Chapter 73: Distinguishing Herbs and Identifying Pills

"Giddyup!"

Glancing back once at Gao Liu City, Fang Fang Yunxiu spurred her horse and galloped away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Not long after, she arrived at a small village with only a few dozen households.

"Junior Sister~"

Sha Sha Pingying, his face weathered by wind and frost, emerged from the dilapidated temple at the village entrance:

"Got any food?"

Fang Fang Yunxiu tossed some dried rations to him, then swung off her horse: "Where is Elder Han?"

"He passed by last night and snatched the rabbit I roasted..."

Sha Sha Pingying chewed on the dried rations, looking quite suspicious himself:

"Didn't you say before that Elder Han was going to stir the grass to startle the snake? He was radiating killing intent; even from several li away, I wanted to flee. This..."

"... How would I know?"

Fang Fang Yunxiu's face darkened: "Which direction did he go?"

"Elder Han has perfected his Grass-Soaring, Cicada-Wing, and Kite-Eagle steps. Not to mention he left last night, but even if he had just left, do you really think you could catch up to him?"

Sha Sha Pingying was clearly starving, chewing the rations with his mouth full and his speech slurred.

He had been holed up in that mountain ravine for several months, and his entire frame had shrunk significantly.

Fang Fang Yunxiu understood this logic perfectly, yet she gritted her teeth, swung back onto her horse, and said: "Even if I can't catch him, I must pursue. There might be some misunderstanding here..."

Knowing that Lu Lu Yunqing had also been at the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple last night made her heart tremble with fear.

Given Elder Han Han Chuijun's past conduct, if Lu Lu Yunqing had offended him, it wouldn't be a matter of someone simply getting killed to resolve the issue.

Lu Lu Bailing, and even she herself, could be implicated.

Ghost-Faced Prajna was the title that had spread over these years; decades ago, Han Han Chuijun was known as the Ghost-Faced Asura...

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"

A cold sneer, like that of a night owl, drifted over. On the wasteland, waist-high wild grass was blown down by a powerful wind like waves as Han Han Chuijun strode forward.

"Neigh~"

Fang Fang Yunxiu swung off her horse, holding the startled steed tightly: "Elder Han, what exactly happened?"

"Your brother-in-law is a traitor to the heavens and the earth. I didn't provoke him, yet he actually conspired with those thief monks from the Bodhisattva Temple, intending to ambush and kill me in the rain!"

Han Han Chuijun stood with his hands hanging by his sides, appearing quite angry:

"I am an old man; if I lost my wits for a moment, that would be one thing. But how could you, so young, and standing so close, fail to notice that your brother-in-law was acting strangely?"

"What?"

Sha Sha Pingying flew into a rage: "A mere county magistrate dares to be so presumptuous? This disciple will go immediately to mobilize troops and ransack his home!"

"Shut up!"

Fang Fang Yunxiu glared at him; she was not as foolish as Sha Sha Pingying.

"You said 'intending to ambush and kill you'—does that mean the ambush hadn't even happened before you slaughtered them all?"

Fang Fang Yunxiu felt a chill in her heart, but she could only steel herself and press on.

She only had this one niece.

"What? Do you insist that I must be ambushed and killed by him for it to count?"

Perhaps having vented his anger, Han Han Chuijun's mood had become quite calm. He didn't mind this slight from a junior disciple, glanced at him indifferently, and said:

"Evidence and reasoning can only be spoken to the living; the dead, no one will spare a second glance!"

"Elder Han..."

Before Fang Fang Yunxiu could say more, Sha Sha Pingying bowed solemnly: "This disciple remembers your teaching!"

Han Han Chuijun glared at him and waved his hand to dismiss him: "Enough. Once you've rested, hurry into the mountains. How can you fail to catch a mere Year Nine in several months?"

"This disciple is incompetent..."

Sha Sha Pingying's face was filled with shame. With a piece of dried ration in his mouth, he swung onto his horse and hurried away.

"..."

Fang Fang Yunxiu was momentarily speechless.

"He is too stupid; entering the city would only ruin things."

Han Han Chuijun waved his hand and sat on a stone block in front of the temple:

"The Bai Shen Fa is not an Xie Fa, but your brother-in-law has already walked the path of evil. The moment he moved, the bloody stench made me stumble; that is why he managed to escape..."

"You, Elder, simply think he..."

"... is too small a fish?"

Fang Fang Yunxiu finally understood.

"Not entirely."

Han Han Chuijun shook his head:

"He has likely already mastered the 'Divine Foot Sutra'. Running for his life without regard for his own safety makes him truly hard to catch..."

"Divine Foot Sutra?"

Fang Fang Yunxiu's heart gave a violent tremor.

The Baishen Sect is based on the Bai Shen Fa, and from it, various branches have emerged, such as the Divine Foot Sutra, Divine Palm Sutra, Divine Eye Sutra, Divine Organ Sutra, and so on.

It is said that mastering any single Divine Sutra grants unimaginable power.

"I must go after him to see what big fish lies behind him..."

Han Han Chuijun stood up.

Fang Fang Yunxiu bowed slightly, awaiting orders.

"Within Gao Liucheng, there should be one person who has mastered the Soldier Dao Combat Killing Hammer."

His great sleeves billowing with wind, Han Han Chuijun stepped across the grass and departed:

"Before this old man returns, find him!"

……

……

"Father!"

"Father!"

At noon, the hammering sounds in the forging room died down. When the blacksmiths and helpers came out to eat, they could still hear Wang Gong's crying from the back courtyard.

"The Second Shopkeeper and Third Shopkeeper both met with disaster. Isn't the Head Shopkeeper coming back yet?"

"This year really has been eventful. That murderous bastard Nian Jiu—how has he not been caught? The government office are all useless!"

"Poor thing. The Third Shopkeeper's body is still warm, yet I hear the wives and concubines at home have already started fighting over his possessions…"

……

In the inner courtyard, Li Yuan asked for three large bowls of nourishing soup, drinking while listening to the discussions of the other inner courtyard apprentices.

In a single night, two shopkeepers had died. Even though these two were unpopular, many still felt a pang of sympathy.

They were, after all, shopkeepers of the Weapon Forging Shop.

"Junior Brother Li."

At this moment, Yue Yue Yunjin walked over, his face grim.

"Senior Brother Yue!"

Glancing at Wu Ming and Zhao Zhao Xiaoming who had followed along, Li Yuan set down his porcelain bowl and stood up.

"Yu Zhen was practically stripped bare—the Fundamental Diagram is gone!"

The faces of the few men all looked grim, especially Yue Yue Yunjin. His qi and blood had reached Great Accomplishment years ago, so the loss of the Fundamental Diagram affected him tremendously.

"Without the Fundamental Diagram, it's absolutely impossible for us to cultivate internal strength!"

Wu Ming could barely contain his agitation.

He too was a veteran apprentice, deeply aware of the difficulty of cultivating internal strength. Among the inner courtyard apprentices who had completed their training in earlier batches than them, there were plenty who still hadn't cultivated internal strength to this day.

"I went to the county office to find the Commandant. Yu Zhen died in the street—his body was discovered before dawn, and everything on him was gone!"

Casting a heavy glance at his fellow disciples, Yue Yue Yunjin took a deep breath:

"If the Head Shopkeeper doesn't have a Fundamental Diagram either, then the only path left for us to cultivate internal strength is to join the Divine Weapon Valley!"

"Something this big has happened at the shop—surely the Head Shopkeeper will come back?"

Wu Ming grew somewhat irritable.

"My father has already sent someone to notify the Head Shopkeeper, but Mount Fajiu Mountain is very large…"

Zhao Zhao Xiaoming glanced at Yue Yue Yunjin:

"Brother Yun, why don't you go see Heroine Fang? She's an inner disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley—she should have a way…"

"Mm…"

Yue Yue Yunjin nodded, feeling troubled: "Heroine Fang isn't someone you can just see whenever you want."

The Divine Weapon Valley had long dominated Zhe Long and was not short of disciples with superior root bone. If he couldn't cultivate internal strength before the examination, he would have no hope of joining the inner sect at all.

But Fang Fang Yunxiu…

"Brother Yun, why not go see my father first?"

Zhao Zhao Xiaoming said gently.

"That works too."

Yue Yue Yunjin's expression eased slightly.

The two exchanged a few words and left together. Wu Ming watched them go, gave a cold snort, and swept his sleeves away.

Since Yue Yue Yunjin had been fa

vored by Fang Fang Yunxiu, there had been no shortage of people seeking his friendship, and Zhao Zhao Xiaoming was one of them.

"Unless the people from the Divine Weapon Valley leave, Cao Yan probably won't come back, will he?"

Li Yuan went to get another bowl of nourishing soup, squatting on the steps to drink it slowly.

Both are gold—yellow gold is scarce, but anyone with a bit of family wealth can usually forge one or two gold ornaments. Pure gold, however, is different.

Gao Liu County, and even the neighboring counties, simply don't have this kind of thing.

Most of the pure gold Cao Yan collected each year came from wealthy families within Zhe Long Prefecture—it was something ordinary commoners couldn't access at all.

"At the next gathering, I need to find a way to make contact with Lu Lu Bailing. Cao Yan can't be relied upon…"

Sipping the nourishing soup in small mouthfuls, Li Yuan felt a warm current throughout his body.

Superior root bone was better than middle or lower root bone at absorbing medicinal liquid, but the greatest change actually came from internal strength.

As qi and blood circulated, the nourishment and stimulation internal strength provided to his physique continued.

This wisp of internal strength came from years of qi and blood transport, yet differed from qi and blood—it could leave the body by a foot and shatter green stone.

"Without the Fundamental Diagram, one must at least practice Wu Gong to Perfection, or find someone who has cultivated internal strength through the same Wu Gong to provide hands-on guidance…"

After cultivating internal strength, Li Yuan's understanding of Bai Yuan Jin naturally far surpassed before.

The so-called Fundamental Diagram was the process by which qi and blood circulation gave birth to internal strength. The white ape lifting its hammer and roaring involved explosive bursts of qi and blood through the limbs, waist, and abdomen.

It sounds mystical, but is actually very simple.

Once understood, follow the movements in the diagram—day after day, lift the hammer and roar, transport qi and blood while adjusting the Liu Hu Xi Fa, endure stubbornly, and in at most five or six years, you can tough it out.

"No wonder the inner courtyard runs a private school. If you truly couldn't read a single character, you wouldn't even be able to understand the Fundamental Diagram… the ability to analyze and comprehend is equally important."

After finishing several large bowls of nourishing soup, Li Yuan felt warm all over. He stood in the inner courtyard for a while practicing the Bai Yuan stance before returning to the forging room.

Zhang Ben was not there; the blacksmiths in the forge were all discussing matters.

Li Yuan overheard a bit, found it lacking substance, so he picked up the forging hammer and began hammering iron to craft weapons.

The twelve superior-grade sharp blades he owed had not yet been forged by him.

Near evening, Zhang Ben finally returned to the forge, looking somewhat exhausted.

"Master, please rest a bit."

Several blacksmiths hurried over to support him.

"What a troubled season!"

Rubbing his brow, Zhang Ben sighed and waved his hand:

"Those who should clock out, go ahead. Li Yuan, stay behind and keep forging; you've been too lax these past few days!"

"Yes."

Li Yuan didn't even stop hammering, clanging away with a ding-dong rhythm.

"Old Tang, Qin Xiong, Yu Zhen, Wang Ding! In less than half a year, so many things have happened in the shop..."

Once most people had left, Li Yuan finally stopped, and only then did Zhang Ben stand up, his eyes full of worry:

"Last year, I felt something was off with them. At the time, I thought I was overthinking it, but now I realize, in secret, they were likely plotting something major!"

"Hmm?"

Li Yuan reacted quickly and shut the doors and windows tight.

"Whether the door is shut or not, almost everyone is about to die; what does it matter if someone overhears?"

Zhang Ben felt mentally drained but had to muster his spirit: "Li Yuan, from now on, I must manage the shop's business; I'm temporarily handing the forge over to you!"

"Disciple..."

"Your monthly wage will be the same as before!"

"Thank you, Master!"

Li Yuan could only agree.

"Go ahead."

Zhang Ben yawned, turned, and went back to his room.

How much was the monthly wage again?

The words turned on his tongue, but Li Yuan still didn't ask; he tidied up the forge before clocking out.

He didn't return to the courtyard but took a detour to the Four Seasons Medicine Hall.

Identifying herbs is even more important than taking medicine; skipping medicine might just slow your cultivation, but taking the wrong medicine could kill you.

"The Four Seasons Medicine Hall must have various pills and charts of herb properties, but unfortunately, those are non-sale items..."

After buying a bottle of Zeng Xue Dan, Li Yuan pulled the clerk this way and that, asking questions, and occasionally shamelessly borrowing a few bottles of pills to smell, teaching himself herb identification.

"Revival Pill? What's the catch? Oh, for vitality? Laxative powder... ahem, this golden wound salve, can it be taken internally or applied externally?"

Li Yuan was very enthusiastic, humbly seeking instruction.

The shop's several clerks exchanged glances, yet all felt a bit uneasy.

Especially the clerk being pulled, who felt even more insecure: "Brother Li, enough! If you have something to say, just say it straight,

if we can do it, we'll definitely do it for you!"

But for heaven's sake, stop bothering me!

The slightly more delicate-looking clerk felt a draft in his crotch, chilling him.

"How could I possibly accept that?"

Li Yuan rubbed his hands, pointing toward the back hall: "I got a herb chart a few days ago and plan to make a medicine according to it; I'm just missing a mortar and pestle to pound the herbs..."

"This..."

The several clerks looked at each other, their expressions all somewhat strange.

Getting a herb chart and wanting to make medicine? They really aren't afraid of death!

"Well, the shop's pestles have never been sold before..."

The slightly more delicate-looking clerk hesitated but finally gritted his teeth: "Alright, new pestles can't be sold, but some broken ones..."

"As long as they work, that's fine."

Li Yuan naturally had no objections.

In no time, Li Yuan left the shop carrying two pestles, weighing them in his hand, quite satisfied in his heart.

【Hundred Herbs Pestle (Tier One)】

【Made from an old tree root a hundred years old, soaked in juice boiled from a hundred types of herbs; used for pounding medicine for decades, stained with various medicinal scents...】

【Mastery Requirement: Familiarity with Hundred Herbs】

【Mastery Effect: Knowledge of Hundred Medicines, Pounding Medicine, Initial Understanding of Medicinal Properties】

Of the two pestles, one was tiered, the other not; the latter happened to perfectly satisfy the mastery conditions for the former.

"Medicine and martial arts are not separate; learning this can't hurt."

Li Yuan felt satisfied in his heart.

He had long coveted the huge profits of pills; one pill, costing only a few copper coins, could be sold for several taels of silver. If he could make them himself, he could save a fortune.

"Even if I can't make pills myself, at least I can distinguish their quality; I can't let the little field mouse test everything..."

Li Yuan felt he was a soft-hearted person.

Returning to the courtyard, the little field mouse in the corner squealed wildly, scratching and kicking, as if desperate to burrow straight into the ground, clearly terrified.

"What are you running from?"

Grabbing the little creature, whose face was full of fear, Li Yuan felt that this little rat, having eaten too many pills, seemed to have become much smarter.

Having only suffered one loss, it had actually remembered.

"This time, it'll definitely be fine."

Closing the door and lighting the oil lamp, Li Yuan once again set on the table the several bottles of pills he had obtained from Yu Zhen, as well as that cloth bundle that he didn't know was a medicine pouch or a poison pouch.

"Squeak squeak~~"

The little mouse nearly choked itself squeaking, its face full of resistance.

"Last time was an accident; this time, it'll definitely be fine!"

Li Yuan swore on his honor, and once again took out all sorts of antidote pills.

"The taste is like a Bone-Strengthening Pill, but not quite the same, hmm... come on, little fellow, have a taste..."

"Eh? Don't foam at the mouth..."

"Damn, ***! That Yu Zhen was utterly devoid of conscience, *** carrying it on his person. Fortunately this Daoist played it safe..."

The night stretched on, and Li Yuan kept trying the medicines.

"Squeak!"

The little mouse had slipped under the bed, and no matter how much he called, it wouldn't come out.

"Hmm, that Yu Zhen was truly ruthless—nine real, one fake. If I hadn't tested every single pill, I really would have fallen for it!"

Five antidote pills remained. The three bottles of pills obtained from Yu Zhen—Li Yuan had tested them all.

"Two Bone-Strengthening, three 'Blood-Supplementing,' six 'Tendon-Lengthening,"

"seven 'Blood-Boosting,' one internal injury medicine, and—three waste pills laced with poison!"

Tearing off a few pieces of cured meat and tossing them under the bed to comfort the little fellow, Li Yuan finally took a Blood-Boosting Pill. Closing his eyes to feel it for a while, he then rose, picked up his hammer, and stood in stance.

Nourishing qi and blood, nourishing internal strength.