The note left by the old man read: Rongcheng, Zui Hua Li No. 1. Yan Shouyi checked it on his phone and found the location to be on Guling Mountain in the eastern suburbs of Rongcheng.
Guling Mountain stood like a barrier connecting heaven and earth, blocking the sea from Rongcheng, thus protecting this coastal city from typhoons. Because of this, Guling Mountain had always been a sacred place in the hearts of Rongcheng’s people. Many people would go up the mountain to escape the summer heat.
Yan Shouyi didn't think too much about the old man's home being on Guling Mountain. After folding the note and putting it into his bag, he and Long Feicheng headed to Old Jin’s Huichuntang.
Huichuntang's doors were wide open, and the smell of moldy medicine could be detected from twenty meters away.
Old Jin was sitting by the shop entrance, chatting with the shoe seller next door. He wasn't out wandering this time, likely waiting for Yan Shouyi and the others.
As soon as he saw Yan Shouyi from a distance, Old Jin couldn't help but stand up, shake off his faded white undershirt, and call out with his fan:
“Here! Over here!”
“Old Jin, with your physique, that forehead, and the peculiar smell of your pharmacy, it's hard for us *not* to see you!” Long Feicheng greeted with a laugh.
Old Jin chuckled, took out the cigarettes he had prepared, and tossed them to the two men. “In my line of work, if we dress too well or too cleanly, customers will think we earn too much and haggle harder on prices.”
Long Feicheng didn’t believe him, thinking Old Jin was just making excuses for his sloppiness.
Yan Shouyi greeted Old Jin with a smile and then asked,
“Old Jin, is my medicine ready?”
Old Jin beckoned with his finger. “Follow me.”
“Here we go again?” Long Feicheng asked with lingering fear. Having learned from the last experience, he was reluctant to follow Old Jin on random errands anymore.
Old Jin looked embarrassed. “Don’t overthink it. The medicine is in the shop. If you don’t want to come in, that’s fine. I’ll go get it. It’ll be quick!”
With that, Old Jin ducked into the pharmacy and started rummaging through cabinets and drawers.
Yan Shouyi followed Old Jin into the shop, looking around the medicinal shelves. For some of the herbs, he even pinched off a small piece with his fingernail and tasted it.
Seeing this, Long Feicheng couldn't help but say, “Brother Yan, be careful! Old Jin’s stuff might not kill you, but it can certainly give you diarrhea…”
“It’s not that exaggerated. I know a bit about medicinal principles,” Yan Shouyi replied with a smile.
At that moment, Old Jin emerged holding a brocade box and presented it to Yan Shouyi with both hands. “Here, this is the medicine you wanted.”
“That’s all?” Long Feicheng asked, bewildered.
Yan Shouyi took the brocade box and opened it. Inside, wrapped in golden silk cloth, were nine small brown pills, each the size of a fingernail.
Old Jin explained, “I can also refine the Tian Yuan Ju Hun Dan. I wasn't planning to sell it, but I had already collected all the medicinal ingredients you needed the day before, so I just refined it for fun while I was idle. What do you think of the quality?”
Yan Shouyi picked up a pill, placed it in his palm, and examined it as he gently rolled it.
The pill was perfectly round and plump, with a vibrant color. The mere appearance of such quality pills was beyond the ability of ordinary people to achieve. Moreover, the refining technique for Tian Yuan Ju Hun Dan was extremely complex, and even Yan Shouyi himself might fail.
He then held the pill near his nose and sniffed it. The aroma was clean and fresh, indicating the heat had been perfectly controlled.
He pinched off a tiny piece, put it in his mouth, and found it to be granular, melting upon contact.
“Old Jin, your craftsmanship, even during the peak of the Qi Huang Sect back then, would have at least made you an elder,” Yan Shouyi remarked with admiration. “It’s a good thing you stepped in. If I had done it myself, even if I succeeded, I would have likely wasted more than half the ingredients.”
Praised by Yan Shouyi, Old Jin was beaming, his fanning speed increasing. “I’m not bragging, but with this skill, no one in the Qi Huang Sect today can match me!”
“Old Jin, how many people are left in your Qi Huang Sect?” Long Feicheng asked curiously.
Old Jin replied, “I don’t know any, for sure.”
“…No wonder you dare to call yourself the best.”
Upon learning the current situation of the Qi Huang Sect, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but sigh. When he was learning the medical arts recorded in the Lu Ban Shu from his grandfather, his grandfather had spoken highly of the Qi Huang Sect and lamented its eventual fate.
Now, out of the once grand Qi Huang Sect, only Old Jin remained, and he had to constantly guard against the Han Shang Sect finding him.
Therefore, even with his abilities, Old Jin dared not expand his lineage, fearing retaliation.
“Old Jin, do you have paper and a brush in your shop?” Yan Shouyi suddenly asked.
Old Jin blinked. “Yes, they’re in the drawer. What do you need them for?”
Yan Shouyi didn’t answer. He walked to the counter, took out paper and a brush from the drawer, and then buried himself in writing.
In the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Yan Shouyi had filled three sheets of paper. He spread the three sheets on the table and blew on them gently to help the ink dry faster.
“Old Jin, come take a look.”
“What have you written?”
Old Jin leaned in and was immediately stunned.
“Th-this is the Tai Shi Tian Yuan Ce, the Tai Yin volume?!” he exclaimed.
Yan Shouyi nodded. “That’s right. This is in gratitude for you refining the pills for me. Honestly, it’s of little use to me, but it is of immense significance to the people of your Qi Huang Sect.”
“Yes, you are absolutely right!” Old Jin’s hands trembled with excitement, and his eyes even welled up with tears. “Shouyi, thank you. I thank you on behalf of my father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and all eighteen generations of my ancestors!”
“Ahem, you’re too kind…”
Long Feicheng, standing by, found himself in an awkward and superfluous position again. He couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Yan, Old Jin, what exactly is the Tai Shi Tian Yuan Ce?”
Yan Shouyi explained, “As I told you before, the founder of the Qi Huang Sect was the ancient physician Qi Bo. His Su Wen, whose full title is Huang Di Nei Jing · Su Wen, was attributed to Huang Di, but the Su Wen itself came from Qi Bo. The Su Wen is divided into nine volumes, five Tai Yang scrolls and four Tai Yin scrolls. Most of it has been lost. What people see today is the twenty-four-volume version revised and compiled by Wang Bing in the Tang Dynasty. The Tai Shi Tian Yuan Ce is the Tai Yin nine scrolls from the Su Wen, which describes the theory of using celestial bodies to simulate the body’s acupoints and meridians. It is the most profound and essential scroll within the Su Wen.”
Old Jin said, “Indeed, even the descendants of our Qi Huang Sect no longer possess the original text of the Tai Shi Tian Yuan Ce. I thought I would be fated to never have it in this life, but to have it recovered today! This is truly a cause for celebration, a cause for great celebration!”
“I couldn’t understand the Tai Shi Tian Yuan Ce either. Back then, I just memorized it. Now that I’ve met a descendant of your Qi Huang Sect, it’s only fitting to return it to its rightful owner,” Yan Shouyi said with a smile.
Old Jin was immensely grateful. He carefully folded the three sheets of paper and kept them close to his person.
He said, “Your kindness is immeasurable. I, Old Jin, hereby swear that from this day forward, whatever concerns Brother Yan will be my concerns. I will go through fire and water for you without hesitation!”
Yan Shouyi immediately said, “Alright, I happen to have something that requires manpower. Why don’t you come with me?”
“Uh???”
Old Jin was choked up. He felt as if he saw a huge pit before him, with Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng standing at the edge, holding shovels, waiting for him to jump in.
But he had already made his promise, so he couldn't refuse. He could only brace himself and ask, “Wh-what is it?”
“It’s not really a big deal. If you’re free this afternoon, come with us to the north of the city. I need to go to a villain’s altar to retrieve the soul of an elder. After retrieving the soul, I’ll need your help to reintegrate it and prescribe some medicine for their recovery, minimizing any lingering side effects,” Yan Shouyi replied.
Long Feicheng understood. Yan Shouyi’s eagerness to come to Old Jin first, instead of going to Zhou Mingyuan’s altar to find Chen Dawei’s soul, was for this very purpose.
He had initially felt a little displeased with Yan Shouyi for “forgetting friendship for romance.”
Thinking back now, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
When Old Jin heard that the task was so simple, he closed his pharmacy door without another word, slung a large medicine box over his shoulder, and said, “So it’s just this small matter. What are we waiting for? I’ll drive you guys there!”
“Well, well, Old Jin, I didn’t realize you had a car?” Long Feicheng teased.
Old Jin laughed heartily. “I, Old Jin, have been in Rongcheng for so many years; I haven’t been living in vain!”