Chapter 24: Kid, You Answer

At this moment, Xu Qing didn't breathe a long sigh of relief until he returned to his residence.

He felt that what he did wasn't very good, but the thirst for knowledge left him with no other choice.

And he also understood that his little trick had probably already been seen through.

"I will repay it in the future."

The young boy murmured in a low voice and etched this matter into his heart. He didn't know what he could repay, but that was what he thought in his heart, and perhaps there would be this opportunity in the future.

Worried that he would forget, Xu Qing took out a bamboo slip from his leather bag and used his iron skewer to carve the three characters "Master Bai" on it.

And looking closely, besides Master Bai on this bamboo slip, there was Lei Ting, and as for the top, there were three other names.

Those three names were all people who had helped him in the slums, even if it was just a little bit, they were all firmly etched in his heart.

Just like that, after carving the names, Xu Qing took out another bamboo slip, recalled the content he had heard in this lesson, and recorded it bit by bit.

He even took out the bamboo slip from the last class, recited it silently, and after confirming that he had remembered everything, his expression revealed satisfaction.

"I know twenty-seven kinds of medicinal herbs."

Xu Qing was very happy. This emotion lasted for a whole day, and even when he was cultivating, he was in a happy mood.

So he also got up very early the next day, went to sell some Seven-Leaf Grass, bought a medicinal herb similar to the Destiny Flower, and went to Master Bai's tent outside with ease.

It was still the same position as yesterday, still standing there silently waiting while paying attention to the lessons inside, and still, when the class ended and Master Bai walked out to ask, Xu Qing took out the medicinal herb to consult with nervousness and uneasiness.

Looking at the medicinal herb, Master Bai coughed lightly. While shaking his head, he actually told Xu Qing the information about the medicinal herb he had bought.

This allowed Xu Qing to understand another kind of medicinal herb invisibly. This made his satisfaction and gratitude even stronger. After bowing and leaving, in the distance, he looked back and saw Master Bai standing in place, nodding to him as he did yesterday.

This scene was reflected in Xu Qing's eyes and also carved into his mind.

Just like that, half a month passed.

Xu Qing almost went to Master Bai's tent outside to listen to the class every day and then consult after class.

He heard more and more grass and wood knowledge, and later even heard a lot about the preparation methods of grass and wood.

This made Xu Qing's harvest huge, and the bamboo slips he recorded also had dozens of them.

And Master Bai never mentioned Xu Qing's eavesdropping. Every day, he answered his consultation about medicinal herbs patiently.

So much so that in the end, not only did the guards here get used to the appearance of this kid in a fur coat every morning, but even the young boy and girl in the tent had a very deep impression of him.

There was even one time when it was raining heavily outside. Whether it was Master Bai or the young boy and girl beside him, they all thought Xu Qing wouldn't come. In the rain, Xu Qing walked over wearing a straw raincoat.

Neither wind nor rain could stop him.

This left a very deep impression on Master Bai and his two apprentices.

So when one day, it was time for class, and Xu Qing rarely didn't appear on time, the young boy and girl frequently looked outside.

As if wondering why that dirty little scavenger didn't come today.

Until Xu Qing's tired figure was reflected on the tent, the young boy and girl withdrew their gazes.

The reason for being late was that every day, besides going to Master Bai's side to listen to the class, Xu Qing would also enter the forbidden zone, looking for the Destiny Flower and the scar-removing stone, while also honing his own hunting of beasts.

But the process of searching was not very smooth.

He never found these two items, and the danger of the forbidden zone was also deeply experienced by Xu Qing again.

Even if he was at the fourth layer of the Sea Mountain Technique and possessed the keen judgment and observation of an old scavenger, he could save his life or even hunt in the jungle outer area, but he would still encounter crises occasionally.

That time of being late was because he encountered a beast that came out from the depths, and he barely escaped after a narrow escape. He ran all night, and only then did he return at dawn.

After returning, he didn't go to rest, but listened to the class silently.

Besides this, during these days, Xu Qing also had a small harvest, which was the insurance policy Bone Knife had proposed.

Bone Knife lived very well.

Ever since he bought insurance from him last time, he would come to buy it every time he entered the forbidden zone. Although the fog never appeared again and Xu Qing didn't make a move.

But Bone Knife was still persistent, and even I don't know how it spread, but gradually more people came to him to buy insurance.

Out of caution, Xu Qing mostly ignored them, only agreeing to those he had saved before.

This allowed Xu Qing's income to improve, and combined with his harvest from hunting beasts in the forbidden zone, his life slowly got better.

Although Lei Ting couldn't continue to perform tasks, Xu Qing gave a lot of rent. Even if Lei Ting didn't accept it, Xu Qing insisted, so in the end, Lei Ting could only accept it.

Lei Ting spent most of this money on food, which made Xu Qing eat hot food every time he returned from the forbidden zone.

Lei Ting even bought Xu Qing some clothes.

These clothes were all brand new. Xu Qing couldn't bear to wear them, so he folded each one neatly and put them in the cabinet. Occasionally taking them out to look at them made him feel happy.

And the daily meal time was also the moment Xu Qing felt warmest.

Because not only did he eat well, but Lei Ting would also, like an elder in the family, like to talk about neighborhood matters after getting old, telling him about the trivial things in the camp.

During this period, Cross and Luan Ya also returned, accompanied Lei Ting for a while, and then left again.

It could be said that during this period, Xu Qing felt it was the most satisfying time in his six years.

He had hot food to eat, new clothes, Lei Ting's company, his cultivation was improving, and his knowledge of grass and wood was still increasing.

So in addition to this satisfaction, he cherished everything he had now, and his listening to the class outside the tent every day was also exceptionally serious.

Until this day, under the morning sunlight, Xu Qing, standing outside the tent, heard Master Bai's examination of the young boy inside.

"Chen Feiyuan, tell me about the medicinal herb Night Corpse Morning Glory."

Chen Feiyuan was Master Bai's name for that young boy. Xu Qing had known it for more than a month, and also knew the little name of that girl was Ting Yu.

Hearing Master Bai's question, the young boy couldn't answer. After stammering a little, he couldn't continue.

Xu Qing couldn't see the tent, but he could imagine the crying face of the other party after the tent opened many times.

"Incompetent, Ting Yu, you answer," Master Bai's voice was very stern, and he named the girl to answer again.

It was just that this time, the girl there was clearly not prepared enough.

"Night Corpse Morning Glory, also known as Poison Mountain Root Spotted Chrysanthemum, is the vine stem and root of the Asteraceae plant fine-veined spotted chrysanthemum. It is a woody vine that grows in corpse-yin mountain gullies, cold creek sides, or jungles. Its taste is astringent and spicy, slightly warm in the mouth, and has a feeling of rot. Its function has the miraculous effect of dispelling wind and relieving the surface, but it is poisonous in excess and is a typical yin-yang two-pole grass and wood." Xu Qing stopped here.

"What are the symptoms of excess?" Inside the tent, amidst the slight dissatisfaction of the young boy and girl, Master Bai asked again.

"The poisoning symptoms are abdominal pain, dizziness, hallucinations. If not rescued, death occurs in a quarter of an hour," Xu Qing outside the tent was nervous in his heart, but without the slightest pause, he answered immediately.

"How to detoxify?"

"It can be treated by inducing vomiting and gastric lavage, supplemented with egg white and Red Thorn Flower core, and treated symptomatically at noon when the sunlight is rich. The treatment time cannot exceed half an hour, for three consecutive days."

With Xu Qing's answer, although Master Bai was expressionless, the young boy and girl beside him opened their eyes wide, somewhat surprised.

"What is yin-yang two-pole grass and wood?" Master Bai asked again.

"Yin-yang two-pole, both positive and evil methods in one body, positive Yang is medicine, Yin evil is poison," Xu Qing answered without thinking. These were all the knowledge he had heard during this period, and he had recited them many times, already familiar with them.

"How does this plant perform?" Master Bai asked faster.

"Taking this Night Corpse Morning Glory as an example, combined with Square Inch Leaf, it can double its positive effect, mainly for soul injuries, and also has some relief for foreign matter. But if combined with Soft Hair Flower, its yin effect will rise greatly, and its toxicity is so great that ordinary people who eat it by mistake will die within thirty breaths."

"How to handle Soft Hair Flower?"

"What is the use of Square Inch Leaf root whiskers?" Master Bai asked faster and faster. Xu Qing's nervousness in his heart gradually decreased, and he answered just as quickly.

Just like that, an old man and a young boy, one asking and one answering across the tent, time passed and it actually went on for a stick of incense.

Master Bai raised many questions, and even many were comprehensive after the lectures of many days, but they were all answered fluently by Xu Qing.

And the young boy and girl were already shocked from the previous surprise, staring blankly at the figure reflected on the tent.

Until finally, under the dumbfoundedness of the young boy and girl, Master Bai asked the last question.

"Three one-year-old Night Corpse Morning Glory, combined with six three-year-old Over-Cloud Clusters, plus nine ten-year-old arbitrary Cyperaceae plant Single-Spike Water Centipede whole plants, what is the effect of the prepared medicinal liquid?"

As soon as this question came out, the young boy and girl's expressions changed rapidly, and their breathing became rapid, because what was involved was no longer simple grass and wood, but preparation.

This question was also the one that made Xu Qing silent the longest in this examination. He pondered for a full thirty breaths before taking a deep breath and speaking in a low voice.

"Evil is hard to suppress positive, Yang is prosperous and Yin is declining. Combined with the positive effect of Over-Cloud Grass, it can make the detoxification effect of the Cyperaceae plant Single-Spike Water Centipede whole plant reach an astonishing degree." After Xu Qing finished speaking, his eyes widened, vaguely realizing something.

"This is the seven-tenths basic pill formula of the Great Transformation Pill in the detoxification pill. Combined with three other medicinal herbs and warm fire for seven hours, it can be refined," Master Bai's voice came faintly from inside the tent.

"After examining you so much, do you have anything you want to ask in your heart?"

Xu Qing's spirit was shaken, and his breathing was rapid.

For more than a month, he indeed had many questions that he didn't understand, but he was just eavesdropping after all. Although Master Bai was kind and didn't stop him, he couldn't disturb the other party's lecture and couldn't ask.

Hearing Master Bai's opening, Xu Qing hurriedly organized his thoughts and asked immediately.

"Master Bai, Flame Rope Hemp and Yang Seed Thorn have commonalities in both origin and efficacy. What is the difference between these two?"

"Why can't Stop-Soul Flower be picked during the day?"

"The juice of Square Inch Leaf clearly has the effect of dispelling evil, why can't it be used together with Life Eye Branch, which also dispels evil?"

Xu Qing's questions were asked one by one, and Master Bai answered them one after another, each one explained very detailedly.

And Xu Qing seemed to have endless questions. Until time passed and far exceeded the class time, under the eyes of the young boy and girl as if looking at a monster, Xu Qing glanced at the sky with unfinished interest and had to end the consultation.

He felt that this day was indescribably huge for him. Most of the doubts in his heart were answered, and he even had a feeling of mastery.

This made his thirst for knowledge even stronger, and he prepared to go back and carve everything down.

Just as he was about to leave, a somewhat tired voice came from inside the tent.

"From now on, you don't have to stand outside, and you don't have to take those messy medicinal herbs. Starting tomorrow, you come into the tent to listen to the class."

This chapter is 3500 words, brothers and sisters, it's nearly 8000 words again today. ===== CHAPTER 25 =====

This made his thirst for knowledge even more intense, and he prepared to return and record everything down.

Just as he was about to leave, Master Bai's somewhat weary voice came from inside the tent.

"From now on, you don't need to stand outside, and you don't need to bring those messy herbs anymore. Starting tomorrow, you will come inside the tent for lessons."

This chapter is 3500 words. Brothers and sisters, today is another nearly 8000 words.