Ha, I've struck it rich!
Looking at the merit points on the panel now showing 10, Lin Ning's heart bloomed with joy, more excited than he'd been in his past life when he'd won over a peerless beauty.
Because a beauty was a thing outside oneself, but merit points could truly become one's own strength!
"Brother-in-law, why are you so happy?"
Sitting in the wooden tub, unwilling to come out, Jiu Niang leaned on the rim, smiling as she looked at Lin Ning and asked crisply.
Lin Ning put on a stern face and said, "Am I happy?"
Jiu Niang tilted her little head, giggling. "You can't fool me! Brother-in-law is definitely happy... but why?"
Lin Ning chuckled. "Because I'm looking after Little Jiu'er. If you're happy, then I'm happy."
Hearing this, Jiu Niang's little face turned red. She blinked her big eyes, staring straight at Lin Ning, and after a good while, tears welled up as she said, "Brother-in-law, you're finally being good to me, waah... Aunt Chun used to say that as long as I kept staying close to you, sooner or later you'd grow close to me too. I've finally waited long enough, waah!"
Lin Ning's gaze softened, and he said gently as he looked at Jiu Niang, "Mm, we're relatives, we're family. How could I keep bullying Little Jiu'er? Little Jiu'er is so cute..." Seeing Jiu Niang's face flush red again, Lin Ning chuckled. "All right, let's finish the last household, then head home, or Aunt Chun will teach us a lesson."
"Huh? There's still one more? There shouldn't be any left..."
Jiu Niang had personally led the effort, and they had clearly already filled the water vats of every widowed and orphaned elder in the stronghold. How could there still be one more?
Hearing this, Lin Ning smiled and carried Jiu Niang on the shoulder pole toward a house at the foot of the mountain on the north side of the stronghold...
..
"Ning Ge'er wants to learn the art of healing?"
Inside the herbal hut of Qingyun Village, a white-haired old man looked at Lin Ning, asking with uncertainty and surprise.
Little Jiu Niang was also so surprised her mouth fell open as she stared at Lin Ning...
Lin Ning bowed slightly and said softly, "Grandpa An, since childhood I have been good for nothing, mastering neither letters nor martial arts, unworthy of my late parents. Now everyone in the stronghold has some talent and contributes their effort for the stronghold's sake. I have no aptitude for martial arts, nor the wisdom of Third Uncle Fang. After much thought, I don't know my own limits, but I wish to try my hand at the art of healing. If I can gain even a little understanding, perhaps I too can ease the stronghold's burdens, rather than be a freeloading parasite."
The old doctor, greatly respected within Qingyun Village, was struck with newfound admiration for Lin Ning upon hearing these words.
What Lin Xiaoning used to be like was plain for all to see, and it was certain — he would never have been like this before.
In Lin Xiaoning's eyes, the people of the stronghold had all been much like his own servants, and ungrateful, treacherous servants at that.
So he had always looked down his nose at people, with eyes full of hatred.
When had anyone ever seen him bow in greeting with such gentle, humble courtesy?
Doctor An rubbed his aging eyes and looked at Lin Ning again, seeing him still bowing, and hastily said with surprise and joy, "Ning Ge'er is eager to learn — that's certainly a good thing, get up, get up quickly..." Then he tried asking, "If Ning Ge'er truly wishes to pursue the art of healing, why not come to my herbal hut starting tomorrow? Though this old man's medical skill is shallow, I will certainly teach with all my heart, so as not to fail the great kindness the old village chief once showed me by saving my life..."
After rising, Lin Ning smiled and said, "Grandpa An, you've already seen many years, and you still have important patients to treat every day. Why not first give me a medical text? Once I've memorized it and passed your examination, I'll move on to further study."
Hearing this, Doctor An grew even more astonished at how sensible Lin Ning was. Seeing that he wasn't joking, and recalling the kindness the Lin family's ancestors had once shown him, he gritted his teeth and led Lin Ning alone into the inner room, taking out a "great tome" — its pages already yellowed with age, several inches thick.
Looking at the thick book in his hands, Doctor An said with a touch of sorrow, "The younger generation in the stronghold all love martial arts, and few of the girls are literate. Besides, teaching the proper art of pulse-reading and anatomy isn't something this old man can easily teach to young ladies... Now this old man has one foot in the grave, and I don't know who could take over this herbal hut. That you're willing to learn the art of healing now, Ning Ge'er, truly makes this old man happy. This is half of the Hundred Herbs Scripture, passed down to me by my own esteemed teacher. Back then, Medicine King Valley tried to explore... "
Looking at the thick book in his hands, Doctor An said with a touch of sorrow, "The younger generation in the stronghold all love martial arts, and few of the girls are literate. Besides, teaching the proper art of pulse-reading isn't something this old man can easily do for young ladies either... Now this old man has one foot already buried in the ground, and I don't know who will be able to take over this herbal hut. That you're willing to learn this art of healing now, Ning Ge'er, truly makes this old man happy. This half of the Hundred Herbs Scripture was passed down to me by my esteemed teacher. Back then, Medicine King Valley, while trying to uncover the secret of Dragon Blood Rice, let the matter slip and word leaked out. As a result, the Black Ice Platform, the Imperial City Department, and Jixia Academy jointly issued an order for the sect's destruction... Heh, of such a vast Medicine King Valley, only this old man and my teacher slipped through the net, and my teacher died along the road of our flight. The lower half of the Hundred Herbs Scripture, which hid the secret of Dragon Blood Rice, has never been found since... Well, enough of that. When one grows old, one talks too much. Ning Ge'er, remember well — what I just said must never be spoken elsewhere, or great disaster will surely befall Qingyun Village! With this upper half of the Hundred Herbs Scripture, it's enough to deal with the vast majority of the world's ailments. As for the lower half, it's truly all about uncovering the secret of Dragon Blood Rice — the root of great disaster. Better not to learn it at all."
Seeing the deep regret on Doctor An's aged face, Lin Ning quickly said, "Rest assured, Grandpa An, I'm not one to spread slander."
Hearing this, Doctor An slowly nodded, and with a grave expression, placed the upper half of the Hundred Herbs Scripture into Lin Ning's hands...
..
"We're home!"
The moment they entered Ink Bamboo Courtyard, Little Jiu Niang, sitting in the wooden tub and hugging a bag of sugar pills she'd gotten from the herbal hut, cheered.
Before long, Aunt Chun came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, standing under the lamplight and looking impatiently at the two of them — one big, one small — grinning foolishly. "So you do know how to come home? Go wash up quickly, I've made tiger meat buns and braised fatty bear paw in sauce, come eat!"
"Ooh!!"
Not to mention Little Jiu Niang — even Lin Ning, and Cui'er, who was carrying various little cloth bags of snacks for Jiu Niang on her back while holding a rabbit, all exaggeratedly gulped down their saliva.
Seeing Lin Ning and Jiu Niang turn to look at her, her big face instantly flushed red, and she said in a muffled voice, "Young Lady... Master Lin, I'll head back first."
After speaking, she turned and walked away.
Jiu Niang looked up at Lin Ning but didn't say anything.
Lin Ning thought for a moment and said, "You should stay too."
Hearing this, Cui'er turned back to look at Lin Ning as if she'd seen a ghost, while Jiu Niang was both shocked and delighted, even though Lin Ning had already given her so many surprises today.
Cui'er looked down at Lin Ning, puzzled...
It was well known throughout the stronghold that Lin Ning liked talented scholars and beautiful ladies, that he liked delicate young ladies from prominent families. He didn't even like someone as strikingly beautiful as Tian Wuniang, finding her crude and lowly — so how much less would he like someone like Cui'er, a female hero whose shoulders could carry a galloping horse?
In Lin Xiaoning's own past words: "Every time I see Cui'er's face, I want to grab a knife, cut open my stomach, pull out my intestines, wrap them around my own neck, and pull tight until my tongue sticks out far enough to cover my eyes..."
In any case, the venom in his words was more than enough to drive a girl with weaker resolve to actually hang herself.
Today, however...
"You mustn't stray too far from Little Jiu'er, whether inside the stronghold or out. Come eat with us..."
After speaking, Lin Ning set down the shoulder pole, lifted Jiu Niang — her face blooming with joy — out of the wooden tub, then went alone back to his room to put away the Hundred Herbs Scripture.
When he came back out, he found Jiu Niang had grown even clingier than before...
"Brother-in-law!"
"What is it?"
"Brother-in-law!"
"Stand still and talk."
"Broth...er-in...law!"
"Stand still!"
"Broth! Er! In! Law!!!"
"Smack!"
"Ow! Brother-in-law, why'd you hit me?"
"I thought you'd been possessed by something."
"Hmph, brother-in-law, stop trying to scare me, there's no ghost at all! Don't run, I'm going to follow you! Don't run, hee hee hee!"
..
The dining hall.
"Ning'er, eat more, quickly. You carried water on the shoulder pole all day today — aren't you exhausted?"
Aunt Chun pushed the bear paw, roasted a rich red, toward Lin Ning; the other one had already been snatched up and gnawed on by Jiu Niang.
Aunt Chun didn't eat any herself — she said she didn't like greasy food. Naturally, Cui'er didn't get any either. Aunt Chun used to be fond of her, but as of today, she wasn't anymore...
Lin Ning smiled and took the knife, splitting the bear paw in two — half went onto Aunt Chun's plate, half he kept for himself.
He also took a small portion from what was in Jiu Niang's hands and gave it to Cui'er, who sat with her head lowered, swallowing her saliva...
Seeing Aunt Chun's disapproving expression toward him, Lin Ning smiled and said, "From now on, Cui'er will always be by Little Jiu'er's side. Little Jiu'er is so mischievous, it'll take a lot of effort to look after her, so let's reward her in advance."
Looking at Lin Ning's handsome face, his star-like eyes warm and gentle, Aunt Chun silently chanted a thousand Buddhist prayers in her heart — he really had turned into a good child...
..
After dinner, Aunt Chun had Cui'er take Little Jiu Niang back to Green Pine Courtyard to sleep.
Aunt Chun came from a prominent family, and she still held firmly to certain rules — at night, girls absolutely had to return to their own homes to sleep, unless some major event occurred.
Perhaps it was precisely because of these rules of hers that Tian Wuniang felt at ease letting her take care of Little Jiu Niang every single day...
After Lin Ning returned to his bedroom in the West Wing, he lit a fire starter and set the oil lamp aglow. After letting out a long breath, he set the upper half of the Hundred Herbs Scripture down on the table, exhaled slowly, and murmured softly:
"Heavenly Dao."
At once, a character panel appeared before his eyes.
Lin Ning: Lv 1 8/10
Merit points: 10
Strength: 40 Agility: 18 Intelligence: 7 Charisma: 3
Skill Slots:
Qiankun Strength: Minor Accomplishment 0/150
And as Lin Ning's gaze fell upon the pages of the Hundred Herbs Scripture, a dialogue box suddenly appeared:
Assist skill discovered: medical text Hundred Herbs Scripture, Upper Part. Learn it? Merit points required: 2. Current merit points: 10.
Without hesitation, Lin Ning clicked yes, and at once, something seemed to add itself to his mind...
After thinking it over carefully, he realized that what had been added was some of the most basic knowledge of medicine — such as the shapes, characteristics, and uses of various herbs, the body's major acupoints and their functions, and countless medicinal formulas he now knew...
But this knowledge was all quite shallow — he knew what, but not why.
He knew the contents of the formulas, but didn't know how to apply them.
Looking at his character panel again, Lin Ning saw that a new entry, Medical Skill, had appeared in his skill slots.
Hundred Herbs Scripture, Upper Part: Initial Glimpse 0/10
He was only two merit points away from leveling up to Minor Accomplishment!
Seeing this, Lin Ning let out a wry laugh. Though a little disappointed, he wasn't in a rush to go do good deeds in the middle of the night just to accumulate merit points...
Besides, even if he wanted to, there wasn't really anywhere left in the stronghold for him to do so.
The widowed and orphaned elders' water vats were full enough to last them several days. As for the other households... if Lin Ning showed up at their doors in the middle of the night, they'd probably suspect he was up to no good.
Since he'd already reached "Initial Glimpse," Lin Ning wasn't in any hurry.
After carefully putting away the Hundred Herbs Scripture, he went to the stream behind the house to wash up, then returned to his room and went to sleep.
A bright round moon hung in the sky, the night calm and serene.
A few insects chirped softly.
..
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