Chapter 4: Medical Skills

  Xiao Qing stared blankly at Bai Suzhen, and carefully asked Di: "Sister, do I owe him a life-saving favor?" This was what she cared about most, she didn't want to get close to Xu Xian.

  Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "Of course it counts, but your current cultivation is still shallow. If you want to repay kindness, there's no need to rush in this lifetime." She thought to herself: If he doesn't focus on cultivating, I'm afraid that after a hundred years, he'll be reincarnated as someone else again.

  Xiao Qing's Dao line is only about 500 years old, which is a remarkable age for a human. However, for a demon, it's just the beginning. After all, opening up spiritual intelligence and refining one's demonic body requires a considerable amount of time. What Bai Suzhen worries about is that if Xiao Qing gets too deeply involved in worldly affairs at this time, he may easily lose himself. Doesn't she also need Xian to remind her?

  "That's great!"

  Bai Suzhen asked again: "Didn't you just say one thing? What about the other?"

  Xiao Qing reluctantly let out an "ah" sound, but seeing her sister's expression, she finally told the story of how she had used the Five Ghosts' Moving Technique to steal silver from the treasury and was later caught by Xu Xian. She pouted while tugging on Bai Suzhen's sleeve, saying: "Sister, don't you think Xu Xian is really bad?"

  Bai Suzhen said, "Qing'er, you really have a childish temper. If someone else had taken you away, they wouldn't have let you off so easily without skinning and dismembering you. The fact that they spared your life is already a great kindness to you, how can you still blame them?"

  Heartfelt thoughts: I didn't expect Qing Er and him to have such a deep bond, it's probably not easy to get rid of! But what about my own entanglement with him, isn't it also shallow? If it's really fate, then I can only face it with resignation. What can be avoided is not considered fate. Moreover, the catalyst will trigger again, even if you escape once, you can't escape the second time.

  Xiao Qing said discontentedly, "I'm just angry!" Although in fact, Bai Suzhen also took Xiaoqing first and then spared her. They could only become sworn sisters because Bai Suzhen was originally of the same kind as her, and she relied on her superior moral character to suppress Xiaoqing. But Xiaoqing felt close to her instead. It was also due to Bai Suzhen's temperament itself having a charm that made people feel close and obedient.

  Bai Suzhen felt that she had gained a deeper understanding of Xu Xian. His bravery and decisiveness in times of crisis, his caution and wisdom in daily life - such a man was indeed rare in this world. It was also fortunate to be friends with him. However, she still couldn't figure out how to repay his kindness.

  It reminded me of what Xu Xian said to me, "We've always been straightforward with each other. You think about how to repay the kindness, and I'll do my best to cooperate!" Maybe I should discuss with him how to repay the kindness, but discussing with my benefactor how to repay the kindness feels a bit strange.

  Xiao Qing suddenly became agitated, "Oh, sister, I understand. Ever since you came back, it's all about husband this and husband that. Even when speaking, you're biased towards him. Is it that you've already had thoughts of marrying him?"

  Bai Suzhen's face turned red, and then she smiled faintly: "Xu Gong is indeed a rare gentleman in the world, and he doesn't look down on us as if we were different. It's just a pity that he has no intention of cultivating himself, otherwise it wouldn't be bad to form a Taoist partnership with him! However, now being able to become friends is also good, but marriage is not something that can be mentioned."

  Otherwise, she might really sink into the mundane world, who knows. But this sentence she didn't say out loud.

  Xu Xian indeed has a worldly heart, but that secular heart is firm and upright, more like the Taoist heart than her own Taoist heart. Perhaps this is also a kind of Taoist heart! The Great Way is vast and boundless, who can say which path they walk is the right one?

  Xiao Qing saw that she spoke calmly, and instead couldn't tease her. She was only surprised to say: "Sister, you, you told him we are snakes?" She also didn't think that her sister would dare to speak the truth, even if Xu Xian didn't say anything, his heart would definitely have a grudge.

  Bai Suzhen smiled and said: "Yes, and I also mentioned the karma between us."

  "Now I don't have to lie to him anymore!" This was the most delightful thing for her.

  "Isn't he afraid?" Xiao Qing asked again.

  Bai Suzhen lightly flicked Xiaoqing's nose and jokingly said, "He's not even afraid of my Qing'er, dares to teach him a lesson, what is he afraid of me?"

  Xiao Qing said, "Sister!" and stomped her foot, but there was nothing she could do. She probably wouldn't be able to leave this place. Then she asked, "Sister, if you don't marry him, how are you planning on repaying the debt?"

  Bai Suzhen also worried "I don't know either, you can help me think of a solution too!"

  "Why don't you just repay me in your next life then!"

  Bai Suzhen said, "That's several decades of time! Moreover, it's not just for the little shepherd boy who saved me in the past. I also want to repay this Mr. Xu. If he enters reincarnation again and waits until his next life, he won't be him anymore."

  "If he were a beggar, it would be easy. We could just give him some silver and consider the favor repaid. But now, he seems to lack for nothing. If someone doesn't ask for help, how can you offer it?"

  Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "Then tomorrow you can help me thoroughly understand everything about him. Who knows, maybe we can find what Mr. Xu is looking for!" She also planned to ask Xuxian in person, what exactly did he want?

  "Alright then! I don't believe there's anyone in this world who is desireless and without wants. Let's just end our feud and go back to Qingfeng Cave to cultivate, I'm really bored staying in the mortal realm! Sister, I'll take a rest first." She yawned and turned around to leave.

  Bai Suzhen's words froze Qing'er in place. "Qing'er, it's possible that Master Xu has already seen through you as the one who stole the silver that night, but he spared your face and didn't say anything!"

  Xiao Qing's body stiffened on the spot.

  Bai Suzhen smiled and shook her head, saying: "I'm just guessing, but sister advises you to confess quickly, lest you be suspicious all day!" Liars are always the most tired.

  The night was deep and dark, but Xu Xian's room was shining with a soft glow.

  A small jade plaque in his hand shone with a green light, and then slowly floated up, starting to rotate. The carved cloud patterns on it seemed to be flowing, rotating only to see one side written with the number 58412, which is 58,412 points of merit. Being able to quantify intangible merits into tangible numbers shows that the creator of this artifact has profound and mysterious skills.

  After Zixu Xian forcibly extracted the yang spirit and spent 100,000 merits, although he often consumed merits to achieve some impossible things, the number of merits was always increasing. If a person has no selfish heart, everything is merit. Especially when the idea of compiling "Bencao Gangmu" came up, it increased by nearly 10,000 merits. For ordinary people, having so many merits in one lifetime would be rare.

  Now he is about to use this merit badge to do another thing.

  Xu Xian said quietly: Search for all memories related to "Ben Cao Gang Ri". A faint green light appeared on his forehead, and a divine light flashed. His merits were rapidly consumed, and those memories that had long been settled in the depths of his heart were stirred up again.

  Although at that time, it was just a rough glance, some even just a glance. Even if someone asked him what was in the book at the time, he probably couldn't answer. But this glance actually became part of his memory.

  Everyone's eyes are like a video camera, recording everything they see at all times, even when they're distracted. Due to the brain's self-maintenance mechanism, all useless information is filtered out. That's why there's such a thing as forgetting. Memories obtained while being distracted are simply forgotten on the spot, not that they never existed.

  So in some sense everyone is a genius.

  Now, the scene of Xu Xian flipping through "Ben Cao Gang Mu" in his childhood is gradually becoming vivid, and every word and picture he saw at that time is slowly becoming clear.

  It's unclear whether it was due to having had many experiences of using it before, or because of the progress Xian Yu has made in his cultivation, but the process of searching for memories no longer caused severe headaches, only a slight swelling.

  Finally, the light on the jade plaque gradually dimmed and fell back into Xu Xian's hand. Xu Xian already felt that his mind was filled with countless memories. Xu Xian didn't bother to copy them all down, because as long as he used the merit of recalling memories, they would not be forgotten for a very long time.

  Although this is a good thing, it's also a kind of aftereffect. After all, during this period of time, his mind will be filled with countless names of medicinal herbs flying around. Although it won't affect normal thinking yet, it's still a nuisance.

  Xu Xian had also thought of using the Gong De Pai to retrieve the memories that were forgotten when he escaped, but he suspected that this might be a self-protection mechanism of his divine soul. Forcing himself to remember might lead to some aftereffects, and he didn't know what those would be. Once it involved cultivation matters, he couldn't help but be cautious. Since he could eventually recall them on his own, it was better to just let things happen naturally!

  Xu Xian took a look at the merit plate in his hand, only to find that more than 400 points of merit had been consumed. However, the "Ben Cao Gang Mu" he retrieved had a major drawback - it was incomplete. After all, he didn't know when he was young that he would be crossing over in the future. Even if he could memorize everything at a glance, it was impossible to flip through so many books page by page.

  Although he knew that with these memories in his mind, he could compile a rare medical book, Xu Xian's heart still had a sense of regret. If he could completely recreate this "Ben Cao Gang Mu", would it be able to help more people? No, not just recreate, but if he added modern medical knowledge. It would definitely surpass the original book and raise the medicine of this era to an unprecedented height that would make later generations gasp in amazement.

  It's not just a little effort, to know that Li Shizhen spent his whole life writing this book. Xu Xian thought that with all sorts of advantages, he wouldn't need so long, but it's absolutely not like copying a few dozen words of poetry, that kind of relaxed attitude can't be compared.

  Even if he really wrote down the whole "Ben Cao Gang Mu", it may not be as famous as copying those few poems.

  There were two paths laid out before Xu Xian. One was to simply transcribe the memories in his mind, which would be a relatively easy task. Moreover, it could also be considered as making a contribution to the people of this era, and no one would say anything against him, but rather praise him.

  Secondly, he would have to calm down and spend a lot of time and energy writing a medical book that will be remembered for ages. This would disrupt his current comfortable life, but this is not what worries him the most.

  What he really worries about is that when the time comes, he will have to go back to his original path of studying medicine. He's not just worried, but also has a hint of fear. No one can say for sure whether this is just a coincidence or fate playing tricks on him.

  Lead people back to their true nature in the most natural way!