"The Nine Treasure Pill originally contains dragon's saliva and supreme earth fire fungus. That's why its name is the Dragon God Nine Treasure Pill. But unfortunately, dragon's saliva and supreme earth fire fungus are very rare and precious elixirs. Even herbalists find it hard to even see them in their lifetime. So, the current Nine Treasure Pill is made with purple dragon grass instead of dragon's saliva, and black dew fungus instead of supreme earth fire fungus. Still, its medicinal properties are so outstanding that it is used at a high price."
The white-haired old man, who was explaining about the Nine Treasure Pill to Hua Yunhui, Seokcheong, and Cho Myung, was the head of the pharmacy.
"So you can make the Nine Treasure Pill if we just get the purple dragon grass and black dew fungus?"
Hua Yunhui asked.
"That's right. Other medicinal ingredients are added, but we have plenty of those here, so your sister won't say anything about that."
"Please show me the purple dragon grass and black dew fungus."
"Wait a moment."
The head of the pharmacy went into the room behind his office and returned a moment later.
In his hand was a large wooden box.
"This is the purple dragon grass."
It was a very unique herb, with purple lines running along the blue stem and leaves like blood vessels.
"It'll be easy to spot."
"You think so?"
"Are there similar ones?"
"Well. Maybe, maybe not."
"...?"
"You rascal, no matter how unique it is, it has to exist in the first place to be spotted."
It meant that since it was so rare, it was hard to spot no matter how unique it was.
Hua Yunhui nodded as if he understood and fixed his gaze on the purple dragon grass.
While doing so, he said to Seokcheong and Cho Myung.
"You guys look carefully too. It's the herb we have to dig."
"Yes, young master."
"Okay."
When Seokcheong and Cho Myung answered, Hua Yunhui, without taking his eyes off the purple dragon grass as if he were going to examine it from every angle, said to the head of the pharmacy.
"What about the black dew fungus?"
"Wait a moment."
The head of the pharmacy went inside again and came out.
This time, what he brought was a mushroom with what looked like black spots.
"There are many similar types of mushrooms, so you have to look carefully. The black dew fungus has these black spots only on its head. If the spots are a little bigger and are also on the stem, that's the black snake fungus. It's a poisonous mushroom, so don't even touch it."
"You two, don't forget and memorize it well."
At the words of the head of the pharmacy and Hua Yunhui, Seokcheong and Cho Myung nodded without taking their eyes off the black dew fungus.
Hua Yunhui also carefully examined the black dew fungus.
And after examining the purple dragon grass once more, he asked the head of the pharmacy for one more thing.
"Please show me the Dangling Spirit Grass too."
"Why the Dangling Spirit Grass?"
"I'd like to change the Qi Revitalizing Soup that Old Man Ban is taking back to the original."
One of the main herbs that goes into the Qi Revitalizing Soup is the Dangling Spirit Grass.
But the Dangling Spirit Grass was a rather expensive herb.
So, at the Hua Family Clinic, they had been using the cheaper Purple Heart Grass instead of the Dangling Spirit Grass for some time.
The problem was that the medicinal power of the Purple Heart Grass was weaker than that of the Dangling Spirit Grass, and it had an excessive sleeping component.
That's why Old Man Ban left the Qi Revitalizing Soup because he didn't want to fall asleep.
Hua Yunhui's thought was that if they put in the Dangling Spirit Grass as it was originally, there would be no need to leave the Qi Revitalizing Soup, and then it would be a little more helpful in protecting Old Man Ban's vitality.
Moreover, Old Man Ban had now started to move his body.
It wasn't because his vitality had increased.
He was straining his body because he had found a purpose in life. So he needed a Qi Revitalizing Soup with stronger medicinal power.
It would be nice if his sister, who was in charge of the overall operation of the Hua Family Clinic, would allow the Dangling Spirit Grass, but there was no way she would give out the expensive Dangling Spirit Grass for something that didn't make money.
That was the reason why Hua Yunhui had decided to dig for the herbs himself.
The head of the pharmacy took out the Dangling Spirit Grass and showed it to the three of them.
Hua Yunhui himself carefully examined the Dangling Spirit Grass and also told Seokcheong and Cho Myung to look carefully.
"Why have you been doing that since a while ago?"
The head of the pharmacy, who had been watching the three of them, asked out of the blue.
Looking at his gaze, it was a question directed at Cho Myung.
He seemed to have been puzzled by Cho Myung's repeated twitching of his nose since a while ago.
Cho Myung, at the head of the pharmacy's question, looked at Hua Yunhui and Seokcheong and then answered with a slightly excited face.
"I'm trying to remember the smell."
"...!"
"...?"
Everyone had a bewildered reaction.
"If I remember the smell, I can find the herbs."
Cho Myung said again.
But it only fueled the bewilderment of the three people.
"Yes. If your sense of smell is outstanding, you might be able to find the herbs by smell. I'll be looking forward to it, so bring back a lot."
The head of the pharmacy said with a smile.
He had taken it as the antics of a five-year-old child.
"Okay!"
Cho Myung answered innocently.
That appearance must have seemed naive to Seokcheong. He was shaking his head and sighing.
"Well, what can you expect from someone who's just started to learn how to use the toilet."
At Seokcheong's muttering, the head of the pharmacy and Hua Yunhui glanced at Cho Myung and then just nodded.
Cho Myung, who was just twitching his nose at the herbs, was just in a good mood, unaware of the atmosphere of the three people.
Cho Myung, who knew that he could be helpful in finding the herbs, was in a state of great excitement.
'I have to find a lot of herbs and heal my two grandfathers.'
Cho Myung was filled with anticipation.
He wanted to run to the mountains quickly and find the herbs.
But going to the mountains was tomorrow, and today, there were many things to learn in preparation for it.
Soon, after finishing examining the actual herbs, Hua Yunhui taught Seokcheong about the habitats of the herbs.
Occasionally, he would check the reaction of the head of the pharmacy to see if his knowledge was correct.
Another half an hour passed like that.
During that time, neither Hua Yunhui nor Seokcheong paid any attention to Cho Myung.
They didn't think he would be of any help anyway, and since they would be moving together to find the habitats, they thought it would be enough if he could just distinguish the actual herbs.
Cho Myung, since no one was paying attention to him, smelled the herbs that filled the pharmacy.
He smelled the mixed medicinal scents that filled the room and distinguished them one by one.
'This one smells like dirt, this one smells sour. Wow, this one smells really delicious. Ugh, this one stinks.'
He didn't know their names or appearances, but since they were in the pharmacy, he thought they must be good herbs and just memorized the smells for now.
***
"Yunhui was here, wasn't he?"
The head of the pharmacy was slightly surprised by the unannounced visit of the temporary head of the family, Hua Sochen, but he soon accepted it.
Even though she was only seventeen and was in charge of all the major and minor affairs of the clinic, she must have been keeping a close eye on her younger brother Hua Yunhui's whereabouts.
That's how close the two siblings were.
On the surface, they sometimes clashed over the clinic's affairs, but the special affection they had had since childhood had not disappeared.
"He asked about the herbs."
"What herbs?"
"The ones you won't give out."
"...?"
"Purple dragon grass, black dew fungus, Dangling Spirit Grass."
"Did he say he would buy them himself? Where would he get the money..."
"No."
"Then why?"
"He said he's going to dig for them himself."
"What does that...!"
"It seems he's going to go up the mountain once every three or four days."
At the head of the pharmacy's words, Hua Sochen was at a loss for words.
He was going to go up the mountain to dig for herbs, what kind of absurd thing was this?
She understood his desire to save the patient, and she also understood his rebellious spirit against her own management policy for the clinic.
But to go up the mountain himself?
He had only been outside the clinic a few times, and he had a weak constitution like his mother.
"Just leave him be. After going to the mountains a few times, he'll realize how difficult and hard it is to dig for herbs."
"You think so?"
Hua Sochen, who had come to her senses at the head of the pharmacy's words, made a slightly relieved face.
"There are countless people in the world who think they can dig for herbs and make money just by going up the mountain. Among them, only one or two out of a hundred become herbalists."
Well, was there anything easy in the world?
Moreover, for the weak Yunhui, there would be nothing more difficult than climbing a mountain.
Hua Sochen was completely relieved.
"Is the inventory of herbs sufficient?"
"Don't you get a report every ten days?"
"Looking at the numbers and seeing them in person can be different. Especially since summer is coming, a problem could arise overnight."
"That's what I've always done, are you not trusting me?"
"You know that's not what I mean. I even meticulously check myself every night before I go to sleep to see if I'm missing anything."
"You rascal, you'll get sick like that."
"If you check the herbs in the pharmacy one more time, I definitely won't get sick."
"Hah, I understand. I'll pay more attention."
"Please pay special attention to the high-end products. What's supporting the clinic now are the expensive medicines."
"I understand. I heard that this morning too."
"I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for. The people who left like that... no. I said something I shouldn't have."
The head of the pharmacy trailed off, but Hua Sochen's face was already darkening.
The aftermath of the Great War between the Orthodox and Demonic factions, which had begun with the Immortal Divine Demon trampling the world, had swept through all parts of the world.
Sichuan Province was no exception, and the Hua Family Clinic also suffered great human losses.
At the request of the Orthodox Faction, dozens of doctors, including the previous head of the family, the divine doctor, and the current head of the family and his wife, who had participated in the war to treat the injured, had died a violent death due to the negligence of the Orthodox Faction's martial artists in protecting them.
The Hua Family Clinic, which had been revered as the Divine Doctor Family of the Divine Land, had rapidly declined after that, and Hua Sochen was struggling to prevent the clinic from closing its doors.
"I'll just trust you and go now."
Hua Sochen, who didn't even have time to sit in a chair, went outside.
The head of the pharmacy, feeling sorry, said a word.
"If you can't sleep, shall I make you some Purple Heart Grass tea and send it to you?"
"No, it's not that bad yet."
"If you need it, just say the word anytime."
"Okay."
The head of the pharmacy, who had watched Hua Sochen leave until the end, let out a long sigh.
"Hah! My mouth is the problem. She's the one who's having the hardest time..."
***
It was midnight on the night before they were to go digging for herbs.
Drrr-ung pooh! Ood-deuk!
Drrr-ung pooh! Ood-deuk!
The sound of friction from bones dislocating or twisting was interspersed between the snores.
At that sound, Hua Yunhui got up from his bed.
Hua Yunhui, who had looked around for the source of the sound, got up from his bed and approached Cho Myung's bed.
The strange sound of bones dislocating was coming from Cho Myung's body.
When he looked with a surprised face, the joints were strangely bent and then returned to their place, and the waist was bent and then straightened, and the bones all over his body were twisted and then straightened repeatedly.
"What is it! Why is it so noisy. If it hurts, go to the young master...!"
Seokcheong, who was sleep-talking, closed his mouth and started snoring again.
When Hua Yunhui looked back, he saw Old Man Ban.
He had pressed Seokcheong's acupoint.
Ood-deuk! Ood-deuk! Ood-deuk!
The sound of bones breaking was heard ceaselessly from Cho Myung's body.
When Hua Yunhui quickly looked back, it seemed that every bone in his body was moving at least once.
The skin would bulge out to the point of being taut and then return to its place.
"W-what on earth is this?"
"It's a bone and marrow cleansing."
"What?"
Hua Yunhui looked back in bewilderment, as if he didn't understand.
"He was undergoing a bone and marrow cleansing on the first day he came here. But to do it again..."
Old Man Ban stopped talking.
It was because it was quiet as if he were dead.
He waited, holding his breath, thinking that he was about to start the marrow cleansing.
But there was no further change.
He waited for more than an hour, but nothing happened.
Unlike the first day, he had only undergone the bone cleansing and then fallen into a deep sleep.
"Is it because he ate a lot during the day and at night?"
"Is it because he ate a lot?"
Hua Yunhui looked at him with a face that said "Does that make sense?"
"Don't look at me like that. I don't understand either, but otherwise, it can't be explained."
"Still, because he ate a lot..."
"Maybe the energy in Myung's body demanded that he eat a lot because it was going to do a bone cleansing, and you heard it too. This kid said that he's always hungry here even if he eats."
"...?"
"Yes, in fact, this doesn't make sense either."
Even after saying it, Old Man Ban tilted his head as if he didn't know.
"So you're saying that he underwent that bone and marrow cleansing, where the bones and body change to be good for learning martial arts, on the first day he came here, and now he's doing it again?"
"Yes, it was definitely a bone and marrow cleansing. But now he's only doing the bone cleansing."
Both Hua Yunhui, who had asked, and Old Man Ban, who had answered, looked down at Cho Myung with a bewildered expression.
Cho Myung, unaware of all this, was in a deep sleep.
(End of Chapter)