Chapter 53

"Seong-ah, let's buy Bingtanghao when you come back from the herbal shop. I'll buy it for you."

Danmocheng looked into Danmolian's eyes, which were filled with an innocent cluster of stars, and swallowed a deep breath.

"Do you have money?"

The last information Danmocheng had about the Danmose family was from his mother, Danmoxianyao, in Henan Province.

He knew that the family was in a difficult situation but needed to be revived, and that he and his mother had to work hard to achieve this. Danmocheng had engraved this deeply in his heart.

So while he could receive pocket money from his wealthy maternal family and afford nice clothes and good weapons, his cousin probably couldn't.

Seeing Lian fumble at her waist, Danmocheng tried to hold down her hand.

At that moment, Danmoxianwu interjected.

"I can make Bingtanghao for you."

Danmoxianwu casually said this, then slumped his shoulders when he saw the indescribable expressions on his young nephews' faces.

Lian mumbled with a slightly apologetic look.

"Uncle, it's Yuedanghao."

"Oh."

* * *

Lian had already prepared herself mentally for the visit to Huoxian's herbal shop.

She wondered how the people of the medical pavilion, who had separated from the declining family, would react when they met the family members again.

"No, young master! Oh, I heard you finished your seclusion training! When did you become so handsome?"

However, the unexpected warm welcome surprised Danmoxianwu, and Lian also looked around in bewilderment.

The herbal shop attendant, with a headscarf, ran over and greeted them with a bright smile.

"Oh, no... Doctor Zhong. It's been a while..."

"Of course, 5 or 6 years, right? Goodness, the young master, who was so small, has grown so handsome."

"Stop it, it's embarrassing. And I wasn't that small back then..."

"Of course, of course. That's why I recognized you at first sight."

Doctor Zhong greeted Danmoxianwu warmly for a while, then was startled to notice the girls.

"Oh, these young ladies... Is this Young Master Seong? You look just like Lady Xianyao. Then this one is..."

Doctor Zhong recognized Danmocheng. It was said that first daughters usually resemble their fathers, but the granddaughters of the Danmose family looked just like their mothers.

Recognizing Danmocheng, who resembled her mother Danmoxianyao, known for her beauty in Hangzhou, was not difficult.

Doctor Zhong's gaze then turned to the slightly smaller girl beside Danmocheng. While Danmocheng was flamboyant, this one was more composed, but her sparkling eyes caught his attention.

"This is our eldest, Danmolian. You probably haven't met her before..."

Danmoxianwu trailed off. The doctor, who was once part of the family, had never seen Lian's face because she hadn't been out much.

Fortunately, Doctor Zhong was perceptive. Or rather, he knew more than just being perceptive.

"Could it be that Qinglianshu...?"

He didn't fully trust the rumor that Danmolian had made Qinglianshu alone, but he didn't rashly doubt it either. It was a cautious look.

After all, all sorts of strange things happened in the Jianghu, and if it was a genius, he had seen one before, through Lian's father, Danmoxiancheng.

"Oh! You know, Doctor Zhong?"

"Oh, I do. We use it in our medical pavilion too. Recently, it's been quite popular."

"Really?"

"The third son of Mansong Trading Company, who was known for his dissolute lifestyle, passed the imperial examination after using it. The day the results were posted, our medical pavilion was almost paralyzed."

Doctor Zhong shook his head.

At that time, the prominent families in Hangzhou were frantically searching for the 'Zhenqinglianshu' used by the youngest son of Mansong Trading Company.

If the head of the trading company, Jian Yanjiao, hadn't secretly opened a separate sales channel for the wealthy, there would probably still be a line outside the medical pavilion.

'Will Jian Weixue also pass the imperial examination in Beijing?'

If that happens, a few of the medical pavilions in Hangzhou might explode.

Doctor Zhong had a chilling thought for a moment, then shook his head to clear it.

"...But why are you here, young master?"

"My niece really wanted to come to this herbal shop. She became interested when I told her that the family's herbs come from here."

It was clear which niece he was referring to. While Danmocheng didn't seem to enjoy being there, Danmolian's eyes were sparkling.

Doctor Zhong quickly recalled who had managed the herbs sent to the Danmose family from Huoxian's medical pavilion.

'Was it Doctor Chen? Could this child have played some trick with the herbs sent to the family?'

The sparkling eyes of the girl looking up at him felt extraordinary.

When Danmoxianwu first appeared at the medical pavilion, Doctor Zhong briefly wondered if the Danmose family was trying to reabsorb the medical pavilion's doctors.

Although the Danmose family had declined after losing its successor and the Grand Patriarch's injury, it had recently been mentioned more frequently.

The Qinglianshu, said to be made by the Danmose family's heir, who had never shown her face outside the family, was slowly but surely spreading throughout Zhejiang Province.

A drop of oil with a transparent and refreshing scent, almost a panacea.

It seemed easy to make, but no one could replicate the efficacy of a single drop of the original solution provided by the Danmose family.

'How much money has flowed into the Danmose family through Qinglianshu in the past few months?'

The first rumors started among the clerks and accountants of Mansong Trading Company.

The rumor that they had confirmed its efficacy and bought all the Qinglianshu spread, and it didn't take long for even the smallest medical pavilion in Hangzhou to stock it.

Meanwhile, the whole of Hangzhou was buzzing with the news that this girl had defeated the successor of the Jinka family.

The Jinka family was rising to take the place of the declining Danmose family, but after the martial arts competition, their momentum was dampened.

At a time when everyone was whispering about the strength of a traditional noble family, the sudden appearance of Danmoxianwu at Huoxian's medical pavilion was significant.

He wasn't just there to look around.

There must be something!

"Huoxian's herbal shop is the best in Hangzhou. Would you like to come this way?"

Huoxian's herbal shop was already famous when it was independently operated, but after absorbing the Danmose family's medical department, it became even more renowned. However,

"Hmm..."

Danmolian hopped around and looked around, her gaze somewhat dispirited.

It wasn't that she was bored. That was clear from the look on Danmocheng's face.

"Is this really the best herbal shop in Hangzhou?"

"Well... yes."

Danmolian's calm question made Doctor Zhong lose his composure and stutter a bit.

But his claim that this was the best herbal shop wasn't just because he was part of Huoxian's medical pavilion.

The shop handled more than half of Hangzhou's herbs, continuously discovered and refined new medicinal effects, and consistently worked to distribute the highest quality herbs uniformly.

"Hmm."

Danmolian fanned a small white jade fan, which looked like a child's toy, and pursed her lips in thought.

Her serious expression, though cute and amusing, made Doctor Zhong uneasy. He tried to explain, almost as if making an excuse.

"In fact, the Yuxianmen (Medicine Immortal Sect) firmly held its position for decades, but after the Dongjing Bloodshed, it disappeared... The supply of herbs was greatly affected, and it has only recently stabilized, yes."

"Yuxianmen?"

Lian's eyes widened at the unfamiliar story. Doctor Zhong smiled contentedly, as if telling a story to his granddaughter.

"There used to be the Tangmen in the west and the Yuxianmen in the east. At that time, the Tangmen was known for poisons, and the Yuxianmen for medicines."

"But it disappeared?"

"Yes, overnight. Some say they ascended to immortality, given their immortal-like appearance."

"That's enough."

Danmoxianwu cut in, not wanting to scare his nieces with a scary story.

It wasn't that people really turned into immortals, but that some of the Blood Demon Valley people attacked and destroyed the Yuxianmen, and all the martial artists of the Blood Demon Valley present were also wiped out, leading to strange rumors.

Ultimately, it was a bloody story, so Doctor Zhong quickly closed his mouth.