"Let start with a simple one: Ginseng," Director Ma said, posing his question.
Zhao Yuan had actually just told a little lie; he had never studied Chinese Herbal dicine before. But that wasn't a problem. In his mind, he possessed the legacy left behind by Wu Peng! And within that legacy was a textbook on Chinese Herbal dicine!
With a thought, information about Ginseng imdiately appeared on the Information Leaf. Zhao Yuan just needed to read it aloud: "Ginseng thrives in cool, shady places. Its leaves will scorch at temperatures above 32 degrees. It usually flowers in three years and bears fruit in five to six years..."
"Hmm, not bad."
Seeing Zhao Yuan explain the habits and growing conditions of Ginseng, Director Ma was pleasantly surprised and nodded repeatedly.
He had originally thought it would be impressive enough if Zhao Yuan could simply list Ginseng's dicinal properties and effects. He never expected Zhao Yuan's knowledge to be so solid that he even knew the details of its cultivation and propagation by heart.
'Even students specializing in Chinese Herbal dicine might not have such a solid grasp of these details!'
Next, Director Ma asked about several other Chinese dicinal herbs. Zhao Yuan's answer for each one left him completely satisfied.
Director Ma was beaming. He slamd a hand on his desk and declared, "Alright, you're the one! I'm putting you in charge of the Chinese herbal garden. It's been badly neglected, so I'm not expecting you to cultivate any top-quality dicinal herbs. Just keep the garden neat and orderly, and that'll be enough."
"No problem. I guarantee I won't disappoint you, Director Ma," Zhao Yuan replied. He was also thrilled, for he finally had a place to practice the Chinese Herbal Cultivation Technique passed down from Wu Peng.
Director Ma took a Key from his drawer and handed it to Zhao Yuan. "This is the Key to the Chinese herbal garden. The related tools are in the small hut inside. Go take inventory. If you're missing anything, give a call, and I'll have soone get it for you."
Zhao Yuan took the Key and nodded. "Okay."
Director Ma added, "There's also an assistant over at the Chinese herbal garden, a graduate student from the Chinese Herbal dicine departnt. But he's out of town on an academic exchange with his professor right now. I'll introduce you two when he gets back. For now, you'll be the only one working in the garden. It'll be tough on you."
"It's no trouble. I'll take good care of the Chinese herbal garden. Please don't worry, Director Ma."
After saying goodbye to Director Ma, Zhao Yuan left the office and headed straight for the Chinese herbal garden.
Back in the office, after seeing Zhao Yuan off, Director Ma eagerly picked up the docunts on his desk and began to read them intently.
If Zhao Yuan were still there, he would have surely discovered that what Director Ma was reading wasn't a docunt at all, but a printout of the *Outer Canon of the Yellow Emperor*!
The Chinese herbal garden was located not far from the Chinese Herbal dicine departnt's teaching and research building. It was about one *mu* in size—not large, but it contained a great number of dicinal herbs.
Because the professors who taught Chinese Herbal dicine liked to bring their students here to see the actual plants, almost every herb could be found here, with the exception of a few that were very difficult to cultivate.
The Chinese herbal garden was surrounded by a wooden fence. It was completely covered in climbing vines, which remained a vibrant green even in winter, making for a beautiful sight.
After walking a lap around the periter, Zhao Yuan found the main gate, unlocked it with the Key, and stepped into the Chinese herbal garden.
As soon as he entered, he saw a small hut. Pushing the door open, he saw all sorts of tools inside, including hoes, buckets, and so on, as well as so pesticides and herbicides. It was fully equipped.
However, Zhao Yuan wouldn't need most of these things. He just grabbed a hoe and left the hut.
Standing inside the Chinese herbal garden and looking around, Zhao Yuan saw that the one-*mu* plot was divided into several sections. Each section was planted with different types of dicinal herbs, and in front of each cluster and clump stood a Wooden Token identifying them.
Upon closer inspection, it was easy to see that the sections were divided according to the categories of the Chinese herbs. For example, tonic herbs were in one section, while purgative herbs were in another.
But now, all these herbs looked sickly. The branches, leaves, and stems of so plants had turned yellow and were decaying. anwhile, the weeds were flourishing, threatening to completely take over the Chinese herbal garden.
'Such a fine Chinese herbal garden, ruined to this state. What a sha.'
Shaking his head, Zhao Yuan began to make his preparations.
The core of the Chinese Herbal Cultivation Technique left by Wu Peng was a Feng Shui Formation.
This Feng Shui Formation could not only draw in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to nourish the herbs and enhance their efficacy and dicinal properties, but it also had the effect of repelling insects and weeds! You could say that once the Feng Shui Formation was set up, the cultivation of dicinal herbs was already more than halfway to success.
Therefore, Zhao Yuan's first task was to set up the Feng Shui Formation.
He shouldered the hoe, first walking the length and width of the Chinese herbal garden, then walking along its two diagonals, morizing the number of steps he took.
In the art of Feng Shui arrangent, this is known as 'asuring length with feet, calculating the world with the heart.'
After performing so calculations using a special formula from the Chinese Herbal Cultivation Technique, Zhao Yuan identified five points within the Chinese herbal garden.
These five points were the acupoints of the Five Elents—Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and tal—within the Chinese herbal garden.
He then raised his hoe and dug a pit at each of the five points. If soone were to asure them with a ruler, they would discover that all five pits were exactly the sa depth, without the slightest deviation.
After putting down the hoe, Zhao Yuan walked around the Chinese herbal garden again, picking five types of dicinal herbs: Sichuan pepper, Astragalus Root, Ophiopogonis Radix, Sanguisorba Root, and Ephedra sinica. He then placed them into the five pits.
'According to the Chinese Herbal Cultivation Technique, I'm supposed to bury Magical Artifacts with Five Elents attributes in these five pits. The Five Elents Coin would have been the best choice, but I already used them to make the Exorcism Talisman for Teacher Yu. I can only use these five dicinal herbs to make do. They also have Five Elents attributes—specifically, Water within tal, Wood within Water, Fire within Wood, Earth within Fire, and Water within Earth—which happens to form a generative cycle of the Five Elents. This should be enough to successfully set up the formation. Of course, the effect will probably be sowhat diminished...'
Muttering to himself, Zhao Yuan used the hoe to rake soil over the pits and bury them.
When the last pit was buried, a low HUM suddenly echoed from beneath the Chinese herbal garden. The ground trembled slightly, as if a small earthquake had occurred. However, the tremor was confined to this one-*mu* plot. People outside the Chinese herbal garden felt nothing at all.
After the strange sound and tremor, a rain cloud appeared in the sky above the Chinese herbal garden. The next second, a RUSH of rain ca pouring down.
Zhao Yuan had anticipated this change, having already grabbed a raincoat from the hut and put it on. That's how he avoided getting soaked to the bone.
Under the washing of the rain, one strange phenonon after another began to appear in the Chinese herbal garden...
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