Nice weather today, I thought as I walked in the forest.

I knew the place like the back of my hand by now, but I still liked my walks here. I did wish to go deeper or farther away to explore, but due to the time constraints and the danger the wild posed if one went too far from the village, I held myself back.

Two months passed since Third Brother wedding.

I was still living isolated from others, but I was not too bothered by it. Solitude was a nice way to have some introspection. I also wasn't alone all the time, since I was at the farm usually. There were my little nephews and nieces that livened up the atmosphere there, and we had two little Gongsun on the way, so the mood was quite happy. If I had to complain about something, it was that the walls of my house were too thin, and my family was too active at night – especially Third Brother, though it was understandable.

That day I was moving through a part of the forest that I hadn't traversed in a while when my eyes stopped on a flower growing below a fallen tree.

It was of a nice purple color, but half-hidden and in the shadows, it wasn't easy to see. I got closer and inspected it from a few meters away. It was never a good move to approach unknown things.

It's not because of Second Brother stories of soul-stealing flowers, I was just cautious.

When I was done inspecting the flower, from a good distance away, I concluded that it was not something native to this region.

I walked around here quite a lot, and I was sure I never saw anything remotely like it. Maybe it was from higher up in the mountains. Or it was just so rare I didn't see it before.

A memory was suddenly jolted inside my mind at the thought.

“Just so you know, there are herbs that could help with your condition, but they are absurdly rare. Those times they end up on the market they sell for so much money that even the sect Elders would think twice before buying them..."

It was what the cultivator that inspected me more than a year ago said. I don't know how many times I revisited that day in my mind – it had been awful.

I rationally knew that finding something that could cure my condition, or be valuable, wouldn’t be so easy. Chances were it was just an uncommon herb, but rationality and emotions don't always go hand in hand.

I wanted to find out what that flower was and, if possible, pick it up, but I feared that someone would find it if I left it there, and I didn't want to approach it until I knew more. In the end, I hid it by placing a huge tree branch that fell from a tree in the place where I stood while inspecting the flower.

It was already half-hidden, and that made it almost impossible to see.

Besides, there weren't that many people walking around here, aside from the occasional hunter passing by.

As I walked back home, I memorized the way. It wasn't too hard since I passed by many times in the past.

Where could I find some information about a flower? I thought after I memorized how to get back to it.

The first thing that came to mind was the herbalist.

There weren't many places that could help me in my endeavor in the village. Sure, it was a big village, almost as big as a town, but it was of relatively recent construction, according to my father, and we still didn't have a doctor or an alchemist. The problem was that I didn't want to ask other people in case I found something pricey. They may not know where that flower is, but if some adult followed me in the forest I would be done for. As father always said, "one courts misfortune by flaunting wealth".

Racking my brain for an answer, I remembered that Uncle Ying had a son that went to the sect and often sent him books.

My uncle didn't like to read, but he liked to show off if someone entered his study, and, for that reason, he had a huge bookshelf in his study so he could "appear as a knowledgeable and cultured person" as per his words.

I decided to try my luck there.

It had been a long time since I went into the village, and it felt like everything was different, though it probably was just me.

I went to his house and found him painting in the backyard. He was a bad painter.

“Esteemed village chief, I need your expertise in some urgent matter!” I shouted when I got near.

It seems that he was too absorbed in his painting as he made a jump. I had a hard time keeping my face serious, as he turned at me with a dumbfounded look.

"What the hell!" he said suddenly, as he flung his brush at me.

"Hey!" I said, diving out of the way.

“A painter shouldn't throw his brush!” I shouted indignantly.

“I am the painter brat, and I decide what to do with my brush!” he barked back, “and what's with that ‘village chief’ bullshit?!”

"Damn, I entered the house of a painting thug..." I grumbled.

“Do you want to see how hard I can throw my painting?” he threatened while reaching for it.

I raised my hands in surrender, “You are the best Uncle I know!”

And the only one, I thought.

He wasn't really my uncle, just that he and my father had been very good friends since childhood, and they considered themselves brothers. It's also why my father came to this village when Uncle got appointed as the village chief thirty years ago. Uncle had asked if he wanted to come, and he did. Of course, he also had other reasons, but he was the one who tipped the scales probably.

"I don't know why but I still feel like throwing my painting," he said, lowering his hand.

"It would be a shame to throw a painting of yours. They're almost as magnificent as you, Uncle!" I said, putting as much sincerity in my phrase as I could.

I saw his eye twitch for a bit, but he refrained from commenting. I couldn't help but smirk a little.

"Well, what did you come here for, other than to annoy me?" he asked as I went to retrieve his brush. He'd have to wash it now.

"I wanted to read some books!" I answered with a smile. Talking with Uncle always put me in a good mood.

He, instead, looked at me like I had grown a second head, “Did you fall and crack your skull on a rock?”

I crossed my arms and glared at him. That was rude.

"Fine, fine, just don't ruin them. And read inside the study," he said, waving a hand.

"Thanks, Uncle!" I said, going into the house.

He just returned to his crappy painting with a “Bah!”

After I located the right room, I went inside, finding a well-decorated place with a full bookshelf on the side, a table in front of me with a window behind, and a few decorative pieces with a tea set on the other side.

I felt a bit out of place, but at least I had cleaned myself and changed, so I didn't have to worry about dirtying things. I decided to stay well away from the expensive-looking things.

I scanned the library and found many books with characters I didn't know, but after a thorough search, I found a dictionary to help me. And I could also ask my Uncle if I didn't find it there – though I didn't know how much help he would be. Looking through the titles, I saw that they didn't have any kind of discernible order – he probably just put them where he found some space.

I always found it hard to work in chaotic places, so the first thing I did was divide the books into groups based on the discipline, and sub-groups based on place, time, or other criteria depending on the subject. It took me four days since I also had to look for the characters I didn't know – I should have been paid.

Gongsun Xianyuan, the master Feng Shui of the bookshelves, I thought, laughing by myself.

I then heard a shout from the outside, “Yuan! Get out before you go completely crazy!”

“You are the crazy one, old man!” I shouted back.

He just laughed.

I then began to look at the books about plants. I had divided them by region and rarity of the herbs.

I should have started by looking at the herbs of the Wudang Mountains where we were located, but I couldn't hold myself back and started with the rare ones.

There weren't that many details on the rarer ones, but you could at least notice similarities if you found them. There were pictures only in some of them, unfortunately, so I would have to go take a gook look at the plant to see all the details. In the meantime, I put markers on the plants' descriptions that mostly matched the flower. I had a good memory, but it was better to take a second look before I went to see the plant.

After those, I searched the ones found in this region. These ones had very detailed images and descriptions, so it was easy to tell if they were the right herb. I didn't find anything that matched the description.

I then read the other books.

The precision of the details varied a little depending on the book, but since most were on common herbs, they were described and drawn very well. And I finally found an image that matched the flower. I had to get there and take another closer look, but I was nearly sure. Unfortunately, the herb I found was neither one that could help me widen my meridians nor a legendary herb. But it had some value, especially since it was not commonly found near this place.

I felt so disappointed.

I logically knew that I shouldn't have hoped for anything better than this, as it was already a good find, but still...

After I sat there for a while, mourning the loss of my opportunity, I got to work, memorizing the details and method of picking the plant before putting the book back.

The following day I walked all the way back to that place.

As I neared the location I belatedly realized how conspicuous that tree branch looked, but as I got over it I found the herb still there. I'd have to be more careful in the future if it happened again.

Taking a good look at the herb, I confirmed that it was the correct one and plucked it.

I didn't have to take much care other than making sure the roots – the most valued part of the plant – stayed intact. It dug mostly downward, so I had to dig a bit, then I took it out with a good chunk of the surrounding earth and put it in the backpack.

I went to the mountain fairly early, since I was a bit impatient – it would be my first time getting paid for something I did.

My parents sometimes gave me some coins, but this would be different.

I thought about the best place to sell this, but, since in this village there wasn't much choice, I quickly came to a decision.

It was time to visit the herbalist.