herb gathering
As summer approaches, the miasma begins to rise, and snakes and insects become increasingly active.
On this day, a torrential downpour filled the windows, and everyone in the inn had already gone to bed early. Suddenly, there was a frantic knocking on the door outside the courtyard.
"Qing Niangzi! Qing Niangzi!"
Lin Zhong, holding an umbrella, welcomed the visitor into the inn. Huai Xu recognized him as Xu Shan, a fellow townsman of Liu Xingjian from Tongcheng.
"What happened, Uncle Xu? It's raining so hard, why aren't you wearing a straw hat?" Huai Xu handed him a dry cloth.
Xu Shan wiped his face and said, "Around evening, Mr. Liu was bitten on the arm by a centipede, and Doctor Liu treated the wound immediately. Everyone thought he was fine, but after dinner, Mr. Liu started to have a fever and talk nonsense, and now he is unconscious!"
“Brother Xu, don’t worry, I’ll go with you to take a look. Lin Zhong, go get some rain gear; Huai Xu, take the basket rope for gathering herbs; Feng Qiao, you stay at the inn, go to the stable to feed the night grass, and wait for our news.”
When I arrived at Yanziping, Liu Yu was pacing around the house, clutching half a piece of paper. When she saw me stop, she asked urgently, "Qing Niangzi! Is there a pharmacy nearby?"
"The nearest pharmacy is in Junlian Town. It's raining heavily today, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. If we set off now, we won't be back until almost dawn."
Liu Xingjian, lying on the bamboo couch, had a face as white as gold paper, devoid of any life.
Liu Yu glanced at him, looking dejected, and said, "Given the current situation, I'm afraid we won't make it to dawn."
I took off my straw hat: "Let me see the prescription."
"Give!"
I took the prescription from Liu Yu and examined it closely. Apart from Oldenlandia diffusa and Scutellaria barbata, the remaining ingredients were all common medicinal herbs that should be available in the inn.
"Dr. Liu, we don't have any dried plants of Hedyotis diffusa and Scutellaria barbata. Can we use fresh ones instead?"
"Yes! Mix one part dried Hedyotis diffusa with three parts wet, and one part Scutellaria barbata with five parts wet."
I handed the prescription to Lin Zhong: "Go back to the inn and find the remaining medicinal herbs."
"Boss, you—"
"Huai Xu and I went up the mountain to collect herbs."
"I'll go with you."
"White flower snake tongue grass is not common in Nanguang. I saw it when I was collecting herbs with Huai Xu. We both know each other, so it's easier to find."
"Yes, Uncle Lin, I recognize him."
"Then you should be extra careful."
I grabbed the straw hat and put it on: "Huai Xu, let's go."
Liu Yu called out from behind us, "Qing Niangzi, be careful! Huai Xu, be careful!"
The night rain continued to fall incessantly, and the moonlight was even more sparse.
I asked Huai Xu, "Your godmother is taking you to Wuzhang Cliff this time. Are you scared?"
Huai Xu laughed and said, "With my godmother by my side, Huai Xu has nothing to fear!"
The name "Wuzhang Cliff" does not refer to its height, but rather its width. This cliff is located at the top of Loushan Mountain, nearly a hundred feet high, and is an almost vertical precipice.
Because of its open surroundings, abundant rainfall, and excellent sunshine, the area is home to a large number of exotic flowers and rare herbs. As a result, it has become the final resting place for many herbalists from Nanguang.
I stood at the foot of the Five-Zhang Cliff and looked up: I had found all the Scutellaria barbata on the way here, and I was only missing three Hedyotis diffusa.
"Godmother, shall we split up and climb up to look for him?"
I wiped the rain off my face: "In this weather, even if you manage to climb up, you might not make it back alive."
"What should we do then?"
"Go around to it and lower yourself down with a rope."
Huai Xu and I went around from the back of the mountain to the top of the cliff. We tied one end of the rope to a big tree on the cliff top, and Huai Xu took off his raincoat to tie the other end around his waist.
I stopped her, saying, "Give me the rope."
Huai Xu held on tightly, saying, "Godmother, I'll go."
I snatched the rope from him: "You're stronger and heavier than me. I'm safer with you on top. If we're upside down, we're both in danger, understand?"
I removed my raincoat and straw hat, tied the rope around my waist, slung the medicine basket over my shoulder, gripped the rope in one hand and held the medicine hoe in the other, and slowly slid down the cliff.
"Stop! Let me check if it's the one on the left."
"Yeah?"
"No, lower it again."
Suddenly, a clump of grass with slender leaves that looked like snake tongues flashed past my eyes, and I shouted urgently, "Stop! Stop!"
I moved to a spot where I could put my feet up as an anchor point, pressed myself against the cliff face, raised my hoe, and peeled the white flower snake tongue grass, roots and all, out of the crack in the rock.
One, two, exactly three. I breathed a sigh of relief and put them into my basket.
Huai Xu peeked out and asked me, "Godmother, did you find it?"
"We've found it! Pull me up!"
Huai Xu suddenly screamed: "Above! A snake!"
I looked up and was startled to see a white-headed viper, as thick as a child's arm, hanging less than a foot above my head.
I instinctively turned my head, and the snake slid down my left shoulder with a "whoosh," making the basket on my back suddenly sag, and my heart sank with it.
The snake slithered in the basket, making a rustling sound, while the rain continued to pour down. I gripped the hoe tightly, closed my eyes, and tried my best to catch the faint hissing sound with my ears.
"Hiss—hiss—" It finally found its way to the vicinity of the exit.
I swung the hoe backhand, cutting across the top of the basket. I closed my eyes and listened again; my heart was pounding like a drum. Fortunately, the hissing sound stopped.
I opened my eyes: "Huai Xu!"
After holding it in for a long time, Huai Xu finally dared to cry out: "Godmother!"
"It's alright, pull me up."
On the way back, the rain gradually stopped.
Xu Shan saw us from afar and excitedly shouted, "Qing Niangzi is back! Huai Xu girl is back!"
Liu Yu rushed out of the house, asking repeatedly, "Did you find it? Did you find it?"
I smiled and handed him the medicine basket, saying, "I have fulfilled my mission."
The medicine that Lin Zhong brought had been simmering for a while. Liu Yu added the freshly picked white snake leaf grass and half a branch lotus, simmered it for another half a quarter of an hour, and then drained the medicine.
Lin Zhong helped Liu Xingjian up, pried open his jaw, and Liu Yu, holding a bowl, poured spoonful of the prepared medicine into him.
Huai Xu asked expectantly, "Dr. Liu, when will Mr. Liu wake up?"
Liu Yu shook his head: "It's hard to say, it depends on his will to survive."
Huai Xu was somewhat disappointed, so I patted her on the shoulder and said, "Mr. Liu is a man of strong will, he will be alright."
Lin Zhong pointed to my cuff: "Boss, there's blood on your clothes."
Liu Yu turned to me and said, "I also found bloodstains when I was cleaning the herbs just now. Is anyone injured?"
"No, no." I waved my hand. "It's snake blood. I killed a snake on the way."
"Yes, it scared me to death," Huai Xu said, still shaken. "A poisonous snake fell into my godmother's basket."
Liu Yu bowed to me with a guilty expression: "Qing Niangzi, I'm so sorry, so sorry!"
"You talk too much." I nudged Huai Xu. "Doctor Liu, don't take it to heart. What herb gatherer doesn't know how to drive away snakes? This child hasn't seen much, so she's making a fuss. I've been gathering herbs for longer than she's ever been alive."
Huai Xu rubbed his shoulder and said, "Godmother, you pushed me so hard it hurts."
"Miss Huaixu, don't move." Liu Yu took out an iron box from the medicine chest, opened the lid, picked out several silver needles and approached.
Huai Xu asked nervously, "Dr. Liu, what... what are you going to do?"
"I'll give you a few acupuncture needles, and the pain will subside soon." Liu Yu's hands moved with lightning speed, inserting several silver needles into various points on Huai Xu's shoulder blades through his clothes. After twisting them a few times, she removed the needles and asked, "Move around and see if there's any improvement?"
Huai Xu raised his arm, slowly rotated it, and then stretched it twice more before jumping up and exclaiming, "It doesn't hurt anymore! It really doesn't hurt anymore! Dr. Liu, you're amazing!"
"Eh." Liu Yu's lips curled up, and he waved his hand, saying, "It's just a trivial skill, not worth mentioning."
I quickly dragged Lin Zhong in front of Liu Yu: "Dr. Liu, please take a look at my Lin Zhong. He suffered a head injury eight years ago and doesn't remember anything from before. His memory isn't very good now either."
Liu Yu looked sympathetic: "Amnesia is difficult to treat. Let me take your pulse first."
Lin Zhong resisted and tried to pull his hand away, but I held it down firmly.
"How is it?" I asked.
"The pulse is normal," Liu Yu glanced at Lin Zhong and said to me.
"Actually, amnesia is not entirely a bad thing. Many people experience varying degrees of amnesia after experiencing major trauma, which is also a subconscious self-protection mechanism. As long as it does not affect daily life, there is no need to worry too much about it."
Lin Zhong withdrew his hand and said softly, "It won't affect anything."
Suddenly, Huai Xu called out, "Doctor Liu, come quick! Has Mr. Liu woken up?"
Liu Xingjian, lying on the bamboo couch, looked much better, his lips moving as he made indistinct sounds.
Liu Yu stepped forward, touched Liu Xingjian's forehead with the back of his hand, and nodded, saying, "The fever has subsided; he's about to wake up."
He then took out silver needles and inserted several needles into Liu Xingjian's head and chest. After waiting for a while, he removed them one by one. When he removed the last needle, Liu Xingjian let out a mournful cry: "Yunhui!" Then, he opened his eyes.
Huai Xu hugged me and said, "He's awake! He's awake! Godmother, Mr. Liu is awake!"
Liu Yu grasped Liu Xingjian's hand, patting it gently while trying to control his emotions, and said, "Old Liu, you're finally awake. If you were gone, how could I possibly endure being left alone in this 'military command'?"
"This old man, this old man..." Liu Xingjian rolled his eyes, looked around, and saw me, Huai Xu, and Lin Zhong beside him. He couldn't help but look bewildered. "Qing Niangzi, how did you... come to be here?"
Before I could reply, Liu Yu blurted out, "If they hadn't come, you would have buried them by now!"
Liu Xingjian struggled to sit up: "Your kindness, Lady Qing, is something I truly, truly cannot repay..."
"Mr. Liu, please lie down." I said with a smile, "This is no great favor, and there is no need to repay it. This is the fate between Mr. Liu and me, and the fate between us and Nan Guang. We are destined to meet each other across mountains and rivers."
Liu Yu nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right."
"Since Mr. Liu is alright, Dr. Liu, we'll head back now and come see you another day."
Liu Yu stood up and said, "I'll see you off."
I waved my hand and said, "No need, we in Nanguang don't care about these formalities. Doctor Liu has been busy all night, go and get some rest."
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