Chapter 24: Kid, You Answer
After reaching his residence, Xu Qing let loose a long sigh. He was worried he hadn’t done the right thing in eavesdropping. However, it wasn’t as though he had any other options if he wanted to sate his thirst for knowledge.
One thing was obvious: Grandmaster Bai had seen through his little scheme.
I should offer a payment.
The only question was what to offer, and whether it would be accepted. If not, would he ever get another chance like this again?
Worried that he might forget about this new idea, he took a bamboo slip out of his sack and used the iron skewer to carve ‘Grandmaster Bai’ on it.
After finishing, he looked it over, then added four more names. One was Sergeant Thunder, and the other three were people who had helped him back in the slums. Though that help had been minor, he wanted to remember it.
After finishing with the names, he took out another bamboo slip and started recording the contents of the lecture.
Then he took out the slip with the first lesson’s information and reviewed it all. Only then did a look of satisfaction appear on his face.
I already know the details of twenty-seven types of medicinal plants.
Xu Qing was in a good mood, and it lasted all day, even through his daily cultivation routine.
The next day he got out of bed early and went out to buy some seven-leaf clovers. He also bought another plant that looked similar to a lifespan flower, then followed what was now becoming a routine as he went to Grandmaster Bai’s tent.
He stood in the same spot as the day before, and just like the day before, he listened carefully to the entire lesson. Also similar to the previous day, Grandmaster Bai came out and asked what he was doing there. Xu Qing meekly held up the flower and asked the same question as the day before.
Grandmaster Bai looked at the flower and sighed. Shaking his head, he told Xu Qing all the information about the plant he’d bought.
Of course, that gave Xu Qing details about yet another medicinal plant. Feeling very pleased, and also deeply thankful, he bowed deeply then hurried away. Just like before, he looked over his shoulder to see Grandmaster Bai watching him. Yet again, they shared a nod.
Xu Qing was building memories he would never forget.
In this manner, half a month passed.
Every day, Xu Qing would go to Grandmaster Bai’s tent with a medicinal plant in hand. He would listen to the lecture, then ask about the plant. As a result, he learned a lot about plants and vegetation, and in addition, learned about how different plants worked in combination.
He benefited immensely, and now had dozens of bamboo slips filled with information.
Grandmaster Bai never mentioned anything about his eavesdropping, and always patiently explained the details of the plants Xu Qing brought with him.
Eventually, the guards got used to seeing the kid in the fur overcoat showing up early in the caravan area. And Grandmaster Bai’s two young apprentices were the same.
In fact, once when it was raining heavily, Grandmaster Bai and both of his apprentices assumed Xu Qing wouldn’t come, only to have him show up in a woven rush raincoat. Neither wind nor rain could stop him. The two apprentices were deeply impressed by that.
As a result, when one day came in which Xu Qing uncharacteristically didn’t show up, both young apprentices were craning their necks to look outside. They were actually surprised that the dirty little scavenger hadn’t come.
But they didn’t end up disappointed, as Xu Qing eventually did show up, exhausted.
The reason he was late on that day was that, in addition to attending lectures at Grandmaster Bai’s tent, he also took time to go into the forbidden region and look for lifespan flowers and scar-removing crystals. Further, he honed his skills by hunting mutant beasts.
None of his efforts that day had gone smoothly. He had not found either of the two items he was looking for, and ended up having difficulty with some of the dangers in the forbidden region.
Despite being in the fourth level of the Sea and Mountain Incantation, and having the acute judgment and powers of observation normally reserved for long-time scavengers, not even he could avoid every dangerous thing in the forbidden region’s periphery.
The day he was late, he ran into a mutant beast that had wandered out from the depths, and he barely made it out of the encounter alive. Only by running through the night did he manage to make it back to the basecamp by morning. He hadn’t even rested, and had instead gone straight to the lecture.
That said, he had made some financial gains in recent days, specifically by selling more ‘insurance’ to Boneblade.
Boneblade was doing very well. After the first instance in which he bought insurance, he made it a habit. So far, he had never encountered the Fog of Confusion again, and thus Xu Qing had never needed to rescue him. But Boneblade seemed determined to keep it up. And because of that, others in the camp started to do the same thing.
For the sake of caution, Xu Qing refused most offers, with the exception of the small group he had saved in the past.
However, he still had a steady stream of profit. And thanks to earnings made from his forays into the forbidden region, life was good.
Sergeant Thunder couldn’t go on missions anymore, so Xu Qing offered to pay more rent. Sergeant Thunder refused, but Xu Qing insisted, and after going back and forth about it, the sergeant realized he had no choice but to accept.
He spent most of the money on food, and thus, whenever Xu Qing came back from the forbidden region, there was always a hot meal waiting for him.
Sergeant Thunder even bought Xu Qing some new clothes.
They were so splendid that Xu Qing couldn’t bear to put them on. He just folded them up carefully and put them in the cupboard. Occasionally, he would bring them out and look at them contentedly.
Xu Qing’s favorite time of day was dinnertime.
Not only was the food delicious, but also, Sergeant Thunder was always there with him. The sergeant seemed like a grandfather in retirement, always ready to share the latest gossip about the neighbors, and explain the latest news of camp matters.
Crucifix and Graceful Raptor would return every once in a while, and they would join dinner, before heading out on more missions.
Xu Qing felt happier than he had in the past six years.
He had food to eat, clothes to wear, and Sergeant Thunder to keep him company. His cultivation base continued to improve, and his knowledge of plants and vegetation grew constantly. He cherished everything, and of course, whenever he listened to the lectures outside the tents, he paid very close attention.
It was on one bright morning that, as he stood outside the tent, he heard Grandmaster Bai testing his apprentices.
“Chen Feiyuan, tell me about nightcorpse morning glory.” [1]
Over the course of the last month or so, Xu Qing had learned that Grandmaster Bai’s male apprentice was named Chen Feiyuan, while the female apprentice was Tingyu.
Upon hearing the question, Chen Feiyuan stammered some nonsense before finally closing his mouth.
Xu Qing couldn’t see inside the tent, but occasionally when he’d been able to peep in through the flap, he’d seen Chen Feiyuan looking very despondent.
“You ignoramus!” Grandmaster Bai said harshly. “Tingyu, you answer.”
Unfortunately, Tingyu wasn’t as prepared as she usually was.
“Nightcorpse morning glory, also known as poisonous mountain rootmottle… teacher, I… I forgot.” She trailed off into silence.
The tent was very quiet, apparently as Grandmaster Bai sat there with his fury simmering. Finally, he spoke, and he did nothing to hide the anger in his trembling voice.
“Kid, you answer.”
Outside the tent, Xu Qing’s eyes went wide for a moment, and then he started talking without even thinking about it.
“Nightcorpse morning glory, also known as poisonous mountain rootmottle, refers to the stalk and root of feverfew veined turtledove chrysanthemums. It is a woody vine-type plant found in ravines of the Corpse Mountains, usually in chilly streams or jungle thickets. It’s astringent but feels warm in the mouth. It also imparts a sensation of decay. It’s particularly useful in protecting against drafts and inducing perspiration. That said, it’s extremely poisonous, and is a typical example of the polarity of yin and yang in medicinal plants.” With that, Xu Qing closed his mouth.
Inside the tent, the two young apprentices seemed slightly upset at having been outshone, so Grandmaster Bai asked, “What are the symptoms of overdose?”
Xu Qing felt extremely nervous, but without hesitation, he answered, “Symptoms include stomach pain, dizziness, and hallucinations. If you don’t start counteracting the poison within fifteen minutes, the result is death.”
“How do you counteract the poison?”
“You begin by inducing vomiting and pumping the stomach. Then you use a combination of egg whites and redthorn stamens, treating the symptoms at noon when the sun is bright. The treatment time should last for no more than an hour, and should continue for three days.”
During Xu Qing’s explanation, Grandmaster Bai sat in the tent, his face completely expressionless. As for the two apprentices, they stared with wide-eyed shock.
“Why is it a good example of the polarity of yin and yang?” Grandmaster Bai asked.
“The polarity of yin and yang is expressed perfectly in the opposition between vitality and unhealthiness. Vital yang represents beneficial medicine. Yin unhealthiness represents dangerous poisons.” Xu Qing’s answer came without even thinking. He had learned this information recently, and had recited the details numerous times, until he remembered every bit perfectly.
“What can you do with this plant?” Grandmaster Bai asked.
“You could take nightcorpse morning glory and combine it with mindset leaf, which would double its yang efficacy. That would help treat damage to the soul, and also relieve some of the effects of mutagen. However, if you combine it with downy orchid, it would increase its yin efficacy. In fact, it would become so poisonous that, if an ordinary person consumed it, they would die within thirty breaths of time.”
“How do you deal with downy orchids? What are the uses of mindset leaf roots? How can you….”
Grandmaster Bai asked more questions in a rapid-fire manner, making Xu Qing even more nervous. However, he responded in kind.
For the time it takes an incense stick to burn, an old man and a young man went through an intensive question and answer session.
The questions Grandmaster Bai asked were all related to the content of the lectures in recent days. Thus, Xu Qing knew all the answers and was able to provide them quickly.
The two apprentices went from being shocked to looking shaken, and stared blankly at Xu Qing’s shadow silhouetted on the tent wall.
Finally, Grandmaster Bai asked a concluding question.
“Take three one-year-old nightcorpse morning glories, combine them with six three-year-old cloudpassing tufts, add in nine ten-year-old short-leaved kyllingas, and create a medicinal liquid. What does it do?”
Both of the young apprentices’ faces fell. This question was not about a simple description of plants, but rather a complicated mixture.
It was also the first question that Xu Qing couldn’t answer immediately. After thinking for more than thirty breaths of time, he took a deep breath and said, “Unhealthiness is difficult to suppress. Yang exhilarates, yin debilitates. Bringing in the cloudpassing tufts’ yang efficacy raises the short-leaved kyllingas’ detoxifying properties to an astounding level.”
After finishing speaking, Xu Qing stood there with his eyes wide, as if he had just realized something.
“And that,” Grandmaster Bai said coolly, “is seventy percent of the pill formula for a basic grandization pill. Combine those three medicinal plants, heat them for fourteen hours, and you’ll have the pill. I asked you a lot of questions. Now, do you have anything you want to ask of me?”
Xu Qing felt shaken. Over the past month or more, he had plenty of unanswered questions. After all, he had been eavesdropping. And though Grandmaster Bai hadn’t prevented him from doing so, there was no way he could ever bring himself to interrupt the lecture with questions.
But now that Grandmaster Bai had given him the opportunity, he didn’t hesitate.
“Grandmaster Bai, do flamerope hemp and yangseed needles work well no matter where they grow? I know they’re similar, but how exactly do they differ?”
“Why can’t you pick coffin-resting buds during the daytime?”
“The sap of mindset leaves obviously drives out unhealthiness. But why can’t they be used together with lifesight branches, which also drive out unhealthiness?”
Xu Qing asked question after question, and Grandmaster Bai answered them all in detail.
It seemed as though there would be no end to Xu Qing’s questions. Time passed, until it was far past when the lecture would usually end. From the expressions on the faces of the two apprentices, it was as if they were witnessing a freak of nature. Finally, Xu Qing looked up at the sun, and seeing how late it was, stopped asking questions.
As far as he was concerned, it was impossible to describe how much he had benefited this day. Many of his questions had been answered, and more than ever, he felt like he was gaining comprehensive understanding of the topic. And it only made his thirst for knowledge grow even more intense.
As he was preparing to leave, Grandmaster Bai said one more thing from inside the tent.
“From now on, don’t stand outside the tent. And don’t bring those random medicinal plants either. Henceforth, you’ll be attending class inside.”
1. Chen Feiyuan: Chen is listed #5 on the top 100 most common Chinese surnames. Fei means “fly” and Yuan means “source, origin.” Madam Deathblade says that when she sees this name, it seems like “a mediocre guy, nothing special about him.” ☜