As he approached a pond, Luo Chen stopped walking.
"Go ahead with your work, you don’t need to accompany me."
"Hmm, then take care of your health. I will ask Granny Yuan to prepare some pig lung soup for you in the evening."
Once Gu Caiyi left, Luo Chen silently walked to the pond.
Then.
"Hey!"
"Ah!"
The shrill, immature yell startled Luo Chen more than he expected.
Qu Lingjun jumped down from an artificial rock, holding a book, and once he reached Luo Chen, he bowed respectfully.
"President Luo!"
Luo Chen gestured with his hand and took over the book.
Flipping through the pages, he asked, "How is your progress over this time?"
Qu Lingjun nervously responded, "I think I’ve just about got it."
"’Just about’ isn’t going to cut it!"
"Usually, ’just about’ might be enough. But at a critical moment, ’just about’ might be very lacking indeed."
With a hint of a smile, Luo Chen closed the "Catalogue of Hundred Herbs".
Sitting where Qu Lingjun was just sitting on the blue stone, he lifted his gown and put his right leg over the left one.
When the gown covered his thigh, he slowly opened his mouth and said:
"Come over here, I will ask questions, and you answer. If I am satisfied, I will give you a reward."
Qu Lingjun’s eyes lit up.
He stood in front of Luo Chen, standing straight as an arrow.
"Ginseng is the most common herb, and it’s often used in Pill Refinement and cultivation. Do you know what kinds of ginseng there are?"
Without hesitation, Qu Lingjun answered, "Wild Ginseng grows in the untamed wilderness, while Ginseng that grows in a Spirit Field is called Earth Ginseng. Then there are Stone Ginseng that grows in rocky caves, Blood Ginseng formed by absorbing the blood of living creatures, and rumor has it that on the vast Snow Mountain, there is Snow Ginseng..."
Answering Luo Chen, his small chest puffed out with pride, waiting for Luo Chen’s praise.
Luo Chen chuckled, asking, "So how do you differentiate the commonly seen Earth Ginseng? How do you gauge its age, medicinal properties, and quality?"
Qu Lingjun pressed his lips together and calmly replied.
"We differentiate from five aspects: root hair, knot, skin, pattern, body; these are the Five Forms of ginseng."
"How do you evaluate the root hair?"
"Long root hair that is old but tough, sparse but long, with pearl-like dots is a sign of one-year-old ginseng... Besides that, there are three ways – look, smell, and taste. The Forms belong to the ’looking’ method, smell judges the power of the medicine. It is rumored that even growing in the muddiest place, thousand-year ginseng will still possess a light, pleasant fragrance."
...
"How to differentiate Blue Citrus Grass and Zhan Star Grass?"
"Both have similar shape and smell. However, Blue Citrus Grass when consumed has a mixed taste of sour and sweet."
"But Zhan Star Grass cannot be consumed, it’s poisonous. How can one taste it?"
"At that time, bring offer a Resolving Light Leaf. It can neutralise the poison and if consumed in large quantities, it can even enhance Spirit Power."
...
"What is the meaning of ’illusory gloom’?"
"How can Stone Bamboo be plucked without any damage?"
Question after question, Luo Chen kept throwing at him.
Initially, Qu Lingjun answered quickly and accurately, but later his thinking speed slowed down.
Especially when it came to distinguishing similar herbs, even if Luo Chen took them out of the Storage Bag for him to identify, he had to rack his brains to give an answer.
In this way, time slowly seeped into the afternoon.
In the end, seeing Qu Lingjun covered in sweat, Luo Chen stood up, concluding this session of teaching and testing.
"President Luo, did I pass?"
"Hmm, not bad, although not very skilled, but you’ve basically remembered them all."
Qu Lingjun wiped his sweat, looked up and excitedly asked, "So what is my reward?"
Luo Chen laughed and shook his head, taking out a book from the Storage Bag.
The young boy lowered his head, "Is it the ’Catalogue of Hundred Herbs’ again?"
But once he flipped it open, his jaw dropped.
"Is this the ’Catalogue of Hundred Herbs’ that you have annotated yourself, President Luo?"
"Yes!"
Luo Chen seriously replied, "Memorizing them is just the first step. But each herb has many uses, and how to combine them, measures, things to avoid, you can’t find these details in the book. So, next, you have to become familiar with the characteristics of each herb."
Qu Lingjun restlessly twisted his body, "But, the descriptions in the book are all ’dead’ data!"
"I will permit you to take a certain portion of medicinal herbs from the Medicine Hall for practice."
Upon hearing he could conduct experimental hands-on, Qu Lingjun instantly became excited.
This was great.
"Additionally, I have a talisman for you, for emergency life-saving situations."
"But I haven’t started cultivating yet, I don’t have Spirit Power."
"That’s alright, I have my methods."
Luo Chen smirked slightly, and with a swish of his finger, Qu Lingjun winced closer, realizing his finger was cut open.
"Drip some blood on this talisman."
Clamping his teeth, the young boy tried to show no fear, squeezing a drop of crimson blood onto the yellow talisman.
Luo Chen pinched a gesture with his fingers, casting out several strands of Spirit Power.
And then amidst the flashing Spirit Light, the drop of blood was completely absorbed into the talisman.
"Done, this talisman will save your life if you encounter danger."
"Go and play. You don’t have to study for the rest of today."
Luo Chen waved his hand.
The young boy bit his finger and ran off cheerfully.
Seeing this, Luo Chen couldn’t help but break into a smile.
Not knowing when, Wang Yuan had come to his side.
"You think highly of this child?"
"He’s alright!"
"But he only has Quadruple Spirit Roots. There’s no hope for him on The Great Dao Path."
"Isn’t my aptitude poorer than his?"
"But..."
Luo Chen said lazily, "Having poor aptitude is not necessarily a bad thing. At least, when he knows he can’t hope for the Great Dao in the future, he can settle down, use the time for cultivation, and focus on other things."
Wang Yuan paused, his gaze falling on the "Catalogue of Hundred Herbs" in Luo Chen’s hand that the young boy had been reciting from, and he pondered.