"Mu Qing, what's wrong? You look a bit unwell," Madam Zhou said, watching her anxiously.
Su Mu Qing: "Third Brother, please push these two tables together and lift Brother Lu onto them. Uncle Xu, help him take off his clothes. I need to examine him carefully."
Lu Yu Zhi, hearing Su Mu Qing's request to undress him, looked at her incredulously. This girl was truly unique! Something must have crossed his mind, as his fair face instantly flushed red to the roots of his ears. He quickly averted his gaze from her.
"Ah? Take off his clothes? This..." Xu Fu glanced at Madam Zhou beside him, unsure of what to do.
Mu Qing was an unmarried girl, and this would be detrimental to her reputation. Moreover, the young master's fate was peculiar; he could not marry anyone outside of his destined path, or both would meet an unfortunate end. What would become of her then?
Seeing Xu Fu's inaction, Su Mu Qing couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Xu, what's wrong?"
Madam Zhou stepped beside her and whispered, "The young master is a young man."
Su Mu Qing looked at her curiously. "I know! Even with white hair, one can tell he's young."
Madam Zhou quickly waved her hands. "That's not what I meant. I mean this could damage your reputation."
Su Mu Qing suddenly understood. It was because of this. But she supposed it was true; she had forgotten they were in a feudal society. A girl directly asking someone to undress another was indeed inappropriate.
Su Mu Qing: "Please don't feel so burdened. I intend to be a healer. To a healer, there is no distinction between men and women. Besides, I've discovered two very strange energies circulating within Brother Lu's body. So, let's stop dwelling on this and quickly examine him!"
"What? Alright, alright, Third Brother, quickly carry the young master over..." Hearing Su Mu Qing mention the strange energies in the young master's body, Xu Fu no longer had the mental space to think about other matters. The girl was trying to save the young master; how could he be so pedantic?
The third brother carried the man onto the table. Xu Fu stepped forward and helped remove his robes, revealing Lu Yu Zhi's fair, lean body. It was covered in scars, both large and small, left from years of battle.
Su Mu Qing extended her hands, and wisps of ethereal green light flowed from between her fingers. She joined two fingers, converging them into two strong beams of green light, and placed her hands on Lu Yu Zhi's body.
Using the detector to lock on, she then moved her fingers to chase the two strange energies. As the green light came into contact with that energy, Su Mu Qing felt something within her body constantly draining away.
Meanwhile, the energy within Lu Yu Zhi's body was continuously growing. Was this greedy snake devouring her healing power? Su Mu Qing's face gradually turned pale. She quickly withdrew her hands, cutting off the healing technique.
Su Mu Qing: "Brother Lu, have you felt anything strange in your body these past two days?"
Lu Yu Zhi nodded and said in a hoarse voice, "Ever since I took your divine medicine, I've felt something wriggling inside me. Sometimes, my meridians seem to reverse, and I lose control of my mind, as if I'm going mad. However, after those moments pass, I feel much better both physically and mentally, and my internal strength seems to be recovering."
Loss of mental control? That's like how I got my abilities! Could this be a side effect of consuming something from the space?
However, judging by his words, those two strange energies weren't entirely harmful; they at least helped him recover his internal strength. It was likely his own cultivation techniques operating.
Pulling her thoughts back, Su Mu Qing took out a dropper from her pocket and carefully dripped some spring water into Lu Yu Zhi's mouth.
"Miss Qing, how is the young master? What about those strange energies you mentioned...?" Xu Fu asked her eagerly after seeing Su Mu Qing administer the medicine.
Su Mu Qing: "Uncle Xu, please don't worry too much. I will monitor his condition regularly. I'll go back later and think carefully to see if I can detoxify him as soon as possible."
Xu Fu: "Good, that's good. Thank you for your trouble, Miss."
Su Mu Qing: "Everything is fine here now. I'm going back to rest."
After finishing everything, it was already two in the afternoon. Under the cover of Su Cui Ping and the other, Su Mu Qing ate a hearty meal, and her strength was restored.
She entered the space with her consciousness to check the Poison Scripture. To her surprise, there was indeed a description of the Ice Reed Grass.
The thousand-year cold poison, Ice Reed Grass, with nine evergreen leaves on a single stem, bearing no flowers or fruit, its roots turning to ice. Its toxicity is insidious and overbearing, growing at the pinnacle of extremely yin and cold rivers. It ranks 15938th in the Poison Scripture. There is only one antidote.
Ranking over ten thousand in the Encyclopedia of Myriad Poisons, its toxicity was indeed not to be underestimated. Since there was only one antidote for the Ice Reed Grass poison, Su Mu Qing quickly checked what it was.
Fire Flame Fat. Red resin oozing from the Fire Flame Tree. Fire Flame Trees only grow in the land of Tian Zhao, where there are active volcanoes and consistently extreme temperatures.
It is said that south of Tian Zhao, there is a Death Valley. The bottom of the valley is known as the Gate of the Underworld; any living creature that enters cannot emerge alive. The Fire Flame Trees grow at the bottom of Death Valley, outside the Gate of the Underworld.
Su Mu Qing closed the Poison Scripture and shivered. The scripture described it so terrifyingly; the risk factor seemed considerable. She decided to tell Uncle Xu and the others tonight and see what choice they would make.
Su Mu Qing opened the planar trade. After the system linked successfully, a puff of smoke appeared on the screen.
"Is anyone there?" Su Mu Qing asked tentatively.
Suddenly, a sweep of robes flashed across the screen, and the smoke dissipated. A man of peerless beauty appeared on the screen. Are there really immortals?
The man had deep-set eyes, ice-blue pupils, and a blue mark on his brow, resembling a floral adornment worn with Hanfu. Most charmingly, a pair of horns grew on either side of his forehead.
"Human?" the man inquired, his voice as captivating as if it could bewitch the soul.
Su Mu Qing gasped, covering her mouth, and asked indistinctly, "Are you an immortal? Are you a human-dragon?"
The man smiled faintly, his eyes sparkling like a galaxy crushed within them, so beautiful it was impossible to look away. "Not so. I am Luo Li of the Jiao Ren tribe."
"Jiao Ren Luo Li? Then you're a mermaid! Oh my god! There really are mermaids! I, I am Su Mu Qing." They say the Jiao Ren are the most beautiful and melodious species. Seeing him today, it is indeed true to his reputation!
Luo Li smiled softly, looking at the excited human on the other side of the screen, finding her inexplicably cute. "Su Mu Qing, do you know why I am here?"
Su Mu Qing: "Don't you know? Did you just acquire the space?"
Luo Li furrowed his brows slightly and asked her, "Space? What is space?"
It seemed he truly knew nothing about space. Thus, Su Mu Qing used all three of her opportunities for the day on Luo Li.
First, she explained the space to him in detail, then taught him how to use it, and finally, they conducted two simple trades. Su Mu Qing gave him some chocolate and mosquito repellent cream.
Luo Li gave her a pearl and a water-repelling bead. The luster of mermaid tears was incomparable to ordinary pearls on land. Luo Li said that as long as the water-repelling bead was worn, one could live underwater just like him.
They chatted for a while longer, and the three trading opportunities were exhausted. Su Mu Qing added him as a backup friend and reluctantly watched the disconnected link.