nownovels Chapter 36 Wuzhu
Chapter 36 Wuzhu
Upon arriving at the pool, Cai Xuan had the lively and energetic Xi'er use the eel spear she had brought to spear fish, while he picked up a wicker basket and went to the aquatic plants to break off tender bamboo shoots.
The fish in the pond had never seen a human before, and they were all clueless. When they saw Xi'er approaching with the eel spear, they didn't run away. Instead, they all swam over to see what she was up to.
Xi'er was born recently, and was naturally innocent, devoid of good or evil, like a blank sheet of paper. She clearly lacked any feelings of cuteness, pity, or affection. Therefore, seeing the fish swimming by didn't evoke any particular emotion in her, much less any thought of letting them go. Because at that moment, in her eyes, these fish were simply food.
With one thrust, a fish was caught.
Xi'er took the fish off the plate, put it aside, and continued spearing it.
After spearing several fish in a row, the silly fish in the water finally realized what was happening and scattered in all directions. But after a while, they gathered together again, as if they had forgotten about their companions being speared, blowing bubbles and staring blankly at Xi'er on the shore.
Finding the spears tedious, Xi'er put them aside, raised her fist, and slammed it hard into the water.
"boom--"
Water splashed skyward, and huge waves surged outward from the spot where her fist landed.
Countless fish were stunned by this powerful blow, their bones trembling and their minds going blank. They floated to the surface, their white bellies turned white.
Cai Xuan heard the commotion and ran over. Seeing the fish floating on the surface, he clicked his tongue but ultimately said nothing. He simply cut a stick and some vines to make a makeshift net so she could scoop the fish out of the water and avoid wasting them.
There are so many aquatic plants and bamboo shoots in the pond that you can't pick them all.
Fearing he wouldn't be able to carry too much, Cai Xuan only picked two baskets. While picking, he unexpectedly dug up some things that looked like arrowhead and water chestnuts from under the mud. Feeling they were edible, he thought he'd take them back to check the Xuanhuang Materia Medica.
Suddenly, Cai Xuan slapped his forehead, realizing how foolish he had been.
Didn't the Xuanhuang Medicine Records enter my mind last night? Why do I need to go back and look for it?
He quickly sensed it, flipping through the pages of the Mysterious Wilderness Medicine Record in his mind, finally stopping at one of them.
Look closely, the shape of the plant drawn above is exactly the same as the one I dug out of the mud. This plant is called aquatic chestnut, which, as the name suggests, is a chestnut that grows in water. It is crisp and sweet when eaten raw, and tastes like a chestnut when cooked. It is said to have the effect of strengthening the body.
Cai Xuan hadn't expected to find such a good thing, so he quickly dug up another basketful. After he finished, he found a place to hide it and would retrieve it when he returned.
As for the fish that Xi'er killed, she took it with her on the journey.
The fishy smell is quite strong; if the animals in the forest smell it, they will definitely come and cause trouble.
When they arrived at the place where Mother Earth's Tears grew, the flock of blue sheep with two long, sharp horns they had met yesterday were still there. As if nothing had happened, these blue sheep stood motionless on the rock face, just like yesterday, staring straight at them with their amber eyes.
Cai Xuan glanced at them but ignored them.
Together with Xi'er, they picked the Earth Mother's Tears with baskets. When they reached the last row, the blue sheep, which had been standing motionless on the rock face, suddenly cried out. The sound was sharp and urgent, echoing through the mountains, as if it were telling a story.
Cai Xuan glanced at them, ignored them, and continued to reach out and pick them.
The flock of blue sheep bleated again, even louder than the first time. The lead ram pawed at the rocks with its hooves, head down, its two long horns sticking out, looking as if it were about to charge down from above and fight to the death.
When Cai Xuan saw this, he didn't hold it against himself and left the last row for them.
He then continued on his journey with Xi'er to cut down lightning-struck trees and pick grape-like fruits.
This busy day lasted all day. He left home in the morning and didn't return until evening, but he had a very fruitful day. Cai Xuan put down the baskets he had carried back and the baskets that Xi'er had pulled on the vine cart, and counted them on the platform. There were four baskets of taro, two baskets of earthworm tears, two baskets of aquatic grass shoots, two baskets of aquatic chestnuts, four baskets of fish, three baskets of wild fruits, and a large piece of lightning-struck wood.
Cai Xuan raised an eyebrow as he looked at the large pile of things he had brought back.
With these, I won't need to go hunting for a while; I can stay home and focus on my cultivation, and maybe do some other things as well.
Some of the things they brought back couldn't be eaten immediately and needed to be processed. Cai Xuan first washed the wild fruits he had picked, picked out some of the better ones, put them in an iron basin, and placed them on the wooden table on the platform to eat later; the rest were poured into a basket and placed in a ventilated place to drain.
Just as I was about to continue processing the water chestnuts, I suddenly felt something poking my thigh in my pocket.
Reaching out to take a look, I realized it was a smooth, round, black bead that I had dug out of the lightning-struck wood yesterday.
He took out the bead and placed it on the wooden table before continuing to process the water chestnuts and tears he had brought back. The water chestnuts had to be peeled, cut into strips, and blanched to remove all their wildness before they could be eaten.
I harvested a bit too much this time. Apart from what I need to eat in the next few days, I cut the rest into strips, blanched them, dried them, and stored them for later use.
Treating Mother Earth's Tears is a bit more complicated.
The icy outer shell of this fruit contains the seeds of a plant. It cannot be eaten directly; it must be boiled in water until the seeds float to the surface, then removed, filtered, and cleaned before consumption.
So Cai Xuan boiled a pot of water in the kitchen and poured in the Earth Mother's Tears to cook.
Xi'er watched for a while, then couldn't stay still and ran out to play.
Cai Xuan told her to be careful, but didn't interfere much. Killing the sword-spined crocodile and the long-tusked ferocious boar was as easy as drinking water and eating; he'd rather worry about himself than her.
The little guy ran off to play somewhere, but came back a while later.
He circled around Cai Xuan twice, glancing at what was cooking in the pot, then ran to the wooden table and grabbed a handful of wild fruits from the iron basin to eat. After finishing, he suddenly noticed a smooth, round black bead on the table, so he picked it up and put it into the iron basin containing the wild fruits.
Cai Xuan was busy in the kitchen and didn't notice what was happening outside.
After scooping the Earth Mother Tears seeds out of the pot, he used his clothes to filter the water in the pot to remove impurities before pouring the clean Earth Mother Tears water into the pot and simmering it slowly over low heat.
Finally, I can take a break.
Cai Xuan stretched, walked out of the kitchen, and grabbed a handful of wild fruits from the iron basin on the wooden table and started eating.
"Um?"
Why does the wild fruit I just ate feel a little different? It went down into my stomach before I even broke the skin. Cai Xuan pondered for a moment, realizing that what he had just eaten didn't seem to be wild fruit.
Looking down, I realized that the smooth, round bead I had just placed on the table, which I had dug out of the lightning-struck wood, was gone.
Cai Xuan frowned immediately and turned to Xi'er, who was standing under the vines talking to her sisters, and asked, "Xi Xi, have you seen that bead on the table? The black, round one."
"I saw it. I put the fruit that fell on the table back in," Xi'er said innocently, blinking her beautiful big eyes.
Cai Xuan: "…………"
At this moment, he had no idea what he was eating.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed his words. What bad intentions could the little one possibly have? She had simply put a piece of fruit that had fallen on the table into the bowl.
"It's okay, you can keep playing!" Cai Xuan forced a smile.
Xi'er then turned around and started talking to her younger sisters.
Cai Xuan silently rubbed his stomach, hoping that the bead wasn't something harmful and that it would pass smoothly without getting stuck or causing any problems. If he was constipated and couldn't defecate, then he would really be in big trouble.
Cai Xuan sighed inwardly, losing all interest in eating wild fruits. He turned and went back to the kitchen to continue brewing his Earth Mother's Tears.
The fire on the stove was still burning brightly, and the Earth Mother's Tears simmering in the pot had slowly thickened, emitting a salty and fragrant aroma.
Cai Xuan picked up a wooden spoon and stirred it slowly to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
However, what he didn't know was that the round, dark bead he swallowed never entered his stomach. It slid down his throat, through his esophagus, past the cardia, and suddenly disappeared. It didn't appear in his stomach, nor in his intestines, but suddenly appeared in a completely unexpected place.
Dantian.