The afternoon sun of the shen hour filtered through the wooden frames of the valley’s medicinal fields, scattering flecks of light across the bluestone paths.
Moisture between the ridges slowly evaporated under the heat, blending the cool freshness of Ice-Skin Grass with the rich, earthy depth of Blood Ginseng into a unique herbal fragrance. Carried by the wind, it drifted toward the wooden houses in the distance. This was the busiest time in Xiaoyao Pavilion’s medicinal fields. Members of the Salvation Vein were harvesting mature herbs, freshly washed Detoxifying Grass hung drying on wooden racks, and even the stone tables were lined with ceramic bowls filled with herb seeds awaiting sorting.
Wen Yinyue was squatting by the outermost ridge, dressed in a light green cotton-linen short jacket with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, revealing slender, graceful wrists. Her trouser legs were tucked into pale cyan cloth boots to keep the weeds along the field edges from scratching her.
In her hand, she held a freshly uprooted Duanchang Grass. Soil still clung to its roots, and the pale green leaves bore fine serrations along the edges, giving off a faint chill under the sunlight.
“Lingxi, come take a look,” she called gently, her voice as soft as a breeze brushing through grass.
Four-year-old Wen Lingxi immediately came trotting over. She wore a light pink short ru dress, the hem embroidered with tiny licorice-leaf patterns. Two little pigtails stuck up cheerfully, their tips tied with pale green ribbons that swayed lightly as she ran.
In her hands was a small bamboo basket holding a few freshly picked mint leaves. Wen Yinyue had asked her to help gather them that morning to brew a cooling summer tea.
“Mother!” Lingxi leaned over the ridge, tilting her head as she curiously examined the Duanchang Grass in Wen Yinyue’s hand. “This herb looks a lot like mint!”
Smiling, Wen Yinyue held the plant closer to her, carefully avoiding the serrated edges. “They do look similar, but look closely—”
She pointed to the veins on the leaves. “The veins of Duanchang Grass are crooked and twisted, like threads blown messy by the wind. Mint’s veins are straight and neat.” She then plucked off a leaf of Duanchang Grass and held it near Lingxi’s nose. “Now smell it.”
Lingxi leaned in to sniff and immediately wrinkled her nose. “It’s bitter! It smells bad! Mint is fragrant and a little sweet!” She took a mint leaf from her basket and handed it to Wen Yinyue. “Mother, look—mint leaves feel smooth, but this herb’s leaves are a bit prickly.”
“So smart!”
Wen Yinyue rubbed her head, her eyes full of affection. “This is Duanchang Grass. It’s highly poisonous. If you accidentally touch its sap and then touch your mouth, your stomach will hurt terribly. In serious cases, it can even endanger your life. So when identifying herbs, you must look carefully at the veins and smell them accurately. You can’t be careless. Do you understand?”
Lingxi nodded vigorously, pointing at the leaves of the Duanchang Grass and counting the crooked veins one by one. “Crooked, crooked—this one’s crooked too…”
She even shifted her basket behind her back, afraid the mint leaves might touch the Duanchang Grass. “Mother, why do we pick this herb? It’s poisonous.”
“Poisonous herbs can also save lives if used correctly.”
Wen Yinyue placed the Duanchang Grass into her bamboo basket and closed the lid. “If someone is bitten by a venomous snake, a small amount of Duanchang Grass used together with other detoxifying herbs can help reduce the poison. But the dosage must be strictly controlled, or it will harm the patient. That is the principle of medicine—you must not only recognize herbs, but also know moderation in using them.”
Lingxi gave a half-understanding “Oh,” but quietly etched the words “look at the veins, smell the scent, know moderation” into her heart. Her little head continued to scan the surrounding fields, and from time to time she pointed at the licorice growing in the ridges and whispered, “Mother, that’s licorice! The leaves are oval-shaped, and it can stop coughing!”
Wen Yinyue was just about to praise her when she heard footsteps behind them.
Turning around, she saw Lin Mo, a new member of the Salvation Vein. He had joined Xiaoyao Pavilion just last month. Formerly a hunter from the mountains, he had mistakenly picked poisonous mushrooms and was saved by Wen Yinyue. After that, he stayed to learn how to identify herbs. He wore gray fitted clothes, a bamboo basket slung over his shoulder, and held a small medicinal hoe in his hand, clearly here to gather herbs.
“Pavilion Master, Miss Lingxi,” Lin Mo greeted them with a smile as he approached the ridge, his eyes sweeping over the herbs. “I’ve come to pick some mint. Aunt Zhang Ping said we should brew more cooling tea and send some to the brothers of the Shadow Vein as well.”
Wen Yinyue nodded. “The mint is over in that ridge. The larger leaves are more tender.”
Lin Mo responded with a “Got it” and turned toward the direction where Lingxi had been picking mint earlier. After taking just two steps, however, he stopped beside the ridge near Lingxi. Several newly sprouted Duanchang Grass plants were growing there, their leaves still tender. From a distance, they looked almost exactly like mint.
Having joined not long ago, Lin Mo was still unfamiliar with similar-looking herbs. He only remembered that mint was green with oval leaves and did not carefully distinguish the veins or scent. He bent down and reached out to pick them.
“Brother! Don’t touch it!”
Lingxi suddenly shouted, her voice full of urgency. She rushed forward and grabbed Lin Mo’s wrist, her little face serious. “This isn’t mint! It’s the Duanchang Grass Mother told me about! If you touch it, your stomach will hurt really badly, and you could die!”
Lin Mo froze, his heart skipping a beat. He looked down at the herbs at his feet, then at Lingxi’s anxious expression, puzzled. “Th-this… isn’t this mint? It looks just like it.”
“It’s not the same!” Lingxi held onto his wrist and pointed at the leaf veins. “Look! The veins on this herb are crooked. Mint’s veins are straight! And the smell—this one is bitter, mint is fragrant! Mother just taught me. I didn’t remember it wrong!”
Wen Yinyue had also walked over, her eyes filled with astonishment. She had thought Lingxi only remembered that “Duanchang Grass is poisonous.” She had not expected her to remember the identifying details—“veins” and “scent”—so firmly, and to apply them accurately at a critical moment. This was not simple memorization; she had truly absorbed the knowledge. It was an innate talent for medicine.
“Lin Mo, this is indeed Duanchang Grass,” Wen Yinyue said, her tone tinged with relief. “Thanks to Lingxi’s warning, otherwise we would have had a serious accident today.”
Lin Mo’s face flushed red at once. He quickly withdrew his hand and scratched his head guiltily. “That was my carelessness. I didn’t distinguish properly before reaching out. Thank you, Miss Lingxi, for reminding me. If I had brewed tea with Duanchang Grass thinking it was mint, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”
He squatted down, carefully studying the veins of the leaves and then smelling them. “They really are crooked, and the taste is bitter—definitely different from mint. From now on, I’ll look carefully and smell carefully. I won’t be careless again.”
In a nearby ridge, Aunt Zhang Ping and Wen Qing had also heard the commotion and hurried over. Aunt Zhang Ping was still holding freshly harvested Detoxifying Grass. Seeing the scene, she couldn’t help laughing. “Lingxi is truly cut out for studying medicine! I’ve been learning from the Pavilion Master for almost two years, and I still sometimes mix up similar herbs. She’s only been learning for a few days and can already tell them apart so clearly. That’s amazing!”
Wen Qing echoed her praise. “Indeed, Pavilion Master. Miss Lingxi not only remembers well, but also dares to speak up and warn others. That level of attentiveness and courage isn’t something ordinary children have. If you teach her well, she’ll surely become a divine physician as formidable as you one day!”
Praised so much, Lingxi grew a little shy. She clutched Wen Yinyue’s clothes tightly, burying her small head against her leg, yet she secretly lifted her face, looking at Wen Yinyue with eyes full of anticipation. She wanted to know if she had done the right thing, and whether Mother would teach her even more about herbs.
Wen Yinyue crouched down and gently lifted Lingxi into her arms, kissing her cheek. Her voice was gentle yet firm. “Lingxi, you did very well. From today on, Mother will officially teach you to identify herbs and make medicine, all right? I’ll teach you to recognize every herb in the valley, how to distinguish poisonous from non-poisonous plants, and how to prepare medicines to save people. From now on, you’ll be Mother’s little disciple, Xiaoyao Pavilion’s little divine doctor. How does that sound?”
Lingxi’s eyes lit up instantly, as if stars had fallen into them. She wrapped her arms tightly around Wen Yinyue’s neck and shouted, “Yes! Mother! I want to learn! I want to recognize lots and lots of herbs, help Mother save people, and help Brother Lin Feng, Aunt Zhang Ping, Brother Lin Mo, and everyone else get better!”
Watching her earnest expression, Lin Mo couldn’t help smiling. “Then in the future, if I can’t tell herbs apart, I’ll come ask Little Master Lingxi for guidance!”
Lingxi immediately puffed out her small chest and said seriously, “Okay! Brother Lin Mo, if you can’t tell, just ask me. I’ll teach you how to look at the veins and smell the scent!”
The sun of the shen hour gradually slanted westward, stretching the shadows in the medicinal fields long. Carrying Lingxi in her arms, Wen Yinyue walked slowly toward the infirmary together with Aunt Zhang Ping, Wen Qing, and Lin Mo.
Lingxi rested against Wen Yinyue’s shoulder, pointing at the herbs in the ridges and calling out their names one by one. “Mother, look—that’s Ice-Skin Grass, that’s Blood Ginseng, that’s Detoxifying Grass…”
Wen Yinyue listened patiently, correcting her small mistakes from time to time, her voice filled with quiet satisfaction.
She recalled how, in the previous chapter, Lingxi had accurately said, “If you add too much licorice, it makes people sleepy,” and how this child always liked to follow behind her, watching her prepare medicine and identify herbs, her eyes full of curiosity and focus. It turned out that from that time on, Lingxi’s talent for medicine had already been quietly sprouting.
“We’ll start by teaching you to recognize detoxifying herbs,” Wen Yinyue said softly. “Detoxifying herbs can neutralize mild snake venom. In the future, if you encounter small snakes, you won’t have to be afraid.”
“Okay!” Lingxi agreed happily, rubbing her little head against Wen Yinyue’s neck. “Mother, I also want to learn how to brew mint tea to help everyone cool off!”
“No problem,” Wen Yinyue said with a smile, nodding.
Lowering her head to look at her daughter in her arms, Wen Yinyue’s heart was filled with warmth. Junye had a gift for mechanisms and could protect Xiaoyao Pavilion. Lingxi had a gift for medicine and could save the people of the pavilion. Her two children were slowly growing up, slowly becoming people who could stand on their own.