Chapter 50 - 51: Medicine Town’s Ao Mountain Village, Mute Girl

Chapter 50: Chapter 51: Medicine Town’s Ao Mountain Village, Mute Girl

"Sigh, still no Red Blood Grass!"

After checking all the major medical clinics, Su Chen reluctantly accepted reality. Due to the rebellion in Yellow Stone City, Red Blood Grass was not only in high demand but completely out of stock, and even other herbs were now in extremely short supply.

On his way back, Su Chen happened to pass by the market and saw a corpse hanging in the center. It was none other than Zhu Ming. The body had likely been hanging there for a while; it looked completely grotesque, resembling a shriveled mummy and emitting a strange, foul odor.

The passersby were completely unfazed by the sight, though they would subconsciously cover their noses in disgust as they walked past. Su Chen didn’t pay much attention to the corpse itself. Instead, his eyes fell on a wooden sign placed next to it.

The message was brief and concise. It essentially exposed Zhu Ming’s identity as a rebel and glorified the achievements of the Government Office. Although Su Chen wasn’t mentioned anywhere between the lines, he still gleaned a few clues from it.

He thought, "I wonder what the people from the Rebirth Sect will think when they see Zhu Ming’s corpse. With their influence, they’ve probably already found out that it was ’Yang Guo’ who killed him." While Su Chen was confident his true identity remained hidden, nothing in the world was absolute. If he was ever exposed, he would undoubtedly face a storm of fierce retaliation from the Rebirth Sect.

"I need to be extra careful when using aliases from now on. I should keep the Yang Guo identity on the down-low for a while. This is a good time to visit Medicine Town," Su Chen silently warned himself before turning to leave.

Having made his decision, he didn’t waste any time. First thing the next morning, he set out for Medicine Town.

Medicine Town was located about a hundred miles from White Stone City. Its proximity to the Baili Mountain Range made it relatively remote. However, being remote didn’t mean it was desolate. On the contrary, the abundance of cheap medicinal herbs sold here attracted countless merchants who came to restock their supplies. Over time, what was once a run-down village had flourished into a bustling herb-supply hub, simultaneously boosting the development of many surrounding villages.

By the time he arrived at Medicine Town, it was already dusk. Su Chen found an inn and checked in. His travel fatigue quickly dissipated after a hearty meal. Since it was getting late, he simply read a medical book for a short while before falling asleep.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight filtered into his room, the rhythmic cries of street peddlers began echoing from below. Su Chen got out of bed and looked out the window, discovering that mornings in Medicine Town were exceptionally lively. The sun had barely risen, yet the streets were already bustling with crowds coming and going.

After washing up and eating a simple breakfast, Su Chen headed out. He didn’t immediately go to the address the clinic assistant had given him; the person wasn’t actually located in Medicine Town, but rather in a place called Ao Mountain Village. Su Chen had asked the inn’s waiter about it the night before, learning that Ao Mountain Village was located north of Medicine Town—only about seven or eight miles away, so it wasn’t a far trip.

He planned to wander around the town first to see if he could find any Red Blood Grass. If he came up empty-handed, he could always seek out his contact later.

Medicine Town truly lived up to its name. Along the main street alone, there were more medicinal herb shops than all the clinics in White Stone City combined. It wasn’t long before Su Chen spotted a shop. He walked inside, only to emerge empty-handed moments later. He went from shop to shop. Over the course of less than two hours, his initial hope gave way to disappointment, which ultimately settled into numb resignation.

The responses he received were practically identical to those from the clinics back in White Stone City; the shop clerks either shook their heads or bluntly told him they had none. Eventually, left with no other choice, Su Chen resorted to bribing one of the clerks to loosen his lips. Only then did the man reveal the truth.

To Su Chen’s surprise, all the Red Blood Grass in Medicine Town had been confiscated by the Medicine Gang, and no herb shop was permitted to sell it. Back in White Stone City, Su Chen hadn’t thought much of the Medicine Gang’s power. But here in Medicine Town, they were the undisputed local tyrants. Anything involving medicinal herbs had to go through the Medicine Gang. Even the Government Office didn’t wield as much authority here!

Armed with this new information, Su Chen gave up asking around. He originally thought about buying Red Blood Grass directly from the medicinal farmers, but on second thought, he realized that would be impossible—at least out in the open. After all, the Medicine Gang’s influence permeated every aspect of Medicine Town, and the medicinal farmers were no exception.

"These gangs are truly the biggest obstacle to my growing stronger. If I still can’t find any in the end, I’ll have to target the Medicine Gang!" he thought, making up his mind. He would visit Ao Mountain Village tomorrow, and if he still couldn’t purchase any Red Blood Grass, he would take the fight directly to the Medicine Gang. Although he didn’t want to provoke them, it was his only option left.

In the afternoon, Su Chen visited a few other places, eventually arriving at the market where the medicinal farmers sold their herbs. It served as the trading hub of Medicine Town and was incredibly bustling. After wandering around for about two hours, Su Chen finally gave up in disappointment.

The moment these medicinal farmers heard he was looking to buy Red Blood Grass, they shook their heads furiously and rejected him without hesitation, not even giving him a chance to state a price. If it were just one person acting like this, Su Chen wouldn’t have minded. The problem was that almost everyone reacted the exact same way. Furthermore, Su Chen noticed that whenever he asked about Red Blood Grass, the people nearby would prick up their ears and watch him closely. Yet, when he approached them next, they gave the exact same vehement refusal.

After observing this for a while, Su Chen stopped asking. He could see that the Medicine Gang’s grip on the medicinal farmers was far deeper than he had imagined. However, he didn’t give up entirely. As dusk approached, he deliberately loitered around the market, hoping that a few desperate farmers might seek him out in secret.

Unfortunately, he had severely overestimated his chances. Su Chen waited until the sky turned pitch black, but not a single medicinal farmer approached him. Seeing only a handful of people left in the market, Su Chen’s expression darkened slightly before he finally walked away.

Early the next morning, Su Chen left Medicine Town and headed for Ao Mountain Village. The village was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the majority of its residents made a living by growing and foraging for medicinal herbs. It served as one of the many supply sources for Medicine Town.

Following the address provided by the clinic assistant, Su Chen arrived at the Ao Mountain Village market, which looked rather dilapidated compared to the one in Medicine Town. As soon as he entered the market, Su Chen spotted a large crowd of people lined up in a long queue. Some carried bamboo baskets on their backs, while others held coarse cloth sacks. At the very front of the line stood a few burly men dressed in slightly more decent attire. Each of them held a large burlap sack, and a short man among them was currently negotiating with a medicinal farmer.

After watching for a moment, Su Chen deduced their identities—they had to be members of the Medicine Gang collecting herbs from Ao Mountain Village.

"Found her!" he thought. His gaze didn’t linger on the gang members for long, instead scanning down the length of the queue.

His eyes lit up when he spotted a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl standing at the very back of the line. Surrounded by a crowd of adults, the girl stood out conspicuously. She was short, terribly malnourished, and wore tattered clothes that had been patched up numerous times as she waited all alone at the rear of the queue.

Just as Su Chen was about to step forward and approach the girl, he abruptly came to a halt.