Ye Shu’s body was indeed severely injured. The impact to the back of the head directly took the original owner’s life, and even though Ye Qian had taken over, he suffered the same pain. If someone hadn’t timely sent him to receive medical treatment, this body would have been unusable. And if the Hunyuan Pearl couldn’t transport him to a new body, he would truly perish.
For the next few days, Ye Shu recuperated in the medical hall. The old doctor was quite kind-hearted, providing him with medicine and food supplements every day, showing great care. Ye Shu’s divine consciousness observed that his injuries were gradually improving. Although the effect on an ordinary human body was not as significant as the elixirs for cultivators, it was still quite useful.
However, Ye Shu was not one to just idly pass the time. Although he had taken over this body, the original owner’s memories were shallow, except for those directly related to him. During his recovery, Ye Shu intentionally inquired about the affairs in the Mingshan City, gradually learning about them. Due to the original owner’s ignorance, when he inquired, the old doctor assumed he had regained consciousness after the impact and took pity on him, thus telling him a lot.
Ye Shu did not pretend to be the same as before. It wasn’t because he was not cautious enough, but if he didn’t “wake up,” he would inevitably be restricted, and many things would become difficult to do. The head injury was an excellent opportunity. If he didn’t take the chance to recover, when would he? As for Ye Jun from the Ye family, he had an extremely narrow mind. Even when the original owner was foolish, he never let him off. He had means in private, but for the sake of reputation, he never directly intervened. For Ye Shu now, if these means could affect him, he would be too useless! Moreover, given some time, he could use the Hunyuan Pearl to embark on the path of cultivation. By then, in the mortal realm, he would have nothing to fear.
Nowadays, Ye Shu’s greatest concerns, apart from the Ye family with whom the original owner was connected, were the young city lord.
And when mentioning the young city lord, one had to mention his father.
The lord of Mingshan City was surnamed Yan. His only son, Yan Changlan, had been Ye Shu’s benefactor, just thirteen years old.
Yan Changlan, young and spirited, with an open mind and a sense of righteousness, while not known for sympathizing with the poor and weak, whenever he encountered injustice, he always stepped in, much to the delight of the city’s inhabitants.
This boy’s character came from his father’s upbringing. It was easy to imagine that the citizens had great respect for this lord.
Aside from this only son, Yan Bei, Lord Yan, had two younger brothers. However, it was heard that the third brother had died young before reaching adulthood, leaving only the second brother, Yan Xi. Unlike Lord Yan, who hadn’t remarried after his wife’s death, Yan Changlan’s uncle had one wife and three concubines, with two sons and three daughters. Among them, the sons were legitimate, named Yan Changsong and Yan Changbai; the daughters, one legitimate daughter and two concubine daughters, with the legitimate daughter named Yan Changmei, and the concubine daughters known as the Second Miss and Third Miss, not listed in the order of seniority.
Yan Bei and Yan Xi hadn’t divided the family, and both lived in the lord’s mansion. The lord doted on his only younger brother and often delegated some of the mansion’s affairs to him. Yan Changlan held the most esteemed status, yet he was the youngest among them – this was because his mother was in poor health back then, and therefore, he was not born until his parents were middle-aged. However, Yan Changlan’s relationship with his cousins was quite good. Over the years, the two families had lived in harmony.
As for the Yan Xi family, the people in the city didn’t hold them in the same high regard as they did for Lord Yan. However, when Yan Xi assisted Yan Bei, he did so diligently and without any wrongdoing, leaving a good impression.
But even though Yan Xi had many children, the population of the entire lord’s mansion was not as numerous as the three major families in the city. Just the Ye family alone had at least dozens of members in the main branch, not to mention the side branches. The other two major families, the Fang family and the Sun family, were also flourishing.
Naturally, nowadays, for families with some status, marriages between descendants must pay attention to social status. The most powerful forces in the city were these four families, so it was only natural for them to intermarry.
Currently, the direct descendant of the Ye family had married the legitimate daughter of the Sun family; a remarkable descendant from the Fang family had been engaged to the only legitimate daughter of the lord’s mansion, Yan Changmei; Yan Changsong had already married, and his wife was also a legitimate daughter of the Sun family; and it was rumored that Yan Changbai seemed to be intending to marry a daughter from the Ye family, but nothing had been confirmed yet.
The intricate relationships through marriages between these major families and between them and the lord’s mansion were difficult to distinguish. The major families naturally respected the lord’s mansion, and the lord’s mansion would yield to these major families when necessary. However, in terms of status among the major families, the Ye family was slightly stronger, being called the first major family in Mingshen City.
The reputation of the three families in the city was also different. The Ye family was the most arrogant, the Fang family was relatively low-key, and the Sun family produced beauties and conducted themselves in a very assertive manner. Among them, the Fang clan had a decent reputation, while the Ye family and the Sun family were both average.
Having roughly sorted out these relationships in his mind, Ye Shu managed to get out of bed and went to bid farewell to the old doctor.
The old doctor kindly said, “Young man, you’ve been out of the loop for a few years. If you go up the mountain alone, it’ll be tough.”
Ye Shu looked a bit melancholy. “Although that’s true, that place is still where I belong. I have to go back. I’m deeply grateful for your care these past few days, Sir. I dare not trouble you any further.”
The old doctor sighed. “The young city lord has provided funds. How can we say it’s a bother? Although you’ve woken up, your bones and meridians are a bit stiff. If you were to practice some martial arts for self-defense, it might be possible, but becoming a top-notch expert is out of the question now. I can see you’re quite intelligent. If you find it difficult in the mountains, you could come and assist me as a medicine boy, do some odd jobs, and get by.”
Listening to this, Ye Shu secretly thought that the old doctor was indeed kind-hearted. However, if he stayed here, it would be detrimental to his future cultivation. It would be better to find a way to build rapport with him and have a cover for his future actions.
Having made up his mind, he lowered his gaze and said, “There are already several medicine boys at your place, Sir. My presence here would be nothing but a burden to you. I’m deeply grateful for your kindness… If you don’t mind, Sir, I happen to know of a few medicinal herbs. In the future, if I have the opportunity to gather them, I’ll bring them to you in exchange for some food.”
The old doctor felt somewhat emotional but also admired the young man’s resilience and self-respect. After some thought, he said, “That’s a good idea. However, if you pick the herbs improperly, not only will their medicinal properties weaken, but their value will also decrease…” At this point, he handed a yellowed ancient tome to Ye Shu and continued, “I believe you can read. Take this book back with you, study it, and learn about various herbs and how to harvest them properly. In the future, gather herbs according to these methods and bring them here.”
Ye Shu listened and thanked once again.
Immediately, he didn’t linger here any longer. After bidding farewell, he left the clinic.
Ye Shu went straight back to a wild mountain outside the city.
That mountain was just one of the lower peaks in a range of mountains, also the foremost one. Due to frequent hunting activities, there were several trails, and the wildlife was relatively sparse, with no ferocious beasts.
Ever since being expelled from the Ye family, the original owner had been sent to this mountain. The so-called mountain hut was the dwelling of an old hunter from many years ago. The small plot of land was also cultivated by the old hunter to grow some vegetables. The old hunter had been eaten by the wild animals in the mountains several years ago. Coincidentally, with the original owner also expelled from the family, and no heirs left for the old hunter, neither the hut nor the plot of land had anyone to care for them. The Ye family casually gave them to the original owner.
At that time, the original owner was only six or seven years old, completely clueless about everything, and if it weren’t for faintly knowing how to grow vegetables and having plenty of food left behind by the old hunter in the house, the original owner might have starved to death in the mountains.
Ye Shu followed the memories of the original owner back to the hut, and indeed, saw the small plot of land behind the hut.
The land was inherently poor, and the original owner was not proficient in farming. Over the years, the production of the few vegetables had dwindled. Nevertheless, he still often gave the best and tenderest ones to Hong Yuan, enduring hunger himself, appearing thin and small. Now, the original owner was already twelve years old, but with this small physique, he looked no older than ten.
As the young patriarch, raised with affection by his grandfather, Ye Shu was unfamiliar with mundane farming practices. However, having witnessed the servants in the clan stimulating spiritual grains with spells, followed by land replenishment, he understood the importance of replenishing the land’s vitality for crop growth. Unable to rely solely on manipulating spiritual energy like before, Ye Shu realized the significance of agriculture for his survival.
Now in his mortal body, he couldn’t simply absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to sustain himself as he did before. Hence, agricultural matters became crucial; it would be ironic to survive only to starve to death due to insufficient food production.
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Shu found himself at the edge of the field. It was harvest time, but the yield was disappointing – only a variety of large leafy greens, lacking in vigor due to the depleted soil. Without access to spells for irrigation, he resorted to manual labor.
Ye Shu quickly fetched a bucket from his house and walked to a nearby stream, filling it with water and returning to pour it into a trough, repeating this process several times to irrigate the land. Afterward, he picked a few vegetables, cooked them hastily, and consumed them with water, the meal providing little satisfaction.
A bowl of bland greens offered little flavor, but Ye Shu didn’t dwell on it. After finishing his meal and tidying up, a droplet of water appeared in his hand.
This droplet was none other than Hunyuan Water, rumored to nurture all things. However, Ye Shu had refrained from using it out of caution, aware that it would disappear by the next day. Despite his reluctance to waste it, he hadn’t dared to use it openly in the medical hall to avoid drawing attention.
Now presented with a favorable opportunity, Ye Shu pondered for a moment. Instead of experimenting with it immediately in the field, he walked a short distance away, about ten yards from his hut, and casually poured the droplet onto the protruding roots of a nearby tree.