Although Han Li was unaware of the conversation between Senior Ye and the old man surnamed Wu after he left, he felt extremely frustrated!
Ever since his encounter with Doctor Mo, facing a situation where he knew there was a big pit ahead but still had to jump into it was truly unprecedented for him. This made Han Li extremely annoyed, but it also strengthened his belief that the world of cultivation was a jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.
"I'll go back to him if I need to!" Thinking of this, Han Li sneered. He would definitely let Senior Ye know that his things weren't so easy to take!
Standing on the ground, Han Li looked into the distance. By now, the steward had returned to Hundred Mechanisms Hall because not far ahead was the Medicinal Garden, a small basin between two hills. It was also guarded by some small-scale restrictions set by the owner of the garden to prevent outsiders from intruding.
Han Li walked a short distance and touched the nearby restriction, which blocked his path with a white light.
However, he remained calm, raised a jade card, and shone it forward. Instantly, a green light shot out from the card and flew into the restriction. Then Han Li patiently waited.
"Come in!" A dry voice came from inside, sounding as if it were ringing in Han Li's ears. Then the restriction in front of Han Li disappeared as if melting snow and ice.
Seeing this scene, Han Li didn't dare to delay and hurried in.
Following the path ahead, Han Li stopped in front of a courtyard with a plaque hanging that read "Medicinal Garden." The courtyard was quite large, covering several acres. Before he could enter the courtyard, a strong medicinal fragrance wafted out, invigorating Han Li's spirits.
"Why are you standing outside like a fool? Come in quickly, I still have things to do!" Han Li was taken aback, but immediately obeyed and walked in.
Standing inside, Han Li finally got a clear view of the situation in the garden.
Several thatched cottages made of straw and bamboo were located in the center of the garden, surrounded by square plots divided by ditches, neatly arranged. Each plot was lush with many familiar or unfamiliar medicinal herbs, along with some peculiar-looking plants, making the entire garden brimming with vitality. Even Han Li, a cultivator, felt extremely comfortable after taking a deep breath.
"Come inside!" The owner of the voice, a skinny old man, stood in the cottage, looking displeased at Han Li who had just entered. From his appearance, the old man looked to be about fifty years old, with two dry yellowish mustaches and a pair of somewhat cloudy eyes darting around. At first glance, he looked like a humanoid rat.
"Are you the disciple sent by Hundred Mechanisms Hall to manage the garden? You're too young, and your cultivation is so poor! Is that guy surnamed Ye just trying to fool me? Why are the people he sends getting worse and worse?" Seeing Han Li's appearance, the old man's face darkened, and he became very irritable.
"Junior Han Li pays respects to Senior Master Ma!" Han Li had long known about the old man's eccentric temperament from the files, so he wasn't surprised and went forward to bow respectfully.
"Humph! Do you know what punishment awaits if you can't complete the task? Go back now and tell my junior brother Ye to send someone else. There's still time!" The old man rolled his eyes and said impatiently.
"If the scale of the medicinal garden must remain unchanged and the medicinal herbs cannot be damaged, with a certain amount of herbs to be handed in each month, then the junior has some confidence!" Han Li said calmly.
Upon hearing Han Li's words, the old man was somewhat surprised. It seemed that he had never encountered a garden manager disciple like Han Li, who was full of confidence from the start. He couldn't help but take another look at Han Li, but the suspicion in his eyes did not diminish at all.
"Follow me!" The old man suddenly said coldly, then walked out of the cottage, and Han Li followed without hesitation.
"How many of these medicinal herbs can you recognize?" The old man pointed to the flowers and plants in the garden, glancing at Han Li sideways.
"One-tenth," Han Li glanced over and said lightly.
After hearing Han Li's words, the old man was stunned for a moment, but then sneered:
"Young man, if you can really recognize one-tenth of the medicinal herbs, I'll hand over the garden to you to manage without saying another word!"
With these words from the old man, Han Li smiled faintly and left the old man's side.
"Night Blossom Flower, Yellow Sphere Grass, White Crane Mushroom, Moon-viewing Grass..." As Han Li strolled through the garden, he casually called out the names of the medicinal herbs he recognized.
At first, the old man looked mocking, but as he listened, his face showed surprise because Han Li actually mentioned many very obscure medicinal herb names, some of which even he had to work hard to understand their effects. This greatly surprised him.
"That's enough!" When Han Li had only mentioned about half of the recognized herbs, the old man stopped him.
"Very good, it seems you're not completely bluffing! The management of this medicinal garden is temporarily handed over to you. This is the restriction token for this place, so be careful!" The old man showed a satisfied expression on his face and quickly took out a dark green wooden token from his body, throwing it to Han Li.
"There are my insights and experiences in cultivating herbs in the room. You should take a good look at them, after all, you're still not familiar with most of the medicinal herbs. Don't let them wither under your care!" The old man touched his small beard and admonished.
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Master. I will remember it!" Han Li said respectfully.
"Ahem! I hope your abilities are as good as your mouth. This way, I can truly be freed from this medicinal garden and no longer delay my cultivation. This medicinal garden is my personal sanctuary, so if you can handle this job well, I won't mistreat you. But let me make it clear in advance, if you can't handle it, you'd better leave early and let someone else take over, understood?" The old man said with both kindness and severity.
Han Li, upon hearing the old man's blunt words, not only didn't get angry but instead felt a great fondness. He thought this old man was much better than Senior Ye; at least he wasn't a hypocritical villain. So, he quickly nodded in agreement.
After giving several instructions on managing the garden, the old man hurriedly tidied up in the cottage, then left the medicinal garden without looking back, flying away.
Watching Senior Master Ma leave, Han Li casually chose a cottage to tidy up and made it his own residence.
Because he had been busy all
day and couldn't rest for a while, even for a cultivator like Han Li, he felt a bit tired, so he climbed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
For him, even if there were major events happening outside, it was not too late to deal with them when he was fully rested, and it was already dark outside.
Han Li's first day as a new disciple of Huang Feng Peak ended with some ups and downs. When he woke up refreshed the next day, his cultivation journey truly began.
In the following days, Han Li studied the insights and notes left by the old man during the day, and secretly buried the mysterious bottle given to him by Doctor Mo in a corner of the medicinal field at night. He even covered it with the precious fragment of a magic treasure he had obtained at a high price, to conceal its astonishing ability to absorb spiritual energy.
In this way, apart from being slightly denser in spiritual energy than other places, there were no other suspicious signs in that corner, and Han Li finally relaxed his guarded heart.
As for Senior Brother Ye, he found Han Li a few days later with the exchange items for the Foundation Establishment Pill. He handed over the spirit stones and magical treasures, which were not even one-fifth of what was promised originally. As for the matter of the remaining pills, it seemed that Senior Brother Ye had long forgotten, and Han Li pretended not to know.
Nevertheless, even with this, Han Li became overnight rich. He received two middle-grade spirit stones, dozens of low-grade spirit stones, three well-crafted magical treasures, and some talismans.
