26 Five Kinds of Herbs

Li You Ran looked at the green-robed man and said, "You can go now. You’ve done well this time."

The green-robed man became excited as he heard these words. It seemed as if he felt that he had received a huge compliment. He clenched his fists and replied, "This subordinate will be back."

Li You Ran nodded with a calm expression on his face. The green-robed man walked ten steps backwards and turned around. Then, he departed with huge strides. After that, he finally heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t even dare to breathe properly in front of the Young Master.

Li You Ran smiled as his dark hair was blown by a breeze of cool air. "My grandfather is in the palace with the Majesty. Go and inform him that Tang Wan Li has arrived at our residence with a group of experts. But, ask him not to worry. It’s a great opportunity for us… even though it’s not a good sign. But, everything has its pros and cons. What matters is whether or not we can take advantage of this situation."

An affirmative sound rang out in the darkness. The person then departed at a fast speed.

"Jun Mo Xie escaped this time. So, the Jun family has the fortune of keeping out of this situation. But, the Meng family will be forced into an extremely difficult situation if the Old Duke Tang causes any problem. Then, grandfather will need to act… so that the Tang and Meng families become enemies. We can bring the Meng family on our side. We may even convince them to submit. As far as the Jun family is concerned… it won’t be difficult to make plans to deal with them as Jun Mo Xie is the sole successor of the family. But, we can’t make a move against the Dugu family. We’re not in a position to…"

Li You Ran sighed. He then stretched out his white hand and plucked a leaf from the peony tree. It seemed as if he was scared of disturbing the tranquillity of the tree. After that, he lowered his head and looked at the leaf, "But still… it isn’t that bad. At least… it’s interesting."

He could now hear the thundering sound of the hooves of the horses. The sound slowly came closer and stopped at the doors of the Li residence.

Li You Ran smiled and ordered, "Open the doors… and greet the Old Duke with utmost courtesy."

Li You Ran flicked his fingers. Suddenly, his body flashed in a yellow glow. Then, the leaf blew out of his hand with a yellow glow and attached itself to the trunk of the peony tree…

A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky at the same time. The clouds bellowed, and a fearsome wind started to blow.

Suddenly, Li You Ran’s robe was swept upwards by the violent wind. Then, his body disappeared from the courtyard.

*** ***

Where did Jun Mo Xie go?

Grandpa Jun couldn’t imagine that Jun Mo Xie could ever set his foot in that place. Jun Mo Xie had received severe beating – not once but twice – in that place. The beatings had been so severe that Jun Mo Xie hadn’t been able to leave his bed for a fortnight in both the instances. These were the only two times that Jun Mo Xie had received beatings in his family.

This place was the courtyard of Jun Mo Xie’s third uncle – Jun Wu Yi.

Jun Wu Yi had dedicated his entire life to the military. Even his house was located close to the military training ground.

Jun Wu Yi sat quietly in his wheelchair. He looked across the flower garden and stared at the bodyguards of the Jun family exercising in the training ground. His expressions changed. It seemed that his desire to be a warrior once again had been rekindled.

Jun Xie squatted in front of him. He was practising the mysterious Fortune Art while inspecting Jun Wu Yi’s legs. He checked his legs repeatedly from top-to-bottom. He carefully checked every tendon and fibre of his muscles.

Jun Xie’s body didn’t possess any internal energy a month ago. Therefore, it hadn’t been possible for him to check the condition of Jun Wu Yi’s legs earlier. Now, he possessed the internal energy known as the ‘First Eternal Art’ of the Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune. Jun Xie wanted to check as many times as possible in order to decide the method of treatment.

Jun Xie stopped checking his legs after a long while. Sweat was dripping down from his face. He stood-up with bright eyes.

"What’s the condition?" Jun Wu Yi asked in a light tone. It seemed as if he was indifferent to the outcome. However, he had clenched his fists tightly; so much so that the veins on the back of his hands were throbbing in a consistent manner. He couldn’t remain calm; no matter how hard he tried.

He had noticed Jun Xie’s bright eyes. However, he couldn’t convince himself that there was hope for his legs that had been paralyzed for so long.

Jun Xie was his last and only hope.

He couldn’t even dare to ask if he could be cured or not. He had simply asked about the condition of his legs.

He desperately wanted to hear a positive reply from Jun Xie.

Jun Xie smiled and answered, "The condition of your legs isn’t very positive… but it can’t be considered to be negative either. It’ll take a lot of effort… but I think you may be able to stand up again."

"Excellent!" Jun Wu Yi couldn’t contain his excitement any longer. However, there was still a trace of disbelief in his mind. After all, all the renowned doctors had lost hope in him. It was true that this wastrel of his nephew had been acting a bit strange off-lately. But, how did he possess the ability to cure his disability? However, Jun Wu Yi couldn’t even let go of the slightest opportunity. He would – at the most – be disappointed once again even if his nephew was bragging. No one else could understand the Third Master’s frame of mind.

"I’ll make a list of the necessary herbs. Third Uncle will need to make arrangements to procure these herbs. I think that Third Uncle will be able to stand-up soon as long as these herbs are obtained," Jun Xie said.

"Alright! What are the names of these herbs? Are they rare and expensive? I’ll send my men to procure them as soon as possible," Jun Wu Yi said in an apprehensive manner.

"Intestinal Cracker Flower, Common Heart Grass, Nine Leaf Grass, Persistent Severing Root and Blazing Meridian Lotus," Jun Xie stated the names of the five herbs in a single breath. Jun Xie had stated the names of the herbs in the language of his present world. He had been searching through the books in order to find out the names that were used for the herbs in his present world from the past few days. These herbs were obviously known by different names in his past life. Fortunately, there was a huge collection of medicinal books in the library. Jun Xie had identified these herbs by their medicinal value.

"I’ve heard the names of Intestinal Cracker Flower, Common Heart Grass and Persistent Severing Root. But, what kind of herbs are the Nine Leaf Grass and Blazing Meridian Lotus?" Jun Wu Yi asked in a gloomy tone. He had been trying to find a cure for his disability for a very long time. Therefore, he had become an expert on medicines. However, he hadn’t heard the names of the two herbs stated by Jun Xie. But, he was more surprised by the fact that his nephew knew about those herbs.

Jun Xie smiled and took out a book from his bosom. He then opened a page and showed a picture of two plants to Jun Wu Yi. "This is the Nine Leaf Grass and this is the Blazing Meridian Lotus. This Blazing Meridian Lotus herb is the rarest in the list of the herbs that I’ve provided. The rest of the herbs are quite common… and can be easily found in our medical warehouse. They can also be found in the medical shops in the city."

"Great!" Jun Wu Yi replied in a trembling voice. His eyes were fixed on the pictures of the herbs in the book.

Jun Wu Yi had finally become hopeful about his condition after a period of ten years.