83 The Beginning of Everything
Jiang Ming walked into Peace County. The streets were much livelier than three years ago. There were all kinds of shops, from cafes to clothing stores. There were also many street vendors.
After the war, the country of Yan gradually beca more prosperous than before, as if an illness had been cured. The emperor reduced taxes and built granaries to provide relief to the people. Even the villagers in Peace County had a much better life.
Jiang Ming sighed and walked to the bar. He went straight to the second floor and asked for a bright place by the window. He ordered so food and wine and began to eat and drink.
Now that Old Jiang had completely retired and was a hands-off shopkeeper, Ah Fei had sohow saved up so money and ordered people to renovate the bar. Now, the business was booming, and the atmosphere was new.
!!
The custors at the other tables were all red from drinking. As usual, they were discussing the current affairs that had happened recently.
“Marquis Zhou is really a God. He shocked the world with one battle, and no one dared fight back.”
“He’s just a bloodthirsty butcher. If he doesn’t win the hearts of the people, he’ll get his retribution sooner or later.”
“Bullsh*t! Marquis Zhou massacred the city, not for the sake of killing, but to warn those who want to cause trouble.”
“F*ck you! Don’t you dare yell at !”
In an instant, wine glasses and bar stools flew everywhere.
Jiang Ming quickly protected his food and wine and sat on the other side of the table to avoid being splashed with blood.
After a while, the two people who were fighting were thrown out of the bar by a red-faced man, which attracted a lot of applause.
The red-faced man went back to the second floor and sat opposite Jiang Ming. “Long ti no see, Ming.”
“How did you beco a thug in this bar?” Jiang Ming laughed. The man was Wang Dong, Jiang Ming’s good friend in Tiger Hunting Village.
Three years passed, and Jiang Ming’s strength had also improved to the level of an unranked martial artist, but Wang Dong still could only sense blood Qi and had not crossed into the realm of a martial artist.
“It’s just to earn so more money.”
Wang Dong took a big gulp of wine and smiled bitterly. “Only by practicing martial arts will one know how difficult it is to walk the path of martial arts. I’m afraid I don’t have the talent anymore, and I’m too lazy to be a dog in those big aristocratic families, so I inherited my father’s old profession and opened a butcher shop in Peace County. I got married last year and now we have a baby on the way. We’re a bit short of money, so I picked up a part-ti job here.”
Jiang Ming did not interrupt Wang Dong’s long-winded speech and listened silently. Perhaps this was the final destination of most martial arts practitioners.
“From our batch, it seems that only you and Fang Lie have beco martial artists now.” Wang Dong suddenly said, “Fang Lie also beca a third-class martial artist a few days ago.”
“Is that so? I’d like to go and congratulate him when I’m free,” Jiang Ming said with a smile.
“I’m very busy now. I’ve not seen Master Guan in a while,” Wang Dong said in a low voice. His eyes were a little unhappy, as if he were recalling the days when they went up the mountain to hunt tigers together.
Jiang Ming patted him on the shoulder and asked for two bottles of hard liquor and a few appetizers. The two of them drank heavily before they left.
However, Jiang Ming did not go ho directly. Instead, he went into a remote dicine shop.
The dicine shop was called the Hundred Herb Hall. It was not big and was located in a remote area. However, because it had a large stock of dicinal herbs, it was always busy.
Seeing Jiang Ming co in, several custors who were buying dicine greeted him, “Mr. Jiang!”
“Mr. Jiang, long ti no see. What do you have this ti?”
“Just so golden ginseng. I’ll clean them up. If you’re interested, co and see another day.” Jiang Ming smiled and replied to them one by one. He was the one who opened the Hundred Herb Hall. With his background, it was not a big deal to open a dicine shop. Most of the dicinal herbs he collected on a daily basis were brought here to be sold. He could also buy so dicinal herbs from other people who collected dicinal herbs. He could still make so inco.
“You went drinking again!” After Zhou Wenxiu sent away these custors, she walked out from behind the counter and stared at Jiang Ming with dissatisfaction.
Jiang Ming quickly poured out all the herbs in the basket, turned around, and ran away, “I’ll go ho first.”
* * *
The next morning, Jiang Ming stood in his small courtyard, practicing a set of simple fist techniques and moving his body.
“Wow, Ming, you’re ho!”
Outside the fence, in the small courtyard next door, a cry of surprise suddenly ca.
Jiang Ming turned his head and saw a little girl who was not much taller than Master Si. She was leaning on the fence between the two small courtyards, holding a small wooden bowl filled with fried cicadas.
The little girl was looking at Jiang Ming with a face full of surprise. Her white coarse cloth clothes were covered with mud, and her red face was covered in mud as well.
“Tian Anan, you were playing with mud again!” Jiang Ming walked over, grabbed the hem of the little girl’s clothes, and pointed to the mud on it. “Your mother will spank you when she cos back!”
“Ah.” The little girl looked down and was shocked. “I was not playing with mud. These aren’t my clothes.”
Jiang Ming almost choked. “When I went out just now, I saw a little girl splashing in a muddy puddle. Was she a ghost?
Tian Anan giggled. She stuffed a cicada into her mouth with her dirty little fingers and chewed it. Then, she grabbed another one and handed it to Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming was happy. He reached out to take it.
Tian Anan quickly retracted her hand and asked curiously, “Ming, do you think the stones on the mountain are nice?”
Jiang Ming laughed, turned around, and took out a few colorful cobblestones from his dicine basket. He put them in Tian Anan’s bowl, and then she handed the cicada to Jiang Ming.
“You little brat!” Jiang Ming said without rcy.
Tian Anan played with the cobblestones happily, then turned and ran away, leaving Jiang Ming alone.
Jiang Ming shook his head, too lazy to argue with this little girl. He chewed on the cicada and walked unsteadily toward the Hundred Herb Hall.
Zhou Wenxiu had already opened the door and was sorting out the dicinal herbs. Jiang Ming lay down on the bamboo chair in the inner hall with ease. He had so experience from working under Dr. Sun. It was quite comfortable.
“I am here to buy so dicine!”
Suddenly, a man wearing a bamboo hat, whose face could not be seen clearly, walked into the dicine shop and said in a deep voice.
Jiang Ming did not take it seriously and sent Zhou Wenxiu to sell dicine. There were too many people who hid their identities to buy things. Everyone had so secrets that could not be revealed, and he was too lazy to care.
However, the next few dicinal herbs that the man ntioned made Jiang Ming unable to sit still.
“I need so mountain dragon’s eye, snake flower grass root, cicada skin, dried leech, and so nine-fragrance worm.”
Jiang Ming’s mory suddenly went back to the ti when he had just crossed into this world. The prescription from Old Ghost Huang was the beginning of everything.
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