Great Medicine

Zheng Que glanced at the letter in Xu Houde's hand and immediately asked, "Delivering a letter?"

Xu Houde nodded, then said, "Lately, there have been more and more ghosts and monsters in town."

"I don't know if the Restriction the Immortal Master set up at the town entrance has developed a problem."

"So, I want to invite that Immortal Master over to take a look."

"But that Immortal Master has been living in Taiping County and hasn't come to our Changfu Town for a long time."

"I heard that you've been learning spells from an Immortal Master these past few days. I was wondering if you could help make a trip to Taiping County and deliver this letter to him?"

Hearing this, Zheng Que frowned. He had heard people talk about the Restriction at the town entrance before.

In the current Changfu Town, as long as doors and windows were kept shut, ghosts could not enter; it was said that this was the effect of the Restriction.

Also, during the day, if one encountered a ghost on the road, as long as they immediately avoided it, the ghost would be unable to catch up—that was also the work of the Restriction...

If there really was something wrong with that Restriction, it would be a major crisis for the entire town!

However, going to Taiping County to deliver a letter?

His current cultivation was only at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm. Although he had the protection of Qing Li, who was at the fifth level of Tongue-Pulling Hell, traveling in the wilderness still carried great risks.

If this delivery went wrong, he might end up losing his own life.

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately asked, "Town Mayor, my Master was in town just a few days ago. If there was a problem with the Restriction at the entrance, why didn't you ask my Master for help?"

Xu Houde shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "How could I not have? As soon as that Immortal Master arrived in town, I went to the temple to pay my respects. But the moment we met, before I could even bring up the matter, the Immortal Master lined up seven bowls of wine—six were poisoned—and told me to pick one..."

Zheng Que's expression stiffened slightly. This seemed to be his Master's rule: if you picked a poisoned one, you became his Corpse Puppet; only if you picked the non-poisoned one were you qualified to become his disciple or ask for his help...

At this moment, Xu Houde suddenly added, "Right, you know spells now, too. Would you be able to repair the Restriction at the town entrance?"

Zheng Que snapped back to reality and immediately shook his head, "I've only been cultivating for seven days. My cultivation is low; how could I have that kind of ability?"

"Not only the Restriction at the entrance, I have no way to fix it."

"Even delivering the letter to Taiping County is something I can't do in the short term."

"I need at least another year or so of cultivation before I'd have the confidence to travel such a long distance."

Hearing this, Xu Houde felt a wave of disappointment, but he still held the heavy letter out toward Zheng Que. "If you can't deliver it now, then go when you are able to."

"Taiping County is to the southwest of the town. Just follow the main road, and you'll arrive in seven or eight days."

"In our town, besides you, there is no one else capable of traveling long distances."

"Also, even though you are from our town, I won't have you deliver this letter for nothing."

"My ancestors passed down a Great Medicine. My descendants are unworthy and no longer know the name of this herb, but in the past, no matter what illness a family member suffered from, as long as we plucked a tiny whisker from this Great Medicine and boiled it in water to make a bowl of soup, they would recover immediately after drinking it."

"I remember when I was a child, while my father was still alive, he suddenly started convulsing all over, screaming and yelling, and crawling into every hole he could find in the house... I don't know if he was sick or if he had encountered something unclean."

"It was only after he drank the soup made from this Great Medicine that he got better."

"As long as you successfully deliver the letter to the Immortal Master in the county town, I can give you one-tenth of this Great Medicine."

"The rest must be given to that Immortal Master in the county town as payment."

As he listened, the expression on Zheng Que's face quickly turned solemn. A soup made from just a tiny whisker could cure any illness?

Moreover, if the town mayor wasn't lying, this Great Medicine seemed capable of treating not just illnesses, but even symptoms of being possessed by evil spirits!

This might not be an ordinary herb, but some kind of spiritual medicine!

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately asked, "Town Mayor, may I see that Great Medicine?"

Xu Houde shook his head slightly and replied earnestly, "The Great Medicine is hidden in a secret place. If you were an ordinary person and a fellow villager, it wouldn't matter if you took a look."

"But since you have learned magic, I can only show you a few whiskers at most."

"It's not that I don't trust you, but the lessons passed down by our ancestors..."

Hearing this, Zheng Que was slightly stunned and immediately understood. The town mayor was afraid that if he saw the Great Medicine, he might just snatch it away right then and there!

Thinking of this, he did not continue to press the issue and only said, "Fine, the whiskers will do."

He needed to be certain whether this so-called Great Medicine was worth the risk he was about to take.

Xu Houde nodded and said, "Wait here for a moment."

With that, he walked quickly out of the side room.

Zheng Que sat down on a chair beside the desk, his gaze sweeping casually across the room.

The side room was cramped and the furnishings were simple. The bookshelf against the wall held a few books. After a careful look, he saw they were all simple texts for teaching children how to read and punctuate. There was nothing special about them, and each book was covered in blue cloth, appearing to be very cherished.

The handwriting on the blue cloth spines was neat but lacked artistry; it seemed to have been written by the Xu family themselves. On both sides of the bookshelf hung small, faded sachets that emitted a faint scent of camphor wood, likely used to repel insects.

Zheng Que took a brief look and stopped paying attention to the bookshelf. As he looked around, his gaze fell upon the desk.

There was a stack of uniformly bound volumes that emitted the scent of old ink. These volumes varied in thickness, and their spines were smeared with red and green colors. The red and green looked like the dyes used in villages and towns to distinguish poultry; the colors were bright and long-lasting.

These seemed to be records of various matters concerning Changfu Town...

Just as Zheng Que was pondering whether or not to take a look, footsteps sounded outside the door. Xu Houde returned, holding a small wooden box in his hand.

After entering the room, he walked straight to Zheng Que and carefully opened the wooden box. Inside was a piece of neatly cut red cloth. Before it was even lifted, a rich, medicinal fragrance rushed toward his face!

Zheng Que felt his spirits lift the moment he caught the scent of the medicinal herbs, and the Spirit Power within his body stirred in response.

His eyes lit up. His Master had never taught him about medicinal herbs, so he could not identify what this was, but he was certain of one thing: this was definitely something extraordinary!

At this moment, the town mayor had already lifted the red cloth, revealing three withered medicinal tendrils inside. They looked like the roots of ordinary plants, each one only slightly thicker than a strand of hair. Despite their unremarkable appearance, they emitted an incredibly pure and dense aura.

The aura was so potent that the Yin Energy in the room could not even draw near the wooden box.

Zheng Que stared intently at the three tendrils and said, "I don't recognize this herb either. Mayor, could you let me take one back to study?"

Xu Houde replied immediately, "All three tendrils are yours. Consider it a deposit."

He covered them back up with the red cloth, closed the wooden box, and handed it to Zheng Que along with the letter sealed in wax.

Looking at the wooden box held out before him, Zheng Que understood the weight of the situation. He hesitated for a moment before taking it into his hands, then said solemnly, "Rest assured, Mayor. Once I finish handling my own affairs in the next few days, I will definitely make a trip to Taiping County!"