Chapter 5
Getting Rich
It was late at night, and the candles in the thatched cottage were dim.
Jiang Ming spread the grayish-white animal skin he got from Old Ghost Huang on the table and looked at it carefully.
“This recipe needs two mountain dragon eyes, two pieces of snake flower root, a pig heart, a cicada shell, a leech, and a nine-fragrances worm. Take three liters of water, boil it, and add a drop of blood every three days. At noon, when the sun is at its peak, take the red liquid and seal it for later use!”
Jiang Ming’s mouth twitched. No wonder Old Ghost Huang was so emaciated all day. He drew blood every day for three days. How could an ordinary person withstand it?
“But this prescription is simply tailor-made for me!” Jiang Ming’s eyes flickered. It seemed that the way to make a fortune was in this prescription.
“There are a few medicinal herbs that are not common in the mountains, so we can only go to the medicine market to try our luck.”
In the following days, in addition to picking herbs and practicing his fist technique, Jiang Ming put all his thoughts on this prescription.
Every time he went to the medicine market to set up a stall, he would put up a wooden sign and write the herbs he needed with charcoal ash. In order to avoid attracting attention, he only wrote one herb each time.
* * *
More than a month later, deep in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest, a vigorous figure moved between the pine and cypress trees on the cliff and picked a dark plant growing on the cliff. Then, with a light jump, he easily climbed up the cliff and landed steadily.
“If it were a month ago, I wouldn’t have been able to pick this black tea herb.” Jiang Ming carefully put it into the herb basket, his face full of joy.
The Jiang Ming of today seemed to have been reborn. Under his loose clothes, his muscles were firm and smooth, full of explosive power, and his eyes were clear and bright.
The path he did not dare walk in the past and the herbs he did not dare pick were nothing to him now.
“Now, even three or four ordinary adults combined are not my match,” Jiang Ming muttered to himself.
He had been practicing his fist technique every day for more than a month. He had eaten all kinds of mountain herbs and unknown poisonous bacteria without any qualms.
It seemed that the toxic bacteria contained an unknown medicinal power, making Jiang Ming’s strength grow. Today, he was several times stronger than ordinary people.
“If these mushrooms weren’t poisonous, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have had the chance to eat them!” Jiang Ming sighed with emotion. Who would have thought these poisonous things contained medicinal effects beyond imagination?
“However, it seems that it has come to an end.”
The growth of his strength had become slower and slower, and his progress was minimal.
“Ordinary body-strengthening fist techniques can no longer satisfy me. I have to find a way to practice martial arts.”
During this time, Jiang Ming had a deeper understanding of this world.
There were legends about immortals and gods, and martial arts existed in the world.
Martial Dao was not just simple martial arts but a cultivation method that transcended the mortal world.
Not only did he need an external refining method, but he also needed a corresponding internal breathing method to set foot on the road of martial arts.
The nameless fist technique that Jiang Ming practiced was, at best, a kind of low-class external refining method. If it were not for the constant nourishment, ordinary people would not be able to master it in their lifetime.
“The most important thing now is to solve the money problem!”
Jiang Ming had already found a way to learn martial arts, but if he really wanted to learn it, it could not be settled with a few dozen copper coins.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ming got up and rushed in another direction.
In the familiar cave, a jar of pungent medicinal liquid was placed on the ground. The surface was covered with a layer of light red liquid that was crystal clear, which was very strange.
This was the place where Jiang Ming stayed for the first night when he came to this world.
He stared at the medicinal liquid in front of him with anticipation.
“I hope I can succeed this time.”
Jiang Ming could not help but have a headache when he thought of the trouble he had gone through for this prescription over the past month.
The medicinal herbs had been collected long ago, but the prescription on the animal skin was basic. Many details were unclear, such as how long it needed to be boiled, and whether the leech needed to be alive or dried.
As a result, Jiang Ming failed several times before he managed to find a way.
Later on, he simply brought medicinal herbs and dry food into the mountains, picking herbs and refining them at the same time. Finally, the medicinal liquid looked correct.
Near noon, Jiang Ming moved the medicine pot out of the cave and placed it against the hot sun.
Finally, when the sun was at its strongest, the layer of light red liquid in the medicine pot slowly turned red, like a blood diamond, emitting the fragrance of plants.
“It’s like colored glass and has a fragrant smell. It’s finally done!”
Jiang Ming’s eyes were filled with excitement. He quickly took out a medicine bottle, poured the red liquid into it, and sealed the mouth of the bottle.
The next step would be to find a suitable animal to test the effects of the medicine on.
In the evening, Jiang Ming returned to the cave with a gray rabbit.
“Drink this and we’ll be friends!” Jiang Ming opened the medicine bottle with one hand and smiled roguishly.
As soon as the bottle was opened, the rabbit in his hand let out an anxious cry. it flapped its limbs and stuck its head into the bottle as if it had a fatal attraction to the liquid.
“This thing is really something.” Jiang Ming revealed a strange look. he poured the red liquid into a broken bowl and then plopped the rabbit on the ground.
The rabbit directly rushed up and madly licked the broken bowl. In a short while, it had finished all the red liquid, and then stayed in place, not moving.
Jiang Ming waited patiently.
Half an hour passed.
Just as Jiang Ming was wondering if the rabbit was dead, it suddenly quivered and looked up at Jiang Ming. Its ruby-like eyes flashed with a trace of spiritual light.
Then, it turned around and ran!
Jiang Ming was fast, and he picked it up.
“The dose isn’t high enough!” He was not surprised by his guess.
It seemed that wild animals were indeed difficult to tame.
He used a rope to tie the rabbit to the cave and began a new round of refining.
Three days later, the gray rabbit drank another bottle of medicinal liquid, and its eyes became more agile. Jiang Ming tried to let it go. It no longer wanted to escape, but it was difficult to control it. It sniffed and gnawed in the cave, which was very annoying.
“One more time!”
Another three days passed.
After the gray rabbit drank the third bottle of medicinal liquid, Jiang Ming could clearly feel that there was a weak connection between him and the gray rabbit.
“It should be fine this time, right?”
Jiang Ming touched his chin and took out a black tea herb from his herb basket. He placed it in front of the gray rabbit and asked, “I need this. Can you help me find it?”
The gray rabbit sniffed a few times, then turned around and ran out of the cave.
Jiang Ming revealed a trace of joy and quickly followed it.
Near evening, deep in an unremarkable mountain stream, Jiang Ming stood on a rock and looked at the depression in front of him, which was half covered by bushes. He was somewhat dumbfounded.
In the marshland, more than a dozen dark black tea herbs grew wantonly. Even the smallest one was a size bigger than the one Jiang Ming had picked.
“This is too much!”
Jiang Ming mumbled and jumped into the depression with a blank expression. He put the black tea herbs into his bag as if he was harvesting crops.
On the rock, a gray rabbit was jumping around, looking a little pleased with itself.
Two days later, Jiang Ming looked at the cave and all kinds of medicinal herbs on the ground. He was completely silent.
The black tea herb, watergold vine, and agaric mushroom were all valuable herbs. They could probably be sold for more than two taels of silver.
“It’s not a waste of my blood!” Jiang Ming sighed. “Master Hui, we’ll have something to eat in the future. I’ll definitely not let you go hungry.”
The gray rabbit’s performance in the past few days made Jiang Ming happy. He named it Master Hui.
Old Ghost Huang’s cats and dogs would never achieve such results. This is the difference between mountain animals and domestic pets.
In the corner of the cave, a gray rabbit was lying on the ground with its arms and legs spread out, casually biting the carrot that Jiang Ming bought from the town.