Chapter 17: Unparalleled
On the quiet mountain road, the air was filled with the thick smell of blood.
Jiang Ming's wounds had all healed. He looked around and immediately began to search the corpses without any delay.
"They're all quite rich."
Jiang Ming found a total of three or four taels of silver on the other four vendors, but in the clothes of the leading vendor, in addition to a dozen taels of silver, he also found a banknote worth fifty taels of silver.
In total, he had almost seventy taels of silver.
"One can't earn so much money just by collecting mountain products." Jiang Ming's eyes were cold and sharp. This group of people seemed to have robbed and murdered many innocent victims. This was probably not all their wealth.
"Eh? What is this?" Jiang Ming took out a thin book from the arms of the leading vendor.
"Disguising technique!"
Looking at the words, Jiang Ming was surprised.
He tried to scrape the corpse's face with the back of his knife, and it really did scrape off a thick layer of makeup, revealing a completely different face.
No wonder he could rob so wantonly as a vendor. Even if the matter was exposed, he could still change his face and continue to do evil in Great Cloud City.
"It's really a good tool for killing and robbing, but it's not the time to study it. Let's escape first!"
Jiang Ming put the money and the thin book into his arms and picked up his axe, herb basket, and other things. He didn't deal with the corpses anymore and quickly left the place.
He still didn't go to Peace Town. Instead, he went straight into the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest and returned to the cave.
After taking a bath in the stream and washing away the blood stains all over his body, Jiang Ming finally calmed down.
Although it wasn't his first time killing someone, the feeling of being in trouble and out of his control still made him uncomfortable.
His fear came from his lack of power.
The tea on the stove was gurgling. Jiang Ming was wearing an animal skin to warm his body while recalling today's battle.
"My strength and speed are far superior to those vendors, but I still lack combat experience. Even though I've practiced the Tiger Subduing Fist to perfection, I couldn't display much of it today. Instead, I was slashed a few times for nothing."
Getting injured was not a big deal for Jiang Ming, but it was the most likely situation to cause trouble.
Imagine a person who had been cut a few times or had a few broken bones, and he was still alive and kicking after a few days? Who wouldn't be suspicious?
"Furthermore, if those people were a little stronger or a little smarter, they would turn around and run as soon as they saw that the situation was not right. It would be difficult for me to kill them all like how I killed the vendors, and it would be a big problem! What if I attract a big shot who takes me away and slices me up?"
Jiang Ming's eyes were solemn, and he was scared.
This kind of thing must not happen!
"I have to become stronger!"
Jiang Ming's expression was firm, and he made up his mind. "Because no matter how careful I am, it's impossible for me not to reveal any flaws. I can only kill all those who find my flaws! Only then will my secret not be revealed."
Jiang Ming's eyes were burning.
In the following days, Jiang Ming stayed in the mountains.
In the morning, he practiced the breathing technique. In the afternoon, he went up the mountain to gather materials and ingredients. In his spare time, he relaxed and studied.
* * *
Half a month later, in the deeper parts of the mountain forest, on a flat terrain upstream of a river, a house made of solid wood had basically taken shape.
Jiang Ming only constructed two rooms— the main room and the pharmacy.
He lived alone. His daily activities, such as sleeping, cooking, drinking tea, and reading, were all completed in the main room. The pharmacy was used to store and study the medicinal herbs he had collected.
In addition, he had also reclaimed a few pieces of barren land to plant some vegetables and medicinal herbs in the coming spring.
* * *
Fall left, and winter came.
Everything was bleak, and the mountains became quieter.
Jiang Ming hadn't seen any herb gatherers in the mountain for many days.
The last time he had seen them, he had heard that the storm in Peace Town had subsided. Because winter had come, the number of medicinal herbs that could be picked in the mountains had plummeted, and the forces in the city had retreated.
However, the price of medicinal herbs continued to rise. It was said that all of them were sold to the north, where the war seemed to be in a critical state.
"No matter what, people always suffer!" Jiang Ming sighed. If the war continued, the storm in Peace Town would not end here.
"It's time to go back to town."
Jiang Ming went to the pharmacy, picked up some herbs that had been dried, put them into the herb basket, and carried them down the mountain.
* * *
At the medicine market in Peace Town, someone shouted, "Uncle Ba, quickly look at this."
Uncle Ba was leading a group of followers to collect the toll fee when one of them suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted.
Uncle Ba looked over, and his eyes darkened. "Jiang Ming actually dared come back. Let's go!"
At a corner of the medicine market, Jiang Ming was squatting on the ground and selling herbs.
The last time he heard from the people who entered the mountain that Jiang Ming had disappeared, Uncle Ba even had people look for him for a long time.
He would not be able to escape Uncle Ba's eyes if he returned to Peace Town, so he might as well meet him at the medicine market.
Sure enough, not long after the herbs were spread out, Uncle Ba brought a group of people and surrounded him in an aggressive manner.
"Jiang Ming, I thought you and I were brothers!" Uncle Ba's expression was unhappy, and he said in a deep voice, "The old men in the city came to pick a herb gatherer, and I recommended you. Why did you escape and disappear?"
Jiang Ming looked at Uncle Ba's gloomy expression and understood in his heart. It seemed that he had guessed it right before. Uncle Ba was definitely involved with them and wanted to get rid of him.
"What a coincidence, I was too busy during those few days," Jiang Ming said sincerely.
"You have to give me an explanation for this!" This time, Uncle Ba wasn't so gentle. He said coldly, "Otherwise, you won't be able to walk out of the medicine market today!"
He had also figured out something now. When Jiang Ming drank and talked with him in the past, he was using him as a shield to avoid trouble.
"Uncle Ba, please calm down!" Jiang Ming didn't plan to fall out with Uncle Ba just yet. These punks were nothing, but if he provoked the Old Snake Gang behind them, it would be a lot of trouble.
If he were to touch Uncle Ba, he had to kill him in one blow and not let others know.
Jiang Ming's smile became more genial, "I promise you, the next time those old men come looking for herb gatherers, I'll be the first one to rush in. This time, it's my fault. A while ago, I just happened to pick two pieces of golden ginseng. I processed them and brought them down the mountain to give you as an apology. I hope you will kindly accept them!"
As he spoke, Jiang Ming took out two pieces of dried golden ginseng from the herb basket and handed them over.
Uncle Ba's eyes brightened. In the current market, two pieces of golden ginseng were worth nearly two taels of silver. Even if he collected protection fees for more than ten days, he might not be able to earn so much.
After all, he still had a group of people to feed, and he had to hand over a large portion of the money to his superiors.
"Ah, Ming, you're sensible. I really misjudged you! " Uncle Ba laughed heartily, "Everyone, go away; there's nothing to see. Ming and I have an excellent relationship."