Chapter 208: Cold Accumulating in the Belly

Seeing the woman untie her apron and head off to catch a chicken, Pan Yun called out to her: "Good woman, I have meat here!"

Miao He immediately took out the meat she was carrying, handed it to the woman, and said: "This is wolf meat. You can stew a whole pot of it, and I have spices here to add."

What she called spices were actually some medicinal herbs.

"This..." The woman was surprised and hurried to look at the village head.

The village head was also taken aback and hurriedly declined: "How could I let the Daoist Priest spend his money? My home may be poor, but we still have a chicken. Why aren't you off killing the chicken already?"

"Village head, this is wolf meat, hunted on the mountain last night. At the time I already felt that wolf's appearance was strange, and today, having met the two of you good people, I now know that wolf came specifically for you." Pan Yun looked at the woman and smiled: "Have you lately felt your belly cold and hard as stone, your stomach cold, your heart cold, with occasional abdominal pain yet unable to relieve yourself?"

The woman's eyes lit up slightly and she nodded repeatedly. "Yes, that's exactly how it is."

"This wolf meat is the cure for you, so this isn't us being polite with you good people—it is the will of Heaven. Heaven let us encounter the wolf so that we might come save you, good woman. This is your own merit."

The village head and his wife both stared wide-eyed and accepted the wolf meat from Miao He with great respect. "This much—should we stew it all?"

Miao He said: "Split it into three portions. Your illness is not light; you can eat it three meals in a row. After three meals of wolf meat, you should be cured."

The woman agreed meekly and asked in a small voice: "Little Daoist Priest, what illness is this of mine?"

"Why ask so many questions?" the village head said. "If they tell you to eat, just eat."

Miao He glanced at the village head and explained gently: "Cold accumulating in the belly, long stagnant and unable to descend. Put plainly, your insides are excessively cold, your menstrual cycle is blocked, and you are constipated."

A villager at the side said with a grin: "Isn't it just not being able to poop? Doesn't sound like any big illness. Third Aunt, you can set your mind at ease now, right?"

Miao He frowned and said, hurried and quick: "How could it not be a big illness? The body must take in, so it must also let out..."

"Yes, yes, yes, but not letting out isn't anything, is it? We eat so little—who's got time to visit the latrine every day?"

Pan Yun said with a smile: "But cold accumulating in the belly is an illness, and a serious one can kill."

"Kill someone?" The villager was startled, doubtful in his heart. "It's just not being able to visit the latrine—how could that possibly kill anyone?"

Pan Yun: "By holding it in until you die."

The villagers were struck dumb and could find no words to argue back.

The woman took the wolf meat with trembling hands and hurried off to the kitchen to prepare it.

Miao He pretended to take a few packets of things from her bundle, and after the woman had set the wolf meat to stew, added some spices and medicinal ingredients to it.

To remove the gamey smell and enhance the wolf meat's effect.

Because of this matter, the village head at once forgot about his duty to warmly host Pan Yun and the other two. He trailed after his wife, fussing endlessly: "You've been ill, why didn't you tell anyone? If something had happened, what would the rest of us have done?"

His wife said shamefacedly: "I thought it was just a minor ailment—how could I have known it was so serious?"

His daughter-in-law at the side said: "Father, those three little Daoist Priests look awfully young to me. They might be frauds."

The village head frowned, glanced nervously outside, and said: "Don't talk nonsense. We're close to Long Hushan here—there are plenty of capable people. You can't afford to offend anyone, especially not a Daoist Priest."

He hadn't originally thought Pan Yun and the others were all that impressive either; he was simply following the principle of better to be friendly than to give offense.

But they had given them meat—and wolf meat at that!

What Daoist Priest comes begging alms and brings his own meat? One look tells you they're not here to freeload.

The village head said, very displeased, to his eldest daughter-in-law: "Your mother is unwell and you lot didn't even bother to look after her. From today onward, you handle the kitchen yourselves. Your mother needs to rest."

His wife hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, but the village head paid no heed. He grabbed her hand and said: "The Daoist Priest said this meat must be eaten three meals in a row. Quick, cut off two pieces and salt them down."

The village head personally took a knife and cut off two pieces of meat. Not trusting his daughters-in-law, he salted them himself, then carried them back inside and hung them up.

He decided he would cut off a little each day and stew it separately for his wife.

By the time he had finished all this and come out, Pan Yun and the other two, led by the villagers, had already walked a full circuit of the village.

Seeing Miao Zhen said: "Your village's feng shui is quite good—dense network of waterways, a hill at the back. From what I've seen, wind drawn into water, fertile soil—truly a place of bountiful harvest. But you all..."

She looked the villagers up and down, examined their auras, and said: "Your auras are very weak—the look of poverty."

The villager said, unconcerned: "Being able to harvest is enough. We're just tenant farmers who grow crops for others. If we're not poor, are we supposed to be rich?"

Pan Yun: "With good feng shui and you not being lazy either, by rights your auras should grow stronger and stronger, and you should be getting richer and richer."

Pan Yun used her innate talent to look them up and down, and after a moment said: "Someone is stealing your fortune."

The villager's face changed. He looked around, frightened, and asked in a low voice: "Is it our landlord, Master Huang?"

Pan Yun asked: "All the land in your village belongs to Master Huang?"

"Not exactly—each family has a little of its own, but not much. Just working our own plots can't feed this many people, so we rent some from Master Huang."

"His land is no small matter. Of the land every household in the village farms, half of it is rented from him."

Pan Yun asked: "How much is the rent?"

The villager: "Seventy percent."

The smiles on Pan Yun, Seeing Miao Zhen, and Miao He's faces collapsed with a clatter, and they frowned: "Seventy percent of the harvest?"

The villager said, used to it: "That's right, and it's already considered low. The two years before that he took eighty percent."

Pan Yun raised a faint smile again and asked: "Then how did Master Huang's conscience suddenly bloom and he lowered it to seventy percent?"

The villager lowered his voice: "Wasn't it all because of the village head's seventh son making trouble? Master Huang's rents were just too harsh—those two years the villagers could barely survive. Sigh, Deng Yun couldn't stand it, so he raised a fuss, and in the end he ruined his own family." "Look at their house—blue brick, big tiled roof. They used to live quite well, but ever since he made that trouble, things went downhill."

Pan Yun: "After the trouble, what happened to Deng Yun?"

"He ran. The authorities couldn't catch him, so they came to make trouble for the Deng family. It was Master Huang who, not bearing a grudge, spoke up for them, and only then did the authorities let them off. Master Huang really is a good man—even though Deng Yun made trouble for him, he still let the family keep being village head. Otherwise, given Master Huang's connections with the head of the li, that seat would have been swapped out long ago."

Pan Yun listened and gave a cold laugh. "Hearing it that way, Master Huang really is awfully kind."

The villager nodded repeatedly, affirming: "Very kind. He even lowered our rent by a tenth."

So the villagers were all quite satisfied.

Pan Yun asked: "Where is Master Huang's house?"

The villager eagerly gave them directions: "Follow the main road straight ahead, all the way to the town. The biggest house, the most imposing gate—that's the one."

Pan Yun noted it down and went back with the villager.

The village head had been about to go out looking for them. Seeing them return, he immediately and warmly invited them to sit and wait for the meal.

! 。read

The village chief cared only about one thing: "Young Daoist, you said when you entered our village that we'll have a bountiful harvest next year?"

Pan Yun smiled: "Yes, your village will have a bountiful year next year."

"Thank you for your auspicious words, thank you for your auspicious words," the village chief said, his eyes crinkling with joy.

The wolf meat was quickly stewed; besides a large pot of wolf meat, the village chief's family prepared many vegetable dishes, placing the wolf meat in the center and surrounding it with bowls and plates.

The village chief's three sons also returned; they were thin, expressionless, their eyes weary, their clothes layered with patches, their condition far worse than that of the other villagers.

But seeing guests at home, they forced smiles and warmly welcomed them; when they saw the meat on the table, their expressions froze, yet they still wore smiles—though their aura grew weaker, more sorrowful.

Until the eldest daughter-in-law whispered, "This wolf meat was brought by the Daoist."

Their embarrassment and sorrow eased slightly; they quickly rose to serve Pan Yun and the others rice, warmly urging: "Please, Daoists, eat."

Pan Yun and the other two didn't refuse; they ate rice heartily, vegetables heartily, and meat in small bites.

The village chief enthusiastically urged Pan Yun and the others to eat meat, constantly piling meat into his wife's bowl, his wrinkled face beaming: "Eat, eat quickly."

Deng's wife tried several times to give the meat away, but the village chief stopped her each time; she could only blush, ashamed, and lower her head to eat the meat.

After eating just one bite of rice, the village chief saw the villagers and his children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law eagerly grabbing meat; he hurriedly shoveled rice into his mouth, then swung his chopsticks to pile meat into his own bowl—five or six pieces—until it overflowed, then scooped a ladle of soup to fill it to the brim.

Seeing Pan Yun watching him, he gave her an embarrassed smile.

One villager muttered, "Uncle San, you're too greedy with your food…"

The village chief ignored him; he sat at the table chatting with them as they ate, picking at the dishes on the table—but not touching a single piece of meat in his own bowl.

The meat in the big basin had long been snatched clean; the broth was entirely gone.

When the village chief saw his wife finish eating, he quietly pushed his own bowl toward her.

Deng's wife silently pushed it back the same way.

The village chief pushed it back again and glared at her fiercely, his eyes commanding her to eat.

Only then did Deng's wife lower her head and pick up a piece of meat; she wanted to give it to the grandchildren beside her, when her husband said: "Zhu Zi, Hehua, when you're done eating, go fetch water and wash your hands. Don't just sit there."

The two children slid off their stools and ran off, holding hands.

The daughter-in-law muttered, thinking her father-in-law had gone to great lengths just to get this bowl of meat to his wife.

Under her husband's relentless glares, Deng's wife finally relaxed and began eating the meat, even drinking the soup.

Less than half an hour after eating, her face turned pale, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and her hand involuntarily clutched her stomach.

She suddenly stood up: "I—I need to attend to something. You all keep eating."

Saying this, she staggered away.

Miao He immediately rose and followed: "I'll go with you."

She supported her to the latrine; before she entered, Miao He pressed two points on her lower back and side waist. Deng's wife's eyes flew open, she shoved Miao He away, and rushed into the latrine. Soon, a foul stench spread; Miao He had retreated far away, yet still smelled it.

She wasn't encountering such a patient for the first time; following her master, though she had never diagnosed one herself, she had seen all kinds of patients.

But this was the first time she used wolf meat to treat this illness.

Previously, they used acupuncture, attacking with intensely hot substances, then forcing down a bowl of oil…

She hadn't expected wolf meat to work so well; next time she encounters such a patient, perhaps she should hunt wolves to use as medicine.

But since this was the first time using such medicine, she had to guard against unexpected side effects, so she waited outside the latrine.

Moreover, her condition was truly severe; judging by her complexion, her accumulated cold syndrome had reached its final stage—if untreated, her intestines would rot.

Good night

(End of Chapter)