Chapter 5
Breakfast was still the shepherd's purse and cornmeal dumpling soup left over from yesterday, but this time Shen Ah Heng deliberately added less water, so the dumplings were firmer and no longer became porridge.
But when you put it in your mouth, it still tastes coarse like cornmeal, and the astringency of shepherd's purse is not suppressed.
After Shen Ah Heng brought it up, he scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly: "It's still not done yet, you have to eat it. I'll take you down the mountain for a snack another day."
Ashina Yu didn't say anything. He picked up the bowl and ate quietly without showing any disgust. He even drank up the last bit of soup at the bottom of the bowl.
After the meal, Shen Aheng changed his medicine, asked him to lie down and rest, tucked in the corners of his quilt, and carried the backpack to the back mountain.
It had rained heavily yesterday, and the morning dew on the branches had not yet dried. The rotten leaves and mud along the way soaked her trouser legs. The mountain road was steep and slippery, so she could only pick up a thin pigwood stick as a crutch. On the way, whenever she came across any herbal detoxification herbs, she would pick them up, regardless of whether they were suitable for her condition or not.
Even if you don’t use it, you can sell it to the herbal medicine store in town after drying it, so it’s not a loss.
When they came across medicinal herbs growing in the cracks of steep rocks, if they couldn't reach them with their hands, they would use a wooden stick to reach them. When they got tired, they would lean against a tree to rest for a while, take off the gourd from their waist to drink some water, and then go deeper into the mountains.
In addition to looking for detoxifying herbs, she also picked some gray vegetables, wild mushrooms for stewing soup, wild yam and chicken bone grass, and put them all in the corner of the backpack.
When she was about to reach the top of the mountain, Shen Ahheng suddenly heard a hissing sound coming from the long grass not far ahead. She tiptoed forward and saw a red scorpion crawling in a crevice in the rock in front of her. Only the stinger on its tail was snow-white, and it was now raised high, emitting a cold light.
Shen Ah Heng recognized that this was called a "white-tailed scorpion". It was larger than ordinary scorpions and moved silently. When its stinger swung rapidly, it would spray out a very light poisonous mist. The toxicity was as strong as fire. Once stung by it, the whole body would be burning in a moment, and the poison would spread along the blood vessels. If not treated in time, even the top masters in the martial arts world would lose all their internal strength after being poisoned by this poison.
However, although it is a highly poisonous creature, if the venom in its tail stinger is mixed with the ice toad gall, it will become a priceless detoxification medicine, which may be effective against the poison in Ashina Yu's body.
However, this white-tailed scorpion usually only comes out of its hole to look for food at night. It is extremely rare to see it during the day, and male and female often appear in pairs. Judging from the size of this white-tailed scorpion, it is already an adult, and perhaps its partner is also nearby.
So Shen Ah Heng patiently hid nearby and waited for a while, until his legs became numb and no other one appeared. He had no choice but to take out a small iron clip and a porcelain jar with a lid from his backpack, half-crouched and slowly moved towards the crevice.
When he was about one or two feet away from the crevice, Shen Ahheng held his breath. While the white-tailed scorpion was motionless, he slowly pressed down the scorpion's carapace with his clamps to prevent it from moving. Then he carefully pinched the base of its stinger to avoid being stung. With light and quick movements, he put the scorpion into the porcelain jar and quickly screwed on the lid.
Only after he finished all this did Shen Aheng realize that a thin layer of sweat had appeared on his back.
This white-tailed scorpion is extremely poisonous. If you get stung by it, it will be very dangerous.
After putting the porcelain jar and the clips into the backpack, Shen Ahheng went to other places to look for herbs.
When she dug out an old nightshade, Shen Ahheng looked at the sky and found that she had been out for most of the day. The basket on her back was heavy. She had harvested a lot in the past half day, and her shoulders were sore from the weight.
Shen Aheng patted the backpack, turned around and walked back. Although his steps were heavy, he couldn't help but smile. These things were enough to cure Ashina Yu's poison for a while, and could also provide several more meals.
When we returned to the mountain temple, the sun was about to set. The afterglow shone on the eaves of the temple and on the crows that perched on the eaves all year round. Their feathers were soaked in the afterglow, and were coated with a beautiful layer of gold.
Shen Ahheng walked into the yard, his steps heavy as if filled with lead. He put down the backpack and rubbed his sore shoulders.
After a while, she glanced at the closed hall door, thinking that Ashina Yu was still sleeping, so she picked up the backpack again and walked in quietly. But when she opened the door, she was stunned. He was not lying down, but sitting on the edge of the bed with his back against the wall.
His cold and pale profile was facing the door, and his empty eyes were looking towards the hall door, as if he had been sitting like this since she left.
"Are you awake?"
Shen Ah Heng was a little surprised, thinking that he was bored and wanted to go out. When he put down the backpack, he comforted him: "There's nothing to see outside. The mountain is full of old trees and poisonous insects and snakes. It's wet everywhere, and the mountain path is not easy to walk on."
She knew he wasn't speaking the Central Plains dialect well, and didn't expect him to respond. She turned around and squatted beside the backpack, rummaging through something. Then she started talking naturally, "You don't know how hard it was for me to get up the mountain today. The path was so slippery, I almost fell... But I got lucky. Guess what? I actually caught a 'white-tailed scorpion'. It's a really good thing. Maybe it can cure the poison in you... Oh, and I also picked some wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and other things. I'll make you some soup tonight to nourish you."
This habit of chattering to myself was developed after my master left. The mountain temple is too quiet, and I always feel empty when I don't talk all day.
Shen Aheng sorted and arranged the herbs, and put the porcelain jar containing the white-tailed scorpion in the corner. When he turned to get the wild mushrooms, he raised his eyes and inadvertently met Ashina Yu's gaze.
He didn't look away, but was looking at her quietly, with his eyelashes drooping. Although he had no expression, he seemed to be listening to her seriously.
Shen Aheng's words suddenly stopped, and his heart seemed to be hit lightly by something.
Ever since her master passed away, she had been talking to the wind, to the clouds, to the sunrise and sunset, but no one had ever listened to her seriously. But now, with him sitting there, she actually felt like she was being listened to for the first time.
A warmth quietly spread from my heart, and even the pain in my shoulders and neck seemed to ease a little.
In Shen Ah Heng's hand, he was still holding the wild mushroom he had just picked up. The next second, the corners of his lips curved up, revealing two shallow dimples. His originally bright and lively eyes were now filled with the fragmented light of the setting sun. His voice was filled with a little bit of joy that he himself didn't even realize: "You really like to listen, then I will tell you more?"
Having said that, she simply put the wild mushrooms aside and stopped packing her things. She sat on a small wooden stool not far from the bed, supporting her chin with her hands. She opened up completely and even her tone was much lighter than usual.
"Also, today when I was looking for Old Nightshade by the stream in the valley, I almost missed a step and fell down! Luckily I grabbed a vine nearby. I was so scared that I was sweating all over!"
As Shen Ah Heng spoke, she raised her hand to gesture the way she grabbed the vine at that time, her face full of fear, but also a bit of relief at having survived the disaster: "But that vine was quite strong, otherwise I would have been buried in the valley today and fed to those vultures."
He then went on to talk about how many wild mushrooms grew in the mountains, which ones were edible, and which ones would make one lie down and see immortals immediately after eating them. He even mentioned how lucky he was and how many medicinal herbs he had collected that were not usually found. Even if he couldn't cure him, he could make a fortune by selling them to the pharmacy in town.
The chirping sound is like the titmouse in the woods, a tired bird returning to the forest, tired but full of vitality, immersed in the warmth of the sunset, and gently echoing in the quiet mountain temple.
Ashina Yu said nothing the whole time, just tilted his head slightly, his eyes fixed on her face. The mist in front of his eyes seemed to be blown away a little by the wind. When he saw her talking excitedly, his eyelashes would blink slightly. He listened quietly the whole time, without interrupting or looking away.
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At dinner, Shen Ah Heng threw the wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, gray vegetables, willow wormwood sprouts, etc. picked during the day and a small piece of bacon into the pot, added water and stewed them together.
She didn't have much cooking skill, so she just decided to make this hodgepodge. When it was almost done, she sprinkled some salt on it. When she opened the lid, a fresh aroma unexpectedly wafted out. Even she was stunned. She didn't expect that her random stew could be so delicious.
She had been eating only shepherd's purse and cornmeal for the past two days and was already starving. She ate two full bowls of food and slurped it up so much that sweat came out of the tip of her nose.
Ashina Yu sat opposite her, holding the bowl in one hand and using chopsticks with the other to eat small bites of food. His movements were slow and regular, and even the arc of his chewing revealed a natural elegance. It was obviously a coarse porcelain bowl with an ordinary stewed soup, but he made it taste like an imperial meal.
After dinner, Shen Ah Heng cleaned up the dishes and suddenly remembered something. He took out a snow-white porcelain jar from the bamboo basket in the corner, walked up to Ashina Yu mysteriously, and shook it: "Guess what's in it?"
Ashina Yu looked at the porcelain jar quietly without saying a word, but blinked her eyelashes slightly.
"Haha, I guess you can't guess it." Without waiting for his answer, Shen Ah Heng opened the lid himself, revealing a scorpion with a red body and a snow-white sting. He moved it close to him to show him, saying, "Look, this is an adult 'white-tailed scorpion'. It's worth a fortune in the market. Maybe it can cure the strange poison in your body!"
As she spoke, she quickly screwed the lid back on, fearing it would escape. She smiled and explained, "But you can't use it yet. This scorpion is a little more special than ordinary scorpions. The male and female always move in pairs and never separate. I only caught the male. If the female scorpion loses her husband, she will definitely smell the scent and find him within a day or two."
Shen Ah Heng pointed to the courtyard gate and said with a bit of certainty, "I plan to put the male scorpion in a bamboo cage in the courtyard. We will wait and see until the female scorpion comes. Then we can gather a pair to use as medicine. The detoxification effect will definitely be greatly increased."
Before going to bed, Shen Aheng came over with the medicine bowl. After watching Ashina Yu drink the medicine, he pulled up his arm and carefully applied the ointment on the scabby wound. When his fingertips touched the new scab, he deliberately used less force.
Seeing the wounds on his arms, shoulders, and ankles had formed light scabs, and the redness and swelling around the edges had mostly subsided. Even the originally hideous cracks had smoothed out a bit, no longer bleeding. I couldn't help but laugh, "Your wounds are healing well. In two or three days, these wounds will be completely healed. Then, once we catch the white-tailed scorpion, we'll start working on removing the poison from your body."
Ashina Yu listened quietly, with her eyelashes drooping, and said nothing. She just raised her arm obediently and let her apply the medicine.
After applying the medicine, Shen Ahheng was still worried, and looked up and down at his body again, and couldn't help muttering in a low voice: "There shouldn't be any place left without medicine..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ashina Yu blinked and raised his hand to lift his clothes, obviously wanting her to check other injuries on his body.
"Hey! Don't!" Shen Ah Heng was startled and quickly reached out to hold his hand. The tip of his ear instantly felt hot. He coughed lightly and quickly grabbed his hand that was pulling it down. He pulled his clothes up before they slipped off and helped him fasten the buttons: "Boys should be more reserved. How can you take off your clothes casually? Do you understand?"
Ashina Yu blinked, obviously not understanding the meaning of the word "reserved", and there seemed to be a bit of confusion in her eyes.
Shen Aheng sighed helplessly. Forget it. He wouldn't understand if I told him these things. After all, the Western Regions and the Central Plains may indeed be very different in some customs. This matter cannot be rushed. I will teach him slowly in the future.
Shen Aheng raised his hand, first pointed at his clothes, then shook his head seriously, then made a gesture of "outsider", and finally shook his hand heavily.
This was repeated several times, meaning that he should never take off his clothes in front of outsiders again.
Ashina Yu stared at her gesture for a while, blinked slowly, and then nodded obediently. There was still no expression on her cold and pale face, but she showed obedience and gentleness.
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