The "Great View of Spiritual Medicine" contains a catalog and introduction of various Spirit Medicines.
This surprised Gu Yuan quite a bit:
"This 'Great View of Spiritual Medicine' records information about numerous Spirit Medicines and even covers some basic knowledge about Alchemy and Artifact Refining, which is extremely valuable for ordinary people and even common Martial Masters. It seems this item is definitely not a family heirloom of Shopkeeper Xu; it must have been acquired by him or his ancestors from somewhere."
"However, it conveniently benefits me..."
His eyes flickered with excitement:
"With this, once I become a Medicine Gatherer for the Jade Cauldron Tower, I can naturally put it to use, and with this book, I can gain many advantages over others during herb picking."
After flipping through it casually, Gu Yuan was about to close the book and leave.
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a somewhat familiar pattern on one of the pages.
It was clearly the same as the few special Yellow Essences he had seen previously on the slopes of the Yunmeng Mountain Range!
[Hundred-year-old Yellow Spirit]
Grade: Ninth Grade Spirit Medicine
Ordinary Yellow Spirit, when it reaches a certain age, often spreads its plant to form a 'Yellow Essence Field.' The Yellow Spirit that outlives a century can absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and the essence of sun and moon to become a Spirit Medicine, with benefits of nourishing yin and supplementing yang, replenishing vital energy, and serving as an auxiliary herb for some Spirit Pills. After five hundred years, the Yellow Spirit grows a purple pattern, becoming an Eighth Grade Yellow Spirit, possessing even stronger effects.
It is important to note that Hundred-year-old Yellow Spirit emits a peculiar fragrance that can attract centipede-type monster insects for protection. To repel them, one must lure them away using rooster blood.
....
"Using rooster blood to lure them away? Excellent! It's true what they say, search high and low and find it effortlessly!"
Gu Yuan was quite pleased:
"I was just worrying about not finding a way to deal with that monster centipede, and I found it here."
He carefully read the introduction, a slight cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth:
"This old Xu must have read this book and suspected that I discovered a Yellow Essence Field, thus set his eyes on me. Hmph, as the saying goes, heaven punishes, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable!"
...
When Gu Yuan returned home, the sky was already completely dark.
Just as he arrived at the doorstep, his keen sense of smell picked up two unfamiliar scents.
"Someone came to my home?"
Gu Yuan felt a hint of vigilance, but upon pushing open the door, he found not only his parents inside but two additional people as well.
One was a haggard-featured, slender middle-aged woman with slightly swollen, red eyes. The other was a child about seven or eight years old.
These two were obviously a mother and her son, and Gu Yuan recognized them as the Sun Widow and her son, Sun Zhong, from the same village.
Last year, the Sun Widow's husband went hunting in the mountains, and it wasn't clear what beast he encountered, but when found, half his head was gone, and much of his abdomen had been hollowed out.
Fortunately, the Sun Widow still had a son, so she wasn't left without a lineage. Though life was difficult, there was still some hope.
Even so, as a woman who had to raise a son alone, her life was evidently not easy.
This was apparent from their shabby clothing and gaunt, sallow faces.
Upon seeing Gu Yuan, the Sun Widow paused, visibly fearful, nervously hiding the cloth bag in her hand behind her back, managing a forced smile:
"Oh, it's Ah Yuan back home."
Gu Yuan acted as if he hadn't noticed her small gesture, greeting her calmly: "Hello, Auntie."
"Oh, hello."
The Sun Widow seemed momentarily stunned, perhaps not expecting the notorious Gu Yuan to be so amiable. She quickly tapped her son on the head: "Call your Brother Yuan quickly."
The child, however, clung to the Sun Widow's hand, hiding behind her without daring to speak, only peeking at Gu Yuan with wide, bright eyes through the gaps.
"This child!"
The Sun Widow stroked his head but said nothing more. She bowed her head and thanked Gu's mother profusely before taking her leave.
Once the mother and son were out of sight, Gu Yuan looked at his mother in confusion and asked, "Mother, what's with these two?"
"Oh, they came to borrow some grain."
Gu's mother sighed and shook her head:
"This year's harvest wasn't good; after paying the rent, there's not much left for the two of them. By yesterday, their rice jar was nearly empty."
"Just now, they were kneeling at the door, asking if we could lend them some grain."
"They probably went around the village all day before coming to us, but at this time of year, who would have extra grain?"
Gu Yuan chuckled, knowingly: "So you lent them some?"
Before his mother could speak, Father Gu Dashan chuckled and teased: "Don't you know your mother by now? She may have a sharp tongue, but she's soft-hearted. She couldn't stand to see things like this."
Gu's mother shot a look at Gu Dashan but didn't say anything. She just sighed: "What else could I do? It's freezing cold; if I don't lend them some, should I just watch them starve to death?"
"Besides, even if I'm soft-hearted, it's selective. If it were some ingrates, they would have been scolded away by me long ago. The Sun Widow isn't like that; helping her is the right thing to do."
Since half a month ago, when Gu Yuan broke Dong Gui and Sun Er's hands and feet, he had become known in the village as someone not to be trifled with. Rumors spread that Gu Yuan often went into the mountains to chop firewood and carried it to the city to sell for money.
Therefore, even though Gu Yuan's family had grain, it didn't particularly attract attention.
The elderly couple invited Gu Yuan for dinner, chatting about trivial daily matters.
"Hmm?!"
Gu Yuan glanced in the direction where the Sun Widow and her son had left. The outside sky was dim, and the mother and son's figures were already out of sight, yet Gu Yuan still felt a bit uncertain.
Just moments ago, when the Sun Widow and her son passed by the hidden Iron-toothed Rat, Ah Huang, a hint of fear emerged from Ah Huang, though it was unclear whether it was directed at the Sun Widow or the young boy, Sun Zhong.
Animals often have senses more acute than humans.
In Gu Yuan's previous life, when an earthquake occurred in some places, rats, cats, dogs, and snakes often sensed anomalies and exhibited various reactions.
Iron-toothed Rats, being unique among rodents, need not be mentioned!
Being able to detect certain abnormalities is not at all strange.
Thus, Gu Yuan did not consider it a delusion on Ah Huang's part.
This mother and son duo certainly had something strange about them!
...
The matter of the Sun Widow borrowing grain ultimately remained a minor incident.
The next morning, Gu Yuan shouldered a bamboo basket and headed into the Yunmeng Mountain Range.
This time, he intended to deal with that monster centipede!
After more than half an hour, Gu Yuan arrived at the slopes where he had previously discovered Yellow Spirit.
Standing atop a rock, Gu Yuan gazed at the Spirit Medicine Yellow Spirit plants not far away.
The weather was cold, and even Yellow Spirit plants that had been growing for decades showed some yellowing and wilting of leaves. However, these Spirit Medicine Yellow Spirit plants still thrived, their leaves lush and green, unaffected in the slightest.