Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 333: Spring comes out of dead trees
Pei Nian's first reaction upon seeing the vermilion palace walls was surprise, but upon careful recollection, certain circumstances of being blindfolded and taken to see Gu Caiwei were confirmed.

The occasional clanging of armor must have come from the palace guards, while the footsteps, much lighter than those of ordinary people, must have come from the palace eunuchs and maids.

"It's here," she murmured.

Upon hearing this, Wang Qinghe made a decisive move, stepped towards the palace gate, and presented the token of the Kaiping Division.

As the emperor's eyes and ears, it was not difficult for the people from the Kaiping Division to enter the palace. The difficulty lay in the fact that a curfew had been imposed tonight, and they would not be easily allowed to pass.

Wang Qinghe then said, "If we cannot enter, has someone else already entered the palace tonight?"

Out of respect for the Kaiping Division, the guard replied, "Only one old imperial physician was temporarily summoned to the palace."

"The old imperial physician? Who?"

Upon hearing Xun Yan's name, Wang Qinghe frowned slightly, then turned and ordered his subordinates to investigate, while also sending someone to consult Min Yuanxiu.

Min Yuanxiu was a confidant of the emperor, and he could enter the palace to request an audience at any time. He arrived in person after about half an hour.

“Governor!” Wang Qinghe immediately stepped forward to report, “This humble servant has found that Gu Jingnian is in the palace.”

Having said that, he raised the completely crimson luminous pearl in his hand.

Just then, the moon emerged from the clouds, casting a faint glow across the sky.

In an instant, all the blood energy that filled the bead suddenly disappeared.

Under the moonlight, the entire luminous pearl was crystal clear and without a trace of impurity.

"This……"

Wang Qinghe was stunned for a moment, then immediately looked at the compass held by one of his subordinates to determine where Gu Jingnian had sent his teleportation.

However, there was no change on the compass, and Gu Jingnian did not send any message.

It's more like they suddenly disappeared.

"what happened?"

Wang Qinghe muttered to himself, worried that he had been tricked by Gu Jingnian. He had invited Min Yuanxiu to the palace gate late at night, but had come up empty-handed. His merit might turn into a crime.

"Commander, I am indeed..."

Min Yuanxiu raised his hand to stop Wang Qinghe from speaking, and said calmly, "I know where he went."

Pei Nian stood silently to the side, but in her heart she was thinking, what place in the palace could block the luminous pearl from sensing Gu Jingnian?
Black neodymium?

Soon, they entered the palace gate, walked through the narrow path behind the wall, turned two corners, and came to a government office.

The plaque above the gate has three large characters written on it.

"The Imperial Hospital".

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The medicinal herbs on the shelves emitted a faint fragrance, and the entire Imperial Hospital was very quiet.

Gu Jingnian was initially worried that the place was heavily guarded, but to his surprise, he did not encounter anyone along the way with Xun Yan.

Once they arrived at the pharmacy, Xun Yan entered with practiced ease, rummaged through the shelves, picked up a piece of medicine, and stuffed it into Gu Jingnian's mouth.

"Keep it in your mouth, it's good stuff."

Gu Jingnian then put the herb in his mouth. It was very bitter and somewhat icy cold, but the coolness did indeed reduce the toxicity of the poison.

Xun Yan seemed to have rediscovered the feeling he had when he was a royal physician from this small gesture, and a smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

"bring it on."

After passing the medicine shelves, there was no road ahead, only a wall, which looked very heavy and solid, and I didn't know what material it was made of.

Xun Yan stood in front of the wall, looked up for a while, and asked Gu Jingnian, "If you were to transmit your image now, what might you sense?"

Gu Jingnian closed his eyes, trying to sense the aura behind the wall, but perhaps because the wall was too thick, he couldn't sense anything and finally shook his head.

As expected, Xun Yan murmured, "That's why we need the Ancient Wood Token."

He beckoned Shen Lingshu to come forward.

"Miss Shen, please put the wooden plaque inside."

Shen Lingshu looked in the direction he pointed and saw a crack in an inconspicuous corner of the wall. One end of the crack had a depression that was just right to embed the ancient wooden token.

She finally removed the wooden plaque from her wrist.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the ancient wooden token seemed to melt into the wall.

After that, it seemed to come alive, with vines growing along the cracks, filling them, until they bulged out of the cracks, forming gnarled branches.

"A withered tree comes back to life, a withered tree comes back to life."

Xun Yan murmured, a fanatical glint appearing in his eyes.

Wei Chan was also excited as she watched this scene. She clenched her fist and swung it forcefully, thinking that she was finally getting close to the secret of this palace.

She has lived here since she was a child, but she has never understood it.

The branches continued to grow, eventually becoming a towering tree that twisted and turned against the wall, its branches blossoming with flowers. "Wow."

Ah-Wan couldn't help but cheer, thinking the flowers were so beautiful, unlike anything she had ever seen before.

The next moment, fruits began to form in the flower's stamen.

The fruit looked very strange; it was somewhat like ginseng, but it was purplish-black.

"Eggplant... eggplant?"

“It’s not an eggplant,” Xun Yan said with a smile. “The reason this place is called a pharmacy is naturally because this wall can be used to grow medicinal herbs.”

Ah Wan said "Oh," and then looked enlightened, realizing that the pharmacy meant that.

Wei Chan pouted and said, "A pharmacy is a pharmacy. Even if it doesn't grow trees, it's still a pharmacy."

Xun Yan chuckled, picked a fruit from a branch, and took a bite.

No juice flowed out of the fruit; instead, a flame-like halo swirled within it.

"Eat up," Xun Yan said to everyone. "One piece per person is enough. Don't be greedy. Eating too much of this is not good."

Wei Chan asked, "What's wrong with it?"

"How should I put it? Eating too much is like indigestion."

Xun Yan spoke lightly, but everyone knew that things were definitely not that simple.

Fortunately, the people who came were obedient, and each of them only picked one and took a bite.

Gu Jingnian had recovered much of his strength and was able to eat on his own. He chewed the fruit and found it didn't taste good; it was not only sour and astringent but also had a swill-like smell.

But a warm current quickly rose in his stomach, and as that warm current circulated throughout his body with his blood, he felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

"Gu Jingnian," Xun Yan said with a smile, "now, can you sense his presence?"

Gu Jingnian closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, and relaxed.

Although Xun Yan did not specify what kind of aura he needed to sense, he quickly grasped what it was.

It had the same strong aroma as the fruit we had just eaten, as if there was a forest of thousands of hectares nearby.

But this is Zhuojing, where there are thousands of households outside the magnificent palaces. How could there be such a large forest here?
"It seems you sensed it." Xun Yan nodded with a smile, then asked again, "Can I go?"

"It feels very close," Gu Jingnian said, "but I don't know how to get there?"

"Let there be light."

As Xun Yan spoke, he walked to the window and pulled down the curtain hanging there.

The pharmacy was instantly illuminated.

It was a round, transparent mirror that condensed moonlight and starlight, making it as bright as the moon itself.

The figures of Gu Jingnian and the others were also reflected in the mirror, every detail clearly visible.

"Understood?" Xun Yan asked with a smile.

Gu Jingnian couldn't help but smile knowingly and nodded.

"Then prepare to go in."

As Xun Yan spoke, his aged hand grasped Gu Jingnian's wrist.

"Those who are going, you'd better keep a close eye on this kid."

"I go!"

Wei Chan reacted the fastest and quickly grabbed Gu Jingnian's other hand with both of hers.

Shen Lingshu was determined to go, so she grabbed Gu Jingnian's arm.

"Girl, take me with you."

Afraid of being left behind, and seeing no other place on Gu Jingnian's body she could grab, Ah Wan simply squatted down and hugged his thigh tightly.

"Where are we going? Where are we going?"

Xun Yan's laughter grew even louder, and he exclaimed, "Let's not delay, let's go!"

Gu Jingnian took a deep breath, feeling as if he were in a forest filled with the fragrance of fruit, and took a step forward.

A miraculous scene unfolded: his body remained still, but his reflection in the round mirror stepped out.

One step feels like crossing thousands of mountains and rivers.

A gentle breeze blew past Gu Jingnian's ear, and sunlight shone on his face.

He opened his eyes and saw a vast wilderness before him.

This is a boundary.

In the very heart of the capital city, within the palace walls, lies a hidden realm…

(End of this chapter)