After Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong returned to their room, they did not rest immediately. Instead, they whispered many secrets to each other in bed.
Their conversation mainly revolved around what they had seen and heard throughout the day.
They chatted until late into the night before reluctantly falling asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, Lin Zitong got up to return to Licheng to visit her father, Lin Ruofu, while Yan Shouyi went to Old Jin's Huichun Hall.
As he was about to leave Rongcheng for a while, Yan Shouyi came to bid farewell to everyone today.
Upon arriving at Huichun Hall, Yan Shouyi saw Old Jin's busy figure.
The guy had woken up early and was teaching his female disciple, Guoguo, to identify Chinese medicinal herbs.
However, identifying medicinal herbs was not that simple. These herbs were peculiar, and many looked alike. It was difficult to discern the differences between them, let alone the fact that many Chinese herbs needed to undergo various processes before they could truly become medicinal materials for patients.
Even though Guoguo was exceptionally talented, she was overwhelmed by the more than ten kinds of medicinal herbs laid out on the table that looked almost identical.
"Master, these medicinal herbs look almost the same. Is it really necessary to distinguish them so finely?" Guoguo complained.
Old Jin's expression was serious, and he even glared at his cute and beautiful female disciple:
"You are going to be an ancient physician. Even Western medicine understands that any medicine has a vital role. Years and dosage need special attention. Any slight mistake could endanger the patient's life. I know this knowledge is difficult to remember, but what in this world is easy? Since you have chosen this path, you must walk it, even if you have to cry!"
Yan Shouyi was surprised by how serious and dedicated Old Jin was when teaching his disciple, which was completely different from his usual lewd and sleazy demeanor.
This made Yan Shouyi look at Old Jin with new respect.
But to his surprise, in the next second, Old Jin said to Guoguo, "Guoguo, I'm a bit short of money lately. How about you lend me two hundred yuan to tide me over?"
Yan Shouyi, standing outside the pharmacy, was dumbfounded. When did a master borrow money from a disciple?
"Ahem!"
Yan Shouyi coughed twice, attracting Old Jin's attention. Seeing Yan Shouyi arrive, Old Jin quickly pretended as if nothing had been said, waved his hand to signal Guoguo to continue studying the herbs, and walked out happily.
"What wind blew the groom over here?" Old Jin chuckled. "You got married in a hurry that day, and I didn't have any preparations. I don't have any wedding gift money now. How about you pick something from my shop, and I'll give you a discount?"
Yan Shouyi glared, "Old Jin, are you serious? You're making money even off of me?"
"Making money is nothing shameful!"
"But you still need some professional ethics. Look at the herbs in your shop; the jars are covered in mold. I bet cockroaches and mice slept in them yesterday." Yan Shouyi said with disgust.
If he didn't know Old Jin's background, this guy would have definitely been labeled a quack.
Old Jin was unfazed, "We ancient physicians roam the world with our true skills. Do you think I really opened this shabby pharmacy? This pharmacy is just a facade. Understand the concept of 'the greatest seclusion is within the bustling city'."
Yan Shouyi glanced outside. The road outside Huichun Hall wasn't even paved with cement, and yellow sand flew everywhere with every gust of wind.
What a "great seclusion within the bustling city"!
However, Yan Shouyi wasn't here to pick a fight with Old Jin today. He said:
"Are Luo Ning and Agong here? And Zhu Shanzao? I'll be leaving Rongcheng for a while tomorrow, and I want to bid them farewell before I go."
"You're leaving? Where are you going?" Old Jin asked in confusion.
"It's nothing major. My dad was released from prison, and I happen to be accompanying him back to our hometown to pay respects at my grandfather's grave. And I'll take Zitong out for a stroll as well."
"Oh, I thought it was something important!" Old Jin laughed. "Luo Ning and Agong aren't as well as you. They haven't recovered from the battle at Ping'an Building last time, so they probably can't go with you. As for Zhu Shanzao, he has already returned to Guling. The Liu family built a temple for it, and it's eager to go back and absorb incense offerings."
The Liu family was also very true to their word. If Zhu Shanzao mends its ways, it could indeed become the guardian deity of the Liu family.
Accompanied by Old Jin, Yan Shouyi visited Luo Ning and Agong in the small room.
Luo Ning could already get out of bed and move around, while Agong's cast had not been removed.
Hearing that Yan Shouyi was leaving, Luo Ning was even a bit tempted. But considering Lin Zitong would also be accompanying him, it seemed inappropriate for her to go.
After all, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong were a legitimate couple. If she were to try and seduce Yan Shouyi again, her reputation would suffer.
"Do you have any leads on the matter of the life calamity?" Luo Ning asked.
Yan Shouyi nodded, "I have some clues, but I still need to slowly unravel the secrets within. When I return from this trip, the three of us will meet again and resolve the matter of the life calamity."
Luo Ning and Agong were also practitioners of short techniques and were similarly afflicted by life calamities.
Their destinies were the same as Yan Shouyi's, so they were also eager to resolve their life calamities.
The hope now rested on Yan Shouyi.
But the results would only be known after Yan Shouyi returned.
When they parted, Agong gave Yan Shouyi three small paper figures.
The paper figures were only palm-sized, and calling them paper cutouts might be more fitting. The three of them were made lifelike, with eyes that seemed to move.
Agong explained, "These three paper figures have fierce ghosts sealed inside them. If you encounter trouble, you can let the paper figures come out to help. However, each of them has only three uses. Once the uses are exhausted, the souls of the fierce ghosts will dissipate."
Holding the gifts from his friends, Yan Shouyi was deeply moved and solemnly thanked Agong. He then turned to Luo Ning.
Luo Ning glared at Yan Shouyi, "What are you looking at? My skills are different from Agong's. He gave you paper figures, does that mean I should give you a corpse? I'd be willing to give you one, but would you dare to take it?"
Yan Shouyi: "..."
It seemed inconvenient to travel with a corpse. He would probably be arrested by the police before even leaving Rongcheng.
Then Yan Shouyi turned his attention to Old Jin.
Old Jin forced a smile, "So you didn't come to bid farewell, but to ask for gifts! I do have quite a few elixirs, but those elixirs are only effective when they are freshly made. If they are kept for too long, they become useless."
Some elixirs are not valuable because of their precious ingredients, but because they are difficult to preserve.
Refined elixirs are easily eroded by turbid energy, thus losing their medicinal efficacy.
Therefore, ancient elixirs were placed on silk and stored in brocade boxes with sandalwood, sealed.
But even so, their medicinal properties would rapidly decline.
Yan Shouyi seemed to recall something and took out a small gourd tied with a red ribbon from his satchel.
"This is the East King Gourd. I snatched it from Bai Shixi. It is said that this small gourd can hold hundreds of elixirs, and the elixirs placed in this gourd will not decay or spoil, and their medicinal properties will not diminish at all!"
Old Jin was dumbfounded upon hearing this:
"You're showing off such a treasure just to trick some elixirs out of me to take away???"