Accustod to Xia Wenjin’s aloofness and indifference, Huangfu Jingchen did not take it to heart at all. He laughed, "Poison or not, as long as it’s given by you, it’s non-toxic!"
What was with this sudden sweet talk? Saying such things to a man, how disgusting!
However, she knew she was a woman!
She knew that what he said was not entirely a joke. Even though she was complaining in her heart, she also had a slight smile.
"Who said it’s non-toxic? It’ll poison you to death!" Xia Wenjin lightly fanned the wind, huffed, and added another herb inside.
Huangfu Jingchen said, "My wounds are healing quickly, your dicine is very effective!"
"That will cost money!" Xia Wenjin said angrily, "For your wounds, I’ve spent over a thousand taels of silver these past few days."
Over a thousand taels? So much?
Huangfu Jingchen was truly astonished, not because it was too much, but because with Xia Wenjin’s money-grubbing nature, would she really spend over a thousand taels of silver for dicine for him? Moreover, where in this marketplace could there be dicine worth over a thousand taels? It would be enough to buy out all the pharmacies here, right?
In fact, he also understood that Xia Wenjin was not one to be stingy with money. On the contrary, she was often extravagant, just never spent so much on him.
Seeing Huangfu Jingchen’s skeptical look, she said, "You don’t believe ?"
Huangfu Jingchen’s guess was correct; over a thousand taels could indeed buy all the pharmacies in this entire marketplace.
However, she didn’t buy it from this marketplace.
Ten miles from this marketplace was a commandery city. Xia Wenjin could ride there in the morning and return under the cover of night.
She went there three tis.
The commandery city was much more prosperous and larger, with pharmacies there not only having a comprehensive variety but even having centuries-old ginseng, the rare Ice Cold Crystal, Condensed Dew Powder, and similar items.
Over a thousand taels of silver was not much. It could disappear with a single round.
These past few days, the soup Huangfu Jingchen drank included precious herbs like ginseng, and the dicine she brewed herself was even more extraordinary—a pot of boiling water with gold tossed in.
Huangfu Jingchen actually did believe her. He was just surprised and flattered, saying, "I believe!"
Xia Wenjin bowed her head, gently fanning the charcoal fire.
Huangfu Jingchen said, "Let do it!"
Xia Wenjin brushed aside his hand, "Step aside! This heat is sothing you can’t manage!"
If he wasn’t careful and the fire got too strong or too weak, this pot of several hundred taels of silver would have to be discarded.
Truly, he owed him.
If it weren’t for fearing that his body might be left with aftereffects, affecting his health, and affecting his martial arts, would she spend so extravagantly and use all her dical skills from past lifetis?
Huangfu Jingchen truly did not know, seeing her cautious deanor, he did not dare to interfere.
He watched her silently.
This was the first ti he saw her brewing dicine.
He looked at her eyes, closely monitoring the charcoal fire, watching her fan with asured strength, seeing the sweat slowly appear on the tip of her nose, watched her carefully add each herb into the pot, observing her watching the color of the soup in the pot...
This dicine was ticulously brewed by her for him.
Thinking about how he previously found the dicine bitter and was reluctant to drink it.
Now, he felt that even if it were bitter, he could drink several bowls.
But as he watched, his face gradually darkened.
What was Xia Wenjin adding into the dicine?
That long, green-headed creature with many legs, was it a centipede?
Moreover, she took it out of the box alive and threw it directly into the pot. The centipede almost jumped out, but Xia Wenjin quickly covered it. When she lifted the lid again, the green-headed centipede was already dead, lying among the herbs with a hideous appearance.
Huangfu Jingchen swallowed hard; could this be drunk?
However, he knew so pharmacology and understood that centipedes could be used in dicine.
But just as he suppressed his inner shock, he saw Xia Wenjin take out a small box from her sleeve.
Could it be another centipede?
This ti, when opened, it revealed a fiery red scorpion!
The scorpion was poured into the pot, and water splashed. He could even see the scorpion’s tail curling high.
Huangfu Jingchen: "..."
He had an urge to flee in panic.
But he didn’t want to leave.
Whether it was curiosity or reluctance to leave, he stayed.
Then, he watched with twitching lips as Xia Wenjin, like performing tricks, took out several small boxes and poured their contents into the pot.
By the end, he was numb.
One poisonous thing, ten poisonous things, what’s the difference?
This pot of dicine was boiled for a full hour. Throughout the process, Xia Wenjin was extrely focused. By the end, the sweat on her forehead had ford into beads.
Huangfu Jingchen felt a complex mix of emotions. From his initial lip twitching, pupils shrinking, to later, he had cald down. Seeing Xia Wenjin so tired, he took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat but was refused.
Such a large pot of water, by the end, there wasn’t much left.
Seeing no strange animals added, and with the dicine almost boiled down, Xia Wenjin took a paper packet from her sleeve, opened it, revealing a white frost-like powder.
Xia Wenjin waved it at Huangfu Jingchen, "Do you know what this is?"
Huangfu Jingchen, with a blank face, said, "What?"
He no longer had any curiosity. After seeing so many bizarre things, his heart was as calm as water.
Xia Wenjin said, "Arsenic!"
Huangfu Jingchen: "..."
He certainly recognized it as arsenic, but he held a sliver of hope to hear a negative answer, yet reality proved he was overthinking!
Then, he watched, shocked and speechless, as Xia Wenjin poured the packet of arsenic powder into the carefully brewed dicine she had worked on for two hours.
This amount could poison even two oxen to death, right?
No, not just that, with what was added earlier, it could poison ten oxen, right?
Xia Wenjin tossed the paper into the charcoal fire, where blue and green flas flickered. She clapped her hands, face filled with satisfaction, "All done."
Then, using a cloth to protect her hands, she lifted the pot and poured the dicine into a bowl, just a small one.
The dicinal liquid was black-red, seeming to glisten with an oily shine. The scent was indescribable, especially after Huangfu Jingchen had witnessed her add the arsenic with his own eyes!
Xia Wenjin handed the small bowl of dicine to Huangfu Jingchen, provoking, "This was brewed for you. Do you dare to drink it?"
Huangfu Jingchen knew it was prepared for him, but seeing how she brewed it, having watched her add those things, it truly was a shock.
He took it.
Xia Wenjin, with her eyes smiling, said, "If you don’t dare to drink, you don’t have to!"
Huangfu Jingchen glanced at the dicinal liquid again, but his expression was calm as he said, "You spent two hours and a quarter brewing this bowl of dicine for , this is your ticulously prepared concoction, what do I have to fear in drinking it?"
Saying this, he brought the dicine to his lips and drank it down in one gulp.
User Comments
0 comments from readers