When Wang Jiasen saw Zhao Yuan recite the entire general principles in one breath and prepare to continue, he grew frantic and hastily cried out, "Stop reciting! Zhao Xiaoyou, I'm begging you, please stop!"
This was no joke. The Wushan Medical Tales was the Wang Family's most guarded secret. If Zhao Yuan were to reveal the entire text in front of everyone, the loss would be astronomical!
Fortunately, Zhao Yuan was cooperative and actually stopped reciting. This prompted the crowd of onlookers to let out a collective, disappointed sigh. As people who were well-read in medical literature, they could naturally tell that the general principles he had just recited were anything but ordinary. Moreover, Wang Jiasen's frantic reaction had just confirmed that Zhao Yuan was indeed reciting from the Wushan Medical Tales!
That was the Wushan Medical Tales! The classic text treasured by the Wang Family, the very work that had produced countless skilled and famous physicians for their clan! If they could only listen to it once and learn something, the benefits would be absolutely endless!
Disappointed as they were, it wouldn't be right for them to ask Zhao Yuan to continue reciting right in front of Wang Jiasen. However, a single thought surfaced in all of their minds: 'Just what is this kid's background? It's one thing to know the cure for abdominal Gu syndrome, but how has he even read the Wang Family's most guarded secret, the Wushan Medical Tales?'
Wang Jiasen was wondering the same thing. "Zhao Xiaoyou, how do you know the contents of the Wushan Medical Tales?"
"I read it in a book," Zhao Yuan replied, giving the same answer as before.
Wang Jiasen nearly choked.
'I know you read it in a book, but what book was it, and where did you get it?'
Grumble as he might internally, Wang Jiasen didn't press the matter. He could tell Zhao Yuan was determined to be evasive. Since that was the case, it was pointless to keep asking. Besides, they had no deep connection; it was only natural that the young man wouldn't want to reveal secrets about his background or master.
'This kid has to be the successor groomed by the Jinling Zhao Family! Damn it, when did the Jinling Zhao Family get their hands on our Wang Family's Wushan Medical Tales? No, I have to go to the Zhao Family and demand a proper explanation!' Wang Jiasen's mind raced as his imagination ran wild.
Meanwhile, Fang Ling had the pure, star-struck look of a fangirl and exclaimed, "Big Brother is so amazing! He knows everything!"
Soon, an employee from Zhencao Hall had gathered all the herbs on Zhao Yuan's list and brought them over.
Even though Boss Fang had only charged him the cost price, the herbs were all high-quality and expensive, so the final tally came to nearly 150,000. The Ginseng for the Bone Refining Pills and Blood Circulation Soup was the most expensive component, costing a full 100,000. It was all top-quality Forest Ginseng, at least twenty years old. While it couldn't compare to genuine Wild Ginseng, it was still considered an excellent Upper Grade product.
Of the 400,000 he had just earned, almost half was gone in an instant. Zhao Yuan's heart ached. At the same time, he came to a new realization: 'Wealth is absolutely essential for cultivation!'
'I hope this Soul-Stabilizing Incense can help me earn this money back,' Zhao Yuan muttered to himself.
After transferring the remaining money to Zhao Yuan's bank account, Boss Fang asked considerately, "Little Brother Zhao, where should these herbs be delivered? I can have someone send them over for you."
Zhao Yuan froze for a moment. He suddenly realized that with so many herbs, it would be completely impractical to haul them all back to his dorm room. And in the future, he couldn't practice his medicine making and cultivation in the dorm either—not because he feared his secrets would be exposed, but because he didn't want to disturb others or be disturbed himself.
'Looks like I'll have to rent a place off-campus,' Zhao Yuan decided in an instant. He politely declined the offer, "No need to go to the trouble. If you can just find me a burlap sack, I'll carry it all myself."
"Carry it? All these herbs together weigh at least a hundred pounds. You can manage that?" Boss Fang sized Zhao Yuan up, his tone skeptical.
"Don't worry, I can handle it. I might be skinny, but I'm all muscle," Zhao Yuan said, raising his arm to flex his bicep.
Back when he lived in the mountains, Zhao Yuan had often helped his family chop firewood, and a single bundle could easily weigh dozens of pounds. So, while he was thin, he was by no means weak. And that was before his body had been enhanced by the Inheritance Seed and he had started practicing the Four Saints Technique. Carrying over a hundred pounds was no problem at all.
Seeing Zhao Yuan's insistence, Boss Fang didn't try to persuade him further and had an employee find a large burlap sack and load all the herbs into it.
After tying the top of the sack, Zhao Yuan lifted the large bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder in one smooth motion. He looked completely at ease, showing no sign of strain.
"Whoa, look at that! He actually shouldered it!"
"He looks so scrawny, but he's surprisingly strong!"
The crowd gasped in unison, while Boss Fang, Wang Jiasen, and the others looked on in astonishment. Fang Ling clapped her little hands, cheering him on. "Go, Big Brother! You're so amazing!"
Zhao Yuan first gave Fang Ling a warm smile, then turned to Boss Fang. "Boss Fang, I'm heading out. I'm sure I'll have to trouble you again in the future. I hope you won't mind then."
"Little Brother Zhao, you're my, Fang Yi's, benefactor! If you ever need help with anything, just say the word!" Fang Yi declared, thumping his chest with a loud THUMP-THUMP and making a grand, sweeping gesture as he swore his oath.
"Alright!" Zhao Yuan said with a smile and a nod.
It was part of his plan. Once he successfully created the Soul-Stabilizing Incense, it would be difficult to break into the market as a lone student. When that time came, he would definitely need to ask Fang Yi for help.
Just then, Wang Jiasen snapped out of his wild train of thought. Seeing that Zhao Yuan was about to leave, he quickly called out, "Zhao Xiaoyou, could I get your phone number?"
"I don't have a cell phone," Zhao Yuan replied with a shake of his head. Then, still shouldering the hundred-plus pounds of herbs, he walked out of Zhencao Hall without a backward glance.
Watching his retreating back, Wang Xu grumbled, "No cell phone? Who is he trying to fool? The kid obviously just doesn't want to give us his number!"
"Exactly!" Wang Zheng chimed in with a nod. "A guy who spends 150,000 on herbs doesn't have a phone? Who's he kidding!"
"He's making it obvious he doesn't want us to bother him," Wang Jiasen said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "But it's fine. The monk can run, but the temple can't. If he's going to hide, we'll just go to the Jinling Zhao Family and demand an explanation."
Wang Xu and Wang Zheng both nodded in agreement.
Soon, another question occurred to Wang Jiasen. "The general principles Zhao Xiaoyou recited earlier... not a single word was wrong, but his phrasing was a little odd."
Ancient texts didn't have punctuation, so readers had to punctuate the sentences themselves. Sometimes, the same line of text could have vastly different meanings depending on where the breaks were placed. For instance, the famous English sentence "a woman without her man is nothing" can be read as "A woman, without her man, is nothing," or as "A woman: without her, man is nothing," yielding two completely opposite meanings.
The Wushan Medical Tales was an ancient manuscript and naturally had no punctuation. How it was read depended entirely on the individual reader's erudition.
"He must have just been making random breaks in the sentences," Wang Zheng said with a scoff.
"No! That's not it!"
Wang Jiasen held up a hand to silence her, his brow deeply furrowed. He began muttering the differently phrased sections over and over again to himself.
More than ten minutes later, he looked up, his face a mask of shocked disbelief. His voice trembled as he spoke. "It can be phrased like that? And when it is, the meaning is elevated to an entirely new level! This... how can this be? Could it be... that for hundreds of years, the Wang Family's reading has been wrong?"
When Wang Xu and Wang Zheng heard this, they were so shocked they nearly jumped out of their skin.
That kid, Zhao Yuan... his reading of the text had actually surpassed the fruits of the Wang Family's centuries of dedicated study?
Was that... even possible?
How could they possibly know that the version of the Wushan Medical Tales from the Information Leaf had been punctuated by Wu Peng himself? No matter how powerful or glorious the Wang Family was, how could they ever hope to compare to Wu Peng?
What an absolute joke!