Deputy Hall Master Miller and Deputy Hall Master Green did not stay long. After the initiation ceremony ended, they gave some instructions to the apothecaries and immediately left. Mr. Bolton the Steward hurriedly followed behind the two vice hall masters as they departed. Some of the apothecaries also left soon after.

In the hall, only ten herb gatherers and five pharmacists remained, officially beginning to teach the children the skills of the Herb Gathering Hall.

Each herb gatherer would take four to five apprentice gatherers.

The other five pharmacists, however, each took only one apprentice pharmacist dressed in coarse white cloth.

Henry Clark, Charles Baker, Lucy Brooks, Yvonne Reed, and Emily Harris—these five children naturally followed Herbalist Foster. Henry Clark, Charles Baker, and the others found it a bit strange, occasionally glancing at those children in white cloth. They seemed different from themselves, but couldn't quite say how.

Herbalist Foster stood with his hands behind his back and said coldly,

"Don't bother looking. They are inner hall apprentice pharmacists. In the future, they will either become pharmacists or stay in the shop working; they don't need to risk their lives gathering herbs outside. They're here to enjoy an easy life. You are outer hall apprentice gatherers, and you will have to risk your lives going out to gather herbs—it's as simple as that. Now you are my disciples, disciples of Samuel Foster. In the future, when you see these inner hall disciples, don't cause trouble. If you get into trouble, it won't be a joke."

The five—Henry Clark and the others—quickly lowered their heads to listen.

After that, Herbalist Foster began to explain to them what a qualified apprentice gatherer needed to train in, as well as some things to pay attention to.

The skills required for a Herb Gathering Hall apprentice turned out to be surprisingly numerous: literacy, arithmetic, herb identification, herb gathering techniques, wilderness survival, emergency field treatment, pest and beast repelling, trap setting, wilderness camouflage, sword, blade, bow, and rope skills, basic external martial arts, basic internal martial arts... altogether more than a dozen types.

The sheer number of skills was enough to astonish anyone.

You should know that ordinary rural herb gatherers at most could identify and gather herbs, and that was enough for gathering in some not-so-dangerous wild areas.

But the Herb Gathering Hall was different; it was a branch under the Medicine King Sect.

The Medicine King Sect was the fifth largest martial society in Pingzhou, with great strength. Its main hall was in the capital of Pingzhou, and every county had a branch. Disciples of such a large sect were often drawn into martial conflicts, so it was impossible for disciples not to know martial arts. Even the lowest-level apprentice gatherers had to learn both external and internal martial arts.

Moreover, they needed to enter dangerous deep mountains, gorges, and cliffs to collect herbs with decades or even centuries of potency, so naturally, the skills required were especially numerous.

Literacy and arithmetic—herbal manuals were all recorded in writing. Without literacy and arithmetic, it would be impossible to remember thousands of types of herbs.

Herb identification—they needed to recognize up to thousands of different poisonous, medicinal, and rare herbs. Whether poisonous or non-poisonous, all needed to be gathered: plant herbs, wood herbs, insect herbs, snake herbs, stone herbs, and even animal parts like fur and bones from tigers and wolves. They had to identify the names, types, and properties of known herbs, and even judge the grade and properties of unknown herbs to see if they were worth gathering. As long as it could be sold, any herb would be collected. An experienced gatherer had to be able to spot valuable herbs from a distance at a glance.

Herb gathering techniques—to ensure the maximum potency of the herbs was preserved, gatherers needed to master specialized gathering methods. Improper technique could lead to failure. Often, inexperienced apprentice gatherers would make mistakes when collecting high-grade herbs, damaging their potency.

Wilderness survival, emergency field treatment, pest and beast repelling—these go without saying. Gathering herbs in the mountains often took months or even years, so learning to survive long-term in the wild, prevent insect bites, and treat injuries was essential.

Trap setting, wilderness camouflage, sword, blade, bow, and rope skills, basic external martial arts, basic internal martial arts—these were combat skills, not directly related to gathering herbs, but mainly for self-protection against wild beasts or even other martial artists. Some precious herbs were often guarded by fierce beasts; without killing them, gathering was impossible. Traps and camouflage were very practical. If they managed to collect valuable herbs, they might be robbed by bandits on the way back. Pingzhou was rife with bandits, and fighting with thieves was inevitable. If disciples of the Medicine King Sect couldn't even handle ordinary thieves, they would be a laughingstock.

Fortunately, Henry Clark and the others knew nothing about all this for now, so they didn't feel overwhelmed by the amount they had to learn.

The entire apprentice training period lasted six months.

During this period, the Herb Gathering Hall would not give the apprentices any money, only provide meals. There would be coarse rice, vegetables, and for good performance, a small amount of meat. If a registered apprentice performed poorly, they might be dismissed.

After the six-month "training period" ended, a three-year "practical period" would begin, during which the apprentice gatherers would follow the gatherers into the mountains to collect herbs. The gatherers would teach them how to use the skills they had learned in the wild. Only if they performed well at this stage would they receive a small monetary reward.