Chapter 379

After hearing this story, I couldn't help feeling a bit gloomy deep inside, and at the same time I vaguely worried about Pangzi, worrying that he would suffer the terrible five flaws and three deficiencies because of this.

「Even if I die, I'll face the heavens; if I don't die, I'll live ten thousand years; what's there to fear? I, old man, believe the heavens have eyes and won't strike a good person like me. 」 Pangzi was very carefree, unlike me who was anxious and fearful.

「It's best to use the forbidden needles among the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate sparingly; not to mention severing the reincarnation path of the spirit body and foreign objects, even the host's body will be harmed. Those with strong constitutions will be fine, but after expulsion they'll feel weak for a period; those with weak constitutions won't recover for a long time, you know. 」 Pangzi then felt a sigh of emotion.

He took out a pen and notebook, sat in a chair and thought for a long time, then picked up his pen and wrote a prescription.

「Pangzi, what are you doing? Using both medicine and needle methods, are you treating Shishi's illness? 」 I asked curiously from the side.

Pangzi shook his head and said, "This prescription is to nourish Shishi's body." Then he seemed to recall something, put down the pen, turned his head and asked me, "Right, do you have any money? I don't have any on me."

I rummaged through my pockets all over and had about a hundred or so.

「Just over a hundred? That's probably not enough! 」 Pangzi shook his head.

Me: …… Damn, are the mountain delicacies and seafood you're prescribing still herbal medicine? Over a hundred isn't enough for two doses?

「You don't understand squat; there are a few medicinal ingredients in this prescription that are quite expensive, costing dozens per kilogram even inland, and what about Aomen? 」 Pangzi waved the prescription and gave me a sideways glance.

「So what now? I only have this bit over a hundred on me; am I supposed to go back to the guesthouse to get more? 」 I exclaimed speechlessly.

Pangzi rolled his dark, shiny eyes, thought for a moment, then gave a hehe smile and pointed at the room: "Hehe, isn't there a tycoon in there?"

「Holy crap…… why do I have to be the one to borrow, when the prescription is yours? 」 I clenched my fists and protested unwillingly at Pangzi, but the protest was feeble; Pangzi dragged me outside the room and gave me a hard kick, sending me into the room.

With a bang, I stumbled into the room; the three people inside were gathered at the bedside carefully attending to Shishi, and upon hearing the sound, they all simultaneously turned their gazes toward me.

「Hehe…… uh, Yirong, I have something to ask you. 」 I, standing uneasily, stammered for a while before finally managing to say this.

Yao Yirong followed me out of the room, blinking her big eyes curiously as she asked, "What's the matter? So mysterious."

I rubbed the back of my head, my two thumbs twiddling at my waist: "I… I… I, uh, it's just that I don't have enough money for the medicine, I want to borrow… borrow some." As soon as I said the word "borrow," the pressure on me eased, as if a burden had been lifted. Emma, borrowing money from a woman really isn't easy.

「Just this little thing, right? You should have said so earlier, 」 Yao Yirong said cheerfully, pulling a stack of bills from her backpack and shoving it into my face.

I… looked at the small stack of red bills in my hand and couldn't help but sigh: "I've heard that tycoons ruin their families just like this."

Then I glanced at Yao Yirong again, very curious and cautiously asking: "Hey, have you ever hit someone with money before? When you do, do you feel a lot of pleasure? Is it like one wave after another, wave after wave, an ever-rising climax?"

「Get lost…」 Yao Yirong said, her face red, and kicked at me fiercely; luckily I was agile and dodged in time.

They say a man shouldn't be foul-mouthed, or he'll be struck by lightning immediately; now I find my character becoming more and more like Pangzi's… therefore, whenever I'm foul-mouthed, the karmic retribution comes right away.

After I dodged the kick, Yao Yirong's fist came right after; this time I couldn't dodge back, and her pink fist slammed hard into my nose bridge.

「Let your foul mouth get slapped…」 Yao Yirong snorted, ran into the room, and slammed the door shut with a bang, leaving me alone squatting on the floor, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears.

「Geez, my foul mouth gets slapped, you don't have to punch my nose every time; each time it's the same, could you at least leave my nose some dignity? 」

「Haha…」 Pangzi held his stomach inside the room, laughing heartily.

「Laugh at your sister, go grab the medicine. 」 I glared at him viciously and flung the money into his hand.

「Hehe, fine, not saying, let's go get the medicine! 」 Although he didn't say it, Pangzi still licked his lips with lingering desire, lewdly muttering under his breath: "I never expected you to be worth some money; if it were me, I really couldn't afford this price."

Me: ……

Suppressing the urge to give Pangzi a brutal beating, I dragged him out of this building. I was afraid that if we went out together, other wandering spirits might come to cause trouble. Before leaving, I also deliberately left Grandma Red in the house.

Having taken the money, Pangzi and I didn't dare hesitate; we rushed out into the alley and onto the street looking for a pharmacy, but for some reason, although there were many drugstores, they all sold only Western medicine, with not a single shop carrying Chinese herbs.

「What the hell, why does Aomen's pharmacy not sell Chinese medicine at all? 」 Under the scorching sun, I gulped down saliva.

「There seems to be one that looks like it sells Chinese medicine. 」 Pangzi wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed to a shop at the corner.

Following Pangzi's finger, I saw a pharmacy with a rather classical style; walking in and looking up, the signboard read "Hongji Hall" in three characters. Seeing that name, I couldn't help but feel overjoyed; from the layout and the name, it was clearly an old-established shop, and such a shop usually has medicinal materials for sale—perhaps the owner is an elderly Chinese doctor.

Pangzi and I entered, and indeed on the left side of the pharmacy we saw many medicine cabinets; beside them stood a fifty- or sixty-year-old old man wearing a pair of reading glasses, busy grinding common herbs like codonopsis and goji berries on the table.

I handed the prescription to the old man and said, "Give me two doses…"

The old man took the prescription, glanced at it, then shook his head and handed it back to me.

「I can't fill this prescription; my stock is incomplete—I don't have antelope horn or processed ephedra. 」

「What do you mean you don't have them? The medicine cabinets behind you clearly have labels for those two herbs—don't try to fool us two! 」 I pointed to the old man's rear cabinets, two of which bore large paper labels reading "processed ephedra" and "antelope horn."

「Really don't have them… those cabinets are empty. 」 The old man, seeing I didn't believe him, pulled out the drawers with those labels; sure enough, they were completely empty.

「Boss, I'm saying your pharmacy isn't doing business like this, right? Ephedra and antelope horn are fairly common herbs; how can your pharmacy not stock even these? Isn't this a sign you're preparing to close down? 」 Pangzi expressed some dissatisfaction with the pharmacy's work ethic.

The old man, who had been sorting the herbs, lifted his head, his cloudy eyes gazing at us for a moment, then lowered his head and sighed sorrowfully: "Just close it then; it's bound to shut sooner or later."

「Oh…」 The old man's words sparked strong curiosity in Pangzi and me; this simple remark seemed to carry some other hidden meaning.

「By the way, sir, why are there so few pharmacies on this street? I came from the street and only saw yours; the others are gone. 」 I wondered whether the scarcity of pharmacies was related to the old man's sigh—could it be that these pharmacies are being suppressed by the triads and can't stay open?

Upon hearing my question, the old man couldn't deny it and sighed, giving us a glance and a wry smile: "Nowadays everyone finds Chinese medicine's effects too slow, too troublesome, and too expensive; when they get sick they all go for Western medicine, so who would still come buy Chinese medicine?"

「That's right, Chinese medicine is bitter after all; nowadays few young people can endure bitterness. 」 The old man gave another self-deprecating smile, picked up the prescription and looked at it again, then told us: "We don't have processed ephedra, but we do have raw ephedra; antelope horn is too expensive—about a hundred per gram—and I feared no one would buy it, so I didn't stock it, lest the medicine go to waste. However, we do have a few herbs here with effects similar to antelope horn."

「Fine… just give us the ephedra; as for the antelope horn, we'll substitute. 」 Pangzi made a quick decision.

The old man's movements were swift and decisive; despite his age, he showed considerable experience, and he had the prescription filled with two doses in just over twenty minutes.

「The medicine is ready; take it… In a few days I'll be closing this shop. If you want to get more medicine later, you'll have to go another block over—there's another old-established shop there. Though its business is also bleak, that old fellow has more savings than I do and can hold out a few more days. 」 The old man handed us the packaged medicine, took the money, then said nothing more, continuing to lower his head and grind the herbs listed in the newspaper, his eyes full of pity; his gaze on the herbs was almost like looking at his own child.

As we walked out of the pharmacy, I unintentionally glanced back and saw the old man take off his heavy reading glasses and quietly wipe away a tear.

Gazing at this prosperous city, the bustling crowds, the ancient yet desolate pharmacy and the flourishing street form a stark contrast.

「Pangzi, do you really think traditional Chinese medicine has declined? Will the art of diagnosing fate and prescribing remedies be eliminated by society? 」 My heart felt uneasy.

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