I don’t know if my father was confused, or he was so busy that he had to go out for something and forgot, but this last medicine was not available in the store.
It's not that the store doesn't have it for now, it's that it has never been available, because this medicine is not an ordinary medicine, but an elixir: intoxicating ginseng.
Intoxicating ginseng?
What is this, is it human or ginseng? Zhao Chuan asked.
Shopkeeper Wang said this was a herbal medicine, of course ginseng, a species unique to Lingyin Mountain. It was red and transparent, and as thick as a thumb.
Zhao Chuan said what’s so special about ordinary ginseng?
Shopkeeper Wang said that other ginseng leaves have five petals, but this kind of ginseng has seven petals. The older leaves have nine petals. It only takes two hundred years to grow one leaf. If you can find more than five leaves, it is the best.
Zhao Chuan said I was referring to function, what does appearance have to do with it.
Shopkeeper Wang said of course it does matter. The more leaves, the longer and longer the leaves are, and the stronger the effect. This ginseng contains the pure essence of innate plants and trees. When eaten, it can be directly absorbed by the human body and instantly change the body's constitution. No matter how weak a person is, eating it can greatly invigorate their vitality, so both warriors and alchemy practitioners dream of it. Therefore, it has been a special tribute to the royal family for many years and cannot be seen on the market at all.
Zhao Chuan said it was strange. I had also studied medicine for a few days, but I had never heard of such a thing. The plants and trees themselves could refine Qi.
Shopkeeper Wang smiled softly and lowered his head to drink tea. He thought to himself that at such a young age, there are many things that you have never heard of.
Zhao Chuan asked why this thing is called intoxicating ginseng?
Shopkeeper Wang said that when this thing was first discovered, it was accidentally discovered by a drunk old herb collector.
This old herb collector loved to drink. One morning he drank some wine and went to Lingyin Mountain to collect herbs. As a result, he got lost while walking on a very familiar road. He didn't go out until dark, so he had to temporarily find a cave to live in. One night, I planned to come up with another idea the next day.
It was cold in the mountains at night, so the old herb collector drank a few sips of the wine he brought with him to keep out the cold.
When it was almost dawn, he had a dream. He dreamed that a group of little kids came to the entrance of the cave and asked him for a drink.
The old herb collector couldn't resist the children's entreaties, so he drank a little bit each one. Unexpectedly, after drinking, the children even said it tasted good, wanted to drink more after drinking, and refused to leave without giving. A group of children dragged the old man back and forth. to tease him.
The herb collector had no choice but to open the wine gourd for them to drink. The children were not satisfied until they drank all the wine and left.
But as soon as the children reached the entrance of the cave, they fell to the ground, frightening the herb gatherer awake.
When he opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight, and he saw a small ginseng seedling in front of the cave. The medicinal collector was overjoyed, but upon closer inspection, he found that this ginseng was different from the ones he had collected in the mountains before.
This kind of small ginseng has seven-petaled leaves, while ordinary ginseng has five-petaled leaves.
The herb collector carefully dug out a ginseng and found that the ginseng was red all over and still transparent.
The herb picker was so happy. He looked at them one by one, selected two ginseng trees with many leaves, dug them out, and then made a few marks near the cave, then took three ginseng trees down the mountain and went home.
When the old herbal collector returned, he found that no knowledgeable ginseng collector had ever seen this variety. At this time, the little emperor who had fled south was being chased by barbarians from the north. He was sick and frightened, and was about to die. The accompanying royal family members were helpless. They heard that someone was selling this thing, so they bought the ginseng tree for him to eat. They thought that the dead horse was treated as a live horse doctor, but unexpectedly it was saved.
Unexpectedly, the effect of this ginseng was extraordinary. The old herb collector sold the other two plants at a high price and made a lot of money. He even named this ginseng Drunken Ginseng.
Zhao Chuan laughed and said that's how the name came about.
"What happened next? How many trees did the old herb picker go to the mountain to pick and sell?" Zhao Chuan asked.
"Hey, don't mention it. The old herb collector went there twice more. Each time he brought back two ginseng trees, and he never wanted to go there again. Later, the old herb collector died inexplicably. What a pity! "Shopkeeper Wang sighed.
"What's a pity?" Zhao Chuan said he didn't understand.
Shopkeeper Wang said that what he meant was that after the medicine collector died, no one would dig up the intoxicating ginseng again, so when he took the medicine prescription his father gave him when he went out, he immediately saw the intoxicating ginseng on it. Stunned.
"What happened next?" Zhao Chuan asked.
"Later I told the owner of the store that my father had prescribed this medicine by mistake because it was not available in the store. Unexpectedly, the owner of the store did not believe me and said that since Dr. Wang prescribed this medicine, it must be available. Do you not want to sell it to me or are you afraid that I will buy it? Can't afford it?"
"What happened next? Don't stop, keep talking." Zhao Chuan urged.
Shopkeeper Wang sighed and said it was all his fault that he couldn't hold back his words and got into trouble.
Shopkeeper Wang took a sip of tea and continued:
Later, there was no choice but to wait for his father to come back and explain. But after waiting for a long time that day, my father didn't come back for an hour. He was a little impatient and couldn't help complaining that the patient's head was really stubborn.
It was really boring to wait. Shopkeeper Wang couldn't hold his mouth anymore and said, "Don't wait any longer. Even if Dr. Wang comes back, there won't be this medicine. It's really the wrong prescription." Even if the prescription is not wrong, you cannot afford this medicine. Because this intoxicating ginseng is so rare and valuable that only the royal family can afford it. Even if you have money, you may not have the opportunity to buy it.
The man in his forties was not angry after hearing this. On the contrary, he happily said that I am determined to get this medicine today. Because this medicine called drunken ginseng is really good. Back then, I personally saw the emperor taking it and getting better.
When Shopkeeper Wang heard this, he immediately curled his lips and said, "Don't talk nonsense. To be honest, I am usually a reseller of medicinal materials. I actually heard that someone still collects one of these intoxicating ginseng, but do you have the money to buy it?" Look at you, you have walked these dozens of miles with a baggage on a pole. I heard that my father went to see your mother for the first time and suffered. You can’t even hire a donkey. How can you afford that rare medicine? ?
Shopkeeper Wang's words became less and less acceptable as he spoke, but the man was not angry or impatient. After listening to Shopkeeper Wang's words, he took the pole he had brought with him, pressed one end with his hand, shook it hard, and heard only With a slight squeak, he pulled out a long sword from the pole.
Shopkeeper Wang was so frightened that he thought the man was going to kill him.
But he didn't even look at Shopkeeper Wang. With a flick of his wrist, the long sword immediately turned into a thin-edged steel knife. The blade was dazzling and cold, and a black dragon swam back and forth on the blade.
"This is the Xuanlong sword. It is one of the three great swords in the Central Plains. It is priceless. Is it enough to exchange it for intoxicating ginseng?" Han Liao put the sword on the counter and said, "Everyone in the world thinks it is a knife. In fact, it is also a sword, but everyone who knows this will die under this sword. But you are an exception, because it will be easy to master today. Whose sword will kill its master? "
Shopkeeper Wang was so surprised that he couldn't speak. It took him a long time to calm down, and he asked the man why he had this thing.
"I am, the royal bodyguard... I belong to the former emperor who passed away." The man was a little embarrassed, paused, and sighed lightly, "Oh, don't mention it, it's all in the past."
"That's also very powerful!" Shopkeeper Wang's expression of envy was palpable, "It's just that a strong man with martial arts skills doesn't dare to be so down and poor. Why did he end up in such a miserable situation?"
The man did not answer Shopkeeper Wang's question, but asked again, "Is it enough to exchange it for intoxicating ginseng?"
Shopkeeper Wang was speechless after hearing this, but his heart was already filled with ups and downs.
This precious blade is one of the three ancient magical weapons in the Central Plains. Although I am not a martial artist, I have heard about it. It is said that some people are willing to trade a city for this thing. It is really priceless. Now let alone changing one intoxicating ginseng, it will be enough to change one basket (if there is one basket).
"Shopkeeper, do you want to change it or not?" The man presented the sword to Shopkeeper Wang with both hands, his eyes flashing.
It seems that this man is determined to save his mother, otherwise he would not be so reluctant to part with her. Shopkeeper Wang was heartbroken and said, "Oh, look at the sincerity of the strong man, I can't agree if I don't agree. But if I accept this sword of yours and spread the word, everyone in the world will know about it. I'm afraid there won't be any more tonight." I’m going to help you find that intoxicating ginseng.”
The man said, don't worry, I was originally a dedicated soldier of the royal family, but because the former emperor died suddenly, I had no master, so I had to live among the people. I know the rules better than anyone else, and this sword won’t say even a single word.
Shopkeeper Wang said, "I admire you! I admire you! A good general cannot protect his two masters, he is a true righteous man!" He put away his sword and agreed.
Shopkeeper Wang stopped here, lowered his head and suddenly cried.
Zhao Chuan didn't know why and asked why he was crying.
Shopkeeper Wang said he didn’t expect that I would receive a sword from someone because of my greed for money, which would lead to great disaster for me. I agreed to exchange the ginseng for the knife, and I helped him find intoxicating ginseng as I wished.
"The intoxicating ginseng is not marketable, so where can you get it?" Zhao Chuan interjected without missing every detail.
Shopkeeper Wang shook his head and sighed, "After the old herb gatherer died, he left one tree for his descendants without telling the world, in case something unexpected happened to his descendants. This news came to me by chance, because the descendant was a prodigal, and he happened to be a prodigal. He has a good relationship with me, and I accidentally revealed it when I invited him to have a drink."
"It's just that the price he asked was too high before, and I couldn't afford so much money at the moment, but now I'm exchanging ginseng for knives, and I'm making such a huge profit, how can I not be moved? So I ran to Jiangzhou City, Han's bank used usury to buy intoxicating ginseng and exchanged it for the man's sword.
"The man was able to restore his wife's body to perfection as he wished. It's simply astonishing that she can be as healthy as a young woman."
The more Zhao Chuan listened, the more excited he became. He never expected that there was such an original single magical herb in the world. It seemed to be many times more effective than the Red Spirit Fruit that he accidentally obtained when the Zhao family was exterminated.
As a practicing doctor, Zhao Chuan could not be interested in all the exotic flowers and plants in the world. It was a pity that he had never seen what intoxicating ginseng looked like with his own eyes.
Zhao Chuan asked Shopkeeper Wang to continue his story.
Shopkeeper Wang said that the man's wife had recovered, but the man left again and never came back. But the matter about his mother's health spread like wildfire, and there is no airtight wall in the world. As time went by, others knew that the prescription was prescribed by my pharmacy, and that the medicine was also produced by me.
"For a time, people came to seek medical advice in droves, and the popularity was extremely high. But most of the people who came came to ask about the drunken ginseng. The drunken ginseng was obtained from the descendants of the old herbal collector. There is only one tree left. , the descendants of that family left home long ago after they got the money, so no one can find this intoxicating ginseng in the future."
"But the world's affairs are not afraid of nothing. We are afraid that someone will cause trouble. There are those scoundrels with evil intentions who went to the government to sue my father, saying that my family secretly hid royal tributes, and the government officials were bound to call the police. Come out, they are eager to have something to do every day to make money. So they put my father in jail, went through repeated interrogations, tortured him to extract confessions, and asked my father to hand over the remaining intoxicating ginseng."
"At that time, I went away to buy medicinal materials, and I didn't know what happened at home. When I came back, my father had been beaten to death in the lobby of the Yamen..."
"Dog officer!" Zhao Chuan shouted, "Tricky people!"
