Speaking of Xiaodouding, along the way, she arrived at the courtyard responsible for concocting medicinal herbs at the Daoist Temple. From afar, she saw an elder in a robe with five stalks of rice embroidered on it, fiddling with herbs in the yard.
"Mr. Zhang." Seeing the elder, Xiaodouding called out crisply.
"Oh, it’s Chengyu! It’s been a few days since you last came, young miss!" The old man, with white hair and beard, smiled, but the next moment he turned and shouted into the house, "Quick, put away all the Polygonatum, ginseng, and Polygonum multiflorum!"
"Mr. Zhang!" Xiaodouding muttered in dissatisfaction upon hearing this, "Your actions make me feel insulted. Who are you guarding against?"
"I’m not stopping you from taking medicine; I’m preventing you from getting poisoned by those herbs." Elder Zhang’s face showed a bit of an embarrassed smile.
"Wasn’t it just one root of Polygonatum last time? Is there any need to be so stingy?" Xiaodouding said, pulling a long face.
Upon hearing Xiaodouding’s words, the elder’s mouth twitched, "One root? You never get full, always coming to the courtyard to scavenge, treating Polygonatum as a meal. You’ve eaten through all the edible herbs; it’s lucky you weren’t poisoned to death."
Hearing this, Xiaodouding snorted but didn’t seem embarrassed. Instead, she asked, "Mr. Zhang, if someone has a mental illness and keeps having delusions, how should it be treated?"
"You have a mental illness?" The old man was momentarily stunned at her words.
"No, it’s a friend of mine." Xiaodouding said.
Upon hearing this, the old man relaxed, "Oh, just a friend. This is simple; you just need to stabilize the soul, and the symptoms will naturally dissipate. I’ll prescribe a few packs of medicine, and I guarantee the medicine will cure the illness."
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen was practicing calligraphy in the house when suddenly the fragrance of herbs wafted into the courtyard.
"What are you doing?" Zhang Chen followed the herbal scent and walked out of the house, seeing Xiaodouding brewing medicine, her face smudged with ash as Chengyu fanned the fire.
Chengyu looked at Zhang Chen, her eyes swirling, then thought quietly to herself: ’If I tell him he has a mental illness, he’ll definitely refuse to take the medicine. I might as well find a way to trick him into drinking it.’
Then Chengyu cleared her throat, "Do you know why, at such a young age, I’ve already cultivated Huajin?"
"Why?" Zhang Chen said in surprise, pondering if there might be some secret technique after all.
"It’s because of this decoction! I’m thinking about when the competition might start, so I’ve decided to bring out my secret recipe to nurture you into a great master." Xiaodouding said solemnly, "Let me tell you, this secret recipe is a family heirloom. I wouldn’t even tell my master. If it weren’t for the fact that you cook for me, there’s no way I’d let you drink this decoction."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding’s small face covered in soot and couldn’t help but be touched, with warmth in his eyes, "Xiaodouding, thank you! I won’t let you down; I’ll win first place on the day of the competition."
"Hehe, I’m happy you think so. Now is our chance, since that noble lady is staying in the Daoist Temple, they can’t hold the competition here. This delays them, giving us plenty of time, greatly increasing our chances." As she spoke, Chengyu poured the decoction into a bowl and waved Zhang Chen over, "Hurry and drink the medicine."
Zhang Chen looked at the decoction, feeling a bit puzzled, but he didn’t think too much about it and chose to drink it all.
The taste of the decoction was naturally unpleasant, but Zhang Chen managed to drink it down.
After the two finished the decoction, they stared at each other. Xiaodouding observed Zhang Chen carefully and, seeing no reaction from him, said nothing more and cleaned up the herbal residue.
An hour later, Zhang Chen looked at the reading Xiaodouding:
"Speaking of which, after drinking this decoction, how come I don’t feel any different? Apart from feeling drowsy and wanting to sleep, there’s nothing unusual."
"You’ve only had one bowl. What effect could there be? This medicine subtly changes your attributes, increasing your Qi and blood; don’t overthink it." Xiaodouding said vaguely, "It would take at least half a month of drinking to see any effect."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen didn’t think much of it either; he didn’t believe Xiaodouding would harm him.
Zhang Chen practiced calligraphy for a while but suddenly felt sleepy again and dozed off, waking up in the middle of the night.
"How strange, why am I so sleepy today?" Zhang Chen opened the window, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
The moonlight flowed in like water, entirely absorbed by Zhang Chen, transforming into nourishment. The Crystal Core in Zhang Chen’s body pulsated, seemingly subtly altering him in some way.
Time passed swiftly; half a month flew by, and the days seemed to calm down. Over this past half-month, Zhang Chen mainly practiced Qi Cultivation, practiced calligraphy, and slept. His Martial Dao progression had stalled. Surprisingly, Xiaodouding, seeing Zhang Chen neglect his Martial Dao practice, didn’t say much but rather urged Zhang Chen to sleep more, making Zhang Chen find it quite peculiar.
Within the Spiritual First Heaven, Zhang Chen stood on a ruin, looking at a damaged rune in front of him, shaking his head: "The runes inscribed on the building don’t seem to serve any special purpose, at most they deepen my understanding of runes. I wonder if there’s any treasure buried under this palace."
Fox Fairy Nannan, who was meditating, perked up at Zhang Chen’s words: "Isn’t that obvious? This palace looks so grand, but it was suddenly shattered. There must be treasures hidden underneath."