In a corner of the medicine market, Uncle Ba and the others stared at Jiang Ming, who was packing up and leaving.
"Uncle Ba, are you going to let him off just like that?" One of his followers could not help but say.
"What else can we do?" Uncle Ba snorted coldly. "In the end, that kid didn't break any rules. I've been in Peace Town for many years, and although I'm ruthless, I do things according to the rules— at least on the surface. If I really do something to this kid in public today, I'm afraid it'll be hard for me to convince the people in Peace Town in the future."
"Then what Uncle Ba means is that we should secretly take care of him." The follower's eyes rolled as if he had understood something else.
Uncle Ba played with the two pieces of golden ginseng and shook his head, "This kid is quite skilled. We might lose a few people if we take care of him. The gang is short of manpower during this period of time. We can't cause any more trouble in Peace Town. However, he has toyed with me several times. I will get my revenge sooner or later!" Uncle Ba's eyes were fierce, "Let Jiang Ming jump around for a few days first. After winter, the gang will send people over, and by that time ..."
* * *
"Uncle Ba is easier to deal with than I thought." Jiang Ming was walking in the town and was a little surprised. It seems that the image of a bad person I've built up in the past has some effect."
No matter how unreasonable Uncle Ba was, he was just an ordinary person. He had to rely on the Old Snake Gang's reputation to suppress the lower-class commoners of Peace Town, who feared the rich and powerful.
However, the strong were afraid of the weak. According to the townspeople, Jiang Ming was a hothead who was not afraid of anyone. He was a single man, and he would beat people up if there were a disagreement. Even Uncle Ba could not do anything about it.
"Strength still decides everything!" Jiang Ming sighed.
* * *
The small bar was even more lively in the winter. No matter if it was herb gatherers or harvesters, they could not enter the mountain now, so they drank there all day to pass the time.
The bar was noisy. Old Jiang was so happy that his face was red. He even hired Ah Fei to be his temporary waiter.
The wooden door was pushed open, and the cold wind gushed in.
The customer at the door glared at him and was about to curse.
"Who are you staring at?" Jiang Ming looked at him with a faint smile.
"M-Ming!" the customer stammered, "You're back?"
The bar was silent for a moment. The great villain of Peace Town had returned!
"Drink your wine, and don't stare at people. You'll get beaten easily." Jiang Ming patted him on the head, maintaining his image of a villain, and strode to the counter.
"A bottle of wine with whatever food you have." Jiang Ming gave him ten copper coins.
"Ming, long time no see. You're still so impressive," Old Jiang joked.
"In this world, it's good enough to still be alive." Jiang Ming shook his head. Seeing Master Zhou was there, he went over and sat with him.
"There's a lot fewer herb gatherers!" Jiang Ming sighed with emotion.
Master Zhou laughed bitterly. "You ran into the mountains alone to have fun. This town is in chaos. Many people were not willing to go. Uncle Ba threatened their families, both openly and secretly. It's so chaotic. "
"He's being so reckless?" Jiang Ming frowned.
"Do you still remember the Shi family? They're a newly promoted first-class family. That person who killed several herb gatherers is now with the Old Snake Gang. Who would dare say anything about them?"
"It's almost the new year; why didn't you release it?" Jiang Ming asked. At this time of the year, the main force could not enter the mountain.
Master Zhou's eyelids drooped, and he sighed before he slowly said, "I heard that some of Xuanji City's herb gatherers have already been sent to the northern battlefield to serve as military doctors. I don't know how many of them will be able to come back."
Jiang Ming was stunned. What kind of madness was this? How could a herb gatherer be the same as a doctor?
Was war a joke? How could they be so reckless?
"What's going on? Who is fighting who?" Jiang Ming was confused.
"I heard that there's a rebellion in the north, and the three prefectures have been taken down. The capital is sending out troops to suppress the rebels. They've ordered all the prefectures to contribute. There are requirements on the number of medicinal herbs, weapons, soldiers, and military doctors!"
"So, Great Cloud City is being deceived like this? Aren't you very active when you pick herbs?" Jiang Ming was even more confused.
"Deceived?" Suddenly, a head popped over from the side. A herb gatherer said sneakily, "How do you know it's a lie and not intentional? And about those medicinal herbs, I heard that many of them were 'robbed' by the rebel army halfway through their delivery! Those old men in the city are more cunning than anyone else."
Jiang Ming finally understood. There was a traitor among the forces.
However, it was normal when he thought about it. Since ancient times, these aristocratic families have always been strong and influential. These aristocratic families had placed their bets in advance. Some bet on the royal family, some bet on the rebels, and some bet on both sides.
From the looks of it, the officials of Great Cloud City might be in an ambiguous relationship with the rebels.
"If the war doesn't end next year, I'm afraid we'll have to recruit soldiers." Master Zhou sighed.
"Right, while you were in the mountains, something big happened here!" This topic was too heavy, so Master Zhou changed the subject and said, "A group of rebels who had been going crazy in Great Cloud City for a long time was wiped out on the way to the capital. It was a tragic scene."
Someone immediately replied, "I heard that one of them had his head chopped off. Another one was nailed to a tree. He could not even be pulled out."
"What a satisfying job. Even the government has put up a notice to find the man who killed the rebels. They will reward him with a hundred taels of silver."
"Speaking of which, this hero still hasn't shown up yet. If it were me, I would have already received the silver and gone to Xuanji City to have fun."
"You? I'm afraid you'll pee your pants when you see that scene."
At the mention of this, the bar immediately became noisy. Obviously, this topic was more exciting.
Jiang Ming listened silently and sipped his wine from time to time.
If Jiang Ming dared show his face, he knew it would spell the end for him. The government would tie him to a rock and sink him into the ocean.
At noon, Jiang Ming bought some daily necessities in the town and then returned to the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest.
He found that he quite liked this kind of life.
* * *
As time passed, the weather became colder and colder. The mountains and rivers were all covered in a thick layer of ice. Snow fell one after another, and everywhere was covered in white.
Jiang Ming also went out less, but he still went out to pick herbs once every two or three days. The price of seasonal herbs in winter was the highest, and he could make a lot of money by selling them in the spring next year.
In a mountain stream, Jiang Ming, wrapped in thick animal skin, looked at the scene in front of him with surprise and joy.
In the white snow, there was a spot of emerald green that attracted attention.
It was a place no more than three feet wide, with lush green grass growing on it. A small patch of red grass swayed gently in the middle of the grass, and even in the snow, it seemed to emit warmth.
"Fire cloud grass! I've finally found another one!"
Jiang Ming was very excited. He had cooked and eaten the last one, but he had not practiced martial arts at that time, so almost half of the efficacy was wasted.
And now that he was at the critical moment of breaking through a realm, this fire cloud grass came at the right time.
He patted a rabbit beside him. "Remember its appearance and taste. If you find one more, I will give you something yummy."
Carefully digging out the fire cloud grass, Jiang Ming's thoughts also returned to the day he first came to this world. Everything began with that piece of fire cloud grass.
"It is the survival of the fittest in this world."