After taking Yan Yueqing’s pulse, Old Master Bai followed Chu Fengteng to check on Jia Hui and Zeng Pao.
A quarter of an hour later, the master and disciple returned with furrowed brows and serious expressions.
Yan Yueqing, seeing their troubled faces, expressed concern, "Are the two in severe physical distress?"
Sowhat grumpy, Old Master Bai sat on the sofa and gestured to his young disciple, "You tell her."
Chu Fengteng spoke elegantly, "Although they haven’t been using poison for long and their bodily harm is indeed serious, it’s still within the range that can be healed. My master is angry because he has realized that the poison... was made by soone we know!"
"Soone we know?"
"Yes," Chu Fengteng sighed, "it turns out, I should call her my aunt by martial relations."
Aunt by martial relations?
So she was Old Master Bai’s junior martial sister?
"The Bai family has been practicing dicine for generations, and as they say, dicine and poison co from the sa house. So specialize in dicine, while others delve into poison," Old Master Bai sighed. "My junior sister was proud and ambitious. Unable to surpass in dical skill, she turned to study poisons and actually made quite so achievents!
But later... she researched more and more toxic substances, even going so far as to create ’D’ products with those people! I’ve warned her multiple tis not to break the law, but she always felt that I was interfering with her, gradually causing a rift between us."
Old Master Bai’s mood fell as he spoke.
Chu Fengteng, knowing what his master was reminded of, comforted him, "Master, the matter with your junior sister has been a long ti ago..."
Old Master Bai clenched his fists, his expression no longer carrying the elegant air of a hermit but instead brewing a surge of anger, "Ti cannot erase this pain! Your aunt was wrong, and she was wrong! I let her go twenty years ago, and so much has happened since. Now, we have two more cases! We must catch her no matter what to prevent further harm to others."
Yan Yueqing did not know the whole truth but guessed from their conversation—was the poison injected into Jia Hui made by Old Master Bai’s junior martial sister?
She hesitated whether to ask or not when Chu Fengteng took the initiative, "Master, this matter involves Zhongxing, and Aunt Xiaoxing has the right to know."
"There is nothing that can’t be told," Old Master Bai’s gaze was inscrutable, "It’s just the misfortune of our sect."
With his cue, Chu Fengteng turned and shared the past in full.
Old Master Bai’s junior martial sister, Bai Zhi, had an extraordinary talent for poison study. Initially, she partnered with her senior brother Bai Shu, hoping to revitalize the path of traditional Chinese dicine! But when they were younger, one’s heart was secretly set, while the other’s heart was unmovable in his path.
Bai Shu had once stated that he devoted his life to spiritual cultivation and the study of dicine. He was not tempted by worldly desires and wished only to use his humble abilities to relieve the suffering of all beings.
Bai Zhi, however, took his words as an excuse and in a fit of rage left the Bai family to venture out on her own.
This is not an ancient romance novel; there are no misunderstandings or twists of fate.
The brother and sister simply reached a crossroads and went their separate ways.
When they t again, both had taken on disciples. Bai Zhi had succeeded in her poison research and started targeting her senior brother’s disciple.
Bai Shu saved his disciple from poisoning twice, which only spurred Bai Zhi to be more determined in her battle.
With a single lapse in judgnt, she joined those people in devising new poisons.
"Twenty years ago, I stumbled upon one of her transactions of dicinal ingredients," Old Master Bai spoke with regret. "At that ti, I vaguely heard that the narcotics police were investigating a major case, and I felt it was very likely connected to her... I didn’t want to think too poorly of her, but who knew it would be releasing the tiger back into the wild?"
Chu Fengteng shook his head, "Master, you have been blaming yourself too much over the years, always feeling that you let Bai Zhi go... But master, the narcotics police themselves admitted that at that ti they did not have concrete evidence of Bai Zhi’s drug manufacturing. Even if they had brought her in for investigation, they would not have been able to prove anything, and she would have been released in the end."
Yan Yueqing echoed, "That’s right, without evidence, they can’t arrest anyone."
Old Master Bai furrowed his brows, "They may not have the evidence to convict, yet I knew it was her... and my leniency was nothing but indulgence; the two concepts are entirely different!"
His gaze beca extrely dull, "Since then, I’ve started to focus on researching antidotes to the poisons she manufactured... Unfortunately, research and developnt are one thing, but the profits from her poison-making are frighteningly high! I’d like to dedicate myself to studying these formulas but can’t get the financial backing...
Miss Yan, I won’t hide it from you, traditional Chinese dicine has been declining over the years. Our generation is getting older, and new people are choosing livelihood over heritage. Even the Chu family, a household of traditional Chinese dicine, was almost erased by ti...
Between ideals and a bowl of rice, no one’s choice is wrong! But the consequence is... every ti I develop an antidote formula, Bai Zhi invents many more different kinds of poisons..."
Such is the road of scientific research.
Not to ntion the generations of ti it spans, just the raw materials are enough to put a strain on the team!
When it cos to Chinese dicine, ordinary herbs are relatively easy to find; however, so precious herbs take a long ti to find, not to ntion the processing they undergo, where a slight mishap can cause them to lose their dicinal properties.
Nowadays, the mass cultivation of herbs has led to a significant loss of potency compared to wild-grown plants, resulting in many formulas being lost.
For Old Master Bai to have persisted on his own for twenty years is no easy feat.
Yueqing pondered, "How about this, I invest so money under the na of Fengteng?"
"Ah?" Old Master Bai was stunned.
In the past, he begged till his face turned red and talked himself hoarse, yet it hardly ever convinced anyone to invest. And now... after just hearing about the doings of Bai Zhi, Miss Yan actually wants to contribute financially?
Old Master Bai didn’t imdiately agree, pondering for a mont with a very serious expression, "Miss Yan, I won’t deceive you, investnt is easy, but researching formulas is not an overnight task... I’ve nearly put all my wealth into pharmaceutical developnt, and the results are still not satisfactory."
Implicit in his words was that modest investnts would be just a drop in the ocean to the research; yet asking for a large investnt was a difficult request for him to make.
Yueqing nodded, "Don’t worry, I understand!"
Chu Fengteng said, "Master, Aunt Xiaoxing once extended a hand to my Chu family when we were declining, she is a true noble person who does good without seeking a reward! She understands."
"I know... So..." Old Master Bai weighed his words, would asking for ten million... be too much?
"Let’s start with one billion," Yueqing declared decisively. "If it’s not enough, we’ll add more later!"
Old Master Bai: ???!!!
Huh?!
Had he heard sothing wrong?
One billion?
Old Master Bai was aware that Yueqing had invested fifty million in the Chu family, but after all, the Chu family was a household of traditional Chinese dicine with solid assets; as long as they followed the right path, their revival was just around the corner!
If Old Master Bai had had fifty million back then, he would have invested in the Chu family as well.
But developing dicinal formulas was different... the chance of it all going down the drain was significant!
Tens of thousands worth of precious herbs could be poured in, with no guarantee of developing sothing valuable! Unlike Alchemy, as long as you produce a pill, it’s bound to be sothing good that prolongs life...
Yueqing wasn’t wrong, was she?! One billion?!
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