Emerging from the small grove, the scene suddenly opened up.
A flat valley lay before them.
Within the valley stood a thatched hut, with a few plots of fertile land cultivated in front of it.
At that moment, a young boy walked out of the hut.
The boy stumbled and ran towards the fields.
I quickly called out to him, "Little brother, are you the Divine Physician Luo?"
He looked up, his face filled with bewilderment at the sight of the newcomers.
With a childish voice, he asked, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
"My friend is ill, and we are looking for the Divine Physician Luo to help cure him."
The child, full of curiosity, ran over to me and began observing A Li, then his expression turned worried.
"He's been poisoned, and it's the venom of the Wan Xue Zhu.
This poison is incredibly potent; it seems only Master can save him."
"Master? Aren't you the Divine Physician Luo?" I asked, a little confused.
He smiled at me and replied, "I am his disciple. My name is Xiao Cai."
"Xiao Cai, what a cute name.
I am Liu Mu Ye, and this is A Li.
Could you take us to see your master?"
"Of course, follow me."
With that, he led us through a vegetable patch and into the thatched hut.
Upon entering, a strong herbal scent filled the air.
The room was filled with herbs scattered about in disarray.
However, no one was visible inside.
He led me into his room and gestured for me to place A Li on his bed.
"Where is your master?" I asked.
"He's gone to gather herbs."
"When will he be back?"
"He should be back tomorrow."
"Thank you. Where will you sleep if you give us the bed?"
I suddenly realized the predicament.
Xiao Cai, with his innocent demeanor, pointed outside.
"I can sleep in Master's room. I often sneak in when he's not here."
I patted his head, feeling an inexplicable warmth.
"Thank you, Xiao Cai. You're very kind."
"Oh, right. Isn't your friend poisoned?
I happen to know some detoxifying herbs.
I can brew some for him to drink to alleviate his symptoms."
"Really? Thank you, Xiao Cai. I'll help you too."
Although I harbored some doubts about the child's capabilities,
I figured the eccentric Divine Physician Luo wouldn't help me so readily.
Thus, I could only trust Xiao Cai for now.
Xiao Cai led me to a small stove in the backyard.
He asked me to start the fire while he went to prepare the detoxifying herbs.
Soon, Xiao Cai returned with a pot full of herbs.
I opened it to find various sizes of herb slices and pellets floating within.
With some concern, I asked him, "Will these really work?"
He patted his belly and gave a sweet smile.
"Trust me, they will."
So, I carefully placed the pot on the stove.
"Boil it until the liquid thickens," he emphasized.
"Alright, I'll watch it."
"Yes, I'll come back to remind you."
"Okay."
With that, Xiao Cai hopped back into the hut.
I fetched a small wooden stool and sat by the stove.
Fanning the flames with one hand and adding fuel with the other, I stared into the fire for a long time.
In the flickering light, A Li's face gradually appeared.
He wasn't as pale and lifeless as he was lying on the bed now.
Instead, his complexion was rosy, and his smile was bright, like the first delicate flower blooming in early spring.
In a daze, I heard him call out in the firelight.
"Mu Ye."
I responded, "A Li, you'll be alright."
A Li nodded slightly and gradually disappeared into the flames.
Shaking my head, I slowly came to my senses and saw only the fire before me.
With a slight sigh, I diligently resumed tending the fire.
After an unknown amount of time, I got up to check the pot, only to find the liquid had not yet thickened.
So, I sat down again, fanning and waiting.
I waited until the sun set and the moon emerged, my eyes growing heavy with fatigue.
Just then, a young voice suddenly rang out.
"It's ready, it's ready."
I rubbed my eyes and forced them open, seeing Xiao Cai approaching with a bowl, which he handed to me.
"It's ready, quickly pour the medicine."
I then hurried to my feet, poured the medicine into the bowl, and carried it into the hut to administer to A Li.
Outside, the moonlight deepened. Xiao Cai pushed the door open to collect the bowl.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he still managed to say to me.
"You should rest now. I'm going to rest too."
I squinted and replied,
"Okay, you go to sleep too."
Xiao Cai chuckled and then left.
I watched Xiao Cai depart, then looked down at A Li.
I felt as though his face had become much more rosy.
Touching his forehead, it was no longer as hot.
Relieved, I leaned by the bed and dozed off.
In the middle of the night, a gentle breeze blew.
The bright moon outside suddenly shone, illuminating the courtyard brightly.
At that moment, I suddenly heard someone reciting poetry loudly.
"A thousand mountains stand in solitary wind and snow, ten thousand poisons fear not the immortal in the grass."
Following that, a man about seven feet tall emerged from the small grove.
He was a somewhat stout old man, carrying a basket on his back, and he called out.
"Xiao Cai, Xiao Cai, Master is back!"
Hearing the sound, Xiao Cai slowly got up and opened the door.
I slightly opened my eyes and looked out the window.
I saw the somewhat stout old man conversing with Xiao Cai.
From this, I guessed he was the Divine Physician Luo.
The Divine Physician Luo looked at the sleepy Xiao Cai with a smile on his face.
He patted his head and said, "Xiao Cai, why are you sleeping so early today?"
Xiao Cai replied with his eyes half-closed.
"I waited for you for a long time, so I went to sleep."
"Is that so? Does our Xiao Cai miss his Master so much?
Will you sleep by yourself tonight or with Master?"
"With Master."
The Divine Physician Luo bent down and picked up Xiao Cai, carrying him into the house with immense joy.
Upon entering the house, he set down his basket and then carried Xiao Cai back to his room.
Listening to the commotion in the house, I didn't hear him say anything else.
It seemed he still didn't know about my and A Li's arrival.
I decided I would tell him first thing in the morning, regardless of how eccentric he was.
Having made up my mind, I returned to the bedside to watch over A Li.
I closed my eyes slightly and drifted off into a hazy sleep.
The next morning, a strong ray of sunlight streamed in through the window.
It fell upon my face. I slightly opened my eyes and saw that it was already a bright, sunny day outside.
I suddenly remembered that I needed to meet the Divine Physician Luo.
So, I hurriedly went out.
However, after searching everywhere, I couldn't find the Divine Physician Luo.
Filled with confusion, I found Xiao Cai chopping firewood by the door.
"Xiao Cai, where is your master?"
I slowly walked over to him and squatted beside him, asking.
Xiao Cai wiped the sweat from his brow and replied.
"Master left early this morning. He has to go gather more herbs today."
"Why so early?"
"Master is different from me. He wakes up very early.
By the time I wake up, he's already gone."
It seemed I wouldn't have the chance to meet him today.
However, as long as he was still here, I was sure I would meet him.
The thought of the Divine Physician Luo being a peculiar person suddenly came to mind.
I wanted to ask Xiao Cai about it, to understand the situation before approaching him.
"Xiao Cai, what kind of person is your master?"
"Master, he... he is very good to me.
He always cooks a lot of delicious food for me.
But others say he's eccentric and difficult to get along with.
Perhaps it's because he only saves those who are destined to be saved."
"Only saves those who are destined?" I seemed to have obtained some reliable information.
"Yes, I've been by Master's side for a long time, and I've only seen him save three people."
"How did those three people manage to get your master to save them?"
"The first person knelt at the door for three days and three nights.
He kowtowed nine hundred and ninety-nine times before Master agreed to save him.
The second person knelt all the way from the foot of the mountain to Master's presence, step by step.
After kowtowing a few hundred times, Master finally saved him.
The third person had it even worse. He carried water from the foot of the mountain to the peak for a full month.
Then he knelt at the door for five days and five nights, kowtowing several hundred times.
Only then did Master agree to save him."
"That's so miserable!"
Listening to Xiao Cai's description.
I could already picture myself kneeling from the foot of the mountain to the door.
Then kowtowing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, and then carrying water from the foot of the mountain back to the summit.
Finally, succumbing to exhaustion and passing out.
Thinking about it, cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
I thought the Divine Physician Luo, despite his eccentric personality, wouldn't be *that* eccentric.
Unexpectedly, he was so peculiar.
I swallowed hard and asked Xiao Cai again.
"Did your master ask them to do all that?"
"No, they did it themselves."
"Ah!" Another wave of surprise washed over me. It seemed I wouldn't be able to impress the Divine Physician Luo without showing some sincerity. For A Li, no hardship or fatigue would be too much.
Xiao Cai finished chopping the last piece of wood and looked up at me.
"Aren't you going to make medicine for your friend today?"
I suddenly remembered this. So, I asked him.
"Is it the same medicine as yesterday?"
"Yes. I'll help you prepare it.
Although it can't cure the poison, it can prolong his life.
With these few doses, he can hold on until my master agrees to save him."
Since Xiao Cai had such faith in me, I couldn't lose faith in myself.
So, I nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go start the fire."
"Take the wood I chopped. There's no firewood left in the backyard."
"Okay." I bent down and picked up the wood he had just chopped.
I carried them one by one to the backyard.
Returning to the small stove from yesterday, I fiddled with it for a while before managing to start the fire.
At this moment, Xiao Cai also came with the medicine pot to fetch the dried herbs.
After a short while, he returned with the pot filled with water, carrying it with difficulty.
Perhaps he had filled the pot with too much water, and with his small strength, he wobbled as he walked.
He looked like a child who had just turned three.
I quickly got up to take the medicine pot and placed it on the stove.
Xiao Cai slowly walked over to me and looked down at the fire in the stove.
He instructed, "Just like yesterday, boil it until the liquid thickens."
I nodded in response.
"I'm going to read some comic books."
Comic books?
Aren't those things from the human world? How are they here?
Curiously, I watched Xiao Cai's retreating back and called out to him.
"Xiao Cai, can I see your comic books too?"
"Okay."
After a moment, Xiao Cai ran out with a thick comic book.
He handed the book to me and said, "You can read it."
I took the book and began to flip through it carefully.
The little figures drawn in it resembled portraits from ancient paintings.
After flipping through a few pages, I found it hard to stop.
Xiao Cai grew a little impatient and called out, "Are you done? I want to read too."
Only then did I snap back to reality and return the book to him.
"Okay, okay. Can you tell me the story in the book?"
"Of course."
With that, he got up, fetched a small wooden stool, and sat beside me.
He opened the comic book and began to narrate earnestly.
"The first story is about a pair of phoenixes.
It says that on a mountain called Kunlun Mountain.
There was a phoenix living in seclusion deep within the mountains."
Kunlun Mountain? Isn't that the name of my world? How is it here too?
I patiently listened as he continued.
"He thought he would live alone and die without companionship.
So, he was melancholic and unhappy every day.
One morning, he suddenly heard bird calls from above.
He looked up.
And saw a vibrant, beautiful, and happy phoenix flying to his mountain peak.
He was immediately captivated and spread his wings to chase after it.
He finally caught up to the beautiful phoenix halfway.
However.
This beautiful phoenix was very resistant to this sudden stranger.
She flapped her wings, trying to drive him away.
But the phoenix did not give up and followed her all the way.
Wherever she went, he went. Finally, the beautiful phoenix was moved.
They flew back to Kunlun Mountain hand in hand."
A simple plot with a happy ending.
It was very much like the fairy tales we heard as children.
After finishing the story, Xiao Cai asked me.
"So, how was it? Was the story good?"
"I have a better one. Do you want to hear it?"
He widened his eyes with curiosity, full of longing. "Yes, yes!"
I cleared my throat and then told him the fairy tale I had seen.
"Once upon a time, there was a mountain, on the mountain there was a temple, and in the temple, there was a young monk.
One day, a tall monk arrived at the mountain.
As soon as the tall monk entered the temple, he drank all the water in the water缸.
The young monk had no water to drink, so he had to ask the tall monk to fetch water.
The tall monk felt it was unfair for one person to fetch water for two to drink.
So, he asked the young monk to fetch water together.
For the sake of fairness, they only took one bucket.
After fetching the water, they finally had water to drink.
Not long after, another fat monk arrived.
As soon as the fat monk entered the temple, he wanted to drink water, but there was no water left in the water缸.
Neither the young monk nor the tall monk was willing to fetch water, so the fat monk went to fetch water alone.
He drank all the water he brought back himself.
Thus, the three of them were again without water.
One night, a mouse that was stealing incense sticks knocked over the candle.
The flame instantly shot up to the roof, and the entire temple was engulfed in flames.
The young monk, the tall monk, and the fat monk had no time to think.
They rushed down the mountain together to fetch water and extinguish the great fire.
After this great fire, they also understood the importance of unity.
From then on, the three of them never lacked water."
Xiao Cai listened with great interest. He asked me curiously.
"Where did you hear all this from?"
"I heard it from someone when I was little."
"It's so interesting. I want to hear more."
"Okay, I'll tell you when I have time."
Who would have thought that the fairy tales I read as a child,
Would one day be told to a child?
So, learning more things is not without its benefits.
Divine Physician Luo:
"A thousand mountains stand in solitary wind and snow, ten thousand poisons fear not the immortal in the grass."
Divine Physician Luo's original name was Luo Tianguan. His true form was that of the ancient divine beast Zouwu clan.
He studied under the previous generation's Myriad Poisons Ancestor, Yuan Ye Jun, and was originally from Beishendu.
Later, he traveled to this Thousand Herbs Peak with his master.
After the previous generation's Myriad Poisons Ancestor passed away, he inherited his will and became the new generation's Myriad Poisons Ancestor.
This person has an eccentric personality, is moody, and unpredictable.
He is a difficult person to interact with.