Chapter 3: A Small Misunderstanding

  Today is the day he goes to Shanzhen, in the burlap sack except for the bottom layer where a piece of well-made tiger skin is placed, the top is piled with ordinary dried herbs collected daily, although not precious, but it's natural, compared to those artificially cultivated and mass-produced things outside, the efficacy is at least three times stronger, so it's not bad that he can sell it for a good price.

  Early in the morning, before sunrise, is the best time for the air in the mountains. All the birds in the mountain are waking up at this moment, busy searching for food everywhere. Along the way, the forest mist floats, and the bird songs fill my ears. Taking a deep breath, I feel the freshness of the great mountain to the extreme, which is really wonderful to the extreme.

  Hemp sacks are the most common bags used in rural areas to hold soybeans and wheat, made of fine hemp rope, over half a person tall, with herbs stuffed tightly inside, although not heavy, it weighs over 100 catties. However, this thing was carried by Wang Chan as if it were light as nothing, from the top of Tiger Head Ridge all the way down, in less than an hour's work, he saw a winding yellow earth and gravel road at the foot of the mountain.

  This road was also built in recent years due to border trade, but the local government obviously didn't have much money and couldn't afford a flat, straight asphalt road. They could only make do with blasting rocks from the mountains between Hūtóu Town and the Ussuri River to build this highway. Although the road isn't very good, for the locals who are used to walking on mountain roads in the Greater Khingan Mountains, it's still much more convenient. At least cars can pass through now, making travel between villages within a radius of ten li much easier.

  Just walking a short distance on the road, Wang Chan smoothly hitched a ride on a "tractor" that had just returned from fishing by the river to rush to the early market in the town, and took him all the way to Nongmao Street in Hutou Town.

  It was already six or seven o'clock in the morning, and there were not many early risers on the street, making it seem a bit deserted. Wang Chan walked with big strides to the storefront of a shop at the corner of the street, carrying a burlap sack.

  The surrounding storefronts were all gaudy signs, but this one had a high-hanging black lacquered wooden signboard, with two red lanterns hanging from the eaves on either side of the house. The front door had a pair of wood-carved couplets that exuded an air of antiquity and elegance.

  On the black signboard were written three regular script characters "Qing Yu Tang". This was a Chinese medicine shop that specialized in purchasing medicinal herbs, and it had been Wang Chan's old customer for many years. The owner of Qing Yu Tang, surnamed Tang, was a good old man, and every time Wang Chan picked the herbs, he would sell them to this place.

  Standing in front of the door, bang! He knocked several times on the tightly closed wooden door. His strength was too great, and although he had intentionally restrained himself a lot, the sound of knocking on the door was still extremely loud, earth-shattering, and it scared the owner of a nearby shop who had just opened his door.

  "Why hasn't the door opened yet? At this time every day, Tang Shu has been up for a long time." The owner of this house has been practicing medicine for generations, and while studying medical skills and medicinal herbs, he also has some research on the way of nourishing life. Every morning, before the sun rises, he gets up to practice Huatuo's Five Animals Play to exercise his body. Wang Chan is very familiar with this habit of his.

  "Could it be that I haven't come down the mountain for three months, and Tang Shu couldn't bear the loneliness and remarried? Now they're a loving old couple, sweet as honey, so that's why the days are short and the sun rises high." Wang Chan thought to himself, and he couldn't help but have a few mischievous thoughts, which made him chuckle. Seeing that no one had come to open the door yet, he stretched out his hand and knocked again, bang bang bang! It was as if he was pounding on the door.

  After a while, it seemed to hear footsteps inside, stopping in front of the door, but not opening it. Wang Chan felt strange and went forward, peering through the crack in the door, only to see an eye staring back at him from the other side of the crack. He was taken aback for a moment, "This eye is clear and bright, it's not something an old man can have. It seems I'm the one who's being rash, maybe Tang Shu isn't home after all!"

  "Hey, what's wrong with you? It's still early in the morning, can't let people sleep! You slammed the door so hard, if it's broken, you'll have to pay for it!"

  With a creak, the two large doors swung open, and Wang Chan first caught a whiff of fragrance, followed by a girl's crisp complaints that filled his ears like the chirping of an oriole. Wang Chan furrowed his brow, looked up at the girl standing inside the door, and felt a sense of realization in his heart, "I've always heard Tang Shu mention that he has a daughter named Tang Ling, who is currently attending university in Ha City, it's this girl!"

  The girl who appeared in Wang Chan's eyes looked about 21 or 22 years old, not very tall but petite. Although she was slightly thin, her features were delicate and not revealing. She had a melon-shaped face, big eyes, and looked very pretty. However, at this moment, the girl was obviously just startled awake from a dream, extremely angry, and hadn't changed out of her sleepwear. She only wore a pair of small Winnie-the-Pooh slippers, with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at Wang Chan.

  "I didn't know Uncle Tang wasn't home, I came to deliver the herbs."

  When he saw the girl get angry, Wang Chan knew that he was in the wrong and didn't want to argue with her. He listened to her complaints without taking them to heart, but simply changed the subject to explain his intentions and raised the hemp sack in his hand to indicate that he had no malicious intent.

  The girl scrunched up her small eyebrows, first sizing up Wang Chan from head to toe, then looking at the large hemp sack in his hand that was almost as tall as she was, and really smelling the fragrance of herbs coming from inside. Only then did her angry expression slightly ease up. However, after hearing Wang Chan speak, she didn't respond, only looked him up and down, staring at him nonstop, as if observing something particularly interesting.

  She guessed the girl's origin, and since she hadn't seen the owner appear, Wang Chan immediately felt a little relieved. Every day at midnight, he would get up to practice his skills until dawn, and when he went down the mountain to the town, the sky was still dimly lit. If the boss of this house was good, after all, doing business emphasized harmony and prosperity, getting up early and opening doors early. And this girl might be studying outside due to her studies, with different habits now, and finally having a holiday at home, she could sleep in every day, but was disturbed by him, whoever it was would not be happy in their heart, after all, he was a bit rash, no wonder others blamed him.

  "Are you the Wang Chan that my dad said helped him pick herbs in the mountains? My dad was invited to Tiger Forest last night to appraise antiques, and before he left, he told me that you would be coming today to deliver the herbs and asked me to take good care of you!"

  It seems that this girl had also heard of Wang Chan's name from her father, so although Wang Chan did not introduce himself, she still managed to guess his identity.

  "Oh, since Tang Shu is not at home, I'll just put the herbs here and come back for the money later. I didn't know you were the only one at home earlier, so my knock on the door was a bit loud and scared you, sorry about that, please forgive me." Wang Chan nodded and smiled, putting down the sack on the steps and showing some courtesy.

  The girl, seeing this, was also a bit embarrassed, and she quickly smoothed out her disheveled hair. She stepped aside to let Wang Chan pass, calling out for him to take the sack of herbs to the medicine room in the backyard. As one of the few college-educated women from the small town who had managed to leave through education, Tang Ling was clearly very curious about Wang Chan, a young man living in the deep mountains and forests. In today's society, it was almost unthinkable that someone would willingly live a solitary life as a temple keeper in a Guandi Temple that hardly anyone visited.

  "Aren't you afraid of living alone in the mountains? I remember when I was a kid, my dad took me into the mountains to pick herbs once, and on our way back, it got dark, and we were even followed by a big wolf all the way home. It scared me to death." As Wang Chan scooped out the medicinal herbs from the sack one handful at a time, categorizing them and piling them up in the empty space of the medicine room, Tang Ling's eyes grew more curious.

  Feeling the curiosity from the girl behind him, Wang Chan couldn't help but chuckle to himself. They say that curiosity can kill a cat, and it seems that gossip is every woman's nature: "Hehe, no matter where you are, as long as you get used to it, there's nothing to be afraid of. Nowadays, it's not humans who fear wild beasts, but rather the other way around. Otherwise, have you seen how the number of wild beasts in these mountains has decreased? Tigers and wolves alike, aren't they all being hunted down by us humans with guns for their meat?"

  Tang Ling didn't expect that Wang Chan lived alone in the deep mountains, and his personality wasn't lonely at all. On the contrary, he was straightforward and optimistic, making people feel close to him. Seeing his witty words, Tang Ling couldn't help but chuckle and asked: "I heard you're the temple master of the Guandi Temple in the mountains, worshiping the Taoist gods, so why did you shave your head like a monk?"

  "I'm not a monk, and this temple is only temporary for me. This shaved head has another reason, but it's a long story, so I won't explain it to you!"

  Pfft! Tang Ling heard this and suddenly burst out laughing, Silver Bell also chimed in: "So what if you go bald? What's there to be embarrassed about? Don't forget what my family does for a living. If you want to grow your hair back, just go find my dad and ask him to open up a house for you. I guarantee that within half a year, he'll have you sporting shoulder-length locks!"

  Knowing that Tang Ling didn't mean to mock him, the girl was also kind-hearted. Wang Chan didn't bother with her and instead took out all the herbs from his bag, arranged them neatly, leaving only the tiger skin inside. He slung it over his shoulder and prepared to leave.

  "You've walked so far on the mountain road, you must be tired and haven't had breakfast yet. Anyway, I'm wide awake now, why don't you eat here?" Seeing Wang Chan wanting to leave, Tang Ling shifted her body slightly and invited him to stay. Wang Chan was an old customer of their family, although he only came down from the mountain once every three months, but he got along well with her father, and every time he came to deliver herbs, he would have a meal at their home.

  "Never mind, Uncle Tang is not at home, it's not very convenient. Besides, I still have something to do in the county and can't delay. Let's come back this afternoon and bother you again! By then, Uncle Tang should be back too!"

  Wang Chan laughed a few times, and didn't care that Tang Ling was trying to hold him back. After saying one sentence, he strode out of the big gate of Qing Yu Hall, walking far away. By the time Tang Ling rushed out to chase after him, Wang Chan's figure had already disappeared from view.

  A beauty may be alluring, but it has nothing to do with Wang Chan. He has practiced horizontal exercises, which require a child's body to cultivate. Before reaching the pinnacle, he solidified his qi, blood, and yang. Once indulging in women and people, although not immediately dispersing his skills, he will also regress by half, and for the rest of his life, there will be no possibility of progress.

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  Thank you all for your support, Lao Lu bows to you!!

  "Book ID: 82326, Book Name: 'Huan Zhen Dao'"