Li Zhiyun had always suspected that what Dr. Jia picked from the mountain was not Artemisia annua, but Dr. Jia assured him, and the villagers also said it was, which left him speechless. However, his heart was still full of doubts, and he always felt that there was something wrong in some link. But he couldn't tell what the problem was. Li Zhiyun felt that there seemed to be a mystery surrounding Qinghao.
It was already late at night, and Li Zhiyun also felt a little sleepy. He decided to take people out for a walk tomorrow, because instead of sitting here in Sleepy City, it would be better to go out for a walk. Perhaps, only by leaving this small mountain village can he find a way, and maybe he can also solve the mystery of Qinghao. If that didn't work, he would also find a famous doctor and ask him to come over and treat his second brother.
After breakfast the next day, Li Zhiyun asked the guards to find Zeng Chenggang. Zeng Chenggang was the trusted general of the second brother, and he commanded all the soldiers of the second brother.
After Zeng Chenggang saluted, Li Zhiyun asked him to sit down opposite, and then said: "General Zeng, my second brother is very ill. Dr. Jia has tried all kinds of medicine, but it has no effect, and he can't think of any good solution. Therefore, I decided to take a few people out to seek medical advice. I will leave my second brother to you. You must ensure his absolute safety!" Upon hearing this, Zeng Chenggang quickly stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Please don't worry, King Chu. Even if the general is shattered to pieces, he will never let King Qin lose a hair!" Li Zhiyun nodded and said, "Then please."
There was no clear goal for this outing. We could only take one step at a time, so the number of people should not be too large. Li Zhiyun decided to bring Zhang Zheng, Cai Hu and two other guards. They packed up and set off. As soon as the group reached the village, Li Zhiyun heard someone calling him from behind. When he turned around, he saw that it was Liu Shuyi.
Liu Shuyi limped over and said, "Zhiyun, I heard that you are going to find a doctor for your second brother, and I want to go with you!" Li Zhiyun hesitated and said, "Your legs can Can you walk?" Liu Shuyi patted his right leg with his hand and said, "Look, my injury is almost healed. There is no problem in walking. I will never hinder you!" Li Zhiyun thought for a while and said, "Okay, then. Just come with us.”
The group left Gujing Village and walked north along a mountain road. They walked over mountains and ridges for more than an hour, and the view ahead gradually broadened. In addition to a large field, a market town appeared not far away.
Everyone walked over and found that the town was backed by a large mountain. There were about a thousand households. An official road passed through the town from east to west. Outside the town are patches of fertile farmland, with farmers working hard in the fields.
As everyone walked towards the town, they met a farmer carrying a hoe on his shoulder. Li Zhiyun stepped forward and saluted: "Brother, what is the name of this town?"
"Oh, it's called Thuan An Town."
After Li Zhiyun thanked him, he led everyone into Shun'an Town. There is only one main street in the town, which is the official road that runs through the middle of the town. There are more than a dozen shops on both sides of the main street, including rice shops, cloth shops and grocery stores. Li Zhiyun saw a plaque on the door of a store that read: Ansheng Pharmacy, so he took the lead and walked in.
The shop is not large, and there is only one customer inside. The shopkeeper is weighing and packing the customer in front of the counter. Li Zhiyun walked over and stood aside waiting patiently. After the customer left with a dozen paper bags, he stepped forward and said, "Shopkeeper, do you have Artemisia annua in your store?"
"Yes."
"Bring it to me and take a look."
The shopkeeper turned around and went to the back. After a while, he took the herbs and handed them to Li Zhiyun. He said, "The clerk in the store just picked these from the mountains this morning. They are very fresh." Li Zhiyun took them and took a look, and talked with Dr. Jia. There is no difference between what is harvested from the mountains. After thanking him, he turned and walked out of the pharmacy.
When everyone returned to the street, Zhang Zheng approached him and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that Dr. Jia was not wrong. This Artemisia annua cannot cure King Qin's disease. What should we do next?"
Li Zhiyun pondered for a moment and said: "There is no other way but to find a doctor with superb medical skills." Zhang Zheng frowned and said: "There are no good doctors in this small town. If you want to find one, you can only go to the city." Look for it. However, there are only two cities within a few dozen miles of Gao'an and Yiluchuan, but they were both occupied by Xue Ju's army..."
While the two were talking, an army suddenly turned around from the crossroads ahead. There were about twenty or thirty people. Judging from the color of the soldiers' armor, they should be Xue Ju's army. The leading officer glanced at the men across from him carrying knives and swords, and immediately shouted: "Stop!" Then he led a group of soldiers and rushed over.
When Li Zhiyun saw that the situation was not good, he hurriedly said: "Run!" Upon hearing this, everyone turned around and ran away. However, Liu Shuyi's leg injury was not healed yet, so he ran slower and gradually fell behind. Li Zhiyun went back to help him, and the two ran forward together. The pursuers were getting closer and closer. Zhang Zheng said: "Your Majesty, they are catching up. You and Mr. Liu run up the mountain. Let's stop them!" Li Zhiyun gasped and said: "Okay."
Zhang Zheng, Cai Hu and the two guards stopped, turned around and drew their swords. The enemy quickly rushed over, and the four men rushed forward to fight each other.
Li Zhiyun helped Liu Shuyi into an alley. At the end of the alley was a mountain. The two climbed up the mountain along a narrow path. Liu Shuyi was exhausted and gasped: "Zhiyun, let's stop and take a breath?" Li Zhiyun said resolutely: "No, Zhang Zheng and the others are small, and they won't be able to stop them for long. The enemy soldiers will soon catch up on the mountain. , let’s run quickly!” After hearing this, Liu Shuyi could only grit his teeth and persist.
The two of them ran in a panic for more than half an hour, climbing up and down the mountain path, crossing ditches and ridges, until they completely lost their way and had to stop.
Li Zhiyun didn't know where this place was. He sat down on the turf, panting and turning his head to look around. They seemed to be on the top of a mountain, surrounded by towering peaks and mountains, with no trace of human beings in sight.
Li Zhiyun rested for a while and got up from the ground. He walked around the top of the mountain and found that there was a valley to the east. There were several houses in the valley, and he didn't know what they were used for. Li Zhiyun pointed with his hand and said to Liu Shuyi: "Shuyi, let's go down and see if we can find someone to ask for some water."
The two people walked down the hillside covered with trees to the bottom of the valley and walked to the houses. Li Zhiyun took a closer look and found that it was a temple. This temple has probably been abandoned for a long time. The roofs of several rooms have collapsed, the courtyard walls have collapsed, and the courtyard is overgrown with thorns.
The two walked through the courtyard and entered the main hall. Although this hall is very dilapidated, it is still generally intact, except that the Buddha statue in the front is in a dilapidated state, and the paint on its face has long since peeled off, turning it into a large painted face.
Li Zhiyun walked around in the dusty hall and was about to walk out when he suddenly heard voices coming from outside. He quickly walked to the door of the palace and poked his head outside, and found a group of soldiers walking up the mountain path on the right. Those enemy soldiers were less than a hundred steps away from the temple. If they ran out of the temple, they would definitely be discovered. With Liu Shuyi's legs and feet, they definitely couldn't run away.
Li Zhiyun retracted his head and whispered: "No, a group of enemy soldiers are coming." When Liu Shuyi heard this, he was startled and said quickly: "What should we do?" Li Zhiyun looked around and saw that the hall was empty. , there is no hiding place at all. What's worse is that there is no back door to the palace, and the skylight is more than ten feet high from the ground. They don't know Qinggong and can't climb up at all.
When he was extremely anxious, Li Zhiyun suddenly discovered that the base under the Buddha statue was hollow, like a large square box, and the wooden board on the front of the box had become loose. He hurriedly walked over, squatted down and pushed with his hand. As expected, the board was pushed down, revealing a hole.
Li Zhiyun asked Liu Shuyi to get in first. After Liu Shuyi entered, he followed suit. There's just enough space inside for two people, but it's just a bit tight. Li Zhiyun closed the wooden board again and pressed it with his hand. The wooden boards did not fit tightly together, and a gap as wide as a fingernail was exposed.
After a while, someone walked in. Listening to the footsteps, there were not many people, about three or four people. They were walking back and forth in the hall, and one of them asked: "Brother, what kind of Buddha is this?" The man said: "How do I know?"
At this time, a pair of feet walked towards the Buddha statue and stopped one foot away from the base. Through the gap, Li Zhiyun could clearly see the feet wearing military boots. It felt like there was a rabbit in his chest, and he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his throat. Liu Shuyi, who was next to him, was also shaking all over. The two of them held their breath, not daring to take a breath.
After a moment, the feet walked away. Then, with the sounds of chaotic footsteps, those people seemed to have gone out, and the hall became quiet again. The two of them squatted in the base for a while before crawling out tremblingly.
Li Zhiyun tiptoed to the door of the palace and looked outside. It was quiet outside, not a soul in sight. It seemed that the enemy soldiers had gone far away.
Li Zhiyun and Liu Shuyi rested for a while, ate some dry food they had brought with them, then left the abandoned temple and walked forward along the mountain path. They didn't know where to go, they just wanted to find a way out of the mountain. The mountain road was rugged and difficult to navigate. They walked for about half an hour when they suddenly heard a girl crying in front of them.
The two quickened their pace and walked over to take a look, only to see two girls, one older and one younger, standing by the roadside. Both of them are dressed like village girls. The oldest one was sixteen or seventeen years old. She was obviously injured. She was leaning against a tree, raising her right foot slightly and grinning in pain. The younger one was only thirteen or fourteen years old. He stood by at a loss and could only wipe away his tears.
