Episode 15 He glanced back at the two rabbits
he was cultivating inside the room. Their energetic,
hopping forms only deepened Han Lee's frustration.
Ever since the two rabbits ate the food laced
with medicine, not only were they fine, they
seemed even more energetic than before. For over
10 days, Han Lee observed them closely each day.
He confirmed the rabbits showed no signs of poisoning.
In fact, Nourished by the muscle and bone -strengthening
medicine, they had grown even more robust. This
positive outcome, however, didn't bring Han Lee
any joy. Instead, it left him feeling anxious
and conflicted. For him, whether the bottle could
sprout green leaves again had become the key
to all these questions, and this wretched, lingering
weather kept the answer just out of reach. How
could Han Lee not be utterly exasperated, just
when Han Lee thought this dreary, rainy weather
would drag on forever? the sun finally broke
through hanging in the sky. It had been nearly
half a month since Han Li discovered the secret
of the green leaf, and he was already growing
restless. That very night, under a clear sky,
he finally witnessed the wondrous spectacle that
had occurred only once in the past four years.
Countless points of light swarmed densely around
the bottle, coalescing into a single massive
orb of radiance, relieved. When Han Li saw this
wondrous sight, The stone that had been hanging
high in his heart finally settled back down.
It's now almost certain. This little bottle isn't
a single -use consumable, but a miraculous object
that can be used repeatedly. After seven days
of waiting, another drop of green liquid finally
appeared within the small bottle. When Han Li
saw the green leaf appear inside the bottle,
he was just as elated, even though he'd been
almost certain it would happen. This means I'll
have a steady supply of rare herbs from now on.
I'll never have to worry about them again. These
are mostly common varieties that require very
little time to mature. Only the wealthiest and
most powerful families, as a precaution, would
have people cultivate extremely rare medicinal
herbs. Since these families can pass down their
wealth for generations, they don't mind the time
it takes to cultivate these herbs. No one knows
if they'll ever need them, so these herbs are
typically top -grade specimens cultivated over
a century. Ordinary folks simply don't have the
wealth or resources for that. Occasionally, some
rare medicinal herbs from the wild would appear
on the market, but they were almost always snapped
up by these great families. This drove the price
of rare herbs to skyrocket, creating a situation
where they were often priced beyond reach and
nearly impossible to find for sale. Han Lee wasn't
optimistic about Dr. Moe's prospects for this
trip. Dr. Moe probably won't have much luck this
time, but I'll never have to worry about medicinal
herbs again. With this bottle, I can cultivate
any amount of rare herbs in no time at all. They
were far inferior to the herbs from his first
experiment. From this experiment, however, Han
Li began to grasp a faint pattern. In his next
experiment, Han Li dripped the green liquid directly
onto a ginseng plant. The very next day, he was
rewarded with a hundred -year -old ginseng. This
discovery filled Han Li with elation. It wasn't
just about obtaining a rare herb, but because
he had finally grasped the basic method for using
the green liquid. Finally, Han Li conducted several
more preservation experiments. He placed the
freshly extracted green liquid into all sorts
of containers, porcelain bottles, jade vials,
gourds, silver flasks, and more. He discovered
that no container could preserve the liquid for
longer than a quarter of an hour. Once the green
liquid is taken out of the mysterious vial, it
must be used within a quarter of an hour, or
it will slowly vanish without a trace. Even its
diluted form could only be preserved for a slightly
longer period. After a certain amount of time,
all that remained in the container was the other
liquid it had been mixed with. The green liquid's
essence had still vanished. After several such
experiments, Han Li completely lost confidence
in storing the green liquid in any other container.
It seems there's no way to store large quantities
of this mysterious liquid. He had no choice but
to move on to another test stacking its medicinal
properties. Han Li dripped a single drop of the
green liquid onto a green three -crow grass,
transforming it into a yellow three -crow grass
with a century's worth of medicinal potency.
A few days later, he dripped another drop of
the green liquid onto it, and its age increased
by over a hundred years once more, seeing that
this method was indeed effective. For the next
two months, Han Li repeated the same process
over and over. After completing this long series
of trials, Han Li could finally take a break
and properly think things over. A considerable
amount of time had passed since Dr. Mo had gone
down the mountain. Han Li lay on the wooden bed
in his room, staring blankly at the thousand
-year -old three -crow herb in his hand. His
eyes were fixed on the dark medicinal herb as
if he were studying it intently. In truth, his
mind wasn't on the three -crow grass at all.
He was lost in thought, his mind wandering who
knows where. This bottle in my hand. It's a priceless
treasure. If outsiders knew I had such a treasure
in my possession, I wouldn't live to see the
next morning. I'd likely be drowned by a tide
of greedy opportunists, just like so many others
who've been undone by their own precious possessions.
To put it plainly, take a closer example. If
the masters of our sect knew the secret of this
bottle, they'd never let me be. Lowering voice.
They'd stop at nothing to kill me and take the
treasure. The secret of this bottle. must never
be told to anyone. And even on the mountain,
you must use it with the utmost care. The bottle's
light -absorbing process is far too conspicuous.
A single slip -up, and its secret would be exposed.
But right now, I'm in desperate need of herbs
for cultivation. It's a shame not to use this
bottle. I still need to find a way to have the
best of both worlds. He thought of his stagnant
cultivation progress and felt a pang of dejection.
Regardless, He couldn't afford to delay his progress
with the cultivation mantra. He had a growing
suspicion that the unusual changes he'd undergone
in recent years were inextricably linked to his
practice of this nameless mantra. Han Lee estimated
when Dr. Mo would return to the mountain. He
figured he wouldn't find any decent herbs in
the nearby area. He'd likely have to venture
into deep remote mountains and ancient forests,
places untouched by human footprints. Only in
such secluded wilderness could he hope to find
some rare medicinal herbs. But with the journey
there and back, plus the time spent searching
for herbs, it would take at least a year to make
it back to the mountains. Nearly half a year
had passed since Dr. Mo left the mountain. He
was likely to return to the Seven Mystery Sect
in another six or seven months. In the days before
his return, Han Li had to cultivate as many useful
medicinal herbs as possible. He needed a plan
to gather ingredients according to the few rare
formulas he knew. He couldn't afford to waste
a single leaf. Back when Han Li was studying
medicine under Dr. Mo, he had been deeply fascinated
by these rare formulas. He never dared hope he
could actually brew such priceless medicines,
but he still committed quite a few of the formulas
to memory. Dr. Mo was completely indifferent
to Han Li's fervent study of these formulas.
Whenever Han Li asked, he would explain them
in meticulous detail. Holding nothing back, Dr.
Mo probably considered these formulas to be useless
chicken ribs tasteless to eat, but a pity to
throw away. Now these formulas had become Han
Li's most prized possessions. He diligently cultivated
the herbs according to their required ages, not
daring to slack off in the slightest. Time was
not on his side. He had to finish these concoctions
before Dr. Mo returned. then stashed the bottle
away for good, never to use it again on the mountain.
Han Lee had zero confidence he could use the
little bottle in front of Dr. Mo without giving
himself away. He knew all too well how shrewd
and cautious the man was. The thought of revealing
the bottle's secret to Dr. Mo never even crossed
his mind. Han Lee felt his relationship with
Dr. Mo was peculiar, far more complex than a
simple master -disciple bond. Dr. Mo often looked
at him with a strange gaze. It always made Han
Li feel the man was hiding some secret that was
harmful to him. Especially in the last two years,
this feeling had grown much stronger. This prevented
Han Li and Dr. Mo from ever becoming as close
and open as a typical master and disciple. In
daily life, Dr. Mo actually treated him quite
well. There was no physical abuse or harsh scolding.
When it came to cultivation techniques, he spared
no effort in creating the best possible conditions
for him. But a barrier always seemed to stand
between master and disciple, an awkward tension
forever hanging in the air. Dr. Mo was clearly
aware of this rift, yet he made no effort to
mend the bond between master and disciple. He
simply carried on as usual, relentlessly pushing
Han Li to accelerate his cultivation of the incantation.
However, when he looked at Han Li, that strange,
peculiar glint in his eyes seemed to fade, and
for a long time it didn't appear again. you