"Why don't you... go get some food?" Mu Wan asked her, but she shook her head repeatedly.
"I'm afraid there is a problem with the water. Let's take her into the house to rest first."
After returning to the house, Aluan's pain only worsened and she was rolling all over the floor.
She tried not to scream, but sweat was already forming on her forehead. Shanhai rummaged through her medicine box, found emergency medicine, and drank it with water, but it was of no use. She was still writhing in pain. In the second half of the night, I didn't even have the strength to roll around, and I was left with only feeble moaning, which was heartbreaking to hear.
"It's not that she's possessed by evil spirits. Take good care of her." Shanhai tied up her hair again, "I'm going to Xuanzhuang Town to get medicine now."
The sky in the east is bright, and a thin white light slowly blooms from a distance. He walked in the wind against this light, walking briskly from the roof to the ground, and then to the sparse trees. The plants gradually became more lush, and the chirping of insects and birds began to be heard.
Taking advantage of the dim light of dawn, he quickly rushed to the next town. It would have taken a whole day to walk here. When he arrived, everything was shrouded in a thin morning mist and the unique dark blue of dawn.
Stepping on the regular stone road, the familiar scent of strangers gave him a sense of security. Although the rooster had just crowed and every house was still quiet, he was already relieved enough.
Just have to go back quickly.
No one can ask about the location of the drug store, but the signs and flags on the street are neat and easy to recognize. He quickly found the pharmacy, but the door was still closed. He knocked on the door, but no one answered, so he became a little anxious.
On the quiet street, he heard rustling sounds inside the house. He expected that the person was awake, but it would take a long time before the door actually opened. Shan Hai hesitated for a moment and decided to go around to the back of the pharmacy to see if there was a door.
On the side is a narrow alley. The sun hasn't risen yet, and shadows fill the place. Shan Hai was walking along the wall, and a woman came towards him, holding a money bag in her hand. She must have come out of the pharmacy, with a bit of a bitter smell of Chinese medicine.
"Girl, please..."
It was too dark and he couldn't see the other person's face clearly. The girl didn't respond to him and just passed him by in silence.
Something doesn't seem right.
He was stunned for a moment, but quickly picked up his pace. When he walked around to the back, he happened to catch up with the pharmacy manager closing the back door.
The shopkeeper is a kind-hearted little old man with a gray moustache. His eyes are very narrow but bright and sharp. He was a little surprised to see Shanhai, but still invited him in.
"Atractylodes and angelica are two cents, licorice is one cent, cloves are two cents, and Polygala..."
"Hey, no, no, no, no, no," the shopkeeper raised his hand to signal him to shut up, "Young man, all you want is..."
"I know it well, just help me catch it."
The medicine shopkeeper slowed down and said to Shan Hai in a friendly voice:
"Young man, if you can trust me, tell me the patient's age and symptoms, and I can help you get some facts. I think you are a foreigner, and you don't want to ask around. I'm here... "
"...I accept the good intentions, but this matter is not that simple."
"I have lived for so many years and I have never seen any strange diseases. Don't worry, just tell me."
Seeing the confidence on his face, Shan Hai was a little anxious. He frowned, sighed again, and summed up the whole thing simply.
"Are you from that dead village?"
"yes."
"Girl, you have a stomachache?"
"That's right."
He rolled his eyes thoughtfully. Shan Hai thought that telling the truth would make the old man feel more at ease, but he didn't seem surprised, as if he expected that this matter had something to do with ghosts and gods.
"The medicines you mentioned are correct. But some of them treat the symptoms but not the root cause. That's it, you come with me..."
The old man walked straight to the lobby, and Shanhai hurriedly followed. He didn't go to the medicine cabinet, but to another vermilion wooden door next to the cabinet. Although this is not deliberately hidden, it can be considered concealed. The shopkeeper took out a key and opened the door.
A strange smell came to me.
Lin Shanhai couldn't tell what it was. It looked like Chinese medicine, but it didn't look like it. It has a slightly astringent taste, but also a bit fishy and salty, like the sea breeze carrying moisture. Moreover, this room is obviously colder than outside, and there are no windows inside. It is a light-proof storage room.
Many things were stored away, but Shanhai still saw many things placed outside. There are a few clear stones, as bright as jewelry, but not so regular. There are some tiny pieces of tooth code of some kind of animal in a box. There are several jars with some dark gray and green powder in them... and many strange things.
It's not very strange, but it's just not something that people can associate with any kind of medicine.
However, Shanhai thought of monsters and the corpses of dead people.
People can be used as medicine, he remembered Aluan said.
"This... you..." He started hesitantly.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not that capable. These are all purchased from outside, as well as from passing dealers. I also have a stable supply of goods. Sometimes this disease is not just a disease, but also has something to do with unclean things. . But your girl is afraid that she just caught a cold. She was already weak, so she drank cold water in the middle of the night and was agitated. But as the saying goes, just be afraid of what happens..."
As he said this, the shopkeeper began to rummage around, muttering: Where is it?
Shan Hai looked around the room again, and recognized a piece of brown wood with a ginger-like shape on the top of the shelf.
No, not wood. Although the shape was very incomplete, he knew at a glance that it was a dragon horn.
"Shopkeeper, what's on the shelf over there..."
"Oh, that corner?" He was still pulling the drawer. "I spent a lot of money on it when I was young. Seeing that you are also a Taoist priest, I am not afraid to tell you. Sometimes when I encounter really bizarre illnesses, I mix it into the medicine. Just sprinkle the powder and most of it will be cured. Look at the remaining bit, it’s just enough for me to hold on to my signature until I die, haha.”
Jiaojiao is indeed said to be a cure-all for all diseases. What actually works is that it repels the evil spirit in the patient.
"Here, here you go."
Shan Hai turned his head, and the shopkeeper pressed a small black pill into his hand. He got closer and smelled it, but it had no smell.
"Don't be afraid, there's nothing messy. It's just that this thing is cheaper than the one you saw, but it's enough to deal with this girl's disease. Come on, I'll just go out and grab some medicine for you. If it can't be cured, you Feel free to come to me.”
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome. However, I heard that my ancestors also lived in that dead village."
Shan Hai was a little surprised.
"Ah, do you know..."
"I really don't know." He waved his hand, "I was born and raised in Xuanchuang Town. I went out to study medicine with my master when I was young, and came back after I completed my studies. I have never even met my parents, let alone asked about that time. It’s about that.”
He quickly grabbed the medicine and handed it to Shan Hai. He paid the money and stood in front of the table without moving.
"Why, what else is there?"
"Old man, when I came here this morning, I met a girl..."
"Ah, you mean Ah Qi. Miss Qi is a subordinate of Mr. Shi. Mr. Shi is also a regular customer. Most of the monsters and human corpses in my house are made by him."
"Master Shi?"
"He," the old man paused solemnly, "people in the world call him the Master of Hundred Bones."
"Have not heard."
Shanhai is very candid. The old man's eyes suddenly widened.
"You haven't heard that I can, you haven't heard of him, you shouldn't! Go and find out, within a radius of thirty... no, three hundred miles, who doesn't know the name of the Lord of the Hundred Corpses. He can command the Hundred Corpses What a strange man. No matter how long the corpse has been dead, as long as he touches it, he will immediately report the deeds of this person's life."
No wonder that woman couldn't even breathe.
"That girl, is her name Aqi?"
"Mr. Shi said so. Miss Qi seems to be a mute, and no one has ever heard her speak. But I have only met Mr. Shi once in my life... It doesn't count as a meeting, just because of his voice, I haven't seen him in town. Some people said they had seen him, and the voice was that of a man, but the figure from the back was that of a girl. I guess they confused him with Miss Qi. It is very difficult to meet him."
It seemed that the old man didn't know that Miss Qi was a "living" corpse.
The sky is completely bright and the streets are becoming lively. Shanhai didn't dare to stay any longer and hurried back with the medicine.
The master of Baigui is Shi Gongzi, whose name is Shi Wuqi. It's not necessarily his real name, but he runs a shop called "Weeping Corpse House" at the entrance of the town. There was no door to the store, just a thick wall surrounding it. When people with good intentions look from a high place, they only see enclosed open spaces. If a naughty child throws something into it, it will bounce back quickly. Some children have been injured by bricks in this way and no longer dare to act nonsense.
If you want to see him, you must go to the mass graves in the far southwest, find an empty coffin and lie down there overnight. Only when your body is infected with enough Yin Qi can you pass through the barrier set by the Lord of Bones to see him. Although everyone knows this method, no one has ever dared to try it. So the true identity of the Hundred Skeleton Lord became a legend, and people could only get a little glimpse of it from the female corpse.
Shanhai recalled the old man's words and returned to the Dead Village.
Seeing him entering the door, Mu Wan stepped forward and took the medicine, but his expression was very panicked.
"I brought medicine back! Is Aluan feeling better? Take these medicines..."
"What, what's wrong? Could it be..."
"Aluan is fine. She rested for a while and drank hot water. She is much better. But let me ask you..."
Shan Hai's heart relaxed a little, but seeing Mu Wan's expression still serious, he couldn't help but become nervous again.
"Let me ask you, where did the judge's pen go?"
"Isn't it in Aluan's medicine box? If not, did I use it last night and put it on the table?"
"I looked for it, but it wasn't there."
"Ah, I remembered." Shanhai took out his sleeves, "I stuffed them in after I used them..."
The words stopped abruptly, and he was stunned for a moment, and accelerated his groping on his body.
Impossible, absolutely not lost on the road.
Could it be...
The two looked towards the backyard.
Oh, it's over again.
