"F * ck, it hurts!"

Jiang Ming finally heaved a sigh of relief. He threw away the chopper and sat on the ground, panting heavily.

It was his first time killing someone, so it was a little exciting.

However, Jiang Ming didn't regret it.

"If you're alive, you'll definitely bring me a lot of trouble, so…I can only ask you to sacrifice yourself for the greater good."

The wound on his chest slowly healed. Jiang Ming looked at the corpse beside him without any pity. Instead, he had a deeper understanding of his own situation.

"Those who are weak will have lives as cheap as dirt. Anyone can step on them…"

According to the memories of his predecessor, even if he did not meet Old Ghost Huang today, he would have been exploited layer by layer when he sold this Fire Cloud Grass, and he might even have suffered a bloody disaster.

It was already a blessing to be able to store a medicinal herb worth thirty taels of silver for a hundred copper coins.

"If we continue to hide like this, it would be too aggrieved…"

There were different ways to hide. A turtle could hide its head in its stomach and hide until the end of time, but it would still be an old turtle that was scribbled on its shell.

Jiang Ming didn't want to be an old turtle.

"Hiding isn't a cowardly path. Only by becoming stronger can you hide more steadily."

"Therefore, my first goal is to secretly practice martial arts and become stronger so that I can live a better life."

Jiang Ming sorted out his thoughts and felt that his thoughts were clear. He went to the bottom of the cliff to pack up the hatchet, medicine basket, and other items he had dropped and prepared to leave.

As for Old Ghost Huang's corpse, he wasn't too worried. In his impression, this guy had always been alone. He would often go to the mountains for a month or so. He rarely interacted with others, but every time, he would reap a lot.

By the time someone remembered, they would probably have been gnawed into a pile of bones by wild beasts.

"Every year, there are at least three or four herb gatherers who lose their lives in the mountains…They fall off cliffs, encounter wolves, eat poisonous mushrooms…It doesn't matter if there's one more."

However…

"You're already dead. It's not easy on such a hot day…I can't take a knife for nothing."

Jiang Ming muttered to himself. His hand had already reached out to Old Ghost Huang's corpse and began to grope.

There were only about twenty copper coins in a string.

Insect repellent powder.

A few pieces of dry food to fill their stomachs…

"Hmm?" Jiang Ming suddenly widened his eyes.

He actually took out two pieces of silver, which added up to about one tael.

"So rich?" Jiang Ming was bewildered.

Silver was not an ordinary thing.

One tael of silver was equivalent to a thousand copper coins. Ordinary herb gatherers could not even save up that much in a few years, let alone carry it with them when they went up the mountain.

"This guy has a secret." Jiang Ming's heart skipped a beat, and he felt even more carefully.

However, he couldn't touch anything for a long time. Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

On Old Ghost Huang's tattered clothes, there was an inconspicuous grayish-white patch. It didn't feel like coarse linen, but like a piece of high-quality animal skin.

si la ~

Jiang Ming tore off the palm-sized patch and flipped through it.

"This is..." His eyes narrowed.

The back of the beast skin patch was filled with small black words.

Fortunately, his predecessor had learned how to read from an old neighbor for a few days, so Jiang Ming was able to roughly read it.

"Recipe?"

Jiang Ming suddenly understood why Old Ghost Huang was so rich and always looked like he was in a state of exhaustion.

This was a prescription that used human blood as the main ingredient, but it was for animals.

After ordinary birds and beasts ate this medicine, they would develop a trace of spirituality and gradually submit to the person who provided the blood.

In the memories of his predecessor, Old Ghost Huang had indeed fed animals such as cats, dogs, and rabbits.

"It seems like he used his own blood to refine medicine and drove animals into the mountains to find medicine for him. From this, he earned a lot of money…"

However, in his memory, Old Ghost Huang's animals had changed many times.

After all, even an experienced herb gatherer would be injured if he was not careful in the mountains, not to mention a domesticated animal that had just gained spirituality. It was simply an extra meal for the wild beasts in the mountains.

As for why Old Ghost Huang didn't raise the wild beasts in the mountains directly, Jiang Ming guessed that it was because wild beasts were more difficult to tame and required more medicine.

Old Ghost Huang was just an ordinary person. He was already exhausted from feeding ordinary cats and dogs. How could he dare to have any ideas about wild beasts…

"For ordinary people, this is a forbidden technique that harms their bodies. However…these problems do not exist for me at all!"

Jiang Ming's eyes lit up. He had a hunch that this prescription might be able to play a big role in his hands.

He carefully put away the beast skin and the silver and dry rations. He didn't touch Old Ghost Huang's remaining things. After all, he might be recognized.

Recalling his usual herb-picking route, Jiang Ming put on his old bamboo hat, carried the herb basket, and continued to walk into the mountains.

Along the way, Jiang Ming picked some herbs based on his memory, but some of them looked too similar, so he could only taste them.

For other herb gatherers, it was extremely dangerous to eat herbs indiscriminately. For Jiang Ming, there was only a difference between whether they tasted good or not.

Even if it was a highly toxic herb, it only made Jiang Ming's stomach hurt for a moment…

Later on, Jiang Ming even tasted all the plants he saw along the way and categorized them in his mind.

"Stomach pain, highly toxic!"

"It can refresh me, but I have diarrhea!"

"Bitter, slightly poisonous, and may have unknown medicinal effects!"

"The taste is not bad. It tastes like sweet potato leaves. Pick more for dinner…"

"Poisonous mushrooms…eh?"

As time passed, Jiang Ming shuttled through the deep mountains and forests. He took turns using the medicine shovel, small hoe, medicine picking sickle, and other tools in his hands. His skills in picking herbs were also slowly improving.

Since he had transmigrated to become a herb gatherer, he planned to play this role well first. As the saying goes, there are specialties in every field, so he had to work hard to familiarize himself with the skills.

The dusk in the mountains came silently. Unknowingly, the pine trees were solemn, the rocks were dim, and the shadows of the trees swayed in the fog.

However, the air became hot and stuffy, and dark clouds curled up in the sky, as if there was going to be a heavy rain.

Jiang Ming lifted the herb basket on his shoulder and quickened his pace, rushing to a cliff in his memory.

The night in the mountain forest was more dangerous than the day. Poisonous insects and ferocious beasts roamed about, and it was easy to get into trouble if one was not careful. Every herb gatherer had a few familiar hiding spots.

Soon, dark clouds covered the last ray of sunlight, and thunder could be heard faintly.

In front of Jiang Ming's eyes, a rocky cliff finally appeared. It was like a grotesque black monster lurking in the forest.

He climbed up the cliff and pushed aside a patch of dried vines halfway up the cliff. A small cave suddenly appeared in front of him.

In the cave, there was a broken pot, two broken bowls, a few dry branches, and some dried animal feces.

"Fortunately, I didn't remember wrongly." Jiang Ming heaved a sigh of relief. He put down the medicine basket and the scattered items and cleaned the cave a little.

rumble ~

As soon as he finished doing all this, a thunderbolt suddenly exploded. Raindrops the size of soybeans fell, and in the blink of an eye, they poured down.

Kacha ~

Blinding lightning lit up the forest. In the dead silence, thousands of spirits lay dormant. Only the heavenly might was brilliant. The sound of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning was like the sound of a divine order, smashing into the hearts of all living beings, making them revere and intoxicated.

"It's safe tonight..." Jiang Ming smiled.

Animals were sometimes smarter than humans and knew how to respect the might of the heavens. They would not run around to look for food at this time.

He carried the broken pot to the cave entrance and washed it with rainwater. Then, he took another pot of rainwater and prepared to make a pot of chaotic stew for dinner.

After spending a long time using flint, he finally lit the dry wood. Jiang Ming put the clay pot on the shelf and began to prepare the ingredients.

The main dish was Fire Cloud Grass. Jiang Ming cut it into a few pieces and threw it into the clay pot together with the sweet potato leaves.

The Fire Cloud Grass was very valuable, but Jiang Ming knew very well that it was a crime to hold a treasure.

"This Fire Cloud Grass can make Old Ghost Huang want to kill me, but it can also make others greedy…Rather than taking the risk to get a hundred copper coins, I might as well eat it myself."

His gaze was curious."I heard that this thing can nourish qi and blood. It's a great tonic for martial arts. I wonder if it's true?"

Now that Jiang Ming's body was weak, he was eager to practice martial arts and become stronger. He was naturally looking forward to the effects of the Fire Cloud Grass.

Then, he took out a pile of colorful mushrooms from the medicine basket and stuffed them into the clay pot. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva as he watched them churn in the boiling water.

In her previous life, she wanted to eat it but didn't dare to. In this life, she finally had the opportunity to show off.

"I heard that the more poisonous it is, the more delicious it is…"

Soon, a rich fragrance filled the air, making Jiang Ming's appetite increase.

Outside the cave, it was raining heavily and the night was dark.

In the cave, the firewood crackled and the soup bubbled…

Jiang Ming sat quietly as various thoughts flashed through his mind.

The helplessness of coming to a new world, the fear of being discovered, the excitement of wanting to become stronger and explore the unknown…

Gradually, thousands of emotions were stripped away, leaving only the rain in front of him that pierced through the world.

"Since you've already entered this trap, what's there to be afraid of? It's just from heaven to earth…"