Chapter 0002: Rainy Night, Stealing Medicine (Seeking Recommendations)

  As I was reminiscing about the past, a faint cry suddenly came from behind the temple, on top of a clump of weeds:

  "Water, brother, I want to drink water..."

  When he heard this, Li Ruo's mind suddenly buzzed with a loud noise.

  "Huh? Is that little brother? It's little brother calling me, at this time little brother hasn't gone through that disaster yet, right, little brother is still alive..."

  Without mincing words, he scrambled up from the weeds and took a few steps to his brother's side. With the light outside the window not yet completely dark, Li Ran saw that his brother's small face was bright red, with deep-set eyes.

  She hastily stretched out her hand and lightly stuck it on her brother's forehead, his forehead was burning like fire.

  "Is your little brother so fierce?"

  Li Ran's brow furrowed tightly, in his past life he had refined the heavenly-grade spirit dan and finally achieved the realm of a dan medicine master. Relying on his past experience with medicinal techniques, he saw that his younger brother's current situation was already very dangerous. If they couldn't reduce the fever in time, it would be too late once it reached the brain.

  She picked up a broken tile from the corner of the wall, fetched some water back, and held her brother's frail body, slowly pouring the water into his mouth.

  My little brother suddenly coughed violently and spat all the water onto his clothes.

  "Brother, stars, so many stars..."

  His younger brother closed his eyes and began to talk nonsense, Li Ran's heart was burning with anxiety, holding the scorching hot younger brother tightly in his arms, a memory in his mind gradually became clear.

  In the memories of my previous life, my younger brother was burned like that. At that time, I was at a loss and hugged my brother and cried all night. The next day, the rain stopped, and holding my unconscious brother who had been burned, I ran to the only clinic in the town as fast as I could, asking Doctor Lang to prescribe some medicine for my brother.

  However, the two brothers looked like beggars, penniless, and Lang Zhong didn't even have enough money to pay for Li Ruo's medicine, so he wasn't allowed to see a doctor. Ignoring Li Ruo's desperate pleas, they were directly driven away.

  Li Ruo Knife was really at a dead end, running to the foot of a mountain as a porter. After the family changed, he had been hungry and cold for a long time, with his weak body, almost dying there, seven days later finally saved enough money for medicine, but his younger brother had already burned out his mind, eventually died in his brother's arms.

  Li Ruo carried a deep hatred for Lang Zhong, and after several years, he finally found an opportunity to corner him in a small alley, where he killed Lang Zhong with a sneak attack. From then on, Li Ruo wandered the land alone.

  He shook his head vigorously, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Li Ruo would never let that tragic experience repeat itself again. Having had the experience of living two lives, he would absolutely not let his brother die from a fever again.

  His fingers lightly touched his brother's pulse, fine and smooth. Li Ran's knife slightly furrowed his brow. For this illness of his brother's, he could casually come up with a prescription that would guarantee the medicine would cure the disease.

  But where can I get the medicine? I'm penniless, and if I go to that clinic, won't I just be chased away by that fierce Stone Lang again? My brother's illness can't be delayed!

  "Thief!"

  Li Ran's mind suddenly flashed with the idea, and he raised his arm to look at his own thin and weak arms, unable to help but let out a bitter laugh.

  After rebirth, I don't have the strength of my previous life. At 13 years old, I'm still too weak. With only a second-level Qi Refining stage cultivation base, I'm probably not even a match for an average hunter.

  The Wang River settlement is surrounded by spiritual mountains and rivers, spanning thousands of miles. Everyone cultivates here. Li Ran remembered that the doctor's house had a Lang Zhong who was at the third level of Jing Yuan Jin, a realm that was extremely difficult to surpass. The gap between the second and third levels of Jing Yuan Jin was a hurdle that few could overcome. Lang Zhong's strength was already quite impressive, comparable to some seasoned hunters.

  And in that clinic, there was a very fierce large wolf dog being raised.

  That wolf dog hunting dog was born, with the hunters killing and hunting in the mountains for a lifetime, and had long since cultivated a fierce and courageous aura on its body. Even when it got old and was sold to a doctor's house as a guard dog, it was not someone ordinary people dared to provoke.

  Used to eating pheasants and wild boars, they really know how to eat people.

  At this thought, a hint of hidden killing intent flashed across Li Ran's mouth.

  Through the broken window, I gazed at the sky, on a rainy night, darkness fell early, every day at this time just entered the night, it's still too early to take action.

  Gently put down his younger brother, took off the only outer garment and covered it on his younger brother's body, then carefully covered a layer of weeds on his younger brother's body, and sat lightly in another place, with his knees crossed, hands clasped together in meditation.

  Exhale... Inhale...

  Following the operation of the heart method, slowly circulating the essence and energy in the body for a week, a faint layer of primordial energy seemed to invade the body.

  Suddenly, a flash of light in his mind, and his consciousness entered his body. Li Ran saw that his dantian was like a cup-sized container, with only a thin layer of water inside. The energy from the outside world was like sparse threads, slowly pouring into the "cup" and merging into the water layer.

  For quite some time, there was no obvious rise in the water level.

  Li Ran's knife smiled bitterly in secret.

  A person's cultivation depends on their innate talent, and if one's talent is too ordinary, seven days of cultivation might not be worth even a single day for someone else. If it weren't for his master from the previous life, Bai Cao Dao Ren, using the Ling Dan to forcefully raise his abilities, Li Ruo would still be far from the path of a strong cultivator.

  Without the elixir, with this current cultivation method, it's likely that several years will be needed to cultivate the Essence Qi to the third layer.

  He shook his head hard, putting these thoughts aside for the time being. The biggest problem in front of him was to accumulate strength as soon as possible to deal with the big wolf dog in the medical hall, and to silently kill that ferocious wolf dog, otherwise he would not be able to steal the medicine, and his brother's illness would be delayed, ruining his life.

  More pale blue silk threads entered the meridians, sinking into the dantian to melt. For a whole multiple of time units, in the water cup in the dantian, the water level gradually rose to a height of three tenths.

  Slowly opening his eyes, the night rain outside the broken temple was like a pouring, and the sky was as black as ink. Li Ran stood up, fumbled around under the pedestal of the gods, and finally pulled out a somewhat rusty dagger.

  This was something he picked up by chance for self-defense.

  He walked to the door and moved the bluestone that was propping up the broken door. With a creak, the wind blew the broken door open, and the two doors shook violently, as if they were about to fall off at any moment.

  A gust of cold wind blew into the room, blowing up the weeds on his brother's body. His brother's frail body subconsciously curled up into a ball.

  Li Ruo hastily closed the broken door and used his back to hold it in place, taking advantage of the rainwater leaking from the roof to sharpen the rusty dagger.

  His younger brother had already been burned and would no longer curiously stick to his side, asking this and that, nor would he exclaim in surprise because of the sharp blade.

  Li Ran's heart was filled with sorrow, and he ground even harder.

  For a good while, amidst the humming sound, this dagger gradually became brighter.

  Under the bright light of the lightning, he lightly tested it on the blade, feeling quite satisfied. Suddenly, his wrist flipped over, a cold glow shot forward in a straight line, making a soft "hiss" sound, and the dagger was deeply embedded in the wall.

  This stroke was ethereal and elegant, sharp and unmatched. Li Ran was satisfied with his own dagger, and he quietly withdrew it without a sound. He felt that after his rebirth, the sword intent from his previous life still existed. The essence of his internal energy, which had just condensed, was insignificant, but for now, it was enough to handle some situations.

  He tied the dagger to his leg with a piece of torn cloth, then searched around in the ruined temple and bound all the cloth strips he could find onto his left arm. He looked at his brother's huddled figure, gritted his teeth, took off his upper garment, and rushed headlong into the rainy night.

  The clinic is located in the central section of Wanghe Town, with a bluestone courtyard wall. Among the tens of thousands of people in the town, most live in the mountains and make a living, and injuries and illnesses are inevitable. This town's only clinic has become particularly important, and Dr. Shi Langzhong's medical skills are superb, with extremely high prestige in the town.

  However, his stingy personality often secretly earns him criticism from others.

  Li Ran Dao hurried for several miles before finally reaching the outside of the hospital's courtyard wall.

  In the memories of his past life, he recalled the scene where he was driven away from the clinic with his younger brother during the day, and Li Ran remembered that the ferocious big wolf dog was tied up on the left side of the clinic.

  He roughly felt the position, quietly climbed up the wall, and exposed half of his head on the wall. Rainwater dripped down from his hair, and his hands grasped the wall motionless. After a while, a flash of lightning cut across the sky, and Li Ran's knife saw the fierce big wolf dog standing upright in the courtyard at that moment. Its innate alertness to danger made it aware that something was wrong, and it vigilantly patrolled around.

  With a push of both arms, he sprang onto the top of the wall and with another stride, he leaped into the courtyard.

  That big wolf dog had long taken aim at his figure, and with a burst of strength in its legs, it pounced forward in one swift motion. Years of fighting in the mountains had given this wolf dog's pounce enormous power; wild boars in the mountains had fallen over on their backs under its pounce before, only to be killed by its sharp teeth sunk into their throats.

  The stench in the wolf dog's mouth is already close at hand.

  Li Ran swiftly lifted his left arm and "actively" inserted the small arm wrapped in tattered cloth into the mouth of the large wolf dog.

  With a "crack" sound, the wolf dog's sharp fangs made Li Ran's knife ache with a piercing pain to the bone, and although it was through thick fabric, this bite almost severed his arm.

  Without hesitation, his right hand lifted up and the dagger stabbed into the wolf dog's neck with a ghostly movement. The tip of the dagger broke through the wolf dog's thick and tough fur in a slanting manner, easily and effortlessly.

  With a sudden burst of strength, his entire body's energy converged on one spot, his wrist shook and the pen went straight in with a "whoosh" sound, accurately cutting off the wolf dog's main artery. A stream of blood shot out, splashing Li Ran's knife, head, and face.

  The big wolf dog hunted for a lifetime, never thinking that it would be killed so easily by someone else.

  The massive body went limp and crashed to the ground, twitching only twice before dying. Until death, it did not have a chance to make a sound.

  But how could it know that the incoming person's seemingly simple swordsmanship was actually condensed from countless life-and-death battles, with every detail, including gaze, hand movement, angle of entry and timing, being perfect to the extreme.

  With minimal force, maximum lethality was achieved.

  Li Ran sat on the ground, panting heavily, his left arm aching as if it were about to break, and his body was overcome with wave after wave of dizziness.

  It was just the time to grow up, and after years of not eating enough, not getting enough nutrition, he could barely withstand the wolf dog's pounce with all his might. If it weren't for the experience and vision of two lifetimes, even five current Li Ran would have been fed to this wolf dog.

  He calmed his breathing, tiptoed towards the house in the courtyard, inserted the dagger into the door gap, gently pried open the door, and quietly pushed it open a crack. He slipped inside with a flash of movement.

  The room is filled with the fragrance of medicine, and the walls are lined with small cabinets, each with a label on the door indicating the name of the medicinal herb inside.

  The room was too dark to see the words on the small cabinet, but Li Ran had been struggling in life and death for too long, and he had a kind of dependence on medicine that came from his bones. With his spiritual medicine technique, he could find the medicine he needed just by relying on his nose.

  Barefoot, secretly delighted, slowly making his way to the medicine cabinet.

  Just then, the door on the inner side creaked open and a faint beam of light shot into the pharmacy. Shi Lang stumbled in from that doorway.

  Li Ran was so scared that he almost jumped out of his skin. The pharmacy here was completely exposed, with only one table and a few chairs inside, all of which were slender and straight-legged, making it impossible to hide anyone.

  Quickly curled up and quietly shrunk into the corner of the house, doing its best to avoid the light.

  Of course, this place can't escape Shi Langzhong's line of sight either. The situation has been forced to this point, and there is only hope for luck. Li Ran's legs were tightly tense, one hand tightly grasping the dagger on his leg, once he was exposed, then he could only rush out and fight hard.

  With so many years of cultivation, although the strength is weak and small, there is also a bit of power.

  He held his breath, and saw Shi Lang walking over with a staggering gait, looking like he hadn't woken up yet, with sleepy eyes, finding the night pot placed indoors, and starting to relieve himself with a gurgling sound.

  The rustling sound stopped, Shi Lang's body shook violently, his eyes didn't even open, and he didn't notice that there was still someone hiding in the shadow of the wall. He stumbled back into the inner room, slammed the door shut with a bang, extinguished the lights, climbed onto the bed, and fell asleep again.

  Li Ran let out a breath, waited quietly for a while, and felt that Shi Lang in the inner room had indeed fallen asleep. He then tiptoed back to his feet, walked to the medicine cabinet, and swept all the medicinal materials he was looking for into paper bags. He packed more than 30 paper bags, then poured all these paper bags into an oilskin bag he had prepared earlier, tied it around his waist with a rag strip, and quietly pushed open the door, stepped over the wolf dog's corpse, climbed over the courtyard wall, and disappeared into the endless rain curtain.

  Behind the god shelf in the broken temple, Li Ruo used a few wooden boards to block it, and lit a fire inside, putting a broken pot on the fire.

  Through the wooden board, the firelight couldn't shine far. Li Ruo was afraid that on a rainy night, someone would hurry along the night road and discover this place through the firelight, seeing so many medicinal materials and exposing his own theft.

  His mind is rich in cultivation experience, but unfortunately his current body is too weak and cannot withstand any risk. If something happens to him, who will take care of his young brother?

  If I were gone, then my brother would have no choice but to starve or die from illness.

  The water in the broken pot gradually overflows, and the fragrance of medicine is faintly transmitted into the cold wind.

  Li Ruo carefully controlled the fire, simmering a pot of medicine until its potency was at its strongest. He then slowly lifted the broken pot off the stove and poured the medicinal broth into an earthenware jar. After it had cooled slightly, he used one corner of the broken jar to scoop up some of the liquid and pour it into his younger brother's mouth.

  After drinking the medicine soup several times, his younger brother drank it all down. His belly was warm and full, and he didn't feel hungry anymore, and fell asleep soundly.

  After a while, he used the back of his hand to check his brother's forehead again and found that the fever had subsided and there was no serious problem. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off his mind.

  The dose of antipyretic medicine given to his younger brother was a combination of seven herbs used by Li Ran, this prescription in his memory is the exclusive secret recipe of Baicao Dao people, with amazing therapeutic effect. Later, as he deepened his cultivation, there was no more ordinary fever, and this prescription had not been used for a long time. Unexpectedly, after rebirth, it saved his younger brother's life in times of crisis.

  A faint blush reappeared on my brother's face, and a smile also appeared on his sleeping expression.

  Li Ruo gently stroked his younger brother's hair, with a look of pity in his eyes. A six-year-old child, at an age when he should be viewing the world with innocent and kind eyes, at an age when he should be carefree and mischievous, but instead, his younger brother had been forced to lose all joy too early, day after day looking at the people of this world with worried and fearful eyes.

  Apart from the moment when he stuck to his brother's side which could have brought some joy, this child lost all the gifts of childhood too early.

  If things go on like this with the memories of his past life, then his younger brother will die from this sudden high fever.

  Li Ran wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead with a knife, feeling grateful in his heart. If he hadn't been reborn, the regret of his brother's death would have haunted him for the rest of his life.

  Now that this matter has been resolved, does it mean that all the things that will happen in life from now on can be rewritten?

  Thinking of this, his heart involuntarily stirred with excitement, he gently placed his younger brother on the grass mat and returned to the side of the bonfire.

  Among the more than thirty kinds of stolen herbs, Li Ruo carefully identified them and finally poured thirteen kinds of herbs into the water in a broken pot in a unique order.

  Stirring constantly with a wooden stick, this pot of medicinal broth had been simmering for a full two hours.

  The night rain grew heavier, and the thick fragrance of medicine wafted into the entire broken temple, but it didn't drift far before being blown away by the cold wind.

  Feeling the medicinal properties of the herbs, Li Ran nodded and slowly extinguished the flame, letting the broken pot cool for a while. Then he lifted the pot to his mouth and with a few gulps, drank half of the medicinal broth into his belly.

  But felt a surge of boiling fire burning up from his belly.

  Not daring to tarry, he immediately sat down cross-legged.

  His mind was calm, but he saw countless pale blue threads in the medicinal broth, like a waterfall from the ninth heaven, rapidly pouring into his dantian. The water level in the "water cup" was rising at a visible speed.

  The water layer has been rippling all the way to the top, and more silk thread energy is still being forcibly injected, expanding the capacity of the dantian.

  One week day, two week days, three week days...

  It was unknown when the night rain gradually stopped, and it dawned. The unknown birds on the trees outside made this clear morning noisy and beautiful.

  He came back to his senses from his meditation and opened his eyes with a deep breath.

  Just now, he completely refined the medicinal properties of that half pot of medicinal soup, and his dantian has been forcibly expanded from the size of a water cup to three times its original size. The surging energy inside made Li Furan's spirit refreshed.

  This moment of cultivation allowed his internal energy to directly rush to the middle segment of the second layer of Jing Yuan Qi, almost equivalent to five or six years of his usual cultivation.

  Li Ruo was overjoyed.

  After going through so many things that night, he finally realized that he had indeed been reborn, and the cultivation experience brought by his rebirth was all fulfilled.

  Just now, that pot of herbal medicine was made according to an ancient recipe in his memory, where thirteen ordinary herbs that seemed unrelated were simmered together in a specific order, and it actually gave the common medicine spiritual energy for people to cultivate.

  Full of energy and in better condition than ever before.

  She turned around and crawled to her brother's grass mat, gently touched her brother's forehead, which was no longer hot, then placed two fingers on her brother's pulse, the pulse beat also became much stronger.

  Li Ruo was overjoyed, knowing that his brother was completely unharmed.

  Not wanting to disturb his brother, he drank the remaining half pot of medicinal soup and once again entered a state of meditation.

  The circulation in the body runs repeatedly, and the medicinal power quietly nourishes the meridians like a pleasant spring rain, gradually increasing the energy inside the body.

  Two more hours passed and Li Ran's eyes snapped open again, his gaze shining with excitement as he felt the lively energy surging within him, making him want to burst out laughing.

  After refining this pot of medicinal soup, the elixir field expanded to about the size of a face basin, and unexpectedly, the essence was cultivated to the peak of the second layer in one go, just one step away from entering the third layer.

  Once he stepped into the third layer, the essence of his energy would undergo a qualitative change, and his strength would experience a rapid surge. Coupled with his cultivation experience from his previous life, his current state of survival would be greatly improved.