When the words Guixi Cao left Ren Yuanhao’s mouth, Shi Jing Tian finally showed a smile, his eyes full of admiration.
“Dad, what is this Guixi Cao? I’ve never heard you mention it,” asked his daughter.
Shi Jing Tian, who had been silent, stroked his small mustache and laughed heartily. He walked slowly to the couple, Pu Fang and his wife, cast a meaningful glance at Ren Yuanhao, and then explained:
“Guixi Cao is indeed extremely rare, but it’s nothing in our Shi family.” Shi Jing Tian’s tone was full of pride as he patted Ren Yuanhao’s shoulder. “Brother, your insight is a hundred times greater than my daughter’s. You are meticulous and observant, truly opening my eyes and earning my utmost respect. Please accept my bow.”
Ren Yuanhao returned the courtesy. Meanwhile, outside the door, under the big locust tree, Yang Ling Xue was already unhappy.
“Hmph, earning his utmost respect, earning his utmost respect. That old man’s eyes already have ‘ideal son-in-law’ written all over them. He can’t wait to marry off his daughter right now. Don’t think I don’t know. Hmph, how detestable.”
Seeing this, the others, having barely suppressed their laughter, shifted their attention back to the courtyard.
“Brother, I’d like to hear your next assessment. Please, continue?”
“Certainly. I shall be so bold. If there’s anything inaccurate, please, Senior Shi, correct me.”
“Damn, I’ve got the Holmes buff, no trace can escape my all-seeing eyes!”
Ren Yuanhao was full of confidence. This confidence was like a sweet fruit wine, captivating the heart of the young lady Shi Ke Xin, making her lose her way.
“As the name suggests, the effect of Guixi Cao is to induce a state of suspended animation for a period, causing one to appear dead, with no breathing, no heartbeat, and no pulse. It is said to even fool Yama, the King of Hell. Senior Shi’s intention, firstly, is to let Bai Fu thoroughly experience what true death is, thereby awakening her desire for survival and letting her understand a simple truth: ‘In the face of death, everything else becomes insignificant.’ As for the second point, I will venture a bold guess.”
“Suspended animation? Does that mean our daughter she…!” Pu Fang and his wife were so excited that tears streamed down their faces. However, without seeing their daughter wake up with their own eyes, they could not truly find redemption.
“That’s right, suspended animation.”
Ren Yuanhao tilted his head and glanced at Bai Fu. His mind was now completely clear, only lacking a final piece of information. Thus, he continued:
“The effect of Guixi Cao lasts for about 12 hours. I guess Miss Bai Fu should be waking up from the ‘land of the dead’ soon. As the medicinal effect wears off, the signs of life will become increasingly apparent.”
“Just now, when I took Miss Bai Fu’s pulse, I suddenly realized a problem, and it’s a brilliant method that only Senior Shi would have thought of.”
“What brilliant method?” The couple could no longer wait to touch Bai Fu’s skin. Indeed, the skin, which had cooled down and was gradually stiffening, seemed to have regained some elasticity and warmth!
The couple’s hearts pounded wildly, and they couldn’t help but want to embrace each other and cry out loud. However, until the answer was revealed, their anxious hearts could not find peace.
“Senior Shi’s brilliance lies in the use of this extremely precious herb. When I took her pulse just now, I could only feel a pulse. This means that Guixi Cao not only allowed Miss Bai Fu to experience a true journey into death but also, through the death of her body, informed the unborn child that the mother’s body was dead. This would cause the fetus to abort in the least harmful way. When Miss Bai Fu wakes up, her body will be able to recover to its optimal state!”
A part of this was Ren Yuanhao’s conjecture, but the moment he finished speaking, Shi Jing Tian was stunned.
“Brother, if I, Shi, hadn’t heard your analysis with my own ears today, I would never have believed that there was another person in this world who could explain my medicinal purpose so perfectly! I believe that of all the people with such insight, there are only myself and you, no third person!”
Yang Ling Xue grew increasingly angry, her pretty face flushing red as she heard more. She kept muttering, “Ay, ay, ay, all the limelight has been stolen by this foolish boy Ren Yuanhao, while we can only stand under the locust tree and drink the cool breeze.”
“You little girl, you’ve been chattering on and on since just now. Are you really afraid that Ren Yuanhao will become an indoor son-in-law and abandon us?” Shen Lan Ni’s face was beaming with pride at this moment.
“Sister, look at your meager aspirations. It’s Ren Yuanhao who’s in the spotlight, not you. What are you so proud of?”
“We rise and fall together. Little girl, you’ll understand what I mean one day.”
In fact, Yang Ling Xue did understand, but seeing how highly the Shi family valued Ren Yuanhao, she felt a pang of jealousy and couldn’t help but retort. In reality, her heart felt as if it were smeared with honey.
After receiving Shi Jing Tian’s personal confirmation of Ren Yuanhao’s deduction, Pu Fang and his wife immediately knelt before Shi Jing Tian, filled with remorse, and thanked him profusely. At that very moment, Bai Fu, who had been in a state of suspended animation, let out a soft moan and indeed slowly sat up from the washboard!
“Whoa, it’s really like she’s come back from the dead.” Yang Ling Xue hid behind Shen Lan Ni, her eyes darting around. A sudden thought struck her, and she nudged Shen Lan Ni with her finger, giggling slyly, “Hey, Sister Lan Ni, do you think if we took Guixi Cao, we could scare Ren Yuanhao half to death?”
Shen Lan Ni gave her a sidelong glance and tapped her forehead with her slender white finger. “Only you, the eccentric Miss Yang, could come up with such a joke. However, this joke is a bit too much, let’s not.”
“Tch, I was just kidding. Besides, that Guixi Cao is an extremely precious item. Even if I wanted to try it, where could I find another one?”
As the two were talking, the courtyard had already turned into a touching scene of family reunion. But at that moment, Ye Lan, who had been in a coma, suddenly sat up from the grass as if she had gone mad. Her apricot eyes were filled with a spring of emotion, and she locked her gaze on the exceptionally popular Ren Yuanhao amidst the crowd. She staggered towards him!
“Yuanhao~”
Seeing the situation, Shen Lan Ni and Yang Ling Xue immediately reached out to hold Ye Lan down. But strangely, Ye Lan’s body was as hot as a burning fire, and her strength was far greater than before. Even Shen Lan Ni almost couldn’t restrain her.
Seeing this, Yang Ling Xue, disregarding their heartwarming family reunion, directly yelled at Ren Yuanhao, “Ren Yuanhao, are you still going to ignore Ye Lan!”
This light exclamation immediately snapped Ren Yuanhao back to reality. At that moment, Ye Lan suddenly broke free from Shen Lan Ni’s restraint like a tigress, rushed towards him with all her might, and pounced on the bewildered Ren Yuanhao, pressing her burning red lips towards his!
“This, this is the ‘Diān Luán Dǎo Fèng Qíng Huā’ poison!”
Shi Jing Tian, usually calm, uttered such an astonished voice for the first time.