Chronology of a Hundred Herbs

CHAPTER 01: Hua Rong Yue and Yi Ling Long I

Translator’s Note:

honestly i’m a little hesitant because one, this novel has some cultivation terms and two, the length of December Snow’s novel scares the hell outta me; but at the same time her novels are too insane to not translate!?!?! so i told myself i needa TL this after THMYO (My Classmate is Two Hundred Million Years Old) ends!! so here! i! am!!!!!

if yall have read/are reading my other ongoing project You Look Like You’re Drawing Me (YDM), this is by the same author and this is as freaking good as YDM qwq; a lot of foreshadowing, and it’s a super intricate plot you’ll get yourself so confused (cuz i did too) :”) 

enough said, here’s a super quick tags tldr: no romance, gender bender, secret identities (yes plural!), wolf in a sheep’s clothing, accidentally-became-the-final-boss female lead, female lead is in a constant i’m-pretending-to-be-myself-but-i-cannot-let-them-find-out-that-i’m-actually-pretending-to-be-myself situation, and realised that the people she thought she knew might not actually be the way she thought they were

if you have the means please do support the author on JJWXC too!!

updates are Monday weekly 10pm (GMT+8)!! friends on Ko-Fi membership have access to two advance chapters~ enjoy!!

Calm had never been a word to be associated with the jianghu*. To the residents of Jiangnan, this was particularly so in the recent few months. 

* jianghu: the Jianghu is common term used in wuxia fiction; broadly, it refers to a shared realm and an alternate universe usually consisting of martial artists, pugilists and wandering heroes; courts of law are generally dysfunctional; in modern usage, jianghu may also refer to a current (industry) landscape (if specified)

A strange fire broke out at the Heaven’s Will Tower, and the previous Master of the Tower was killed. Following this incident was the unrelenting dogfight for power, escalating in such intensity that even civilians completely removed from the jianghu had caught wind of the commotion. 

Thudding sounds could be heard across residential rooftops every night these days. Those that heard such sounds would remain knowingly put in their quarters, for these sounds were not produced by a stray cat passing by, but instead — a skilled individual that roamed the jianghu. 

As for who exactly was the culprit behind the death of the Heaven’s Will Tower Master, people of the jianghu delved into a heated debate. Though there was one candidate that everyone did appear to lean towards —

The Master of the Tower was very likely killed by Yi Ling Long. 

Yi Ling Long, the assassin ranked second in place in Heaven’s Will Tower. He was originally in line to succeed the previous Master. However when the previous Master died, Yi Ling Long suddenly disappeared from Heaven’s Will Tower. 

There was no concrete evidence that pinned him down as the culprit. However, the masses did witness something else that had happened. ♢ CHRONOLOGY OF A HUNDRED HERBS, CHAPTER 01 is hosted at ZHANLANN.COM ♢ 

The night the Heaven’s Will Tower was up in flames, Yi Ling Long suddenly appeared in the dungeons. According to a personal recount by a witness, Yi Ling Long unlocked the dungeons and released all the children and other people of the wulin that were locked within. 

*wulin: term used in wuxia fiction and media related to Chinese martial arts, usually refers to the community of martial artists, may also consist of sects, clans, disciplines and various schools of martial arts

Amidst the changing powers and shifting landscape in the jianghu, the entry of a youth into a small apothecary in one of the towns in Jiangnan was but a drop of water in the ocean, inconspicuous and unnoticed. Neither would anyone pay any attention to the fact that this youth became an apprentice at the apothecary. 

Lunar calendar, 7th March, in a small town in Jiangnan. 

Hundred Herb Apothecary. 

It’s been two months since Hua Rong Yue had arrived; she was now able to help with simple tasks such as preparing medicinal herbs for a patient like now.

There were two others in the apothecary, one was a physician, by the name of Qi Xiao Fang. The other was a girl. Similar to Hua Rong Yue, she was an apprentice, by the name of Wan Fu Lian.  

”Say, it’s been two months now, why’s there still such a huge commotion?” There were no patients in the apothecary now. Qi Xiao Fang took the prime opportunity to lay down on the table that’d been bathed comfortably warm by the afternoon rays. 

”Exactly, the roof was so noisy last night.” Wan Fu Lian rubbed her eyes, “I was so scared I couldn’t sleep properly last night.” 

“Don’t worry, as long as we don’t go out to see them, they usually won’t break in.” Physician Qi asked the Hua Rong Yue who has been slicing the herbs by the side, “right?”

”Yes.” Hua Rong Yue continued working while she spoke, “if they break in, we can report it to the authorities, don’t worry about it.” 

Hua Rong Yue came in around two months ago, back when the jianghu had been at its messiest yet. Hua Rong Yue looked very young, definitely not any older than 20. According to the youth, he had allegedly claimed that he had roamed the jianghu for a period of time. 

Yet in this apothecary, what was the most surprising wasn’t the fact that he once had a history in the jianghu, but rather, his handsome face that was attracting much more romantic attention than expected. 

Hua Rong Yue was a tall and lanky person. He had very delicate and handsome features. In comparison to his appearance however, his manner of dressing stood out more. 

No matter how busy it got or how tired he was, he was always dressed in proper attire, always put together, clean and presentable. Be it inexpensive or expensive garments, whatever he wore was always ironed and fitting. There was not a single speck of dust on his shoes; his hair was obedient in his hairdo without exception, and his face forever fresh. Hua Rong Yue looked like he was ready to head off for a banquet any time any day. 

It definitely would take a significant about of time and effort to tidy himself up every day. Not only so, Hua Rong Yue looked nothing like a physician, he appeared more like a young master hailing from a respectable family. In comparison to the other two stationed in the apothecary, he seemed more like a patient rather than someone working there.

In reality, a number of people upon seeing his appearance and age were somewhat dubious about the fact that he have had a history roaming the jianghu. After all, he looked too different from the usual jianghu individual — dusty and ragged from his or her journeys. In fact, many believed that he was just smoking his way through to stroke his ego.

It was no wonder that the two at Hundred Herb Apothecary thought he was joking when came in to apply as an apprentice. In fact, they’d even suspected that he was a young master from an affluent family that had too much time on his hands, and decided to disguise himself to visit the apothecary. After a peaceful month of apprenticeship, he remained hardworking, and completed what he had to learn within the stipulated time. This had the two others at the apothecary beyond shocked. 

None of them had expected to this pretty boy to be this conscientious. 

He would get up very early every day. After washing up, he would help to open the apothecary. Physician Qi and Wan Fu Lian would usually only wake up after he was done setting up the apothecary. 

The person in charge of the administrative and housekeeping matters was Wan Fu Lian. Ever since Hua Rong Yue, more meticulous than the former, came in, Wan Fu Lian and Physician Qi happily left all these task to his good hands. 

Apothecaries in the ancient times were different from modern hospitals, all you need was one good physician and you can keep the apothecary up and running very well. The apothecaries usually here don’t allow patients to stay overnight; opening in the morning and closing at night, they operated the same hours as the other shops here.

After Hua Rong Yue was done preparing the medicine herbs, he updated the other two that he was heading out to get some supplies. Physician Qi told him to head back soon after he was done with his errand run.

Hua Rong Yue turned into the market. She passed by an alley plastered with Yi Ling Long’s bounty posters, passed by rows of stalls, and stopped before a stall selling pastries.

As she spoke to the stall owner, a mundane looking male walked past behind her as he mumbled. 

”The eighth floor… Jiangnan…”

Hua Rong Yue remained unaffected, as though she didn’t hear anything. She told the stall owner to pack up the pastries that she wanted. 

When the male unintentionally glanced behind, he found his gaze affixed on a pair of hands.

”What a beautiful pair of hands.” 

Hua Rong Yue returned to the apothecary very quickly, she’d pretty much ran all the way back. When she entered the apothecary, she looked at the sky before asking Physician Qi, “There aren’t a lot of patients today, shall we dinner early and close early today?”

”Enh?”

Physician Qi was a little puzzled but he agreed with Hua Rong Yue’s suggestion. Even though it’s been only two months since he joined, the impression Hua Rong Yue left for Physician Qi and Wan Fu Lian gradually became one of incredible reliability.

When he had first joined, his outstanding appearance had elicited much concerns among Physician Qi and Wan Fu Lian; as a result, the latter two always regarded him with dubitation.

It was only after his consistent gentleness and patience when speaking to patients every day, his ability to rattle on the list of health recommendations for each patient as well as their previous medical history, and the speed at which he was able internalise what he was taught — he was able to help to prepare medicine herbs shortly after learning — did Physician Qi and Wan Fu Lian reluctantly admit, that this guy… seemed surprisingly pretty reliable?