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Chapter 418 One step at a time

Yan Daoxin's words were exactly what Zhu Yu had been wondering about. This small mountain building was much larger than she had imagined. In such a large space, from the moment she entered until she arrived, there was a strong smell of medicinal herbs. How many people here were taking medicine, and why were they taking medicine for so many years?
Thinking of this, she quickly asked Yan Daoxin, "How did you feel as you followed us all the way here? Could you tell which way was which?"

Yan Daoxin shook his head: "If you ask me to find the main gate by following the path I just took, I reckon it should be about right."

But if you were to ask me now where we are roughly, or which side of the building is closer to us, I honestly wouldn't be able to give you a clear answer...

This little mountain-like building doesn't feel like a building at all; it really does resemble a mountain. We've been led around and around in it, and I haven't even seen a single window. It's really hard to get our bearings."

Zhu Yu frowned.

They were truly surprised to find that this small building had no windows. From the outside, it appeared to have some closed windows, but once inside, they discovered that they were all fake, and there was no way to see any sunlight from inside.

Just as Yan Daoxin said, this small mountain building doesn't look like a building at all. It's more like a wooden building that surrounds a small mountain. The inside is winding and twisting, with no straight paths and no trace of what you would expect from a typical building.

Including the room that Granny Shi arranged for the two of them, the room itself is quite large and is divided into inner and outer rooms, but it can only be connected to the floor below by a wooden staircase. The room itself is as if it is built on the edge of a cliff and suspended in the air.

This is not a structure you'd find in an ordinary house!

In addition, the room itself also truly surprised Zhu Yu.

Before they set off, they had specifically discussed how to try to escape if the two of them were locked up separately, especially Zhu Yu.

And now, they've been arranged together so completely without any precautions.

What's even more outrageous is that the room's environment is so nice, ridiculously nice.

This room was exceptionally spacious, and apart from lacking windows, it seemed even better than the boudoir of an ordinary wealthy young lady.

There was a small table, a chaise lounge, screens, embroidery racks—everything one could imagine for a boudoir was there.

There were two large soft pillows on the chaise lounge, covered with the finest silk. Judging from the way Yan Daoxin leaned against them, they must have been very soft and comfortable.

Zhu Yu went into the inner room and saw that the bed was covered with several thick and soft quilts, all with silk covers, which felt fluffy, soft and delicate to the touch.

The quality was so high, even after she married into the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion. Because Lu Qing was not a particularly extravagant person, the bedding in her room was comfortable, but not so delicate.

"This is truly made for skin as smooth and delicate as jade!" Zhu Yu sighed as he touched the feel of the quilt, referring to Yan Daoxin who had already gotten up and sat down at the tea table.

“Now that you mention it… the musician mentioned that someone had seen the women Granny Shi took out before, and they all had snow-white skin, without a single wrinkle or blemish.” Yan Daoxin took out a wooden hairpin from her bosom and quickly gathered her previously loose black hair into a Taoist bun. “These things, combined with the smell of herbs in this building, make it not hard to guess. Those women were probably kept here and fed like medicine.”

Zhu Yu's expression hardened, and he quickly went over and sat down at the table: "You just said that there was an unfamiliar medicinal smell mixed in, but it was wrapped in the tonics you were familiar with, so you couldn't smell what it was."

What if they come back and send us medicine, claiming it's to help us improve our health, and then try to get us to drink it?
If something strange is mixed in, can you tell?

“That’s not a big problem, don’t worry too much.” Yan Daoxin nodded confidently. “Whether you can smell it or not is one thing, whether you can taste it or not is another.”

I can definitely figure out what's in anything I've tasted myself.

"Then... once it's in your stomach, will there really be no problem?" Zhu Yu was still a little worried.

"No problem, I'm used to it." Yan Daoxin grinned, with a nonchalant attitude. "Back then, I really didn't like learning martial arts. I felt that learning a skill that could protect myself was enough. There was no need to practice those things day after day, over and over again."

My master said that if I really didn't have the determination to practice martial arts, I couldn't be forced into it, and asked me what I wanted to learn.

I told my master I wanted to learn medicine. He said that healing people is not difficult, but it is difficult to know the root cause of each disease and where to start treating it.

And what does it feel like to be poisoned by different kinds of poisons? And what are the different effects of different medicinal herbs when ingested?

So my master said, "If I want to learn medicine, I must first taste all kinds of medicinal herbs, and I must personally test poisons as well."

"Ah... Won't this cause problems? Isn't this a bit too risky?" Zhu Yu was somewhat surprised. She knew that the mysterious Qiyun Mountain man was very capable, had a very eccentric personality, and was unconventional. He couldn't be judged by worldly standards, but this practice of having his disciple taste all kinds of medicinal herbs and even poisons still really startled her.

"It's alright, with my master here, I won't die. However, he won't intervene until I'm on my last breath." Yan Daoxin didn't seem to care, as if these things were commonplace. "My master said that everyone has the desire to live, so saving oneself is the best way to show how capable a person is."

He said that if he couldn't even save himself after doing his best, then he wasn't talented enough and shouldn't study medicine.

A master is indeed a master; even the way he teaches his apprentices is so unique!
"Then Lu Qing..." After a moment's thought, Zhu Yu couldn't help but feel curious again.

"He doesn't need to be like me. Master just lets him get used to the most common ones so he won't be so easily poisoned."

After Yan Daoxin finished speaking, he suddenly seemed to remember something interesting: "However, Master said that after he returned to the capital, the surroundings were extremely complicated, so he needed to be more vigilant than others, otherwise, one wrong step could lead him into the other party's trap and be doomed forever."

If I took the wrong medicine, my master could still save me, but Lu Qing is different. If he dies, he's really dead.

So during those years, he was schemed against quite a bit by my master; you could say he faced one obstacle after another!