Chapter 25: Lu Zhongyao, Yao Zhongchan, I will treat you as my own brother...
Chapter 25: Luzhong Medicine, Cicada in Medicine
Pity him? This trick of Shen Juansheng using the strategy of defeating the enemy with pity was not the first time he used it on her.
At that time, a few days had passed since she rescued the cold and poisonous young man in front of the door, and the Medicine King Valley, which was located in a very low-lying area, finally slowly entered the midsummer.
After a night of heavy rain, the teenage Qing Guiyu walked towards the medicine hut, stepping on the dew-covered grass and shaking the medicine basket.
The cicadas in the woods were chirping louder and louder, a bit too loud, but just the way she wanted it. She found the sound refreshing and walked back to her medicine hut. She opened the door, set down her medicine basket, and carefully took something out.
She went out early in the morning, before dawn, and of course she didn't say hello to him.
The sky was hazy and the medicine house was very quiet. She was afraid of waking up the young man, so she tiptoed in, only to find that he had already woken up, his eyes staring blankly at the window frame.
Qing Guiyu relaxed, walked more normally, and came up to him.
"Are you awake?" she asked with a smile. "How are you feeling today?"
The young man paused, then slowly turned his head and looked at her for a long moment. It had been so long that she felt guilty and began to reflect on herself for no apparent reason, as if she had done something wrong. Finally, he lowered his head.
"You're back," he said. "I thought you were gone."
Then he nodded and called her again as if to greet her, "Miss Qing."
Qing Guiyu breathed a sigh of relief for some unknown reason, and then felt strange and amused. "This Yaowang Valley is my home. Where should I go?"
She sat down beside him. This man had a deep coldness, so much so that a chill spread over his skin. This was a benefit to her in this summer, and she always liked to sit beside him when the heat was a bit intense.
"Look," Qing Guiyu spread his hands in front of him as if showing off, "I'm telling you, I've always had good luck."
The young man followed her gaze and saw that what she was holding in her hand were several thin transparent shells that looked like small insects.
"Cicada molt," she said, then suddenly remembered that the boy had never seen a firefly, and she felt uneasy. Thinking he might have never even seen a cicada, she quickly added, "It's also called cicada molt. It's what a small insect sheds when it grows into a cicada. Did you know?"
He looked at her, then lowered his eyes and nodded.
"It rained so heavily yesterday that I thought all of them would be washed away. That's why I got up so early in the dark. Who knew there would be so many left when I went to look for them on the tree?" She smiled and weighed the thin shell in her hand, making a slight rustling sound.
"I think this should be enough." He said in summary, stood up, and walked to the medicine cabinet next to him.
"Miss Qing, you don't have to worry about me so much." The young man was still quiet, his tone was a little hesitant, and there was a slight blush on his face.
He said slowly and thoughtfully, "Like you said, I'm much better when I don't use the Cold Marrow Technique."
"No." Qing Guiyu turned around and was searching for her medicine grinder among the debris on the ground.
She thought about it and decided that she should let him know, at least to give him some idea. So she put the cicada shell aside and pointed at him without turning back, wanting to say something but stopping herself. "Hey, I think your eyes..."
Not knowing what to say next, she sighed, stood up, walked to the wooden couch, bent down, and looked at him closely.
She leaned over so suddenly that the distance between them was too close and the tip of her nose almost touched his eyelashes.
The young man gasped in shock, his head tilted back, his hair flying up. With a thud, he hit the wall beside the couch hard, which startled her as well.
"Don't move," Qing Guiyu was startled and quickly grabbed the boy's cold hand. "Oh my God, why are you panicking? I won't hurt you."
He covered his head with his other hand and leaned forward on the couch. "It's okay," the young man said in a low voice, his words trembling. "It's okay, Miss Qing."
But he remained crouched there, motionless, letting her hold one hand. His eyes peeked out from under his clothes, and he looked at her and said, "I know, Miss Qing." He paused, then muttered to himself, "Hmm. Cicada molt."
"Master Chen," Qing Guiyu took the young man's hand and explained to him, "Cicada molt is used as medicine to improve eyesight and remove cataracts." She hesitated and pointed at his eyes, "You have this cold poison, I'm worried..."
"I'm worried that your eyes might be in trouble." She made up her mind and told the truth quickly.
When the cold poison in the young man's body attacks, a faint ice cloud tends to form in his eyes, which is definitely not good. She has been thinking about this for the past few days: if the attack gets serious one day, even if she can save her life, but her eyes are damaged, what will happen?
I still had to make preparations first, so I made a few prescriptions and got up early to go to the woods to look for cicada shells. After thinking about it, I still couldn't figure out how to explain it to him.
"I know," he finally straightened up slowly, staring at her and repeating it, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, "It's okay."
He fell silent, and the silence only made her feel a little guilty. Qing Guiyu scratched her head and began to think of ways to make up for him.
"...No, it's not completely impossible," she sighed, then said cheerfully, "Look, I'm preparing medicine. If there's anyone in the valley who can cure you..."
She pointed at herself and thought, "I'm afraid I'm the only one left." You're lucky, she thought.
But he remained quiet and said nothing, as if he didn't quite believe her. Qing Guiyu hurriedly continued,
"Although it's not possible at the moment. But look at this cicada shell, it's a good thing." She held up a thin cicada shell and faced the morning light, examining it carefully as if she were appreciating jade.
"Cicada shells come in three-year, five-year, and even seven-year-old varieties," she said, smiling at the young man. "This fake shell looks solid and lustrous, so I'm afraid it's seven years old. If used as medicine, its properties and flavor should be even better."
He looked at her happy expression, then looked at the insect shell in her hand.
"Is the Seven-Year Cicada any better?" the young man asked calmly. "How is it any different from other cicadas? Can it survive the autumn?"
Qing Guiyu was instantly deflated, not knowing what to say to him.
Of course not.
No cicada can survive late autumn and winter.
This little insect was buried deep in the mud for seven years, and once it turned into a cicada, it was time to die.
But the cold poison in his body was extremely deep and severe, so how could she say such a life-or-death thing to him? So she was silent for a moment, then hurriedly said,
"What are you talking about?" she muttered, quickly gathering the cicada shell in her hand, crushing it into small pieces, and throwing them into the medicine grinder. "You're so lucky to have met me."
Qing Guiyu raised his head to greet the rising sun outside the window. He smiled complacently and said, "I will definitely protect you, Master Shen."
As she twisted the medicine grinder, she thought to herself, this boy is both sensitive and repressed. Even talking about a small insect can bring up thoughts of ephemeral life and death. I wonder what sad things he was thinking about in the past.
This kind of person is the most difficult to deal with, easily upset and difficult to relieve. Don't cure the cold poison by then, but instead leave behind some heart disease or something like that.
This cold poison can only be cured by the third injection, and she will have to use needles on him later. She doesn't know how to increase her confidence in the secret technique of the Golden Needle in Medicine King Valley.
She subtly changed the trial needle into using the needle in her mind, thinking that she should try her best to cure the boy.
Qing Guiyu smoothed the ends of her hair and looked out the window. The sunlight suddenly poured in through the door. A slight summer breeze blew through the curtain of the medicine hut, causing the leaves of the herbs and the long stems of the grass outside the window to sway gently.
Then an idea struck her, she put down the medicine grinder in her hand, stood up, took a few quick steps, sat down next to him, and opened her arms to him.
The young man was stunned and lowered his head. His black hair fell like a waterfall on both sides of him, blocking her from seeing his expression. So she simply held him gently in her arms.
The young man was suddenly hugged by her, and his body suddenly stiffened, but he did not move, just letting her hold him like this.
Qing Guiyu comforted him and told him seriously, "When I was young, I had a younger brother."
Thinking of this, my heart still hurts.
"When he was about to die, I almost died too. So at that time, I left him and ran away."
She recalled the heavy breathing of the child and the rough hands of the boy in the dilapidated ancestral hall.
"Even now, I still feel guilty. Sometimes I think, if I hadn't abandoned him and hidden in the grass, maybe he could have held on a little longer. Maybe he could have survived until my master arrived."
"So I won't abandon you, don't worry," she said finally.
The boy's body suddenly trembled in her arms, almost as if struggling. His voice was almost panicked.
"I'm not your brother."
"I know, I know," she hurriedly said to comfort him, holding him tighter in her arms and patting his back soothingly.
"Don't be afraid. I will treat you like my own brother."
The body that was infected by the cold poison was still tense and cold with a hint of chill. He paused for a moment, until he finally relaxed, as if all his strength had been drained away.
Then he finally raised his hand and slowly stretched it behind him.
The young man climbed up her back with trembling hands and buried his head behind her ear.
He tilted his head and pressed his cheek against the back of her neck, his breath tangling with her fine hair.
Qing Guiyu felt something freezing cold and wet on his neck, but was afraid of hurting the boy's self-esteem, so he didn't dare to let go of him or turn around to look.
Being infected by his emotions, she couldn't help but feel very sad. Even though she was originally a carefree person and had seen many separations and deaths since childhood, she still felt that this young man was truly pitiful.
*
Now that I think about it, I must have been blind to feel pity for him back then.
In the shaking carriage, Qing Guiyu silently picked up a silk ribbon and covered Master Jin Sheng's eyes.
"Can I still see?" Shen Juansheng laughed and turned his head towards her position with a questioning look on his face.
Qing Guiyu brushed a few strands of hair and tied a silk ribbon behind him.
"Perhaps." She hesitated for a moment, pointing to his bloody wrist, then suddenly remembered that he couldn't see, so she simply said, "With luck rushing into the blood and forcing cold energy like that, I thought you were prepared."
"Yeah." Young Master Jinsheng nodded and replied softly to her, "It's okay."
"As long as you're still alive and can think about things," he continued smiling, almost as if to comfort her, "don't be afraid."
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