Chapter 38: Assessment (Please support with follow-up reads this Tuesday)

“Grandpa Chen, are you saying I don't need to study the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs* anymore?” Lu Qing asked, somewhat surprised.

“That’s right. Your learning speed is even faster than I anticipated. You have already mastered the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs*; from now on, you only need to review it occasionally rather than studying it formally,” Old Physician Chen said, stroking his beard.

Over this period, he had been extremely satisfied with Lu Qing's performance. Lu Qing's intelligence exceeded his expectations. In just half a month, the boy had already fully learned the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs*. Originally, he had thought that if Lu Qing could read through the text fluently within a month, it would be quite good.

“It is because of your excellent teaching, Grandpa Chen.”

Lu Qing’s heart relaxed significantly. Finally, he didn't have to study this *Classic of a Hundred Herbs* anymore! Heaven knew how thoroughly he had memorized it during this time. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could recite it backward.

However, he couldn't simply reveal all at once that he had already completely memorized the entire book. Even if he wanted to show off his intelligence, there had to be a process that people could accept. Otherwise, if he immediately displayed how monstrously gifted he was, it might backfire. Now, he had finally reached this moment.

“Lu Qing, although your intelligence has exceeded my expectations, the assessment we agreed upon must still take place,” Old Physician Chen said.

“Lu Qing understands. Please proceed with the assessment, Grandpa Chen,” Lu Qing said respectfully.

“You have read the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs* thoroughly, but knowing a medical book isn't enough; you must combine it with practice to truly understand it. My assessment is very simple: I limit you to one hour to find ten types of medicinal herbs recorded in the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs* near the village and bring them to me. Remember, you cannot bring the book with you, you cannot pick the wrong ones, and you must not damage the herbs while digging them up.”

Lu Qing silently memorized the old physician's words. After he finished speaking, Lu Qing asked, “Is that all, Grandpa Chen?”

“Yes, that is all. If you can achieve these points, I will formally accept you into my lineage as my eldest disciple—and my only disciple.”

“Don't worry, I definitely won't let you down!” Lu Qing said with full confidence.

“Take this herb basket and this hoe. Remember, you only have one hour. If you exceed the time limit, you will not pass, even if you collect enough herbs.” The old physician handed two tools to Lu Qing.

“Then I'm setting off now!”

Lu Qing took the basket and the hoe and headed straight down the mountain. As soon as he reached the foot of the mountain, he discovered a medicinal herb.

【Thunder Root Grass: Superior quality, medicinal. Clears heat and detoxifies; highly effective for treating internal heat and coughing.】

This Thunder Root Grass was indeed recorded in the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs*. Seeing that his special ability indicated superior quality, Lu Qing immediately bent down to dig it up. The hoe provided by the old physician was quite sharp, so Lu Qing dug very carefully, fearing he might accidentally damage the plant. After all, one of the assessment criteria was not to damage the herbs.

After carefully digging up the Thunder Root Grass and placing it in the basket, Lu Qing checked the time and felt a sudden pang of anxiety. It had taken him nearly fifteen minutes just to dig up this single plant. If he calculated it this way, wouldn't digging up ten herbs take seventy-five minutes? And the old physician had only given him one hour.

“I can't be this leisurely; I have to speed up.”

Originally, Lu Qing thought that with his special ability, finding ten medicinal herbs would be easy. But now he realized that if he was careless, he might actually fail the assessment. Putting aside his relaxed attitude, Lu Qing began to hurry toward other areas.

Along the way, his eyes constantly searched the bushes on both sides of the path. Whenever he saw a plant similar to those in the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs*, he immediately used his ability to check the information. Once he confirmed it was a medicinal herb recorded in the book, he would dig it up immediately.

Dandelions, cockleburs, plantain... one by one, the herbs recorded in the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs* were unearthed by Lu Qing and placed into his basket. To dig the herbs, his forehead was covered in sweat; a casual wipe left several streaks of mud.

Passing villagers saw Lu Qing in this state and began to laugh.

“A-Qing, what are you doing? You look like a little mud monkey.”

“Uncle Wang, I'm digging for medicinal herbs. This is a task assigned by Grandpa Chen, so I don't dare be careless,” Lu Qing replied.

“An assignment from the Old Physician? Then you must be serious. Do you need my help?” Uncle Wang's expression immediately turned solemn. The villagers' respect for the Old Physician came from the heart. Upon hearing it was his task, he didn't dare joke around anymore.

“No need, no need. I have to do this myself; it's Grandpa Chen's assessment of my learning progress during this period.” Lu Qing waved his hand in refusal.

“I see. Then you must work hard, A-Qing. You can't let the Old Physician down.” Hearing Lu Qing say this, Uncle Wang's expression became even more grave. After all, whether Lu Qing could learn well would affect the village's medical needs in the future.

“Alright, I will definitely work hard.” Lu Qing waved. “Uncle Wang, I'll be going now. Grandpa Chen only gave me one hour for the assessment, and I still have to go dig herbs over there.”

Watching Lu Qing's departing figure, Uncle Wang immediately ran back into the village. Before long, almost everyone in the village knew that Lu Qing was completing the assessment assigned by the Old Physician. Consequently, even if people saw Lu Qing, they didn't dare disturb him, fearing that if he failed the assessment, he would be sent down the mountain. Even the little kids were ordered not to approach Lu Qing to avoid interrupting his herb gathering.

Lu Qing, focused on his task, did not notice the villagers' behavior. He only found it strange that the village seemed much quieter than usual today. Normally, at this time, the kids would be running around everywhere, making a huge ruckus. However, this thought only flashed through his mind before he pushed it aside. He had no time to think about such things now.

He had already dug up eight herbs, with only two left to go, but more than half of the time had already passed. If he didn't hurry, this assessment would truly be in jeopardy. At this moment, Lu Qing felt a bit of regret. If he had paid more attention to what herbs grew around the village on a daily basis, he wouldn't be in such a time crunch. It seemed that relying too much on his special ability was not always a good thing. He had been negligent because he thought he could just use his ability to find herbs at any time.

Fortunately, Lu Qing's luck was good, and he soon found another herb recorded in the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs*.

“Only one more left.”

After digging up this herb completely, Lu Qing let out a sigh of relief. But he also knew that time was running out.

“Where can I find the last one?”

Lu Qing thought for a moment, and suddenly, he slapped his forehead.

“That's right! How could I forget? It's right under my nose—the thing I'm most familiar with is the one I almost overlooked!”

With that, he bolted toward his own house. Seeing Lu Qing running, some villagers were startled.

“A-Qing, what's wrong? Is there a problem with the assessment?”

“It's nothing, my assessment is fine!”

Lu Qing didn't have time to wonder why the villagers knew about his assessment; he simply answered casually as he ran. Soon, he reached his house and looked at the small patch of well-growing plants in the corner of the courtyard with a smile.

“It's you, Oxbone Grass.”