Martial Arts Crossover: My master tricked Huang Rong into becoming my wife!

Chen Yanzhou looked at the messy pile of medicinal herbs at his feet, and then at Liao Langzhong, who had a mocking expression on his face.

The old man clearly had no intention of making things easy for him. The pile of herbs weighed at least several dozen kilograms and was mixed together, looking like a bunch of weeds that had just been gathered from the mountain.

"What, scared?" Doctor Liao crossed his arms, twirling an unknown grass root between his fingers. "If you're scared, then hurry up and get lost with this old geezer. I don't keep idlers here."

Old Xu sat on a broken stone bench to the side, not saying a word, just watching with a smile.

Chen Yanzhou dusted off his hands, didn't touch the pile of medicine, but instead raised his head and looked directly into Liao Langzhong's eyes.

"I will definitely learn. However, Mr. Liao, your method of testing me is a bit unfair."

"Oh?" Doctor Liao raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with it?"

"You're asking me to sort the medicine, but you won't give me the pharmacopoeia. Isn't that like the blind men and the elephant?" Chen Yanzhou pointed to the row of dark bookshelves in the room. "At least let me recognize what these things look like and what they smell like. Otherwise, if I sort them incorrectly, are you really willing to make me eat the poisonous herb?"

Liao Langzhong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, his laughter tinged with a sense of desolation.

"Interesting. You're much better than those idiots who just bury their heads in their work." He turned and went into the house. A moment later, he came back with a thin, yellowed booklet with curled edges, and casually tossed it over. "Here. This is a fragment of the 'Compendium of Materia Medica,' which records over a hundred kinds of commonly used medicinal herbs. You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Read it before you start. If you still can't tell them apart, don't blame me for turning my back on you."

Chen Yanzhou caught it steadily and, without saying a word, sat down directly on the ground.

The booklet was tattered, the paper was brittle from dampness, but the handwriting was neat and it was accompanied by some simple illustrations.

Old Xu leaned over to take a look, but Chen Yanzhou blocked him from doing so.

Although he didn't have a system after transmigrating, he had the talent of having an unparalleled memory. Back when he was learning classics from Old Xu, he could recite them fluently after just one reading. Now, he was even more familiar with this pharmacopoeia.

In Liao Langzhong's opinion, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn is at most enough to recognize the appearance of angelica and astragalus.

Chen Yanzhou turned the pages of the book extremely quickly, and the rustling sound was particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard.

Seeing this, Liao Langzhong lowered his head and continued to fiddle with the handful of grass roots in his hand.

Chen Yanzhou's mind raced as he compared the illustrations and descriptions of medicinal properties in the booklet with the pile of herbs before him.

Angelica root has a yellowish-brown skin, a fleshy texture, a strong aroma, and a sweet but slightly bitter taste...

Astragalus membranaceus has a highly fibrous, powdery cross-section; the bark is yellowish-white, and the wood is pale yellow…

Gelsemium elegans has opposite, ovate-oblong leaves, and the entire plant is poisonous.

After reading the last page, Chen Yanzhou closed the booklet and casually tossed it back to Physician Liao.

"Finished reading?" Doctor Liao glanced at him sideways.

"I've finished reading." Chen Yanzhou stood up and patted the dirt off his bottom.

"Then let's get started."

Chen Yanzhou didn't speak. He squatted in front of the pile of medicine, but instead of rushing to rummage through it, he closed his eyes.

Old Xu and Doctor Liao exchanged a glance, both seeing doubt in each other's eyes.

Chen Yanzhou has a keen sense of smell, especially his sense of smell. At this moment, amidst the strong medicinal aroma, he can clearly detect the different scents.

Angelica has a strong, celery-like aroma, astragalus has a faint beany smell, and there's also the earthy scent of other weeds.

His fingertips moved like butterflies flitting among flowers, so fast they almost left afterimages. He tossed the dried roots and stems precisely to his sides, angelica on the left and astragalus on the right.

Liao Langzhong's expression changed.

He originally thought that Chen Yanzhou would carefully identify each plant, and might even use a booklet to compare them.

But the young man didn't even lift his eyelids; his movements were fluid and effortless, as if these herbs had already been handled thousands of times by him.

In less than a quarter of an hour, most of the pile of herbs, which was as big as a small mountain, was cleared away.

One pile on the left, one pile on the right, clearly separated.

The rest were just some insignificant withered grass and fallen leaves.

Chen Yanzhou opened his eyes, stopped what he was doing, and looked at Doctor Liao.

"It's all divided up."

Without saying a word, Liao Langzhong strode over, squatted down, and carefully searched through the two piles of medicine.

correct.

Angelica is Angelica, and Astragalus is Astragalus; not even a single broken leaf was misplaced.

"And what about the heartbreak herb?" Doctor Liao raised his head, his eyes sharp. "Where is the three-qian heartbreak herb I mentioned?"

Chen Yanzhou laughed, a laugh that held a hint of amusement.

He pointed to the remaining pile of rotten grass.

"Sir, you've gone too far with your joke. This pile of grass has an earthy smell, a musty smell, and even a faint smell of urine, probably left by some stray dog ​​that didn't know any better. But it doesn't have that pungent, spicy smell of the poisonous plant."

Liao Langzhong froze.

Old Xu was also taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening and pointed at Doctor Liao, bursting into laughter.

"You old devil Liao, you still pull this trick even in your old age. If you didn't release it, you didn't release it, why scare the kids?"

Liao Langzhong blushed, but instead of getting angry, his gaze towards Chen Yanzhou brightened with an unprecedented light.

"You've got some brains, and your nose is pretty sharp." He stood up, dusted off his hands, and although his tone was still stiff, it was less hostile. "This pile of herbs was just brought back from the mountain folk this morning, and we haven't had time to mix anything in them yet. I just want to see if you'll just point to a random weed and call it 'heartbreak grass' to curry favor with me."

Chen Yanzhou stood up and bowed respectfully.

"In practicing medicine and saving lives, even the slightest error can lead to disastrous consequences. If one lacks even this basic self-discipline, I would not dare to visit you."

Liao Langzhong stared at him for a long time, then suddenly pulled out a book as thick as a brick from his bosom and slammed it heavily into Chen Yanzhou's hand.

"Take it."

Chen Yanzhou looked down and saw four large characters written on the cover: "Typhoid Fever and Miscellaneous Diseases".

"This book contains the properties of 3,600 medicinal herbs and 1,200 prescriptions. Aren't you supposed to have a photographic memory? I'll give you three days. If you can't memorize it, don't bother coming back."

Chen Yanzhou weighed the heavy book in his hand and a smile appeared on his lips.

"It won't take three days." He looked at Doctor Liao, his tone calm yet confident. "The day after tomorrow morning, I'll bring some wine, and we'll drink while you take the exam."

"Arrogant!" Doctor Liao cursed, but the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, an expression of wanting to laugh but forcibly holding it back. "Fine, stop getting in my way."

Without further ado, Chen Yanzhou bowed again, picked up the book, and strode out of the courtyard.

Watching Chen Yanzhou's departing figure, Old Xu stroked his beard and sighed, "Old Liao, how's that kid?"

Liao Langzhong didn't answer, but silently walked back to the medicine shelf and picked up the bundle of herbs again.

"Practicing medicine cannot be taken lightly. There are many intelligent people in this world, but few can truly settle down and focus." His voice was somewhat low.

Old Xu's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Don't worry about that. This child isn't bad by nature, and besides, his master is Hong Qigong, so he won't cause any major trouble."

Doctor Liao turned to look at Old Man Xu. "You brought him here so that he would have more options in this chaotic world, right?"

Old Xu sighed but didn't reply.

The two old men remained silent for a moment, and the atmosphere in the courtyard became somewhat heavy.

"Alright, stop with the nonsense," Old Xu suddenly said with a laugh. "I've come all this way, I even brought you wine, aren't you going to hurry up and prepare a couple of dishes?"

Liao Langzhong snorted coldly, but a smile appeared in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll catch that old hen in the backyard today and stew it for you to have with your drinks."

Before long, the yard was filled with the sounds of chickens running and dogs barking.

Two old men set up a table under the eaves, with a jar of old wine and a pot of fragrant stewed chicken.

"Speaking of which, I recently took on an apprentice." Doctor Liao took a sip of wine, slightly tipsy.

"Oh? Anyone who catches your eye, old Liao, must be extraordinary."

"His talent is average." Doctor Liao shook his head. "His surname is Hu, and he's from a poor family. His strengths are his honesty and meticulousness. If you ask him to grind medicine, he can grind it for a whole day without looking up."

Old Xu laughed heartily and raised his wine bowl.

"Honesty has its advantages, and shrewdness has its wonders. You old devil, you've finally found a worthy successor."

"Drink your wine, you talk too much."

As the sun sets, the courtyard is filled with the aroma of wine.

……