Chapter 54
When Qinghe led Su Jing around to the side gate of the back mountain of Qingyun Sect, the leaves of the herbs at their feet were still covered with morning dew.
The side door was a small wooden archway about half a person's height, with lush green vines climbing all over the door panels. Hidden beneath the vines was a rusty brass lock, its cylinder filled with grayish-brown dust, clearly indicating that it hadn't been opened in a long time.
Right next to it is the medicinal herb field that Qinghe mentioned. The one-acre plot is planted with Bupleurum, Angelica sinensis and Atractylodes macrocephala. The emerald green leaves sway gently in the wind, and the rich aroma of herbs mixed with the scent of soil wafts over.
“My father used to repair the medicine furnace for the pharmacist of Qingyun Sect and secretly made a copy of the key. After the pharmacist left, no one took care of the lock.”
Qinghe pulled a brass key from the bottom of the medicine basket. The key handle had a blurry "medicine" character engraved on it, and the edges were polished to a shine. "The lock cylinder is rusted, so you have to knock on it to open it."
He picked up a fist-sized blue stone and gently tapped it three times on the lock cylinder of the copper lock. With a soft "click," the rusty lock tongue finally sprang open, and the wooden door made an old "creak" sound when it was pushed open, startling several sparrows in the herb field into flapping their wings and flying away.
Su Jing followed Qing He into the medicine storehouse, where a smell of dust and stale herbs wafted towards them—
The warehouse was small, about ten square meters, with three rows of dark wooden shelves in the center. The shelves were covered with a layer of dust about half a finger's thickness, indicating that no one had been there for at least six months. The shelves were divided into three tiers, each neatly stacked with palm-sized celadon bottles. The bottles had yellowed paper labels with the names of the pills written in black ink on them: the top tier was "Qi Gathering Pill," with a pale green label; the middle tier was "Healing Pill," with a light red label; and the bottom tier was "Body Strengthening Pill," with a pale yellow label.
Each celadon bottle had a cork stopper at its mouth. Dust had accumulated in the gaps around the stopper, but it hadn't become moldy, indicating that the warehouse was well-ventilated.
“These bottles are all full. My dad secretly checked them before,” Qinghe walked to the top shelf, stood on tiptoe to take down a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, wiped the dust off the bottle with her sleeve, and pulled out the cork.
The pale green pills rolled out of the bottle and landed in his outstretched palm. There were five pills in total, each about the size of a ping-pong ball, with fine spiral patterns engraved on the surface. A bitter medicinal fragrance instantly spread. "Look, not a single one is missing. The people of the Qingyun Sect have long forgotten about this place."
Su Jing nodded, walked to the shelf, and took out several empty nanmu boxes from her space. Each box could hold 500 pills. She had bought them in the Cyber Dungeon black market before, specifically to store small supplies.
She started by dealing with the Qi Gathering Pills on the top layer: there were 20 bottles in a row of celadon bottles, each containing 50 pills, so one layer contained 1,000 pills, and three layers would contain exactly 3,000 pills. She picked up a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, and with a gentle tilt of her wrist, the pale green pills tumbled into the nanmu box with a "whoosh," each one plump and intact. When she encountered a bottle with a tightly sealed stopper, she used the tip of her dagger to gently pry it open, her movements quick and steady, careful not to make too much noise.
Qinghe helped hand over the boxes and occasionally wiped the thick dust off the porcelain bottles: "Sister, hurry up. The patrolling disciples usually come to patrol the herb field every half hour. It's been almost a quarter of an hour since I last saw him."
Just as he finished speaking, clear footsteps suddenly came from outside the warehouse—"tap tap tap," the sound of cloth shoes stepping on the dirt road, mixed with the "clinking" sound of a hoe hitting a stone, clearly the disciple guarding the medicinal field had arrived.
Su Jing paused in her actions and subconsciously looked towards the warehouse door—the wooden door was still a crack open, revealing the green branches and leaves of the medicinal herb field outside.
Qinghe reacted quickly, taking a step back and deliberately tripping over the medicine basket beside her. With a soft cry of "Ouch!", the basket fell to the ground with a "thud," scattering the Bupleurum and Angelica inside. The emerald green leaves mixed with the brown soil blocked the gap in the warehouse doorway.
"Who is it?" The footsteps outside stopped, and a young man's voice came, tinged with impatience—it was the disciple guarding the herb field, wearing a blue short jacket from the Qingyun Sect, with a black belt around his waist, holding a copper-tipped hoe in his hand, and a few specks of mud on his face, clearly having just weeded the herb field.
He frowned when he saw the medicine basket lying on the ground and Qinghe squatting down to pick up herbs. "It's you again, you little herb farmer. Why are you always so clumsy here?"
"Senior Brother Li, I'm so sorry," Qinghe said with a smile as he picked up some herbs, revealing two rows of white teeth. "My father asked me to pick some Bupleurum chinense, but I slipped. I hope I didn't delay you?" He deliberately slowed down his picking, the Bupleurum chinense leaves in his hand brushing against the ground, making a soft "rustling" sound. However, he secretly gave Su Jing a wink towards the warehouse, signaling her to hurry up.
Senior Brother Li snorted, walked over to Qinghe's side, and bent down to help pick up a few herbs: "Hurry up and pick them up, don't delay my field patrol. The elders will be coming to check on the growth of the herbs later. If they see you causing trouble here, you'll be in big trouble."
His attention was entirely focused on the green shoots and scattered herbs, completely unaware of the commotion in the storeroom—at this moment, Su Jing had already stored the last box of Body Strengthening Pills (1000 pills) into her spatial storage and was gently closing the lid of the nanmu box. The celadon bottles on the storeroom shelves were mostly empty, with only a few empty bottles left that she hadn't had time to take, which she casually placed in the corner of the shelf, looking much the same as before.
"I understand, Senior Brother Li. I'll be leaving right away," Qinghe picked up the last angelica root and handed the medicine basket to Senior Brother Li. "Here, take this angelica root. You mentioned last time that your mother had a cough, and drinking angelica root boiled in water helps."
Senior Brother Li paused for a moment, then took the angelica root. His expression softened a bit: "You're a sensible kid. Go on, don't stay here."
Qinghe nodded, carrying the medicine basket on her back, and walked towards the warehouse door. As she passed the shelf where Su Jing was hiding, she said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Come with me to the bamboo forest, the elder will be here soon."
Su Jing followed behind him, her footsteps extremely light. The wooden door was gently closed, and Qing He used a stone to hang the copper lock back on the latch. It looked as if it had never been opened before, except that the rust inside the lock cylinder was less noticeable unless you looked closely.
The two walked quickly into the bamboo grove next to the medicinal herb field. The bamboo was tall and dense, and the emerald green bamboo leaves blocked out the sunlight. The ground was covered with a thick layer of bamboo leaves, making almost no sound when you stepped on it.
Just as Su Jing reached the depths of the bamboo forest, a pale gold notification suddenly popped up on her system panel: [Cultivation Dungeon Real-time Ranking (Remaining Time: 58 hours 12 minutes): 1. I am the God of Wealth (China), Mission Completion: Exceeded; 2. Hunter (United States), Mission Completion: 80%; 3. Nightingale (European Union), Mission Completion: 75%...]
“We need to leave the back mountain quickly. The elders of the Qingyun Sect are much more powerful than the disciples. They can smell the presence of strangers. If we are discovered, we won’t be able to escape. I know a small path that leads directly out of the valley, which is half as fast as it took to get here.”
Su Jing nodded, her fingertips tracing across the panel to confirm that all the pills in the space had been placed properly—Qi Gathering Pills, Healing Pills, and Body Strengthening Pills were packed in three separate nanmu boxes, placed in the "Cultivation Resource Area," completely separated from the previous technological and civilian supplies. The panel also noted, "Low-grade pills, can be taken directly or used to improve physical condition."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com