Time flies...

The snow melted, and early spring arrived.

In the blink of an eye, over a month had slipped away.

Goose-shaped Mountain was an ordinary small mountain among the many ranges of Nanshan, located to the southwest of Nanshan Town.

The origin of its name was rather interesting. The mountain was elliptical, shaped like an egg, which is why it was called Goose-shaped Mountain...

When Chu Mu first heard the name, he couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

’If it’s shaped like an egg, why does it have to be a goose egg?’

’Plenty of animals and poultry lay eggs!’

’Chicken-shaped Mountain? Bird-shaped Mountain? Snake-shaped Mountain?’

Chu Mu gazed at the elliptical peak before him, continuing to grumble to himself.

It was early morning. The dew still clung to the grass as the sun began to rise. Chu Mu wore a cyan cloth robe with a sword at his waist and a bamboo basket on his back. Tied to the sides of the basket were a small, delicate shovel and pickaxe.

Dressed this way, he was clearly not on a leisurely spring hike.

Chu Mu tore his eyes away and started up Goose-shaped Mountain, following a narrow path.

After about a quarter of an hour, the path vanished, leaving only a deep, dense forest.

Chu Mu didn’t mind. Nanshan Town was a classic example of a sparsely populated area. If it weren’t for the iron ore mine, the surrounding dozens of miles would likely be uninhabited wilderness.

He drew his sword and hacked away the bushes in his path, then ventured deeper into the mountain.

Chu Mu moved slowly, scanning his surroundings.

He had taken no more than a dozen steps into the woods when he veered left. After two more steps, he squatted down, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he stared at a patch of mushrooms on some rotting wood.

’White-spotted mushrooms. They’re saprophytic, growing on rotting wood in late autumn. Highly poisonous, but can be used in medicine after proper processing...’

As he looked at the mushrooms, the relevant information surfaced in his mind instantly.

Even though this was his fifth time gathering herbs in the mountains since the start of spring, Chu Mu couldn’t suppress a sense of indescribable novelty at the sight of the vibrant medicinal plants.

Chu Mu carefully observed everything—the mushrooms’ shape, their growing environment, and other factors—and compared it all to the knowledge he had learned from books.

After a while, Chu Mu managed to suppress his sense of wonder, set down his bamboo basket, and took out his small shovel and pickaxe.

White-spotted mushrooms weren’t a particularly valuable ingredient, but the quality of any medicinal herb’s properties was almost directly dependent on how well it was harvested.

Chu Mu was well aware of this.

He strictly followed the methods he had been taught, carefully handling the herbs one by one, afraid that a single wrong move might damage their medicinal properties.

After carefully harvesting about a dozen white-spotted mushrooms and placing them in his basket, Chu Mu got up and continued deeper into the mountain.

He pushed onward, swinging the sword in his hand to clear a path. He stopped time and again, and with each stop, the basket on his back grew a little heavier.

Around noon, Chu Mu finally stopped, found a large boulder to sit on, and unslung his basket. He then pulled out the dry rations he had prepared and began to eat.

The mountain air was cool, still carrying a lingering chill from the depths of winter.

Sitting on the boulder, he could look out over the sprawling mountain ranges. He could even see the small town nestled among them, and more conspicuously, the handful of barren mining mountains.

Chu Mu took a bite of his steamed bun, but as he chewed, his gaze never left the barren mountains.

Having served as a Guardian at the mines for some time, it wasn’t hard for Chu Mu to identify which of the mountains held the hundreds of ice sculptures—the man-eating demon’s lair.

For over a month, the troubled Nanshan Town had enjoyed a rare period of peace. At least, on the surface, things had calmed down completely.

Though he’d been on leave, Chu Mu had kept a close eye on the situation at the mines. As far as he knew, over the past month, several batches of Inspectors had been dispatched into the mountains on Li Jinghong’s orders.

However, these deployments had nothing to do with the local Inspectors of Nanshan Town; they were all brought in from the outside.

As for the Forced Labor...

With the mines practically sealed off under strict management, Chu Mu didn’t have to imagine what life was like for the thousands of Forced Laborers there.

’I should go back and test the waters, see if I can extend my leave...’

Chu Mu mused to himself. His current life—collecting a salary from the Inspection Office while doing his own thing—was leisurely enough. It wouldn’t be bad if he could keep it up.

He stuffed the rest of his steamed bun into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed. A moment later, the Light Curtain Panel appeared in his vision.

[Name: Chu Mu.]

[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Initial Glimpse) 493/500]

[Body Refining Technique (69/1000)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 96.9%]

This was the first time his Spiritual Radiance Value had dropped below one hundred percent since his trip to Qili Village. In just over a month, his pursuit of Medical Skill had cost him nearly two thousand in Spiritual Radiance Value.

The return on his investment, naturally, was rapid progress in his Medical Skill!

Just over a month ago, he had been a mere beginner with only a rudimentary understanding of medicine. If he had tried to practice, the label "quack" would have been a certainty.

But now, after more than a month of dedicated study, coupled with a massive investment of Spiritual Radiance Value...

According to Elder Li, he had now gained an initial glimpse into the art of diagnosing patients and understanding medicines. When he assisted Elder Li during consultations, he could make a mostly accurate diagnosis nine times out of ten.

There were even rumors in Nanshan Town that Mingxin Hall had a new young doctor, prompting many of his colleagues from the Inspection Office to ask if he was planning to resign and practice medicine full-time...

As for his direct superior, Wu Shuo, Chu Mu figured his leave would have been revoked long ago if Wu Shuo hadn’t been promoted to Hundred Households and become overwhelmed with work.

Compared to the massive investment of Spiritual Radiance Value in his medical training, his Sword Technique clearly hadn’t received the same attention.

In fact, ever since the incident with the Resentful Soul, Chu Mu’s enthusiasm for the Sword Technique had waned considerably.

His daily practice was now more a matter of habit; he focused the vast majority of his energy on his Medical Skill and Qi and Blood Cultivation.

Even so, his talent for the Sword Technique seemed to be quite good.

With just some routine daily practice over the past month, the Skill Level of his Initial Glimpse Sword Technique was already approaching the next stage.

As for his Qi and Blood Cultivation using the Body Refining Technique...

In nearly a month and a half of practicing without a single day’s rest, his Skill Level had only increased by fifteen points.

Chu Mu had thought he was fully prepared for the slow pace of Qi and Blood Cultivation, but the lack of progress over the past month still managed to exceed his expectations.

’At this rate... this is only the beginning stage of Cultivation. If progress is this slow now, what will it be like at higher levels?’

’Elder Li’s lament about wasting half a lifetime on bitter cultivation was clearly no exaggeration!’

’He even felt that at this snail’s pace, if he really had to rely on this kind of day-in, day-out grinding, he might not even reach the Great Success stage of Qi and Blood Cultivation in his entire lifetime...’

...