After resting for a while and eating some watermelon, the two returned to the cave to clean up.
Bai Nianqing retrieved a large pack of shower caps and face masks from her Dimension.
After taking out two shower caps and two masks, they fully equipped themselves and began cleaning.
“Wife, wait outside first. Let me sweep the dust inside the cave,” Shen Wenhe said, holding a broom Bai Nianqing had taken from her Dimension.
“Alright, sprinkle some water on the floor first so the dust won’t fly up,” Bai Nianqing replied, taking out a basin to fetch water and handing it to Shen Wenhe.
“Got it. You wait outside, wife. I’ll call you when I’m done cleaning,” Shen Wenhe said.
The cave was quite spacious but completely empty, so cleaning only involved removing the dust, which went quickly.
Soon, they reached the final chamber—the one containing Xu Changming’s remains.
“Wife, do you have any new red cloth?” Shen Wenhe asked after a moment’s thought.
“Yes, I’ll get it for you right away,” Bai Nianqing immediately understood what Shen Wenhe intended to do.
She retrieved a three-foot square red envelope from her Dimension and handed it to Shen Wenhe.
Shen Wenhe asked Bai Nianqing to wait outside while he went to collect Xu Changming’s remains.
Without any incense or candles, Shen Wenhe could only kneel, kowtow several times, and murmur a few words of respect.
Then he stood up, gathered Xu Changming’s bones onto the red cloth, and wrapped them carefully.
“Huh? What’s this?” After wrapping the remains, Shen Wenhe’s casual glance caught a protrusion on the stone bed.
It would have been impossible to notice if he hadn’t collected the bones.
Shen Wenhe pressed down on the protrusion, and the stone bed split in half down the middle.
The bed had been hollowed out, containing two small boxes about one foot long placed side by side.
Shen Wenhe retrieved the boxes, pressed the indentation again, and the stone bed returned to its original state.
Opening one box, he found two books and a letter.
The letter explained that the six boxes outside were merely decoys, and his truly valuable possessions were here.
These were reserved only for whoever collected his remains.
The letter stated that the box contained his family’s heirloom medical texts and his personal medical journals.
The other box held precious medicinal ingredients he had collected over the years, any one of which could cause a sensation if revealed.
Most importantly, the box also contained pills he had crafted, including the Nine Revolutions Soul Restoration Pill, Antidote Pills, and various others.
Shen Wenhe couldn’t help but admire Xu Changming—the man was truly cunning.
This was a genuine test of character. If someone only took the gold, silver, and jewels from the cave without collecting his remains, they would miss out on the old man’s real treasures.
Fortunately, they weren’t the type of unscrupulous people who would take the goods and abandon the remains.
Shen Wenhe felt profoundly relieved.
“Wife, wife, come in here for a moment,” Shen Wenhe called out loudly.
He hadn’t opened the other box, intending to wait for Bai Nianqing to see it together.
“What is it? What’s the matter?” Bai Nianqing walked in.
“Wife, come quickly and look at this,” Shen Wenhe said, holding up the box.
“What is this?” Bai Nianqing asked curiously.
“These are the medical texts and journals left by Elder Xu Changming. This box contains the pills he made,” Shen Wenhe explained.
“Really? Let me see.” Bai Nianqing went over and took out the medical books from the box to examine.
“These… these are medicinal formulas? These are extremely precious.” Beneath the medical books, aside from Xu Changming’s medical notes, there was also a thick stack of medicinal formulas.
“They really are! Let me see—Greater Restoration Pill, Beautifying Pill, Longevity Pill, Hundred Poisons Pill, Nine Revolutions Soul Restoration Pill… These are all secret formulas! Just this Hundred Poisons Pill—I heard the Hundred Herbs Hall in the capital has two pills, said to be their treasure of the shop. I’ve heard they were made by a very famous miracle doctor from the previous dynasty. Thinking about it now, it must have been Elder Xu Changming.” Shen Wenhe excitedly flipped through the formulas.
“When we have time, we should study these properly. If we can make these pills ourselves, even just selling them could earn us a lot of money in the future,” Bai Nianqing said.
The two spent a long time examining the formulas, carefully reading each one before putting them back in the box and storing them away.
“Now let’s check this other box,” Shen Wenhe said as he opened another container.
Inside were several brocade boxes and over a dozen jade bottles. The jade bottles had labels attached.
“Black Jade Bone-Setting Balm, Spring Return Powder, Three Gold Pill, White Flower Pill, Health Preservation Pill…” Shen Wenhe read the labels on each jade bottle one by one.
“Eh? What’s this?” Bai Nianqing noticed a small nanmu wood box at the very bottom, different from the brocade boxes used for storing medicinal materials, and picked it up to examine.
“What is it?” Shen Wenhe also put down the jade bottle and came over to look.
“Wow…” Bai Nianqing opened the wooden box to reveal another stack of formulas, but this time they weren’t for healing medicines—they were poison formulas.
Moreover, inside the nanmu box was a porcelain bottle with a small label attached, reading “Instant Drop.”
Just from the name, it was clear this was knockout powder.
“This knockout powder is great! With this, we won’t have to fear even if we encounter tigers,” Bai Nianqing said. She had been constantly worried about encountering large wild animals in the mountains, but now with this powder, she felt relieved.
“Wife, look—this is the formula for the knockout powder. Let’s follow this recipe to make more for self-defense. And this one—this is the formula for Beast Repellent Powder. No wonder there aren’t any snakes, insects, rats, or ants here! It turns out this powder was sprinkled around. When I make more and spread it around the area, we won’t have to worry about snakes, insects, rats, or ants crawling up. We can carry a little with us when we go out, and we won’t have to fear wild animals approaching either,” Shen Wenhe said enthusiastically as he flipped through the formulas.
“Elder Xu Changming truly was remarkable. I was wondering why the wooden cabin below and this cave, aside from being dusty and dirty, hadn’t been taken over by poisonous snakes or rats. Turns out the elder had prepared in advance, which is why it’s so clean here,” Bai Nianqing remarked.
“Indeed. When we return, I’ll start learning to prepare medicinal powders. I’ve already looked them over—they all use common medicinal ingredients, and the preparation methods are written down. I should have no problem following them,” Shen Wenhe said confidently.
The two then examined the medicinal materials in the brocade boxes. Aside from one particularly large ginseng root, they didn’t recognize any of the other items.
It seemed they would need to spend more time studying medical texts when they had the chance. Fortunately, among the books left by Elder Xu Changming was one specifically teaching how to prepare medicinal materials.
It contained illustrations and introductions to various medicinal herbs, so they wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to understand.
“Alright, let’s put everything away now. We still need to clean up.”
“Let’s finish up early so we can bathe and rest. We can go back tomorrow.”
After exchanging a few more words, Bai Nianqing stored the box in her Dimension.