Chapter 53: The Great Dao is Fifty, Heaven Derives Forty-Nine

Chapter 53: The Great Dao is Fifty, Heaven Derives Forty-Nine

By the sixth day at Sancha Medicinal Manor, Hua Changxi finished her cultivation punctually at dawn. Just as she had prepared water to wash up, a knock sounded at the courtyard gate.

Unlike the heavy pounding of the previous days, this knock was very polite.

Hua Changxi set down her washing supplies, walked over, and opened the gate. Seeing the thin youth standing outside, she was somewhat surprised: "Why is it you?"

A-Niu was somewhat shy and did not dare to look Hua Changxi directly in the eye. He kept his head lowered and said, "Manager Mao sent me back to continue feeding the livestock."

Hua Changxi asked, "Were you the one doing the livestock feeding before?"

A-Niu nodded, stealing a quick glance at Hua Changxi. "The day you arrived, Manager Mao assigned someone else to feed them."

Hua Changxi understood in her heart. Mao Yong wanted to use the hands of other male laborers to disgust her, forcing her to strike out so he could invite a Grandmaster to teach her a lesson.

Hua Changxi stepped aside to let the youth into the courtyard. "What is your name?"

A-Niu seemed somewhat afraid of Hua Changxi; he jogged into the courtyard and maintained a distance from her. "My name is A-Niu."

Seeing this, Hua Changxi lowered her gaze. Two people had died yesterday. Although she hadn't personally killed them, the wild boar had indeed gone mad because she had attacked it with spiritual energy.

People had died...

This was something she hadn't anticipated, but she did not regret provoking the boar.

When those male laborers came to harass her, she naturally had to fight back. As for what the consequences would be, that depended on each person's luck.

In this medicinal manor, she was nothing more than a piece of meat. If she didn't fight back strongly and instead lived in fear, she would be met with endless trouble.

Indeed, as soon as yesterday's incident occurred, Mao Yong had replaced the person feeding the livestock. If the male laborers in the manor wanted to approach her again, they would likely have to think twice.

When it was time for breakfast, as soon as Hua Changxi entered the courtyard, everyone looked at her, and then they instinctively moved away from her. The previous teasing had also vanished.

Hua Changxi was very satisfied with this.

With the people who disgusted her gone from the livestock yard, Hua Changxi took her breakfast back to eat, not forgetting to bring a portion for A-Niu.

Returning to the livestock yard, A-Niu had already finished feeding the cattle and horses and was currently feeding the hunting dogs.

"A-Niu, I brought you breakfast. Come eat when you're finished."

There was a stone platform by the well. Hua Changxi placed her breakfast directly on the platform and watched A-Niu work while she ate.

A-Niu looked surprised that Hua Changxi had brought him breakfast, but since he was not used to interacting with outsiders, he deliberately slowed down his movements while feeding the dogs.

However, looking at the hunting dogs, which were behaving obediently without barking or making a fuss, A-Niu felt very strange.

When he used to feed the livestock, whether it was cattle or horses, they were very rowdy, and the hunting dogs barked particularly fiercely. But today, the animals were exceptionally easy to feed.

A-Niu stole a quick glance at Hua Changxi. Could it be that not only the people in the manor were afraid of Lady Hua, but even the livestock feared her?

Watching A-Niu dawdle without coming to eat, Hua Changxi thought for a moment, picked up the bowl containing three large steamed buns, walked over to him, and placed it at his feet.

After returning to the stone platform, Hua Changxi asked, "A-Niu, are you also a laborer of the medicinal manor?"

A-Niu looked at the buns at his feet and swallowed hard. He was only here to help the medicinal manor and was not a laborer here; he wouldn't normally get to eat such good food.

"No, I am a shepherd boy from the neighboring Dongchi Village."

Hua Changxi asked, "Does your village also grow medicinal herbs?"

A-Niu shook his head. "We don't. Medicinal herbs are precious; they aren't something we can afford to grow."

Hua Changxi asked again, "I saw women planting herbs in the medicinal fields. Where are those women from?"

A-Niu replied, "They are all from the surrounding villages. Every year during the planting and harvesting seasons, the laborers in the manor can't keep up, so they bring people from the surrounding villages to help."

Hua Changxi looked at him. "Since you are from the neighboring village, you must know the surroundings of the manor very well?"

Hearing this, A-Niu finally looked at Hua Changxi and asked in confusion, "Know what?"

Hua Changxi smiled. "The local geography. For instance, yesterday, I didn't know there were wild boars in the mountains. It gave me quite a fright; it was my first time seeing a wild boar."

"A-Niu, can you tell me about the nearby forests? I don't want to encounter a wild boar again."

A-Niu looked at her. "Lady Hua, you'd best stay inside the manor and not wander around. The forests around here are a bit eerie."

Hua Changxi instantly became interested. "In what way are they eerie?"

A-Niu looked at the buns and said nothing.

Hua Changxi said, "What, are these things not allowed to be told to outsiders?"

A-Niu shook his head. "No, I'm just afraid that if I tell you, you won't believe me."

Hua Changxi laughed. "If you don't say it, how would I know if I won't believe you? Since I'm idle anyway, let's just treat it like a story."

Seeing that she was truly curious, A-Niu finally spoke. "There are many wild beasts in the surrounding forests. In the last two years, villagers have often been eaten. To hunt the beasts, many traps have been dug around the outskirts of the forest."

If not for those traps, no one would have died at the medicinal manor yesterday.

Hua Changxi had heard her father mention beasts eating humans; she had thought it was a low-probability event, but she hadn't expected it to happen frequently here at Sancha Medicinal Manor.

Was this a localized occurrence, or was it like this throughout the Great Jin?

"Besides beasts eating humans, are there other strange things?"

A-Niu said, "...I've noticed that the surrounding valleys have grown larger, the mountains are higher than before, and the flora and trees in the mountains are more lush than they used to be."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi's eyes flickered incessantly. "Is that so? Is it just you who feels this way, or does everyone think so?"

A-Niu replied, "Me and several uncles who frequently go into the mountains to hunt all feel this way."

Hua Changxi asked, "Then have you reported this to the yamen?"

A-Niu said, "We did. Several uncles went to the yamen, but the officials there told us not to spread rumors, otherwise they would arrest us."

Hua Changxi could not verify this and could only keep it in mind. She then asked, "I heard at the Bureau of Medicine that new medicines are frequently discovered around Sancha Medicinal Manor. Do you know about this?"

A-Niu nodded, looking somewhat happy. "I know. I even found one once. Because of that, Manager Mao rewarded me with fifty catties of miscellaneous grain."

Seeing him like this, Hua Changxi fell silent again. The Bureau of Medicine was quite generous to those who discovered new medicinal herbs, yet after all the layers of distribution, it was only worth fifty catties of grain.

"What... what kind of herb did you find? Where did you find it?"

A-Niu shook his head. "Old Man You instructed me not to say."

Hua Changxi asked, "Who is Old Man You?"

A-Niu replied, "The Grandmaster stationed at Sancha Medicinal Manor."

Seeing the fear on A-Niu's face, Hua Changxi did not press further about the Grandmaster. "Are there any other strange things?"

A-Niu hesitated. "A hunter from Nanchi Village once said he encountered a weasel in the mountains that could speak human language."

Hua Changxi's expression jolted, and her voice rose slightly. "Is that true?"

A-Niu shook his head. "I don't know. That hunter went mad later and froze to death last winter."

Animals that speak human language...

This news deeply shook Hua Changxi. Before she could continue questioning him, the sound of a gong signaling the start of work rang out outside the courtyard.

Soon, Mao Wei and a group of people entered the livestock yard to lead the hunting dogs, cattle, and horses away.

Left with no choice, Hua Changxi left the livestock yard and went to the threshing floor to collect farming tools.

"Hua Changxi, starting from today, you will work in the Medicinal Valley."

The death of two male laborers yesterday had suddenly made Mao Yong sober up. The one-armed man, Guo Yu, was a Seventh-Rank martial artist; the fact that Hua Changxi did not fear him meant her martial cultivation was above the Seventh Rank.

To challenge a martial artist above the Seventh Rank was truly to court death.

The laborers who were injured these past few days were the best examples. Although no trace of Hua Changxi's intervention could be found, he knew it was her.

He held a small amount of power in the manor, but if he truly provoked Hua Changxi, that little power would not be able to protect him and his brother.

The mistake had already been made; all he could do now was send Hua Changxi far away and avoid contact with her as much as possible.

Sending her to work in the Medicinal Valley provided a ready-made excuse.

The herbs grown in the Medicinal Valley were more precious than those in the medicinal fields. Hua Changxi was not only fast at planting but also very meticulous, making her more than capable of working in the valley.

Most importantly, Old Man You was stationed in the Medicinal Valley. With him watching, Hua Changxi would have to stay there obediently and wouldn't dare wander off.

Once the planting season ended, he would quickly send this batch of helpers away and never deal with Hua Changxi again.

Hua Changxi was more than willing to work in the Medicinal Valley. She had been wondering how to get there, and now she didn't even have to find a way herself.

Mao Yong called a subordinate to lead Hua Changxi and over ten other capable laborers to the Sancha Medicinal Valley.

Sancha Medicinal Valley was named for its location at the junction of three mountain ranges shaped like the character "丫" (fork). The terrain was flat and the soil fertile. It was originally farmland reclaimed by nearby villagers, but after being eyed by the Bureau of Medicine, it was converted into a medicinal valley.

Walking at the end of the group, Hua Changxi carefully observed her surroundings.

The further they walked toward the valley, the more she could clearly feel the spiritual energy in the air becoming denser.

"Chirp~!"

Suddenly, a piercing bird cry rang out. Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a dark shadow diving rapidly from the sky toward them.

As Hua Changxi focused her gaze, shock flashed in her eyes.

It was a sparrow—a giant sparrow with a wingspan of at least two meters.

The crowd was terrified and scattered in a panic.

The leader shouted loudly as he ran, "Old Man You, help!"

Hua Changxi, who had already picked up a stone and was prepared to act, immediately withdrew her hand upon hearing the cry.

Just as the giant sparrow was five or six meters from the ground, a tree branch as thick as an arm shot through the air, striking the sparrow directly in the chest.

With a loud *boom*, the sparrow fell from mid-air to the ground, the branch piercing through its body and pinning it to the earth.

The sparrow did not die immediately; it struggled for a while before falling still.

Witnessing this, everyone was terrified.

Hua Changxi looked toward the direction the branch had flown from. Soon, the one-armed man she had seen before appeared.

"It's alright, it's over."

The one-armed man soothed the crowd, then walked toward the sparrow. With some effort, he pulled out the branch, hoisted the sparrow onto his shoulder, and prepared to leave. As he turned, he caught sight of Hua Changxi and paused momentarily.

However, the one-armed man said nothing and simply walked off with the sparrow.

The leader hurriedly urged everyone to follow, jogging alongside Guo Yu. "Master Guo, are there more and more ferocious beasts in the Medicinal Valley?"

Clearly, the people of the manor had encountered attacks from beasts like that giant sparrow more than once.

Guo Yu's expression was indifferent. "Don't worry. With Old Man You here, he won't let anything happen to you."

The leader was still worried. "But this can't go on forever."

As the ferocious beasts increased, there was only one Old Man You; he couldn't watch over everyone.

Guo Yu fell silent for a moment. "If the beasts continue to increase, Old Man You will report it to the Heavenly Department. At that time, the Heavenly Department will send martial artists. Just focus on planting the herbs; you don't need to worry about security."

Hearing that the Heavenly Department would send martial artists, the leader's expression improved significantly.

Walking at the back, Hua Changxi listened intently to their conversation.

Ferocious beasts?

Animals like that giant sparrow?

How could a sparrow become so large?

Was it because of the spiritual energy in the Medicinal Valley?

And the Heavenly Department...

The one-armed man's calm tone suggested that this was no longer an isolated incident, but a common occurrence that had already established a mature response plan.

As Hua Changxi was thinking about these things, they arrived at the Sancha Medicinal Valley.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides with a basin in the middle, the geographical environment was extremely favorable. The area was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The leader handed Hua Changxi's group over to a manager. After inquiring about their details, the manager assigned them to different teams.

One-fifth of the workers in the Medicinal Valley were women. Hua Changxi did not stand out here, which allowed her to breathe a massive sigh of relief.

When she saw that the herbs being grown in the valley were those required by high-ranking martial artists, she wasn't particularly surprised. She carefully observed the speed of others and adjusted her own planting speed to match theirs.

Here, her goal was to blend into the crowd. Only by blending in could she remain inconspicuous, avoid the Grandmaster's attention, find opportunities to investigate the valley, and search for the Spirit Essence Grass.

While Hua Changxi buried herself in work, the one-armed man, Guo Yu, had been watching her. After observing her for half a day and seeing nothing special, he went to the mid-slope of the West Mountain to see Old Man You, who was sitting on a cliff with his eyes closed in meditation.

"Master, that Hua Changxi's martial cultivation is above my own."

Old Man You shook his head with his eyes closed. "She is not a martial artist. She has no internal energy."

Guo Yu's expression changed. "How is that possible? If she isn't a martial artist, how could she remain unaffected by my pressure?"

Old Man You opened his eyes, his gaze flickering. "Even I am finding this world harder and harder to see clearly. Those above have hidden many things. I suspect that above martial artists, there must be even higher levels of combat power."

As he spoke, he looked at the shaken Guo Yu.

"Keep a close eye on that young girl. Perhaps we can glean what secrets are being hidden by those above through her."

Guo Yu asked suspiciously, "Master, Mao Yong investigated Hua Changxi. She is just a young lady from an ordinary family. How could someone like that be connected to the matters of those above?"

Old Man You smiled faintly. "The Great Dao is fifty, Heaven derives forty-nine. To protect their own interests, those above hide everything, but Heaven is still fair; it still leaves a glimmer of hope for those below."

"Just like Grandmaster martial artists—though more are produced by great clans, there are also many from humble beginnings."

"No matter how much those above hide, the people below have their own destinies."