WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 139 Treatment

Wei Ying hurried around the corner, pulling Lan Zhan with him to where the others were. The mountainside curved around and they came across a veritable field of flowers growing wild.

Their pretty pink blooms fluttered in the cool breeze, the orange leaves big and expansive.

"Be careful touching them." Wei Ying warned. "Remember our research? The flowers are for restoring memory and the leaves are for taking it away." His face bloomed into a magnificent smile and he whispered something in Lan Zhan’s ear.

Lan Zhan also smiled encouragingly.

"Mn. It is a good plan."

"So the flowers must be administered fresh..." Wei Ying looked expectantly at Hongse.

"I just take one and give it to him to eat? What if it's toxic?" She demanded. She was feeling both excited at the possibility of a cure for her Master, but at the same time, she wasn't willing to risk his safety.

"Try it on me first." Hongbaoshi said, bravely stepping forward.

They all stared at her.

"What?? I don't see the problem if it restores memory, right? If that's the case, then I'll just be remembering things I've forgotten...yes?" She continued, folding her arms across her chest.

"Technically...yes." Wei Ying said, but he wanted them to be cautious.

This was after all, a new plant, one that they had no experience dealing with so far. But that gave Li XiWang a new idea.

"Father, can we...is it possible to store the plant in one of Hui Gai's clear bubbles, for preservation? Wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to study what it is in greater detail?" She suggested, her burgundy eyes shining with enthusiasm. "We could take some home."

"Better yet, I can just take it there now." Hui Gai replied. "No need for storage."

"Gusu is mountainous, Cloud Recesses should be an ideal place to grow more of it, if it is beneficial..." Wei Ying beamed at his daughter. "I'm so proud of you, Little Rabbit. Good thinking."

Li XiWang flushed with pleasure.

Hongbaoshi bent and plucked a flower, and shook it free of bugs before putting the whole thing in her mouth, while the others just watched her, open-mouthed.

"What happened to caution?" Hui Gai muttered, watching her carefully.

Hongbaoshi chewed happily, but then, she made a choking noise and clutched at her throat, falling to her knees.

They all rushed towards her trying to help, but she gagged until they were close enough before stopping immediately and cackling with laughter .

"You guys should have seen your faces!!" She laughed and laughed, wiping her wet eyes.

"Excuse me while I pick my heart up off the floor..." but Wei Ying was grinning at her. "That was a good one. The extra noise was a nice touch..."

She beamed back at him and bowed.

Lan Zhan frowned and cleared his throat, and Wei Ying was reminded of a stern Uncle Qiren.

"You've been spending too much time around him." Hongse said, jerking a thumb towards Wei Ying.

"I'm innocent!" Wei Ying protested, still with the brightest smile on his face.

"As you can see, I'm alright, and the plant doesn't seem toxic to touch or consume." Hongbaoshi said, after finishing it off completely in her mouth.

"Can you remember stuff you might have forgotten?" Wei Ying asked her. "We don't know if the cure would be permanent or not."

"Do you mean that our Master's memory return would not be permanent?" Hongse asked.

"We don't know anything for sure yet. Both his condition, because we don't know how it came about, and the cure because we have no proof, are unprecedented."

"I suppose so." Hongse seemed to stand straighter then. "No matter, whatever happens, we will face it head on. No other way to go on."

Wei Ying smiled at her steely determination.

"Then father, can we harvest some plants now?" Li XiWang asked.

"Yes, go ahead, Little Rabbit. You and Hui Gai sort that out. But..." He looked at Hui Gai for a few minutes.

"Good plan, and yes, of course I can." Hui Gai replied, smiling broadly back at him.

"Alright, then that's settled. But make sure you take enough. We don't know how much we will need." Wei Ying added.

Hui Gai nodded and began picking plants with his little girl.

Wei Ying picked up Rumi.

"Don't touch that plant at all, okay my dear?" He told the little boy, kissing his bald head.

Rumi nodded obediently.

"When I was little, did you show me how to sharpen my arrows?" Hongbaoshi asked Hongse, suddenly. "And...was Master present?"

Hongse smiled and nodded.

"Don't tell me you forgot about all that? We were stuck in the middle of a torrential downpour deep within the forest." She patted Hongbaoshi's back fondly. "At least you remember it now. Master was most impressed."

"I remember." Hongbaoshi blinked back tears. "He gave me spells...that day."

Hongse made her sit down on one side, after giving her a hug.

"It's now or never." She announced as if psyching herself up to do it.

They watched as she plucked a healthy looking bloom and rinsed it out with some water from her gourd.

And then she offered it to Master Dashi.

"Why, thank you, my dear!" He exclaimed brightly and stared at it for a second.

And then he popped it into his mouth and began chewing. His lips were stained with pink from the pretty flower and he closed his eyes in contentment.  Hongse was looking anxiously between him and Hongbaoshi, trying to see if it had truly worked or not.

And really, there was no way of knowing, not until their master spoke.

All eyes were on him now, as Hui Gai and Li XiWang had finished collecting their specimens and replanted the flowers into little tubs so they would continue to grow.

"I'm just going to take these back. Healer Fei?" Hui Gai asked the little girl.

She nodded firmly.

"He'll know what to do."

Hui Gai vanished with the plants intended for Cloud Recesses. He was back in the blink of an eye, and carefully stowed away those plants that Wei Ying had asked for.

Master Dashi had closed his blue eyes for a long time now, with no sign of moving, or changing his posture.

And then suddenly, his eyes opened with a blue fire.

There for all to see, within the depths of his crystal blue eyes, deep-seated cognition was finally present, especially when he looked at his head disciple, the leader of the Flowers Of Venus.

"Hongse, my first child! We meet again!" He said, his eyes filling with moisture.

Hongse threw her arms around his neck and cried.