No. 22

Sleeping soundly, Auntie called her to come eat. After eating, Yuangle went to the village chief's house, while Grandma Sun and Zhao Li watched Lan Tian take a medicinal bath. The tub was covered, and Lan Tian was completely enclosed inside. The effect was more intense than last time; the medicine penetrated into the skin like needles, it was severely itchy rather than painful, that's when it really felt life-threatening.

In the morning, the weather outside the window was really nice, with the sun shining brightly, blue skies and white clouds. Lan Tian stretched and yawned before finally getting out of bed. In the hall, Grandma Sun and two others were waiting for her. Lan Tian knew what Grandma was thinking, she didn't have much to say. Yawning, she went to the yard to rinse her mouth and wash her face, then obediently drank the egg porridge from the table.

Approaching noon, the weather suddenly turned cloudy, and it started to drizzle in the afternoon, turning into heavy rain by evening. Unable to go out and play, Lan Tian practiced her cultivation inside the house. Grandma Sun, Yuangle, and Zhao Li sat in the hall watching the rain from morning until night. After a long discussion, they finally decided to move in, just in case.

After dinner, Grandma Sun went to tidy up the room where Yuangle and his wife slept, while Yuangle and Zhao Li went back to move things, prioritizing the important items such as money, medicine, Western medicine, quilts, and so on.

The downpour only lasted three days. During breakfast, they suddenly heard a loud 'boom,' and amidst the heavy rain, Yuangle rushed out into the deluge. After the three others finished eating, he returned soaking wet, sitting in the hall with a grim face. Zhao Li and Grandma Sun stared blankly at the rain, with Lan Tian joining them in their daze.

After a while, Yuangle spoke gloomily, "It was the Man Family's house that just collapsed. Luckily it's daytime, they ran fast, and no one was injured. I went to check our house, it also caved in—where we sleep. Brother Nantian said he heard noises last night and thought it was thunder. Luckily we moved here, or else the consequences..." They all could imagine what it would be like if they were sleeping soundly when the house collapsed: either crushed to death or paralyzed.

Yuangle wiped the rainwater off his face, and sternly admonished Lan Tian, "Girl, you must never tell anyone what Grandpa told you. If people find out, they will come for you, and you'll never see Grandma again, understand?"

Oh dear, treating her like a child again! Lan Tian patted her chest, promising to never speak of it, even in death.

The rain was unrelenting, making it impossible to work in the fields, so everyone rested at home. The river outside the village flooded dangerously. Worried that the children might disobey and play by the river and fall in, all were confined indoors.

After lunch, Lan Tian memorized herbal recipes at home. Grandma Sun and the other two put on brown clothes and went out. Yuangle and his wife's old house was there, and there was still a lot to move and clean up at home. Food had to be moved back to Grandma Sun's house, and the poultry had to be caught and brought over. Lan Tian's offer to help was completely ignored.

Usually, it didn't feel like there was much stuff, but clearing it out was a massive task, jumbled together, it took several days of effort. Two houses in the village collapsed and took lives, attracting the serious attention of the village chief. It related to his career, and he couldn't afford to not take it seriously!

The village organized a meeting for all the able-bodied adults and it lasted all afternoon. Mo Yuanle also attended the meeting. During dinner, he brought up that they had discussed and established a charter. Any old adobe houses that have been around for ages were to be inspected; if any signs of cracks or collapse were found, the villagers living there would have to move out and temporarily stay in the houses provided by the village chief.

This was the best solution the village could come up with. Early the next morning, teams were dispatched in accordance with the previously decided plan to inspect the old houses in the village.

After inspecting all the houses in the village, only two dangerous houses were discovered. Following the village chief's instructions, the residents of these houses moved out, thus averting disaster. One of the houses was where, in a previous life, an old person was killed when the house collapsed.

With the matters of cultivation clarified, Lan Tian began to prepare. First, she needed to stop sharing a room with Grandma and have her own room. Their house was large with many rooms - apart from the room where Grandma slept and the rooms where her uncle and aunt slept. There was an examination room, a herbal room, and these two rooms were connected. There was still one empty room left in the house.

"Grandma, I want to sleep by myself." One morning at breakfast, Lan Tian brought this up, emphasizing that the environment for cultivation must be quiet and undisturbed. It wasn't convenient to share a room with Grandma. It wasn't possible for Grandma to be asleep while she sat on the bed cultivating. If Grandma woke up in the middle of the night and saw a shadow by the bed, it would scare the old lady, leaving her nowhere to cry.

Due to the issue of the house collapsing from the rain, Lan Tian's influence in the household greatly increased. Previously, Grandma Sun and Zhao Li were somewhat skeptical, but now they fully believed her. Both were as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, thinking how fortunate it would be for the family to have an Immortal in the future, blessed by Buddha. Concerned about Lan Tian's future, after finishing the meal, Grandma Sun and Zhao Li quickly started cleaning. Lan Tian and Mo Yuanle went to the Medicine House to learn about medicine.

The room was simply furnished: a table, a stool, two benches, and a cupboard in the corner that held Western medicine. Lan Tian obediently sat on the chair prepared for her. Mo Yuanle was prepared; there was a book on the table, about a foot tall with a brown cover that looked like it was made from ancient animal hide.

The two of them sat close to the table, and Mo Yuanle, handling the book carefully, explained, "Our Mo family ancestors have passed down two books. One is this medicine recipe, and the other is a book of medicine notes. Your task is to memorize the types of medicine recorded in this medicine recipe."

The medicine recipe was recorded in clerical script with four big characters: Mo's Pharmacy. Opening the first page, there was a drawing of a medicinal herb with detailed descriptions of its characteristics next to it, stating its medicinal name and effects, as well as its preferred growing environment. This was painful for Lan Tian; she could read, but she had to pretend she couldn't. Mo Yuanle pointed at the herbal drawings and taught her in a very old-fashioned way.

"There are two types of Chaihu - Northern Chaihu and Southern Chaihu. Northern Chaihu: it is the root of the Northern Chaihu plant, with a slight inclusion of the stem's base. The root is conical, straight or slightly curved, with branching at the lower part. The root head is enlarged and nodular. The outer skin is gray-brown or grayish-brown, with longitudinal wrinkles and root scars. The top might have fine hairs or rigid stems left. It is relatively tough and not easily broken. The cross-section is woody and fibrous, yellow-white in color. It has a slightly fragrant scent and a mild bitter and pungent taste. The best ones have thick, long roots with thin skins and few lateral roots.

Southern Chaihu: it is the root of the Sickle-leaf Chaihu plant. It resembles Northern Chaihu in appearance, but the roots are thinner and less branched, often crooked and not straight. The surface is reddish-brown, with longitudinal wrinkles and traces of root hair. The top lacks nodules, but has fibrous residues left after the above-ground stems and leaves wither. The quality is brittle, easily broken, and the cross-section is flat, showing a light brown color. The smell is the same as Northern Chaihu. The best ones have thick, long roots without root hair. Its properties are bitter, cool. It enters the liver and gallbladder meridians.

Its medicinal effects include resolving exterior and interior issues, spreading the liver Qi, raising the yang, treating alternating chills and fevers, chest fullness and flank pain, bitter taste in the mouth, deafness, headaches, dizziness, malaria, diarrhea, rectal prolapse, irregular menstruation, and uterine prolapse…"