Chronology of a Hundred Herbs

CHAPTER 15: Cherry Mole I

Physician Qi hadn’t been in the apothecary these few days. Hua Rong Yue heard that he was quite busy; he was going down to the Yamen every day to check on the criminals’ illnesses. Physician Qi was a very skilled doctor, in fact, he was probably among the best ones here in this small town. Not only so, he was good friends with Yan Sheng. Hence whenever the Yamen had criminals that required medical attention, they’d ask him to come down. 

Jiangnan wasn’t exactly a very safe place. As a result, the number of criminals inside the Yamen had increased. A considerable portion of the criminals were those that had roamed the jianghu, hence they had all sorts of wounds — a missing limb here and there wasn’t anything to be surprised about.

Recently, Physician Qi had been constantly urging Hua Rong Yue to try out DO6, the former really believed that this was a job that had much potential. Not only did they give two taels of silver, the welfare was good too. After joining DO6, you’ll also get a lot of other convenient doors opening up as a result of your affliation. Last but not least, your social status would definitely increase. 

Physician Qi had also said that DO6 and Hundred Herbs Apothecary were two completely different places, one was in the sky, the other in the soil. Presented the two choices, anyone with common sense would know how to choose.

Hua Rong Yue didn’t know what to reply him. She’d been pondering about this as well lately. Was entering DO6 something that she foresee happening to her within the next dozen of years? Hua Rong Yue definitely have not thought about this before this. After Physician Qi’s constant encouragements, she was feeling a little lost now.

DO6 did seem to be a pretty decent route. After all, she had successfully escaped from Heaven’s Will Tower, she should try to assimilate back into the normal life. And in life, people would always seek opportunities to move higher. It did seem a little unreasonable if she were to completely ignore her future and not plan for it.

Before she transmigrated, had she ever wondered if she would become an intern nurse at a clinic? Probably not. She had always been a good student growing up, and went about down her career path steadfastly. But now that she had transmigrated once, why did she choose to become an intern nurse?

It was because she couldn’t get past it herself in her head. ♢ CHRONOLOGY OF A HUNDRED HERBS, CHAPTER 15 is hosted at ZHANLANN.COM ♢  

The jianghu was not an easy place to survive. Even though DO6 was only barely associated with the jianghu, it wouldn’t make things any easier. If she were to completely avoid the jianghu and all its related matters altogether, did that mean that she would be able to avoid all trouble and live a peaceful life?

Hua Rong Yue had already been a little restless these days. Now with Physician Qi’s nagging thrown into the mix, her head’s even messier.

Ever since Wan Fu Lian found out that Hua Rong Yue had roamed the jianghu, and had proper experience, she would often follow Hua Rong Yue around and ask about some of the happenings in the jianghu. Hua Rong Yue gave a bitter smile as her pesterings. Firstly, because there were things that she did know but she cannot say, and second was because the moment she started talking to Wan Fu Lian, a ghost would suddenly start haunting her from behind. It was truly a spooked feeling. 

On one side, she had to endure Physician Qi and Wan Fu Lian, on the other end was the huanting spirit Xiao Han. Hence, Hua Rong Yue really didn’t want to stay in Hundred Herbs Apothecary these few days, and took every opportunity there was to head out.

“I heard that Wu Ming was facing some health concerns these days, I’ve mixed his medicine, when are you free to bring it down to him?” Physician Qi asked.

“Alright, I will send it over.” Hua Rong Yue immediately discarded her previous statement from her brain — that she didn’t intend to visit Wu Ming’s place ever again. At that, she quickly took an umbrella, grabbed the medicine and headed out.

Hua Rong Yue gave a long sigh, she could finally have a breather, this was not an easy feat.

The alleyways inside the Eighteenth Pavilion was as winding as she had remembered. Hua Rong Yue walked across the wet ground. It had just rained; the rain had downed a lot of the less desirable smells in the air. Even though it was in the day, it was slightly chilly and dark out today, the sunlight was also pretty dim. Perhaps it was the dimness of the day that made it seem closer to nighttime that gave the residents of the Eighteenth Pavilion a different impression. The people around here were much more active today than previously.

Hua Rong Yue had only walked a short distance and she was already feeling like something was off. She could faintly hear the sounds from behind, and regret was immediately welling up. She had been in too much of a hurry when she left the apothecary earlier and had forgotten to ask Physician Qi for the small latern to bring out along with her. And so, Hua Rong Yue picked up speed, and pretty much ended up running all the way over to Painter Wu Ming’s shop. 

After she turned into the alley, indeed there were no other sounds coming from behind. This had Hua Rong Yue sighing in relief. She walked over and knocked on Painter Wu’s door.

When Wu Ming saw that the person at the door was Hua Rong Yue, he was slightly surprised.

Hua Rong Yue did not make any delays, and immediately handed a big pack of medicine to Painter Wu, saying: “I’m here today to deliver the medicine.”

“You came down on your own?” As Wu Ming asked, he limped sideways and gestured for Hua Rong Yue to enter. “Just nice that you’re here. I’ve finished the painting that I said I was going to draw previously. Bring it along with you later.”

Hua Rong Yue followed him into the shop. It was even messier inside as compared to previously. Hua Rong Yue could taste a faint whiff of a sweet scent. She noticed a huge cup was placed on the table, the cup was filled with red “paint”.

That paint… Hua Rong Yue seemed to vaguely recall from Yi Ling Long’s memories, that this paint was used to hide the colour of their eyes. It was a type of medicine. Even though the ingredient of this mix was incredibly suspicious, the mix was very effective in allowing Maniacs to hide their red eyes. This medicine was not meant to be ingested however.

The medicine was supposed to be crushed. The person would need to scoop up the powder with the tip of a needle, bring it near a fire to heat it up, and inject it gently into the acupuncture point just beneath their eyes.

Hua Rong Yue had witnessed such a scene multiple times in Yi Ling Long’s memories. The needle would come very close to her eyes, as though it would poke her eyeballs the next moment. The memory always had her unsettled. 

This kind of medicine was very torturous. And once you start using it, you wouldn’t be able to stop, or your eyes would return to its original red colour.

So those that usually used this kind of medicine would have a very prominent feature on their face. They would have a “cherry mole” at the corner of their eyes, or between their brows. It was like a tear mole, or an eyebrow mole, but insiders would know who they were the moment they spotted such a mole on their faces.

Yi Ling Long had a small mole between her brows, and it was red. However she would always put on some powder before heading out, so her mole was not seen. However, given her situation, whether she had a mole or not didn’t make much difference, after all, her identity as a Maniac was already established in everyone’s hearts. 

Hua Rong Yue had suspected previously that the “rubus rosa red” that this painter had always been babbling on about was Yi Ling Long’s eye colour. Taking into consideration the uniqueness of this painter’s occupation, this was a very posible assumption. As expected, Hua Rong Yue was rendered speechless the moment she saw the painting that Painter Wu had given her.

The person in the painting was indeed her, except that she had red eyes.

…this painter was truly fearless.