August 12, 2018
Translated & Edited by Ery
Jiao Ye Village was a small remote village located by the mountains. An important magician had come to the village's magic temple.
Most of the villagers in the village were just farmers. In their eyes, the magical temple was an existence way out of their league.
Jiao Ye Village was too small. Those who can become doctors and pharmacists were unwilling to stay in this small remote village. Because of this, the temple's magician took up the responsibility to conduct basic treatments.
Previously, the former magician stationed at Jiao Ye Village returned home because of his advanced age. The new magician that had recently arrived took up this job at the village's magic temple.
On the day the magician arrived, he had announced that he would be accepting an assistant.
This announcement was just like an alluring big fat piece of meat. Not only will the assistant be able to have access to all kinds of herbs and obtain the knowledge for refining medicine but also will be able to assist the magician ah! The assistant will also have a monthly salary of twenty copper coins which equals to two silver coins!
From the villagers' perspective, as long as their family's child is selected, then it really will be putting out the smoke on the ancestral grave (A chinese proverb that's basically saying "with good events, one will become someone of importance". However it's actually mockery).
Although village chief recommended Yun Sheng, he wasn't able to pipe down the villagers' enthusiasm. They all wanted to send their children to the temple.
At the end of the day, the village chief had to discuss with the people from the temple. He posted a notice on the selection for the medical assistant on the bulletin board at the village entrance.
The content of the announcement follows:
The Jiao Ye Village Magic Village is now recruiting a medical assistant child. The child should be within the age range from 6 to 13. Not gender oriented. The child must have the ability to identify herbs and collect them. Children who are interested in participating in the selection will be assessed. On the day of the assessment, all participants will gather outside of the temple and will be selected by the new magician.On the day of the assessment, Yun Sheng woke up early. After making breakfast, she went to Yun Cang Hai's bedside.
"Father, I am going to the Magic Temple to participate in the selection of the medical assistant child". Yun Sheng was a bit hopeful. This time, the examination of the medical assistant child made her experience a similar feeling to when she participated in the college entrance exam.
It seemed like Yun Cang Hai hadn't heard what Yun Sheng had just said as he continued to sleep.
Although she had already known that this was the result, a trace of disappointment unavoidable appeared on Yun Sheng's face. "Then Sheng'er will go first. I will definitely become the medical assistant!"
After Yun Sheng had quietly left, the house slowly restored to its original peacefulness.
Yun Cang Hai slowly sat up, emerging in deep thoughts.
When Yun Sheng arrived to the temple, it was extremely lively. The liveliness was akin to that of the annual magic initiation ceremony.
Jiao Ye Village is an average sized village with more than 300 families. Today, at least a hundred families had crowded at the temple.
Some of the came just for the excitement while most of them had brought their own children to participate in the selection.
The reason behind this was due to the new magician. The villagers who had never or rarely left the village already thought that the village head and the temple's old magician were already a great existence to them. Now suddenly came a new famous magician which attracted several onlookers.
But to Yun Sheng's surprise, she saw many unfamiliar faces in the procession line. Apparently they were from the neighboring villages.
How can there be foreigners who came for the selection when it was supposed to be just for the villagers of Jiao Ye Village?
The people from the neighboring villages were actually from Huo Yan Village (The English equivalent for the village name would be "Village of Igneous Rocks")
Village Grandpa had also noticed that people from other villages had come to participate in the selection.
When he posted the notice, he had accidentally forgot to mention that participants had to be from Jiao Ye Village in order to be eligible to participate in the the selection for the medical assistant.
Fertilizer and water don't flow outside the field (A chinese proverb that's basically saying good things don't go to outsiders). Since the selection of the assistant was for the Jiao Ye Village's temple, then obviously the medical assistant had to be from their own village.
Not to mention, the Huo Yan Village was also Jiao Ye Village's bitter rival.
Huo Yan Village was adjacent to the Jiao Ye Village. Both villages' survival was based on planting hemostatic flowers.
Unlike the villagers of Jiao Ye Village, people from the Huo Yan Villager were intrepid and unreasonable. The head of Huo Yan Village was also a master in fire magic. Their village prior had produced a great martial artist. Hence, the reason why it left them to become more arrogant and fearless.
In the pharmaceutical market, they had often suppressed Jiao Ye Village from trading or selling herbs.
"The Jiao Ye Village Temple's selection is only for the children of our village. Asking for the several here to leave here". The village grandpa politely asked several children around the age of 10 to leave.
One of the girls around 7 or 8 years old was quite clever. She had several villagers from Huo Yan Village behind her.
She was called Ding Lei, the granddaughter of the village head of Huo Yan Village.
"Your notice didn't say to not admit people outside of your village! Several of us left early in the morning, traveled across two mountains just to come for the selection! Now you're driving us away, we won't leave!" Although Ding Lei was quite young, however due to being spoiled and by relying on the fact that she was Huo Yan Village leader's granddaughter, she was even more fearless.
What a joke! She had already inquired, Jiao Ye Village's new Yang magician not only was proficient in magic but also had the ability to refine a variety of pills!
Unfortunately for some reason, she had taken the initiative to request to come to Jiao Ye Village. Otherwise, she needn't to bring a group of her own villagers to come with her to Jiao Ye Village.
Ding Lei took the opportunity to shout: " it must be because your Jiao Ye Village can't afford to lose. My family has been growing herbs for generations and I'm also a magic apprentice. If you guys want me to leave, then find someone to compete with me. If whoever is stronger than me then we will leave. Otherwise no one can make us leave!"
As soon as they hear that Ding Lei's family had been growing herbs for generations as well as her also being a magical apprentice, the villagers of Jiao Ye Village immediately became quiet.
A magical apprentice who was well versed in herbs at the around 7 or 8 years old! Such a child, even if two villages were combined together can't produce a genius like this within a decade.
In addition, the village leader of Huo Yan Village was famous for bearing grudges. If they provoked Ding Lei, then no one would have a good fruit to eat. As a result, no one dared to stand out to compete with her even more so!
The village grandpa frowned.
"What? No one dares to come out and compete with me? Jiao Ye Village is only so much. All are a bunch of stooges. I see today we don't need to compete anymore. This assistant position will definitely be mine now" Ding Lei looked around disdainfully.
"Who said Jiao Ye Village had no one, competing on herbs only. I'll compete with you." A childish brittle voice suddenly rang into Ding Lei's ear.
A six year old wearing a simple dress walking out of the crowd.
She wasn't tall but she was pretty. A pair of black crystal eyes set off her aura.
It was Yun Sheng!
Once the village grandpa saw, his face relaxed. He really was afraid that no one would dare to sand out and compete with Ding Lei!
"You?" Ding Lei looked at the girl in front of her who was younger than herself and dressed shabbily. However her expression wasn't timid like how a child would react.
For a while, Ding Lei wasn't able to see through Yun Sheng's identity.
One of the villagers from Huo Yan Village immediately whispered a few words into Ding Lei's ear.
Ding Lei after hearing looked at Yun Sheng disdainfully. "So it is an impostor magician's daughter who is a waste! What qualifications do you have to compete with me then! Go away!"
"Today is for choosing a medical assistant, not for a magic apprentice" a lazy male voice sounded out from the direction of the temple.
The villagers turned to look and saw that the gates of the temple had been opened. A young male wearing dark clothes came out from it.