The Prescription

"Settled." With those two short words, Li Banfeng agreed to the deal. Zuo Wugang could hardly believe it and was about to confirm, but Li Banfeng whispered a few words to Xiao Chuan and set a chest of silver dollars on the table. Li Banfeng said, "The wages are here, but let's make things clear first. You three are here to serve as guards, not as house retainers. When something comes up, you follow orders." Zuo Wugang nodded. "That goes without saying." Li Banfeng stepped out and returned with three contracts, handing them to Zuo Wugang. "I'll trouble the three of you to press your thumbprints." Zuo Wugang gave them a cursory look. The contents of the covenant deeds were straightforward: the three of them, led by Zuo Wugang, were responsible for protecting the master's safety, and the master would pay the corresponding compensation. If Zuo Wugang no longer wished to serve as a guard, the two parties could part on good terms after mutual consultation. However, during his tenure as a guard, if Zuo Wugang refused orders or betrayed his masters, he would submit entirely to the masters' punishment. Having worked as guards all their lives, they had naturally signed similar contracts before. Without hesitation, Zuo Wugang and the other two pressed their prints, officially becoming guards for Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth. Could these three be trusted? To tell the truth, no. With Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth's current strength, hiring a sixth-tier head guard carried risks—and significant ones at that. If Zuo Wugang and his men harbored other motives, Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth had few means to counter them. Few, but not none. Regarding Zuo Wugang, Li Banfeng had channels to dig into his background. Regarding Li Banfeng, Zuo Wugang knew next to nothing. Just moments ago, the deed they signed had been crafted from covenant paper refined by the bronze lotus, with Li Banfeng's rust pill used as a supplementary ingredient. If Zuo Wugang breached the contract, he would turn into a heap of rusted slag. After drinking two cups of liquor, Zuo Wugang said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, could we see Young Master Five? Both he and you are our masters. As guards, we can't go without even seeing our master's face." A reasonable request, and Li Banfeng agreed. Xiao Chuan brought Zuo Wugang to Ma the Fifth's bedside. Seeing that Ma the Fifth could hardly move his body aside from breathing and an occasional blink, Zuo Wugang pondered for a moment and asked, "Is this wind numbness?" "What wind numbness?!" Xiao Chuan shot Zuo Wugang a glare. Li Banfeng asked, "By wind numbness, do you mean leprosy?" "Not leprosy," Zuo Wugang waved his hand. "Wind numbness comes from catching a harsh draft, causing total body numbness so that the body can't move. I have a folk remedy, exceedingly effective. A single dose will do the trick." Xiao Chuan frowned. "Master Zuo, you're a man of status; treating illnesses isn't child's play. I've seen the wind numbness you speak of, and it's completely different from what our young master has." Zuo Wugang scratched his scalp. "Completely different? It looks quite similar to me. My folk remedy is truly effective—more than one person has vouched for it." Li Banfeng looked at Zuo Wugang, sensing hidden meaning in his words. He invited Zuo Wugang to the living room and asked about the origins of the remedy. Zuo Wugang took a sip of tea and said, "Don't ask about its origin. All you need to know is that this medicinal brew truly works for wind numbness—especially for those who travel outside year-round. It works if you catch a cold draft, it works if you catch a warm draft, and it even works if you catch a draft in the bedroom!" Li Banfeng understood. "Those who travel outside year-round" referred to journey cultivators. The fact that this prescription worked meant it had once been effective for Lu Dongliang. Had Lu Dongliang ever displayed symptoms similar to Ma the Fifth's? He had. He certainly had. To reach ninth-tier cultivation at his age, it was impossible without popping medicinal pills, and suffering from pill poison was bound to be routine. As the patriarch of Puluo Province's foremost prominent clan, Lu Dongliang had to possess methods for neutralizing pill poison. Although pills produced by different families varied in nature and no single prescription could neutralize the pill poison of every variety, the pills refined by the Red Lotus possessed exceptional purity, and Golden Origin Pills were of an exceptionally high tier. Such pills had to share commonalities, and for the Golden Origin Pill, that commonality was likely full-body numbness—its baseline toxicity. Beyond baseline toxicity, Golden Origin Pills obtained from other channels harbored distinct characteristic pill poisons. Such poisons were exceedingly difficult to neutralize; each specific toxin required tailored treatment, making a universal antidote impossible. That was why pill poison had no cure. Zuo Wugang possessed a method to neutralize baseline toxicity. While its utility for Lu Dongliang was limited, for Li Banfeng, its value was enormous. The poisons refined by the Red Lotus very likely had only this baseline toxicity. Now that Zuo Wugang had brought it up, Li Banfeng naturally could not let the opportunity slip by. "This remedy must be very valuable," Li Banfeng said, waiting for Zuo Wugang to name a price. Zuo Wugang shook his head slightly. "I don't remember the formula, but I do have a few prepared doses." He didn't want to disclose the prescription. That was reasonable enough. This was a method he had painstakingly acquired. Leaving aside where he had gotten it, bringing it up in a situation like this was already remarkable; he had no obligation to divulge the recipe to Li Banfeng. "Prepared medicine works too," Li Banfeng nodded. "Name a price." "You are the master, and I am the guard. It wouldn't be right for me to quote a price to you." Zuo Wugang was offering this prepared medicine to show good faith. Li Banfeng tilted his head slightly. Shrouded in shadow and beard, his features were entirely hidden, yet the gesture seemed to convey a simple message: He had no patience for beating around the bush. Zuo Wugang had gathered a sense of Seventh Master's temperament by now, so he spoke plainly. "I fumbled at the Lu family. My reputation was ruined, and no one wanted me. Yet without a second word, Seventh Master took me in. I am endlessly grateful. "The first dose is on the house, as thanks for Seventh Master's kindness. In the future, if Seventh Master or Young Master Five ever need it, just cover the cost of the herbs." Li Banfeng admired Zuo Wugang's forthright nature. Zuo Wugang walked over to Ma the Fifth, took out a small vial of powdered medicine, and poured it down Ma the Fifth's throat. After more than an hour, Ma the Fifth's fingertips could twitch slightly. Xiao Chuan said in astonishment, "Master Zuo, your medicine really works!" Zuo Wugang laughed. "Of course it does. As long as it's wind numbness, it works every time. But it's only effective against wind numbness. If it's another ailment, that's hard to say. It's still best to advise Young Master Five to practice some restraint." "What kind of ailment are you talking about?" Xiao Chuan asked, displeased, thinking Zuo Wugang was mocking his young master for contracting some shameful disease. Zuo Wugang said nothing, merely glancing at Seventh Master from the corner of his eye. Li Banfeng understood. Zuo Wugang was giving him a reminder, and this remark confirmed Li Banfeng's deduction. This medicine could treat the bodily numbness caused by Golden Origin Pills, but if pill poison produced other symptoms, Zuo Wugang could do nothing about it either. After waiting another half day or so, Ma the Fifth could eat and get out of bed to walk. Ma the Fifth was deeply grateful to Zuo Wugang and instructed Xiao Chuan to arrange lodging for him. The moment Zuo Wugang left, Ma the Fifth worked his jaw and squeezed out a small clump of powdered medicine from between his teeth. Li Banfeng was startled. "You even managed to save that?" "This is good stuff—properly good stuff! Let me assess its medicinal properties first. I've already tasted several of the herbs." Eager to reverse-engineer the prescription, Ma the Fifth didn't close his eyes the entire night. By the next morning, his eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, but he hadn't managed to deduce the formula. "There are dozens of herbs in this bit of powder. Some I can roughly identify, but others I simply can't tell..." Ma the Fifth wanted to return to the old Ma family manor to search the library for books on medicinal herbs, but worried his father wouldn't let him through the door. "What if I find a Medicine Cultivator to take a crack at it?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "That won't do." Ma the Fifth sighed softly. He knew it was improper as well. Zuo Wugang had brought out this medicine to save him. If they brought in a Medicine Cultivator to crack the prescription, it would be tantamount to leaking the formula to outsiders, which would clearly be unfair to Old Zuo. "Brother Ma, get some rest first. Leave this bit of powder in my safekeeping." Li Banfeng took the medicine back into the Portable Abode and stared at the bronze lotus for a long while. The bronze lotus could refine all things, but Li Banfeng didn't intend to refine the powder into nothing. He was wondering if the bronze lotus could refine a prescription out of it. That didn't seem to match the bronze lotus's functions. If it swallowed this bit of powder and produced nothing in the end, wouldn't that be a terrible loss? After hesitating for a while, Li Banfeng fed the powdered medicine to the Red Lotus anyway. Zuo Wugang was still here, so the supply hadn't been cut off. Even if this batch was lost, he could just ask Zuo Wugang for another dose of prepared medicine. The Red Lotus swallowed the powder, showing no reaction for quite some time. Li Banfeng sighed, preparing to give up, when he suddenly saw the Red Lotus open its petals once more. The lotus seed nestled within its core had ripened. This seed had been refined from Liu Liangyi's body. By rights, the pills should have been finished long ago, but the bronze lotus seemed to have deliberately slowed the process. The Red Lotus had indeed done so on purpose, fearing that if the pills were refined too quickly, Li Banfeng's itch would act up and he would have rash ideas again. And Li Banfeng truly was tempted. Liu Liangyi had been at the fourth tier; though his exact years of cultivation were unknown, Li Banfeng estimated he should yield sixteen to twenty Xuanzhi Pills. Yet the outcome was entirely unexpected: the lotus seed burst open to reveal three Golden Origin Pills. That was equivalent to thirty Xuanzhi Pills! A profit! A massive profit! Just as Li Banfeng was secretly rejoicing, he noticed something was off with the quality of one of the pills. The other two pills were perfectly round and full, gleaming with dazzling gold under the candlelight. This one, however, was dull, as if a gold bean had been coated in a cheap layer of gold paint. Why would there be such a difference? Was this pill lacking in weight, or was its purity flawed? As Li Banfeng examined it closely, he heard the gramophone begin to sing: "My goodness~ Husband, whatever are you staring at that pill for? Surely you aren't losing your mind again and thinking of eating it?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I suffered terribly last time. I've learned my lesson and won't touch it again." "Husband knows the misery of it. Since you cannot eat it, hurry and set a price to sell it off, so we can get some money to buy groceries." "Wife, the groceries you consume aren't something money can buy. Besides, after eating so many ghost servants before, are you saying you're hungry again already?" Hiss! The gramophone pouted coyly. "Husband, your humble servant's body is not what it used to be. Naturally, my appetite has grown." Li Banfeng said with genuine astonishment, "Are you pregnant?" Hiss~ Hiss~ The gramophone sobbed repeatedly. "Husband mocks your humble servant again, knowing full well this body cannot bear Husband's seed." "Whether you can or not depends on combat strength, technique, strategy, and sincerity. Wife, let's consummate our marriage first..." Whoosh~ A blast of steam drove Li Banfeng back, and the wife said in a dignified tone, "Washing clothes is no easy chore; Husband should cherish them. Having slept through the night, you have had quite enough cultivation. Hurry along and buy groceries." Li Banfeng left the Portable Abode. The gramophone suddenly called out toward the outer chamber, "Sister Red Lotus, did the quality of one of those pills seem a bit off just now?" The Red Lotus replied, "It was going to be sold anyway. Isn't it a good thing to let that madman make a bit more money?" "If he truly sells it, that is fine, but I fear he might lose his mind again and swallow it. Don't you go poisoning him." The Red Lotus sneered. "Do you actually care about him or something?" Hiss~ Hiss~ The puffing of steam suddenly slowed, and the sung operatic tone turned chillingly cold, word by word: "Whether I care for him or not is none of your concern. Do not do things behind my back, or you and I will have no peace." Steam puffed out slowly. The bronze lotus was drenched in beads of dew. ... Holding the pill, Li Banfeng sat in the wooden cabin, still pondering its questionable quality. After studying it in his hands for a long time, he suddenly noticed a hairline crack running across the pill. What material was this made of? Tracing the crack carefully, Li Banfeng peeled the outer shell of the pill apart piece by piece, just like taking apart an interlocking puzzle ball in his childhood. The pill was hollow. On the inner wall of the shell, Li Banfeng saw three characters: Blue Leaf Poplar. P.S. The name of Lanyang Village comes from the blue-leaf poplar.