8 - Little Peasant Wife

Shen Lüman heard this and pondered with confusion: How is it that she is unaware of any horse-drawn carriage in the village? At most, there are only donkey carts, and those are quite dilapidated. She was puzzled, but didn’t voice her concerns, assuming Jing Aoxue had arranged everything in advance. So she stood aside and continued to wait. After quite some time, Jing Aoxue craned her neck, searching, but there was still no sign of any carriage. She couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Why is it that we've waited so long and haven't even seen a single horse hair? Could it be that we arrived too late and the carriage has already left?" Shen Lüman hesitated before finally feeling that they couldn't keep waiting indefinitely. She kindly reminded, "I recall, there’s no one in the village who uses horse-drawn carriages, could it be that you’ve..." Shen Lüman stopped midway, swallowing the words “remembered incorrectly." Jing Aoxue was speechless, thinking to herself that surely not; hadn’t the original owner always taken a carriage from the village entrance? With this thought, she mumbled aloud, and Shen Lüman, with a look of exasperation, explained, “In the past, the carriage was rented from town. You paid a large sum of silver, so the rental period covered overnight, allowing the carriage to wait for you at the village entrance.” Jing Aoxue was flabbergasted. She had seen images of the carriage in the original owner's memories and assumed it was the village’s “taxi” service; turns out it was nothing like that. It wasn’t her fault, as the original owner had understood it that way, too. Yesterday, she had even thought if Shen Lüman was unwilling to accompany her to town, she could just go to the village entrance and take a carriage herself, but... She was at a loss and said, "What now? My body isn’t well enough to walk to town step by step—it would nearly kill me!" Shen Lüman couldn’t help but want to laugh at her frustrated expression, but she held it in and suggested, "How about I take Liu'er back home first, then carry you to town? Although it might take some time..." "No way!" Jing Aoxue interrupted her before she could finish. Although Shen Lüman was a cultivator, her skills were weak, only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. Jing Aoxue was aware that although her body was frail, she still weighed as much as an adult, and having Shen Lüman carry her to town, which would take about two hours, would exhaust her terribly. Feeling trapped, Jing Aoxue sat down on the ground, tired from standing too long. While complaining about her terrible physique, she hoped someone in the village with a donkey cart might pass by to give her a ride. She wasn’t short on silver and was willing to pay for the favor. While she doubted the likelihood, within a quarter of an hour, she saw a donkey cart approaching in the distance. The cart driver looked familiar; it was the farmer’s son who had taken her to the Han family feast yesterday. Delighted, she quickly got up and stood in the road to stop the cart. The young driver’s eyelid twitched involuntarily upon seeing her, and he awkwardly got down, greeting her with a clasped fist, "Jing Ren." Jing Aoxue smiled warmly, “Ah, it’s you again, my friend. We must have quite the fateful connection.” The young man’s expression was stiff, thinking to himself, “I really don’t want any connection with this trouble magnet, you know?” Nevertheless, Jing Aoxue continued, "Since fate has brought us together, could I ask for your help? I'm unwell and need to see a doctor in town. Could you give my family and me a ride on your donkey cart?" The young man twitched his lips, thinking: Unwell? Yesterday you fought ten strong men alone. Who are you trying to fool? Seeing his hesitation, Jing Aoxue smiled and added, "Of course, I’ll pay you two qian of silver as compensation." Startled, the young man then shook his head and said candidly, "I don't need your silver. I was going to town to sell vegetables anyway, so taking you along is no trouble." His agreement was implicit, so Jing Aoxue thanked him promptly and signaled Shen Lüman, proceeding to seat herself on the cart. Once Shen Lüman was seated with Liu'er, the donkey cart slowly began its journey along the road. Jing Aoxue and the young man chatted and learned that his surname was Wu, given name Zhi'an, and he was the second child in his family. They talked about various topics, and their impressions of each other improved. The journey was long, even with a donkey cart, it took an hour. Fortunately, the path to town was a small road built a few years back, connecting several remote mountain villages, and it was relatively smooth. Otherwise, Jing Aoxue would have had a hard time. Nonetheless, by the time they finally reached the town, Jing Aoxue felt as if all her bones were about to fall apart. She decided against enduring any more hardships and planned to stay in town until she had fully recovered. Bidding farewell to Wu Zhi'an after alighting from the cart, she led Shen Lüman and Liu'er straight to the largest medical clinic in town. Chapter 8: Diagnosis The largest medical clinic in town is called Baicaotang, named after the ancient legend of “Shennong Tasting a Hundred Herbs.” It has been thriving for over a thousand years and is renowned throughout the mortal realm, with branches in various mortal kingdoms. Even the Emperor and the court show deference to Baicaotang. It's rumored that the formidable backing behind Baicaotang is not to be trifled with. Additionally, branches of Baicaotang are found in every cultivator's marketplace in the cultivation world, recognized as a power that must not be offended by cultivators. Jing Aoxue was somewhat knowledgeable about this. The original owner of her body hailed from a mid-tier cultivator family and, before her spiritual roots were damaged, had been groomed by her grandfather, the family head, as the next successor. Because of this, she had access to many secrets of the cultivation world, including information about Baicaotang. Baicaotang's backing is none other than the most powerful alchemy sect in the cultivation world, Shenmu Sect. Ranked among the top ten large sects, Shenmu Sect's unique nature means that neither orthodox nor demonic cultivators would dare provoke such a sect. The sect is home to Nascent Soul-level cultivators and countless elite disciples, allowing it to stand strong for millennia. Having reviewed the related memories, Jing Aoxue had some interest in alchemy, but for now, healing her injuries was the priority. Walking from the town gate, she broke into a sweat from the pain and only stopped once she reached a large medical clinic, where she wiped her face with her sleeve. She glanced at the signboard to confirm, then stepped closer, greeted by a rich herbal scent. Moreover, the abundant wood element energy made the wood element ability within her stir restively. For a moment, she stood frozen, involuntarily drawn by the energy, which was even more abundant than in the mountains. She only snapped out of it when someone tugged at her clothes several times. Glancing back, she saw Shen Lüman retracting her hand and softly thanked her before stepping inside. Though Baicaotang was bustling, the atmosphere was orderly, with people quietly consulting for medical diagnoses and prescriptions. Jing Aoxue surveyed the room and walked to the herbal section, addressing the middle-aged man behind the counter, "I'd like to get some herbs." The middle-aged man, busy with his tasks, glanced up at her, "Bring your prescription here and wait a moment." Jing Aoxue paused and said, "I don't have a prescription, but I've read some medical texts and approximately know my condition and how it should be treated, though I don't know the herb names. Could I pick them myself?" "Nonsense!" The middle-aged man exclaimed angrily, "How could you make light of such a matter? Do you think reading a few medical books qualifies anyone to be a doctor?" Jing Aoxue was left speechless. She wasn't great at medicine; her healing relied on her wood-element abilities. She had been persuaded by the base authorities to attend some hospital lectures, but the doctors, protective of their livelihood, concealed their methods tightly, refusing to even lend her a book. Finding it tedious, she quit learning, which she somewhat regretted now. Resolving to study medicine more seriously when time allowed, she smiled and said, "Please, let me try selecting the herbs myself first." Despite her calm request, the middle-aged man was stubborn by nature, insisting she see a doctor for a prescription before receiving herbs. Frustrated, Jing Aoxue conceded as Shen Lüman also urged her, saying, “You’ve only just started to recover, it’s better to see what the doctor advises before getting any herbs.” Reluctantly, Jing Aoxue approached an elderly doctor and sat down, extending her wrist for him to check her pulse. The old doctor, with a full beard of white, seemed to be the eldest in Baicaotang. He stroked his beard, appearing indifferent at first, but soon his expression changed dramatically. Staring at Jing Aoxue, he shook his head and sighed, “Young lady, what have you done to yourself? Your pulse is chaotic, and most of your meridians are severed. It looks like you have only a few days left to live.” His voice, neither loud nor soft, was heard by those around her. Upon realizing that the patient was terminal, others turned to observe, seeing a young woman in her early twenties about to die. They collectively felt sorry for her. They didn’t know about the original owner’s previous misdeeds, otherwise, they might have been pleased with the news of her impending death. Hearing this, Shen Lüman’s face turned pale immediately. Despite her dislike for Jing Aoxue, she never wished death upon her. Moreover, she had sold herself into servitude at the Jing residence to discreetly care for Jing Aoxue, and now… Jing Liu’er began to cry, not fully understanding the concept of death but aware that her mother was seriously ill, having been bedridden and unconscious for several days. Clutching Jing Aoxue’s hand, she choked out, “Mother, you... no, no…” unable to continue as her voice broke. Jing Aoxue was genuinely taken aback. No one had ever cared about her life or death before, not even at the base, where they valued her wood-element ability more than her life. Seeing Liu’er’s tears and Shen Lüman’s pale face, a faint smile inadvertently appeared on her lips. She turned and said, “It’s alright. I know my own body the best. Doctor, could you write me a note so I can pick my own herbs at the counter?” Having practiced medicine for decades, the old doctor was experienced with all sorts of patients, but he had never encountered someone facing death with such composure. He sighed and gave a signal to the middle-aged man, who then allowed Jing Aoxue to choose her herbs. Achieving her goal, Jing Aoxue eagerly approached the counter, squinting at the herb cabinets. She employed her wood-element power to carefully select from among them. Previously working at the research institute for several years, she had become adept at using her ability to examine new mutant plants brought in by the ability user teams. She was proficient at this process. In no time, she had selected over a dozen herbs, whose names eluded her, and gathered nearly half the stock from the cabinets, placing them on the counter for the middle-aged man to tally. It was the first time he had seen someone collecting herbs like this, his frown evident as it deepened. Shaking his head, he wrapped the herbs in paper and calculated the total with an abacus, stating, “That'll be seventy-five taels in total.” Hearing the amount, Jing Aoxue pulled out her purse and counted the silver, handing it over. The once full purse was reduced to nearly half, leaving her with only a few taels.