Chapter 45
At that moment, Xu Qing only heaved a long sigh of relief when he returned to his residence.
He felt that it wasn’t too good for him to do that but his thirst for knowledge left him with no other choice.
He also understood that his little trick had probably been seen through.
“I have to repay you in the future.”
The youth mumbled and remembered this matter in his heart. He didn’t know how he could return the favor but that was what he thought in his heart. Maybe he would have this chance in the future.
Worried that he might forget, Xu Qing took out a bamboo slip from his leather pouch and used an iron stick to carve the words ‘Grandmaster Bai’ on it.
Upon closer inspection, other than Grandmaster Bai, there was also Captain Lei on the bamboo slip. There were also three other names on it.
Those three names were all people who had helped him in the slums. Even if it was just a little, he remembered them by heart.
Just like that, after carving the name, Xu Qing took out another bamboo slip and recalled the content he had heard during this lesson, recording it down bit by bit.
He even took out the bamboo slip from the previous lesson and silently memorized it. After confirming that he had memorized everything, his expression revealed satisfaction.
“There are already twenty-seven types of herbs that I understand.”
Xu Qing was very happy. This feeling lasted for an entire day and he was also in a good mood when he cultivated.
Hence, he woke up very early the next day. After selling some seven-leaf grass, he bought a herb that was similar to the heavenfate flower and went to Grandmaster Bai’s tent with great familiarity.
It was still the same spot as yesterday. He stood there and silently waited while paying attention to the lesson inside. When the lesson ended and Grandmaster Bai walked out to ask, Xu Qing nervously took out the medicinal herbs and asked.
Looking at the medicinal herbs, Grandmaster Bai coughed lightly. As he shook his head, he told Xu Qing about the medicinal herbs he had bought.
This allowed Xu Qing to gain additional understanding of another type of medicinal herb. This caused his satisfaction and gratitude to deepen. After he bowed and left, he turned his head in the distance and saw Grandmaster Bai standing at the same spot as yesterday, nodding his head in acknowledgment.
This scene was reflected in Xu Qing’s eyes and it was also engraved in his mind.
Just like that, half a month passed.
Xu Qing would take all kinds of medicinal herbs almost every day and ask Grandmaster Bai after he finished listening to the lesson outside his tent.
He learnt more and more about herbs. He even heard a lot about the method to mix herbs.
This allowed Xu Qing to gain a lot. He had recorded dozens of bamboo slips.
As for Grandmaster Bai, he had never mentioned anything about Xu Qing stealing his skills. Every day, he would patiently answer his questions about the medicinal herbs.
In the end, not only were the guards used to the appearance of this kid in a leather coat every morning but even the youths in the tent had a deep impression of him.
He even came when it was raining heavily outside. Regardless of whether it was Grandmaster Bai or the young man and woman, they all thought that Xu Qing wouldn’t come. However, Xu Qing walked over in the rain wearing a raincoat.
No matter the weather.
This left a deep impression on Grandmaster Bai and his two disciples.
Hence, one day, when it was time for class and Xu Qing didn’t show up on time, which was a rare occurrence, the young man and woman would frequently glance outside.
They seemed to be surprised that the dirty little scavenger didn’t come today.
It was only when Xu Qing’s fatigued figure appeared in the tent that the youth and young girl retracted their gazes.
The reason why he was late was because other than attending Grandmaster Bai’s lessons, Xu Qing would also enter the forbidden zone to search for heavenfate flowers and scar removal stones. At the same time, he was also tempering himself by hunting mutated beasts.
However, the search process wasn’t very smooth.
He still hadn’t found these two items and Xu Qing once again experienced the dangers of the forbidden zone.
Even though he was at the fourth level of the Mountains and Seas Art, he still possessed the keen judgment and observation of an old scavenger. If he was careful in the outer edges of the jungle, he might be able to survive or even hunt but he would still encounter danger occasionally.
That time, he was late because he had encountered a mutated beast that had walked out from the depths. He barely managed to escape death. After running for an entire night, he finally returned in the morning.
After he returned, he didn’t rest but quietly listened to the lecture.
Other than that, during these few days, Xu Qing had another gain that wasn’t too big or too small. That was the insurance that Bone Blade had mentioned.
Bone Blade lived very well.
Ever since Xu Qing bought insurance from him last time, he would come and buy it every time he entered the forbidden zone. Since the fog never appeared again, Xu Qing didn’t make a move either.
However, Bone Blade was still persistent. In fact, for some reason, more and more people came to buy insurance from him.
Out of caution, Xu Qing didn’t bother with most of them. He only agreed for the people whom he had saved before.
This caused Xu Qing’s income to increase. Coupled with the harvest he obtained from hunting in the forbidden zone, his days slowly got better.
Although Captain Lei couldn’t continue with his mission, the rent money Xu Qing offered was extremely high. Even though Captain Lei didn’t accept it, Xu Qing still insisted. In the end, Captain Lei could only accept it.
Captain Lei spent most of the money on food. This allowed Xu Qing to have hot food every time he returned from the forbidden zone.
Captain Lei even bought some clothes for Xu Qing.
These clothes were all very new and Xu Qing couldn’t bear to wear them. Every piece of clothing was neatly folded and placed in a cabinet. He would occasionally take them out to take a look, feeling happy whenever he did so.
Mealtime every day was also the warmest moment for Xu Qing.
This was because not only did he eat well but Captain Lei also liked to talk about the trivial matters on the campsite at this time, just like how the elders at home would talk about their neighbors when they were old.
During this time, Cross and Luan Tooth also returned. They accompanied Captain Lei for a while before leaving again.
It could be said that this period of time was the time when Xu Qing felt the most satisfied in the past six years.
With hot meals, new clothes and Captain Lei’s company, his cultivation base was also improving. His knowledge of plants and vegetation was also increasing.
Hence, other than feeling satisfied, he cherished everything he had now. Every day, he would attend lessons outside the tent and was exceptionally serious.
On this day, under the morning sun, Xu Qing, who was standing outside the tent, heard Grandmaster Bai’s question to the youth.
“Chen Feiyuan, tell me about this medicinal herb, Night Corpse Leading Ox.”
Chen Feiyuan was Grandmaster Bai’s name for the youth. Xu Qing had learned about it during the past month or so and he also knew that the girl’s name was Tingyu.
Hearing Grandmaster Bai’s question, the youth didn’t know how to answer. He stuttered for a while before stopping.
Xu Qing couldn’t see the tent but he could imagine that after the tent was opened many times, he would see the other party’s mournful face from the corner of his eyes.
“Ignorant and incompetent. Tingyu, you will answer.” Grandmaster Bai’s voice was very stern as he named the girl to answer.
However, this time around, the girl was not prepared enough.
“Night Corpse Leading Ox, also known as Poison Mountain Root Spot… Teacher, I, I forgot.” After the girl said this, she fell silent.
The tent immediately fell silent. It was obvious that Grandmaster Bai was brewing with anger. At that moment, Grandmaster Bai’s voice resounded with unconcealable anger.
“Kid, you answer.”
Xu Qing, who was outside the tent, started and subconsciously spoke up.
“Night Corpse Leading Ox, also known as Poison Mountain Root Spotted Chrysanthemum. It is the root and stem of the vine of the chrysanthemum plant, the thin-veined Turtledove Chrysanthemum. It is a woody vine that grows in ravines with Yin energy, cold streams, or jungles. Its taste is astringent and slightly warm when it enters the mouth. It also has the feeling of rotting. It has the miraculous effect of reducing wind. However, it is excessively poisonous. It belongs in the typical extreme endpoint of yin and yang grass.” Xu Qing stopped here.
“What are the symptoms of an overdose?” In the tent, Grandmaster Bai asked again while the two of them were feeling slightly unconvinced.
“The symptoms of poisoning are abdominal pain, dizziness and hallucinations. If we don’t save a person in 15 minutes, he will die.” Xu Qing, who was outside the tent, was nervous but he didn’t stop at all and immediately answered.
“How to detoxify the poison.”
“You can use the method of vomiting and stomach lavage, supplemented by egg white and red-thorn stamen to treat the illness when the sun is strong at noon. The treatment time cannot exceed an hour and it can last for three consecutive days.”
Following Xu Qing’s answer, although Grandmaster Bai, who was in the tent, was expressionless, the eyes of the young man and woman beside him widened in surprise.
“What are the Yin-Yang Dual Polarity Plants?” Grandmaster Bai asked again.
“The two extremes of Yin and Yang, so-called the combination of good and evil, yang is medicine, yin is poison.” Xu Qing answered without hesitation. These were all the knowledge he had heard during this period of time and he had memorized them many times, so he was already very familiar with them.
“How will this plant perform?” Grandmaster Bai asked even faster.
“Using the Night Corpse Leading Ox as an example, when combined with the Inch Leaf, it can increase the yang effect by several times. It can also help soothe injury caused by anomalous substances to the soul. However, if it is combined with the Fleeceflower, the yin effect will increase greatly. The toxicity is so great that if an ordinary person accidentally eats it, they will die within thirty breaths of time.
“How do you deal with the Fleeceflowers?”
“What’s the use of an inch root?” Grandmaster Bai asked faster and faster. The nervousness in Xu Qing’s heart gradually lessened and he answered equally quickly.
Just like that, the old man and the young man questioned and answered each other across the tent. Time flowed by and the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed.
Grandmaster Bai asked a lot of questions and many of them were answers that could only be known after combining the content of the lecture that had been held many days ago. However, Xu Qing answered all of them fluently.
As for the young man and woman, their previous shock had turned into extreme shock. They stared blankly at the figure projected in the tent.
Finally, under the dumbfounded gazes of the young man and woman, Grandmaster Bai asked his last question.
“Three stalks of one-year-old night-corpse lead-ox, six stalks of three-year-old Past-cloud cluster, and nine stalks of ten-year-old random chosen sedge grass of the single-horn water centipede. What are the effects of the medicinal liquid concocted?”
As soon as this question was asked, the expressions of the youth and the young girl changed rapidly and their breathing became hurried. This was because what was involved was no longer simple herbs but mixing them.
This question was also the one that caused Xu Qing to remain silent for the longest time. He pondered for over thirty breaths before he took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.
“It’s hard for evil to suppress good. The yang is stronger than the yin for the yin is weaker. Coupled with the effects of cloud grass, it can allow for the detoxification effect of the sedge grass of the single-horn water centipede to reach an astonishing level.” After Xu Qing finished speaking, his eyes widened as he vaguely realized something.
“This is 70% of the basic pill formula for the Great Transformation Pill among the detoxification pills. In addition to three other types of medicinal herbs, it can be refined after heating for 14 hours.” Grandmaster Bai’s voice rang out faintly from within the tent.
“After testing you so much, do you have anything you want to ask?”
Xu Qing’s mind jolted and his breathing became hurried.
In the past month or so, he indeed had many questions that he didn’t understand. However, he was only eavesdropping after all. Although Grandmaster Bai was kind and didn’t stop him, it wasn’t good for him to disturb the other party’s lesson and he couldn’t ask about it.
Upon hearing Grandmaster Bai’s words, Xu Qing hurriedly organized his thoughts and asked.
“Grandmaster Bai, regardless of whether it’s in terms of origin or effects, the flamethrower hemp and impotence spike have something in common. What’s the difference between the two?”
“Why can’t the Spirit Stopping Flower be picked during the day?”
“The sap of the Inch Leaf has the effect of warding off evil spirits. Why can’t it be used together with the Life Eye Branch that is also warding off evil spirits?”
…
Xu Qing asked one question after another and Grandmaster Bai answered them one after another. Every answer was very detailed.
As for Xu Qing, it was as though he couldn’t finish asking. It was only when the time passed far exceeded the duration of the lesson and the two youths looked at him as though they were looking at a monster that Xu Qing glanced at the sky with a hint of longing and had no choice but to end the questioning.
He felt that he had gained an indescribable harvest from this day. Most of the questions in his heart had been answered and he even felt like he had mastered them.
This made his thirst for knowledge even stronger. He was prepared to engrave everything when he returned.
Just as he was about to leave, Grandmaster Bai’s tired voice rang out from within the tent.
“From now on, you don’t have to stand outside or take those messy medicinal herbs. From tomorrow onwards, you can enter the tent to listen to the lesson.”
