Chapter 8
Not long after Ashina Yu took the pill, a faint blue aura began to appear on his face. Shen Ahheng remembered the sentence "poison leads to mutual stimulation" mentioned in the Poison Sutra. Although it can temporarily suppress the toxins in the body, it will also cause the meridians to be affected by the power of the medicine, and the whole body will feel a needle-like pain.
For his already weak body, it was like running on the edge of a knife.
Shen Ah Heng was staring at his expression when she saw him quietly move towards the bed, his thin back slightly arched, as if he wanted to lie down and turn over with his back to her.
It was obvious that he was pretending nothing was wrong and trying to hide his discomfort.
Shen Ahheng's heart tightened, and he immediately reached out and grabbed his wrist, and without much force, he twisted his shoulder over.
As soon as she turned around, she saw clearly that there was a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, which slid down his cold pale cheeks. Even the color of his lips had faded and his eyes looked a little dizzy.
Shen Ah Heng's heart tightened suddenly, and he quickly asked: "Is it starting to hurt? Why didn't you tell me?"
Before he could respond, Shen Ah Heng turned around and took out a small black ceramic bottle from the medicine box, and poured out a few pills of different sizes that were pinched and glowed with a strange dark green color.
This is the "pain-relieving powder" commonly used in our sect. It can temporarily relieve the pain in the meridians, but it tastes very bitter and does not look very good.
Therefore, this medicine did not sell very well when the master was alive, but the neighbors would be cured of most of their illnesses when they saw the master take out this medicine.
Her internal strength was low, and this poison was not comparable to ordinary poisons. She had no way to use her internal strength to help him open up his meridians, so she could only rely on medicine.
Ashina Yu looked at the pill, his Adam's apple moved slightly, but he didn't hesitate and reached out to take it.
It's just that his fingertips were trembling, and Shen Ah Heng was afraid that he would force himself to say it wasn't bitter again, but he just raised his hand, took it from her palm, and swallowed it without changing his expression, without any complaint.
But half an hour passed, and the pain-relieving powder showed no effect at all. Ashina Yu's body began to tremble in pain, and cold sweat soaked his clothes. He suddenly turned his head and spat a mouthful of dark red blood onto the reed quilt.
Shen Ah Heng was so frightened that his face turned pale. He stood up and wanted to look through the medicine box to find other ways to relieve his pain, but the corner of his clothes was gently pulled by him.
He didn't have much strength, but his fingertips were filled with stubbornness, and his eyes were filled with the pleading look she had when she picked him up on the mountain that day.
"I'll go back to my room and look through some books to find a way to ease the situation." Shen Ah Heng coaxed him patiently and tried to pull the corner of his clothes back from his hand, but he held it tighter. Even after coughing up another mouthful of blood and soaking his cuffs, he didn't loosen his grip at all.
Seeing that he refused to let go, Shen Ah Heng had no choice but to give up, sat back on the bed, picked up a clean handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from his lips, his heart as anxious as fire.
Seeing him curled up in pain, cold sweat running down his cold white cheeks, Shen Ah Heng bit his lower lip tightly, and suddenly an idea came to him. He reached out and patted his shoulder gently, saying: "How about I tell you some bloody stories I heard from my master? Maybe after listening to them, you won't feel so much pain, okay?"
Ashina's jade eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes with great effort. There was still a layer of moisture in her eyes, and they were wet and a little confused, as if she had just endured the pain. Before she could ask a second question, he nodded gently, with a very light movement, so obedient that it made people's hearts soften.
Shen Ah Heng breathed a sigh of relief, cleared his throat, and said, "Back then, my master's grandfather was traveling around the world. Outside Luoyang City, he met an old swordsman named Zhou. He was over seventy years old, his hair was all gray, he was a decent man, and he was also well-known in the local area. However, every night, he went to climb the wall of the widow Sun next door without telling his wife, carrying the powder stolen from the powder shop. As a result, one night, he secretly put the powder on the widow Sun's windowsill, but he missed the ladder and fell into the large water tank in the yard. He was chased and bitten by the family's big yellow dog. He was too embarrassed to see the local doctor, so my master's grandfather heard the news and excitedly carried his medicine box to treat the man's leg, listening to gossip while he was treating him."
"Later, word of this story got out, and the old swordsman's wife found out. She made a scene for several days, and the old swordsman didn't dare go home for a while. The neighbors also loved to watch the fun, and they all secretly said that Zhou Jianke 'failed to steal the beauty, but ended up getting bit by the dog.'"
Seeing him tilt his face slightly, as if he had listened, Chen Ah Heng continued, "Another time, my master took me to Jiangnan, where we met a pair of young heroes who were equally famous in the local area. They grew up together and studied under the same master, but they were fighting fiercely over a beautiful woman in the martial arts world. Today they competed in swordsmanship, and tomorrow they competed in boxing and kicking, causing a sensation in the city. As a result, when my master took the beauty's pulse, he found out that she was the concubine of the two young heroes' master! The master was almost sixty years old, and his son was older than the two young heroes. Isn't that funny?"
"Later, the two young men found out and resigned from the sect that very day. They were so embarrassed they didn't dare leave the house for several days..."
Shen Aheng was talking until his mouth was dry. When he stopped to take a breath, he found that the people around him had already stopped moving. He looked down and found that Ashina Yu had fallen asleep.
His long hair was loosely spread on the pillow and shoulders, with a bit of softness. A few strands stuck to his cold pale cheeks, making his jawline look even thinner.
Her eyelashes were like two small fans covered in morning dew, drooping quietly, covering the fragility of her eyes and casting only a light shadow beneath her eyelids. Her lips were still a pale pink from having just vomited blood, having lost the obedient and forbearing look she had when awake, leaving only a fragile beauty.
He slept very lightly, breathing shallowly, his chest rising and falling slightly, and his head subconsciously rubbed against her hand, and the moisture on his eyelashes gradually dried.
Shen Aheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, reached out to tuck the corner of the quilt for him, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
That night, Shen Aheng didn't dare to close his eyes. He sat beside Ashina Yu's bed and stared at him, fearing that he would wake up in pain from the poison in the middle of the night.
The candle on the altar burned out and was replaced with another one, and the sky outside the window gradually turned pale.
Seeing that his breathing remained steady and his brows were no longer furrowed, Shen Ah Heng's tense nerves slowly relaxed.
Sleepiness came like a tide, and Shen Ah Heng lay on the edge of the bed, resting his head on his arm, and fell asleep unknowingly.
I don’t know how long it took.
In a daze, a faint aroma of rice drifted into her nose, mixed with the aroma of the medicine she prepared. Shen Aheng opened her eyes suddenly and saw that there was no one on the bed. She turned her head following the scent and saw Ashina Yu holding two coarse porcelain bowls and placing them gently on the table. There seemed to be rice in them.
"Why are you up?" Shen Ah Heng was surprised and happy. He rushed over and reached out to pull his collar without waiting for him to speak.
Ashina Yu subconsciously shrank back, but did not dodge. Her clothes opened a little, revealing the cold, jade-white skin below her collarbone.
The pale purple poisonous pattern that had been firmly entrenched on the chest and almost spreading to the heart actually retreated an inch or two, and the edges also faded a little, no longer as hideous as before.
"It works! The medicine I prepared really works!"
Shen Ah Heng was so happy that he just stared at the poison pattern with great satisfaction, and didn't realize that his hand was still on his warm chest, and his fingertips even rubbed the skin on the side of his neck.
It wasn't until she noticed his thin shoulders tense slightly, the tips of his ears turned a faint pink, and his cold white Adam's apple rolled gently on his neck that she managed to utter a few words. Her Central Plains dialect was soft and astringent, and each word was enunciated slowly: "The medicine... is effective. Good."
His voice still had the awkwardness of a Western accent, but it was full of seriousness.
Shen Ah Heng suddenly came back to his senses, and his hand immediately retracted as if it was burned. His cheeks burned instantly, and he was extremely embarrassed: “Yes, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, I was just too happy… Don’t be afraid…”
Ashina Yu lowered her eyelashes and said nothing more. She just gently gathered her clothes. Her movements were very light and gentle, and her cold white fingertips rubbed the clothes lightly, as if she was hiding something.
Look, the little Hu people are frightened...
Shen Ah Heng was just regretting her reckless behavior when she saw him looking up at her. The light that had just appeared in his eyes dimmed quietly again. Like a candle blown out by the wind, there was a hint of imperceptible loss in his eyes.
He didn't say another word, but turned around and pointed at the porridge on the table: "The porridge...is going to get cold," signaling her to come over and eat quickly.
Shen Ah Heng quickly sorted out the panic on his face, calmed down and walked over, then looked down at the food on the table, and his eyes lit up instantly.
They were two bowls of multi-grain porridge, made with the wild vegetables and dried mushrooms she had picked from the mountains a few days ago, mixed with some cornmeal, and cooked until thick. Some chopped young vegetable leaves were sprinkled on the surface. It looked much better than her usual messy porridge where you couldn't even tell what the original ingredients were, and the smell whetted her appetite.
Shen Ah Heng picked up the spoon and took a sip. As soon as it entered his mouth, he couldn't help but open his eyes wide: "It's delicious! You make it much more delicious than mine!"
Shen Ah Heng arched his eyebrows at him, smiling but feeling a little embarrassed, he patted his head and whispered, "Look at me, it's all my fault for oversleeping, making you, a patient... drag yourself to make breakfast for me."
Ashina Yu stood by the table. Upon hearing this, her fingertips curled up, a faint blush spreading across her cold, pale cheeks. She drooped her eyelashes and spoke each word slowly, "No...no."
As if trying to organize his words, he added softly, "You... saved me. Thank you, thank you."
His voice was very soft, and he turned around and sat down. His cold fingertips rested lightly on the edge of the bowl, his eyes fell on the porridge, and his cold face showed a gentle and obedient look.
Shen Ah Heng was amused by his pretending to be calm but hiding his discomfort, and without saying anything more, he pulled a stool to sit down, picked up the bowl and drank the porridge.
After cleaning up the dishes after dinner, Shen Ah Heng took out a porcelain bottle from the medicine box, poured out two "Scorpion Venom Leads", and added three small green pills.
It is made from the secret "Guiqi Grass" of this sect and the powder of the sand vitex fruit brought back from Dali, Yunnan. Guiqi Grass is the best for warming the blood, while the sand vitex fruit replenishes qi and blood, which just neutralizes the strong effect of the poison and can also help him nourish his body that was depleted when he was a medicine man.
Shen Aheng handed him the pills together: "Reduce it to two pills today, and then take these tonic pills, it will be good for your body."
Ashina Yu didn't ask any questions, but took it obediently, tilted his head back and swallowed it, his movements still obedient.
-
After taking the "Scorpion Venom" for a few days, Ashina Yu felt better, but he became more and more restless. He always wanted to help Shen Aheng cook, chop wood and dry medicine. But every time he picked up the axe, Shen Aheng took it away and said seriously: "Don't mess around. Just lie down and you're doing me a big favor. Don't mess around with your body. Wait until I feel better before you do anything."
The girl's tone was very firm, so Ashina Yu let go of her hands, her long and thick eyelashes drooped, and there was no expression on her cold and pale cheeks, only the corners of her lips were slightly pursed.
Seeing that the wild vegetables picked from the mountain were almost finished, and seeing that Ashina Yu was still thin, he felt a little worried.
He had been eating vegetables every day for the past few days. He had no appetite to begin with, and his face turned green from eating so much. He looked like a small vegetable lacking nutrients. Even though his injuries had healed a little, he hadn't gained much weight.
I saw that the Qingling grass, wild ginseng, etc. drying in the yard were almost dry, and they could be taken to the medicine shop in the town at the foot of the mountain to exchange for some silver.
It just so happened that she was almost suffocated these days.
"I'll take you for a walk down the mountain tomorrow." Shen Ah Heng suddenly spoke. Seeing him look up at him with a bit of confusion in his eyes, he smiled and gestured: "The medicine at home is almost dried. Let's go to town to sell some. By the way... have a snack. You can't always eat vegetables."
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her originally dim eyes brightened up in an instant, like a dusty star being polished. However, she did not respond immediately. Instead, she looked at her, raised her finger hesitantly, as if she wanted to say something, and finally nodded gently, with the corners of her mouth curved up for a rare moment, and the sense of loss hidden in her heart finally dissipated a little.
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