Chapter 3: Meeting a Fellow Villager

The neatly arranged medicine shelves had some herbs drying on them. Wei Yang was currently organizing them. After all, he might be away for a long time on this trip, so these herbs needed to be properly taken care of.

He had bought these herbs from the market. Over the past three years, besides his daily cultivation, he would also research and tinker with herbs, and now he could be considered a doctor. He had concocted ointments for common wounds and scars, which had proven effective.

Sometimes, he would take these ointments to the market to sell them and earn money, successfully carving out a small market for himself. Making money was necessary, even if you were skilled in martial arts, because you had to eat.

Knock, knock, knock— The courtyard gate was knocked on. "Is Doctor Wei here?" a loud voice called from outside.

"Here, coming," Wei Yang replied, putting down what he was doing and turning to open the door.

As the gate opened, a burly man in mercenary attire with a fierce aura stood outside. "Doctor Wei, do you remember me?" the big man tried hard to pull out a slightly menacing smile and softened his voice as much as possible.

"I remember, you're Captain Meng," Wei Yang nodded and asked, "Here to buy medicine?"

"Yes, our squad is planning to go to the Magic Beast Mountain Range, so we wanted to buy some medicine from you to take along," the burly man boomed in response.

"Come in," Wei Yang turned and walked inside, "What medicine do you want to buy?" Captain Meng followed him, "Everything. Some for stopping bleeding, dispelling bruises, detoxification, a bit of each."

Wei Yang nodded and led him to the hall, where bottles and jars were displayed on a counter. Behind them, on the wall cabinet, were many more bottles, jars, and wooden boxes.

Having made a name for himself, Wei Yang seldom went out to set up a stall, usually dealing with regular customers who came to him. He walked behind the counter and pointed to some wooden frames used for sorting.

"Choose what you need; there are names and descriptions for everything."

"Okay," Captain Meng nodded and started to carefully pick out what he needed.

Soon, Captain Meng had selected the medicine he needed, totaling forty portions in both bottles and wooden boxes.

Wei Yang handed him a paper bag, "Forty gold coins, here, pack it yourself." Captain Meng took the paper bag, smiled broadly, and quickly dug out the gold coins to pay, then packed everything.

"Doctor Wei, I'll be off then," Captain Meng said, holding the paper bag.

"I might be leaving for a while, maybe two or three months, so don't come looking for me to buy medicine during this time. I won't be here," Wei Yang said. "And, it's 'Doctor Wei,' why add 'little' before it?"

"Uh... just a habit," Captain Meng scratched his head. "Alright, I understand. Doctor Wei, I'll come to buy medicine again in three months," Captain Meng said, carrying the bag and turning to leave.

Watching his departing figure, Wei Yang shook his head and began arranging the counter. What a bunch of brawny guys. Checking himself, he was fifteen years old, nearly 170 cm tall, handsome, with fair and clean skin, though seemingly a bit thin, in reality, he was lean and muscled. Not exaggerated, but toned. Overall, what part of him was small? Damn it.

Wei Yang reached into his pocket, pulled out a money pouch, and placed the gold coins inside. A storage ring? Don't be ridiculous. Even a basic storage ring would start at fifty thousand gold coins.

Yes, start! It wouldn't be strange if it ended up costing eighty or a hundred thousand. Such a thing, who could afford it? A typical luxury of the Dou Qi Continent, exclusive to the nobility.

The next day. Early in the morning, as the sun rose. Wei Yang locked the courtyard gate and left with an animal skin package on his back.

Walking out of the alley and onto the main street. In the morning glow, Wu Tan City had already begun to wake up, bustling and energetic, full of life. The streets were crowded with people and vehicles. Groups of mercenaries, armed with swords and exuding fierce auras, passed by in threes and fives.

Because of its proximity to the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Wu Tan City was never short of these bloodthirsty mercenaries, and they were the main reason for the city's popularity.

Wei Yang walked towards the city gate. This was the market of one of the three major families: the Xiao family. The guards at the entrance stood straight, dressed in neat uniforms, well-equipped, looking very spirited.

Woah~ Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the market entrance. Curious, Wei Yang stopped to look. "Xiao Yan is coming!" "It's Young Master Xiao Yan!" "Third Young Master!" "Ah, Young Master Xiao Yan is so handsome!" ...

"Xiao Yan?" Wei Yang raised an eyebrow, focusing his gaze. Were he finally going to meet this fellow countryman?

On the street ahead, a twelve or thirteen-year-old handsome young boy, still childish looking, was surrounded by a group of teenagers as he made his way to the market entrance. Along the way, cheers and praises followed, just like when a star made a public appearance.

Despite being at the center of attention, Xiao Yan faced the scene with great composure. With a smile on his face, he accepted the crowd's cheers, praises, and compliments.

Undoubtedly, at this moment, among the group of teenagers, Xiao Yan was the most dazzling figure on the entire street. Third Young Master of the Xiao family. A prodigy, known throughout the empire.

Currently, Xiao Yan wasn't even twelve years old and was already a one-star Dou Zhe. This scene. "High-spirited and brimming with talent. Tsk tsk." Wei Yang smiled as he thought, "I'm fifteen and a six-star Dou Shi. Am I proud?"

"Hmm?" Wei Yang carefully observed this fellow countryman and, from Xiao Yan's high-spirited demeanor, faintly sensed a trace of anxiety? Also, the smile on his lips seemed a bit stiff.

"Oh? Has Yao Lao started already?" Wei Yang speculated inwardly.

At this time, Xiao Yan hadn't suffered a drop in level yet, but the Dou Qi he diligently cultivated each day had probably started disappearing mysteriously. Despite his daily efforts, the lack of progress in his Dou Qi was a cause for anxiety, especially when unable to tell anyone about it.

Soon, he would experience the infamous drop in his cultivation level. Yao Lao didn't actually need that bit of Dou Qi; perhaps it was more a test for his future disciple.

After all, Yao Lao had already been betrayed by a disciple once, so it wasn't surprising for him to be cautious.

Besides, both before and at this moment, Xiao Yan's temperament wasn't quite up to Yao Lao's standards. Too ostentatious and without experiencing any setbacks. Therefore, this was Yao Lao's way of showing benevolent concern!

Thinking this, Wei Yang couldn't help but smile and then turned his gaze to another figure. Next to Xiao Yan, there was a beautiful young girl with an elegant temperament, like a lotus. Xiao Xun'er, or rather, Gu Xun'er.

This was a major backer, a little rich lady. Wei Yang couldn't help but feel eager, wishing for an easy way out. Envy, jealousy, resentment.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Sensing Wei Yang's gaze, Gu Xun'er looked over. As her eyes fell on Wei Yang, a hint of surprise flashed in her cool, beautiful eyes. "A six-star Dou Shi, very young, and with a strong soul wave. Is he an alchemist?" Gu Xun'er was somewhat surprised.

"To be noticed just from a glance, such keen perception." Wei Yang was startled but remained unfazed, smiling and nodding at her, then turning to leave. This one was not someone to provoke!

He certainly didn't want to draw even a single bit of attention from Gu Xun'er right now, as she had Dou Huang bodyguards accompanying her. Gu Xun'er subtly turned her head, her eyes faintly following Wei Yang's departing back, her brows slightly furrowed with a hint of surprise.

"So young, probably at most fourteen or fifteen years old, with a solid and stable aura, excellent foundation. It's unexpected to see such a talented young man in this remote Jia Ma Empire. Could he be from somewhere else?" Gu Xun'er thought but then quickly dismissed it.

In the Gu clan, there were many like Wei Yang, and many were even more outstanding. Seeing one here in the remote Wu Tan City was a bit surprising but not worth her further contemplation.