"Is there any way to resolve a situation like this?"
Su Mu began asking questions. To resolve this matter, he first needed a way to do it.
Xiao Wu nodded gently at his words. "It's only dragon resentment. Resolving it is simple. You just need to invite the dragon to leave."
Su Mu was about to ask how to invite the dragon to leave, but Xiao Wu already knew what he wanted to ask and immediately said, "I'll teach you how to invite the dragon in a moment."
Su Mu hurriedly nodded, thinking that working with her to earn some money selling calligraphy had truly paid off.
If not for that, he really would have felt embarrassed coming to her with every problem he encountered.
"By the way, are there any more ordinary methods for strengthening the body and healing old injuries?"
Su Mu steadied himself. His father still had old injuries, and he wanted to ask for a prescription or something that could heal them.
This time, Xiao Wu paused briefly, seemingly a little puzzled about why he wanted such a thing, but ultimately did not ask.
"I'll give you that as well in a moment."
At her words, Su Mu nodded and sat down nearby.
As long as his father's body could be healed and he could earn some more money, Su Mu felt he would have accomplished his goals for the time being.
Before long, Xiao Wu finished the calligraphy, then turned around.
She produced some bamboo slips from somewhere and began examining them closely.
A moment later, she began teaching Su Mu how to invite the dragon to leave. He carefully committed it all to memory, asking for a thorough explanation whenever there was anything he did not understand.
Xiao Wu showed no impatience either and explained everything seriously.
After he learned how to invite the dragon to leave, Xiao Wu found him a prescription.
"Although I don't know what sort of old injuries you mean, this prescription can strengthen the body and heal basically any physical injuries."
Su Mu took the bamboo slips and glanced at them, only to find that he still could not understand the writing. He immediately gave a dry cough. "Um, could you tell me about each medicinal ingredient here, their medicinal properties and so on?"
Su Mu was worried that these ingredients might not exist on Earth, and wanted to see whether he could find substitutes with similar medicinal properties.
The other reason was that he could not read.
Left with little choice, Xiao Wu began explaining everything to him carefully. Su Mu recorded it on paper beside her, though the characters he wrote were the simplified ones from his own world.
Xiao Wu did not notice this detail. She simply looked at the bamboo slips, speaking as she recalled the information.
Only after quite a long while did Xiao Wu finish explaining.
Su Mu put away the prescription he had written down and hurriedly poured her a cup of tea.
At the sight, Xiao Wu's eyes curved into crescents. "How thoughtful of you."
Su Mu chuckled. Obtaining these two things had put him in a wonderful mood, and he did not mind doing little things like this.
"By the way, something amusing happened in the city recently. Would you like to hear about it?"
"Go ahead."
Su Mu's interest was piqued. Although he was a soul, he still drifted over to a nearby chair out of habit.
"There's a painting seller in the city whose skills are excellent. The birds and beasts he paints are extremely lifelike. A few days ago, a woman brought him an old painting and asked him to restore the missing parts."
"Really, the painting had just faded a little, and some areas had become blurred. But it looked quite old, and the painter thought it was valuable, so he didn't dare touch it. The woman insisted that he restore it, though."
"The painter was rather helpless, but he still accepted the job. After all, the woman had promised him a considerable amount of silver. His skills really were quite good. When the day came to collect the painting, the woman took it and saw that it had been restored beautifully. The woman depicted in it was even more stunning than before."
"After happily collecting the painting, the woman accidentally ran into an immortal cultivator as she was about to leave, and he saw through her on the spot. It turned out she was actually the person in the painting, who had become a spirit. The cultivator was so delighted that he immediately tried to capture her."
Xiao Wu spoke softly beside him, while Su Mu listened, somewhat dumbfounded. Even people in paintings can become spirits? Is this Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?
"Then what happened? Was the woman in the painting captured?"
"No, she escaped afterward, but she couldn't get far. She's still in the imperial capital. Quite a few people are searching for that painting now. Whoever finds it could sell it for a considerable sum. Even if they don't sell it, keeping it would mean having another maid to order around.
"A beautiful, captivating woman who could do the laundry and cook every day would be wonderful, and she would be extremely convenient to carry around, too."
Su Mu listened with mixed feelings. From his perspective, he naturally felt rather sorry for her.
But seeing that Xiao Wu seemed entirely untroubled, he supposed that was how things worked here and said nothing more.
The two chatted for a while before Xiao Wu left with the calligraphy.
Seeing her leave, Su Mu hurriedly took the prescription he had just copied down, preparing to copy it over on Earth.
A short while later, Xiao Wu came before the eldest princess. "Your Highness, Su Mu said he won't go to the Academy of Righteousness."
With her gaze lowered deferentially, Xiao Wu spoke softly.
"Oh?" The eldest princess was somewhat surprised. After a brief silence, she said, "You mentioned earlier that Su Mu wanted to have a body again, correct?"
"Yes, he does wish for that."
Xiao Wu answered honestly.
"He had such a wish, yet never mentioned it to me before." The eldest princess considered for a moment. "Very well. He does know how to conduct himself. I'll keep an eye out for what he needs and refine a body for him."
Su Mu's earlier help had, after all, benefited her greatly. Coupled with his answer this time, which pleased her very much, the eldest princess decided to refine a body for him.
"Ah?"
At her words, Xiao Wu's mouth fell open in surprise. A body was not so easy to refine. It required quite a few precious treasures, among other things. Had the eldest princess already made her decision?
"That's enough. Don't tell him about this for now. You may withdraw."
The eldest princess waved her delicate hand, dismissing Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu bowed slightly, then slowly withdrew with light, graceful steps.
Meanwhile, after making more than ten trips back and forth, Su Mu finally finished copying out the prescription. He immediately began searching online to see whether all its medicinal ingredients existed on Earth.
Only after checking the prescription five or six times did Su Mu finally let out a deep breath of relief.
There were three medicinal ingredients he had not found, but after looking them up, he confirmed that only their names differed. He had found medicinal ingredients with the same properties.
That meant this prescription could be brewed here as well.
I need to get the ingredients first. Once I've brewed the medicine, I'll try it myself. If it seems fine, I'll take it home for Dad.
Su Mu made up his mind to try the medicine first.