Falling Dreams of Fang Hua ✔

Chapter 018: Chance Encounter

It was high noon and the sunlight was scorching, so much that even the occasional breeze that wafted by burned as it touched me.

The drowsy assistant of the Hundred Grasses Pavilion was starting to doze off, and the shopkeeper was nowhere in sight. I was fanning myself as I rapped against he mahogany table. The noise startled the assistant awake, and he blearily rubbed his eyes to look at me.

"Call out your shopkeeper. I've come with some medicines, see if he wants any."

"Oh!" The assistant exclaimed with a panicked look, bowing and scraping in reply. "Please have a seat, young master[1], this one[2] will be with you right away!"

I thought it was kind of funny.

He probably didn't recognize me. Usually, this assistant called me a little black whelp, but now he was earnestly using "young master."

Sweeping my robes aside, I took a seat on a chair, rapping my knuckles as I looked around, bored. I dug in my sleeves and took out the medicine bottles, giving them a glance before tilting them over, pouring a few pills into my hand.

The spherical pills were dark in color. I brought them to my nose and took a sniff, catching the scent of Fishy-Smell grass[3] and hundreds of different flowers, cool and refreshing beyond compare.

This should be the Five Measure Dispersions[3].

Just by keeping one in your mouth, you could render all sorts of poisons ineffective. I took another sniff, before putting it back.

Actually, I could guess what it'd be even without looking. Every time Fang Hua made pills, they were either for dispelling unusual poisons or prolonging one's life. After staying by his side for so long, I'd picked up a few tools of the trade as well.

He was very familiar with the properties of  different medicinal plants, and able to concoct antidotes for any type of poison. Gradually, I began creating strange mixes of my own.

He claimed that a mix of seven parts Stomach-Cutting Grass with three parts Five Stone Dispersions would end a life, but I didn't think so. I'd mix up the plants in proportions of five parts to five, two parts to eight, or four parts to six to try them out. Although the effects weren't as effective as three parts to seven, it still amused me.

If you wanted to destroy the five organs (heart, liver, lungs, kidney, spleen) but preserve a person's life, then a two parts to eight formula was the way to go.

If you wanted to leave them half-dead, tossing and turning for three days, then a four parts to six formula was the most effective choice.

As for a violent death, nothing could beat a one parts to nine formula.

I stuck my hands inside my sleeves and gave a sigh.

"So it seems the pill residence not only had a Young Master Han, but another excellent young master as well. Please pardon me for not coming out to greet you." The shopkeeper lifted aside the door curtains as he entered.

I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"What pills did you bring over today?" He took the ones in my hand, gave them a sniff, and brightened. "Shall we still use the usual prices?"

"It's up to you." I gave a casual wave before pulling out the porcelain bottles again, tossing them up and down in my hands.

"Young master please...be careful."

I looked at him, eyes sweeping over the pills in his hands before giving a derisive laugh and a hmph. Then I continued tossing the bottles as before.