Chapter 2364 - 2175: Are You Here for Medical Treatment? (Part 4)
Chapter 2364: Chapter 2175: Are You Here for Medical Treatment? (Part 4)
"You came to stay, so stay; why bring so many things?" Li Wendao asked Song Xiaodong.
"I’m not here to stay, I’m here for alchemy. You are also a Taoist priest, you know well, what do you use for alchemy if not a Pill Furnace? An induction cooker?" Song Xiaodong retorted to Li Wendao.
Li Wendao was fuming with anger.
"Then tidy up quickly, and keep the noise down during the day; loud noise is not allowed in the Taoist temple!" Li Wendao shouted at Song Xiaodong.
"Master, you have been the one raising your voice; I have only been speaking quietly!" Song Xiaodong replied to Li Wendao.
"You!"
Li Wendao stomped off in anger.
"There’s no room here, you’ll have to make do with staying in the tent!" Song Xiaodong said to Dragon Three.
"Alright."
"Stay alert at night, this place is not simple." Song Xiaodong added.
"Understood."
"Help me move all these things into the Elixir Chamber."
Dragon Three and Song Xiaodong together moved the Pill Furnace into the temple’s Elixir Chamber.
The Elixir Chamber was used by Li Wenxin, usually vacant; Song Xiaodong would refine elixirs there, fetching water from the spring behind the temple.
The stream water used by Song Xiaodong for alchemy halfway up the mountain came from this spring, forming the Bishui Pool at the mountain’s base.
Building the temple beside the spring showed Li Wenxin’s master had a keen eye.
After feeling Zhang Jiajia’s pulse, Li Wenxin perceived her pulse indicated imminent death but couldn’t identify the illness; helplessly, he checked his treasure trove, reluctantly took out a dry ginseng, and other medicinal herbs, mixed an elixir, and brewed a bowl of medicinal soup for Zhang Jiajia.
In the evening, Li Wenxin sought Song Xiaodong for a discussion.
"Mr. Song, how’s your elixir refining going?" Li Wenxin asked Song Xiaodong cheerfully.
"No progress." Song Xiaodong answered frustratedly.
"What kind of elixir is Mr. Song trying to refine?" Li Wenxin asked Song Xiaodong.
"Not hiding from Master, my family has been in alchemy for generations. My father’s alchemy skill was superb, refining Green Return Elixirs, vibrant green, capable of dispelling decay and regenerating tissues, reviving the dead; I obtained several elixirs from my father, not quite Miraculous Medicine, yet able to heal wounds without scars, far more efficacious than those I refine. Living among mortals, conflicts and injuries are inevitable, so I wish to refine some rescue and healing elixirs, perhaps reaching my father’s level of Divine Skills." Song Xiaodong told Li Wenxin.
"Hmm..." Li Wenxin nodded.
"Mr. Song, I have a question for you." Li Wenxin asked Song Xiaodong.
"Why engage in alchemy?" Li Wenxin inquired.
"Traditionally, alchemy has been pursued for two things, one being turning stones into gold, the other, immortality." Song Xiaodong replied.
"Indeed, alchemy involves purifying by burning; refining elixirs also refines body and mind—without resilience, with mixed thoughts, the Golden Core doesn’t form. Alchemy should testify one’s way, not blindly follow predecessors, nor be stuck in old ways." Li Wenxin advised Song Xiaodong.
"I understand!" Song Xiaodong formally bowed to Li Wenxin.
"Both you and I seek the ultimate way to transcend life and death, we can be called Fellow Taoists!" Li Wendao said to Song Xiaodong.
"I dare not!"
"Go ahead."
Early the next morning, Li Wenxin came to check on Zhang Jiajia.
Zhang Jiajia’s condition showed no improvement.
Li Wenxin checked Zhang Jiajia’s pulse again, still displaying signs of depleted yang.
"Alas... Mr. Zhang, Miss’s condition is truly peculiar, the cause is unidentified; her body chills indicate cold exposure, yet the cause of the chill cannot be found. Last night, she consumed the hot-tonifying ginseng soup, which should counter the cold; yin and yang clashing." Li Wenxin explained while shaking his head.
"In theory, Miss should be recovering now, yet her pulse suggests her body remains cold, cold penetrating the bones, indicating no medicinal effect, which shouldn’t and couldn’t be!" Li Wenxin continued with disbelief.
"So, even Taoist Master Li is at a loss?" Zhang Guojian asked Li Wenxin in despair.
"Ah, having practiced medicine for years, thinking myself knowledgeable, yet encountering such a strange illness is a first for me, leaving me powerless; I can only prepare some tonics for delay." Li Wenxin apologetically told Zhang Guojian.
"Master, you must save Jiajia!" Zhang Jiajia’s boyfriend Sun Hailong implored, gripping Li Wenxin’s sleeve.
"Young man, it’s not that I wouldn’t save Miss, it’s truly beyond my capability; however, my junior, more accomplished in medical skills and Taoism, surpasses me, perhaps you can ask him to try." Li Wenxin pointed at Li Wendao.
"Is this... true?" Zhang Jiajia’s mother, as if clinging to the last straw of hope, approached to kneel before Li Wendao.
"Madam, please rise! Since Senior Brother tasked me with treating Miss, I’ll exert every effort; though both Senior Brother and I are under Master Xuanzhen’s tutelage, sharing similar skills; if he’s powerless, I can only do my best, but please don’t hold too optimistic expectations." Li Wendao told Zhang Guojian.
"Please, Master, treat my daughter soon."
Li Wendao, like Li Wenxin, checked the pulse silently, went to the Elixir Chamber to concoct medicine, by evening managed to brew some broth, feeding it to Zhang Jiajia.