Chapter Seven: The Crimson Root and Emerald Leaves Grass

  "How are you here? Weren't you locked up?" Er Hu Zi, originally named Chen Hu, two years older than Yang Yu Xi, ran over and asked in surprise.

  Yang Yu Xi got up from the ground, patted the dirt off, raised an eyebrow: "Why can't I be here? Although I was locked up, today is the Lantern Festival, so of course I have to come out and play."

  Chen Hu nodded, and Yang Yu Xi looked around him curiously and asked: "Hey, why didn't I see you with Xiao Yan today?"

  Chen Hu's face was immediately filled with disappointment: "Xiao Yan'er is locked at home and can't come out."

  "How could this be? Isn't today the Lantern Festival?" Yang Yu Xi vaguely felt that something was off.

  Chen Hu shook his head: "I don't know, but I heard that today Xiaoyan's father was very angry and severely punished Xiaoyan, and didn't allow her to participate in the Lantern Festival."

  Yang Yu Xi was getting anxious and hastily asked: "Do you know why Xiao Yan Er's father is angry?"

  Chen Hu looked at Yang Yu Xi with some surprise, and after a long time, he slowly lowered his head to look at the ground, opening his mouth slowly: "It seems that last night, Xiao Yan Er slipped away somewhere, and didn't come back until dawn. Fortunately, Xiao Yan Er didn't meet any bad people, or else it would have been terrible. However, if she had encountered danger, I would definitely go to save her, you would too, right? Eh, Yu Xi?"

  Chen Hu suddenly lifted his head, but there was no sign of Yang Yu Xi in front of him. He hastily turned around and saw that Yang Yu Xi was rapidly moving away from the crowd towards Lan Yu Yan's home.

  "Xiao Yan'er, I'm sorry!"

  The front of the building was bustling with activity, but inside the residential area it was quiet and deserted, with no one in sight.

  Yang Yu Xi swiftly darted around the room, like a waterfall of moonlight pouring down on him, resembling a small wild beast with an anxious heart.

  He stopped in front of Lan Yu's house and was about to knock on the door, but he immediately stopped and thought for a moment before going around to that window.

  The window was slightly ajar, just like yesterday.

  "Xiao Yan'er?!" Yang Yu Xi said softly.

  A faint creaking sound of wooden furniture came from inside the house, and a slightly weak and surprised voice rang out: "Yu Xi Gege!?"

  Yang Yu Xi heard Lan Yu Yan's voice and was overjoyed, immediately no longer hesitating, quickly flipping through the window, entering into the room.

  There was no lighting in the house, only a silver-white moonlight shining down. Yang Yu Xi carefully skirted around the tables and chairs, coming to an ordinary wooden bed.

  On the bed lay a delicate figure, who was struggling to sit up at this moment, but kept trembling. Under the moonlight, it looked so pitiful and touching.

  Yang Yu Xi quickly ran over and helped Lan Yu Yan sit up, just as he touched Lan Yu Yan, she let out a pained cry.

  "Huh?" It wasn't until then that Yang Yu Xi saw clearly, on Lan Yu Yan's body were clear blood marks, obviously whip scars, the blood marks dotted on her snow-white skin, shocking to behold.

  Yang Yu Xi couldn't help but feel angry from the bottom of his heart, clenching his fists tightly, and asked: "What's going on?!"

  Although it hurt, Lan Yu Yan still smiled and leaned back against the bed, shaking her head and saying, "It's nothing."

  Yang Yu Xi suddenly became furious and roared: "I'm asking you what's going on here!"

  Lan Yu was taken aback, then lowered her head and said in a low voice: "This morning when I came back, I was discovered by my father and beaten severely. Then I couldn't attend the Lantern Festival...I couldn't accompany you to watch the lanterns together. I'm really sorry, I was too careless..."

  Yang Yu Xi looked at the little girl in front of him with a apologetic face, his heart filled with pity and love. He gently stretched out his hand and pulled the girl into his arms, letting her lean against his still not very sturdy chest. Lan Yu Yan lightly sobbed, her tears wetting Yang Yu Xi's collar.

  "Foolish girl, you haven't wronged me, it's I who have wronged you, causing you to suffer." Yang Yu Xi gently patted Lan Yu Yan's body and said in a low voice.

  Lan Yu Yan didn't say anything, she just shook her head.

  Yang Yu Xi let go of Lan Yu Yan, gently lifted her arm, and the whip marks were very severe, without any mercy.

  "Despicable! You actually used so much force!" Yang Yu Xi gritted her teeth, extremely furious.

  "It's okay, it'll be fine in a few days..." Lan Yu Yan smiled, but it only made her look even more desolate.

  Yang Yu Xi said: "No way, I can't bear to see you stuck in bed for several days. I'll go find medicine right now and definitely cure you quickly!"

  After finishing speaking, he was about to leave, but Lan Yu'e pulled him back: "Yu Xi brother, really no need, it will be fine in a few days!"

  Yang Yu Xi said in a low voice: "You were injured because of me, I can't do nothing, I must find the medicine, just wait here for me to come back!" With that, he steeled himself and shook off Lan Yu Yan's hand, jumping out of the window.

  "Yu Xi gege..." Lan Yu Yan stared blankly at the place he left, tears silently falling.

  Outside the window, there was only the gradually fading sound of footsteps.

  Li's Pharmacy

  A small black figure, light as a swallow, stepped onto the wall and arrived at the rooftop. He lifted up several tiles, and the strong smell of medicine from the pharmacy immediately made him sneeze. He rubbed his nose and jumped down from the hole.

  "Slap"

  He single-handedly relieved the impact, stood up, and fumbled to light an oil lamp. The lamp lit up his appearance, which was indeed Yang Yuxi.

  He held up an oil lamp and came to the medicine cabinet, identifying the labels one by one.

  "Carrot..."

  Angelica

  Licorice...

  "Hmm? Found it, Yunnan Baiyao, has the effects of cooling blood, stopping bleeding, reducing swelling and relieving pain. Often used to treat injuries from falls, blood stasis and swelling, internal and external bleeding and other symptoms." Yang Yu Xi muttered to herself as she recalled what she had learned, opened a drawer, wrapped some in cowhide paper, tied it with twine, and weighed it in her hand.

  "Heh heh, I'm outta here!" Yang Yu Xi jumped onto the table, wanting to climb up onto the roof and leave.

  "What's that?" Yang Yuxi's gaze was suddenly drawn to a piece of paper under the paperweight on the table, which seemed to have something written on it.

  "In the desolate valley, there is a rare herb called Chi Gan Bi Ye. It gets its name from its red roots and green leaves. This herb matures in autumn. After being ground into juice, it has an extraordinary effect on injuries caused by falls and blows. Applied to the wound overnight, all blood stasis disappears, and it also has the effect of promoting blood circulation and moisturizing the skin."

  "Wow, this herb is incredibly potent, far more effective than Yunnan Baiyao! If we bring it back to Little Yan, she'll be cured by tomorrow!" Yang Yu Xi exclaimed excitedly, but his expression immediately turned serious again. "But it's growing in the desolate valley... what can we do..."

  Koukoku, a valley outside of Yūshin City, is home to various wild beasts and serves as a hunting ground for grown men. However, it's extremely perilous for young children, who might easily become the target of tigers and wolves.

  "Want to go..." Yang Yu Xi held the paper, somewhat hesitant, the lamp light shining on his tender face, sweat dripping from his forehead.

  A moment later, he suddenly threw down the paper, stuffed Yunnan Baiyao into his arms, jumped out from the roof, reassembled the tiles and went towards the outside of the city wall.

  "Never mind, go to the wasteland!"

  At the same time Yang Yu Xi was heading towards the desolate valley, the sound of a galloping horse echoed in front of the Sunset Building.

  "Our honored guest has arrived!" Yang San forgot to put down his cup and stood up from his chair, leading the crowd out to welcome him.

  A four-horse carriage stopped in front of the city gate, surrounded by more than a dozen expressionless guards with swords, each one being an expert.

  Yang Sanwang led the crowd to the front of the city gate, and his gaze swept across the faces of the guards one by one. His heart sank as he felt that these guards had an aura of killing that was too heavy. It would be more accurate to say they were assassins rather than guards.

  However, he showed nothing on the surface and only respectfully said: "Yang Sanwang, the lord of Yushi City, welcomes the arrival of the inspector!" The people behind him also bowed their heads and echoed Yang Sanwang's words.

  The horse carriage moved slowly forward and stopped in front of Yang San, the nearest guard dismounted and lifted the curtain, a middle-aged man slowly walked out of the carriage, with an air of arrogance naturally revealed in his gestures, and in his right hand, he was still turning two stone balls.

  He slowly walked up to Yang Sanwu, his eyes slightly raised: "You are the lord of Xiyang City?" The disdain in his tone was not disguised at all.

  Yang San forgot to frown slightly, but immediately recovered: "It's me."

  The guard beside the middle-aged man rushed out with a loud shout: "How dare you! You don't even kneel down when you see the Inspector General, what crime should you be punished for?!"

  The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.

  Yang San's death left Zhuge Nan Dong and Yang Lin at a loss, exchanging bewildered glances. They had never seen such a thing before!

  Yang San's face remained calm and composed: "I am a subject of the Great Zhou, I only kneel to the Emperor of the Great Zhou. Although the Inspector is of high status, he is not the Emperor after all." The implication was clear: don't be too arrogant.

  The middle-aged man's eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he grasped the stone ball, his gaze firmly fixed on Yang Sanfeng. However, in the next instant, he was secretly shocked to find that he couldn't see through this Yang Sanfeng.

  The stone ball continued to rotate, his eyes were no longer sharp, he waved at the guard and smiled: "What the city lord said is right, it was my subordinate's chatter, I hope the city lord won't mind."

  Yang San forgot to stand up straight, his body slightly tilted, and made a "please" gesture: "The Inspector says where the words are, please come in."

  The inspector smiled and walked in first. Yang San turned back to say to Yang Lin, "You take care of their horses."

  "Yes, sir." Yang Lin obeyed and left, walking up to the guard in front of him, wanting to take over the reins.

  The guard's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a hint of sinister smile, and he threw the reins to Yang Lin from afar with extreme speed, producing a sonic boom. If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely be blown away and whipped until they spat blood.

  "Heh heh!" The smile at the corner of the guard's mouth became even more cruel.

  "Slap"

  Yang Lin's face was expressionless as he casually grabbed the reins, and the momentum of the reins was instantly dissipated, without even a hint of sound.

  Yang Lin's pace remained slow as he walked past the guard with a look of surprise on his face, without even giving him a glance.

  The remaining guards looked at the old man with a bad face, and their hooves lightly tapped on the ground. The reins in their hands flew out simultaneously, whipping towards Yang Lin.

  However, something astonishing happened. Yang Lin's body disappeared just as the reins were about to reach him, and when he reappeared, his right hand had already grasped all the reins, while his left hand still hung casually by his side.

  "Thank you." Yang Lin said lightly and turned around to lead his horse away.

  More than a dozen guards' facial muscles twitched slightly, and the slight disdain in their eyes also decreased somewhat.

  The inspector also turned his head and gazed at Yang Lin's receding back, his face somewhat gloomy.

  "Heh heh, Inspector General, why aren't you leaving?" Yang Sanweng pretended to be unaware and asked with a smile.

  The inspector gazed at the lord of the castle in front of him, trying to read something from his smile, but he failed and could only step back towards the city.

  "Jiuyuanqi" latest chapter is released by Yunqixuexi, the fastest and most popular online release site! (This site provides: traditional pagination, waterfall two modes, can be selected in settings)