I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 197: From One to Ten

Under Shen Ping’s guidance, Duan Rong began preparing the medicine. After boiling the pig’s bladder thoroughly, he added several medicinal herbs into a large iron pot.

The stench of the urine bladder, which had been boiling for a long time, had thoroughly permeated the air.

The entire courtyard was filled with a strong urine smell...

But when Duan Rong poured the decocted herbs along with the broth into the large iron pot, the rising stench suddenly disappeared, replaced by a faint exotic fragrance emanating from the pot.

"What is this..." A hint of intoxication flashed in Duan Rong’s eyes.

"Don’t breathe it in!" Shen Ping immediately warned: "This fragrance is poisonous!"

Duan Rong quickly jumped away, casting a sidelong glance at Shen Ping, "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Shen Ping laughed mischievously, "Inhaling some isn’t a big deal, it just might induce a little, uh, excitement..."

Duan Rong’s eyelids twitched, his eyes glancing sharply at Shen Ping like a knife.

Ignoring Duan Rong’s angry glare, Shen Ping instructed, "Once the fragrance dissipates, roast the Tian Dong, Gastrodia, and Yuan Hu until charred, grind them into powder, and sprinkle them into the pot."

Duan Rong sighed and busied himself with the task. Faced with someone like Shen Ping, he could only sigh.

Duan Rong roasted the Tian Dong, Gastrodia, and Yuan Hu, grinding them into powder, mixing them evenly, and then very precisely sprinkled the powder into the pot at the right moment.

Duan Rong’s handling of various medicinal herbs was highly skilled. When encountering some detailed issues, Shen Ping was about to remind him but suddenly realized that Duan Rong had already noticed and taken action.

This indicated that Duan Rong had a thorough understanding of the properties of these herbs, even recognizing the properties when mixed together, which truly impressed Shen Ping.

The boy was only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet he had accumulated such knowledge about herbal properties.

Truly remarkable and strange!

Shen Ping reflected that at Duan Rong’s age, he didn’t have such achievements, despite growing up in a family steeped in the Medical Dao, being influenced since childhood, surrounded by the scent of various herbs.

Shen Ping had always been quite confident in his medical talent, but upon seeing Duan Rong, he suddenly felt himself to be quite unremarkable.

Duan Rong took the roasted, red-hot donkey hoof from the fire, placing it on a stone in the courtyard to cool.

He then set the charred donkey hoof onto his palm, standing before the large iron pot, infusing Inner Breath into his palms, grinding the hoof like a mill, reducing it to powder which he sprinkled into the pot.

Afterwards, it was time for a vigorous boil!

The firewood in the stove roared...

As it was about to dry up, Duan Rong looked questioningly at Shen Ping.

Shen Ping lifted an eyelid, glanced at the pot, and coldly said, "Keep boiling! Turn up the heat, don’t stop until I say so!"

Hearing this, Duan Rong stuffed more large logs into the stove.

As the pot was nearly dry and the smell of burning was faint, Duan Rong glanced at Shen Ping, but he still hadn’t called to stop.

Only when the slight charred smell from the pot became strong did Shen Ping suddenly shout, "Extinguish the fire!"

Following the command as if under orders, Duan Rong slapped the edge of the pot, causing it to tilt and fly sideways. Using the Cloud Serpent Step, he swiftly moved, lightly tapping the pot bottom with his toes and somehow managing to land it steadily on the ground.

Shen Ping couldn’t help but praise, "Excellent skill!"

Duan Rong’s skills were indeed good. Although his Inner Breath had not reached the Fourth Level, his saber technique had already achieved the Great Success Realm, and any casual martial moves he performed were naturally beyond the ordinary.

"Add a ladle of clear water while it’s hot and stir evenly." Shen Ping, sitting in the pavilion, called out the last step in the preparation of the ointment.

Immediately, Duan Rong walked to the large water jar, scooped a ladle of clear water, and poured it into the pot.

Instantly, white steam rose from the pot. Duan Rong picked up a rolling pin and bent down to stir the contents inside the pot.

After stirring, Duan Rong scooped a bit of the ointment with the rolling pin and walked to the pavilion, handing it to Shen Ping. Shen Ping took it and sniffed, nodding, "Hmm, not bad."

"Duan boy, your technique and intuition are really not bad! For a first-time mix, it’s quite comparable to mine! Remarkable!"

Hearing this, Duan Rong just smiled sheepishly.

He used a wooden spatula to scoop all the ointment from the pot into a clay jar.

Then he helped Shen Ping back to the bed inside, applying the newly prepared ointment to all of Shen Ping’s wounds, and tightly bandaging them.

Shen Ping, having just recovered from a serious illness, had spent considerable mental energy guiding Duan Rong in preparing the medicine, and was now exhausted. After Duan Rong bandaged his wounds, the newly prepared ointment had a good analgesic effect, and as its potency kicked in, Shen Ping felt a soothing cool and tingling sensation over his wounds, relieving his tense nerves. He soon fell into a deep sleep...

The newly prepared ointment was indeed effective; within two or three days, Shen Ping was able to get out of bed.

Every day, Duan Rong would also apply acupuncture on Shen Ping to help circulate his Qi for recovery. Occasionally, Shen Ping would discuss acupuncture techniques with Duan Rong, and some of Duan Rong’s insights often surprised Shen Ping greatly.

After a few more days, Shen Ping no longer needed to be bandaged, as most of the shallow wounds had scabbed over, and all it took was to apply ointment on the more severe wounds daily.

During these days, Xiao Zongting came by to visit Shen Ping when he could and was quite pleased with his good recovery. However, Hu Huanhuan hadn’t come by again; her food box was still placed on the table inside, and occasionally, when Duan Rong entered the room, he accidentally saw Shen Ping staring blankly at the food box.

Seeing as Shen Ping was almost fully recovered, Duan Rong returned to his usual intense cultivation.

Whenever Duan Rong stood in the courtyard practicing, Shen Ping would sit in the pavilion, drinking tea and flipping through the secondhand books Duan Rong had found on the old street’s book stalls.

Occasionally, Shen Ping glanced at Duan Rong practicing in the courtyard, slightly astonished. If he hadn’t miscalculated, this young man spent roughly nine hours a day in practice.

"That temperament is just like Xiao Zongting’s, truly a martial arts fanatic!"

At every mealtime, Duan Rong would take the food box Hu Huanhuan left and go out to buy some food, bringing it back to eat and drink with Shen Ping in the pavilion.

Over a few days, Duan Rong had already learned Shen Ping’s taste preferences, so he mostly bought the foods he liked.

During meals, Duan Rong would occasionally probe, asking Shen Ping questions, mostly regarding the relationship between medicinal properties and the circulation of Inner Breath. Shen Ping often needed only a sentence or two to concisely clarify seemingly complex issues.

Duan Rong often felt as if the clouds parted to reveal the day.

After several such conversations, Duan Rong became convinced of Shen Ping’s profound knowledge of medicinal properties and Inner Breath circulation.

Unlike Duan Rong’s delight, Shen Ping appeared calm but was internally filled with turmoil.

The questions Duan Rong asked often struck the critical points.

They touched on the key issues of Medical and Martial Arts Cultivation. These questions had taken Shen Ping years of contemplation and research to finally understand.

And his replies were not easily understandable; some parts were quite complex and profound, yet Duan Rong seemed to grasp them instantly, even able to infer by analogy, asking new derivative questions based on Shen Ping’s answers.

He was truly perceptive, understanding one thing from ten, with exceptional comprehension!