A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 323 Silver Star Grass

Pan Yong stood at the entrance of the cave, watching Yin Cong and Duan Rong disappear around the dark corner of the cliff.

The eyes on his cold face moved slightly, and he put away the star plate, picked up the two pockets at his feet, and walked towards Shang Xiangyu's place.

Pan Yong stepped over the fence and saw a candle lamp lit on the stone wall in a corner of the platform. Tang Zhu was half-squatting there, holding a bowl and feeding Xin'er.

While Xin'er was eating, for some reason, she began to sing.

Tang Zhu squatted there with the bowl in his hand, waiting patiently for Xin'er to finish singing before feeding her the next bite.

Tang Zhu heard the rustling footsteps over there, turned around and saw it was Pan Yong.

The two looked at each other and both realized that they had no intention of talking.

Pan Yong walked over in silence.

Xin'er would occasionally call Shang Xiangyu "Daddy" in a vague voice. Although her pronunciation was unclear, this was the most human-like syllable Xin'er had ever uttered.

They all thought that Shang Xin was Shang Xiangyu's son.

But only Pan Yong knew that Shang Xin was actually Shang Xiangyu's younger brother.

However, Shang Xin was born with a mental disability and contracted polio in childhood. In his mind, he probably couldn't tell who was his father and who was his brother...

Pan Yong walked into the cave and saw at a glance the dim yellow candlelight coming from the side room of the stone chamber. He flipped his hand and grabbed the star plate in his palm. His originally cold and stiff face instantly became submissive.

Pan Yong walked into the side room.

Shang Xiangyu was sitting in front of the desk, frowning and thinking deeply.

Pan Yong stood by the cave entrance, his back slightly bent, his head lowered to the ground, and said, "Master Shang, last night I made a list according to the prescription you gave me. Yin Cong and Duan Rong went to the medicine cabinet this morning, and the medicines have been exchanged back."

As Pan Yong spoke, he placed the two bags on the ground next to the table. He stood not far from the table and handed the star plate in his hand to Shang Xiangyu.

Shang Xiangyu took a look at the two bags of medicine, then reached out to grab the star plate, took just a glance at the plate, and put it in his sleeve.

Pan Yong did not report to Shang Xiangyu that Duan Rong and Yin Cong had spent ten extra contribution points.

He also knows how to weigh the pros and cons and would not bother Shang Xiangyu with such trivial matters. This is why Shang Xiangyu has always relied on him.

He usually handles things like this himself downstairs.

Shang Xiangyu said, "This time the medicine refining is different from the previous ones. Tomorrow, I will personally guide you in preparing the medicine."

Pan Yong's eyes moved and he said, "Yes, Master Shang."

When he made a list of medicines last night, he felt that the medicines exchanged this time were obviously of more diverse types and the total amount was much more than usual.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xiangyu would now personally guide them in processing medicinal herbs. This was the first time in the few years he had been here.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly said in a deep voice: "Tell them that starting from tomorrow, they will have a very hard time for a few days! Ask them to put aside their current tasks and refine medicine with me."

"Master Shang, don't worry!" Pan Yong said with a fist salute.

Shang Xiangyu nodded and said, "You go."

Pan Yong slowly walked out of the stone chamber.

As soon as Pan Yong came out of the stone chamber, Shang Xiangyu looked at the big stone pot on the table in front of him with deep eyes.

Shang Xiangyu raised his hand and opened the lid of the big stone pot. Under the dim candlelight, he saw a ball of fuzzy red fluorescence at the bottom of the dark pot, flickering dimly like a beating heart.

In the floating vague red light, pieces of black gas rolled by from time to time.

Inside this large stone pot is a black blood vine fruit that had just ripened yesterday afternoon.

Shang Xiangyu stared at the fruit with red light floating at the bottom of the pot. A fierce look flashed in his eyes, and his tight-skinned face even became a little distorted.

"Rejuvenation Pill... I must make it..."

Shang Xiangyu pulled up his sleeves while speaking, and his arms were wrinkled, like the dry arms of an old man...

Looking at the bony arm, his eyes were instantly filled with intense pain and disgust.

He wanted to peel off the wrinkled skin in front of him layer by layer...

But he knew it was no use.

The vitality in his body is being eroded bit by bit.

Shang Xiangyu felt sick of this feeling, this feeling of being devoured by aging...

He didn't know how many times he woke up from nightmares. In his dreams, there was an old man with a wrinkled face gnawing at his corpse...

That was him...

After Shang Xiangyu practiced the Nine Netherworld Hidden Art, he found that his white hair began to increase gradually.

Although he was suspicious, he didn't think much about it because the skin on his face was still firm and delicate.

It was not until he achieved the first level of the Nine Netherworlds Hidden Art that his hair turned white overnight.

The skin on my hands and feet also began to dry, peel, and age, and after a few hours, it became wrinkled...

Shang Xiangyu immediately realized that he had been tricked.

After discovering that aging was beginning to spread in his body, he came up with the idea of using the five poisons to transform blood in order to suppress the spread of aging.

During this time, he searched for ancient recipes and conducted intensive research, and finally improved the ancient recipe for the rejuvenation pill.

After exhausting all efforts and replacing several medicines that have become extinct in this world.

Shang Xiangyu deduced repeatedly and believed that the improved elixir formula still had a great chance of succeeding.

But now, the Five Poisons Blood Transformation has almost no effect, and this rejuvenation pill has become the thread that hangs on his life...

He is no longer qualified to fail.

After Yin Cong left Pan Yong's cave, he walked along the cliff with a depressed feeling, and he was almost at the entrance of his own cave.

Duan Rong suddenly said, "Brother, we are exhausted after a day's work. How about I go to the forest and hunt some game so we can have a good meal?"

Yin Cong smiled upon hearing this, raised his hand and patted Duan Rong on the shoulder, saying, "Junior brother, you are so thoughtful. Thank you for your help."

"Brother, please take a rest for a while and wait for me to come back." Duan Rong said, and walked into the dark night and went into the dense forest.

When Yin Cong saw Duan Rong leaving, he stood at the entrance of the cave and sighed deeply.

He has been here at Shang Xiangyu for more than a year, and has always been suppressed by Pan Yong and Chen Hu. He has suffered a lot from various trivial matters.

But he also knew that he was no match for those two people, whether in terms of martial arts or brainpower, so he could only endure his life in silence.

When Duan Rong came back carrying two bloody game, Yin Cong had already built a fire at the entrance of the cave.

Duan Rong shot a pheasant and a hare, and before returning, he had already cleaned them up by the pond.

Duan Rong sat down in front of the fire, and the two of them started roasting game.

Seeing the pheasants and hares being roasted, sizzling with oil and the aroma filling the air...

Duan Rong turned the rabbit in his hand and said, "Brother, I've been thinking about it. I must have taken an extra herb, which is why I spent an extra ten contribution points."

Yin Cong sighed and said, "Don't think about it. It has already happened. It is normal to make mistakes. This is your first time. Only perverts like Pan Yong and Chen Hu will never make mistakes, and they think it is normal not to make mistakes."

In fact, he himself bears greater responsibility for this incident.

He actually didn't remember the points Pan Yong told him. If he remembered correctly, he could have counted them again at the counter of the medicine cabinet and found out the mistakes. In fact, deducting ten contribution points was nothing, but he couldn't stand Pan Yong's cold look.

As soon as Yin Cong finished speaking, a dark shadow came from the corner of the cliff.

As soon as the shadow came out, Yin Cong could tell it was Pan Yong. From the way he walked, the shadow gave people a sense of dignity.

Pan Yong approached, and the firelight reflected his cold and hard face.

Just now Yin Cong said that he and Chen Hu were perverts, and he heard it.

When Yin Cong saw Pan Yong approaching, he immediately stood up with a smile, tore off a drumstick from the pheasant he had roasted, and handed it to Pan Yong, saying, "Brother, this is freshly roasted game. Come, have a taste."

Pan Yong's face darkened, he waved his hand and said, "No, I don't like eating such greasy food."

Pan Yong took a look at Duan Rong, who was still sitting there motionless when he saw him coming, and said in a deep voice: "I am here to tell the two junior brothers. Be at the platform on time at 3:30 am tomorrow. The Shangshi will personally guide us in processing the herbs."

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he turned around and left.

Yin Cong looked at Pan Yong's back, took a big bite of the chicken leg in his hand, looked at Duan Rong, and said, "Look at how dead he looked just now. Even a debt collector would look better than him. You keep a sour face every day, who are you showing it to?"

Duan Rong's eyes moved, and he said, "Just now he said that the Shangshi will personally guide us in processing the herbs."

"Hmm..." Yin Cong was stunned when he heard that.

He was so busy sulking with Pan Yong just now that he didn't pay much attention.

Duan Rong asked, "Master Shang has also taught us how to process herbs before?"

Yin Cong blinked and said, "Since I came here, I probably haven't given any instructions. It was Pan Yong who led us to do it."

Duan Rong said: "Then this time's medicine refining is very different?"

Yin Cong then remembered that the medicines he exchanged this time seemed to be much more complicated than before, but he immediately tore a piece of chicken in his hand and said, "Why do you worry about that?! Let's just do our own thing."

Yin Cong said this before sitting down casually and starting to eat.

Duan Rong looked at him, shook his head slightly, and sighed in his heart: This guy is too careless. He can survive under the hands of Pan Yong and Chen Hu until now. I wonder how he survived?

After they finished their game, they chatted for a while and then went their separate ways.

At the hour of Mao the next day, when it was still dark, two candles had been lit on the platform outside the cave.

Pan Yong, Chen Hu, Yin Cong, Duan Rong and Tang Zhu were already standing on the platform.

The swelling on Tang Zhu's face had subsided, leaving only a few scabbed wounds on his face.

At this time, black fog rolled in, candle lights were dim, and a strange atmosphere weighed heavily on the hearts of several people.

After a while, Shang Xiangyu came out of the cave carrying a bag.

Shang Xiangyu opened his pocket and said, "There are sixteen kinds of medicine in here. This is your task for today. Pan Yong gets four, and the rest get three each."

"Come here, Pan Yong, come here. I'll teach you how to deal with these four drugs."

Pan Yong walked in front of Shang Xiangyu, and Shang Xiangyu pointed out the four medicines to Pan Yong in the candlelight.

Pan Yong recognized them one by one, and Shang Xiangyu began to explain the handling methods and his requirements.

Shang Xiangyu finished explaining to them one by one. It was already bright outside and everyone started to get busy.

Among them, Yin Cong and Tang Zhu were the most nervous. Both of them looked pale and their hands were shaking. This was mainly because they only understood half of what Shang Xiangyu had just said.

Pan Yong, Chen Hu and Duan Rong have already begun to process the herbs in an orderly manner.

Yin Cong glanced at Duan Rong sideways. Pan Yong and Chen Hu were fine, but Duan Rong had only been there for a few days, so how could he know all those strange and bizarre equipment so well?

It took him more than half a year to slowly figure it out.

"This kid is really weird..."

Several people were busy on the platform outside the cave. Shang Xiangyu came out of the cave from time to time to observe their methods and also give them some pointers on the details.

Yin Cong didn't understand how to deal with a certain medicinal herb just now. When Shang Xiangyu came out for the second time, he finally plucked up the courage to ask.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xiangyu answered his questions patiently and said, "If you have any questions, don't hide them. There can be no messing around with the processing of these herbs!"

"You didn't ask questions when you had them, and the herbs were not processed properly, which affected my progress in refining the medicine. I will never let you off easily!"

As soon as Shang Xiangyu said this, Tang Zhu immediately asked several questions, and Shang Xiangyu answered them one by one.

Throughout the day, even Pan Yong and Chen Hu asked a few questions that they were not sure about.

Only Duan Rong remained silent from beginning to end and did not even ask a question.

Moreover, before it got dark, he had already processed the three medicinal herbs he needed to process and returned to the cave early.

Starting from the second day, Duan Rong had the heaviest workload among the group, processing two more medicinal herbs than Pan Yong.

But even so, Duan Rong was still the first one to finish among them.

Moreover, every time Shang Xiangyu checked, he nodded secretly to the herbs he was processing.

On the evening of the third day, it was getting dark and the people had already started to finish their work.

"what!"

Tang Zhu suddenly exclaimed, and in the dim sky, he looked in surprise at the small bundle of herbs in his hand.

I saw silver spots on the serrated leaves of the medicinal plant, like tiny stars.

Tang Zhu said: "Why is there three more coins of this Silver Star Grass?!"

Upon hearing this, Yin Cong straightened his back immediately, moved closer, and said, "Let me take a look."

Tang Zhu said: "Then, there are two bundles of Silver Star Grass here?!"

Yin Cong picked at the two bundles of herbs, turned his head and looked at Chen Hu, and asked, "Hey, expressionless man! How many contribution points are three taels of Silver Star Grass worth?"

Chen Hu said coldly: "Ten o'clock."

Yin Cong immediately slapped his thigh and shouted, "That's right. The extra ten points just means I took an extra piece of this thing."

Yin Cong looked at Duan Rong and said, "Duan Rong, did you take three more coins of Silver Star Grass?"

Duan Rong touched his face and said, "That should be it."

Yin Cong said with a happy look on his face: "Brother Pan Yong! Do you still need me to make up for the extra ten points?"

Pan Yong coughed and said, "Then there's no need for that. This Silver Star Grass is also a commonly used herb. I'll save it for now and use it when I refine medicine next time."

Yin Cong said: "At least the truth has come out. Otherwise, some people would think that I took the opportunity to buy some private goods for myself."

Yin Cong's words made Pan Yong's face turn as black as the bottom of a pot.

In the evening five days later, all the herbs needed for this medicine refining had been processed.

Yin Cong and Duan Rong exchanged about a hundred kinds of medicinal herbs in the medicine cabinet, and about 60% of them needed to be processed.

Shang Xiangyu looked at the corner of the platform, which was filled with bottles and jars. There was no trace of relief on his face, but he became more solemn instead.

"Tomorrow night. All of you, follow me into the cave and make medicine!"

(End of this chapter)