Xuanxia

Chapter 186: Fellow Countryman Meets Fellow Countryman
With a knife at his neck, Fu Qingzhou immediately became scared.

He was "greatly surprised" and the medicine box in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. He made a terrified sound: "I, I don't... I have no ill intentions! I just want to learn how to use a knife!"

"Learn sword?"

Fa Nu sneered behind him: "What did you just hold in your hand?"

"Yes... I made the medicine myself." Fu Qingzhou said in a trembling voice: "I noticed that you were unwell, so I thought of making some medicine to relieve your symptoms, and then... and then ask you to teach me something..."

"Heh, Zhou Qing."

Fa Nu continued to sneer: "Don't think I don't know you. You have caused quite a stir among the lay disciples these past two days... But you are a butcher! Not a doctor!"

As he spoke, the sword pressed deeper, faintly breaking the skin on the side of Fu Qingzhou's neck, and blood oozed out.

"No, no, no!"

Fu Qingzhou's legs were shaking, and he shouted loudly: "My uncle is a famous doctor. I was fostered in his home for several years when I was young. Although I haven't studied medicine seriously, I know a little bit!"

This time, Fa Nu's sneer was even more full of sarcasm.

"You are a terrible lier."

He held the knife, keeping the blade close to Fu Qingzhou's neck, and walked slowly in front of him. His short figure was full of oppression, and there was a playful look in his eyes, like a cat playing with a mouse: "Do you know that these lies you told will be exposed with a little investigation?"

Fu Qingzhou said with a sad face: "Brother, I really didn't lie to you! If you don't believe me, go check it out. If I, Zhou Qing, have said even a single lie, I will be struck by lightning!"

It was Zhou Qing who swore, what does it have to do with me, Fu Qingzhou...

Hearing him say this, Fanu became interested: "Okay, okay, since you are so confident, I want to hear what kind of lies you can make up!"

He actually retracted the knife, poked the ground with the tip of the knife, picked up the medicine box and held it in his hand.

"Go ahead."

Fa Nu's eyes were still as cold as ice: "How did you stay at your uncle's house, and what kind of medical knowledge did you learn?"

Fu Qingzhou swallowed his saliva and said, "When I was a child, I had a serious illness. The doctors in the village and town couldn't cure me, so my mother said... just send me to her brother, my uncle."

"Although my father is from Luoyi, my mother came from Fuhe Province. It seems that she used to be a maid for a rich family, and then came to Luoyi, and then married my father. I don't know much about this."

"Anyway, that year my mother said that she had an older brother in Fuhe Province, who had been with a... I heard that he was an imperial physician from the palace and worked as a pharmacist. He could see patients on his own when he was a teenager, and later he opened a clinic on his own with great medical skills... She said she wanted to send me to my uncle to take care of me, maybe I could still survive."

"My father thought about it and agreed to it, thinking it was a last resort."

Fu Qingzhou looked at Fa Nu cautiously and whispered, "So I was sent to my uncle's place for four or five years before I recovered and returned to Luoyi..."

There was a strange look on Fanu's face at this moment.

Fu Qingzhou laughed secretly in his heart, it’s okay to be weird.

It was impossible for him to read and write down all the information about Lihua County that Zhao Hao had prepared. Instead, he and Zhao Hao screened out some information about people that might be useful.

Among them were a blacksmith, a butcher, a restaurant owner, a doctor... about seven or eight people in total.

Fu Qingzhou has memorized the information of these people by heart.

Before he came into contact with Fa Nu, he was not sure what identity he would adopt, so he had to remember as much as possible; and when he heard the Smoker say that Fa Nu had health problems due to practicing evil skills, he decided to use the identity of "nephew of a famous doctor."

Calculating the time, the time he fabricated when he was "fostered at his uncle's house" was exactly the years before and after Fanu's family was massacred. Fanu must have had a deep impression of the people and events in his hometown during that period of time... If you want to make a person believe in something, it doesn't rely on telling him, but letting him associate it with that step himself.

Of course, at the moment, this little information can only allow Fa Nu to recall something, but it is obviously not enough to gain trust.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Fanu's face returned to its icy coldness. "Oh? You made up a story that's quite convincing. Go on, what's your uncle's name, what's the name of the clinic, which town is it in, what tree is in front of the door, and what river is outside the window?"

Fu Qingzhou scratched his head: "I was young at that time. Except for my uncle and my mother, both of whom had the last name Fan, I really can't remember the others clearly..."

Fa Nu sneered cruelly, and his five fingers holding the knife tightened.

But before he could do anything, Fu Qingzhou continued, "...But I still remember that every spring, my uncle would take me out for an outing. The mountains were full of white flowers, which were very beautiful."

Fa Nu's sneer froze on his face and his eyes widened instantly.

Fu Qingzhou seemed unaware and begged for mercy pitifully: "Brother, I really didn't lie to you. I was too young at that time, and my parents passed away early. I really don't remember what the town was called at that time. I only remember that it was in Fuhe Province..."

"The famous doctor named Fan... the whole mountain is covered with white flowers..."

Fanu seemed not to hear his words and continued to mutter to himself.

Fu Qingzhou let him reminisce for a while, then he called out carefully, "Senior Brother? Senior Brother Fanu?"

Fa Nu came back to his senses and stared at him, his eyes narrowed slightly: "How much do you remember about your childhood?"

"There must be some, otherwise I wouldn't know much about medicine..."

Fu Qingzhou scratched his head and said, "During that period, I helped my uncle pick, weigh and dispense medicine every day, and accompanied him to see patients. I remember walking a distance from the clinic, there was a small bluestone bridge, and there were many ducks under the bridge. I liked to count the ducks for fun..."

"I also remember that there were often people performing at the end of the street near the clinic. I loved to watch them, but my uncle said that I was in poor health and couldn't go to crowded places all the time. I always sneaked out to watch, but he caught me and brought me back..."

"Oh yeah, there's one more."

He looked nostalgic, "I particularly like the steamed fish made in the restaurant opposite the clinic, but it's very expensive. My uncle would only bring the whole family there to eat during festivals. Unfortunately, I've never eaten it since then..."

The vicious and cold look on Fanu's face finally disappeared completely.

He looked at Fu Qingzhou in a daze, and suddenly asked, "Do you still remember what the steamed fish tasted like?"

"remember!"

Fu Qingzhou replied: "It is not only fresh and fragrant, but most importantly, it tastes great. I heard that the fish is only delicious if it is caught in the early spring, because..."

"…because they need to swim upstream to the south to lay their eggs."

Fanu suddenly took over the conversation and murmured, "These fish swim very hard every day, so their meat is very delicious. After catching them, they cannot be kept alive, but must be killed and put into the pot immediately. The steamed fish made in this way is the best quality..."

Fu Qingzhou was stunned: "Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Fa Nu smiled bitterly and put down the knife.

There was no more coldness or gloom in his eyes when he looked at Fu Qingzhou, only an inexplicable closeness.

"Oh, I didn't expect that..."

Fa Nu stretched out his hand and patted Fu Qingzhou's shoulder heavily: "We are half fellow villagers too!"

(End of this chapter)