Chapter 332 Luo Jiming (2) (Two in One)

Luo. Although Taoist Hua Shen once said that his family was originally located in Xuancheng Prefecture and that all his clansmen had perished, Luo Xuanyi still thought of him the first time she heard this surname.

Originally, Luo Xuanyi's mind was still half on Huan Bai, but now she couldn't help but look Luo Jiming up and down carefully.

Luo Jiming looked young, his face slightly drooped in boredom. His facial features bore a resemblance to the Taoist Hua Shen in Luo Xuanyi's memory, save for his lowered eyebrows and more mature facial bones. If he were a little younger and smiled more, he'd probably be about 80% like him.

However, Luo Jiming lacked any spiritual energy, and his voice and footsteps carried the vacant weight of infrequent exercise. His face was also filled with fatigue. He was just an ordinary mortal, not a cultivator.

Aside from his face, his unadorned green robe wasn't a Taoist robe, but rather an ordinary scholar's attire. It was stained with green or brown medicinal stains, and to facilitate handling the herbs, he had tied up his long sleeves with two cloth straps through his armpits.

Luo Xuanyi remembered that Taoist Hua Shen had also dressed like this, and perhaps all people who were obsessed with refining medicine dressed similarly, but the two of them had similar faces, let alone dressed like this.

Even though it was still unclear whether this man was a member of Taoist Hua Shen's clan, Luo Xuanyi felt inexplicably irritated just by looking at Luo Jiming.

Luo Jiming, unaware that someone was watching him, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He patted his robe and groaned, "What did I do? I was researching according to your ideas."

There was boredom and hatred in his tone. He looked up and saw Hu's alert expression, but smiled playfully.

"What's with this toad?"

"It has nothing to do with you." Hu moved and stood in front of Longyue. It was futile for her petite figure to cover up the hill-sized Longyue. Her action instead aroused Luo Jiming's rebellious heart.

Luo Jiming walked a few steps towards this side, looking up and down at Longyue, and seemed not to be afraid of Longyue.

He took a deep breath.

"The smell of the Dragon Falls Land." Seeing that Longyue didn't react, Luo Jiming even gently placed his hand on the skin of Longyue's forelimb. "Toad, the classics record that toad is one of the five poisonous creatures. Is this monster toad also poisonous?"

"It's decided."

Luo Jiming withdrew his hand, bent down and gave Hu a provocative smile: "I want to take this toad away."

Hu frowned. Luo Xuanyi thought she would refuse, but Hu's attitude was intriguing.

"Huan Bai said it's a five-eyed toad, a monster from the Zhongqu Mountains, not from the Dragonfall Land."

Hearing the name Huan Bai, Luo Jiming took a step back and put away his smile. Luo Xuanyi keenly caught the hatred that flashed in his eyes.

"So what? Isn't my research very important to me, no, to you?"

"I'm going to use this toad."

Luo Jiming's tone became firm.

Hu unconsciously rolled the ground with his toes, and his hands tightly grasped the straps of the medicine basket and then loosened them.

"This five-eyed toad isn't one of ours. It's an intelligent demonic beast, possessing a soul like us. Regardless of whether it can aid your research, I believe you must first obtain its permission."

Hu made up his mind and stood in front of Long Yue and refused to move away.

"If it doesn't want to go with you, please don't force it."

"snort."

Luo Jiming snorted and turned his gaze away from her face in boredom: "You are the same, mediocre."

Hu's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"What did you say?"

"Ha," Luo Jiming raised his head and deliberately raised his voice. "I say, you are just a bunch of idiots who insist on following the so-called natural way! What's this Ran Dao Guan Wei Kingdom? It's just a bunch of unsophisticated people who just came out of the dirt and occupied a piece of land."

"Humans are the most intelligent creatures on earth, yet you insist on clamoring for and protecting all things equally. You don't even build a house, you expose yourself to the wind and rain, yet you claim to be close to nature. This is why you can't make an inch of progress."

When Luo Jiming mentioned Ran Taoist Temple and Wei Kingdom, his tone was quite disdainful. Luo Xuanyi guessed that he did not consider himself a native of this place, nor did he agree with the Taoism here.

While Luo Xuanyi calmly speculated on Luo Jiming's background, Hu, who was born in Wei Country, could not let him rant about the Dao. She was about to speak, but Luo Jiming didn't give her a chance to speak, turning to face Long Yue.

"Five-eyed Toad, you are a demon beast and should understand what I am saying. Let's make a deal."

"I want to take your saliva, skin flakes, and you... Please cooperate with some research on the toxins in the Dragonfall Land. I see that you are overflowing with spiritual energy, but you don't have a spiritual fetus. I can give you a medicine that will help you give birth to a spiritual fetus."

After hearing Luo Jiming's words, Longyue and Luo Xuanyi were both moved.

Luo Xuanyi had never heard of this kind of medicine. She felt a little itchy when she heard about it, not to mention Long Yue, who was a monster.

Long Yue nodded immediately, jumped over Hu, who had stepped aside, and ran to Luo Jiming. Luo Jiming took a step aside in disdain, then turned to Hu and said with a smile, "Now you have no objection, right?"

Hu's eyes shifted between the silly Long Yue and the brightly smiling Luo Jiming, and she lowered her head in thought.

Hu's dislike and resistance to Luo Jiming was not groundless; to be more precise, it was his dislike for the Luo family, a hatred that could be traced back to Hu's mother, who was a Taoist monk at the Lianxu Taoist temple and indulged in wine.

It is said that the Luo family was punished by the six alliances to come to the Dragon Falling Land hundreds of years ago. No one knows what they have done wrong, but the six alliances require them to study the problem of removing the remaining poison in the Dragon Falling Land from generation to generation. Only when the Dragon Falling Land is restored to the Diling State can they atone for their sins.

Hu's mother, Shejiu, was a guard monk who watched over them. After arriving here, Shejiu fell in love with Huangxiao, a monk from Ran Daoguan who guarded the border of the Dragon Falling Land. Although she showed signs of pregnancy several times, she never gave birth to a child.

At this time, Huan Bai, who was seriously ill, was sent to the temple by his parents, saying that they would see if he could enter the Dao and be reborn, but in fact they had abandoned him. Shejiu and Huangxiao raised Huan Bai by their side and lived with him as a family.

Everything seemed to be on track until twenty years ago, but the Luo family was always restless beneath the surface. They ostensibly traveled to the Land of Dragonfall to study the remaining poison, but in reality they were preparing to flee to the Zang Yao Sect.

Twenty years ago, before Hu was even born, Luo Jiming's parents finally found an opportunity. They ostensibly traveled to the Dragon's Fall to collect toxins, but in reality, they fled to the Zang Yao Sect with the one-year-old Luo Jiming. Shejiu, Huangxiao, and his adopted brother Huanbai, then still in the Nascent Soul stage, tried to stop them. Ultimately, Huangxiao died protecting Shejiu, and Luo Jiming's parents also perished in defeat.

After Luo Jiming's parents died, Shejiu found a recipe for a poisonous elixir from their bodies, called "Zangzi Incense." If this incense is burned for a long time and allowed to inhale by a pregnant woman, the child will hide in the mother's womb, continuously absorbing her energy without being born until the mother dies or the drug runs out.

Poisoned by Cangzixiang, Shejiu unknowingly carried Hu for hundreds of years, greatly reducing her strength and forcing Huangxiao to kill her. Four years after she stopped using the incense, Shejiu finally gave birth to Hu, but she also died of weakness.

Hu lost his parents from then on and was raised by his adoptive brother Huan Bai alone.

She absorbed a large amount of spiritual power from Zangzixiang and Shejiu. Although she was immune to all poisons and had a long life, she was also poisoned and unable to practice any Taoist magic, which became a great regret for her.

Ironically, since Luo Jiming was the only one around who was of similar age to Hu, Luo Jiming was unable to practice, and when he was a child, Hu even liked playing with him more than Huan Bai.

But as they grew up and became more knowledgeable, they quickly became alienated and even became hostile to each other.

Hu was unable to cultivate, so Huan Bai took over the two tasks of monitoring Luo Jiming and guarding the border of the Dragon Falling Land. She felt regretful and wanted to do something, even if it was just to ensure that Luo Jiming did not endanger those around him.

"Since it agreed to your deal, I certainly won't stop it. However, I'm going to follow." Hu walked over to Long Yue and looked directly into Luo Jiming's eyes. "Supervising your research is also my job."

"... whatever you want."

Luo Jiming waved his hand, simply saying "Follow me," then turned and pushed aside the brush, striding forward in the direction he had in mind. Long Yue followed him, and Hu followed suit, his heart heavy with worry.

They traveled in silence. Under the moonlight, as clear as a stream, they marched, parting the tall grass. Startled fireflies scattered like stars, finally illuminating a bamboo hut ahead.

This is the only man-made building in the entire plain and hillside. It is tall but old. The cold black color and strong medicinal fragrance of the house can be seen through the gaps between the broken bamboo boards.

Luo Jiming removed a row of bamboo doors secured with wooden planks, then compared them to Longyue's body before removing another piece, allowing Longyue to squeeze in. He casually lit an oil lamp on the table, and the pale orange light finally dispelled the cold air in the room.

Longyue sat half-sitting, legs bent, her head almost touching the roof. She tried to lie down, but the piles of books and scrolls blocked her way. Seeing her shifting uncomfortably, Hu couldn't help but ask, "Can't you do any experiments outside?"

"No," Luo Jiming objected as he dug out a clean scroll. "There's so much grass and dust outside, how can we do research?"

"The Tao exists in all things. There is nothing that cannot be used, and nothing that is too small to be observed. It is ever-changing and the truth is clear in the heart." Hu said calmly.

Everyone in Wei Country can freely pile up soil to make pills and medicines in an open-air environment. They are born with a subtle perception of Taoism, and even the presence of debris will not affect their observation of Taoism at all. This is something Luo Jiming cannot compare to.

He gave her a cold sidelong glance, set out his paper, ink, brush, and inkstone, then lowered his head and pulled out a box from under the table. The box was filled with glassware, which he carefully selected one by one.

While Luo Jiming prepared, Luo Xuanyi looked around the bamboo house. Originally, the house should have had several compartments, but Luo Jiming had removed almost all of the partitions to make it easier to store research objects. Aside from a central, weight-bearing wall blocking off the other half of the room, everything else was visible at a glance.

The bamboo scrolls stacked everywhere were not very old and showed signs of having been recently handled. I guess they were Luo Jiming's own records of his experiments.

The bottles and jars spread out on the long tables against the wall were more neatly arranged than the bamboo slips, each with a simple label. The label must have been created by Luo Jiming himself, as Luo Xuanyi couldn't understand a single word.

What caught Luo Xuanyi's attention was a row of bookshelves standing next to the load-bearing wall.

The bookshelf was pitch black, carved from thousand-year-old black ruler spirit wood. Black ruler spirit wood is one of the best materials for refining wood spirit fundamental life instruments. Using it as a bookshelf, one can imagine the original extravagance of the Luo family.

The books stacked from top to bottom on the bookshelf weren't bamboo slips; they were essentially stone tablets, the kind used only by large families in ancient times. The stone tablets bore traces of age, and the inscriptions on the spines were all in ancient script. A cursory glance revealed that each shelf had essentially the same format. For example, the top shelf contained "Annotations on the Way of Poison," "Annotations on the Way of Alchemy," and "Annotations on the Way of Medicine," all of which were annotations. The second shelf contained "Examples of Alchemy Recipes: The Evolution of the Wanli Elixir" and "Examples of Alchemy Recipes: The Evolution of All Things," among other typical records of the evolution of alchemy recipes.

These books directly demonstrate the heritage of the Luo family. The knowledge that anyone who studies elixirs and poison medicine dreams of obtaining is placed in rows on unprotected bookshelves.

Even without looking at the contents, the slate itself was a treasure. For example, Bo Huixiao's experiments within the family were all recorded on slate, while after leaving home, all his experiments were recorded on furs. At the time, slate books were rare and only available to aristocratic families. It was only with the advent of bamboo slips that most people began using books and abandoned slate.

Such a large number of slate books, coupled with their contents, at least indicate that in ancient times, Luo Jiming's family, the Luo clan, was undoubtedly a prominent family specializing in medicine, poisons, and elixirs. Luo Xuanyi could almost conclude that Luo Jiming and Taoist Hua Shen were from the same Luo clan. In addition to the slate evidence, she also saw the single bamboo scroll on the bookshelf.

The scroll was carefully taken care of and placed in an open red jade box, with the top of the scroll facing upwards, revealing four words that Luo Xuanyi was very familiar with - Luo Family Genealogy.

It is exactly the same as the scroll in Taoist Hua Shen's hand.

"Yes."

Luo Jiming muttered, looking at the various bottles and jars he had selected with satisfaction. He took out a long glass bottle with a funnel mouth, turned around and waved to Long Yue, "Come here, I'll collect your saliva and skin scrapings."

Luo Xuanyi, who was getting closer and closer to Luo Jiming inside Longyue's body, felt a sudden surge of murderous desire in her heart.

“Zheng——”

The ghost gate within her body trembled slightly. Startled, Luo Xuanyi shook off her murderous intent and looked inward. She saw a faint red light emanating from the ghost gate, attempting to influence her thoughts.

The trials that had previously begun unnoticed finally became apparent to Luo Xuanyi as her connection with the treacherous path deepened. This was the killing desire among the six paths of treacherous cultivation.

Unexpectedly, because of Luo Xuanyi's murderous intention towards Taoist Hua Shen, she took her anger out on Luo Jiming.

Kill Luo Jiming. She whispered with murderous intent in her heart.

Not now.

If Luo Jiming is killed now, the trial will fail.

Luo Xuanyi suddenly felt fortunate that it was Luo Jiming who had provoked this, not Taoist Hua Shen. If the trial had suddenly begun when she was fully prepared to confront Taoist Hua Shen, it would have been impossible for her to resist attacking him.

But I really want to kill Luo Jiming.

Taoist Hua Shen thought that his entire clan was wiped out and he was left alone, but he never imagined that he still had a blood relative in Hairuozhou.

Perhaps Luo Jiming could be used as a bargaining chip against the enemy, Hua Shen Dao Ren...

Luo Xuanyi narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on Luo Jiming, who was wholeheartedly collecting samples of the Longyue.

Thanks to Xia Ri Zhan Yu for voting for two monthly tickets, and thanks to book friend 20230322105933211 for voting for one monthly ticket~

I finally finished the cleaning last night and today. The damn cockroaches made their nest in my central air conditioner. I feel refreshed after cleaning them up~

I’ll give you two updates today, and there will be more updates tomorrow and the day after tomorrow!