As time passed, and I got more used to it, I found more herbs.

Of course, I didn't find them every day since I always kept close to the forest's edge, but I could find two or three per week. I was also careful to not damage the plants when possible, since I didn't want to pick all of them and be left with nothing. I also tried to plant the seeds in suitable locations if I found some.

I had, unfortunately, memorized all the books on plants that my uncle had in the study.

Ms. Dong had also been a big help in teaching me all the things not included in the books, but I didn't want to bother her too much, so I always kept my inquiries to a minimum.

Since I had no other books on plants, I moved my sight to other disciplines. It was also because the winter had drastically reduced my time outside, so, given a choice, I preferred to spend the time there. On the farm there were already enough hands for winter works.

When the snow melted, and the terrain became viable, I went back to my previous routine.

Also, my savings were steadily growing. I always gave at least half of my gains to my family, but since I didn't spend much, I always had more income than expenses.

Anyway, time passed, until, one day, I went on an errand for my mother.

She had sent me to the butcher to get some meat, so I put on my village attire – as I dubbed it – and went to the village.

The butcher shop was a relatively new addition to the village.

This settlement has been growing steadily for the past years, so new businesses and residents kept coming. In truth, calling it a village was already not quite right since the size was starting to resemble a small town. And all this just because of a new road that connected to the Wudang sect.

Before this road was built, people had to take a long detour around the mountains to reach the Sect, so when this path opened, everyone had been more than delighted – the merchants for the time saved, and the people of the village for the prosperity that they brought. It also made it easier for the people recruited by the Sect to reach it, or to visit their families.

The first thing I noticed when I entered was the smell.

This seems to be a common thing, I mused, as I remembered when I visited Ms. Dong's shop the first time.

The second thing I noticed was the girl.

She was behind the counter talking to a customer while another woman – her mother, I think – was wrapping some cut of meat.

She was not an overly beautiful girl, she was tall and a bit too thin, maybe, but she was not ugly and had a nice warm smile.

She also looked to be around my age.

That was an important detail to note. Before I was informed of my condition I had not thought of staying in the village for long, and thus neither I nor my parents had made any preparation for my marriage.

Had I showed less talent, they would have at least made some preparation, but, since it was practically assured I would live in the sect for a long time, no one looked for any candidate to marry me. That meant that most of the good prospects were already married or had an engagement.

It wasn't like I didn't have time to choose, and, after all, a ten-year gap was not too big of a thing since if one reached the peak of Body Tempering before thirty, it was likely he, or she, would live to around 150 years.

But I didn’t want to lose an opportunity since, as the saying went, four things don’t come back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.

Better take it while I could.

If I remember correctly, the butcher only opened shop here three years ago but didn't bring his family here then, I thought while waiting my turn.

When her mother finished, she left the package on the counter and went to the back as her daughter ended the exchange.

I waited for the customer to leave before going forward.

“Good morning, can I help you with something?” she said.

"Good morning, my mother left an order a few days ago," I said, giving her the note.

"Sure, wait a moment," she said, leaving for the back.

“My mother will bring it shortly,” she said after she came back.

"Thanks," I said, nodding. "By the way, I never saw you around before. You must have arrived recently."

She smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Yes, I have just arrived with my mother last month."

I nodded at that.

"I hope you are liking it here. It's not a grand place yet, but it's growing quite fast. Oh, my name is Gongsun Xianyuan, pleased to meet you," I said with a small bow.

“My name is Wang Cong'er, pleased to meet you too,” she said, bowing back with another smile. “And yes, I think it's nice here. Much quieter than the town I came from.”

At that point, her mother came back with a rather large parcel.

"Hello, young man. Here's the meat," she said, leaving the package on the counter.

"Thanks, ma'am," I said before she went back.

I opened my bag and put the meat inside.

“So, have you already made some friends here?” I asked as I closed it.

"Um, no, I haven't had the chance to know many people yet. I am still adjusting."

"Well, if you wish, I can show you around the town, one of these days. As for friends... I can at least point you in the right direction," I said with a smile.

She was blushing a bit. “Oh, I don't want to be a bother.”

"Ah, don't worry, Sister Wang, it would only be my pleasure. That is if it doesn't bother you, of course."

"No, no, of course not," she said, waving her hands, flustered, "I would like it very much, I mean, I wouldn't dislike it. So, um, yes, I would be grateful if you gave me a tour of the town."

How cute, I thought as she blushed harder.

"Wonderful, how about tomorrow evening?" I asked hopefully.

"I think I could, yes," she said.

Yes!

“Ok, I'll come by tomorrow evening then,” I said with a wide smile.

"Sure, see you tomorrow, Brother Gongsun," she answered.

As I went home, I had a spring under my feet.

I thought about her for the rest of the day, and the more I did, the more I was excited.

I was regretting I hadn't chosen this evening, but I wanted to give her some time. I just had to bear it until tomorrow. Even my family had noticed my mood, but aside from some comments, they didn't pry – I hadn't volunteered as I first wanted to see what came out of it.

After helping on the farm, I went for my usual trip in the forest.

I decided to go follow one of my usual paths as I wasn't in the mood to explore – I still had my head full of thoughts of the coming date and a whole lot of other stupid things.

Yeah, that's just stupid, I thought, trying to get rid of the idea of going to pick up Cong'er in a carriage.

I walked the forest edge for years now, circling the village in every way. It didn't sound like much, but we were at the base of the mountains. There were actually many square kilometers of cleared land, only partly cultivated, so I wasn't fast enough to circle the whole village in a day. Especially since I didn't move in a cleared path.

I did think a while back to clear some space and make a trail around the village, but I concluded that it would just be a waste of time. I liked going into the wild, and clearing a path would just take away my fun. And if I wanted to find herbs, I couldn't always go the same way.

For that reason, while I was, indeed, using one of my usual paths, it was in a relative term, as I wasn't following one, but more like the traces of where I walked most often. They were places and signs I knew due to all the time I passed by them.

It seems that having my head in the clouds wasn't the best idea while going into the forest, though.

At some point, I was circling a bush when I heard a sound behind me.

It was something that I barely heard, and I subconsciously turned my head. That allowed me to notice, with the corner of my eyes, a huge shadow moving behind me at high speed. I just had the time to throw myself to the side before something brushed by me, scraping my left arm just below the shoulder.

I landed painfully on my right shoulder and scrambled to get back up, frantically searching for what had just attacked me.

I found it just as it was jumping at me again.

It was something I heard described in the village before, a golden cat.

I had to, once again, act in a split second. Being more prepared, this time, and closer to the ground, I was able to make a – slightly – more graceful roll to the side, getting some distance as I jumped up.

I was scared. I felt as if my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

Fight or flee? Maybe the oldest choice in the world.

In that single moment, I just had passing feelings and emotions. There was no rational thought in my mind. And what I felt, was that I could not escape.

Showing my back meant dying.

With no way out other than to fight, all my fear turned into ferocity. I felt my muscles tensing in preparation.

"Uwaaaaaaaaargh!" I shouted with all my strength at my opponent, letting it know that if he wanted to kill me, he'd have to pay the price.

I may have been young but, at thirteen, I had just hit my growth spurt, and I was getting bigger by the day.

I was also at the peak of Body Tempering, so, other than my physique and perception abilities, even my internal organs, lungs included, were much better than an untrained human. That made my shout more than a little intimidating.

It hissed at me, showing me his teeth, but, maybe because of my shout, or some other reason, after a few moments of standoff it carefully backed away and disappeared into the forest undergrowth.

I waited for what felt like an eternity to see if it was really gone, before turning around.

The trip back was a tense thing. I went as fast as I could, while nervously twisting my head everywhere, and jumping at every little sound, until I saw the tree line. I then broke into a small run, eager to leave behind the forest – I only stopped after I was a few hundred meters from the woods.

Looking back, I didn't see anything chasing me. I felt like I just escaped from the jaws of death, and relief washed over me.

I sat down slowly since I was not sure I could keep standing for much longer, then collapsed down on my back. As I regained my breath and my heart calmed, I began to feel pain from my right shoulder, where I fell the first time, and my left harm. Raising my trembling arm, I noticed three tears on my sleeves; I had blood on it, but it wasn't bleeding heavily, so I didn't worry too much.

As I laid there, after having the worst scare of my life, looking at the sky, I cursed myself and my carelessness.

Then I recalled why I had been so distracted, and a phrase that I heard a few times came to mind. It made me laugh, despite everything.

Women really are the ruin of men.