Be a proper Taoist priest in The Condor Heroes

Chapter 67 Snake Gallbladder

As dawn broke through the gaps in the dense forest, dappled light spilled into the stone chamber, leaving only a faint warmth from the campfire that had burned out the night before.

Su Yan stayed by the stone bed all night without closing his eyes, constantly protecting Su Ye's heart meridian with a wisp of gentle internal energy to prevent the snake venom from retaliating. Seeing that the girl's breathing was steady and long, and her face had faded from deathly pale to a faint flush, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense all night, was finally completely at ease.

A slight fluttering sound of wings came from the entrance of the stone chamber. Su Yan looked up and saw the intelligent eagle.

The giant eagle strode in slowly, its thick, long legs swaying. Its neck was slightly lowered, and it held three deep purple snake gallbladders, each the size of a pigeon egg, steadily in its mouth. The gallbladders emitted a faint, exotic fragrance, mixed with a pungent, fishy smell. They were the gallbladders of the Bosqu snake.

The Divine Eagle gently placed the snake gall on the stone table, then retreated to the cave entrance and stood there, head held high and chest out, its gaze fixed on Su Ye. It was clear that it knew the snake gall was beneficial for healing and had specially sought it out as a gift.

Su Yan felt a warmth in her heart, and her gratitude towards the divine eagle deepened even further.

He was well-versed in pharmacology and naturally knew that the gallbladder of the Bosqu snake was a rare and miraculous medicine that would immediately refresh the mind and greatly increase strength after consumption.

He stepped forward and carefully put the three snake gallbladders into the porcelain bottle, then turned to look at the Divine Eagle and said in a deep voice.

"Thank you for the medicine, Brother Eagle. I need to go to the town at the foot of the mountain to buy medicinal herbs to heal my wounds. Please guard the stone chamber and protect my disciple's safety."

The eagle seemed to understand his words, letting out a deep, resonant cry, nodding, and steadily guarding the cave entrance.

Without further delay, Su Yan left the last of the dry rations in his bag to Su Ye, and then used his inner strength to check her pulse again. After confirming that there was no immediate danger, he gathered his energy and leaped off, speeding towards Qingxi Town, dozens of miles away.

As he traveled, he kept thinking about how to treat the snake venom that Su Ye had been poisoned with. Ordinary herbs could not cure it completely. Only by following the prescription recorded in Sun Simiao's "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold" and using realgar and five-spirit wine, supplemented with dried kudzu root, and taking it both internally and externally, could the remaining poison be completely removed.

Half an hour later, Su Yan arrived at Qingxi Town. He knew that he would need to stay in the deep mountain stone chamber for a long time to recuperate, and that supplies must not be lacking. He made purchases in an orderly manner according to his plans.

He went straight into the pharmacy and, in addition to purchasing realgar wine, five-spice powder, dried kudzu root, and realgar as the main medicines for treating snake venom, he also prepared angelica, astragalus, licorice and other herbs to regulate qi and blood. He also added some commonly used wound medicines and herbs such as wound medicine, hemostatic powder, and cold-dispelling soup ingredients, and tied the medicine package tightly.

They then went to a grain shop, where they bought a sufficient amount of durable brown rice and wheat cakes, as well as coarse salt, fermented black beans, dried mushrooms, and other seasonings and side dishes. They packed everything into coarse cloth grain bags to ensure that the two of them would not have to worry about food for many days in the mountains.

Then he went into the cloth shop and picked out two pieces of durable coarse cloth, two sets of close-fitting clothes suitable for traveling in the mountains and forests, and also added a close-fitting undergarment and a linen towel. The two of them could no longer wear their previous clothes, which were full of the fishy smell of snake blood. Clothes are easily damaged in the deep mountains, so it is good to have more in case of emergencies.

Afterwards, he went to a general store and bought all the daily necessities, including fire tumblers, oil paper, hemp rope, earthenware bowls and bamboo spoons, soap pods, wide cloths for bandaging, and small bamboo baskets. He also prepared everything from small sewing needles to large earthenware jars for holding water.

Finally, they went to the restaurant and specially selected two jars of mellow rice wine and one jar of stronger yellow wine. They wrapped them in thick linen and tied them around their waists, both to thank the Divine Eagle and to prepare for warming themselves in the future.

All the supplies were neatly packed into bags. After paying the silver, Su Yan slung the bag over his shoulder. Although it was heavy, it did not affect his figure at all. He dared not linger in the town. His mind was always on Su Ye on the stone bed. After confirming that no supplies had been forgotten, he immediately gathered his strength and leaped up, quickly heading back towards the depths of the Western Mountains.

Returning to the stone chamber, the Divine Eagle was still guarding the cave entrance. Upon seeing him return, its gaze swept over the wine jar at his waist, and a hint of joy flashed in its eyes. Su Yan smiled knowingly, first placing a jar of rice wine at the cave entrance as a token of gratitude, then turning and entering the stone chamber to immediately begin preparing the medicinal herbs.

Following the ancient method recorded in "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold", he placed the five-spirit ash and realgar in a ceramic bowl in proportion, poured in realgar wine to soak, and slowly simmered it over a campfire, gradually filling the air with the aroma of medicine; on the other hand, he placed the dried kudzu root and the remaining realgar in a stone mortar, finely ground them into a fine powder with a wooden stick, mixed in a small amount of spring water, and made it into a paste for external application.

After the medicine was prepared, Su Yan carefully helped Su Ye up, gave her the medicine with warm water, and then evenly applied the external ointment to the snake bite on her ankle.

After doing all this, he sat cross-legged beside the stone bed, gently placing his palms on Su Ye's back, and channeling his powerful internal energy along her meridians to help the medicine penetrate her skin, neutralize the remaining snake venom, and repair her damaged meridians.

With the combined effects of internal energy and medicine, in just one hour, some of the snake venom in Su Ye's body was cleared. However, she still needed further conditioning before it could be completely eradicated.

In the afternoon, Su Ye's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes on the stone bed.

She had just regained consciousness; her body was still weak, her limbs limp, and she lacked strength, but her mind was clear, and her eyes had regained their former brightness. Seeing Su Yan beside her, she weakly forced a smile and softly called out, "Brother Yan—"

"I am here."

Su Yan immediately helped her up, her tone full of gentleness.

"You were unconscious for a day. You were injured by a venomous snake in Snake Valley. We were only able to find this stone chamber thanks to the help of the Divine Eagle."

He recounted his experience after falling into a coma in a soft voice. Su Ye leaned against the stone bed and listened attentively. When he heard the name "Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai", curiosity instantly appeared in his eyes, and he asked weakly.

"Is the Sword Demon... a very powerful swordsman?"

Su Yan nodded, gazing at the inscriptions on the stone wall, and said softly.

"This stone chamber is where he lived in seclusion in his later years and was finally buried."

After settling Su Ye down to rest, Su Yan took out the Bodhi-shaped snake gall from the porcelain bowl and placed it on the stone table to examine it carefully.

He first took a silver needle and lightly pricked the surface of the snake gallbladder. After a moment, he withdrew it and saw that the tip of the needle was slightly black. According to the Taoist medicine method of identifying poison, he knew that it contained a trace amount of toxin. Then he lightly dipped his fingertip in a little bile, touched it with the tip of his tongue and tasted it. Instantly, he used his internal energy to force the poison out of his body. His internal energy circulated through his meridians, and he thoroughly understood the snake gallbladder.

This gallbladder medicine is potent and powerful, capable of rapidly nourishing the meridians and enhancing internal strength. It is a rare healing and tonic in the world. It can harbor trace amounts of yin toxins. If swallowed directly, it will have significant effects in the short term, but long-term use will inevitably damage the vital energy of the internal organs and create hidden dangers of serious illness.

He frowned slightly, secretly making plans.

Su Ye was already weak, and this injury required even more gentle treatment. Although snake gall was an excellent tonic, it could not be taken directly. It had to be mixed with warm herbs such as angelica and astragalus to neutralize the toxicity, and then guided by internal energy along the meridians, so that she could safely absorb the medicinal power. This would not only allow her to fully recover, but also strengthen her internal energy foundation.

Having made up his mind, Su Yan put the snake gall away for the time being, turned around and used the newly purchased brown rice to cook a bowl of soft and warm porridge, brought it to the stone bed and patiently fed Su Ye spoonful by spoonful.

Although Su Ye was weak, she still habitually pushed the porridge spoon towards his mouth and said softly.

"Brother Yan, you should eat too..."

Seeing the girl's deep-seated dependence and concern, Su Yan's heart softened. Helpless yet filled with pity, he could only scoop out another bowl and eat with her. Afterward, he gently helped Su Ye up and led her to a secluded spot outside the stone chamber where she could escape the wind and get some fresh air. He had her change into her newly purchased durable and practical clothes and undergarments, carefully folding away her old clothes, stained with black snake blood and already tattered and filthy, in preparation for burning them later.