Chapter 2532: The More We Dig, the More Oddities Appear

This being said, Dong Rui understood:

"Miasma? Is it really that simple and crude?"

"If Mr. and Mrs. Gu weren't sleeping with the window open, did you smell any special odor? The fragrance of medicinal smoke shouldn't dissipate so quickly."

If there is still residual medicinal smoke odor, it indicates the monster has already been here.

"Special odor?" Dong Rui took a deep sniff, then immediately cursed, "Damn grass! You should really come smell this yourself. This couple sleeps with doors and windows shut, and they probably don't bathe much usually; the greasy smell on their bedding could knock a person out!"

Why should he be the one to do all the dirty and tiring work? Why?

"What about the medicinal smell?"

"None." Dong Rui covered his nose, "If there were even a trace of medicinal smell in this room, it couldn't escape my nose."

He is what kind of person, an ancestor who tinkers with medicines!

"Then just wait, the monster might come sooner or later." He Lingchuan laughed, "See how your luck goes."

The monster might come tonight, or tomorrow night, or might never come. But for now, the three of them haven't found a better target, so they can only leave it to luck.

Dong Rui shrugged and released two demon puppets, ordering them to sneak near the bed.

Then, it was just quiet waiting.

Meanwhile, Ling Jinbao's task was much easier; he found the largest pharmacy on the street and sneaked in without alerting the night watch staff, then went to the dispensary to search.

However, as soon as he entered the pharmacy, he heard some movement outside on the street.

Ling Jinbao lay behind the lattice window to peek outside; just behind the pharmacy door stood a red-flowered lilac, with lush branches and leaves. People on the street would look into the window, but the branches and leaves blocked the view, making it hard to see anything clearly.

He saw four people rushing past the pharmacy entrance, constantly looking back and forth.

One of them he recognized—it was the cultivator who had passed by the noodle shop earlier.

His companion asked him: "How much farther?"

This cultivator replied: "The fork in the road ahead is it. I inquired this afternoon and learned that Lao Liu Si last appeared there, and someone saw him."

Ling Jinbao hid in the dark, saying nothing.

After they had gone far away, he told He Lingchuan: "The cultivator I met this afternoon just passed by the pharmacy entrance, seemingly looking for someone."

"Stay away from them. They have antennas on their heads and are running around at this hour; they'll likely be watched by heavenly gods."

"Understood." Ling Jinbao quietly entered the dispensary.

Since the peach blossom mark is a common ailment in Bai Song City, its prescription and herbs should be placed where pharmacists can easily grab them.

Ling Jinbao searched for a while, didn't find the prescription, but saw seven or eight medicine packets on the cabinet edge, with names and addresses written on them—apparently this pharmacy doesn't pay much attention to protecting customer privacy.

On the medicine packets were also three characters:

Peach Blossom Mark.

This should be the medicine ordered by the customer; it seems the local pharmacy also offers decoction and delivery services, very convenient.

"Ah ha, I've got several more addresses of peach blossom patients again."

Ling Jinbao opened a few medicine packets to look; the types and quantities of herbs weren't quite the same.

Cultivators generally study pharmacology; he took two looks, sniffed a few times, and said:

"Inside are roughly three prescriptions, mainly for tonifying qi and blood, but one focuses on dispelling stasis and generating new, one on nourishing yin and protecting the palace, and one treats aversion to cold and fear of cold. The herbs are all quite common."

Then he listed seven or eight herbal ingredients.

Dong Rui also heard this, and unconsciously scratched his head:

"Huh? Why would treating peach blossom mark use these tonics? If this disease is caused by damp yin earth qi, the medicine should focus on raising yang and dispelling evil. Moreover, these prescriptions sound like..."

Even He Lingchuan pressed: "Like what?"

"Two resemble fetal preservation medicines, one resembles medicine for regulating after a miscarriage."

Ling Jinbao couldn't help but laugh: "Mr. Dong, you're quite well-read!"

"I've also prepared similar prescriptions before." Dong Rui said unhappily, "The demon puppets occasionally use them in experiments."

"In short, these prescriptions have nothing to do with dispelling evil; if anything, tonifying qi and blood might help a little. Men not contracting peach blossom mark might be due to their own strong yang qi." Dong Rui rubbed his hands, "But the manifestation of peach blossom mark is wind-heat syndrome, so it should lean toward formulas that dispel wind and clear heat—isn't that common sense? All the physicians in the city, why don't they use them?"

If one physician lacks common sense, do all the physicians in Bai Song City lack it?

Something here is off.

"The oddities in Bai Song City—seem like the more we dig, the more we find."

Ling Jinbao simply said: "I'll go grab a physician and ask him a few questions. Don't worry, I also have some methods to make him forget what he said tonight."

A little over an hour passed.

Hearing the thunderous snoring below, Dong Rui stirred his stiff neck: "Grandma's, I want to go out for some fresh air!"

The air in this room is terrible.

It seems their luck tonight is bad.

Ling Jinbao, on the other hand, could report back: "I found an elderly physician nearby, surnamed Yu. He told me the prescription for peach blossom mark was issued by Bai Song City officials and cannot be altered. This disease, women usually become deficient after a few days of infection; his daughter-in-law also had it. The prescription uses common herbs and indeed has the effect of warming and tonifying qi and blood, which fits the situation."

He Lingchuan suddenly said: "Ask him again, about peach blossom mark—what rumors are circulating among the folk, and what does he think?"

Bai Song City has been expanding for ten years, and the peach blossom mark has existed for ten years. Based on his understanding of human nature, there will certainly be many townspeople questioning the origin of peach blossom mark and doubting the efficacy of the prescription.

"Good."

Ling Jinbao went to ask.

I don't know what method he used, but Physician Yu was half-asleep, half-awake, his eyelids drooping; when Ling Jinbao asked, he opened his mouth and answered.

Of course there are constant doubts in the city, because someone went to ask the original residents from ten years ago, and they said that back then, Bai Song Town had never seen this strange disease. Bai Song City was built, and the disease came with it, indicating this disease is inseparable from Bai Song City.

This is also why some residents have moved away from Bai Song City.

Some also doubt that the infertility of women in Bai Song City is related to peach blossom mark, or to the medicine used to treat it, as a consequence of following the prescription. But such doubts are few, because the herbs are visible, everyone has discussed their uses, and they are unrelated to causing miscarriage.

The third rumor is that the city's drinking water is poisoned, causing peach blossom mark, after all, the main water source is the nearby Dahu.

But this is something very easy to verify; when the three of them came, they also looked at that Dahu, and its area is truly not small. The wider the water body, the harder it is to poison, and furthermore, the lake bottom is flowing, with upstream and downstream, not stagnant water.

The authorities also conducted public tests and confirmed the water was non-toxic. Moreover, many people drew water from the city wells and still fell ill.

Yet this claim remains popular in the city to this day.

He Lingchuan asked again: "Physician Yu has practiced medicine for many years—what insights has he gained himself?"

(End of Chapter)