The most secure job in Dajin

Chapter 43, Atavism

Hua Changxi had a lot of pills in her hands. If she sold them to a pharmacy, not only would the price be easily bargained down, but she might also be coveted by others. She didn't know any middlemen, so after hesitating for a long time, she went to find Pharmacist Xu.

Pharmacist Xu also runs a drugstore. It can be said that most of the pharmacists and doctors in the Medical Bureau also run drugstores outside.

On weekdays, these pharmacists and doctors work in the Medical Bureau, while the drugstores are either run by their family members or by their assistants.

Common people value their reputation and medical skills and would go to their pharmacies to buy medicine and see a doctor. These pharmacies have better business than ordinary pharmacies.

Hua Changxi arrived at Xu's Pharmacy and found that Pharmacist Xu was not there. There was only a clerk watching over the store.

"Brother Wu Shuang, Happy New Year, is Uncle Xu here?"

When Pharmacist Xu was not on duty, he would see patients in the pharmacy. Hua Changxi was a little surprised not to see him in the pharmacy.

The waiter Wu Shuang smiled and said, "Happy New Year, Jiu Niang. The boss is in the backyard." Then he lowered his voice and said, "A Ling is sick. The boss is taking care of her."

After hearing this, Hua Changxi hurriedly asked, "Is A Ling seriously ill?"

Xu Ling is the daughter of Pharmacist Xu. Pharmacist Xu's wife died of illness not long after giving birth to Xu Ling. The father and daughter have depended on each other for many years. She knows how much Pharmacist Xu values ​​his daughter Xu Ling.

Wu Shuang scratched his head: "I don't know whether it's serious or not. A Ling has no other problems, just sleepiness."

Hua Changxi: "Why are you so sleepy?"

Wu Shuang knew that Pharmacist Xu treated Hua Changxi as his own junior, so he did not hide it: "At first, A Ling only woke up late in the morning, and then he would sleep until the afternoon. But now, A Ling only wakes up for a while at night, and sleeps the rest of the time."

Hua Changxi frowned when he heard this: "How long has it been going on?"

Wu Shuang thought for a moment and said, "Since October last year, when it started snowing in Beijing, A Ling has become increasingly sleepy."

"Brother Wu Shuang, I'm going to the backyard to see A Ling."

When Hua Changxi came to Xu’s Pharmacy before, he went to the backyard without being informed, so Wu Shuang did not stop him.

"Uncle Xu."

Hua Changxi entered the backyard and did not see Pharmacist Xu in the main hall, so he went straight to the east wing, where Xu Ling lived.

The east wing of Pharmacist Xu's house has a layout of one bright room and two dark rooms, with the living room in the middle and the study and bedroom at the two ends.

The door of the wing room was open. Hua Changxi walked into the living room while calling out to Pharmacist Xu.

Pharmacist Xu, who was sitting beside Xu Ling's bed, was obviously startled when he heard the sound. Then, under Hua Changxi's surprised gaze, Pharmacist Xu rushed out of the bedroom quickly, pushed Hua Changxi out of the living room, and quickly closed the door of the room.

Hua Changxi looked at Pharmacist Xu in astonishment, and was very confused about his behavior just now.

Pharmacist Xu's behavior just now was subconscious. Facing Hua Changxi's puzzled eyes, he knew that he had gone too far, but he didn't know how to explain it.

After being surprised, Hua Changxi asked tentatively: "Uncle Xu, what happened to A Ling?"

There was only one possible reason for Pharmacist Xu's reaction just now, which was that he was afraid that others would see Xu Ling.

Seeing that Pharmacist Xu didn't say anything, Hua Changxi said, "Uncle Xu, one person's shortcomings are better than another's. Even if I can't help you, tell me about Ah Ling's condition. Maybe I can give you some ideas for diagnosis and treatment."

Pharmacist Xu looked at Hua Changxi. Jiu Niang had been in frequent contact with him in recent years, and A Ling and Jiu Niang were also familiar with each other.

Pharmacist Xu still believed in Hua Changxi's character. After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and opened the door of the wing room: "Come with me to see A Ling."

Hua Changxi followed Pharmacist Xu into Xu Ling's bedroom.

Xu Ling was sleeping quietly with a peaceful look on her face, except that her cheeks were covered with silvery-white lines that glowed brightly.

Hua Changxi's pupils trembled, and he quickly walked to the bedside, carefully looking at the lines on Xu Ling's face: "These lines are a bit like snake scales, what do you think, Uncle Xu?"

Pharmacist Xu was a little surprised to see her getting so close and analyzing so seriously: "Aren't you afraid?"

Hua Changxi was stunned for a moment. She didn't seem to be that scared. Instead, she was slightly excited.

From the day she was able to practice, she knew that this was a fantasy world, but she always felt that the fantasy side was far away from ordinary people and required her to work hard to explore.

She never thought that she would encounter something extraordinary and bizarre so soon, and it happened within her circle of life.

She was excited, excited to finally come into contact with the mysterious side of this world.

Of course, this kind of thought cannot be told to outsiders, so Hua Changxi looked at Pharmacist Xu seriously: "Uncle Xu, the person lying there is A Ling, what is there to be afraid of?"

Finally, there was someone he could discuss his daughter's problem with. Pharmacist Xu couldn't help but say, "You don't know, two days ago, when I saw snake scales appear on Ah Ling's face, I was scared to death."

Hua Changxi comforted him: "Uncle Xu, don't be afraid. Even if Ah Ling turns into a snake, she is still your daughter, right?"

Pharmacist Xu: “.” Not comforted.

Hua Changxi grabbed Xu Ling's hand and began to take her pulse. She was really curious about Xu Ling's condition.

How come snake scales appear on a person's face?
[Observation, auscultation, inquiry and palpation (introduction): diagnosis 1/10]
Hua Changxi said "Huh", and new data appeared.

When Pharmacist Xu saw it, he quickly asked, "What's wrong? What's the problem? I checked Ah Ling's body before and didn't find any problems."

Hua Changxi quickly shook her head. The moment the data appeared, a warm current rushed straight to her eyes. After a burst of warmth, she found that her eyes could see more subtle things.

For example, now, she could see that the snake-scale light on Xu Ling's face was rising and falling with her breathing.

Hua Changxi stood up again and carefully examined Xu Ling's body. He found that there were snake scale patterns on her hands and feet, and the light on the patterns also changed with her breathing.

Looking at this scene, Hua Changxi somehow suddenly thought of the picture of a bird breathing that appeared in her mind when she was practicing.

When she was practicing, she could clearly feel that every pore on her body was breathing in and out.

How similar is Xu Ling’s current situation!

Hua Changxi suddenly felt a little scared. She had always been practicing alone and had never seen what she looked like while practicing. Could it be that she would also grow bird feathers on her body while practicing like Xu Ling?
No, no!
Hua Changxi immediately denied it again. She was practicing in the dormitory of the service hall. If she really had any problems, the people in the same dormitory would have made a fuss long ago.

So, her situation is different from Xu Ling's.

Hua Changxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Xu Ling in confusion.

Is this Xu Ling practicing?
Thinking that the reason why he was able to practice was all thanks to the demon path, Hua Changxi hurriedly asked Pharmacist Xu: "Uncle Xu, before Ah Ling became sleepy, did he go out or meet any special people?"

Pharmacist Xu shook his head: "A Ling usually stays in the pharmacy all the time. The people he meets are either seeing a doctor or getting medicine. There is no special person there."

Hua Changxi couldn't figure it out. She had never been out of the house, nor had she met any special people. How could such a bizarre thing happen to Xu Ling? It couldn't be caused by her, right?
Ok?
Self-induced?

Hua Changxi looked at the snake scales on Xu Ling's face, and an idea suddenly came to his mind. He remembered that there was a kind of spiritual plant recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica" called "Atavism Fruit".

Atavism
Somehow, Hua Changxi thought of the well-known story and looked at Pharmacist Xu curiously: "Uncle Xu, is A Ling's mother's surname Bai?"

Pharmacist Xu didn't understand why Hua Changxi suddenly mentioned his deceased wife, but he still said, "A Ling's mother's surname was Zhou, but my Xu family did have an ancestor with the surname Bai."

After hearing this, Hua Changxi clapped his hands and said excitedly: "Uncle Xu, have you heard the story of the Legend of the White Snake?"

Of course, Pharmacist Xu had heard of the Legend of the White Snake, and asked in confusion, "I have heard of it, what's the problem?"

Hua Changxi was a little excited: "Uncle Xu, the person that White Snake Lady Bai repays her gratitude to is named Xu, that is, Uncle Xu, this Xu."

Pharmacist Xu's face darkened: "What exactly do you want to say?"

Hua Changxi's eyes sparkled: "Uncle Xu, Ah Ling is sleepy, don't you think she looks like a hibernating snake?"

Pharmacist Xu's face turned completely black: "Hua Jiuniang, if you continue to talk nonsense, do you believe I will kick you out?"

Seeing that Pharmacist Xu was angry, Hua Changxi had to suppress his excitement: "Isn't this just giving you some ideas? Uncle Xu, think about it carefully, isn't my idea quite reasonable?"

"That's reasonable!"

Pharmacist Xu was so angry that he cursed: "So what you mean is that the ancestor of my Xu family was a snake, and we are all descendants of snakes."

Hua Changxi: "Don't be angry. I have a reason for saying that." Pharmacist Xu's chest was heaving with anger. This Hua Jiuniang had expelled their entire family from the registry, and she wanted him not to be angry. This made him so angry that he was dying.

"Hua Jiuniang, please explain your words to me clearly. If you can't explain them clearly, I will break up with you."

Hua Changxi: "Uncle Xu, have you ever heard of a fruit called Atavus Fruit?"

Pharmacist Xu snorted coldly: "I have never heard of it."

Hua Changxi said seriously: "But I have heard that after eating this fruit, one's bloodline can return to its ancestral state. This is the spiritual fruit that the demon race dreams of the most."

Pharmacist Xu laughed angrily: "The demons have all come out? Hua Jiuniang, have you read so many storybooks that your brain has been damaged?"

Hua Changxi was not affected by Pharmacist Xu's emotions and continued, "People can also return to their ancestors. It is said that in ancient times, people were protected by gods. People in that period had the power of gods in their bodies. After people return to their ancestors, they can possess the power of gods again."

Pharmacist Xu was too lazy to listen and pushed Hua Changxi out of the room directly: "Go back to where you came from. You are not welcome here. Go tell your story somewhere else."

Hua Changxi didn't expect Pharmacist Xu to believe her. She looked at him seriously and said, "Uncle Xu, Ah Ling should be fine. Don't let anyone else know about her situation. The evil monks and evil Taoists are most interested in people like Ah Ling."

Pharmacist Xu was extremely impatient: "Hurry up and leave!"

Hua Changxi didn't say anything more. He gave Pharmacist Xu a few more instructions and left.

As soon as she left, Pharmacist Xu stood in the yard in silence for a while, then returned to the wing room, stared at his daughter for a long time, and finally entered the house where the Xu family's ancestors were enshrined.

Looking at the tablet of the Bai family on the top of the altar, Pharmacist Xu had a very complicated expression.

The story of the Legend of the White Snake was widely circulated in the Jin Dynasty. In order to avoid being laughed at by others, Pharmacist Xu never took the initiative to tell others that his family really had an ancestor named Bai.

Hua Changxi's words still stirred up waves in Pharmacist Xu's heart.

The reason why I was affected was not only because of the story of the Legend of the White Snake, but also because of some things that happened in the Medical Department in the past two years.

Ordinary people only know that the Medical Bureau is an agency of the imperial court, but not many people know that the Medical Bureau is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Heaven.

The Tianbu, whose powers and responsibilities are equal to those of the Six Ministries, is directly led by the Emperor.

There are three major departments in the Ministry of Heaven, the Medical Department is one of them, another is the Martial Arts Academy, and another department, which is little known, is the mysterious Demon Suppression Department.

Suppress demons.

What demon?

Of course it’s a demon!
In the past two years, the workload of the Medical Bureau has become increasingly heavy. The pharmacists and doctors in the Ninth Street have been asked to hand in more and more pills. Where do all those pills go?
A small portion was distributed to the Martial Academy, and most of it was sent to the Demon Suppression Division.

Judging from the number of elixirs consumed, the number of casualties in the Demon Suppression Division has increased significantly in the past two years.

Although he had never seen a demon with his own eyes, he could sense that the opponents of the Demon Suppression Division were quite powerful, otherwise they would not need such a large amount of medicine.

"If there really are demons in this world"

Pharmacist Xu thought of Xu Ling’s situation. At this moment, he was not sure whether he was a human being or not. Could it be that the descendants of the Xu family were really descendants of snakes?

After leaving Xu's Pharmacy, Hua Changxi felt very uneasy. She was excited that the door to a new world was opening to her, but also felt solemn as she sensed the crisis was coming.

There are people like Xu Ling in her circle of life, but what about others?

If there are more and more people like Xu Ling, will the world still be peaceful in the long run?

Hua Changxi felt a sense of crisis in her heart, and she had to speed up and improve her realm.

Now that she has obtained the opportunity to practice cultivation, she no longer wants to be a wave that can only passively go with the flow when the tide of the times surges.

Unable to ask Pharmacist Xu to sell the pills in his hand, Hua Changxi thought of Yu Hui again. He could not use up all the pills that Yu Hui gave him, and he would definitely have to sell the rest.

With the support of Eunuch Yu, he should have channels to sell the pills.

Unfortunately, she didn't know where Yu Hui lived, so she could only wait until she returned to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to find him.

Hua Changxi didn't stroll around the street, but went straight back to the Hua family. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw a lot of gifts placed there.

"Nine Lady is back, come and take a look, is there anything you like?"

When Hua Dalang saw Hua Changxi, he smiled and waved to let her come over.

Old Mrs. Hua was happily looking through the gifts that Hua Dalang brought back from outside, but when she saw him asking Hua Changxi to come over, the smile on her face fell, but she didn't say anything to object.

Hua Changxi walked over and asked, "Brother, who gave these to you?"

Old Madam Hua immediately said ostentatiously, "The Bo Mansion and the elders of the clan value your elder brother as a sixth-rank warrior, and specially rewarded him with so many things."

"Humph, you are a biological sister, but you are not as generous as outsiders."

Hua Changxi ignored Old Lady Hua and glanced at the cloth and jewelry in the yard. He was not interested: "I'm going back to my room to rest."

"What kind of attitude is this?"

Old Lady Hua was extremely angry. The Bo family appreciated Dalang and everyone in the family was happy for Dalang, except for Jiu Niang, who didn't even say a word of congratulations.

Hua Dalang just thought that Hua Changxi was still angry about what happened on New Year's Eve, so he picked out a few pieces of cloth and jewelry that the young lady liked and took them to find Hua Changxi.

After Hua Changxi returned to his room and put away the unsold pills, he saw Hua Dalang coming in. He immediately said unhappily: "Brother, remember to knock when you enter my room next time."

Hua Dalang smiled indifferently: "Why, are you really going to alienate me, your big brother?"

Hua Changxi: "It's not that we are estranged, it's that we need to have boundaries with each other. I am a grown-up girl, I have my privacy. If you want to enter my room, you have to ask me what I think in advance."

Hua Dalang: "Okay, okay, I'll knock on your door next time, okay?" He put down the cloth and jewelry in his hand and said, "These are all picked by big brother for you, do you like them?"

Seeing that Hua Dalang was interested in repairing their relationship, Hua Changxi did not refuse his intention. She looked through the cloth and jewelry and reluctantly said, "It's okay."

Hua Dalang laughed: "After working in the Medical Department, your taste has become higher. These jewelry materials were not available to our family before."

Hua Changxi looked at him and said, "Brother, it's not that I have higher standards after joining the Medical Department. I just feel that I deserve better."

Hua Dalang knew that his sister had always loved to talk nonsense since she was a child, so he didn't want to talk to her any more. He smiled and asked, "Jiu Niang, you must be very hard-working in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, right?"

Hua Changxi looked suspiciously at Hua Dalang who suddenly showed concern for her: "It's okay, I can handle it."

Hua Dalang disagreed, "Jiu Niang, go home. It won't be long before my brother can work as a servant. I can't bear to see my sister working as a handyman."

When Hua Changxi heard this, he didn't bother to care whether Hua Dalang had good intentions or not, and said directly: "Brother, I will not go home."

Although she was just a chores in the Medical Department, she was still participating in social production and entering the social field.

What's the point of going home? Coming back to be an accessory to the family?

Hua Dalang frowned and said patiently, "Brother, I know you don't want to stay at home all day. I have already made an agreement with grandmother that after you leave the Medical Bureau, you will be in charge of refining medicine in our pharmacy."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi had completely understood what Hua Dalang was planning, and sneered, "Brother, you don't have to say anything. No matter how hard or tiring it is to work in the menial hall, I am willing to bear it. I will not come back to work for my family."

In the Mentoring Hall, everything she obtained belonged to her alone.

Working in the Hua family's pharmacy, everything she did belonged to the Hua family. She produced value, but had to wait for the Hua family to distribute it. She would only come back when she was sick.

Hua Dalang was a little angry: "Jiu Niang, your temper is really a headache."

Hua Changxi sneered: "Yes, I am not like the fifth sister. A young lady like the fifth sister is what you like. Because of your liking, she became someone else's concubine."

Seeing Hua Dalang glaring at him, Hua Changxi glared back: "Brother, since I have already left home, there is no reason for me to come back."

Hua Dalang stood up in an instant and said in a cold voice: "Grandmother is right. You are born with a rebellious nature and are unteachable."

Hua Changxi shrugged and spread his hands: "That's just how I am."

(End of this chapter)