Chapter Forty-Two: Brush

Chen Mu had always admired Jie Jia’s knack for making money.

But one cannot simply keep shearing the same sheep. What would happen if you sheared it bald?

"Do you want them?" Jie Jia squinted his eyes, his expression as blank and composed as ever.

"I do!" Chen Mu gritted his teeth.

He needed to grind his proficiency in pharmacy, and that required buying medicinal herbs. In Qingshan County, resources were scarce; anything even remotely rare was difficult to come by.

"Give me a few days to organize a list before I make any purchases," Chen Mu decided. He wanted to finish the medical texts he had on hand first, and only when there was nothing left to learn would he take the plunge.

...

Night fell. After dinner and washing up, Chen Mu put on a loose robe and sat at the wooden table by the window of his hut. He lit an oil lamp and neatly arranged the medical books Jie Jia had brought him in the corner of the table.

There were quite a few books—three piles, each as high as his forearm. Had it not been for the duplicate copies, that small burlap sack would have contained even more.

With a thought, he summoned the gray wall and looked at the pharmacy entry.

Pharmacy: 4852/10000/Second Tier.

Chen Mu had long planned how to grind his pharmacy proficiency. The three piles of books in front of him were the perfect tools. He pulled out a volume titled *Essential Materia Medica*, turned up the oil lamp, and focused.

As he read, wisps of insight flowed into his mind like a gentle stream. Terms that would be incomprehensible to an ordinary person held no secrets in his eyes. His proficiency rose rapidly with his reading.

Half an hour later, he had finished a third of the thumb-thick medical text. He checked his progress.

Pharmacy had climbed from 4852 to 4873, an increase of twenty-one points.

"Not bad. Keep going!"

...

An hour later, Chen Mu finished the last page. His proficiency had reached 4913.

It wasn’t just the numbers that had improved; when he closed his eyes to reflect, the content of the books appeared in his mind like a photograph. He had even gained additional information regarding the growth environments of various medicinal plants.

"What a cheat!"

If he had possessed such a cheat in his past life, every top student and academic genius would have had to step aside.

Chen Mu stood up and stretched, preparing for bed. Outside the window, the night was still. His was the only hut with a lit lamp. There were no entertainment activities in the evenings here. Most of the residents were laborers who spent their days quarrying stone, and they would fall into a deep sleep as soon as darkness fell.

Chen Mu blew out the lamp. As he turned, he couldn't help but glance out the window. Under the bright moonlight, a black shadow flickered across the mountain path and vanished.

Chen Mu looked back, seeing only the shadow leaping into Qingfeng Temple before disappearing from sight.

"Forget it. Better not to meddle in other people's business."

He had no interest in chasing after it. His primary goal now was to recover from his injuries. Once healed, he would leave; whatever secrets Qingfeng Temple held had nothing to do with him.

...

Chen Mu’s hut was located on a slope at the foot of the eastern mountain, on the edge of the settlement, closer to the forest. He kept to himself and had almost no interaction with the rest of the settlement.

Chen Mu was content with the quiet. He stayed in his hut, nursing his wounds and losing himself in reading to grind his proficiency. His pharmacy experience points soared.

Half a month later, at dusk, Chen Mu lay half-reclined on a bamboo chair. His left hand held a copy of *Lei Gong’s Explanation of Pharmaceutical Properties*, which he was studying intently, while his right hand unconsciously toyed with a pebble the size of a peanut.

He set the book down and summoned the gray wall.

Pharmacy: 7726/10000/Second Tier.

He took out a porcelain bottle the size of a duck egg and poured out a Sanyang Liujun Pill. He brought it to his nose to carefully analyze its scent.

"Sixteen ingredients. Still not complete."

Smelling, tasting, and testing components by breaking them down with other herbs—he spent every day using his pharmacy skills to deconstruct the Liujun Pill.

"I need to keep grinding proficiency."

Chen Mu reluctantly put down the medical book. It was the last one he had. Qingshan County was a remote, minor town with limited depth; finding new books would be difficult.

"I’ll have to try it practically." Besides reading, hands-on pharmaceutical work could also increase proficiency. "This expense is unavoidable."

Chen Mu hesitated. Research was a bottomless pit when it came to funding.

"I just hope I don't go broke."

Chen Mu pondered the Liujun Pill again; he felt he was only missing two or three ingredients.

"I'll just grind pharmacy to the third tier; if that doesn't work, then so be it!" Chen Mu set a red line for himself. With his proficiency system, he wouldn't be satisfied without trying.

Just as he was debating which herbs to use for practice, a gray shadow darted through the bushes.

Chen Mu flicked his wrist.

*Whoosh!*

*Thwack!*

The pebble tore through the air and struck the gray shadow with lightning speed.

Chen Mu walked over curiously. A large, plump gray rabbit lay there, its head crushed by the stone.

"An unexpected treat! Time for a feast!"

Living at the foot of the mountain meant wild game was plentiful. Chen Mu had been to the settlement’s small market a few times and had seen people selling wild rabbits and pheasants caught that day. He had even seen someone selling half a wild boar, its raw, red flesh looking rather gruesome.

...

Carrying the rabbit to a nearby spring stream, he noticed the lush vegetation along the way. He used to think of it as mere weeds, but now he could identify many of them as medicinal herbs.

After cleaning the rabbit, he dug a pit, piled stones around it, and set up two wooden poles to create a makeshift grill. He lit the charcoal he had prepared for boiling medicine.

Chen Mu intended to roast the plump rabbit.

"It’s a pity I don't have any spicy barbecue sauce."

As soon as he thought this, a flood of herbal information surged into his mind.

"This works too?" Chen Mu was astonished.

After a moment’s thought, he found a recipe for barbecue seasoning in his mind. Many of the ingredients grew in the nearby forest—he could make use of local resources.

"This one won't do; it's bitter."

"This one is bad—it tastes good, but it’ll cause diarrhea."

"This combination is great—it removes the gamey odor, stimulates the appetite, and enhances digestive motility to speed up absorption."

"Adjust it a bit more... yes, excellent, and it adds trace elements..."

He had been stocking up on herbs to treat his injuries and aid his training. After a quick tour of the surrounding forest to gather natural plants, he soon concocted a barbecue rub.

...

"Let’s start!"

He sprinkled the powder, and as the fat hissed and rendered, a rich, savory aroma began to spread.

Before it was even fully cooked, a figure appeared in front of the hut. Chen Mu glanced at Jie Jia, who was staring intently at the roasting rabbit, and felt no surprise.

The day after he moved in, Jie Jia had started coming over for dinner. If he didn't live so far away, he would have tried to mooch all three meals.

What a stingy old man!

"Smells good!" Chen Mu tore off a rabbit leg and savored it slowly.

Jie Jia, who usually ate with slow, elegant deliberation, was uncharacteristically fast today. Even Chen Mu was surprised.

It seemed his pharmacy skills and culinary arts had sparked a chemical reaction.

"Perhaps I could develop some medicinal cuisine."

Chen Mu subconsciously looked at the gray wall. To his surprise, his pharmacy proficiency had increased by more than ten points!

"Now *that* is a true unexpected joy!"

Just by working on a barbecue rub, he had gained proficiency! He had been agonizing over which prescription to use for practice, but here was the answer.

Flavorings to remove odors, medicinal diet recipes, preservatives for dried fruit and meat—there were so many ways to practice! And none of it required precious medicinal herbs.

Chen Mu smiled slyly at Jie Jia.

With this, he likely wouldn't need the old man's help to buy medicine anymore.

*Trying to swindle me again? Keep waiting, haha...*