Even if Jin Xiaolou didn't believe in ghosts or gods, she would still run out subconsciously after seeing such a bizarre scene.
Behind him, a low and aged voice rang out, "Is this old man that scary?"
After the old man finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something and took out a pine stick torch from behind him. He then took out a fire piston and lit it.
The dark cave suddenly lit up.
Jin Xiaolou then covered her heart that was thumping loudly, and turned to look back.
The old man had long silvery-white hair and was wearing maroon cotton pants. He was thin, and the wrinkles on his face made him look like a gnarled old tree. He looked energetic like a teenager, but his dark eyes seemed to be covered in a layer of white mist.
"The little girl runs faster than a rabbit!" The old man held onto the antler and gently pushed it forward. The deer then took two steps forward, "Stop staring. This old man has been blind for thirty years."
Jin Xiaolou was shocked, retracting her gaze from the old man's eyes, somewhat suspicious: "You … Since your eyes are blind, how do you know that I'm a little girl and that I'm looking into your eyes? "
The old man chuckled, "I also know that there's a half-dead man lying at the entrance of the cave. He's injured, and even though you've stopped the bleeding, it'll be difficult for him to recover without the use of herbs."
Jin Xiaolou trembled, but before she even had the chance to ask, the old man had already answered: "If I'm blind, then my ears and nose are smarter. Inside the cave, one close, two sounds of breathing. It is so far away and so slow yet so ethereal. It must be a man whose body is unwell, and the smell of blood is faintly floating in the air. This old man does not need to see to know it clearly. "
Jin Xiaolou knew that she had met an expert, and quickly bowed to the old man: "I hope the old man can save the man at the cave."
The old man shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that you guys came thirty years too late. Thirty years ago, this old man swore that he would never treat anyone in his life again."
Saying that, he patted Lu Zi's butt, turned around, and left.
Jin Xiaolou was dumbstruck. She suspected that she must have been dreaming, or else how could an old man who appeared so strangely and acted so abruptly in a cave with nothing on top of the perilous peak?
And riding a deer...
Just as he was in a daze, the old man suddenly turned his head and shouted at Jin Xiaolou: "This girl is really dumb, if I don't treat her, won't you come and beg me? If you say a few more words, perhaps things will turn for the better? "
Jin Xiaolou was even more so full of question marks...
She fiercely pinched her thigh and grimaced in pain. After confirming that it wasn't a dream, she lifted her leg and ran for her life towards the cave entrance.
He sat beside Gao Lang and held his hands tightly. After resting for a long time, he finally calmed down.
He would definitely not be able to fall asleep now. Looking at the dim light in the cave, she tried to figure out what to do. After a long time, she raised her hand to touch Gao Lang's forehead.
Because the wound was infected and had become inflamed, Gao Lang had already started to have a fever, I'm afraid the elder was right, the blood had stopped, but if there were no medicinal herbs to cure the flames, Gao Lang's body would not be able to handle the fever.
"There are no ghosts or gods in this world!" Jin Xiaolou recited it three times in silence.
I think that the old man must be a hidden expert that lives in the mountains. Maybe he can really save Gao Lang!
Jin Xiaolou was no longer afraid. She quickly got up and walked towards the depths of the cave.
The exterior of the cave was narrow and spacious, and the deeper they went, the more moist it became. There were even water droplets that constantly dripped down from the ceiling, condensing into an upside-down gray stalactite.
There were also many stalagmites on the ground. Some were thick and some were thin. They all had different shapes.
Further up in the distance, beside a wall filled with stone ears, flowed a dark river. The river water was so clear that it looked like a layer of glass, causing Jin Xiaolou to click her tongue.
The more Jin Xiaolou walked, the colder it became. In the end, he could not help but hold onto both of her arms and keep rubbing them.
In front of him was a cave wall that suddenly became as narrow as a stone door.
A moist wind blew over, and what entered his sight was a wide and empty valley. The mountain top was split open, revealing two pine trees at a slanted angle, revealing a small half of the sky.
At this moment, a clear moon hung in the sky, sprinkling the valley with silver frost.
Inside the valley, needless to say, the craggy rocks formed a shallow lake as the dark river flowed out from underground. However, what surprised Jin Xiaolou was that in the middle of the lake, there was a small piece of dry land covered in grass.
The stalactite was completely snow-white, and layer upon layer piled up. It was about three stories tall.
The center of the three-story stalactite had been hollowed out by someone. It was surrounded by relief sculptures, made into curved cornice corners along the lines of the stone, and the windows were wide open. It was actually a small building built on natural stalactites.
A torch was stabbed into the ground in front of the stone building, and a wooden stake was tied to the deer.
Shocked, Jin Xiaolou waded through the water and headed towards the stone tower.
The relief on the stone tower was vivid and lifelike, as if it was depicted as the story of a small herb child picking medicinal herbs to study.
Behind the stone house, there was an open door. Just as Jin Xiaolou walked in, the old man's voice came out: "Come in."
The stone house was divided into two floors, Jin Xiaolou could not see what was inside, but the things below were all filled with books.
From the stone books to the bamboo slips to the paper books, each shelf was neat and tidy, even though there were many of them.
He casually took out a bamboo scroll from the nearest shelf, opened it and gently caressed it while saying to Jin Xiaolou: "It's not that I don't want to save you, but this old man made a bet with someone thirty years ago, if you lose, you would just stare at yourself blindly, never treat anyone's illness, and never take a step out of this cave."
Jin Xiaolou saw that the bamboo block he was holding wasn't written in ink, but was engraved with a blade.
The classification on the wooden shelf was herbs.
Jin Xiaolou had a bellyful of questions, she immediately asked her most important question: "Then old man, you just said that if I begged you, could there be a chance?"
The old man laughed, "If I didn't say so, why would you follow me? I've been in this cave for thirty years, and you're the second person I've seen.
Jin Xiaolou's heart relaxed, she felt that this elder was somewhat interesting.
"Then this stone tower was built by you? Is that your story carved outside the building? " Jin Xiaolou continued to ask.
Hearing that she was writing again, the old man became especially excited, that look made Jin Xiaolou suspicious, even if he did not ask, he would tell him everything.
"The apprentice alchemist carved outside the stone tower is my master. When he was alive, one third of the people in the world wanted him dead, and the other third wanted him to save their lives."
"Is he a teacher? "Old man, are you a doctor too?" Jin Xiaolou asked.
The old man shook his head: "He is not a doctor, he is his ancestor!"
With that, he moved his finger away from the bamboo block and pointed at the top of his head. "The pills stored upstairs are all made by my master when he was still alive. If you can steal a pill and get out, then even if you find a bag of dregs, you won't need to worry about eating anything for the rest of your life."
Jin Xiaolou's eyes became brighter and brighter. Since the old man's master was so powerful, then he was not bad either. Gao Lang could be saved!
Since this old man had an oath, he had to think of a way.
Seeing that Jin Xiaolou had stopped talking, the old man left the bamboo block and could not help but ask: "Little lady, why are you mute? "Do you have anything else you'd like to ask me?"
Jin Xiaolou suddenly had an idea, she coughed lightly, and said: "No."
"Aren't you curious about what I'm going to eat and drink in this cave? How do I take a bath?" The old man became anxious and started talking non-stop, "Also, how did my master die? What kind of bet did I make 30 years ago …"
Jin Xiaolou didn't care about anything else, but she wanted to know what kind of bet this elder made thirty years ago, but she had to hold back her curiosity.
He continued, "If you don't want to know, since you can't save my husband, I have to leave now. I have to take my husband down the mountain to see a doctor."
With that, he lifted his foot and was about to leave.
The old man hurriedly said, "Those doctors are all quack doctors, how can they be compared with me! You, you don't know, I am the famous Medicine King Zou Miaomiao! "
"Never heard of it." Jin Xiaolou walked out of the stone building.
The old man hurried out and stood in the doorway.
Jin Xiaolou deliberately sighed, "Sigh, if I leave now, you might have to wait another thirty years before you can meet the next person. It's been a long time, and there's only one deer accompanying you, chatting to relieve your boredom."
"Wait!" The old man stepped out of the stone door. "Good girl, how about you talk to me some more …"
Jin Xiaolou turned around and smiled, "If you want me to chat to relieve your boredom, that is, unless you agree to save my family's hubby."
The old man's face darkened as he retreated two steps. "No, this won't do. I swear it."
With that, he lowered his head in regret. "Leave …"
"You promised not to worry." Seeing his expression, Jin Xiaolou slowly said, "I have a way to save my master, and I won't go against your oath."
"Think about it. If you help to save someone, the two of us will naturally have to stay here for a period of time. We will ensure that you will say everything that you have not said in the past thirty years!"
The old man shook his head. "There is no such way. I swear I will not save anyone. If I save that man, then I will break my oath. If I keep my oath, then I will not be able to save him."
"You can teach me some of your medical skills." Jin Xiaolou chuckled: "You only swore that you are not allowed to save anyone, but did not say that you are not allowed to teach anyone. After you teach me, who I am going to save, that will naturally be my problem."
Zou Miaomiao laughed, "Little girl, you are quite good at thinking about this. However, my master's medical skills are naturally unbeatable to men and women. Let alone a few words, you can't even get a prescription from him."
Just as Jin Xiaolou was feeling disappointed, she heard the old man speak again: "However, you did remind me. As long as you can stay and chat with me to relieve your boredom, in return, you can read any book in this stone tower. "
Jin Xiaolou's extinguished hope ignited once again. Just now, when she swept her eyes over it, she found that most of the shelves were filled with medical books.
"If you can read half a day's worth of books here, I dare not say anything else. At least, you are better than those quack doctors at the foot of the mountain." Zou Miaomiao said clearly.