Early in the morning, the dawn light was faint.
Lin Yan bid his aunt farewell and left the city, heading toward Qingtian Town.
He didn’t ride a horse, traveling the entire way on foot.
For this trip to Qingtian Town, he only carried the Muscle Strengthening Ointment, the Blood Ginseng gifted by his master, and two or three changes of clothes. For the man he was now, this weight was nothing.
An hour and a half later, Qingtian Town appeared in his line of sight.
Upon entering the Qingtian Town area, Lin Yan saw the many medicinal herbs planted in the fields on both sides. After stopping a young man on guard, the man learned that Lin Yan had been sent by the Tang Family to watch over the herb fields and became extremely excited, personally leading Lin Yan to his destination.
"Master Ji, a new Master Wu has arrived from the Boss."
"Come in."
A somewhat gruff voice called out. Lin Yan pushed the door open and went inside, where a round-faced, middle-aged man came into view.
"You must be Young Brother Lin, Lin Yan. Housekeeper Tang sent me a letter yesterday."
The middle-aged man was very enthusiastic and introduced himself: Ji Ming, captain of the Martial Artist squad responsible for guarding the herb fields, and a Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist.
"Qingtian Town is right next to Great Mist Mountain, so ferocious beasts occasionally come down from the mountain. That’s when we Martial Artists need to step in and deal with them. But opportunities like that are rare. The last time was two months ago, when we encountered a Feng Xi—a type of wild boar."
Lin Yan smiled along with him. For a Martial Artist, these wild beasts were valuable supplements.
"But Young Brother Lin, don’t even think about going deep into the mountains to hunt. The land around Qingtian Town is fertile, but it’s also treacherous. There’s a poisonous miasma in the mountains. Without an Antitoxic Elixir, even a Third-Time of Skin Smoothing Powerhouse wouldn’t last long inside it."
"Actually, our main job is to patrol. Since you’ve just arrived, Young Brother Lin, I’ll give you a ledger in a bit. It details the herbs planted across the hundred acres. The daily patrols are mainly to make sure no one is stealing herbs from the fields."
After Ji Ming’s explanation, Lin Yan began to appreciate the Tang Family’s wealth.
All the fields outside Qingtian Town belonged to the Tang Family, and most of the townspeople’s livelihoods depended on these herb fields.
Planting and harvesting, watering and fertilizing—all the manual labor was done by the townspeople. The Martial Artists guarding the fields were primarily there to prevent people from secretly digging up and stealing the herbs.
Guarding against wild beasts was secondary. The main priority was guarding against people.
"Young Brother Lin, this ledger also contains the harvest records for each acre from previous years. Barring natural disasters, the yield shouldn’t drop by more than ten percent. That’s about it. When the others get back later, I’ll arrange a welcome banquet for you."
Lin Yan exchanged a few pleasantries and didn’t refuse. He then took a ledger from Ji Ming and went to check on the herb fields first.
Each Martial Artist was responsible for a hundred acres of herb fields. However, these hundred acres weren’t all planted with the same type of herb. Even for the same herb, the harvest times could differ.
Lin Yan spent more than an hour checking the ledger as he patrolled each of the herb fields under his charge. During this time, he also got to know the herb farmers in the area he was responsible for.
That evening, Ji Ming and the five other members of the squad held the welcome banquet for Lin Yan.
Everyone enjoyed the drinks and conversation. During the meal, several people subtly tried to probe into Lin Yan’s background, but he skillfully deflected their questions.
After they had their fill of food and wine, the banquet ended.
"Brother Lin, still have some energy left for tonight?"
Zheng Xun, who was heading in the same direction, clapped Lin Yan on the shoulder and winked suggestively.
"What do you mean?"
Lin Yan didn’t understand. The two parted ways at a fork in the road. Lin Yan walked toward his residence, but as he reached his courtyard gate, a guarded expression appeared on his face.
With his current hearing, he could clearly sense someone was in the courtyard.
"Who’s there?"
"Is... is that Lord Lin? I... I’m the daughter of a herb farmer. My father sent me to clean the courtyard for Lord Lin."
A delicate-looking young woman came out of the house, nervously holding a broom. She glanced quickly at Lin Yan before lowering her gaze. Even though it was night, Lin Yan could clearly see the blush coloring her cheeks.
"A herb farmer?"
Lin Yan frowned. He had learned during his patrol earlier that dozens of farming families were responsible for planting and harvesting the hundred acres of herb fields under his care.
From the young woman’s shy expression and Zheng Xun’s earlier words, Lin Yan instantly understood the reason for her presence.
’Cleaning the courtyard was real, but if I agreed, I could have her stay the night.’
"Thank you for your trouble. I’m going back to my room now. You should go home."
Hearing Lin Yan’s words, a flash of joy appeared in the woman’s eyes, quickly followed by apprehension. Before she came, her father had explained that the outcome of tonight would affect their family’s income.
"Lord Lin, I..."
"If you have other business, miss, we can talk about it tomorrow."
Lin Yan’s expression turned cold. The woman looked flustered and didn’t dare say more. She put down the broom and hurriedly left.
’What a mess.’
Watching the woman’s flustered retreat, Lin Yan shook his head in resignation. He went back inside, washed his face, and then came out to the courtyard to practice his fist techniques.
After a full set of the Mountain-Splitting Fist, the effects of the alcohol had completely dissipated from his system.
Then, Lin Yan took out the twenty-year-old Blood Ginseng. If an ordinary person were to consume a twenty-year-old Blood Ginseng, their body wouldn’t be able to withstand it. A Martial Artist, however, had no such worries and could chew it raw.
’This is the Tang Family’s herb field region. The Wang Family can’t possibly still be watching me here.’
’Right now, the faster I can increase my strength, the better.’
Holding the Blood Ginseng, Lin Yan focused his mind. Instantly, the four gray Martial Arts Fruits in his mind were consumed.
The muscle memory from countless punches over eight years, the instinct for exerting force, the understanding of every inch of power—at this moment, it all became his.
He closed his eyes, seemingly digesting the experience, yet also waiting for something.
Then, Lin Yan bit off a piece of the Blood Ginseng.
He began.
It was still the first form of the Mountain-Splitting Fist. The moment his fist shot out, the sound of it breaking the air was no longer a dull WHOOSH, but a sharp CRACK, like a bursting airbag.
Before the fist arrived, the wind from the punch was already there.
Lin Yan didn’t stop.
A second punch, a third, a fourth...
His movements grew faster and faster until the entire courtyard was filled with the afterimages of his fists. With every punch, the air seemed to be compressed into shape, forming a faint, almost invisible ripple at the tip of his fist.
CRACK!
Lin Yan threw another punch, but it stopped abruptly halfway through its motion.
The fist shot out, and the fist stopped!
’True mastery of control.’
Only when the medicinal effects of the Blood Ginseng were completely absorbed did Lin Yan truly stop. He immediately turned his focus inward for Introspection of his mind.
The silver leaf representing the Mountain-Splitting Fist had grown by a full size. The veins on the leaf had now turned golden, like gold threads inlaid on a green leaf.
He was another step closer to achieving Great Success in the Mountain-Splitting Fist.
At the same time, the trunk of the entire Martial Arts Tree had visibly grown a segment. One night’s work was equivalent to half a month of arduous training.
’If I had a few more Blood Ginsengs like this, I’d reach Second-Time Skin Smoothing in no time.’
After that brief fantasy, Lin Yan slapped himself. ’Dream on. This one Blood Ginseng is worth around thirty silver coins. Spending thirty silver coins a day? What kind of family fortune could support that?’
’It’s getting late. Time to go to bed. You can have anything you want in your dreams.’
「The next day.」
Lin Yan did his morning exercises for an hour, not heading to Zheng Xun’s residence until 7:00 AM.
Zheng Xun had obviously just woken up. The ties on his shirt weren’t fully fastened, and he explained with sleepy eyes, "I drank too much last night and woke up a bit late. Young Brother Lin, is there something you need, coming over so early?"
"I do have a few questions for you, Brother Zheng," Lin Yan nodded. "Do the herb farmers in town happen to need favors from us?"
"You didn’t take that girl to bed last night?"
Zheng Xun was a bit surprised. Seeing Lin Yan shake his head, he laughed. "Young Brother Lin, while we are responsible for guarding the herb fields, we’re also in charge of supervising the harvest. The farmers do the reaping, and we watch over them."
"Anything that grows in the ground will have varying quality. The Tang Family naturally has no interest in the poor-quality ones. But to these farmers, even the substandard herbs can be sold for a good amount of silver coins. And that’s not to mention some ’extra’ losses."
Zheng Xun’s last words were clearly pointed. Lin Yan understood. The Tang Family only cared about the total yield. As long as the quota was met, they couldn’t care less if there was some shady business in the middle.
As long as the Martial Artists guarding the fields didn’t bring it up, the Tang Family wouldn’t investigate.
’No wonder the farmers weeding and watering the fields yesterday were so attentive to me during my patrol.’
"Don’t underestimate those ’losses.’ It adds up to several hundred copper coins a month, which comes out to several silver coins a year. That money is nothing to us, but for these farmers, it’s a significant income. As for sending their daughters... well, isn’t that to help us relieve our boredom out here?"
Lin Yan fell silent. Several hundred copper coins might just be the cost of a medicinal tonic for a Martial Artist, yet it was enough for an ordinary farmer to willingly send his daughter.
’This world... It’s been this way since ancient times.’
Zheng Xun patted Lin Yan’s shoulder. "Young Brother Lin, don’t feel burdened by it. If the girl serves you well and you take a liking to her, you can even take her back to the city as a maid or a concubine. If you don’t want to, you can just leave her behind when you get transferred."
After leaving Zheng Xun, Lin Yan returned to his residence to find the young woman from yesterday was there again.
Lin Yan walked past the woman and directly into the courtyard. "Go back and tell your father that I have no other intentions. Whatever the arrangement was before, just continue with that."
The woman stood outside the gate, stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with excitement. "I... I’ll go tell my father and the others right away."
’The Tang Family has been managing these herb fields for so many years; they couldn’t possibly be unaware of the farmers’ shady business. If even the Tang Family doesn’t care, why should I bother?’
’However, even though I don’t want the woman, I can’t refuse the gratuity.’
Lin Yan had originally thought that after he made things clear, the woman wouldn’t show up again. But unexpectedly, she returned after noon.
"L-Lord Lin, my father sent me to take care of your daily needs and clean the courtyard for you."
The woman stammered, keeping her head lowered the whole time. Lin Yan thought for a moment and didn’t refuse this time. ’If someone helps with the chores, I can focus more on my training.’

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