0p0 Chapter 253: Ghost Doctor Night Crow and the Medicinal Gu Insect (1)
Chapter 253: Ghost Doctor Night Crow and the Medicinal Gu Insect (1)
The next day, in the secret land of bamboo sea.
After entering the twelfth lunar month, the fruits of the paulownia tree gradually turn from light green to reddish brown.
Gu Chen collected the sycamore fruits that were about to mature, carefully cut open the shells, and peeled out the seeds.
Then put it in a cool place to dry, and wait until next spring to find a fertile sunny place to spread it.
It won’t be long before hundreds of Xichu Phoenix Paulownia trees will grow in this secret bamboo sea.
Just as Gu Chen was busy picking up the sycamore fruits he had collected recently, Wen Yanzhao flashed in from the side of the bamboo sea.
Gu Chen's ears moved slightly, and he whispered:
"Did Yanzhao gain anything from this trip?"
Wen Yanzhao approached Gu Chen, bowed and said, "To be honest, sir, I didn't gain anything from this trip to Tianqi."
Gu Chen carefully put down the sycamore seeds he had just peeled with a bamboo knife, turned around with a gentle expression:
"So... did you send Dongjun back to Mr. Li again?"
Wen Yanzhao nodded and said, "Dongjun still has unfinished business, and I don't want him to be dragged into the dispute so early."
Gu Chen smiled slightly and motioned Wen Yanzhao to sit down:
"That's good. Dongjun is still young, and his character is too pure and kind. It's better not to let him get involved in the power struggle that is about to start between the Beili court and the Zhenxi Marquis!"
"So...what brings you here this time?"
Wen Yanzhao took out something from the storage space, wrapped tightly in tung oil paper.
Gu Chen was a little confused and frowned as he looked over. He saw Wen Yanzhao slowly opening the oil paper bag...
It's a brain full of holes, corroded by something unknown!
The brain had obviously been cleaned by Wen Yanzhao. Except for the tiny blood vessels and retina on it, it was all white.
But the surface of this brain is covered with sesame-sized holes, which makes people feel sick!
Gu Chen flicked his finger, and the brain flipped up out of thin air. There was a fleshy worm attached to the back of the head.
The insect was about the size of a little finger, rising and falling as if it were breathing...
Gu Chen frowned and looked at it for a moment, then asked:
"Has Master Ling Zuwen already started using humans to make medicine men?"
"He told me before that he was using macaques from the back mountain. I didn't expect the progress to be so fast..."
Wen Yanzhao picked up a few bamboo leaves, wiped his hands, and said in a deep voice:
"Sir, you are right. This man is a notorious thief in Lingnan City. My uncle captured him and made him into a medicine man."
"Senior Xin recorded a Yin-Yang Herb of Life and Death in my technique. According to my grandfather, it was through the guidance of the master that I was able to find it."
"But strangely enough, this time Grandpa's attempt at using a living person didn't work. Furthermore, this medicine man seems completely different from the legendary medicine man that Master refined in Western Chu!"
"Yan Zhao is confused, so I took the liberty to come and ask for your guidance."
Gu Chen fell into deep thought upon hearing this. He casually picked up a bamboo stick and poked the insect on the back of its head, saying:
"The art of making medicine men was originally created by Night Crow, one of the heirs of Medicine King Valley. The key lies in the Yin-Yang Life and Death Grass."
"Ye Ya was so obsessed with bringing his lover back to life that he developed a forbidden technique and was expelled from the valley by the previous Medicine King. He later drifted to Western Chu. He cured the Western Chu monarch's beloved concubine of a chronic illness and was later appointed Chief Physician of the Imperial Hospital."
"I was guarding the capital with Gumo at the time, and I did have a friendship with Night Crow. He's a secretive man with a violent and erratic personality!"
"If it weren't for the king's order, I would never have learned the art of making medicine from Night Crow... It's simply because I couldn't bear to see him testing his medicine on the people of Beili Border..."
When Gu Chen said this, his face looked extremely ugly, and he put the insect on the bamboo branch back on his head.
Wen Yanzhao could clearly feel that Gu Chen felt sorry for the people of the Beili border who died in vain.
After a moment, Gu Chen sighed deeply and pointed at the bug and said:
"This bug..."
"It's not the medicinal insect that Night Crow originally refined, but a kind of worm that relies on the Yin-Yang Life and Death Grass."
Wen Yanzhao was astonished: "Worm? But this thing can be passed down from person to person!"
"Sir, you don't know that those macaques whose brains have been invaded by these worms will bite anything they see. Chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, and cats bitten by these macaques will also go crazy, just like the monkeys!"
Gu Chen's expression was calm: "Yes, it's a kind of worm."
"This creature prefers shade to sunlight. Usually, people infected by this insect will go crazy only at night."
"Back then, I didn't know that the Night Crow used the Yin-Yang Life and Death Grass as a lure to tame this insect, allowing it to drive the medicine man to move day and night."
Wen Yanzhao pulled out a juicy mushroom shaped like a baby's finger from his arms and handed it to the Confucian Immortal:
"Sir, please look, this is the Yin-Yang Life and Death Grass that my grandfather found according to your instructions. The insect should be parasitic on this thing, right?"
The Confucian Immortal took the mushroom, put it to his nose, sniffed it, and shook his head.
“It looks similar, but tastes different!”
"The Life and Death Grass used by Night Crow had a bloody smell, but this one has an earthy smell!"
"And the color is too light, not as bright as the blood-red Night Crow."
Wen Yanzhao took back the Life and Death Grass and frowned:
"What should I do then? How about I go back to the old land of Western Chu and look for the mushrooms that Night Crow used?"
Gu Chen waved his hand, pulled out a piece of agarwood from the table, and lit it with a flick of his finger:
"Don't worry about it. The smell of that thing is disgusting. I'll light some incense to get rid of the odor..."
Dark blue smoke curled up from the burning end of the agarwood. Gu Chen leaned back in a rattan chair and began to ponder...
Wen Yanzhao took this opportunity to get some bamboo charcoal and make a pot of tea.
He poured a cup for Gu Chen and himself respectively. The aroma of tea and agarwood intertwined together, making Wen Yanzhao feel particularly comfortable. He sat on the bamboo chair and slowly fell asleep...
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Chen finally woke him up:
"Yan Zhao, don't sleep anymore, I know the secret of the Yin-Yang Life and Death Grass!"
Wen Yanzhao jumped up from the bamboo chair with a start:
"Why did I fall asleep?"
Gu Chen smiled and said, "I added jujube seed powder and julibrissin bark to the agarwood. It has the effect of calming the mind and helping you sleep. It seems that you had a very hard time last night..."
Thinking about how he had used his spiritual sense to go to Xueyue City and the border of Yunzhou to spy on Baili Dongjun and Ye Dingzhi last night, Wen Yanzhao blushed.
"Ahem... not really, I was just a little worried about Xiao Baili, so I went to Xueyue City to check on him!"
Gu Chen couldn't help but pursed his lips and smiled:
"I see you're not just worried about him, you're worried about others too!"
Wen Yanzhao pointed his finger toward the sky: "I, Wen Yanzhao, swear that there is absolutely no one else!"
"Click!!!"
After he finished speaking, there was a sudden thunderclap in the clear sky!
……
(PS: I was just peeping out of concern for the safety of the two brothers, and to see if they were practicing diligently. I had absolutely no other intentions!)