Chapter 31 - Leaving Home For Cultivation
"Brother Chen, don't you find it weird that such a massive ganoderma can be found in that stone gap in Little Dragon Mountain? According to my father, if one were to sell a ganoderma of this size at the capital, one can buy the Zhang family several times over."
Zhang Ji was getting more and more excited as he talked, his face full of surprise, as if he never knew how good his luck was.
Chen Chen suppressed his desire to beat him and replied, "Indeed. But if you were to give me such a precious thing..."
"Brother Chen, were it not for your inspiration, how could I have found such a treasure? You definitely deserve one. Also, no price from the ganoderma is worth our brotherhood."
Zhang Ji's smile vanished; there was only seriousness left.
Chen Chen felt somewhat helpless in this turn of events. He suspected that if he were to sell Zhang Ji one day, Zhang Ji would still count money for him.
He even felt somewhat sorry.
He was ultimately something of a sympathetic person.
Thinking of this, he talked to Zhang Ji seriously.
"Brother, don't do dangerous things like jumping from a cliff. There is no need for that."
Zhang Ji's head dropped at those words. He sighed and responded, "I understand. I have only a tiny fraction of your qualifications, and that some means of practice are possible for Brother Chen, but not me. Unwise imitation would not render any good..."
Chen Chen had no words. This dude suddenly became self-abased.
"Let's talk about that later. Our current priority is our trip to cultivation. We are leaving Shichuan county in a few days, so some preparation is clearly needed."
"Agreed, I will follow all instructions coming from Brother Chen."
Afterwards, the two entered the hall to discuss the trip to Jizhou.
...
Several days later, a calm day arrived.
Over the course of these last few days, news of a cultivator in the Chen family spread across the entirety of Shichuan County.
Additionally, the Zhangs and Chens of the county had made an alliance, calming the chaos-ridden county immediately.
Everybody gave their highest respect to this newly risen family.
After all, cultivators were beyond horse bandits.
It's rumored that the Zhaos, with all of their might, were crushed with almost no resistance in front of the Chen's cultivator, vanishing without a hint.
But beyond the masses' knowledge, it was on this day, on the road outside Shichuan county, that several well-prepared wagons were about to depart.
"Father, mother, no need to worry about me. With some more cultivation, I can fly back home whenever and wherever I please," Chen Chen spoke proudly to his parents, who were seeing him off.
Today was the day he and Zhang Ji departed for Jizhou City.
"Little Chen, take good care of yourself outside." Qin Rou's face was full of worries. Of course, all mothers worried for their traveling sons.
"Are you not assured by my methods of doing things? Do take good care of Lao Hei. He may be up to some changes, but don't be frightened by it."
Chen Chen gave Chen Shan and Qin Rou much relief with his light mood and his cheerful face.
On the other hand, Zhang Ji was crying with father as if it was their last encounter.
Nearly a quarter of an hour later, Zhang Ji finally returned to the group.
The team consisted of three wagons: one filled with goods needed for the trip and two empty ones.
In addition, there are three grooms and two bodyguards; that brought the group to a total of 7 people.
"Brother Chen, let's go. I wonder if I can even make my trip back."
Zhang Ji's eyes were red from crying. He rode on the horse, face full of anxiety due to the impending long trip.
Chen Chen smiled but didn't speak. Given Zhang Ji's luck, he very much suspected that even if he couldn't return, this lad surely would.
After everybody was on the horse, Chen Chen sent his parents good-bye.
"Father, mother, I will be going. Take good care of yourselves when at home!"
"Bye! Maybe you can even bring back a wife."
"Haha! We may even bring back a cultivator," Chen Chen responded with a laugh. As he prepared to steer his horse for departure, Mrs. Zhang suddenly spoke to him.
"Mister Chen, my son Ji has a track record of being dull. He may need special attention and assistance from you, so please help him. Thank you very much."
Zhang Ji's face flushed upon hearing this. In his opinion, when far from Chen Chen, he was a clever man that could remember anything that passed by his eyes. How was he "dull," according to his mother's words?
How was he associated with "dull" in any way?
"Mrs. Zhang, please be assured. Zhang Ji is my brother, and I will certainly take care of him," Chen Chen promised in a smile.
...
After the long pre-departure talks, Chen Chen and Zhang Ji finally left Shichuan County, on their way leading to Jizhou.
Upon departing Shichuan County, Chen Chen began humming music.
This outside world was indeed much different from Shichuan County. With the high skies and wide seas, countless treasures and opportunities awaited him
In his heart, these expectations overwhelmed any anxiety due to his departure.
He longed to pick up some ultimate good and jump dozens of levels in cultivation.
"Brother Chen, why would you take two empty wagons? Will we meet anybody?"
After some time walking, Zhang Ji finally asked the question in his heart.
Chen Chen responded, "We will pass by many places on the way, so we clearly need to buy things."
"So that's why," Zhang Ji muttered, considering the answer.
At this time, Chen Chen's face suddenly turned away. He then jumped down from the horse and into the roadside grass cluster. Soon, he returned with an unknown piece of grass, which he placed in an empty wagon.
The two empty wagons were indeed left for goods. But instead of buying goods and keeping them in the wagons, he wanted to keep the scarce items he found using the system.
The trip from Shichuan County to Jizhou was several thousand kilometers long----how many precious goods would they encounter on the way there?
Were it not due to his concerns about being too obvious, Chen Chen would have brought a whole motorcade with him.
"Congratulations to the inhibitor for tracking one hundred items using the System; the tracking distance will increase by 5 meters, for a total of 20 meters."
After putting the grass into the wagon, the System's reminders come into his mind.
Chen Chen's smile turned extra bright when he heard this.
While the range had only increased by 5 meters, the practical search area nearly doubled.
With a lucky star such as Zhang Ji with him, Chen Chen suspected that average-value treasures weren't even worth the space in the carriage.
"Brother Chen, what is the grass?" Zhang Ji asked curiously.
"This is a special detoxifying grass, which can counteract all toxins," Chen Chen explained as he got back on his horse.
"Brother Chen, do you know much about medical theory?" Zhang Ji questioned him, very much bewildered.
Medical theory was something that required inheritance. While he had spent the last several days mostly understanding Chen Chen's family history, no mention of his parents' knowledge on medical theory was on his radar.
"Medical theory?"
Chen Chen was briefly stunned by this.
He actually knew no medical theory; the function of this detoxifying grass was given to him by the System.
He could just enter a pharmacy and ask the System for medication for a certain disease.
If the required medications were in the pharmacy, the System could definitely search for and find it.
On that note, he may as well be a witch doctor!
But he didn't know if the system could arrange prescriptions and track multiple targets at the same time.
"Medical theory… I know a bit of it."
After some thinking, Chen Chen finally responded with self-esteem.
Zhang Ji's eyes were filled with the standard worship he withheld for Chen Chen alone. He praised him, "I didn't expect Brother Chen to have spare time studying medical theory while practicing so hard. Brother Chen is most definitely a genius of the era!"