With a pestle, grind into a fine paste in the mortar.
Add to the pot.
Stir seventeen times.
Add enough water so that the ladle is visible again.
Let simmer slowly, count 39 bubbles the size of a child’s thumb.
Take off the heat.
Wait.
”When I grow up, I want to be like jie,” A-Ning said when he was six. He still remembers the determination he had, the warm certainty that yes, this was what he wanted to do. At nine years old, jie was already the pride and joy of the family, destined to do great things. A-Ning wanted to be like her.
Popo knelt in front of him, brushed a strand of hair behind his ear, and cupped his cheek. ”You will never be like your sister,” she said gently. ”But that’s nothing to be sad about. We all have different things we are good at.”
”Oh,” A-Ning said in a small voice.
”Mn. A-Qing is like a fast-running river, always looking for new paths, quick to jump or change directions if she encounters obstacles. She’s quick and thinks on her feet. You, A-Ning, are not like that.” She smiled and cocked her head. ”You are like a forest pool, calm and still but with hidden depths. You take in everything around you, add it to what you already have, and keep it safe. Alone, a river would run dry with nowhere to go just like alone, the pool would grow stagnant and overgrow with reed. Both are important. And both are needed.”
A-Ning nodded, sighed, and ate his breakfast.
He didn’t say it to Popo but he’d rather be a river than a pool.
When cooled until congealed, add the second batch of herbs.
Warm up until a bubble appears. Then, stir continuously over low heat for the time that it takes to hum Popo’s lullaby three times.
Take off heat, strain seven times.
Wait.
It took A-Ning embarrassingly long to fully understand Popo’s words and by then, it was almost too late. Uncle Ruohan had killed their parents, their family was under house arrest, and all their precious medical books were confiscated. When Jie swore under her breath at the knowledge they’d lost, Popo looked at him and winked.
”Jie,” A-Ning said softly later that day when they were alone. ”It’s not lost. It’s here. All of it.” He pointed at his temple and gave her a reassuring nod.
”What—you mean you can just recall anything from our medical texts?” she asked, incredulous.
A-Ning shrugged. ”Try,” he said.
Jie threw her hands in the air. ”Oh for—fine. What can you tell me of Wen Guiying’s medical scroll?”
”Which one?” A-Ning asked. ”Wen Guiying had written a total of 17 scrolls, covering a number of topics.” When jie just stared, A-Ning gave her a helpless look. ”I can recite them all if you want but that’ll take time and—”
She raised a finger. ”Wen Guiying, on the subject of reviving a depleted core after an encounter with a particularly resentful yao. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which scroll it was in.”
A-Ning nodded and then ducked his head slightly, letting his eyes lose focus as he started combing through the contents of the scrolls as if they hovered in front of him. When he found what he was looking for, he first read it through and then recited it carefully, making sure he left nothing out. When he was done, he looked up to see jie’s face white.
”Never let anyone know you can do that,” jie whispered, eyes wide and her hand gripping his so hard he’d later see her fingerprints bruised into his skin. ”Never.”
”Yes, jie,” he said. ”But was it what you wanted to know?”
Her smile wobbled slightly. ”Yes, A-Ning. It was exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you.”
When completely cooled, carefully pour into a metal jar. A clay jar is never to be used.
Will stay potent for months if stored properly.
By the time they arrived at the Cloud Recesses, A-Ning was determined to never trust anyone as he trusted jie. But then Young Master Wei happened and A-Ning realized that perhaps kindness existed outside family. Young Master Wei was quicksilver fast with a wide smile and laughter that was like sunlight and he was so easy to be around.
By the time Uncle Ruohan ordered the Sect Heirs to the indoctrination, A-Ning had started to understand that being a healer meant more than just helping someone get well.
By the time Uncle Ruohan set the cultivation world on fire and decimated one sect after another, A-Ning knew what he had to do.
By the time Lotus Pier fell, A-Ning was ready.
When used, extreme caution is to be used.
Two drops will usually be enough for a grown man. A bigger dose will not cause adverse effects like changes in taste, color, or consistency of the food or drink used.
Most effective when ingested but can also be inhaled. In that case, use a protective veil to avoid accidentally dosing yourself.
Will stay active for two shichen and then dissolve. Undetectable by spiritual energy and talismans after dissolving.
There was one book he remembers vividly. It was a worn book with stained pages and scribbled notes on the margins. It talked at length about infections and how to treat them, especially in the mundane population. For cultivators, spiritual energy would usually help to clear out the infection but even then, sometimes forcefully clearing out the infected tissue was needed.
The healer needed to drain out the pus to make sure the wound would heal properly.
The healer might need to cut off badly hurt extremities lest they start to rot.
Sometimes removing the infection is the only way to make sure the body survives.
He doesn’t tell jie what he’s about to do because first, he wants to keep her safe, and second, jie doesn’t know about this particular book A-Ning is using. And she doesn’t need to know—jie can concentrate on healing and helping, A-Ning can take care of cleaning out the infection.
The night is filled with laughter and singing, the sound weaving its way among the bodies gently swaying back and forth in the light breeze. A-Ning glances up at the cloudless sky at the twinkling stars, unbothered by the struggles of men. He sighs and turns, startles slightly as an inebriated disciple jabs his shoulder.
”What are you doing here?” the disciple slurs.
”N-nothing just g-getting more w-wine,” he stammers, ducking his head when they sneer at him. It doesn’t bother him—it hasn’t bothered him in years, actually. He has more important things to do anyway. He bows and hurries off, carrying a jug of wine with him for show.
Later, he walks the compound, unhurried, checks for breathing and traces of spiritual energy. He takes down the bodies hung up by the main gate and offers a silent prayer and apology for everything they’d gone through. He does the same for Sect Leader Jiang and Madam Yu, and then carefully sets them side by side and covers them with a white sheet.
Then, he makes his way to where Jiang Wanyin is kept, pushes one of jie’s strengthening pills into his mouth, hauls him into his back, and locks the door behind him.
”What took you so long?” Young Master Wei hisses as A-Ning finally hurries across the pier, carrying a limp Jiang Wanyin on his back. ”Did they see you? Will they come after us?”
”Don’t worry, Young Master Wei,” A-Ning says as he makes sure Jiang Wanyin is lying comfortably—for all that matters, considering his coreless and tortured body. ”There’s no one left to come after us.”
”What—”
”Let’s go, Young Master Wei.”
”Where?”
A-Ning gives him a shy smile. ”We’ll get your sister and then we’ll go to my sister.” When Young Master Wei opens his mouth, he interrupts with, ”Rest now, Young Master Wei. Everything will be well.”
The river is quiet as A-Ning guides the small boat along. The Jiang siblings are asleep, exhausted with grief and worry and pain, and A-Ning doesn’t feel bad about using a talisman to deepen their sleep.
They need the rest.
He knows he needs to tell jie about Lotus Pier sooner or later but he also knows there’s no hurry. He has time.
Meanwhile, he thinks about health and vitality and how far infections spread before they’re stopped. He thinks about cleaning out the rot to make room for healing. He thinks about the small metal jar, sealed with three different talismans, hidden in a giankun pouch.
A-Ning thinks and plans for a future that could be.