「Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan.」
The crimson maple leaves, like a blazing fire, spread layer upon layer between the eaves of the ancient temple, as beautiful as a vibrant, richly colored scroll painting.
Two mature won were holding up their phones, taking selfies amidst the picturesque scenery.
"Xiao Ya, co on, smile! Don’t look so glum. We’re out here to relax, not to attend a funeral!"
A fashionably dressed woman with a bit of baby fat on her cheeks pouted at the cara.
Her na was Li Momo.
The woman she called Xiao Ya, though equally stunning with a gentle disposition, had a faint trace of sorrow in her eyes. Her na was Gu Xiaoya, an ophthalmologist who had just gone through a failed marriage.
To help her best friend move on from that dark period,
Li Momo had specifically dragged her to Japan on a trip to relax and unwind.
"Alright, alright, I’m smiling." Gu Xiaoya forced a smile and posed for a few photos with her best friend.
After spending half the day sightseeing in Kyoto, their legs were about to give out.
Back at the hotel that night, Li Momo flopped onto the bed. Rubbing her calves, she held up her phone and said enthusiastically, "Xiao Ya, I did my howork before we ca! In Japan, besides eating, drinking, and having fun, the most important thing is the shopping spree! Especially their common household dicines. They work amazingly well, and you can’t get a lot of them back ho."
She opened her notes app and read from a list, "Look, on this ’Top Ten Must-Buy Household dicines’ list, there’s Dragon Horn Powder for sore throats, Taisho Cold dicine, Ohta’s Isan for stomach problems, Shirousagi motion sickness pills, and those old-man-brand pain relief patches to buy for our elders..."
Gu Xiaoya’s interest was piqued as well.
Although she was an ophthalmologist trained in Western dicine, she knew about Japan’s rigor and advancent in the pharmaceutical field. The effectiveness of so of their over-the-counter drugs was indeed universally acclaid.
"Okay, then let’s go to a drugstore tomorrow and buy everything on the list," Gu Xiaoya agreed.
The next day, the two of them excitedly went to a large pharmacy in Kyoto’s busiest comrcial district—Matsumoto Pharmacy.
Pushing a shopping cart, they followed the list and quickly gathered the Taisho Cold dicine, Ohta’s Isan, and other dications, putting them in their basket.
"Huh? Where’s the Dragon Horn Powder?" Li Momo looked around but couldn’t find Dragon Horn Powder on the shelves.
She stopped an employee who was stocking shelves and asked in English, "Excuse , are you sold out of Dragon Horn Powder?"
The employee shook their head apologetically. "I’m very sorry, ma’am. We haven’t restocked the Dragon Horn Powder since it sold out."
"Ah? It’s out of stock?" Both of them were a little disappointed.
Just then, the employee enthusiastically grabbed a box of dicine from a newly stocked shelf nearby and recomnded, "Ma’am, although we’re out of Dragon Horn Powder, we have a new product that works even better, called ’Dragon Bone Powder.’ Its effects are even more miraculous than Dragon Horn Powder! It’s our bestseller right now."
"Dragon Bone Powder?" Li Momo took it, her curiosity piqued.
She examined the box in her hand. Its simple and elegant design certainly caught her eye.
But when she turned it over and saw the detailed instructions, she froze.
The packaging actually had instructions printed in Chinese, which she was all too familiar with!
Most importantly, in the "Country of Origin" section, two bold words were written: Dragon Country!
Li Momo’s face instantly fell.
"What the hell!" She tossed the box back onto the shelf and said irritably, "We ca all the way to Japan, and you’re recomnding a dicine made in our own country? Isn’t this just one of those re-import sches? I’m not falling for that!"
Her tone was filled with distrust for dostic products.
"Why would I go abroad to buy sothing I can get at ho? Besides, with dostic dicine, who knows what kind of junk they put in it. I don’t trust it."
Gu Xiaoya, however, was curious. She picked up the box of "Dragon Bone Powder" and examined it closely.
When her gaze fell on the manufacturer section and she saw the words "Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory," her heart skipped a beat!
Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory!
She was so familiar with that na!
She imdiately thought of the man who had helped her escape her marriage—Li Xu.
She knew that the only reason Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory had been brought back from the brink was entirely due to the miraculous formulas provided by Li Xu.
Especially the "Mao Dudu Eye Drops" that had beco a national sensation. Back then, she had even been the one to help Li Xu organize the docunts to apply for the patent!
Not only that,
From what she knew, Li Xu had also been involved with other drugs from Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, such as Waterlon Frost and the True Martial Pill.
’Could it be... that this "Dragon Bone Powder" is also his creation?’
Once the thought surfaced, it was impossible to suppress.
Gu Xiaoya’s heart inexplicably began to beat faster.
She was almost certain this had to be a new product from Li Xu!
"I’ll take a box," she said to the employee, her tone leaving no room for argunt.
"Xiao Ya, are you crazy?" Li Momo grabbed her, bewildered. "Why are you buying that? What’s so good about a dostic dicine?"
"I want to try it," Gu Xiaoya insisted, not offering much of an explanation.
Li Momo couldn’t talk her out of it and had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
After leaving the drugstore, the two spent another half a day enthusiastically exploring, wandering through all the streets and alleys of Kyoto.
As it turned out, perhaps due to the exhaustion of traveling and running around all day, combined with the large temperature swings between day and night in the Japanese autumn, they both ca down with a nasty cold the next morning.
Li Momo’s symptoms were especially severe.
Not only did she have a headache and a stuffy nose, but her throat was also dry and sore—swallowing even her own saliva felt like swallowing razor blades.
"COUGH, COUGH... Xiao Ya, I can’t take it... My throat feels like it’s going to split open..."
Li Momo lay listlessly on the hotel bed, her voice hoarse.
Gu Xiaoya’s own condition was slightly better, but she could also feel a dull ache in her throat.
She took out the dicine they had bought the day before and pulled out the box of "Dragon Bone Powder."
"Momo, here, try this."
"No..." Li Momo shook her head weakly. "I want the Taisho Cold dicine. That stuff works."
"Just try this first." Gu Xiaoya didn’t take no for an answer, tearing open a packet and holding the powder to her friend’s lips. "Just do it for my sake. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take sothing else."
Defeated, Li Momo had no choice but to open her mouth and take the powder.
She had braced herself for the bitter, choking taste of traditional dicine, but to her surprise, what filled her mouth was an unexpected, refreshing sweetness.
The cooling sensation, as if by magic, instantly soothed all the burning and pain in her throat.
She closed her eyes in comfort, savoring the wonderful feeling.
About ten minutes later, she slowly opened her eyes and tried swallowing.
Huh?
The sharp, stabbing pain... was gone!
In its place was an unprecedented feeling of coolness and relief!
"How is it?" Gu Xiaoya asked with concern.
Li Momo shot up in bed. She touched her throat, cleared it, and found that her voice was no longer so hoarse.
She looked at Gu Xiaoya, then at the box of "Dragon Bone Powder" on the nightstand, her face a mask of disbelief.
"Xiao Ya... this... this dicine... is it magic?"
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