Long Xiao supported Luan Jiping, and Ji Yuelan stepped forward to push open the door, shouting, "Is anyone there?"
Following the sound, a small head stretched out, took a look, and shouted, "Master, there are customers!"
A bout of coughing came, and a middle-aged man wearing a worn-out jacket and a dirty blue cap walked out from inside.
Seeing Ji Yuelan and Luan Jiping wearing branded clothing, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up and he asked, "Which of you three needs medical attention?"
Ji Yuelan turned to look at Long Xiao and Luan Jiping and said, "My sister Luan was poisoned by a Gu. Brother Long needs to use your place to refine some pills."
It had been a long time since they had had any patients. The middle-aged man, seeing someone arrive, thought he could trick them out of some money for food. Hearing Ji Yuelan say that Luan Jiping had been poisoned by a Gu, he knew that such a situation could be fatal, and he dared not try to trick them any further.
"Miao family Gu techniques are very strange. Unless the person who cast the Gu is caught, it is very difficult to resolve."
"We don't need you to resolve the Gu. We just need to borrow your place and your medicine. We will pay you."
Long Xiao saw that the master and disciple were sallow and thin, and that their business was poor. He offered money first.
Before the middle-aged man could speak, his disciple excitedly shouted, "Okay, what medicine do you want? I'll take you there, but my master's medicine is very expensive."
Ji Yuelan opened her bag, took out a stack of red banknotes, and threw them on the table.
The middle-aged man, who had intended to stop his disciple, picked up the banknotes, grinned, and sat aside, saying no more.
Long Xiao asked Luan Jiping to sit down first, then took out silver needles and inserted them into several acupoints on the Ren and Du meridians to relieve her chills.
"Ms. Luan, you and Yuelan wait here for a moment. I'll go and see if their medicine is sufficient."
Luan Jiping felt the coldness instantly diminish and was full of confidence in Long Xiao. She said, "Okay, sorry to trouble you."
Long Xiao nodded and followed the middle-aged man's young disciple to the pharmacy to get the medicine.
The middle-aged man's young disciple was named Mingxin. He was fifteen or sixteen years old, not tall. Although he was sallow and thin, he was very spirited, especially his eyes, which were unusual – very pure, clear, and deep.
The two walked through the courtyard and came to the door of a large house. The old brass lock was covered in verdigris, and the door was covered in dust.
When the large lock was opened and the door was pushed open with a creak, rows of old medicine cabinets appeared before Long Xiao.
"So many medicine cabinets, are they all filled with medicine?" Long Xiao asked in surprise, seeing the cabinets.
Mingxin's face was full of pride. He nodded and said, "Most of them are. These were all left by my grandmaster."
Long Xiao quickly searched and, according to his needs, opened several medicine cabinets. Although the medicine in the cabinets was old, it was well-preserved, and the vital energy had not dissipated significantly.
From the "Dragon Scripture's Pharmacopoeia," Long Xiao learned that herbs can treat diseases because they contain vital energy specific to the ailment.
Refining medicine is the process of extracting the required vital energy and removing any vital energy that is useless or counterproductive to the disease.
Vital energy is difficult to explain in modern terms and can only be understood intuitively. Although Long Xiao understood it, he could not articulate it.
After taking a large bag of herbs, Long Xiao looked back at Mingxin and asked, "Did your grandmaster refine elixirs? Where is his elixir furnace?"
"How did you know? My grandmaster has an elixir furnace for refining medicine?" Mingxin asked curiously.
Long Xiao chuckled and said, "Collecting so many uncommon and good herbs, it's impossible he wouldn't know how to refine elixirs."
Following Mingxin to another room, this room was filled with various sundries. From the pile of sundries, Mingxin took out a small bronze cauldron the size of a palm.
Long Xiao took the bronze cauldron and found some dregs of medicine inside. These dregs emitted a black vital energy, indicating they were poisonous.
"Mingxin, did your grandmaster eat the elixirs he refined and poison himself to death?" Long Xiao asked again.
Mingxin looked surprised again and asked, "How do you know even this?"
Long Xiao smiled and pointed to the dregs of medicine in the bronze cauldron, saying, "This medicine is highly poisonous. It seems your grandmaster's elixir refining skills were not very good."
In the courtyard, Long Xiao found some water, washed away all the dregs of medicine, and then brought the medicine and the bronze cauldron to the front room.
Seeing Long Xiao holding the bronze cauldron, Mingyue's master's face immediately drooped, and he said, "Mingxin, why did you even bring this out?"
Mingxin pointed to Long Xiao and said, "Master, you have no use for this, and you don't know how to refine elixirs. Master Long is an expert and can use this elixir furnace."
Long Xiao refined elixirs very quickly, with peculiar techniques that were unlike anyone else's, completely overturning Mingxin's master's understanding.
Long Xiao directly placed the bronze cauldron on the gas stove and lit the fire. Once the bronze cauldron was heated, he cupped the herbs in his hands and began to rub them slowly. Soon, all the herbs turned into powder and fell into the bronze cauldron.
When a burnt smell emanated from the bronze cauldron, he turned down the heat. Slowly, the remaining dregs in the bronze cauldron turned into a paste. Long Xiao turned off the gas, covered the bronze cauldron, and cupped the bronze cauldron with his hands directly.
"It's hot!" Ji Yuelan shouted in alarm, seeing Long Xiao pick up the bronze cauldron.
There was no smell of roasted meat, but Long Xiao held the bronze cauldron with both hands, his eyes shining, and constantly rubbed and shook it. A few minutes later, he placed the bronze cauldron on the table and opened the lid.
The paste in the bronze cauldron had turned into hundreds of small pills. The burnt smell was gone, and the pills emitted a fragrant aroma with a wave of heat.
Long Xiao removed the silver needles from Luan Jiping and had her take a pill. Luan Jiping felt a surge of heat appear in her dantian, which quickly spread throughout her body, and all the chills disappeared.
"I'm not cold anymore, it feels so comfortable," Luan Jiping shouted happily.
Long Xiao wrapped the remaining pills in the bronze cauldron in paper and said, "These pills should last you over four months. During this time, the cold energy emitted by the 'Cold Cicada' will be effectively suppressed."
"Brother Long, after more than four months, can you find a way to remove the Gu worm?" Ji Yuelan asked worriedly.
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "I don't know. I'll try my best, maybe I can find a way."
Luan Jiping had recovered. As Long Xiao and the other two were preparing to go shopping, the middle-aged man knelt before Long Xiao and shouted, "Master, Master above, your disciple bows to you."
Long Xiao looked at the middle-aged man strangely and said, "I didn't agree to take you as a disciple, so why are you kneeling?"
"Master, please accept me, or I won't be able to live."
The middle-aged man, with snot and tears, grabbed Long Xiao and refused to let him leave, insisting that Long Xiao take him as a disciple.
Long Xiao grabbed the middle-aged man's wrist, helped him up, and coincidentally checked his body and observed the distribution of vital energy within him.
The middle-aged man was too ordinary. Even if Long Xiao taught him all his medical skills, he wouldn't be able to learn much.
Seeing that Long Xiao did not want to accept him as a disciple, the middle-aged man knelt down again, hugged Long Xiao's leg, and refused to let go.
Long Xiao was amused and frustrated by the middle-aged man. He looked around and felt that the environment here was good, so he decided to buy it and open a clinic.
"Get up quickly. I'll teach you anything you don't understand. You don't need to be my disciple."
Mingyue had been watching from the side, contemplating that if his master became Long Xiao's disciple, then Long Xiao would become his grandmaster. Seeing that Long Xiao didn't want to accept his master, he whispered, "Master Long, why don't you become sworn brothers with my master, and accept me as your disciple?"
Mingyue's proposal was immediately endorsed by his master. Mingyue's master took Long Xiao's hand and said, "Brother, Brother Long, from now on, you are my own brother. My disciple is your disciple. This clinic and everything in it are yours."
Ji Yuelan chuckled and said, "Brother Long, agree to him. With your excellent medical skills, you should open a clinic."
Long Xiao was looking for a job, and opening his own clinic was naturally a good idea, but he didn't have a medical license, so he couldn't open one.
Explaining his difficulty, Luan Jiping said, "Long Xiao, these are minor matters. I'll handle them for you."