Chapter 52: Treating Illness Is Like Fighting Bandits

Pan Yun sat sighing before the mountain gate, the black cat crouched beside her, also sighing.

There were too few people on the mountain; even if she wanted to earn merit, there was no way to do it.

Pan Yun was a practical person; if merit was unavailable, then she would earn money!

The next day, she slung a small basket on her back and followed Wang Feiyin, accompanied by Miao Zhen and Miao He, to dig up medicinal herbs.

“Senior Brother, what’s the most valuable herb in the mountains?”

“Purple Lingzhi,” Wang Feiyin said. “Precious things are never easy to obtain. It grows mostly on the roots or dead trunks of oak trees, with a cap and stalk both black and hard like wood, and the flesh brown.”

Just then, the group reached the edge of a cliff. Ten or so zhang away stood a steep, slanting rock face. Wang Feiyin pointed at it. “See that? There’s one growing on the slanted peak.”

Pan Yun eagerly stepped forward two paces. “Where? Where?”

“There!”

Following Wang Feiyin’s gesture, Pan Yun finally spotted a dark-brown lingzhi seemingly embedded in the mountain peak. She blinked. “It looks just like a rock.”

“That’s why it’s also called Stone Lingzhi.”

Wang Feiyin waved his hand and walked off. “Come on. Staring won’t help—you can’t pick it anyway.”

Pan Yun, annoyed, pulled her gaze away just as she caught sight of the bottomless cliff at her feet. She recoiled in fright, her legs suddenly going weak.

Miao He: “Little Auntie, you’re afraid of heights.”

“I’m not,” Pan Yun said. “I’ve been a thousand meters up and flown through the air—how could I be afraid of heights?”

Miao He looked unconvinced. Miao Zhen asked outright: “Was it in a dream?”

Pan Yun didn’t answer. She ran after Wang Feiyin. “Senior Brother, if we little ones can’t pick it, why don’t you?”

The rock face looked as if it had been cleanly sliced off by a blade—smooth, with no handholds. But she figured that with Wang Feiyin’s cultivation base, even if he couldn’t fly with objects, he could still use momentum to ascend easily.

Wang Feiyin: “I don’t lack money. Why risk my life and expend effort for it?”

Pan Yun’s voice cracked. “You don’t lack money?”

Wang Feiyin affirmed: “I truly don’t lack money.”

Pan Yun snorted inwardly—this was as unbelievable as his claim that he wasn’t afraid of heights.

Herb gathering wasn’t just for profit. At Mount Sanqing, collecting herbs in the mountains was mandatory training. Wang Feiyin skillfully led them to a gently sloping patch and pointed to the trees. “These are all herbs. Peel them.”

Miao He and Miao Zhen efficiently set down their baskets, pulled out knives, and cut a circular groove around the tree trunks. Then they cut another circle forty to fifty centimeters above the first, followed by a vertical cut. With small knives, they carefully pried open the slit and peeled off a full forty-to-fifty-centimeter ring of bark.

Pan Yun understood after watching once. She took out her own two knives, mimicking their motions as she peeled bark and asked: “Is this Houpo?”

“Correct. Little Sister is clever—you recognized it without even studying. Tell us, what are its effects?”

Pan Yun shook her head. She knew the Houpo tree, but didn’t know it was medicinal.

Wang Feiyin didn’t idle—he peeled beside them and called out: “Miao He, tell your Little Auntie.”

Miao He: “It warms the middle, descends qi, transforms dampness, and removes stagnation. It enters the Spleen, Stomach, Lung, and Large Intestine meridians. It treats chest and abdominal distension and pain, indigestion, intestinal obstruction, dysentery, and phlegm-induced wheezing.”

Wang Feiyin listened, satisfied. He nodded. “Good. You see its flowers have already bloomed, yet you can still smell their fragrance. The flowers can be used medicinally too. When autumn comes and the fruit ripens, the fruit can be used as well.”

Thus, amid Wang Feiyin’s endless chatter, they peeled bark all morning, stripping every Houpo tree within sight. Four baskets were packed to bursting, and Wang Feiyin pulled out two hemp sacks to hold the rest.

As they peeled bark, they recited herbal formulas. Now Pan Yun’s mind was filled with the “Houpo, Dahuang, Zhishi” from the *Jin Kui Yao Lue*, the “Houpo, Zisuzi, Chenpi, Banxia” from the *Heji Jufang*, and the “Houpo, Dahuang, Mangxiao, Zhishi” from the *Shanghan Lun*.

Then they took a different path back, stopping along the way to gather Zhishi from the ground.

Wang Feiyin carried one large basket, one hemp sack in each hand, his body looking bare except for his robes—yet he reached behind his waist and pulled out another folded hemp sack, tiny as a fist.

When he unfolded it, the sack was large enough to hold two Pan Yuns.

He handed it to them. “Pick up everything you can see.” Pan Yun took the sack and squatted with Miao Zhen and Miao He, tossing fallen Zhishi into it. As they did, she asked: “Senior Brother, how much does Zhishi sell for per jin?”

Wang Feiyin glanced at her. “Different processing methods yield different effects—and thus different prices.”

“Herbs’ prices fluctuate with the market. The last time I sold Zhishi was last time—I don’t know the current price.”

Pan Yun: …

Wang Feiyin pulled out water and dried rations, smiled at the three girls, and waved. “Stop for now. Come eat lunch. I see plenty of Zhishi here—we’ll likely be picking until afternoon.”

The three were indeed thirsty and hungry. They dropped their sacks and dashed over.

Pan Yun was deeply committed to earning money—and took it seriously. She asked: “Senior Brother, how do you prepare the formula for Zhishi?”

Wang Feiyin was delighted by her eagerness. He handed them water. “Then I must mention your ancestor, Immortal Ge’s *Zhouhou Jiu Zú Fang*. Other formulas aside, once you return, you must memorize the entire *Zhouhou Jiu Zú Fang*.”

Miao He immediately raised her hand. “Senior Grandmaster, I’ve already memorized up to Volume Three.”

“Good, good,” Wang Feiyin praised. “Pan Yun, Miao Zhen—though you don’t specialize in alchemy, you must still learn. When I teach Miao He acupuncture and herbal preparations, you’ll attend too. Practice your hands.”

Pan Yun declared she could master this path: “I’m very clever. Though my study of talismans and arrays differs slightly from our sect’s teachings, I’m confident I’ll soon integrate them fully. I have plenty of time—I can study alchemy and medicine as diligently as Miao He.”

!. Read

Wang Feiyin first spoke to Miao Zhen: “Don’t follow her. First, she truly has extraordinary talent. Second, she’s arrogant. Since you’ve chosen to specialize in astronomy and shamanic rites, focus solely on that—don’t distract yourself.”

Miao Zhen, whose mind had wavered, immediately solidified her resolve and nodded.

Wang Feiyin then turned to Pan Yun. “Fine. I’ll teach you seriously.”

He didn’t sense any deep love for alchemy or medicine in her—she was probably still after money.

Still, he didn’t stop her. A child eager to learn, with the ability to do so, deserved encouragement.

“Immortal Ge’s *Zhouhou Jiu Zú Fang*, as the name implies, contains emergency formulas and methods for sudden illnesses—all cases involve abrupt death. The remedies include herbal prescriptions, acupuncture, and various external treatments.”

Seeing they were growing drowsy, Wang Feiyin chose an interesting case to tell them: “Do you know how to treat a dog bite?”

Pan Yun, having eaten some dried rations and drunk water, was half-asleep under the dappled sunlight. “Get a rabies vaccine.”

Wang Feiyin ignored her. He turned to Miao He and Miao Zhen, whose eyes were wide. “Kill the rabid dog, smear its brain on the wound—it cures the bite.”

Pan Yun’s eyes widened too. She sat up straight. “That’s actually a good method—similar in principle to a vaccine.”

Wang Feiyin asked: “What’s a vaccine?”

Pan Yun thought a moment. “A vaccine is a virus without poison—like a bandit who has no intent to kill. It enters my home; my guards see it, recognize it as a bandit, and kill it.

Later, when a poisonous virus enters the body—like a murderous bandit trying to break in—because they look identical, my guards immediately recognize them as bandits and rush out to slaughter them before they can act, repelling them beyond the vital organs. That’s a vaccine.”

Miao Zhen and Miao He stared blankly, but Wang Feiyin, a seasoned physician, understood instantly. He slapped his thigh. “Exactly! Some people bitten by mad dogs don’t fall ill for one or two days; some for three or four years; some even for over a decade—then suddenly go mad. Why? Because the bandit hid inside their home, lying dormant.

Until their guards grow lax—then the bandit leaps from hiding and strikes.”

Wang Feiyin paced excitedly, laughing heartily. “Yes! In this case, first smear the wound with the mad dog’s brain—forcefully let one bandit enter openly, so the guards spot and kill it.

Once one bandit appears inside, the guards will search thoroughly, hunting everywhere—until they find the hidden ones. Hahaha…”

Miao He stared, dumbfounded. “Is this treating illness… or fighting bandits?”

Wang Feiyin smiled, patting her head. “Treating illness is like fighting bandits. Same principle. Same principle.”

He beamed at Pan Yun. “You’re right. You truly have exceptional talent. Hahaha…”

Wang Feiyin’s laughter echoed throughout the valley.

Pan Yun lifted her chin proudly.

The lucky number for this chapter is any number ending in 1—screenshot as proof,

Request monthly tickets, request monthly tickets—it’s the end of the month, those of you with monthly tickets, please check on me.

(End of Chapter)