(A few days ago, I posted a few chapters of one thousand nine hundred characters. I always thought that this would give me nine hundred characters for free, but yesterday, after Dreammaker's reminder, I learned that the current method of charging has changed. It's no longer free for less than one thousand characters, for example, one thousand nine hundred characters, but only free for a chapter of less than one thousand characters. Then I want to directly post two chapters of nine hundred characters worth of free chapters in my acceptance speech, but I'm worried that I won't be able to see my acceptance speech on the QQ Reading app, so … I better ask the lord editor how to do it.)
… …
… …
The small pouch was very slender. Presumably, when it was in the body of that expert of the Great Zhou Army, the upper half was probably in the esophagus, and the opening was probably in the throat. There also seemed to be some sort of mechanism hidden above. The Wenshui Tangs had even created the Yellow Paper Umbrella, so they probably had a way to completely isolate anything from the outside world once it entered the pouch.
The shopkeeper did not immediately begin. Instead, he very earnestly, even somewhat tediously, began to wash his hands. Only after confirming that his hands were as clean as new and then using four towels to wipe them clean without a single trace of moisture did he carefully untie the pouch and take out the item inside.
It was a pill, about the size of a pea and dark red, just like blood. Perhaps because it had been contaminated by the moisture in the corpse, there were some slight ulcerations on its surface. At this sight, a hint of heartache appeared in the shopkeeper's eyes, and the Tang Seventeenth Master's face also turned gloomy.
"It should be fine." The shopkeeper said in a trembling voice, then hurriedly placed the dark red pill into the basin that had been prepared beforehand.
The basin was filled with wheat bran. Of course, it was no ordinary wheat bran. It had been filtered and dehumidified many times, so it was ivory white and very dry, devoid of any moisture.
The shopkeeper scooped up the wheat bran and placed it over the pill, then used his hands to lightly rub it. His movements were exceptionally gentle, like he was caressing a lover. The pill lightly rolled around in the wheat bran. With the passage of time, it became completely clean, its dark red color becoming more and more distinct, even giving off a soul-stealing feeling.
The Wenshui Tangs did not have a complete understanding of this pill. They only knew that it would melt upon contact with water and would be extremely difficult to preserve. At this point, the shopkeeper finally confirmed that there were no problems with this method of cleaning, and his gaze softened as he looked at the pill. Of course, it still could not compare to his gaze at the Tang Seventeenth Master.
He beamed with joy and said, "Lord Seventeenth is extraordinarily intelligent. This method is indeed effective."
The Tang Seventeenth Master paid no attention to this person's flattery. He took a snow-white, brand-new handkerchief from his sleeve and placed it in his hand. He took the pill and earnestly examined it for a very long time, until his eyes began to blaze with passion. He suddenly sensed a change in his mood and slightly creased his brow. He sternly asked, "Is this pill really that mystical?"
The shopkeeper did not notice the subtle change in his mood and said, "That is indeed the case. Otherwise, why would Lord Seventeenth be troubled to personally make this trip?"
He was trying to curry favor with this master, but when he said this, his gaze couldn't help but fall on the pill in the other party's palm, and then he licked his lips.
This unconscious movement showed that he was a little nervous, and also revealed the greed in his heart.
The Tang Seventeenth Master noticed this, and his lips perked up as he asked, "Do you know what this is?"
The shopkeeper's expression flickered as he thought, isn't this the legendary Cinnabar Pill?
"This isn't a pill, nor is it wealth. It's power."
The Tang Seventeenth Master replied, "To be able to decide life and death is the greatest authority in the world."
The shopkeeper praised, "Seventeenth Master's words are extraordinary."
The Tang Seventeenth Master impassively said, "If some people covet this authority but do not have the strength to match it, then they are seeking death."
The shopkeeper's body slightly stiffened and he lowered his head, no longer daring to glance at the pill.
… …
… …
People entered the secret room one after another, surrounding the black stone table. These people included the Guardian of the original Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, two of Fengyang County's most famous doctors, a cleric of unknown origins that the Tang clan had hired with a large sum of money, and a doctor who had taken the Tang Old Master's pulse in Wenshui.
Regardless of their status, all of them had the same expression on their faces.
It was an expression that seemed calm, but was actually extremely nervous and somewhat stiff.
They were all looking at the red pill on the black table, not just once, but many times, for a very long time.
They were nervous because they knew the origins of this pill, so they naturally felt a greedy desire to seize it, but they knew that they absolutely could not do this.
One of the doctors from Fengyang County, out of fear that he would not be able to resist this temptation, forcefully turned his head away.
Look, smell, ask, and feel — these were the things that doctors needed to do when treating a patient. Although they were not looking at an illness, but medicine, they could not escape these methods.
They had already looked at the pill for a very long time, so the next step was naturally to smell it.
The old doctor from Wenshui glanced at the Tang Seventeenth Master.
This old doctor had specially taken the pulse of the Tang Old Master. If not for the fact that today's matter was too urgent, not even the Tang Seventeenth Master would have been able to invite him from Wenshui City.
The Tang Seventeenth Master was naturally rather polite to him, saying, "Sir Yang, please do as you please."
The old doctor from Wenshui, who was addressed as Sir Yang, did not stand on ceremony. He lowered his head, placed it on the red pill, and took in a deep breath.
In the next moment, Sir Yang's face turned red and his eyes became hazy. It was like he had drunk wine, like he had entered a room of orchids and orchids, and he seemed to be intoxicated and confused about where he was.
The Guardian of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets slightly creased his brow and coughed.
Sir Yang came to his senses and said, "The main ingredient truly is cinnabar, but there's also immortal grass, cinnamon, angelica, goji berries, cloves, rock sugar …"
To be able to identify so many ingredients with just a sniff, this person's attainments in the medical path were truly extraordinary.
As the Tang Seventeenth Master listened to these ingredients, he creased his brow, thinking, are they going to stew meat? Why is there rock sugar?
He had no idea that these rather common ingredients would even be added to stew meat. It was precisely because their medicinal properties were moderate and mild that they were perfect as supplementary ingredients. The vast majority of pills in the world contained them. As for rock sugar, it was like stir-frying rice, having the effect of catalyzing the medicinal energy and also … neutralizing the bitterness.
The Guardian of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and the two famed doctors of Fengyang were both members of the medical path, so they naturally did not find this strange. They also came over and sniffed, then reported the names of a few more ingredients: Huai yam, cloves, and desert cistanche.
Seeing the still wet ink on the paper, the doctors muttered to themselves for a while, then began to discuss among themselves. Finally, they said to the Tang Seventeenth Master, "We still have to act."
From start to finish, they had first looked and then smelled, but not a single one of them had dared to touch it, because they all knew how precious this pill was.
Now that they had to act, they all agreed. The one responsible for speaking was Sir Yang, as he was a member of the Wenshui Tangs, so it was more convenient for him to speak.
When the Cinnabar Pill first appeared, the rules set down by that person were not complete enough. The Great Zhou Army and the Hall of Illustrious Persons had once worked together to secretly keep a few pills, hoping to analyze and deduce the composition of the pill. However, they had wasted three whole pills and still had not been able to completely understand the ingredients. The doctors that had appeared in the secret room today were all extraordinary individuals, but how could they rely on just looking and smelling?
The Tang Seventeenth Master had long since mentally prepared himself for this, but he still couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed, because this meant that the Cinnabar Pill would very quickly be wasted.
"Be careful and don't waste it," he said with a gloomy expression. "These are two lives."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
