The First Order

In the dead of the night, Ren Xiaosu checked his harvest thus far. Two days ago, Xiaoyu, Yan Liuyuan, and the two students had each earned him a gratitude token. All in all, he had collected four gratitude token coins.

However, as he used up one of them, he only had three gratitude tokens left and a small bottle of ointment with two dosages remaining. Ren Xiaosu decided to name this ointment the “black medicine” as it was simple and easy to remember.

In Ren Xiaosu’s opinion, he could use one gratitude token in exchange for one bottle of black medicine, and each bottle of black medicine could be used to treat three people. In the long run, having one bottle that could get three gratitudes in exchange would surely guarantee him a profit.

By exchanging the gratitude tokens for the black medicine and selling them, it seemed that it would slow down his progress of unlocking the weapon. But the more black medicine he exchanged with his gratitude tokens, the more gratitude tokens he would get in return, right? This was an exponential growth, and it might even help to unlock the weapon faster!

Moreover, he could still make do with Yan Liuyuan’s bone knife. In the short term, he would not need to go out to hunt. Thus, bringing home the bacon became his utmost priority. He had to earn some money first!

Last night, Ren Xiaosu had a dream. He dreamed that he was standing in the wilderness with a black knife in his hands, the knife as dense and mysterious as the night.

…

Ren Xiaosu went out early the next morning. He did not carry his cauldron today, taking only Yan Liuyuan’s bone knife with him.

Now that Xiaoyu was staying home to look after the two shacks, it became very unlikely that they would lose their belongings during the daytime. And frankly, the people in town who harbored evil thoughts would only dare to bully the weak. Why would they resort to stealing from the ruthless Ren Xiaosu?

Not needing to carry the cauldron out with him felt amazing.

As a promising young man, Ren Xiaosu wouldn’t look good if he had to carry the cauldron out every day wherever he went.

Today, he went out to the wilderness not because he needed to hunt, but to pretend that he was gathering medicinal herbs.

Ren Xiaosu was a very cautious person. Since he claimed that he had a herb formula, he would have to gather the herbs. Only then would he not be suspected by others.

Although Ren Xiaosu did not hear about anyone being against “supernatural beings,” Ren Xiaosu understood the principle. If you wanted to ensure your survival among a group of chaotic people, you would have to blend in with them.

Tall poppies get cut short, the tallest tress get blown over first, don’t flaunt your wealth—these ancient sayings were warnings to everyone to not posture.

When he came back to town, it was still noon. When Ren Xiaosu carried a large bunch of medicinal herbs back, someone he knew asked, “Ren Xiaosu, why are you carrying all these weeds around?”

“Are these weeds?” Ren Xiaosu stared at him and said, “These are medicinal herbs!”

Medicinal herbs? The person asking was dumbfounded. As someone born and raised right here in town, wouldn’t he know what those plants were? No one had ever thought of them as medicinal herbs before.

Ren Xiaosu said conspiratorially, “As long as you add in different fractions, you can concoct a medicine that can be used to treat wounds. How do you think I recovered from my past injuries?”

The questioner thought for a long time. “Didn’t you pull through due to sheer willpower?”

“Get lost.” Ren Xiaosu did not stop in his tracks and headed straight back to his shack.

Xiaoyu was currently sewing Ren Xiaosu and Yan Liuyuan’s clothes. When she looked up and saw Ren Xiaosu walking in with a large bunch of medicinal herbs, she put the patchwork in her hands down. “What are all these?”

“These are the medicinal herbs used to concoct the secret formula,” Ren Xiaosu explained.

Ren Xiaosu set up the cauldron and started a fire. He added some water in and pretended to concoct the medicinal herb formula. In the process of concocting this formula, the costliest part was actually the water. Water was a much more valuable resource than the firewood used or the weeds that were put in.

He even purposely lifted the shack’s curtain door to let the people in town see what he was doing.

A lot of people saw Ren Xiaosu brewing a herb concoction but no one dared to approach him to ask what it was.

Ren Xiaosu was starting to feel unhappy about this. The reason he lifted the curtain door was so that people would come over to ask him what he was doing. When that happened, he would be able to promote his medicinal concoction.

After waiting for a long time, no one approached him to ask about it. Ren Xiaosu pulled a long face as he looked at a skinny man who was surreptitiously lurking outside the entrance. “You!”

The skinny man pointed at himself. “Me?”

“Yes, come over here.” Ren Xiaosu waited until the skinny man warily came closer. Then he said, “Ask me what I am doing already!”

The skinny man was speechless.

So was Xiaoyu.

“Go on, ask,” Ren Xiaosu urged him.

“Wh-What are you doing?” the skinny man asked.

With his motive achieved, Ren Xiaosu broke into a smile. He said with a kind look, “I’m brewing a herbal concoction.I usually brew this type of medicinal herb concoction when I get injured. It not only reduces inflammation and stops pain, it can also make the wound heal faster! In the past, I kept this medicine hidden from everyone. But now I’ve realized my mistake. So I’ve decided that I want to make the concoction and share it with everyone! From today onwards, I’ll open a clinic that specializes in treating wounds. Is anyone injured and in need of treatment?”

The people standing outside were stunned by the speech that Ren Xiaosu had just given. However, everyone just looked at one another before dispersing. No one believed him.

What a joke! Ren Xiaosu, you might be impressive, but to suddenly claim that you can treat people’s wounds is bullshit. Everyone in the entire neighborhood knows that you pulled through by enduring your injuries in the past.

But now you’re suddenly telling us that you have a medicinal herb concoction? Like we’d believe you!

Ren Xiaosu wasn’t very happy about this. He had to make everyone learn of the medicine’s effectiveness. It was very simple because he had personally tried it before. The moment he applied the medicine on the wound, the pain and burning sensation vanished and then scabbing formed the next day!

If only he could make everyone learn of its effectiveness. Business would boom, right?

Ren Xiaosu brought the small vial of ointment with him and went around town looking for patients. Which place had the most patients? The clinic, of course!

When Ren Xiaosu reached the clinic, he realized there was not a single patient there. In fact, the fees for the doctor’s consultation were so expensive that nobody could afford to come here!

Ren Xiaosu glared daggers at the young doctor before turning around and walking away. The young doctor who was leisurely sipping tea suddenly became a little nervous due to Ren Xiaosu’s intense glaring.

Left with no other choice, Ren Xiaosu went to find other opportunities in town. It wasn’t until every factory had ended work in the afternoon that Ren Xiaosu finally spotted a skinny man with a cut on his hand!

Ren Xiaosu was overjoyed. “Brother, did you injure your hand during work? I have a wonder drug here. Do you want to try some?”

The skinny man looked at him warily as he felt that Ren Xiaosu’s tone did not sound reputable. “No need.”

“Come, try it.” Ren Xiaosu went forward and held the skinny man down. To promote his black medicine, Ren Xiaosu even bent his most important principle. “I’ll make it cheaper for you!”

But the man was still unwilling. After all, the black stuff on Ren Xiaosu’s hand looked a little dubious.

Ren Xiaosu clenched his teeth and said, “For the sake of publicity, I’ll treat your wound for free this time!”

“Alright, alright, put away your knife first.”

When Ren Xiaosu came out looking for patients to treat, he had brought a bone knife with him.