Chapter 829: Reviving Mankind
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Before this, it was as though the two of them had seen a ghost. They had been running scared as the color drained from their faces. Now, however, they obediently followed behind him like good children.
“Big Brother Mo, I am sorry!” Wan’er whispered as she lowered her head.
Wang Qian also lowered her head in embarrassment. She had a look of shame on her face. If she was not so superstitious and had not run away like a lunatic, dragging Wan’er with her, there most likely would not have been so many issues.
From the looks of it things now, Mo Wen did not seem to be a ghost. Even if he was, he was a friendly ghost.
Having been saved by Mo Wen, Wang Qian’s impression of Mo Wen immediately skyrocketed. Suddenly, she was not afraid of him at all, even if he was a ghost.
“Before this, as you have seen, I was an ancient martial art practitioner. I fell into the mountain forest due to my injuries. I come from an ancient medical family, and I began to study medicine at a young age. I have been gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains since I was three, so naturally, I am skillful at it. So, you can stop being suspicious or imagining things,” Mo Wen said calmly.
He felt the need to explain his situation now so that in the future, there would not be any misunderstandings like this again.
“Of course you are a strong ancient martial art practitioner! I have eyes but failed to see. Please pardon me for my earlier attitude and behavior.” Wang Qian’s face was red as she hurriedly curtsied. Actually, without Mo Wen saying it, she had also roughly guessed the situation. How could an ordinary person crush Cheng Shuangjiang below their feet and kill him? Not only was Mo Wen an ancient martial art practitioner, but his cultivation was at least at the later stage of the Sea of Qi Realm. He was most likely an incredible ancient martial art practitioner at the pinnacle of the Sea of Qi Realm.
Before this, she had indeed overreacted and had unjustly offended him. Her preconceived thinking had led her to assume that Mo Wen was just an ordinary person. She had not considered that he might be an ancient martial art practitioner, and so had been stunned by Mo Wen’s actions. However, if Mo Wen was an ancient martial art practitioner and also came from an ancient medical family, it was not impossible for him to have mastered some highly advanced techniques for gathering medicinal herbs.
Wan’er felt very guilty. She lowered her head and did not say a word. How could she have not believed in Big Brother Mo?
“That’s alright. It was just a misunderstanding. Let’s continue gathering medicinal herbs. There are many medicinal herbs on this mountain. We don’t need to travel so far.”
With a smile, Mo Wen moved on to another topic to stop the girls from feeling guilty. He took the lead and continued to walk up the mountain. There were many medicinal herbs there which had yet to be collected. The amount was enough for Wan’er to hit her target.
Since Mo Wen took the initiative to move on to the topic of gathering medicinal herbs, which was their biggest concern at the moment, their mood livened up. They followed behind Mo Wen excitedly. They believed that with Mo Wen around, Wan’er would be able to complete her task easily.
They spent the whole morning busy plucking medicinal herbs. However, they felt exhilarated instead of being tired. It was Wan’er and Wang Qian’s first time experiencing such a plentiful harvest.
When Mo Wen saw the satisfying smile on Wan’er’s face, he felt joyful too.
At noon, the three of them started a campfire beside a cliff wall to roast some wild animals. The location that they chose was strategic. The cliff wall could block the wind and thus ensure that the roasting was done well. Besides that, they could enjoy the distant scenery.
Mo Wen held a fish on a stick, turning it continuously over the fire. The aroma of the meat filled the surroundings. The fish brimmed with golden-colored oil, dripping into the campfire.
“Big Brother Mo, you are incredible.”
Wan’er’s face was red as she looked at the bamboo basket full of medicinal herbs. Her face revealed a happy and contented look. The number of medicinal herbs that they had gathered in the morning was equivalent to five days’ worth of tasks. For the next five days, she would not need to worry about the medicinal herbs gathering task.
The gaze that Wang Qian gave Mo Wen was also full of adoration. Right now, she no longer doubted Mo Wen and no longer took his words for boasting.
In the surrounding mountains, almost all the medicinal herbs had been picked clean in the spring by the Five Tigers Sect disciples. Right now, finding a single stalk of medicinal herb was rather difficult. Even some of the sect seniors who were proficient in gathering medicinal herbs did not want to search for them in that region.
It truly was seemed as though Mo Wen could pick up the scent of medicinal herbs from ten kilometers away. Every time they dug, they would strike gold. On what they originally thought to be a mountain that had no medicinal herbs, they actually managed to dig up so many in one morning. Right now, even if Mo Wen said that he could see medicinal herbs from ten kilometers away, Wang Qian would absolutely believe him.
“Wan’er, after we’ve had our fill, let’s go to a mountain slightly further away and see whether we can find spiritual medicines.”
Mo Wen passed the roasted fish to Wan’er and continued roasting a hare that had been skinned and cleaned. Even though the number of medicinal herbs that they had gathered was equivalent to five days worth of Wan’er’s task target, Wan’er still had more than twenty days of medicinal herbs gathering to be done. It was impossible for Mo Wen to bring Wan’er out for medicinal herbs gathering every day, so he planned to settle this once and for all.
There was a rule in the Five Tigers Sect: any disciple who found a spiritual medicine would not need to gather any more medicinal herbs within five years. Besides that, they would receive a huge reward from the sect. If they were ordinary disciples, they would surely be able to level up to become Inner-Sect disciples.
The rule was rather tempting; however, spiritual medicines were rare. The value of a stalk of spiritual medicine was unfathomable for an ordinary sect.
“Ah, search for spiritual medicine?” Wan’er’s eyes were wide open. This was something that she had never thought of before.
Wang Qian was shocked too, staring at Mo Wen with a stunned expression. He actually wanted to search for spiritual medicine!
Spiritual medicine was something that people encountered by luck. The Five Tigers Sect members had not found any spiritual medicine in the last three years. Instead of searching for it, one would depend on luck to stumble across one. If they were lucky, they might be able to find a stalk of rare spiritual medicine. If they weren’t lucky, they might not be able to find one even within a lifetime. Purposely searching for spiritual medicine was an unrealistic move.
However, if any disciple found a spiritual medicine and handed it into the sect, they would receive great rewards from the sect. Besides, they would not need to gather any more medicinal herbs for five years. That was because even lots of ordinary medicinal herbs could not be compared to a stalk of spiritual medicine. If Wan’er could find a stalk of spiritual medicine for the sect, naturally she would not need to gather medicinal herbs in the mountains anymore.
“Big Brother Mo, searching for spiritual medicine… isn’t it very difficult?” Wan’er said softly.
She knew Mo Wen wanted to help her, but searching for spiritual medicine was a very difficult task. Such medicine was not something one could find easily. The Five Tigers Sect had seniors and masters who specialized in searching for spiritual medicine. Even so, they had not found many of them in recent years. All the sects in the Taihang Mountains were yearning for spiritual medicine, but it seemed as though all that could be found had been plucked; all that had not yet been found would never be found.
“We will not know if we do not try. We still have quite some time today after all.” Mo Wen smiled. A stalk of spiritual medicine was nothing to him. He had stored a large amount of spiritual medicine in his medicine spiritual ring. However, he could not give Wan’er any of these. After all, those spiritual medicines had been plucked a long time ago, so they were quite different from the freshly plucked spiritual medicine. If he let Wan’er submit a spiritual medicine which had been plucked a long time ago to her sect, she might get into trouble once the sect found out about it.
They would need to gather spiritual medicine on the spot.
The spiritual energy in the Taihang Mountains was sparse. The probability of finding spiritual medicine was low. However, surely some spiritual medicine had grown in such a gigantic primeval forest. Perhaps it was not easy to locate it. However, for Mo Wen, it would most likely not be a huge problem.
Upon hearing this, Wan’er nodded. It would be best if they could find some, but they did not need to be too concerned if they could not find any. Since today’s task had been completed, they could go to the next mountain for sightseeing.
The three of them had their fill of food, then they sat on a rock to rest for a while. Mo Wen did not need to rest but considered how the girls must be feeling. Even though they were both ancient martial art practitioners, their cultivation was merely at the Regulated Breathing Realm. At most, they were a little stronger than ordinary people.
“Wan’er, do you have dreams?” Wang Qian sat on a rock while hugging her long legs close to her. She asked the question while staring at the sky. Her gaze was slightly melancholic.
“I do have dreams.” Wan’er nodded her head with a serious expression, saying, “My dream is to become a miracle physician with extraordinary medical skills. I will travel around the world and heal the sick, reviving mankind and blessing the world.” Wan’er’s facial expression was serious and her eyes were filled with yearning.
“Your dream is so ambitious. I have long known that even though Wan’er is young, you are merciful, and you always have the interest of others in your mind.” Wang Qian smiled, yet a glint of desolation flashed in her eyes.
Seeing this, Wan’er’s eyes turned dull as well. Both of them were well-aware that dreams were still just dreams after all. Everyone had dreams, yet not everyone could realize them. Wan’er would most likely not be able to realize her dreams during her lifetime.
A strange expression flickered in Mo Wen’s eyes. He glanced at Wan’er, then suddenly he smiled.
“Sister Wang Qian, what is your dream?” Wan’er looked at Wang Qian.
“I don’t have big ambitions like you. My dream is simple, and that is freedom. Specifically, I desire an unrestrained life. It will be ideal if I can become a top martial arts master and travel around the world. Sometimes, I will punish the evil and help the poor, fulfilling my fantasy of becoming a hero. The world is so huge. I want to experience it.”
Wang Qian stared at the clouds which were roaming freely in the sky. She felt down and depressed. As a disciple in an ancient martial arts sect, she had little to no freedom. Only by cultivating to the level of the Qi Nucleation Realm or even the Embryonic Breathing Realm could she live the life that she desired.
“Sister Wang Qian, we might not be able to fulfill our dreams. However, if we work hard towards our dreams, we will not have any regrets even if we fail,” Wan’er said with great resolution.
Wan’er never gave up. She would fill all her free time with the study of medicine. There were many things that she did not understand and some things were even confusing for her; however, she persisted in her studies because she believed that her hard work would pay off one day.
Ordinary disciples like Wan’er did not receive guidance from any master. They had to figure out everything by themselves, so they inched forward with great difficulty.
Upon hearing this, Wang Qian smiled wryly. She was the closest to Wan’er and knew that Wan’er studied every day and never slacked off. Even during these days, she still persisted in her studies even though she was dog-tired from working since early morning and coming home late at night. Wan’er would sleep in the wee hours of the morning. Wan’er was a person with great determination. Wang Qian knew she paled into insignificance when it came to this. Both of them saw no hope for their future, yet Wan’er was far more hardworking than her.
“Wan’er, the Martial Arts Circle Convention, which happens once every five years, is about to take place. Do you think the Baili Sect can still maintain their status as one of the Ten Great Sects? The Baili Sect is usually quite overbearing. However, for a sect in the Taihang Mountains to emerge as one of the Ten Great Sects in the martial arts circle makes them the pride of all ancient martial art practitioners in the Taihang Mountains.”
“The legendary Martial Arts Circle Convention! I really, really want to go and experience it. If I can attend the event, I am willing to shorten my lifespan by ten years in exchange.” Wang Qian rested her chin on her hand. Recently, the most popular topic of conversation in the martial arts circle was the Martial Arts Circle Convention, which was about to happen.