Under the bright night sky, the towering figure of the Enlightenment Tree King blocked the moonlight. The little medicine kings were happily splashing around in the water, and even Lu Yang joined in, playing together. Time seemed to stand still, creating a wonderfully harmonious scene. Once the little medicine kings were done enjoying their bath, they sprawled out on the ground and on the wooden house, falling into a deep sleep.
The Enlightenment Tree King wasn’t idle. While the little medicine kings slept, it gathered up the wooden tub and water, which puzzled Lu Yang.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Oh, this is for Little Ba,” the Enlightenment Tree King casually replied. “It said the bathwater is very valuable, and the disciples of the Way-seeking Sect love to use it.”
The Enlightenment Tree King shrugged its branches, expressing its confusion over human behavior. As a plant, it found it hard to understand some of the strange things humans did. For instance, it knew that humans loved to use its hair, which are the leaves, to brew tea, or to cook using its bark, claiming it enhances flavor, something like cinnamon.
“Oh, right! Little Ba even gave the bathwater a nice name, calling it the King of Medicine’s Spirit Liquid. You humans are quite cultured; your naming skills are much better than ours.”
“The King of Medicine’s Spirit Liquid?” Lu Yang repeated, feeling the name sounded familiar. It quickly dawned on him where he had seen that term before.
Wasn’t that the highly sought-after King of Medicine’s Spirit Liquid on the contribution exchange list?
The list described the King of Medicine’s Spirit Liquid as a precious liquid specially refined by the higher-ups of the Way-seeking Sect. So that’s what it was!
Lu Yang began to question the various strange items listed, thinking that while the descriptions seemed fine, it didn’t mean there weren’t any issues.
In the days that followed, Lu Yang worked hard digging underground while listening to the little medicine kings chatter about herbal knowledge. Life was quite fulfilling.
“I remember there’s a patch of Eight Treasure Lotus flowers ahead, pink and lovely. Do you want to dig over and take a look?” the Ginseng Doll said from behind him.
“... Aren’t lotus flowers supposed to grow in pools?” Lu Yang replied.
“Yeah,” the Ginseng Doll nodded as if it was obvious.
“So if I dig over there, wouldn’t I just end up diving into the pool?”
The Ginseng Doll suddenly realized, “Oh right! What you said makes so much sense.”
Lu Yang followed the direction the Ginseng Doll indicated and emerged from the ground. Not far away were the stunning Eight Treasure Lotus flowers, with morning dew collecting on the tips of the petals and dripping into the water, creating ripples.
The Eight Treasure Lotus has effects like clearing heat, removing dampness, detoxifying, and nourishing the heart, making it commonly used in alchemy.
“Just don’t know why it’s called ‘Eight Treasure,’” Lu Yang said, recalling what he had read.
This was a mystery among alchemists, with countless alchemists writing books and citing various theories. Some said it was named for its eight effects, while others believed the name came from the Eight Trigrams of the Highest. There were even claims that ‘Eight Treasure’ referred to the eight meridians in the human body, suggesting that eating more Eight Treasure Lotus could open up these meridians. In short, there were all kinds of explanations.
Lu Yang leaned towards the first theory; having eight effects sounded reasonable at least.
“You know about this? I do,” the Ginseng Doll chimed in.
“You do?” Lu Yang was surprised.
The Ginseng Doll proudly placed its ginseng roots on its hips and said, “Yes! The Eight Treasure Lotus was discovered by the ancient scholar Gu Yue. At that time, the two of us accidentally entered an undiscovered secret realm. Luckily, we were both quite skilled, so the secret realm wasn’t dangerous for us.”
“We had a great time in the secret realm. When we got tired, we rested right there, eating and sleeping to enjoy the atmosphere.”
“During a meal, Gu Yue discovered a patch of pink lotus flowers he had never seen before. I asked him what name he wanted to give them, and he glanced at the Eight Treasure Porridge in his hand and casually suggested calling them Eight Treasure Lotus.”
“Later, he took a few lotus plants back with him, and they multiplied in the outside world, becoming what we see today.”
Lu Yang was speechless. This wasn’t the first time he had heard stories about Gu Yue, and each time there was an unexpected twist.
Other little medicine kings had traveled far and wide and experienced many things, but none had tales as exciting as the Ginseng Doll’s.
Through his interactions with the little medicine kings, they gradually accepted Lu Yang. Even when he returned to his original size, they didn’t reject him; instead, they found the big guy quite fun.
A month passed quickly. During this time, Uncle Ba took away the empty spirit stones and the little medicine kings’ bathwater, bringing back a large number of high-quality spirit stones for the little medicine kings to bury in their original spots. He also occasionally picked various herbs to provide to the Dan Ding Peak.
“Originally, Gu Yue wasn’t called Gu Yue. His surname is Hu, and he referred to himself as Hu the Scholar. His handwriting isn’t very good, and once when he wrote his name, he wrote Hu too broadly, and someone read it as Gu Yue. He’s quite carefree, so he just went with it and never changed it back,” the Ginseng Doll continued to share Gu Yue’s embarrassing history in Lu Yang’s ear.
Just then, Uncle Ba sent a message to Lu Yang.
“Lu Yang, come out for a moment.”
When he reached the entrance of the medicine garden, he saw a loving couple. The husband was sunny and confident, while the wife was delicate and gentle. However, Lu Yang couldn’t help but be critical of their clothing.
The couple wore outfits that looked like oversized swim rings, so bulky that they could float if they fell into the sea. This was just their tribe’s clothing style.
“These two are...?” Lu Yang asked.
“Let me introduce you. These are your seniors, the Silver Ring King Earthworm,” Uncle Ba said.
Lu Yang realized that the couple’s issues had been resolved, and they had reconciled, so he wouldn’t have to dig anymore.
It was impressive that they solved their relationship problems in just a month. He thought it would take at least a long drama series, where the female lead forgets everything, and the male lead has to help her remember, leading to a happy ending.
“This is Lu Yang. You two must have heard of him; he’s the fourth disciple of the sect leader, personally trained by Yun Zhi.”
“Nice to meet you, seniors.” Lu Yang bowed, startling the Silver Ring King Earthworm, who quickly lifted Lu Yang, not daring to accept the greeting.
“You’re Yun Zhi’s junior brother. I’m Li Yin, just call me Little Li. This is my wife, Xiao Li.”
The little sister of the female demon, who would dare to see him as a junior?
Lu Yang had no idea what image his senior sister had in others’ minds.
“How did you two solve your issues?” he asked.
“What’s so hard about that?” a voice came from underground.
A couple emerged from the ground, looking exactly like the Silver Ring King Earthworm.
“Since my wife can split herself into two, becoming a pair of sisters, I can naturally split into two as well and create a brother,” Little Li proudly declared.
The second couple of Little Li also looked very affectionate.
Uncle Ba nodded in satisfaction; this idea was his. He was still quite responsible, solving problems as they arose.
(End of Chapter)