Once she lost sight of him, Li Man hurriedly followed after him. As soon as she past through the bend, she saw a wide clearing. Below, there was a vast stretch of rice paddies and vegetable fields. It was like seeing the light at the end of a tunnel.
As for Li Yan, he had already gone down the incline and was walking on a small path between the fields.
Li Man patted her chest in relief and quickly started walking to catch up to him. She had been overthinking things.
They followed this path to the end point, then they went up until they were on the same elevation they had started, near the foot of the mountain. The first thing she saw was a large medicinal herb field. Immediately, the strong smell of herbs wafted into her nose.
Original translation is from fuyuneko dot org. If you’re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.
They passed through the medicinal herb field and walked to a hillside. The bordering trees nicely set off the limestone houses. Smoke was coming out of one of these house. The occupants of the house were probably cooking. At the doorway, there was an elderly person holding a tray and doing something with it.
Li Yan walked over and respectfully greeted, “Doctor, are you busy?”
As soon as the elderly person saw Li Yan, his expression sunk. His expression worsened when he saw that Li Man behind him. He angrily asked, “Why are you guys here?”
“She wanted to see you.” Li Yan tactfully moved to the side and pushed Li Man forward.
The old doctor glared at Li Man. “Rotten girl, why did you come here? This old one has even waived my diagnosing fee. What more do you want?”
“We came here to pay the fee,” Li Man said with a smile. “The medicine that you made really was very amazing. My oldest brother’s back injuries have already formed scabs.”
“Humph!” The old doctor’s face was filled with prideful arrogance. “Who needs you to say that? Of course, this old one’s medicine has always been effective. “After saying this, he ignored them and went back to picking the rice grains in his tray.
This old man really knew how to hold a grudge. Li Man pursed her lips into a smile. “Elder doctor, other than coming here to pay your fee, I also want to ask you for advice.”
“Elder? Am I very old?” The old doctor glared at Li Man again. He found the sight of her very displeasing.
On the side, Li Yan didn’t say another word. He only indifferently watched her to see how she would handle this matter.
Li Man didn’t mind the doctor’s behavior. After all, her attitude towards the doctor had been very nasty that day. She opened the bag that she had been carrying and pointed at the various paper packets of herbal medicine. “I came here to deliver medicine. Please take a look.”
“Medicine?” The old man didn’t even bother to look up. He disdainfully said, “Medicine is the thing that this old one is lacking the least. You came here to bring me medicine? What a joke.”
“Not only did I bring medicine, I also have a prescription.” Li Man continued to smile as she brought over the small paper packets. “Please take a look. Anyways, you wouldn’t suffer a loss from just looking.”
“What’s there to see?” Although the old man shot her an annoyed look, his instincts as a doctor still pushed him to sniff the packets. He noticed something unusual about them and asked Li Man, “What’s the prescription?”
“When I saw your jin chuang medicine that day, I though of this,” Li Man seriously explained. She didn’t know if this prescription already existed in ancient times, but it was common enough in modern-day. It was merely the Yunnan Baiyao that was commonly used in all households. “But, I don’t know how to process the herbs into usable medicine. I’ll give you the prescription. Can you see if this combination of medicine will be feasible?”
“You know about prescriptions?” The old man scrutinized Li Man. Seeing the serious and confidence in her eyes, he didn’t continue looking down on this silly little girl. He put down the tray and led the way the inside. “You can come with me.”
“En.”
Li Yan also wanted to go inside, but the old doctor stopped him. “Do you have medicine too? If you don’t, stay out here and wait.”
Seeing Li Yan being forced to yield, Li Man didn’t show an outward reaction, but she couldn’t help secretly feeling pleased. She followed the old doctor into the main room of his home.
(T/N: Yunnan Baiyao is a famous brand of medicine used in China. Although the formula for this trademark medicine is obviously a secret, it’s public knowledge that the key ingredient is yun san qi. Below is a picture of that plant. I’m assuming that’s the extra ingredient that Li Man had Li Hua buy.)