The next day, Xue Huan came to Doctor He's house carrying a fat rabbit.
As soon as she entered, she saw He Shen practicing boxing in the yard. It was a bit like Tai Chi. His movements were slow and seemed soft and powerless, but they had a special rhythm.
She just stood aside and didn't go forward to disturb him.
After he finished, he said, "Uncle He, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
She wanted him to help dissect the bear she had killed yesterday.
If Xue's father were still alive, there would be no need to ask for help from others for this matter, but Xue's father is not here now. Xue Huan may be able to peel a rabbit skin, but she is helpless against a large beast like a blind bear.
The most precious thing about a bear is its gall. Bear gall is an expensive Chinese medicine with a wide range of uses. The technique of taking it is very important, otherwise it may be broken accidentally, and its value will be greatly reduced.
Why did Xue Huan ask He Shen to come? Because the original "Xue Huan" had seen this man extracting bull treasure from a cow's belly with such skill and skill, and she thought that extracting bear gall and extracting bull treasure should be similar, so she came.
He Shen was very interested in the bear gall and agreed immediately, "Take the rabbit back and sell the bear gall to me when the time comes."
Xue Huan left the rabbit behind without saying anything and ran away.
After breakfast, the three of them headed into the mountains, Xue Huan and Pei Ji leading the way, with He Shen following behind.
Arriving at the cabin, Xue Huan opened the door. After a night, the blind bear's huge body had become stiff, and a pool of blood had accumulated under it, which had already dried up.
He Shen went forward to check and was surprised to see that the blind bear had been killed by a single blow. "Who caused this injury?"
Xue Huan looked at Pei Ji, "Brother Kang."
He Shenshen glanced at Pei Ji and called out to him, "Come, help me move this big guy out."
The cabin is too small to move around freely.
Pei Ji tried to move the blind bear's head, and He Shen tried to move its feet, but they couldn't lift them. They tried again, but still couldn't lift them. This was a bit embarrassing.
Xue Huan hurried forward to help lift the other leg, and the three of them worked together to move this big guy to an open area outside.
He Shen walked around and sprinkled a kind of medicinal powder that could cover the smell of blood and repel insects and snakes.
This is also to avoid attracting wild animals, insects, snakes, etc. when collecting bear bile later.
He Shen took out a short knife from the medicine box he brought with him. It looked a bit like a scalpel. It looked very thin and sharp, but could such a small knife be used to extract bear bile?
He Shen seemed to see Xue Huan's confusion and smiled. "Don't underestimate this knife. It's made of meteorite iron. It can cut iron like mud and cut hair easily. But using it to extract the gallbladder from this blind bear is a waste of it."
As he spoke, he cut the bear skin open, layer by layer. The scene was bloody yet inexplicably beautiful.
It made her think of "The Butcher Cuts Up an Ox".
The scene before us should be called "How Doctor He Cuts Up an Ox".
"Don't look." Xue Huan suddenly remembered and hurriedly covered Pei Ji's eyes, fearing that his young mind would be stimulated.
Pei Ji pulled her hand down and said, "I'm not afraid."
He stared without blinking, full of curiosity, without any fear at all.
Well, he is not really a three-year-old child. Maybe he has seen a lot of blood before, so the scene in front of him may be child's play for him.
With a "swish" sound, before Xue Huan could see clearly, He Shen had already peeled off the entire bear skin intact.
That proficiency made her shudder. She wondered if he had done this kind of thing often before. Otherwise, how could his skinning skills be better than that of Xue's father, a hunter?
He Shen put the skin aside and started the real highlight: opening the abdomen and removing the gallbladder.
Xue Huan felt uncomfortable watching that scene, so she simply walked aside.
"Huh? This is... Miss Huan, come and take a look." He Shen called out.
When Xue Huan walked over, she saw He Shen holding a sachet with the tip of his knife. The original color of the sachet could no longer be seen. It was stained with some sticky black-green liquid and emitted a fishy odor.
"What's wrong, Uncle He?"
"Don't you think this sachet looks familiar? I think I've seen it on your father before."
Xue Huan's heart tightened. She no longer cared about the sachet's filth and stench. She reached out to take it, but He Shen dodged her, "It's stained with a blind bear's gastric juice. Be careful not to corrode your hands."
She wrapped the sachet with a handkerchief, rinsed it with water, looked at it carefully, and saw a bunch of Cymbidium orchids in the lower right corner of the sachet.
There is a character "卉" in Xue's mother's name, and she likes orchids very much, so she uses orchids as a mark and embroiders them on the embroidery, just like a painter would stamp his own unique seal in the corner of a painting after finishing it.
When Xue Huan saw this bunch of orchids, she was sure that this sachet was the one that Xue's father often wore before!
Inside is the insect repellent incense prepared by Xue's mother.
When hunting in the mountains, it is inevitable to encounter snakes, insects, rats and ants. These things may look inconspicuous, but they are quite lethal. After wearing the sachet filled with insect repellent incense, Xue's father will feel much more relaxed in the mountains.
At least you won't be covered in mosquito bites while you're hunting.
And now this sachet appeared in the blind bear's belly, doesn't that mean...
Thinking of this, Xue Huan's face changed.
He Shen had obviously guessed this and comforted her, "Huan girl, it's just a sachet. Maybe your father ran into this blind bear before and accidentally dropped the sachet, and the blind bear swallowed it."
However, this explanation is not very convincing. After all, the blind bear is a carnivore. Why would it eat the sachet for no reason? It must have swallowed the sachet while eating the human.
The subsequent dissection seemed to further confirm this.
Because He Shen found several pieces of undigested bones, human bones, in the blind bear's stomach.
He Shen didn't know what to say about this.
Xue Huan was silent for a long while. "Uncle He, please don't tell my mother about this. Let her think my father is still alive and well."
He Shen: "Okay."
The bear gallbladder was taken out. He Shen held it up and looked at it in the sunlight filtering through the branches. The originally black gallbladder actually showed a golden color, as translucent as amber.
A hint of excitement appeared in his eyes, and he carefully placed the bear gallbladder into a small porcelain jar that he had prepared.
"Huan girl, this bear gall is the finest golden gall, aged between eight and ten years, at its peak medicinal properties. 'Drink a cup of golden gall tea daily, and the emperor in the palace will not miss him.' The golden gall tea mentioned in this poem is made from this finest golden gall extracted from the stomach of a bear.
"Originally I wanted to ask you to buy the bear gall, but now I have to tell you that this golden gall is hard to come by, so you should take it back and keep it for yourself."
He handed over the small porcelain jar.
Xue Huan didn't take it. Not to mention that she had the spiritual spring, which was definitely as effective as the golden gall. Even if she didn't have it, she wouldn't take the golden gall back to make tea. The thought that Xue's father might die in the belly of this blind bear made her feel sick.
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