the time holed up in room number nine.

As evening approached, the other disciples gradually returned.

After Li Dashuan, Zhang Tieniu, and Wu Shuisheng returned, Gu Shuxian took the initiative to greet them.

Li Dashuan snorted coldly and didn't say anything.

Zhang Tieniu opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Wu Shuisheng tugged at his sleeve, and in the end he said nothing.

Ignoring me? What does that mean?

Gu Shuxian was stunned. Could their friendship have capsized so easily?

Is she blaming herself for leaving first?

Or……

Gu Shuxian recalled what Li Dashuan had said that morning, "You've offended that Wang Biao..."

Because Zhao Kui had long held considerable power, his few friends, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire, decided to distance themselves from him.

Can't figure it out.

Even so, Gu Shuxian did not blame them, but she couldn't help but sigh at how fragile friendship was.

After some time, Zhao Kui and Wang Biao returned.

Wang Biao merely gave him a couple of unfriendly glances, but did nothing else.

Zhao Kui didn't even glance at him.

Gu Shuxian guessed that Zhao Kui was currently preoccupied with how to enter the inner realm and become an outer disciple, and probably had no interest in protecting his little follower's face.

Tsk, the previous completion of the Tiger Prison Technique not only allowed Gu Shuxian to reach the Meridian Opening Realm, but also enabled him to thoroughly understand this technique.

Despite the different techniques and attributes, Gu Shuxian still had considerable insight into how to cultivate internal energy using the Suishan Force, thanks to his comprehensive understanding and ability to draw inferences from one instance to another.

Unfortunately, he had no intention of becoming a teacher.

After that, the remaining people returned one after another.

It's worth mentioning that Qian Le was the last to return, and it's unclear what he was doing there.

The day passed peacefully.

When midnight arrives.

[You were engrossed in your reading today, not forgetting your duty as the guardian of the library. As the saying goes, great things come to those who accumulate knowledge and experience. You are hereby rewarded with "One Day of Study"]

This is blatant discrimination!

Why shouldn't the rules of conduct for disciples of the Great Suishan Sword Sect be considered a peerless masterpiece!

Gu Shuxian stood up for his sect.

However, the panel ignored him.

He could only groan twice and give up.

Gu Shuxian immediately found herself in another predicament.

He has no skills to practice now!

The "Tiger Lair Skill" has been perfected; there is no further progress to be made.

"Suishan Jin" should not be practiced, as it will harm your health.

What should be done about repairing this day?

Gu Shuxian frowned. This kind of daily cultivation was equivalent to a day of uninterrupted hard work, but it wouldn't leave any hidden ailments or cause physical fatigue. It was extremely useful.

Are we just going to waste it like this?

I don't know if I can save it.

Just as he had this thought, the ball of light emitted from the scroll in his sea of ​​consciousness did not merge into his limbs and bones as before, but instead gathered and floated there, seemingly waiting for him to refine it.

Gu Shuxian could sense that this one-day cultivation had been stored away, and he could use it whenever he wanted.

very good!

He nodded in satisfaction, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

……

The next day.

Firewood yard.

Gu Shuxian had just finished his quota and was about to chop some more firewood to exchange for money when...

Qian Le came over and said he would take him down the mountain to buy books.