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Jian Mo wiped her face, thankfully she hadn't drooled today. "This is so relaxing, I'm already sleepy."
Wu Jiong, carrying a basket on his back, suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Why is your arm red?"
Jian Mo looked down and said, "It's probably from the sun."
Having stayed here for too long, Jian Mo had forgotten about sunscreen. Looking at his reddened arms and then at his legs, he felt a faint pain and had a bad feeling, but he still comforted Wu Jiong, "It's okay, it'll be fine tomorrow."
Wu Jiong frowned. "I'll go gather some herbs for you later, and you can lick them again."
Jian Mo: "Okay."
When Jian Mo first got home, he didn't feel much of a sunburn, but after staying there for a while, the reddened areas started to hurt.
The pain was getting worse and worse; it felt like a burn, not a sunburn. I could feel my skin burning hot when I touched it.
Wu Jiong returned with the herbs and saw that his skin was getting redder and redder, so he transformed back into a giant wolf and licked it.
Jian Mo didn't refuse. He lay listlessly in the yard. If he had known the sun would be so strong, he would have smeared some mud on himself for sun protection.
The giant wolf licked his bare hands and legs. After being licked, Jian Mo felt more comfortable, as if he had been wiped with a large ice pack.
The giant wolf's licking should have relieved this kind of common sunburn and external injury, which is how they treat wounds when medicine is unavailable.
Jian Mo understood them well and accepted this approach.
Just as Jian Mo was getting drowsy from being licked, a knocking sound suddenly came from the fence.
He was startled and quickly pushed the giant wolf's head away, sitting up straight and looking outside.
The giant wolf narrowed its eyes unhappily and turned to look outside.
Qing Kuo and Ye Luo came in carrying baskets on their backs. Seeing this, Qing Kuo showed them the baskets in his hands. "We've come to deliver herbs."
The giant wolf explained to Jian Mo, "There aren't many herbs by the river, so I asked them to help me gather some."
Jian Mo nodded.
Ye Luo casually asked, "Jian Mo, why is your face so red? Is your face sunburned?"
A mysterious smile appeared on Qing Kuo's face.
Jian Mo coughed lightly. "I'll go wash my hands and feet and prepare to apply the herbal medicine."
After Jian Mo went to the kitchen to fetch water and washed her hands and feet, she calmed down a bit.
Wu Jiong had already transformed back into human form and was chatting with Qing Kuo and Ye Luo when he saw Jian Mo come out. Wu Jiong waved to him.
Jian Mo went over to look at the herbs they had picked and found that they were unfamiliar with them. "What kind of herb is this?"
Qing Kuo: "Spirit Cat Tail Grass, according to legend, was discovered by our Spirit Cat Clan. It has some beautifying effects, and it feels cool when applied to the skin, which is perfect for your sunburn."
Jian Mo: "That's great."
Wu Jiong crushed the clean herbs and applied them to Jian Mo's sunburned area. Jian Mo indeed felt a cooling sensation, which instantly relieved the burning pain.
He looked at the herbal paste on his arm in amazement. "This really works!"
Qing Kuo: "That's right, it's most useful for treating wounds that haven't broken the skin, and it's most effective for sunburn and insect bites."
Jian Mo: "That feels good, thank you."
Qing Kuo: "You're welcome. Anyway, there are herbs like this by the river, so it didn't take much effort. Where did you go to collect them today? They're so dry in the sun!"
Jian Mo was a little embarrassed. "We went swimming at White Sandbar."
A mysterious smile returned to Qing Kuo's face. Jian Mo wanted to say that it wasn't what she thought, but lacking confidence, she could only remain silent.
Ye Luo noticed it too, and looked at them with amusement.
Qing Kuo and Ye Luo quickly said goodbye and went back.
Jian Mo changed the herbs again that night, wrapping them in cloth and applying them to her arms and legs.
Thanks to these herbs, he slept well that night, and when he woke up the next day, the red marks on his body had almost faded.
This Spirit Cat Tail Grass is so useful; seeing it wither in the basket, Jian Mo couldn't help but lament, "Such a good herb—"
Wu Jiong came over and took a look. "This herb has a lot of juice, and it wilts very quickly. I'll go look for more by the river after breakfast."
Jian Mo: "Let's use these herbs for now. We'll see if we need to find some more when we get back this evening."
As she spoke, Jian Mo rummaged around and found all the less wilted Spirit Cat Tail Grass, pounded it with a stone mortar, and applied it to her arms and legs.
After applying the ointment, there was still a lot left in the mortar; it would be a shame to waste it.
Jian Mo grabbed a handful, holding it in her hand, unsure of what to do with it.
The greenish-blue medicine seeped out, dripping onto the floor along the back of his hand. A thought struck him, "Has it been a while since we made soap at home? Do we still have some lye?"
Wu Jiong: "And you want to make soap?"
Jian Mo: "Let's make a few bars of medicated soap to try. Bring the filter cloth over, I'll squeeze out the medicinal juice first."
They have a lot of fabric at home. Jian Mo specifically kept several pieces of off-white fabric in the kitchen as filter cloths, and occasionally she would steam buns or something similar.
Wu Jiong quickly found several pieces of filter cloth and then squeezed out a large basin of medicinal juice.
Jian Mo was surprised to find that there was so much medicinal liquid.
The materials were readily available at home. They dissolved the lye, heated the animal fat, and then mixed the lye, medicinal liquid, and animal fat together, stirring vigorously.
The saponification reaction happened quickly, and soon they had a bowl of light green soap paste that looked quite nice and smelled quite pleasant.
Jian Mo was pleasantly surprised. "It's a huge success! This batch of medicated soap should be pretty good."
Wu Jiong found a soap mold, poured the soap paste into it, and smoothed it out with a piece of wood. "We'll know if it's successful or not when we get back tonight."
Jian Mo: "It should work. I don't see anything strange inside."
They placed the wooden boxes containing the soap in a cool, shady place to let it solidify, and then went out.
When Jian Mo returned in the evening, she checked the soap again and found that it had indeed solidified almost completely.
The soap paste turned into a pale green soap bar, emitting a medicinal fragrance.