Chapter 20
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Meng Li stayed in the simple house for a long time until he decided to try and meet the parents of the reincarnator. He remembered that the previous day, the husband returned at about this time. As such, he walked out and started meeting the neighbours. He met many people he already knew, and it was useful to know where they lived.
The entire thing didn't take much time, and before long, he came to the house of the young couple. With his Spiritual Sense he knew that the woman was still inside, currently preparing dinner for her husband. He politely knocked on the door.
After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing the familiar face. Although he had seen her many times through the Spiritual Sense, it was still his first time meeting her face to face. She was quite good looking, but her young face had some wrinkles on it, probably from the stress their living situation brought onto her. As she opened the door, she noticed him, and as he was an unfamiliar face, she couldn't help but show a puzzled look.
"Hello sir. Might I ask why you paid me a visit?" She asked politely.
"I moved in a few houses down the road, I wanted to meet my neighbours. I'm Meng Li, might I ask of your name, miss?" Meng Li replied with a smile.
"Oh, you're a new neighbour. Nice to meet you, my name is Xie Ju, I live with my husband, Ye Jin." she answered, clearly relaxed. "I'm sorry that I won't invite you in, sir, but we don't have much to greet you." she apologised.
"It's no problem, I only visited to learn of everyone's name. I will be leaving now." Meng Li replied. As he turned away and started to walk towards the next house, he noticed that Xie Ju's husband, Ye Jin walking back. He looked tired, and had many scratches all over his body, but at the same time, he looked happy and excited. Meng Li noticed that a small purse hanging on his waist seemed to be bulging. It looked like he managed to pick an expensive herb and was happy to share.
As Ye Jin walked back, he inevitably noticed Meng Li who had just finished talking with Xie Ju. His gaze turned aggressive in an instant, and he sped up to catch up with Meng Li.
"Excuse me sir, who are you?" as he passed Meng Li, he shielded Xie Ju behind his back and coldly asked Meng Li.
"I'm Meng Li. I moved in to a house down the road, I was just introducing myself." Meng Li couldn't help but furrow his brows at the man's aggressive stance.
"Oh... Ju'er, is that the case?" the large man asked his wife, who seemed small in comparison. As he moved away, Meng Li could see her glaring at him with a furrowed brow.
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"Yes! Don't just jump to conclusions like that. I'm sorry sir, my husband tends to be rash." The first sentence was addressed at Ye Jin, who simply stood before her, knowing his mistake. Meng Li didn't take offence, because even though Ye Jin overreacted, it was fully justified to do so.
"Sorry about that friend. I'm Ye Jin, and you are?" He apologised with a big smile and cupped his hands towards Meng Li.
"No problem friend. I'm Meng Li, and as I previously said I live down the road that way." Meng Li politely returned the bow with a slight smile and pointed in the direction of his house.
"By the way, miss Xie, how long until the baby is born?" Meng Li looked towards Xie Ju's large belly and asked. He wanted to confirm the system's guess.
"It's already been more than eight months. Just a few more days until my little treasure appears." Xie Ju replied lovingly while massaging her belly. Ye Jin also couldn't help but show a big smile while looking caringly at his wife. The scene warmed Meng Li's heart, and he couldn't help but show a smile. He hoped that the reincarnated soul would take those people as his parents and care for them. It would be awful if their first child turned out not to care about them... After thinking such depressing thoughts, Meng Li's smile disappeared. However, he shook his head to get rid of such unpleasant ideas and showed a smile towards the smiling couple.
"I will return to my house now, it seems to be quite late. Take care!" Meng Li bode farewell to the couple, turned around and slowly walked towards his house. The sky was clouded and the sun was already setting behind the horizon. A light rain also started falling as he walked. Meng Li didn't use his Qi to prevent the rain from touching him. It was quite nice to be able to walk in the rain, with a house just a few meters away, without any troubles...
Upon returning to his house, Meng Li sat near the fireplace and replenished the wood. The heat radiating from the fire slowly dried his clothes and his hair, as Meng Li executed the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud technique.
The next few days were peaceful. Meng Li mainly sat in his new house, using the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud on Xie Ju's house, and using his Spiritual Sense to learn more about Qingshui Town. He did so in order to learn how he could fake his job. He had to stay here, but couldn't simply stay at his house all day or people would get suspicious.
After a few days of watching, Meng Li decided on a plan. Every day, he would go into the mountains with the other people gathering herbs. He didn't have any need for selling the herbs he gathered, so he would simply hide them in the bag of holding. What he would do with them? He didn't really know, but from his quick scan of the entire planet, he noticed that pills were already being made. This stay would be an opportunity for him to learn pill making. After the reincarnator is born, of course - before that, Meng Li would have to dedicate all his free time for the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud to save the slumbering soul from the eyes of heaven.
With the plan in mind, Meng Li waited for the next day to come. It was night already - he was already executing the technique for a couple of days already. He would be able to use the excuse of 'settling in' for these few days, but he would need to get to work as soon as possible.
Within the blink of an eye, the sun was peeking from beyond the horizon. Meng Li could already sense people waking up and starting their daily routine outside, so he stopped executing the technique and prepared himself. He was still sitting on one of the cushions near the fireplace, but the fire had gone out days ago, so the entire house was cold. Meng Li cleaned out the ash with a wave of his hand and placed some fresh firewood in. The fire grew, immediately adding life to the cold house. Meng Li stood up and stretched. Although sitting for merely a few days didn't cause any problems, stretching still felt good and energized him.
In the few days, some dust accumulated on his white robes and long hair. Using his qi, he got rid of it before placing the cushion near the table and walking outside. By now, people were already coming out of their houses to go to work. Meng Li saw Ye Jin leave his house to go gathering herbs. He jogged for a moment before catching up. He clasped his hand on Ye Jin's shoulder to let him know.
"Hello friend, are you going to work? Can I go with you?"
Ye Jin looked confusedly behind him. His face immediately showed a smile as he saw Meng Li.
"Haha, brother Meng, it's you! You've finally emerged from your house after all those days." Ye Jin couldn't help but joke after seeing Meng Li. In the last few days, he wasn't able to catch a glimpse of Meng Li no matter where he looked - the door was closed and even after knocking, he didn't receive an answer.
"The past few days I was exploring the city, to familiarize myself. But now, I want to start working, so could you help me with that, brother?" Meng Li answered.
"Sure, sure! Such a small thing is not a problem for me. But, I'm not sure you're a good fit for the job... You know, gathering herbs might seem simple but it actually requires great strength and perception. Herbs naturally grow in the harder to access areas, like cliffs or the tops of trees. You not only need great perception to spot them, but also great strength and agility to retrieve them." As Ye Jin talked, he suddenly seemed like a wise scholar, teaching Meng Li of the occupation that is herb gathering.
"Brother Ye, you don't need to worry about me. I might look weak but I'm actually much stronger than you think." Meng Li responded with a laugh. Despite his strength growing tremendously, his body was not swollen, but lean and well-built. However, his muscles were sculpted like a statue and possessed extreme power.
"Hmmm... Okay then, Brother Meng." Ye Jin looked at him with doubt, but ultimately decided not to push Meng Li.
While talking, the pair already reached a shop on the main road of the town. Ye Jin was leading the way, and when they reached the small shop, he introduced it to Meng Li.
"Brother Meng, this is the Zu Family's Herb Business - they employ herb gatherers in the town and buy the herbs we find for a price. Some more tedious parts of gathering are also settled by them, like the herb baskets, knifes and location scouting. Come, let us get our tools." after introducing the shop, Ye Jin entered it, gesturing for Meng Li to follow. There were other people like them entering, who also seemed to be herb gatherers.
Inside, Meng Li realised that the real shop front was probably somewhere else, and this was the place they used to organize the gatherers. The room he was in was quite big, with many herb baskets placed in a corner and several tables located near the walls. Behind the desks sat some people who looked like scholars - they distributed baskets and recorded the names of people taking them. The people who entered the shop were queued in a line to the desk. The line progressed quite quickly - practically all of the people who were in the line were regulars who worked for a long time. When it came Meng Li's turn, the older gentleman sitting behind the desk noticed that he looked unfamiliar.
"You're new?" he asked.
"Yes. My name is Meng Li." Meng Li politely answered.
"Alright. Take your knife, a basket and go. You have a friend who's showing you around already, so I won't stop all others to help." the older man noticed Ye Jin was there to help Meng Li, so he hurried him over to handle the other people in the queue. Meng Li took a knife from the pile on the desk and hanged it on his belt. He also took a basket and placed it on his back, like Ye Jin demonstrated. It was light, but sturdy, and it didn't have large gaps - perfect for herbs. With that, he and Ye Jin continued towards the city gate. The Qingshui Town gad a total of three gates - the city was leaning against a cliff on one side, so there wasn't a gate built there. The gate Ye Jin was heading to was opposite to the gate Meng Li used to enter the town.
As he walked, he noticed many other people carrying similar baskets walking towards the gate. It seemed like the herb gathering spot he was heading towards was a popular one. As they walked out of the gate, all of the people were heading in one direction. There was actually a path paved in the ground simply from the amount of people walking there. After a few kilometres, Ye Jin pulled Meng Li off the path.
"This path is heading towards the place with the most herbs, but that place also has the most competition. I happen to know a good spot not many people know about, and it's not much worse compared to the one the path is heading." Ye Jin explained quietly. Their departure from the group sparked some interest from the group, but when they saw an experienced gatherer pull a person who seemed like a rookie off the path, they assumed that Ye Jin was going to a worse place to teach Meng Li, and as such, didn't pay more attention.
In merely a few minutes, the trees covered the previous path, leaving Ye Jin and Meng Li alone in the woods. It was a magical feeling - Meng Li was entranced by the atmosphere of the forest. Ye Jin glanced at him and snickered at his expression - during his first time in the forest, he acted no different from Meng Li.
As they walked, Meng Li snapped out of the weird feeling and returned to chatting with Ye Jin. Mostly about herbs, but not only. There were a few kilometres before they reached the gathering spot, so they weren't in a hurry.
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Meng Li stayed in the simple house for a long time until he decided to try and meet the parents of the reincarnator. He remembered that the previous day, the husband returned at about this time. As such, he walked out and started meeting the neighbours. He met many people he already knew, and it was useful to know where they lived.
The entire thing didn't take much time, and before long, he came to the house of the young couple. With his Spiritual Sense he knew that the woman was still inside, currently preparing dinner for her husband. He politely knocked on the door.
After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing the familiar face. Although he had seen her many times through the Spiritual Sense, it was still his first time meeting her face to face. She was quite good looking, but her young face had some wrinkles on it, probably from the stress their living situation brought onto her. As she opened the door, she noticed him, and as he was an unfamiliar face, she couldn't help but show a puzzled look.
"Hello sir. Might I ask why you paid me a visit?" She asked politely.
"I moved in a few houses down the road, I wanted to meet my neighbours. I'm Meng Li, might I ask of your name, miss?" Meng Li replied with a smile.
"Oh, you're a new neighbour. Nice to meet you, my name is Xie Ju, I live with my husband, Ye Jin." she answered, clearly relaxed. "I'm sorry that I won't invite you in, sir, but we don't have much to greet you." she apologised.
"It's no problem, I only visited to learn of everyone's name. I will be leaving now." Meng Li replied. As he turned away and started to walk towards the next house, he noticed that Xie Ju's husband, Ye Jin walking back. He looked tired, and had many scratches all over his body, but at the same time, he looked happy and excited. Meng Li noticed that a small purse hanging on his waist seemed to be bulging. It looked like he managed to pick an expensive herb and was happy to share.
As Ye Jin walked back, he inevitably noticed Meng Li who had just finished talking with Xie Ju. His gaze turned aggressive in an instant, and he sped up to catch up with Meng Li.
"Excuse me sir, who are you?" as he passed Meng Li, he shielded Xie Ju behind his back and coldly asked Meng Li.
"I'm Meng Li. I moved in to a house down the road, I was just introducing myself." Meng Li couldn't help but furrow his brows at the man's aggressive stance.
"Oh... Ju'er, is that the case?" the large man asked his wife, who seemed small in comparison. As he moved away, Meng Li could see her glaring at him with a furrowed brow.
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"Yes! Don't just jump to conclusions like that. I'm sorry sir, my husband tends to be rash." The first sentence was addressed at Ye Jin, who simply stood before her, knowing his mistake. Meng Li didn't take offence, because even though Ye Jin overreacted, it was fully justified to do so.
"Sorry about that friend. I'm Ye Jin, and you are?" He apologised with a big smile and cupped his hands towards Meng Li.
"No problem friend. I'm Meng Li, and as I previously said I live down the road that way." Meng Li politely returned the bow with a slight smile and pointed in the direction of his house.
"By the way, miss Xie, how long until the baby is born?" Meng Li looked towards Xie Ju's large belly and asked. He wanted to confirm the system's guess.
"It's already been more than eight months. Just a few more days until my little treasure appears." Xie Ju replied lovingly while massaging her belly. Ye Jin also couldn't help but show a big smile while looking caringly at his wife. The scene warmed Meng Li's heart, and he couldn't help but show a smile. He hoped that the reincarnated soul would take those people as his parents and care for them. It would be awful if their first child turned out not to care about them... After thinking such depressing thoughts, Meng Li's smile disappeared. However, he shook his head to get rid of such unpleasant ideas and showed a smile towards the smiling couple.
"I will return to my house now, it seems to be quite late. Take care!" Meng Li bode farewell to the couple, turned around and slowly walked towards his house. The sky was clouded and the sun was already setting behind the horizon. A light rain also started falling as he walked. Meng Li didn't use his Qi to prevent the rain from touching him. It was quite nice to be able to walk in the rain, with a house just a few meters away, without any troubles...
Upon returning to his house, Meng Li sat near the fireplace and replenished the wood. The heat radiating from the fire slowly dried his clothes and his hair, as Meng Li executed the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud technique.
The next few days were peaceful. Meng Li mainly sat in his new house, using the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud on Xie Ju's house, and using his Spiritual Sense to learn more about Qingshui Town. He did so in order to learn how he could fake his job. He had to stay here, but couldn't simply stay at his house all day or people would get suspicious.
After a few days of watching, Meng Li decided on a plan. Every day, he would go into the mountains with the other people gathering herbs. He didn't have any need for selling the herbs he gathered, so he would simply hide them in the bag of holding. What he would do with them? He didn't really know, but from his quick scan of the entire planet, he noticed that pills were already being made. This stay would be an opportunity for him to learn pill making. After the reincarnator is born, of course - before that, Meng Li would have to dedicate all his free time for the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud to save the slumbering soul from the eyes of heaven.
With the plan in mind, Meng Li waited for the next day to come. It was night already - he was already executing the technique for a couple of days already. He would be able to use the excuse of 'settling in' for these few days, but he would need to get to work as soon as possible.
Within the blink of an eye, the sun was peeking from beyond the horizon. Meng Li could already sense people waking up and starting their daily routine outside, so he stopped executing the technique and prepared himself. He was still sitting on one of the cushions near the fireplace, but the fire had gone out days ago, so the entire house was cold. Meng Li cleaned out the ash with a wave of his hand and placed some fresh firewood in. The fire grew, immediately adding life to the cold house. Meng Li stood up and stretched. Although sitting for merely a few days didn't cause any problems, stretching still felt good and energized him.
In the few days, some dust accumulated on his white robes and long hair. Using his qi, he got rid of it before placing the cushion near the table and walking outside. By now, people were already coming out of their houses to go to work. Meng Li saw Ye Jin leave his house to go gathering herbs. He jogged for a moment before catching up. He clasped his hand on Ye Jin's shoulder to let him know.
"Hello friend, are you going to work? Can I go with you?"
Ye Jin looked confusedly behind him. His face immediately showed a smile as he saw Meng Li.
"Haha, brother Meng, it's you! You've finally emerged from your house after all those days." Ye Jin couldn't help but joke after seeing Meng Li. In the last few days, he wasn't able to catch a glimpse of Meng Li no matter where he looked - the door was closed and even after knocking, he didn't receive an answer.
"The past few days I was exploring the city, to familiarize myself. But now, I want to start working, so could you help me with that, brother?" Meng Li answered.
"Sure, sure! Such a small thing is not a problem for me. But, I'm not sure you're a good fit for the job... You know, gathering herbs might seem simple but it actually requires great strength and perception. Herbs naturally grow in the harder to access areas, like cliffs or the tops of trees. You not only need great perception to spot them, but also great strength and agility to retrieve them." As Ye Jin talked, he suddenly seemed like a wise scholar, teaching Meng Li of the occupation that is herb gathering.
"Brother Ye, you don't need to worry about me. I might look weak but I'm actually much stronger than you think." Meng Li responded with a laugh. Despite his strength growing tremendously, his body was not swollen, but lean and well-built. However, his muscles were sculpted like a statue and possessed extreme power.
"Hmmm... Okay then, Brother Meng." Ye Jin looked at him with doubt, but ultimately decided not to push Meng Li.
While talking, the pair already reached a shop on the main road of the town. Ye Jin was leading the way, and when they reached the small shop, he introduced it to Meng Li.
"Brother Meng, this is the Zu Family's Herb Business - they employ herb gatherers in the town and buy the herbs we find for a price. Some more tedious parts of gathering are also settled by them, like the herb baskets, knifes and location scouting. Come, let us get our tools." after introducing the shop, Ye Jin entered it, gesturing for Meng Li to follow. There were other people like them entering, who also seemed to be herb gatherers.
Inside, Meng Li realised that the real shop front was probably somewhere else, and this was the place they used to organize the gatherers. The room he was in was quite big, with many herb baskets placed in a corner and several tables located near the walls. Behind the desks sat some people who looked like scholars - they distributed baskets and recorded the names of people taking them. The people who entered the shop were queued in a line to the desk. The line progressed quite quickly - practically all of the people who were in the line were regulars who worked for a long time. When it came Meng Li's turn, the older gentleman sitting behind the desk noticed that he looked unfamiliar.
"You're new?" he asked.
"Yes. My name is Meng Li." Meng Li politely answered.
"Alright. Take your knife, a basket and go. You have a friend who's showing you around already, so I won't stop all others to help." the older man noticed Ye Jin was there to help Meng Li, so he hurried him over to handle the other people in the queue. Meng Li took a knife from the pile on the desk and hanged it on his belt. He also took a basket and placed it on his back, like Ye Jin demonstrated. It was light, but sturdy, and it didn't have large gaps - perfect for herbs. With that, he and Ye Jin continued towards the city gate. The Qingshui Town gad a total of three gates - the city was leaning against a cliff on one side, so there wasn't a gate built there. The gate Ye Jin was heading to was opposite to the gate Meng Li used to enter the town.
As he walked, he noticed many other people carrying similar baskets walking towards the gate. It seemed like the herb gathering spot he was heading towards was a popular one. As they walked out of the gate, all of the people were heading in one direction. There was actually a path paved in the ground simply from the amount of people walking there. After a few kilometres, Ye Jin pulled Meng Li off the path.
"This path is heading towards the place with the most herbs, but that place also has the most competition. I happen to know a good spot not many people know about, and it's not much worse compared to the one the path is heading." Ye Jin explained quietly. Their departure from the group sparked some interest from the group, but when they saw an experienced gatherer pull a person who seemed like a rookie off the path, they assumed that Ye Jin was going to a worse place to teach Meng Li, and as such, didn't pay more attention.
In merely a few minutes, the trees covered the previous path, leaving Ye Jin and Meng Li alone in the woods. It was a magical feeling - Meng Li was entranced by the atmosphere of the forest. Ye Jin glanced at him and snickered at his expression - during his first time in the forest, he acted no different from Meng Li.
As they walked, Meng Li snapped out of the weird feeling and returned to chatting with Ye Jin. Mostly about herbs, but not only. There were a few kilometres before they reached the gathering spot, so they weren't in a hurry.
Meng Li stayed in the simple house for a long time until he decided to try and meet the parents of the reincarnator. He remembered that the previous day, the husband returned at about this time. As such, he walked out and started meeting the neighbours. He met many people he already knew, and it was useful to know where they lived.The entire thing didn't take much time, and before long, he came to the house of the young couple. With his Spiritual Sense he knew that the woman was still inside, currently preparing dinner for her husband. He politely knocked on the door.After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing the familiar face. Although he had seen her many times through the Spiritual Sense, it was still his first time meeting her face to face. She was quite good looking, but her young face had some wrinkles on it, probably from the stress their living situation brought onto her. As she opened the door, she noticed him, and as he was an unfamiliar face, she couldn't help but show a puzzled look."Hello sir. Might I ask why you paid me a visit?" She asked politely."I moved in a few houses down the road, I wanted to meet my neighbours. I'm Meng Li, might I ask of your name, miss?" Meng Li replied with a smile."Oh, you're a new neighbour. Nice to meet you, my name is Xie Ju, I live with my husband, Ye Jin." she answered, clearly relaxed. "I'm sorry that I won't invite you in, sir, but we don't have much to greet you." she apologised."It's no problem, I only visited to learn of everyone's name. I will be leaving now." Meng Li replied. As he turned away and started to walk towards the next house, he noticed that Xie Ju's husband, Ye Jin walking back. He looked tired, and had many scratches all over his body, but at the same time, he looked happy and excited. Meng Li noticed that a small purse hanging on his waist seemed to be bulging. It looked like he managed to pick an expensive herb and was happy to share.As Ye Jin walked back, he inevitably noticed Meng Li who had just finished talking with Xie Ju. His gaze turned aggressive in an instant, and he sped up to catch up with Meng Li."Excuse me sir, who are you?" as he passed Meng Li, he shielded Xie Ju behind his back and coldly asked Meng Li."I'm Meng Li. I moved in to a house down the road, I was just introducing myself." Meng Li couldn't help but furrow his brows at the man's aggressive stance."Oh... Ju'er, is that the case?" the large man asked his wife, who seemed small in comparison. As he moved away, Meng Li could see her glaring at him with a furrowed brow. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Yes! Don't just jump to conclusions like that. I'm sorry sir, my husband tends to be rash." The first sentence was addressed at Ye Jin, who simply stood before her, knowing his mistake. Meng Li didn't take offence, because even though Ye Jin overreacted, it was fully justified to do so."Sorry about that friend. I'm Ye Jin, and you are?" He apologised with a big smile and cupped his hands towards Meng Li."No problem friend. I'm Meng Li, and as I previously said I live down the road that way." Meng Li politely returned the bow with a slight smile and pointed in the direction of his house."By the way, miss Xie, how long until the baby is born?" Meng Li looked towards Xie Ju's large belly and asked. He wanted to confirm the system's guess."It's already been more than eight months. Just a few more days until my little treasure appears." Xie Ju replied lovingly while massaging her belly. Ye Jin also couldn't help but show a big smile while looking caringly at his wife. The scene warmed Meng Li's heart, and he couldn't help but show a smile. He hoped that the reincarnated soul would take those people as his parents and care for them. It would be awful if their first child turned out not to care about them... After thinking such depressing thoughts, Meng Li's smile disappeared. However, he shook his head to get rid of such unpleasant ideas and showed a smile towards the smiling couple."I will return to my house now, it seems to be quite late. Take care!" Meng Li bode farewell to the couple, turned around and slowly walked towards his house. The sky was clouded and the sun was already setting behind the horizon. A light rain also started falling as he walked. Meng Li didn't use his Qi to prevent the rain from touching him. It was quite nice to be able to walk in the rain, with a house just a few meters away, without any troubles...Upon returning to his house, Meng Li sat near the fireplace and replenished the wood. The heat radiating from the fire slowly dried his clothes and his hair, as Meng Li executed the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud technique.The next few days were peaceful. Meng Li mainly sat in his new house, using the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud on Xie Ju's house, and using his Spiritual Sense to learn more about Qingshui Town. He did so in order to learn how he could fake his job. He had to stay here, but couldn't simply stay at his house all day or people would get suspicious.After a few days of watching, Meng Li decided on a plan. Every day, he would go into the mountains with the other people gathering herbs. He didn't have any need for selling the herbs he gathered, so he would simply hide them in the bag of holding. What he would do with them? He didn't really know, but from his quick scan of the entire planet, he noticed that pills were already being made. This stay would be an opportunity for him to learn pill making. After the reincarnator is born, of course - before that, Meng Li would have to dedicate all his free time for the Heavenly Yin Yang Shroud to save the slumbering soul from the eyes of heaven.With the plan in mind, Meng Li waited for the next day to come. It was night already - he was already executing the technique for a couple of days already. He would be able to use the excuse of 'settling in' for these few days, but he would need to get to work as soon as possible.Within the blink of an eye, the sun was peeking from beyond the horizon. Meng Li could already sense people waking up and starting their daily routine outside, so he stopped executing the technique and prepared himself. He was still sitting on one of the cushions near the fireplace, but the fire had gone out days ago, so the entire house was cold. Meng Li cleaned out the ash with a wave of his hand and placed some fresh firewood in. The fire grew, immediately adding life to the cold house. Meng Li stood up and stretched. Although sitting for merely a few days didn't cause any problems, stretching still felt good and energized him.In the few days, some dust accumulated on his white robes and long hair. Using his qi, he got rid of it before placing the cushion near the table and walking outside. By now, people were already coming out of their houses to go to work. Meng Li saw Ye Jin leave his house to go gathering herbs. He jogged for a moment before catching up. He clasped his hand on Ye Jin's shoulder to let him know."Hello friend, are you going to work? Can I go with you?"Ye Jin looked confusedly behind him. His face immediately showed a smile as he saw Meng Li."Haha, brother Meng, it's you! You've finally emerged from your house after all those days." Ye Jin couldn't help but joke after seeing Meng Li. In the last few days, he wasn't able to catch a glimpse of Meng Li no matter where he looked - the door was closed and even after knocking, he didn't receive an answer."The past few days I was exploring the city, to familiarize myself. But now, I want to start working, so could you help me with that, brother?" Meng Li answered."Sure, sure! Such a small thing is not a problem for me. But, I'm not sure you're a good fit for the job... You know, gathering herbs might seem simple but it actually requires great strength and perception. Herbs naturally grow in the harder to access areas, like cliffs or the tops of trees. You not only need great perception to spot them, but also great strength and agility to retrieve them." As Ye Jin talked, he suddenly seemed like a wise scholar, teaching Meng Li of the occupation that is herb gathering."Brother Ye, you don't need to worry about me. I might look weak but I'm actually much stronger than you think." Meng Li responded with a laugh. Despite his strength growing tremendously, his body was not swollen, but lean and well-built. However, his muscles were sculpted like a statue and possessed extreme power."Hmmm... Okay then, Brother Meng." Ye Jin looked at him with doubt, but ultimately decided not to push Meng Li.While talking, the pair already reached a shop on the main road of the town. Ye Jin was leading the way, and when they reached the small shop, he introduced it to Meng Li."Brother Meng, this is the Zu Family's Herb Business - they employ herb gatherers in the town and buy the herbs we find for a price. Some more tedious parts of gathering are also settled by them, like the herb baskets, knifes and location scouting. Come, let us get our tools." after introducing the shop, Ye Jin entered it, gesturing for Meng Li to follow. There were other people like them entering, who also seemed to be herb gatherers.Inside, Meng Li realised that the real shop front was probably somewhere else, and this was the place they used to organize the gatherers. The room he was in was quite big, with many herb baskets placed in a corner and several tables located near the walls. Behind the desks sat some people who looked like scholars - they distributed baskets and recorded the names of people taking them. The people who entered the shop were queued in a line to the desk. The line progressed quite quickly - practically all of the people who were in the line were regulars who worked for a long time. When it came Meng Li's turn, the older gentleman sitting behind the desk noticed that he looked unfamiliar."You're new?" he asked."Yes. My name is Meng Li." Meng Li politely answered."Alright. Take your knife, a basket and go. You have a friend who's showing you around already, so I won't stop all others to help." the older man noticed Ye Jin was there to help Meng Li, so he hurried him over to handle the other people in the queue. Meng Li took a knife from the pile on the desk and hanged it on his belt. He also took a basket and placed it on his back, like Ye Jin demonstrated. It was light, but sturdy, and it didn't have large gaps - perfect for herbs. With that, he and Ye Jin continued towards the city gate. The Qingshui Town gad a total of three gates - the city was leaning against a cliff on one side, so there wasn't a gate built there. The gate Ye Jin was heading to was opposite to the gate Meng Li used to enter the town.As he walked, he noticed many other people carrying similar baskets walking towards the gate. It seemed like the herb gathering spot he was heading towards was a popular one. As they walked out of the gate, all of the people were heading in one direction. There was actually a path paved in the ground simply from the amount of people walking there. After a few kilometres, Ye Jin pulled Meng Li off the path."This path is heading towards the place with the most herbs, but that place also has the most competition. I happen to know a good spot not many people know about, and it's not much worse compared to the one the path is heading." Ye Jin explained quietly. Their departure from the group sparked some interest from the group, but when they saw an experienced gatherer pull a person who seemed like a rookie off the path, they assumed that Ye Jin was going to a worse place to teach Meng Li, and as such, didn't pay more attention.In merely a few minutes, the trees covered the previous path, leaving Ye Jin and Meng Li alone in the woods. It was a magical feeling - Meng Li was entranced by the atmosphere of the forest. Ye Jin glanced at him and snickered at his expression - during his first time in the forest, he acted no different from Meng Li.As they walked, Meng Li snapped out of the weird feeling and returned to chatting with Ye Jin. Mostly about herbs, but not only. There were a few kilometres before they reached the gathering spot, so they weren't in a hurry.
