From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 89 Medicine Hall
"Sure, what's up, Grandpa?"

Xu Zhongche was puzzled. Wasn't the taste of the medicinal herbs in the soup very obvious?

"...Come with Grandpa."

Xu Fugui pondered for a moment, then led him to the bedroom and closed the door.

What other medicinal herbs were in the herbal soup just now?

"It has a bitter taste of iron root grass, a slightly sweet taste of blue vine. There's also an earthy smell, I don't know what it is."

The "earthy smell" that Xu Zhongche mentioned is exactly what Di Luosen is referring to.

He had never drunk the medicinal soup made from Dilusen and was unfamiliar with this herb.

"hiss--"

Xu Fugui gasped in astonishment; this was a natural-born pharmacist.

The ability to taste the flavors of five spiritual plants in a Five Elements Spiritual Medicine Soup with an extremely faint medicinal taste is a talent even rarer than the spiritual roots of immortality cultivators.

He paced back and forth in the room excitedly, his mind racing with thoughts.

Such talent should not be wasted, but the apprenticeship of a pharmacist is not so easy to obtain.

Unlike martial arts stance training, which can be learned by paying money, the pharmacist's lineage is passed down only to his own family and never to outsiders.

The pharmacies and medicine shops in the county town that could refine medicines regarded their refining techniques and prescriptions as their lifeblood.

For example, the Qi and Blood Pill is made from only common medicinal herbs that have been aged for a long time, without any magical ingredients. One Qi and Blood Pill sells for eighty taels of silver, while the cost of the herbs is said to be only eight taels of silver, resulting in a tenfold profit!

Because of the exorbitant profits, pharmacies keep their prescriptions and alchemy techniques firmly under their control, passing them down only to their own descendants.

In the county town, apart from families of Qi Refining cultivators, the families with the highest status are those of medicine halls, which are even higher than martial arts families like the Fu family.

"No matter how difficult it is, we must find a pharmacist's lineage for Zhongche."

Xu Fugui thought to himself. This involves not only Xu Zhongche, but the entire Xu family.

If Xu Zhongche inherits the legacy of a pharmacist, he can select promising individuals with the talent to become pharmacists from among the Xu family's descendants and pass the lineage down from generation to generation. This would be a blessing for generations to come.

"grandfather…"

Xu Zhongche called out softly, but he didn't know what his grandfather was doing. His grandfather was walking around and making him dizzy.

Xu Fugui suddenly stopped and looked at his grandson seriously: "Zhongche, the ingredients of our family's medicinal soup are a secret, you must never tell anyone."

"okay."

Xu Zhongche nodded obediently.

Afterwards, Xu Fugui escorted the three children, Zhongche, Zhonghuai, and Zhongchao, to the gate of the old house.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked at the entrance, driven by a high-ranking martial artist from the Vajra Sect who had escorted three children back from the county town.

Xu Fugui originally wanted to ask him to help pass on a message, but then he thought that Zhonglei's third birthday banquet was in a few days, and he would discuss this matter with his sons then.

"Go home now. Don't neglect your stance training; you must practice diligently day and night without stopping."

He gave the instructions as usual.

"I know, Grandpa."

"Goodbye Grandpa."

The three children jumped onto the carriage and waved goodbye.

As the Vajra Sect warriors were driving away, they remembered something and took out an exquisite wooden box from the carriage: "Master Xu, I almost forgot, the deputy master asked me to bring back some Poria cocos paste for Madam Xu."

"Deputy Master" refers to Xu Xiaogou, the deputy master of the Vajra Gate Martial Arts School.

Poria cocos paste has the effects of beautifying the skin, nourishing the complexion, and moisturizing the skin.

Xu Fugui took the wooden box: "Thank you for your trouble."

He then watched the carriage disappear from sight.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Back in the medicinal kitchen, he cleaned up the dregs from brewing the Five Elements Spiritual Medicine Soup and washed the medicine pot.

Just as he was about to continue his seclusion to cultivate immortality, he saw Xu Xiaohou, with a bruised and swollen face, return from outside.

"Hey?"

Xu Fugui was surprised. He only knew that Xu Xiaohou was out there sparring with various high-level martial artists and had defeated many people. He had never seen him suffer a loss.

"Liu Zi, what's wrong? Were you bullied?"

"No."

Xu Xiaohou hung his head and shook it. He was just having a normal sparring match with someone, and he accepted the loss as he was; there was no question of him being "bullied."

"That's good." Xu Fugui stopped asking questions and instead thought it was a good thing. Someone had to curb Xu Xiaohou's arrogance, otherwise he would always think he was invincible.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xu Fugui went into seclusion at the medicinal cuisine room to cultivate immortality within his inner space.

Xu Xiaohou washed up and changed his clothes.

He was bored at home. He had already practiced stance training in the morning, and his strength couldn't have improved out of thin air, so he rode his horse to the county town.

When they arrived at Yun'an Tavern, they saw Xu Xiaoyun busy handling one business deal after another.

"Fourth Brother~"

Xu Xiaohou shouted loudly.

"Liu Zi, you've come to the county town to have some fun? Did you bring any money with you?"

Xu Xiaoyun's doting on his sixth brother can be summed up in two words: "giving him money."

"I'm not here to play, I want to buy a Qi and Blood Pill."

"Qi and Blood Pills? Go to Yiwu Pharmacy and find Manager Jia. He knows me. Just put it on my tab."

Xu Xiaoyun said casually.

"Okay, thanks, Fourth Brother."

After saying goodbye, Xu Xiaohou rushed to Yiwu Pharmacy.

There are three pharmacies selling Qi Xue Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine) in Tonggu County, and Yiwu Pharmacy is one of them.

On the busiest street in the county town, a magnificent three-story building sits prominently at the intersection.

The plaque hanging at the top of the pavilion bears four large, gilded characters written in a vigorous, dragon-and-phoenix style: 【Yiwu Pharmacy】.

The place is bustling with customers coming and going.

Xu Xiaohou went inside, asked around, and found the "Manager Jia" that his fourth brother had mentioned.

The large Yiwu Pharmacy has more than one manager; Manager Jia is just one of them, and he has dealt with Xu Xiaoyun several times.

“My fourth brother is Xu Xiaoyun. I want to buy Qi and Blood Pills. Put it on his tab.”

Xu Xiaohou said directly.

"Mr. Xu from Yun'an Tavern? And you are?"

Manager Jia sized up Xu Xiaohou, making sure he knew his identity, lest someone try to take advantage of the situation and swindle money.

"I am the sixth son, Xu Xiaohou."

"So it's Young Master Xu. I've long admired your name. Meeting you today, I can see you are indeed a young hero."

Manager Jia cupped his hands in greeting. He knew the Xu family of Baihe Village and recognized that Xu Xiaohou and his third brother, Xu Xiaogou, looked alike.

"You're too kind, shopkeeper. Can you give me the Qi and Blood Pills now?"

Xu Xiaohou returned the greeting casually.

"Of course, how many do you want?"

One is enough.

Soon, Manager Jia brought over a Qi and Blood Pill and an account book: "Just sign here."

Xu Xiaohou saw the accounting entry above, "One Qi Xue Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine)," and signed his name after confirming that it was correct.

After leaving Yiwu Pharmacy, he went to find his third brother, Xu Xiaogou.

In the days to come, he will practice his kung fu diligently!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Vajra Gate Martial Arts School.

The huge training ground was bustling with activity, where a group of fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys were playing freely.

Some people rested, some practiced and pondered on their own, and some exchanged skills and competed.

In a corner, Xu Xiaogou was working on a new set of physical techniques.

He gave up cultivating immortality five years ago and focused on martial arts.

He was initially excited when he obtained the "Earth Element Technique," marking his entry into the path of cultivation. However, his subsequent practice led him to despair; he spent a great deal of time practicing the technique, yet his strength improved extremely slowly.

After much struggle and internal conflict, he made a decision: to give up cultivating immortality.

Now he circulates the "Earth Element Technique" several times every now and then to maintain a trace of spiritual energy in his body: in order to prolong his life and enjoy the lifespan of a Qi Refining cultivator.

This is the greatest help the spiritual root can provide to him.

(End of this chapter)