mijobooks Chapter 71 Nourishing Essence Soup
Chapter 71 Nourishing Essence Soup
"What's there to ask?"
Li Xin spoke calmly.
"This person is full of bad intentions, cunning, and mixes truth with falsehood."
If you blindly follow his words and make wild guesses, you're more likely to be misled by false information.
"Since it's the young prince's idea to search for precious medicines, we don't need to nitpick over the useless details. Just follow the clues."
"First, investigate Qi Yunfang of Yong'an Hall. Which prince's mansion does he usually associate with?"
Let's take another look at the capital city... There are only a handful of spoiled young masters who can be called "Young Prince."
"It doesn't matter if we can't find them. That young prince will definitely find a way to track down his men."
"It's that simple?"
Li Cheng scratched the back of his head.
His second brother's words were clear and logical, and every sentence made sense, but he still felt that something was not quite right.
But after struggling for a long time, I still couldn't pinpoint what the problem was.
"Forget it, my sister said before that I'm not good at using my brain. I'll definitely listen to my second brother."
He turned to look at Zhao Xueqi, who was still in shock, and kindly offered his help.
"Auntie, we've bought a new house near the Fire God Temple. If you don't mind, you can move there with Xiaowan. Second brother, what do you say?"
Zhao Xueqi let out a long breath, her body drenched in cold sweat, her limbs weak, and she almost collapsed.
The fear of almost dying slowly faded, but new worries weighed on my mind.
She looked up nervously at the boy in the courtyard.
Sunlight fell on Li Xin, who appeared slender, with a clean and handsome face and a gentle demeanor.
But if you look at him a little longer, you can feel the oppressive aura emanating from him, a deep and heavy pressure that makes you feel tight in the chest and unable to breathe.
"Big brother made some great arrangements. Xiaoyue will be overjoyed if she knew that Sister Xiaowan is coming to stay with her."
Li Xin stepped forward, looked at Li Xiaowan who was bowing her head and trembling slightly, and gently hugged her.
"Xiaowan, you seem to have lost weight these days. You're not even as tall as my shoulder anymore. Eat more and grow properly."
He certainly has the right to say that.
He was less than a year older than Li Xiaowan and not as tall as her.
In less than a month, the difference in their physiques became completely apparent; he had grown to 1.65 meters tall and had an upright posture.
He grew so fast, all because he had to work up a lot of weight.
Now, one meal can be equivalent to three or four meals for an average person. They eat meat by the pound every day, and they never stop taking various tonic soups. The level of nourishment they receive is extremely high.
Such behavior between cousins seems a bit out of line.
But the results were surprisingly good.
The panic and unease in Li Xiaowan's heart were completely soothed by this steady embrace.
"Brother Xin, can I share a room with Sister Yue'er?" Li Xiaowan asked softly.
"Of course," Li Xin nodded in agreement. "Xiaoyue is timid and a light sleeper, often waking up easily at night. With you by her side, she can sleep soundly."
While the two were talking, no one noticed that two faint golden lights drifted in silently and entered Li Xin's mind.
It emanated from Zhao Xueqi and Li Xiaowan.
Li Xin quietly activated his psychic vision, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.
Compared to before, the arc of light around the two people has changed dramatically.
Li Xiaowan's original faint red glow had now turned deep red, the same color as Li Cheng, Li Xiaoyue, Zhuang Hongxiu, and the others.
Zhao Xueqi, who was standing to the side, had also turned from pure white with a faint glow to light red.
It's just a little bit short of reaching a deep red.
A near-death experience completely changed this aunt's mindset.
"Just pack some personal belongings and things you can't bear to part with," Li Xin said softly, calming his mind.
"Rent two carriages later and move them away immediately. Don't worry about the corpses in the yard; just throw them outside the gate, and the constables will come to handle the aftermath."
Zhao Xueqi and her daughter looked around the courtyard, their eyes reddening, but they knew this wasn't the time to be sentimental. They quickly suppressed their emotions and hurriedly packed their luggage.
When the bodies in the courtyard were dragged out and dumped on the street, they had already packed up and were ready to leave at any time.
"Xin'er."
Zhao Xueqi solemnly handed a floral cloth package to Li Xin, her expression complex and heavy.
"This is your uncle's most treasured medical book. He got it two months ago and has been studying it every day..."
"He once told me that if I could thoroughly understand this book, I could become a top-notch doctor."
But not long after, I overheard him cursing a guy surnamed Qi behind his back, saying things like, "This thing should have been his."
"I'm just a woman, I don't understand the intricacies of this situation. All I know is that he's been acting strangely ever since."
One moment he's worried and sighing, the next he's inexplicably excited, as if he has something on his mind and can't make up his mind.
The outer layer of oil paper still carried the fresh smell of earth.
Just as Zhao Wenzhou had said, this medical book had been hidden by my second uncle in the soil under the jujube tree.
Beside it was a half-open sandalwood box, with a small piece of dried ginseng supported by a red sandalwood base inside.
The ginseng roots are spread out and extended, and the quality is excellent.
Li Xin leaned closer and smelled it, and his body immediately reacted.
This is the two-hundred-year-old ginseng that the group of people wanted to steal before.
Possessing such a precious treasure, yet failing to know how to be modest and discreet.
He leaked the information and ultimately met his demise...
Li Xin sighed softly to himself.
Memories of the past flooded my mind.
He recalled his father lying in bed, cursing his second uncle, and his mother silently weeping under the oil lamp.
At that time, he had not yet awakened his innate wisdom; he was just staring blankly...
Now he finally understands that it was the regret of being truly betrayed and having all his efforts come to naught.
No one could have imagined that the old ginseng that the family had painstakingly dug up in the deep mountains would eventually return to the Li family in such a tragic way.
Seeing his dejected expression, Zhao Xueqi felt even more ashamed and upset.
"I roughly understood the story about the ginseng back then from your second uncle's drunken ramblings."
"We have indeed wronged your Li family too much. What goes around comes around, and your second uncle has already paid the price for his actions. From now on, I will atone for his sins and make amends to you."
"There's no need for that."
Li Xin spoke calmly, accepting the medical book and the old ginseng without hesitation.
He knew in his heart that accepting the gift now and letting bygones be bygones was the only way to truly put the other party at ease.
Feigning reluctance or being overly polite will only create distance between you and others.
Let bygones be bygones.
The city remained unusually quiet for the next few days.
A major murder occurred at Baoshentang, yet no constables came to investigate, and no one held anyone accountable.
Several vibrant lives were lost, just like leaves falling in the wind, without a sound.
……
Zhao Xueqi and Li Xiaowan gradually settled into the peaceful life of the Huoshen Temple residence.
Before Zhao Xueqi's family fell on hard times, they ran a small business and were very good at managing it.
She took over the Li family's breakfast and mutton soup shop and managed it very well, making the business even more prosperous than when Li Cheng had run it.
Li Xiaowan and Li Xiaoyue were inseparable, their relationship growing ever closer.
Compared to the tense and oppressive days she spent at Baoshentang, Li Xiaowan has changed a lot.
In the past, her days were filled with poetry, medical books, medicine diagnosis, and needlework; her life was monotonous and tiring. Now, she has put aside most of her studies and devoted herself to martial arts.
She practiced the "One-Character Sheep Stance" every day and also practiced the Bagua Sixty-Four Steps with Xiaoyue. She practiced with extraordinary dedication, which even surprised Li Xin.
She wasn't the only one practicing her skills diligently in the courtyard.
Fang Qiao'er and Luo Xiaohu are the same.
Both of them had personally experienced desperate situations and tasted the bitterness of having nowhere to turn. Now that they had the opportunity to learn martial arts, they cherished it all the more.
He practiced his skills almost to the point of self-torture, training day and night without ever slacking off.
Compared to them, I've actually been slacking off a bit.
Li Xin lifted one leg with a bent knee, while the other leg landed straight on the ground...
Hold the gun barrel horizontally with your right hand, keeping the gun taut in a straight line.
With his left hand extended in a sword-like gesture, he stood motionless, like a fixed sculpture.
Zhuang Hongxiu stood nearby and could see it clearly.
Beneath the boy's exposed skin, veins bulged, contracted, and throbbed, like living things.
You can hear a faint gurgling sound, which is the rapid flow and circulation of qi and blood in your body.
A quarter of an hour later, seeing that Li Xin had stopped his stance, Zhuang Hongxiu stepped forward and asked:
"How effective is the Da Yang Yuan Tang? Do we need to add more herbs or adjust the formula?"
……