Chapter 16 Coincidence (Two in One)
Lin Bai thought for a long time and decided to be Xiuxiu's partner in collecting herbs.
More than twenty days have passed since the incident, and there is indeed no movement in the city. Even if Elder Tong's departure was a false shot, by now, he probably wouldn't be able to be vigilant all the time.
In addition, I also have a reasonable motive for collecting medicine. Everyone on the street knows that Lin Zhuanlun is weak and wants to be treated by a doctor.
Of course, you still have to be careful, don't show even a little bit of your prowess, and try to show that you don't practice martial arts.
Furthermore, we have to find another place to collect herbs, instead of going to the place where we met the man in Tsing Yi last time. Anyway, Tianlang Mountain is very big and there are many roads up the mountain.
And the most important point is that Lin Bai couldn't bear to live up to Zhong Xiuxiu's expectant eyes.
Although this little girl is a bit nagging, she is still a teacher. If she has anything to do, she will hold out three fingers to imply that she owes her family three pieces of silver.
But the people are actually quite nice.
Moreover, this girl probably doesn't have many friends, otherwise she wouldn't want to be her partner.
"Ahem, I still have something to do." Lin Bai said.
Zhong Xiuxiu's shining eyes immediately dimmed, "Okay." After she said that, she lowered her head and walked out, her steps hesitant.
When Lin Bai saw how disappointed she was, he immediately felt regretful and felt that he shouldn't bully children.
"Don't go! I haven't finished speaking yet!" Lin Bai quickly grabbed her head and said, "You call me brother, and I will go with you."
Zhong Xiuxiu turned around, raised her head, and stared at Lin Bai with her dark eyes, as if she was weighing whether Lin Bai was teasing her.
She hesitated for a while, bit her lower lip with her little tiger teeth, and said with difficulty: "Brother."
"Let's go!" Lin Bai locked the door, feeling satisfied.
If you can't bully an elder, you can't bully a kid?
Lin Bai grabbed her backpack and walked away.
Zhong Xiuxiu was stunned for a moment, then followed up with a straight face angrily, but didn't say a word.
After leaving the city, crossing the market, the two of them came to the foot of the mountain.
"I went to the market to find you first. They said that you haven't been out of the stall for a long time and have been recuperating at home. Is it true?" Zhong Xiuxiu held it in for a while, and finally couldn't help it and continued to chatter.
"Don't ask about this kind of thing!" Lin Bai put on the most annoying adult face for children.
"Diseases are taboo and medical treatment is taboo." Zhong Xiuxiu muttered in a low voice.
Lin Bai ignored her and looked for herbs with a hoe while paying attention to his surroundings.
There was nothing unusual this time. On the way, we met several farmers who went up the mountain to collect herbs and firewood. Zhong Xiuxiu even chatted with them for a while.
After a busy day, the two went down the mountain.
The market at the gate of Beicheng had not yet ended. People who were familiar with Lin Bai also said hello one after another. They just winked and meant a lot.
Lin Bai ignored him, but Zhong Xiuxiu kept looking at Lin Bai with confusion.
Returning to Baicaotang, Lin Bai found that Doctor Bai's face was less colorful than before, and he also looked depressed.
"Doctor Bai, what's wrong with you?" Lin Bai asked with concern.
Lin Bai was not hypocritically polite, but sincerely concerned.
In this world, the only ones who really treat me well are Sister Zhen and Doctor Bai.
Sister Zhen gave gifts of buns and shoes, and also paid them back, because she wanted to live together;
Dr. Bai not only owed money for soups and medicines on credit, but also borrowed medical books. He was a truly benevolent doctor who asked for nothing.
"I go to see doctors every day, and it's so hot. I'm tired." Zhong Xiuxiu's face that was still smiling immediately turned into a sad one, and she stepped forward to give Dr. Bai a pat on the back.
"I'm fine." Doctor Bai shook his head and smiled, "I'm getting older, I have no appetite in summer, and my energy and blood are weak. It's okay."
"I say that every time." Zhong Xiuxiu whispered.
"You go cook first." Doctor Bai looked at Zhong Xiuxiu lovingly and said with a smile, "I'll have a chat with Xiao Lin."
Zhong Xiuxiu glanced at Lin Bai, then nodded and walked to the back of the hall.
"Have you finished reading the articles on febrile diseases?" Doctor Bai's voice was slightly less energetic than before.
"I've finished reading it." Lin Bai handed over his hand to express his gratitude for borrowing the book.
Doctor Bai pressed his hands, motioned to sit down, and asked a few more questions from the book.
Lin Bai had already read it by heart, so he naturally responded fluently.
"You are indeed attentive." Doctor Bai nodded, quite satisfied.
The two chatted some more about the problems in medical books, and Zhong Xiuxiu had already prepared the meal.
Rice porridge, steamed buns, pickles, and three boiled eggs, which are slightly better than ordinary people.
After dinner, Xiuxiu put away the bowls and chopsticks and poured the wild chrysanthemum tea she had brewed earlier.
"I heard that you have never been selling straw sandals." Dr. Bai drank tea, his pale face improved a little, and said with a smile: "You are still young, don't be too arrogant, you must know that people's words are not enough to be afraid."
This was to prevent him from being angry because of the rumors of "kidney deficiency", and Lin Bai would naturally learn from it.
"Have you ever thought about doing something else to make a living?" Doctor Bai asked again.
"I just want to learn some medical skills." Lin Bai guessed what Doctor Bai was going to say.
Sure enough, Doctor Bai then said: "If you want to learn medicine, it is not enough to just read books. You also need to see more patients to confirm what you have learned. If you are willing, why not come to Baicao Hall to help me? Although I can't be a doctor Teacher, but a little guidance is okay.”
Lin Bai immediately stood up and bowed down to worship.
There are many skills but not too much! Lin Bai still wants to go out to work in the future, and learning some medical skills will be beneficial to him.
Traveling at home, killing people and selling goods, and not knowing some medical skills are also bad.
"Good boy, you can come tomorrow." After finishing speaking, Doctor Bai looked quite tired.
"Yes, then I won't disturb your husband's rest." Lin Bai stood up to say goodbye, and his title also changed.
"Let Xiuxiu give it to you." Doctor Bai said again.
Zhong Xiuxiu saw Lin Bai out, and immediately became proud and whispered: "You will be the apprentice of Baicao Hall from now on. I will go in before you. From now on, you have to call me senior sister."
Lin Bai smiled, flicked her head, and said: "You are Doctor Bai's granddaughter. I am Doctor Bai's apprentice. I am the same generation as your parents. According to seniority, you should respect me as uncle!"
Zhong Xiuxiu was stunned. She thought about Lin Bai's words and found that there was nothing wrong with them.
Lin Bai took a few steps forward proudly, and suddenly discovered a problem: Doctor Bai didn't mention wages.
In fact, apprentices are unpaid, but the meaning of what Doctor Bai just said was that he clearly did not treat himself as an apprentice.
Although Lin Bai still owed three coins, Dr. Bai was such a meticulous and gentle person, so he definitely had to mention it.
"Could it be that Doctor Bai... wants to leave Baicaotang to me?"
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him. He has no descendants and is older. Xiu Xiu is still young. If something happens to him..."
Lin Bai turned around and looked at Baicaotang. Xiuxiu was still standing stupidly at the door, tilting her head and looking at herself.
After returning home, Lin Bai continued to practice Wuji Kung Fu.
As he practiced for a long time, Lin Bai felt more and more that the Wuji Kung Fu became more and more difficult as he progressed, and his progress became slower.
But because of this, every time you make a little progress, there will be a huge improvement.
After breaking through the second level of Wuji Gong, Lin Bai practiced hard in the stone disk space for more than three years, and he had already seen the threshold of the third level.
The next day, Lin got up before dawn, washed up and went to Baicaotang. Doctor Bai has just gotten up, and Xiuxiu is still rubbing her eyes.
After having breakfast and not feeling sick, Doctor Bai asked Lin Bai to open the medicine cabinet and identify the smells one by one.
If a patient comes to the door, Dr. Bai will take the pulse first, then let Lin Bai take the pulse, and then let Lin Bai speak first, and then he will give instructions and corrections.
For people with dislocated bones or broken bones, Doctor Bai would explain it in detail and even let Lin Bai touch the bones.
Anyway, as long as there is a patient, Doctor Bai will definitely take Lin Bai aside to take a closer look and explain bit by bit in detail.
If nothing happened, Lin Bai would read medical books, or Dr. Bai would explain past cases.
Most of the poor people in Beicheng have inherited Doctor Bai's kindness, and no one refuses to let Doctor Bai teach students. Instead, they feel that if Doctor Bai accepts a disciple, Baicao Hall can continue to be passed down in Beicheng in the future.
Therefore, Lin Bai could feel the pulse of even the women who came to his house.
Such no secrets were hidden. It was not the attitude towards an apprentice at all. Instead, it was like being passed down from person to person. Xiuxiu looked a little envious.
Ten days passed like this, Lin Bai studied medicine during the day and practiced martial arts at night, without missing a beat.
This morning, the sky was a little cloudy.
Lin Bai went out and passed by Mu Zhen's steamed bun shop when he was stopped by her.
"Go to work at Baicaotang?" Mu Zhen took the time to ask while busy serving steamed buns to people.
Many people in Beicheng knew that Lin Bai had become Doctor Bai's apprentice. Some people already called him Doctor Lin, but there were still people who called him Lin Zhuanlun in a mean way.
"Yes, is there something wrong with Sister Zhen?" Lin Bai looked like a gentleman and said to himself that Sister Zhen seems to be a little older.
"I had a stiff neck last night. Come back tonight and bring me some medicine." Mu Zhen said casually.
It's just that her hands and feet are flexible and her neck can stretch freely. How can she look like she has a stiff neck?
Besides, there is no need to take medicine for stiff neck. Just heat the rolling pin and roll it out...
"Okay, then I'll be back early."
Lin Bai glanced at Mu Zhen again and realized that Mu Zhen was getting more and more beautiful... It would be nice to roll her neck, the white flowers looked like white noodles.
Recently, except for sleeping, I have been spending most of my time in Baicao Hall, and I have not spoken to Mu Zhen. She probably has something to say...
"I guess I want to ask if my kidney deficiency has been cured. In this world, Sister Zhen is probably the one who cares most about me...my kidneys."
Lin Bai muttered blindly as he walked towards Baicaotang.
After another tiring day, Lin Bai was ready to leave after dinner to soothe the widow's lonely heart.
"Don't leave yet, let's talk."
Doctor Bai actually tried to persuade him to stay. He took out a small wine jar and said, "Try the medicinal wine I brewed. It has rained a lot recently and the humidity is heavy. It is just right to remove the moisture."
"Okay." Lin Bai sat down, took the wine jar, and poured wine for Dr. Bai, thinking that he could only let Sister Zhen wait any longer.
"I'm going to bed first. You have to keep an eye on my grandpa." Zhong Xiuxiu cut a melon for dinner and seriously warned Lin Bai.
"Don't worry." Lin Bai agreed, still thinking about what Doctor Bai was going to do today, was he going to teach me his special skills? Then this lacks a sense of ritual. You should knock me on the head three times with a medical book first...
After drinking a drink, Doctor Bai suddenly asked with a smile: "Have you learned martial arts?"
Lin Bai was still chewing on the melon. He was shocked when he heard this, but his face remained unchanged.
There is a saying in the Flying Knife Manual that even if the mountains collapse and the ground collapses, and there is thunder in your chest, you should remain calm.
Lin Bai immediately wanted to clear the pass.
After following Doctor Bai every day these days, Lin Bai was very sure that Doctor Bai had no martial arts skills.
And because he was by Doctor Bai's side every day, he also noticed something strange about himself.
Sure enough, Doctor Bai smiled kindly and continued: "Although you act like you are sloppy every day, your hands and feet are very steady when you are taking medicine and weighing it. Your sense of smell, hearing and eyesight are much sharper than ordinary people. Your breathing is also long, and you rarely fail. Khan, this is not an ordinary practitioner.”
At this point, Doctor Bai asked: "Have you ever practiced internal martial arts?"
Lin Bai suddenly remembered that after he recovered from that illness, he came to Baicaotang to express his gratitude, and Doctor Bai checked his pulse. Maybe he had doubts then...
"You can't escape Mr. Bai's wise eyes." Lin Bai smiled bitterly and poured Dr. Bai wine.
Doctor Bai shook his head with a smile, took a sip of wine, and said: "What's wrong with your eyesight? It's just that you look too much like my daughter."
"Xiuxiu's mother? She also practiced internal martial arts?" Lin Bai was puzzled. He remembered that people on the street said that Doctor Bai's daughter married far away. Later, both husband and wife seemed to have died outside, leaving only the orphan Xiu Xiu. .
"Yeah."
Doctor Bai looked at the night outside the window and said, "That girl is just like Xiu Xiu. She has been smart since she was a child. It's just that she is not as well-behaved as Xiu Xiu, nor is she as down-to-earth as Xiu Xiu."
"One day, she went into the mountains to collect herbs and met someone. She was fed some kind of ecstasy soup. She had to go with him. I had no choice but to go with her."
"Eight years later, she came back alone and said she was married. After staying for a few days, she left again."
"Three years later, she sent over two-year-old Xiuxiu. She stayed in the medicine hall for another half a year, telling me many things about the world. She also said that she would teach me excellent internal skills to prolong my life, but I am not very good at medicine. How can I learn martial arts if I have never learned anything in my life?”
"Later she left Xiuxiu behind and left alone, saying that if she didn't come back within a year, she wouldn't have to wait for her."
Doctor Bai's voice became lower and lower, and his tone was quite sad.
Obviously, now that Xiuxiu is ten years old, the one-year limit has passed long ago, so Xiuxiu's parents are probably gone.
The shadow of the candle flickered, and for a while, the old and the young were speechless, each just sipping the bitter wine.
After a long time, Lin Bai asked: "Which sect did Xiu Xiu Niang join?"
Doctor Bai drank another glass of wine, thought for a while, and said: "It seems to be some kind of Qingyang sect. She said that the founder of the sect saw Qingyang and enlightened him, so he named it Qingyang sect."
"Qingyang Sect... Qingyang Sect..."
Lin Bai remembered Pei Wuyou's last words, asking him to find some Qingyang sect.
Could it be that Pei Wuyong was actually talking about the Qingyang Sect, not the Qingyang Sect?
In this way, Xiuxiu and Pei Wuyong may know each other...or have some kind of connection.
Lin Bai suddenly thought that he had never understood the affairs of the world and did not dare to ask around. But Xiuxiu's mother had told Doctor Bai, and it had not been many years, so she could just ask.
"Mr. Bai, has Mother Xiuxiu ever said anything about the masters in the world?" Lin Bai asked.
Doctor Bai thought for a while, shook his head and said: "She said a lot, but I don't remember a few. But she said that she and her husband were not convinced by anyone, but she was most convinced by one person."
"Who is it?" Lin Bai asked.
"Said to be a swordsman," the candlelight reflected on Doctor Bai's old face, wavering, "it seems to be called Pei Wuyou."
Lin Bai was silent, only feeling that it was a coincidence.
If he hadn't been discovered by Xue Ba's brother-in-law in Nancheng, he wouldn't have taken Xue Ba to Tianlang Mountain.
If he hadn't gone to Tianlang Mountain, he wouldn't have been asked by Pei Wuyong on his deathbed, nor would he have been frightened half to death by the man in green.
If he hadn't come to borrow medical books, he would not have caught Doctor Bai's eyes, nor would he have known about Xiuxiu's mother, nor would he have known that Xiuxiu's parents were related to Pei Wuyong.
Lin Bai felt a headache, and felt that he had entered the Jianghu, and he was afraid that he would be in more trouble in the future.
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Recently, the chapters have been slowed down, and I write more about daily life and characters, because I want to introduce the background and world view. How do you feel, readers? Is the pace slow? Give me some advice
(Please give me another ticket, a recommended ticket, a monthly ticket. Please)
(End of chapter)