Looking over, Liu Xiaoyuan saw an old man, about sixty or seventy years old, standing under a pavilion. The old man had a white beard and hair, but his face was ruddy and he looked very energetic.
The once ferocious wolfhound was now as docile as a kitten in front of the old man, wagging its tail and rubbing its head against the old man's legs.
The old man chuckled and patted the big wolfhound's head, saying, "Ah Huang, stop fooling around, go to the back!"
The large wolfhound seemed to understand the old man's words; upon hearing them, it immediately wagged its tail and walked away.
"Young friend, climbing over the wall to enter this place is not the behavior of a gentleman," the old man said with a smile to Liu Xiaoyuan.
Liu Xiaoyuan threw the dirt in his hand on the ground, wiped it off, and said, "Old man, I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."
"Oh, I wonder what urgent matter you have that forces you to climb over the wall? Judging by your skill, you must be no ordinary person to be able to cross such a high wall!" the old man said.
From just a few words, Shao Yitian could tell that this old man was probably no ordinary person. If it were an ordinary old man, he would have locked the gate and unleashed his dogs long ago if he saw a stranger climbing over the wall into his territory.
But the old man did not do that. Instead, he made his big wolfhound retreat to the back and started chatting with Liu Xiaoyuan, not worried at all that Liu Xiaoyuan might have any bad intentions.
"Old man, to be honest, I came to see Dr. Xiao Qingfeng, but I couldn't get in from the front, so I had to climb over the wall and try my luck!" Liu Xiaoyuan said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and stroked his snow-white beard, asking with a smile, "Young friend, what brings you to Xiao Qingfeng?"
Liu Xiaoyuan didn't want to say it, but seeing the old man's otherworldly appearance, he knew he wasn't an ordinary person and that he might know Xue Xiangcao's whereabouts.
Furthermore, with so many medicinal herbs planted here, it's clear that this old man is also an expert in pharmacology.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Xiaoyuan said, "To be honest, old man, I came to see Doctor Xiao Qingfeng to ask him if he knew where to find snow clover?"
Upon hearing this, the old man's gaze towards Liu Xiaoyuan changed instantly, becoming one of surprise. After a while, the old man regained his composure and then asked, "Young friend, how do you know about Snow Fragrance?"
Liu Xiaoyuan could tell from the old man's reaction that the old man must know about Xue Xiangcao, otherwise he wouldn't have been so surprised!
Upon hearing the old man's question, Liu Xiaoyuan said, "I learned about it from a doctor. My girlfriend's mother has a strange illness. She has been to many hospitals, but none of them can cure her. Later, she met a doctor with superb medical skills. After diagnosing her, he told us that as long as we can find a medicinal herb called Snow Fragrance, my girlfriend's mother's illness can be cured."
"Later, I learned by chance that Dr. Xiao Qingfeng of Jishantang in the capital might know clues about Xuexiangcao, so I rushed over without stopping."
Liu Xiaoyuan's words were seven parts truth and three parts falsehood, and he certainly had a knack for making up lies.
So, in Liu Xiaoyuan's own opinion, the old man had basically believed everything he said.
“Grandpa, I know you also know clues about Snow Fragrance. Please tell me!” Liu Xiaoyuan stepped forward and said.
This was just Liu Xiaoyuan's guess. The old man's surprised expression just now only proved that he knew about the Snow Fragrance, but it did not mean that he knew about it.
However, Liu Xiaoyuan said this because he wanted to take a gamble. If the old man really knew, he wouldn't need to go to that arrogant Doctor Xiao Qingfeng.
Even if the old man didn't know, it wouldn't be a loss for him.
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and asked, "Young friend, how did you know that I definitely know the whereabouts of Snow Fragrance?"
Upon hearing the old man's question, Liu Xiaoyuan was overjoyed. It seemed that his gamble had paid off; this old man really was the whereabouts of Xue Xiangcao.
If we can find out Xue Xiangcao's whereabouts from the old man, we won't need to go looking for that Doctor Xiao Qingfeng.
"Because when I mentioned the name 'Snow Grass' just now, you looked surprised, so even if you don't know the whereabouts of Snow Grass, you know what it is. Therefore, I'll take a gamble, even if I lose, I'll still lose!"
Liu Xiaoyuan didn't hide anything and spoke his mind, because it's best not to play tricks on an old man like him; he's seen more of the world than he's ever eaten rice.
If you try to be cunning, he will only think you are too scheming. It is better to be honest with yourself, which will leave a good impression on the elder.
After hearing Liu Xiaoyuan's words, the old man smiled and nodded, stroking his beard as he said, "Young friend, to be honest, I do know the whereabouts of Xuexiangcao. But as the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch!"
Liu Xiaoyuan immediately said, "Old man, as long as you tell me the whereabouts of Xuexiangcao, I can grant you one request!"
Liu Xiaoyuan didn't want things to go this way either, because it would put him at the mercy of others, but Yang Zihan's mother's condition couldn't be delayed any longer. Although only a little over a year had passed, Xuexiangcao (a type of medicinal herb) wasn't an ordinary medicinal material, so Liu Xiaoyuan couldn't afford to haggle!
The old man shook his head and said, "Young man, I don't need you to agree to any conditions. I just need you to answer one question!"
Upon hearing the old man's words, Liu Xiaoyuan couldn't help but look at the old man's face, only to see the old man smiling at him.
Although Liu Xiaoyuan didn't know what kind of questions the old man would ask him, answering one question was better than agreeing to one of his conditions.
So Liu Xiaoyuan nodded and replied, "Old man, please ask away."
The old man asked, "Young man, tell me the truth, how did you know about the medicinal herb Snow Fragrance?"
Hearing the old man's question, Liu Xiaoyuan was dumbfounded. Originally, Liu Xiaoyuan thought that the old man would believe the lie he made up, but he didn't expect that he was being arrogant and the old man didn't believe him at all.
Liu Xiaoyuan said, "Old man, I have already made myself very clear. It was a doctor with superb medical skills who told me this. Otherwise, how would I know?"
The old man smiled and said, "Young friend, I almost believed what you said earlier, but then I discovered a flaw in your statement. A highly skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor isn't someone you can just stumble upon by chance. You should know that doctors with such expertise, even if they don't practice medicine with the same philanthropic spirit as the doctors at Jishantang, are dedicated to honing their skills and constantly improving..."
Liu Xiaoyuan was initially startled by the old man's words, thinking that the old man had discovered some loophole in his knowledge. After hearing his explanation, Liu Xiaoyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. What kind of loophole was this?
(End of this chapter)
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