"..." Ah Jiu was unsure of right or wrong, good or bad.
"In just those short three months, over two thousand more were added. They also said if it couldn't be cured, they'd feed this flesh to my nephew. My father, overwhelmed by anger and anxiety, coughed up blood and died."
Ah Jiu's heart ached.
"I still advise you to know less. You should also be careful. Why is it that my father was a physician his entire life? If I had another life, I would rather be reborn as a fierce bandit or a brute than a physician who saves people."
Ah Jiu absorbed his low, hoarse voice, which felt like a knife to her heart.
"Cough, cough, *gasp*..."
Those who had consumed the spiritual spring water showed immediate effects.
Liu Chenglin rushed to check the pulse and his pupils constricted as he looked at Ah Jiu. "What kind of water is this?"
"Medicinal water," Ah Jiu found it hard to explain the origin of the spiritual spring.
The astonishment in Liu Chenglin's eyes quickly dimmed. So, it was indeed a secret formula.
He then silently fed water to everyone else, and the remaining people began to react.
Ah Jiu's mind flashed with notifications of points being added, leading to a blind score. To her surprise, Liu Chenglin, staring blankly at everyone's reactions, broke into a smile.
Ah Jiu remembered that Liu Chenglin's lips still curved upwards when he collapsed.
"Quick, someone..." Ah Jiu's cry brought several guards.
"What is it, Miss Meng?"
"Quickly carry him away. Don't stay here." Upon Ah Jiu's words, the guards hastily lifted him and rushed out of the temporary shelter.
He had lived with these half-dead people for too long and had long since lost the feeling for life.
Ah Jiu noticed that Liu Chenglin's eyes, for the first time, held the look of a living person that he had when he collapsed.
His sudden emotional outburst was naturally due to internal injuries.
Ah Jiu supervised the arrangements for Liu Chenglin and returned to Zhang Dadan's home in the county town. It was already dawn.
His ramshackle hut had no doors, but clean bedding was laid out on the bed.
Ah Jiu didn't bother with anything else and fell asleep. Once she had rested, she would go to the outskirts of the county town to find her parents.
Inside the spiritual spring space.
Ah Jiu checked her merit points. These days, she saved dozens of people at a time, and the system prompts one after another, turning into a tight binding spell.
She was shocked to find that, combined with the points from helping the chief rescue someone last time, she had accumulated eight hundred and fifty points.
"Wow, so much." Ah Jiu swallowed and excitedly headed towards the Shen Nong Cao Ji (Divine Farmer's Herb Record).
"Ding dong, the system will automatically deduct three hundred and fifty merit points for you. You have five hundred merit points remaining."
With so much left, it was worth it.
Ah Jiu seized the opportunity to quickly flip through the book.
This thick, bound booklet consumed Ah Jiu's attention, making her oblivious to the world.
She couldn't believe her eyes. Even bamboo leaves could be used as medicine.
Even more preposterous, Ren Zhong Huang was "specially prepared" human feces?
Oh heavens, this was too miraculous! Even a weed pulled from the ground could reduce dampness and swelling.
And this, even more outrageous, hair strands were called Xue Yu Tan (Charred Blood Residue), which could dissolve blood stasis. Oh my!
Mandragora? It could be used as an anesthetic. The book clearly stated it could make one lose the sensation of pain, but if taken orally, the dosage had to be controlled based on body weight, otherwise, it would also result in poisoning.
Goodness gracious, she remembered seeing this plant when she was young, before the great drought. She thought it was cotton. Fortunately, her elder brother had warned her that it was poisonous, and from then on, Ah Jiu avoided picking those small, thorny flowers.
After finishing the book, Ah Jiu closed it and sat cross-legged by the spiritual spring, as if reviewing the content in her mind to enhance her memory.
The little earth dragon swam leisurely in the pool.
Perhaps it was the abundant spiritual energy in the spiritual spring space, which made one feel so comfortable that they wanted to groan. There was a clear sensation of heightened senses. Ah Jiu found that her memory was much better here than outside.
After a moment of comfortable silence, Ah Jiu felt a slight warmth in her lower abdomen, circling her waist.
Huh? Ah Jiu looked down and saw a mass of white gas on her belly, gentle as a spring breeze caressing her body with hands.
This gas had a scent extremely similar to the spiritual spring.
It seemed she truly had spiritual energy now. Ah Jiu eagerly looked at her palms. Both Laogong acupoints on her hands felt a warmth that was not scorching and a gathering of energy that did not disperse.
"Ninth Miss, someone is looking for you..."