Chapter 122: How to Brew Medicine

Huang Cai looked at Lin Manzhi, a hint of reproach in her eyes, asking what could be more important than learning to make medicine!

She said, "In the past many females with Pheromone wanted to learn from me how to make medicine and I never taught them. I said I would teach you, so why did you come so slowly."

Huang Cai said all that, yet did not mention a single word about threatening to stop teaching.

Lin Manzhi stood inside the house, seeing the other side looking as if afraid she might run away, feeling both exasperated and amused.

How could there be a female who doesn't want to learn to make medicine?

She looked at the stern‑faced Huang Cai and obediently said, "I'm here now; from now on I'll come every morning to learn from you."

As she spoke, she opened the bag she had brought, placed it before Huang Cai and said, "I brought these medicinal plants today."

Huang Cai looked at the fresh Sand‑tail Grass Stalks in the bag; finding such fresh medicinal plants in this drought season must have taken great effort.

Now, the cold resentment in her heart dissipated; the Wooden Female must truly have a reason, not deliberately belittling the learning of medicine.

Huang Cai felt an urge to seize the chance to teach the female before her, so she stopped wasting words: "Come with me. We'll start teaching now, right away."

Lin Manzhi naturally nodded in agreement: "Mm hm."

She followed behind Huang Cai, later removing the veil that blocked her view for the lesson, walked onto the carpet in the living room, sat on a cushion opposite Huang Cai across a low table, and placed the brought medicinal plants on the low table between them.

Huang Cai knelt on the cushion, her tired face full of seriousness; she reached out, took a Sand‑tail Grass Stalk that Lin Manzhi had brought, examined it carefully, and said at the same time:

"To turn a medicinal plant into medicine, you must first observe it; the whole plant must have no damage at all and be as fresh as possible."

Lin Manzhi also picked one up to examine, nodding earnestly.

"Once you've confirmed the medicinal plant is undamaged, then release your Pheromone," Huang Cai said, looking up at Lin Manzhi.

Huang Cai released her own Pheromone.

A pale green filament finer than spider silk drifted in the sunlight, a faint spicy scent wafted in the air, and it obediently adhered to the Sand‑tail Grass Stalk in Huang Cai's hand.

At that moment, the Sand‑tail Grass Stalk glowed with an odd fluorescent yellow sheen in the sunlight, its vascular strands as clearly visible as human meridians.

"Pheromone…" Lin Manzhi was startled.

It was her first time seeing a Shamaness manipulate Pheromone to make medicine; as described in the original text, only females with Pheromone can see it—females without Pheromone would see nothing at all.

The spicy Pheromone from Huang Cai tickled Lin Manzhi's nasal passage, making her wrinkle her little face; she watched Huang Cai pause, and, like a good student, asked, "I understand, then what?"

Seeing this, Huang Cai felt a slight regret toward the female before her.

Females without Pheromone simply cannot learn medicine.

Never mind, she had known the other's condition all along; now she would first explain in detail how she extracts medicinal plants.

She composed herself and continued the instruction in words: "The Pheromone filament must be steady, and your eyesight must be sharp; look at the vascular strands in the Sand‑tail Grass Stalk—they are actually the medicinal plant's 'blood.'"

The green filament found the plant's vascular strand, pierced in, and slowly glided along the vein.

Huang Cai: "It is lighter than morning mist; when you manipulate the Pheromone filament to entwine the plant's 'blood' and draw it out, you must be both fast and steady. Otherwise, if the Pheromone trembles or becomes unstable, the blood will break, the plant will be shattered and its vascular impurities will contaminate it, degrading the medicine's composition."

Lin Manzhi's eyes never wavered as she stared at the medicinal plant where the Pheromone thread, suspended before Huang Cai, hooked onto the Sand‑tail Grass Stalk.

She could see—the liquid flowing within the vascular strands being pulled outward, already merged with Huang Cai's Pheromone thread.

It was no longer ordinary plant sap, but an essence infused with Female Pheromone and the Sand‑tail Grass Stalk, a droplet the size of a raindrop of concentrated medicine that refracts a precious yellow‑green material in sunlight.

"Wow! So this is how the medicine is made!" Lin Manzhi whispered, her pupils widening slightly.

The Sand‑tail Grass Stalk, after its medicine liquid had been extracted, fell onto the table before Lin Manzhi, now dried like insect‑hollowed rotten wood, shedding wood chips without being touched.

Huang Cai took a clean empty ceramic cup, wrapped the tiny droplet of medicine floating in the air with the Pheromone filament and placed it into the cup, withdrew her own Pheromone, and let out a heavy sigh as she looked at Lin Manzhi.

She handed the ceramic cup to Lin Manzhi: "You can only see the final step. To become a true Shamaness, after checking the medicinal plant's completeness, you also need to use Pheromone to sense the plant's vitality, but unfortunately you cannot perceive that."

Lin Manzhi: "I see…"

No, actually I can see.

She lifted the ceramic cup in her hand to her eyes; the medicine inside was so little it barely left a small ring at the cup's bottom, and if it slowed any more it would soon evaporate.

Lin Manzhi leaned in and sniffed, detecting a faint sweet and slightly spicy aroma.

"You are truly amazing, extracting the medicine so quickly," Lin Manzhi praised sincerely. "If you stay at Wushen Temple, you would become an outstanding Shamaness."

The house built of massive square bricks had walls adorned with brightly colored painted tapestries; Huang Cai sat on the cool carpet, watching the girl seated opposite her.

The girl glanced over with a slightly tilted expression; her nose bridge was high and straight, her chin petite, and freckles on her face softened her appearance, but her eyes were especially striking—long lashes made the eyeliner stand out, her irises shimmered, and just by looking at her eyes she was a dazzling beauty.

"It's nothing for me," Huang Cai thought with a slight ease, recalling her own girlhood as she looked at the girl before her.

"Shamanesses still rely on Pheromone," she said. "Females with a higher Pheromone Value than me can control multiple times the number of Pheromone threads with precision. I was fortunate to serve as an attendant for a few days under the Great Witch, and I saw her brew medicine—it was as simple and fast as drinking water."

"You don't even need to inspect the medicinal plant like I do, then use Pheromone to connect with the plant, locate the starting, central, and ending points of the plant's vascular medicine, and within seconds process a batch of medicine, then blend several different medicines into the final medicine."

She realized the girl before her lacked a Pheromone Value, and couldn't help but say, "You can't outwardly release your own Pheromone—that's the most troublesome thing. Telling you about the Great Witch's methods is perhaps too profound."

"Brewing medicine is a bit troublesome," Lin Manzhi said, hand supporting her cheek, smiling. "It would be nice if there were medicinal plants that didn't need to be mixed with Female Pheromone in the future."

Huang Cai shivered all over.

She stared blankly at the smiling female before her, feeling a lightness she had never known, as if invisible shackles were lifted, and the vibrant plants once again basked in sunlight.