Chapter 18: Chapter 18

As she listened to the old man’s cries, Chu Liuyue realized that after she left that day, he had been thinking about how she had begun the process of healing her Yuan meridian. Alas, he was still clueless after thinking for three days. Finally, he had no choice but to come to the Chu family estate and see for himself.

He almost lost his temper at the sight. The entire courtyard was filled with a strong scent of medicinal herbs. He knew they weren’t any simple herb as soon as he smelled the fragrance.

No ordinary person could have blended so many herbs together perfectly. It was a hard feat to achieve, even for him.

This girl said nobody is helping her. She must be jesting! The old man’s sorrowful face wore an expression of ‘you’re a big liar.’

Chu Liuyue could do nothing but nurse her forehead with her hand. An ordinary man might not know her purpose for brewing these herbs, but not this old man. He certainly knew what these herbs were for.

Not bothering to cover up, Chu Liuyue simply shrugged her shoulders. “If you don’t believe me, so be it.” With that, she opened the jade box and resumed sorting the herbs.

The old man was clearly shocked because Chu Liuyue had shown no interest in explaining further. He was so angry his hair almost caught fire, and he sat on a rock to sulk.

“Girl, I’m not leaving until you’ve given me an explanation!”

Chu Liuyue nodded to humor him. “Alright. There’s water in the house if you’re thirsty.”

Oh! What sort of attitude is that? The old man waved his fan wildly with anger, his beard fluttering. This time, he was really up against Chu Liuyue!

…

Seeing that Chu Liuyue was actually ignoring him, the old man gave a low snort and casually surveyed the courtyard.

The Chu family was, by all accounts, one of the Imperial City’s four great families. It might be at the bottom of the pecking order, but it still had its heritage. Nevertheless, this courtyard was so remote and shabby that it was no different from any other poor house.

Nobody would believe that the once magnificent Chu Ning and his only daughter resided here. To make things worse, these two were the Chu family’s direct descendants, and this was what they ended up with.

The old man sighed inwardly; his anger gradually subsiding.

He then looked at the plum blossom stakes and the other things in the courtyard, which were clearly set up recently.

Were these… used for Chu Liuyue’s training? It’s too shabby. This father and daughter are living a miserable life!

A uniquely bitter and sour smell suddenly drifted in. The old man twitched his nose. He saw Chu Liuyue take out a black dried vine, which was about an arm’s length, and put it into the boiling pot.

“Hey, why are you adding the Dried Wall Vine in there directly? The boiling water will cause it to melt, and it will greatly lose its effectiveness.” The old man quickly rushed to Chu Liuyue’s side. He said hatefully, “You, girl. The Dried Wall Vine is worth a fortune! It’s not something that…”

He stopped talking abruptly. The Dried Wall Vine should have melted instantly in the pot. However, it was lying well within it instead.

Mist rose from the boiling water as the heat began puffing out. Nevertheless, the vine remained intact!

Gradually, an ink-like liquid flowed out of the Dried Wall Vine and merged with the boiling water.

That uniquely bitter and sour smell actually became sweet. This smell could only be achieved through the full distillation of the Dried Wall Vine’s potency.

The old man’s eyes widened as he stared incredulously. “H-How can this be possible?”

The Dried Wall Vine had extremely powerful properties for repairing injuries. On top of that, it could only be found on steep cliffs, and it took ten years to grow an inch long. Thus, it was very valuable. However, such a rare herb was also troublesome to handle. Its texture was extremely thin and brittle. Once damaged, it would lose its medicinal effects instantly. The only way would be to put it into water and steam it slowly.

Its medicinal effects would be affected by the water temperature, too. The water couldn’t be too cold or too hot. When in contact with boiling water, it would quickly turn into waste.

At this moment, not only did the Dried Wall Vine not melt in the boiling water, but it also stirred up its strongest medicinal effects!

“How… did you do that?” The old man looked at Chu Liuyue blankly.

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Chu Liuyue pointed. “Take a closer look.”

The old man rolled his eyes and leaned a little closer. Finally, he saw a silvery layer of white ice crystals covering the Dried Wall Vine.

“Is… this… Silver Ice Grass?” This was an extremely common medicinal herb that was usually used to relieve pain because of its silvery-white body and icy-cold properties.

“Ground Silver Ice Grass into powder and add it into the water 15 minutes in advance. When the Dried Wall Vine is added into the boiling water, the powdered Silver Ice Grass will coat itself on the vine. This way, the vine will not melt,” explained Chu Liuyue.

One thing to bring down another. Silver Ice Grass might be ordinary, but it had an excellent use in this instance.

The old man was momentarily stunned. Then, he slapped his thigh. “Right! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Chu Liuyue simply smiled.

It wasn’t really a secret. The heavenly doctor merely had a different understanding and application of the herbs’ medicinal properties.

“This method… where did you learn it from?” The old man finally reacted. He looked at Chu Liuyue with glowing eyes.

Chu Liuyue fished the Dried Wall Vine out from the pot. Its effectiveness had been achieved. It would be better to take out the remaining residue as soon as possible. “I figured it out myself.”

The old man naturally didn’t believe her. But after questioning her for a long time, he still didn’t get an explanation out of Chu Liuyue. He couldn’t help but feel annoyed. His eyes never left that pot of boiling herbs again.

Chu Liuyue didn’t cover the pot but generously allowed him to see.

This medicine was for Chu Ning; the recipe was quite ordinary, and there was nothing to show him. The technique and the heat control when boiling the medicine was more important.

Some people had no talent. Even if one was to memorize the recipe or tried diligently, one still wouldn’t be able to become a heavenly doctor.

The courtyard was silent. The old man was watching Chu Liuyue boiling medicine from the side, his appearance gradually changing.

Chu Liuyue’s series of movements flowed smoothly, even the timing and the amount of each herb added was perfect!

The medicinal fragrance grew stronger and stronger. It was a sign that the medicinal powers were fusing with each other. This would never have been possible without thousands of hours of practice. Even he could do no better than Chu Liuyue.

Snap.

The jade box closed, and the last of its herbs were put in.

Throughout the whole process, not counting the ones Chu Liuyue had already put in before he arrived, she had added a total of 35 herbs at least! This was apparently not the limit of Chu Liuyue’s level.

She was definitely good enough to be a heavenly doctor! Whoever she had learned these skills from, he could be sure of one thing—Chu Liuyue had unparalleled talent in the path of becoming a heavenly doctor.

What is wrong with the Chu family? How could they not cherish this once-in-a-century genius? How could they bully her so recklessly? He looked around the dilapidated courtyard with irony. He rubbed his hands together and looked at Chu Liuyue’s eyes. It was like he was looking at a great treasure.

“Girl, I won’t ask you about those things anymore. There is one thing I have to ask of you though. I wish to come here and watch you concoct medicine in the future. Will you be alright with it?”

Chu Liuyue shook her head. There were too many things she had to do; it would be inconvenient to have another person here.

“Then, then… I’ll just come once every three days?”

Chu Liuyue shook her head again.

“F-Five… five days?”

“Once a fortnight. If you don’t agree, one month then.”

“Fine. Fine. Fortnightly. Once every fortnight!” The old man was afraid that she would go back on her word. He nodded his head as if he was pounding garlic, and a smile broke on his face.

Chu Liuyue suddenly tilted her head and asked thoughtfully, “And may I ask in what capacity you will be here as?”