Lin Yan had recently been familiarizing herself with everything related to the Lishan Sword Sect.
She walked step by step within the sect. It was a sect located in a mountain valley. Although it was situated in a relatively remote area, the entire sect was quite prosperous.
There were many sect buildings, and they were all new, with very grand and spacious architecture. It had even developed into a town within this valley.
The residents of this town all depended on the Lishan Sword Sect for their livelihood. Lishan provided them protection, and in return, they paid taxes to the Lishan Sword Sect.
All the land in this valley belonged to Lishan. The residents here rented land from the Lishan Sword Sect to cultivate and lived, worked, and did business in the small town that belonged to Lishan.
The Lishan Sword Sect also taught them some basic martial arts, so the residents here could be considered outer disciples of Lishan.
If any of them showed talent, they would be recruited into the Lishan Sword Sect and become inner disciples. Everyone living in Lishan took pride in joining the Lishan Sword Sect.
In their eyes, the Lishan Sword Sect was not a small sect, but their best path forward. Living in this valley, the greatest power they knew was the Lishan Sword Sect.
Lin Yan then understood why her male protagonist, the senior disciple, was so nonchalant about money. After all, the Lishan Sword Sect truly had mines.
The Lishan Sword Sect owned two salt wells and an iron mine. Therefore, the residents within Lishan lived comfortably with no lack of food or clothing.
However, the Lishan Sword Sect was still too weak, so weak that it couldn't even protect what belonged to it.
Lin Yan had felt her father's pulse. Although his old injuries did not affect his health, they prevented his martial arts from progressing further.
"Young miss, out for a stroll! Just picked these fruits, would you like to try some!" a middle-aged woman's voice interrupted Lin Yan's thoughts.
Lin Yan turned and realized she had unknowingly walked into a small alley. At the entrance of a house in that alley, a woman dressed in plain cloth stood, holding a small basket.
The basket contained a bunch of fresh dates, each glistening with moisture, likely having been washed recently.
Lin Yan did not refuse the woman's kindness and reached out to take a date.
"Thank you, Auntie!"
Lin Yan popped the date into her mouth and took a bite. "The dates are very sweet!"
"If Young Miss likes them, take them all!" the aunt immediately handed her the basket she was holding.
"No need, Auntie, a few will suffice!"
"Alas, they are from our own trees. Young Miss, just take them if you don't mind. Take them all, they're not worth much!" The aunt kept trying to push the basket into Lin Yan's hands.
"Junior Sister, you should take them!"
Just as Lin Yan was unable to refuse, Zhao Yu Shu's voice came from behind her.
Then, a hand reached out and took the basket from the aunt's hand. Afterward, a lump of silver was pressed into the aunt's palm.
"Oh, you can't do this. These few dates aren't worth anything!" The aunt quickly prepared to return the silver to Zhao Yu Shu.
"Auntie, there's no need to return it. Junior Sister thinks these dates are delicious, so just pick some more and send them to the side gate. This silver is a deposit!" With that, he pulled Lin Yan away.
"That's still too much money for just a few!" the aunt said urgently.
"The rest is for your travel expenses," Zhao Yu Shu said, leaving her with those words before taking Lin Yan away.
It had to be said that this junior senior brother handled matters more thoughtfully than Lin Yan. He was far superior to the male protagonist who needed others to clean up his messes.
It was just that this junior senior brother had not been practicing martial arts as long as Luo Yu Xuan, nor was his talent as great.
However, if his talent could be improved, then this junior senior brother could also support Lishan. Of course, the Lishan Sword Sect shouldn't rely on just a few people.
Their Lishan Sword Sect was destined to become a renowned sect in the martial arts world.
After staying at home for a few days, Lin Yan began to show interest in medicine and alchemy.
In addition to daily tonics for her body, she also made many hemostatic and wound-healing medications. She distributed these medicines to her senior brothers, and they all carefully kept them.
Although none of them were injured, they still supported their junior sister's endeavors, promising that they would definitely use Lin Yan's medicine if they ever got hurt.
Besides medicine, Lin Yan also made other things, such as handmade soap and some skincare products.
All of them were made from natural ingredients, which were even more popular than Lin Yan's medicines. For a while, everyone in the Lishan Sword Sect exuded a faint medicinal fragrance.
Those who didn't know might have thought they had arrived at a sect that specialized in medicine and alchemy.
After Lin Yan finished her research, she handed over the recipes to her mother, asking her to manage it, which would also provide her mother with some pocket money.
It wasn't until Lin Yan's father's martial arts improved that he realized the tonics his daughter had given him were indeed very effective.
"Of course! I started taking them as soon as Yan'er gave them to me. Didn't you see my white hair roots turning black recently?" Lin Yan's mother gave her husband a side-eye.
He didn't believe their daughter. She had given him medicine, and he had accepted it nominally, but he hadn't actually taken it.
It was only after their daughter discovered this and pestered him to take a few pills that he found the medicine was truly beneficial for his health. She then forced her husband to take it daily, just like she did.
"I was just being cautious!" Lin Yan's father said, a little embarrassed, rubbing his nose.
"Cautious?" Lin's mother scoffed. "You just didn't trust our daughter. Haven't you seen the long queue outside Yan'er's pharmacy now!"
She hadn't expected her daughter to have such a high talent for medicine either. After all, she had also been concerned about the efficacy of the medicine at first.
However, seeing that her daughter used mild ingredients, she thought there wouldn't be any toxicity, and only then did she start taking it.
Who would have thought it would be so effective! She noticed that the wrinkles on her face had reduced considerably, and her hair was starting to darken again.
She even felt that the discomfort in her body, which had occurred due to difficult labor when giving birth to Lin Yan and poor postpartum care, had lessened.
If she continued taking this medicine, she believed all her discomfort would disappear. This was also why she forced Lin Yan's father to take the medicine.
She knew that Lin Yan's father had sustained many old injuries from practicing martial arts in his early years. This medicine would undoubtedly alleviate them, if not completely heal them.
"My Yan'er is indeed remarkable. With Yan'er's talent in medicine, even if her martial arts are not high, people in the martial arts world will likely not dare to provoke her!" Lin Yan's father was reassured.
After all, if her daughter's medical skills improved further and her reputation spread throughout the martial arts world, then the martial artists would only show her respect!
This way, even if they were no longer around, with her medical skills, their daughter could take care of herself even without anyone to look after her.