29. The elegant and refined Senior Brother Liu
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Having had a hangover last night, Yan Yunzhao woke up this morning with a terrible headache, so he went to the kitchen and made himself a pot of light, hangover-relieving osmanthus dumplings.
Most of the glutinous rice balls served in Biyuefang were filled with red bean paste, which was sweet and delicious, but she still preferred sesame paste.
Sprinkle some sugar, add a little osmanthus sauce to the bowl, and serve with red bean dumplings. Taking a bite of this steaming hot dish in the morning is simply too pleasant.
She remembered that last night, after getting drunk, she insisted on talking to Lou Su about "human truths" and "do you even know what astrophysics is?" Now that she thought about it, she felt really embarrassed and touched the bridge of her nose in embarrassment.
And what about that future wife… Yan Yunzhao felt a little conflicted. Oh well, Lou Su was drunk too, he probably wouldn’t remember. She decided to “let bygones be bygones” and gave him a bowl of glutinous rice balls.
After serving hot dumplings, Yan Yunzhao stood in front of Lou Su's room and knocked for a long time, but no one answered. There was no sound from inside either. Suddenly, Yan Yunzhao remembered the last time Lou Su fainted and no one noticed. In a moment of panic, he kicked the door open.
This room was similar to the one Yan Yunzhao lived in, with simple and elegant furnishings. She had just spilled half of the glutinous rice balls she was carrying, so she casually put them on the table and hurriedly went over to look at the bed.
Lou Su lay stiffly on the bed, covered with a thin blanket, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his face flushed and burning hot, as if he had a high fever.
No wonder he usually gets up so early, but today he slept until late morning without making a sound. He must have drunk alcohol last night and then caught a chill while he was feeling hot. Yan Yunzhao felt guilty and prepared to apply a towel to cool him down before going to call for help.
A cool, damp towel was placed on his forehead. Lou Su's tightly closed eyes twitched, as if he was still a little hot. The blanket covering his shoulders was kicked off a little.
The neckline of her thin inner garment was slightly askew, revealing half of her smooth, jade-like skin. Yan Yunzhao looked at the reddened chest and, bewitched, placed her hand on it.
It's so hot!
This person probably has a fever of 40 degrees Celsius. Yan Yunzhao didn't have time to think about it. He pulled the blanket away and was about to apply a wet towel to his head when he met a pair of questioning eyes.
Lou Su forced himself to sit up, but his mind was still somewhat hazy.
This sitting down caused her collar to open even wider, revealing a large expanse of skin and her shapely abdomen beneath the fabric.
Having assumed Lou Su was frail and thin, Yan Yunzhao was momentarily stunned by the sight of his firm skin exposed to the sunlight.
Yan Yunzhao's face flushed red. She was half-straddling the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket in her hand, looking as if she were plotting something. She was momentarily speechless, unable to defend herself: "I...I just saw you were hot..."
Noticing Yan Yunzhao's embarrassment, Lou Su glanced down at himself, but made no move to close his collar, revealing his impressive figure. His gaze was fixed on the half-bowl of osmanthus dumplings on the table next to him.
He licked his dry lips, nodded at the half-bowl of osmanthus dumplings, and said, "Continue."
Continue? Continue what?
Yan Yunzhao was a little dazed.
She turned her head to look at where Lou Su was pointing and caught a glimpse of the half-bowl of dumplings she had spilled.
Did he think I was feeding him dumplings?
Yan Yunzhao was in a daze, unable to think of anything else. He picked up the glutinous rice ball and brought the spoon to Lou Su's lips. Lou Su opened his mouth and swallowed it obediently.
His thin lips parted slightly, but he looked down at his fingertips propped up on the edge of the bed, letting Yan Yunzhao feed him the dumplings spoonful by spoonful.
Yan Yunzhao kept his eyes fixed on the spoon the whole time, not daring to glance at his exposed chest, but his mind was uncontrollably filled with all sorts of thoughts.
He does rough work every day, exposed to wind and rain, so why is his skin still so smooth? I wonder if it feels the same way to the touch...
Her thoughts wandered for only a moment before the spoon was already on Lou Su's face. She grabbed a towel and hurriedly wiped Lou Su's face.
"I'll do it."
Lou Su said this, but he led her hand holding the towel into his bosom.
Yan Yunzhao's mind went blank for a moment. The surroundings were eerily quiet, and the only sound in her mind was the frantic beating of her heart.
What are they trying to do?!
Only when her fingertips touched something delicate did she raise her eyes with a sense of death—Lou Su led her fingertips to wander over his not-so-flat abdomen, letting her feel the proud contours inch by inch.
All that could be seen before her was Lou Su's body, which seemed to grow infinitely larger. Yan Yunzhao felt her cheeks burning hot. She tried to escape but her hands were held down and she couldn't break free. However, Lou Su moved extremely slowly, guiding her hands from her lower abdomen to her collarbone, shoulders, and neck...
A few strands of black hair hung down on his broad, white chest. In the sunlight, he half-closed his eyes, but his chest trembled slightly.
The girl's fingertips were slightly cool, and wherever they touched, they would cause an instinctive shiver. This feeling was extremely light, yet it was so captivating that one could not extricate oneself from it.
Seeing the redness in Lou Su's eyes from a hangover and the slight trembling of his long eyelashes as he enjoyed himself, Yan Yunzhao's breathing became somewhat unsteady. Realizing that their actions were improper, she suddenly came to her senses and withdrew her hand.
Is he still drunk? How could he take advantage of someone while intoxicated...?
"I'll go get the doctor."
After saying that, Yan Yunzhao got up to leave, but Lou Su grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go. With a little force, Yan Yunzhao fell into his arms without any warning.
Their breaths mingled, and now that they were so close, she noticed a tiny beauty mark at the corner of Lou Su's right eye, a mark that would have been difficult to spot if she hadn't looked so closely.
His breath carried the faint sweet fragrance of osmanthus and warmth, a scent so pleasant it was mesmerizing. Yan Yunzhao shook his head, calmed his racing heart, and sat up on the bed, even more certain that Lou Su was still drunk.
But the two of them only drank one pot of wine yesterday, how could they be drunk for so long?
After tucking Lou Su in, Yan Yunzhao straightened his clothes and went out of the courtyard to call for the doctor. He happened to run into Lou Chengjing, who was walking his bird in the neighborhood.
Seeing the lingering blush on Yan Yunzhao's cheeks and ears, Lou Chengjing teased, "A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Why did you come out alone? Where is my good brother?"
Yan Yunzhao rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "The wine in your Biyuefang is all fake. Your brother was drunk for two days, vomiting and having a fever."
Lou Chengjing raised an eyebrow: "I'm afraid they're drinking Spring Dew Bar. I'll go check."
Yan Yunzhao remained noncommittal. Instead of calling the doctor, Lou Chengjing was summoned. Well, since he knew about "Spring Dew Wine," he should have a way to cure the hangover.
Fearing that outsiders might notice something amiss, Yan Yunzhao temporarily put aside the enchanting scenery from before, pretended to be calm, and started chatting idly.
Lou Chengjing carried the large, colorful parrot as he and Yan Yunzhao walked into the courtyard. The parrot's feathers were bright and beautiful; it must be quite expensive. Yan Yunzhao turned to the parrot and asked, "Can it talk?"
The parrot tilted its head and asked Yan Yunzhao, "Can you talk?"
She was taken aback by the parrot's question, but found the bird clever and amusing, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The parrot flapped its wings restlessly on Lou Chengjing's wrist. Seeing that Yan Yunzhao did not speak, it shouted, "Dumb, dumb."
"Dead bird."
Lou Chengjing tapped the parrot on the head as a warning, and the parrot tilted its head and stopped talking.
Upon entering the room, Lou Su was still lying on the bed as if unconscious. Lou Chengjing glanced at the irregularly creased bed and a knowing smile appeared on his face.
Yan Yunzhao naturally saw the messed-up bed, and his ears burned again. He pretended not to see it and nervously teased Lou Chengjing's parrot.
Lou Chengjing raised his hand to feel his nose, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that Lou Su had been frozen in place for a long time without speaking, Yan Yunzhao wondered what was wrong with him and couldn't help but ask.
Lou Chengjing lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then simply tucked the blanket around Lou Su and casually said, "It's nothing. He's probably just... terminally ill."
"My days are numbered, my days are numbered."
The parrot beside it was instantly glared at twice and sullenly shrank behind the porcelain vase on the table.
"How could this be? What illness does he have?"
Could it be that it was affected by the magic artifact? Why did it get worse after the jade pendant was gone? Could it be... related to that pot of wine last night? Yan Yunzhao's heart jumped, pounding wildly.
Lou Chengjing glanced at her and said casually, "He... was poisoned. He didn't have many years to live anyway, so this was to be expected. There's no need to blame yourself."
Lou Chengjing's calm tone stunned her. Yan Yunzhao repeatedly chewed over the words "not many years to live" in her mind, and her fingertips, which had just been warm from his body, suddenly became cold.
Lou Su's features remained unchanged, and he basked in the warm morning sun, fast asleep without realizing it.
Since it's an illness, there must be a cure. The one who can save Lou Su… is Ye Qin!
However, there is a rule in the Immortal Realm that Immortal Sects are not allowed to interfere with the treatment of mortal fruits. Even if they ask an Immortal Master for help, how can they ask Ye Qin's fellow disciple, the pharmacist, to treat them empty-handed?
Ignoring everything else, Yan Yunzhao opened the Thousand Elephant Pouch. A few herbs he had taken from Qingshan Gate before the Heavenly Tribulation were still left.
She didn't use it before not because she was reluctant, but because she didn't understand medicine and didn't know what kind of illness Lou Su was suffering from. Moreover, the medicine was extremely potent and could easily corrode the lungs if not handled carefully.
If it's for detoxification, it should be effective.
She telepathically explained the situation to Ye Qin, and as for the reward... let's use this hundred-day moxa.
These two spiritual herbs had been nurtured by Qingshan Sect for many years and seemed to be quite rare. Yan Yunzhao secretly took away a lot of them with the help of Xiao Fu. Xiao Fu originally used them for cultivation, but now that Xiao Fu was asleep, he was free to save lives.
...
Upon hearing that there was payment for making a hundred days' worth of artemisia, Ye Qin summoned many of his fellow disciples within half a day. The group laid out bottles and jars all over the ground, as if they were about to show off their skills. However, they were surprised to find that the employer was just an ordinary mortal.
"Junior Sister Ye, are you trying to trick us into coming here? How could a thousand-year-old spiritual herb be in the hands of such a mortal?"
The leading pharmacist had a refined and elegant demeanor, and Yan Yunzhao couldn't tell whether she was male or female for a moment.
“This senior brother… junior sister… um, this immortal master,” she cleared her throat and paused, “the spiritual herb is real, but the circumstances surrounding it are too profound to explain in a short time. However, as long as you heal him, the hundred-day mugwort will definitely be presented as scheduled.”
"Alright then." The immortal master flicked his sleeves and raised his head, saying, "My name is Liu Jiang."
"Immortal Master Liujiang," Yan Yunzhao said, bowing.
Seeing that the pharmacist named Liu Jiang was about to make a move, everyone seemed to lose their arrogance.
"Hey, if Senior Brother Liu Jiang is going to take action, what's the point of us? We can just lend a hand."
"Don't even think about slacking off, I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Ye Qin wore a faint smile, yet it sent chills down the spines of her fellow disciples, who rushed to help her. Ye Qin's temper and whip were not to be trifled with.
Yan Yunzhao explained to the unsuspecting crowd that he was her Taoist friend. Lou Chengjing did not suspect anything and generously gave up the entire courtyard to everyone.
"I didn't mean any harm, it's just bad luck for someone to die in my yard."
Lou Chengjing, holding the bird, saw that Yan Yunzhao seemed to want to thank him, so he quickly distanced himself from the situation.
Yan Yunzhao smiled knowingly. She knew that Lou Chengjing was actually a sharp-tongued but kind-hearted tsundere, somewhat similar to Ye Qin, except... Ye Qin's personality was much better than the gloomy Lou Chengjing.
Knowing that Lou Su was suffering from a strange illness, Yan Yunzhao had long expected it, but she never thought that this day would come so suddenly, and she realized her own urgency.
More than ten immortal pharmacists, each possessing exceptional medical skills, were troubled by Lou Su's mortal body.
“Miss Yan, this young master’s poison is no ordinary substance. It has already invaded his lungs and internal organs, causing his qi and blood to become stagnant. Ordinary herbs cannot cure the root cause, and the high-grade spiritual medicine is too potent. It will surely backfire,” Liu Jiang said with a sigh after examining his pulse.
"If... we had Deer-living Grass, perhaps we could give it a try. But this top-grade spiritual herb is rare; even our sect can't find a single one."
Upon hearing this, all the pharmacists shook their heads: This mortal is surely going to die. A whole top-grade spiritual herb that is priceless and unavailable is harder to find than finding a needle in a haystack.
Yan Yunzhao silently took out a magical herb from the Thousand Elephant Pouch, and its spiritual light illuminated the entire room.
"I... I think I do."
Everyone's jaws nearly dropped to the ground: the rare Deer-living Grass from the Immortal Realm was just sitting in that tattered little bag from hundreds of years ago?
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