"The poison in your body is already half gone. Keep drinking the medicine and you'll be fine in a few days. But you've also suffered internal injuries. That will take time to heal."
Pearl Su pulled her hand back calmly, stood up, picked up the bowl next to her, and walked out.
Once her figure disappeared, the man finally withdrew his watchful gaze.
In the kitchen, Pearl Su soaked the pots and bowls in water first, then poured out the herbal medicine to let it cool. She had been busy gathering herbs in the mountains these past few days and hadn't had time to clean the courtyard. Now that she had a moment, she tidied up the yard as well.
After everything was done, she returned to the kitchen, picked up the cooled herbal medicine, and headed back to the man's room. Before entering, she hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door with a steady thump thump.
"Come in." A deep, hoarse voice came from inside.
Hearing his response, Pearl Su entered the room.
"It's time to drink your medicine." She spoke as she walked to the bed and sat down, then scooped up a spoonful of the herbal decoction.
The man looked at her and replied, "Alright." He opened his mouth and drank the medicine. It must have been very bitter, because he frowned slightly.
Pearl Su didn't say anything. Good medicine was always bitter.
After he finished drinking, his well-shaped brows knitted tightly.
"There's still some sugar left. I'll bring you a little." Pearl Su couldn't stand to see such a handsome man look so uncomfortable.
Oh, oh, oh, her heart ached so much!
"Thank you."
His voice was steady, not at all like someone who had just swallowed a mouthful of bitter liquid. Pearl Su would have thought she imagined it, if not for his tightly furrowed brows reminding her otherwise.
"Alright, I'll go get it now."
She brought over a piece of brown sugar, about the size of a thumb. She had knocked it off a large chunk by hand since she didn't have proper tools. It had taken her quite a bit of effort.
Pearl Su held the edge of the sugar piece and brought it to his mouth.
The man glanced at the sugar in front of him. His eyes flickered with hesitation, but he opened his mouth and accepted it.
His lips brushed against her fingertips. Soft.
Pearl Su felt like she had been shocked by electricity. She froze for a moment.
"Have a good rest." She snapped out of her daze and spoke calmly, then stood and left the room.
The man stared at her retreating figure, his eyes unreadable.
Outside the room—
"Ah, ah, ah!"
She had just run away! Her heart was beating faster! Her face was hot! How shameful!
It was all that man's fault for being so good-looking. It was his fault. All his fault!
Pearl Su kept mumbling to herself. After howling for a bit, she finally calmed down.
She had to get back to work. Later she still needed to go pick more herbs. Also, she was out of food. It had been days since she left the house, and they had eaten everything. She remembered there were some burrows in the bamboo forest last time. Probably bamboo rats.
After finishing her chores, Pearl Su packed a rattan basket and tools, ready to head out.
Then she suddenly thought of something. She walked to the man's room and knocked on the door. After hearing a response, she didn't go in. She just stood outside and said,
"Um, sir, I'm heading out to gather herbs now. I might not make it back in time to cook lunch. Please bear with it a little. I'll try to come back as soon as I can. You just rest well at home."
"I understand. Thank you, Miss. Take care on the road." A deep and pleasant voice came from inside the house, without any hesitation.
"Alright. Thanks for your concern."
After hearing his response, Pearl Su left the house. She planned to gather the herbs first, since the ones she needed were quite far away.
Along the way, Pearl Su managed to dig up a few of the herbs she needed, as well as some common ones she didn't need. Those could still be sold in town for some money.
Honestly, it was a bit frustrating. Her current way of surviving depended on digging up herbs to trade. Luckily, she had once found a ginseng root. She didn't know if she would get that lucky again and find something valuable this time.
Pearl Su focused her gaze, searching carefully around. Suddenly, she froze and then smiled happily, quickly rushing over.
It was a large piece of lingzhi! With great joy, she carefully picked it and placed it in a corner of her basket.
Because she found a good-sized lingzhi, Pearl Su felt cheerful and hopeful about finding more herbs.
But after searching the mountain for quite some time, she only found a few common ones.
As expected, good luck never lasts long. The more hope you have, the more disappointment you feel.
Alright, time to head back. Pearl Su didn't feel like searching anymore. There were still a few herbs she needed on the way home. She hadn't picked them earlier because she didn't want to carry everything the whole way.
As she reached the foot of the mountain, she noticed what looked like a canal ahead. She hadn't expected to find water on this side. Curious, she went over to check it out.
With interest, she ran up and saw it was indeed a canal. There were many wild water celery plants growing along the banks. Not bad. She could cook them tonight.
After happily picking the wild water celery, Pearl Su sighed with a bit of regret.
"Too bad there are no fish or shrimp in this canal. There might be snails or eels, but I don't like eating those things," she said with a slight shake of her head as she walked away.
On her way back, she also dug up the remaining herbs she needed. Now all that was left was catching bamboo rats.
The bamboo forest where the rats lived wasn't far from the house. When she arrived, Pearl Su quickly found the burrow she had spotted before.
"Whew, this hole is pretty big. That means the bamboo rat must be big too."
She gathered some bamboo husks and carefully stuffed them into the burrow. These husks had tiny barbs that could poke into the skin, causing pain and itching. She had suffered from them before, so she handled them carefully.
She filled half the hole, leaving one side open. Then she took out her fire striker and lit the bamboo husks. They caught fire easily and produced a lot of smoke, which would drive the rat out.
Sure enough, not long after, a fat bamboo rat rushed out of the hole and ran straight into the basket she had placed outside.
Soon, Pearl Su had caught three of them. That was enough. Satisfied, she headed back to the house.
Once home, Pearl Su went to the kitchen, drank a few sips of cool boiled water to quench her thirst, and sat on a small stool to sort through everything she had gathered.
Besides the essential herbs needed to cure the man's poisoning, there were also some common ones that weren't worth much, and a few more valuable ones. Of course, the most valuable was the lingzhi she had found.
Pearl Su held the lingzhi in her hands, feeling proud and pleased. Her happiness was clear. After sorting everything, she washed the herbs that needed cleaning, then set them out to dry.
With the strong summer sun, the herbs would be dried in just a few days. After finishing that, Pearl Su started preparing lunch.
It was about midday, and she was also worried that the man inside might be hungry. So she moved quickly to cook the meal.
Half an hour later, lunch was ready. It was porridge.
There was no choice. The weather was too hot, and no one had much appetite for dry food. Besides, there was a patient in the house, so porridge was the best option.
The porridge was still hot, so it needed time to cool. Since the heat made it hard for things to cool quickly, Pearl Su filled a basin with cold water and placed the bowl of porridge in it to help it cool down faster. She stirred it from time to time and also started boiling the medicine.