After leaving the Spirit Realm, Jiang Yuqing immediately thought of setting up a protective formation for her mansion.
She walked along the perimeter wall and chose some large trees and rocks as the nodes for the formation flags. It took her nearly an hour to set it up, and when she activated the formation core, she realized... Hmm, no response?
What's going on?
She thought she had made a mistake somewhere, so she carefully checked it twice, but everything seemed fine. What could be the problem?
In the end, it was Bai Xiaoshi who couldn't stand it anymore and reminded her, "You fool, you didn't even place any spiritual stones to activate it."
That's right, she forgot.
Protective formations are long-term energy-consuming techniques. For example, the ancient sect's mountain-defense formation relies on the spiritual veins of the sect to sustain its operation because it requires a tremendous amount of energy. Such formations are usually only activated when absolutely necessary.
When she arranged the formation in the Spirit Realm, the success rate was one hundred percent because there was abundant spiritual energy to support its operation.
However, in the outside world, although there was spiritual energy, it was insignificant compared to the Spirit Realm and couldn't provide enough support to activate the formation.
Unless she used her own spiritual power as the support and continuously output it for twelve hours a day, she couldn't ensure the continuous operation of the formation.
But that was almost impossible!
Have you ever seen a large-scale protective formation operated by manpower? That would be a joke!
In order to find spiritual stones, she searched through the inheritance hall inside and out but didn't find a single one. She did find a lot of miscellaneous things, though.
Disappointed, she complained to Bai Xiaoshi, who was leisurely lying on the lawn and wagging its tail, "Our ancestor is too poor. There isn't even a piece of spiritual stone. I can't even find one to use as the cornerstone for the protective formation."
Bai Xiaoshi looked at her with disdain and said, "Poor? Haven't you looked at the foot of the mountain?"
Jiang Yuqing's eyes instantly lit up. "Are you saying there are treasures at the foot of the mountain? I thought there were only useless things in the hall."
Bai Xiaoshi sarcastically retorted, "Maybe your ancestor didn't expect to have such naive and lazy descendants like you!"
Jiang Yuqing replied, "...There's no need for personal attacks."
When she first saw this creature, it had a divine and compassionate image of a majestic deer, exuding an aura of immortality and sympathy for the world. But it was all an act.
Its true nature was that of a sarcastic and arrogant tongue. Moreover, its eye-rolling skills were three times better than Empress Huafi's.
But now was not the time to argue with it. Finding the treasure was the priority. For this purpose, she specifically went to the administrative department's warehouse and carried a legendary multi-functional entrenching tool.
This thing was twice her height and looked like a rocket launcher when she carried it on her shoulder. It was quite imposing.
Bai Xiaoshi glanced at the entrenching tool and surprisingly praised, "This thing is not bad."
Together, Jiang Yuqing and Bai Xiaoshi descended to the foot of the mountain, taking several twists and turns until they reached an extremely hidden giant cave.
"Go in! This is the place."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuqing enthusiastically rushed into the cave with the entrenching tool in her hands.
As soon as she entered the cave, Jiang Yuqing was stunned.
In the dim and deep cave, the walls were embedded with shimmering gemstones of various colors, dazzling and magnificent.
The radiant gemstone lights extended into the endless darkness of the cave, like the Milky Way in the vast universe, both awe-inspiring and mysterious, a sight of unparalleled beauty.
Bai Xiaoshi reminded her, "Your tears are flowing down from the corners of your mouth."
Jiang Yuqing instinctively raised her hand to wipe them away and realized she had been tricked. She gave it a disdainful look and asked, "Are these spirit stones?"
Bai Xiaoshi replied, "No, these are spirit crystals. They make ordinary spirit stones look like trash. This is an entire vein of spirit crystals. It's enough for your cultivation for ten thousand years. Do you still think your ancestral master is poor?"
Jiang Yuqing promptly retracted her previous words. In front of the spirit crystals, things like face were insignificant.
That's just how practical she is.
Infusing her spiritual power into her hands, without hesitation, she picked up a shovel and got to work. After a clanging sound, she looked at the three obtained spirit crystals in her hand, and her hands felt numb from the impact. Jiang Yuqing fell silent.
In reality, it wasn't that easy to mine these things.
Having been busy in the mine for the whole morning, she was exhausted and gasping for breath, but at least the gains were quite substantial.
Throwing the shovel aside, she sat down on the spot and meditated, circulating her cultivation technique for three full cycles, finally reviving her energy.
After confidently leaving the spiritual realm, she buried the acquired spirit crystals under a formation eye and smoothly activated a grand formation.
Bai Xiaoshi said mockingly, "With this piece of spirit crystal, it's enough for two hundred years. Maybe even if her family's house collapses, it will still be here."
Jiang Yuqing now really hoped that this bear deer would shut up!
She didn't expect this formation to withstand thousands of troops; it would be enough if it could deter a small thief.
There were too many people in this world who could fly. It wouldn't be surprising if one day someone wanted to perch on her roof to admire the moon.
Privacy and security were of utmost importance.
After finishing these tasks, Jiang Yuqing clapped her hands and went back contentedly.
After having lunch and taking a nap, she woke up. Yu Zhu took out a letter, which was sent by Wei Lingyun from the General's Manor.
September 20th was her fourteenth birthday, and she was invited to the manor to attend a birthday banquet. Calculating the time, it would be the day after tomorrow.
Considering that there wasn't anything significant happening that day, she replied to the letter saying she would attend.
The next day, after breakfast,
Jiang Yuqing accompanied her master and senior brother in a carriage and arrived at He An Hospital.
Today was the day when Doctor Qiu held consultations. Jiang Yuqing had no classes, so she followed him to learn.
The first patient was a young woman who was seeking treatment for infertility.
After Doctor Qiu examined her, he prescribed a prescription and advised her to take the medicine continuously for two months, along with medicinal baths. He said that in about six months, there should be good news.
The woman took the prescription with joy and profusely thanked Doctor Qiu before leaving.
Observing this, Jiang Yuqing felt deeply moved.
Some people claim that traditional Chinese medicine is pseudoscience or even derogatorily label it as witchcraft. Jiang Yuqing would never admit to such claims. Western medicine has its merits, and traditional Chinese medicine has its own intricacies.
Passed down through countless experiments by our ancestors, it is a cultural treasure accumulated over thousands of years. It cannot be discredited by the baseless accusations of some online trolls.
Traditional Chinese medicine is like two different-colored flowers. You can say that you prefer one color, but you should never say that the other one is not beautiful.
After seeing off the woman, Doctor Qiu called the next number...
Jiang Yuqing, noticing that his master's teacup was empty, volunteered to fetch more tea. As he walked through the corridor, he happened to catch sight of a familiar figure—a burly man.
Oh my goodness! Isn't that the Hun barbarian who stole her chicken that day?
Shouldn't he be in the prison of the Five City Military Office right now?
Why is he here?
The man was leaning against the wall, one hand on his waist, while impatiently muttering something to the tall man next to him.
The other person seemed uninterested in engaging with him, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, pretending to doze off. He also had ear piercings, indicating that he too was a Hun.
They must be together.
In his hand, the man held a half-piece of black sandalwood plaque with the faintly written word "Three" on it.
Well, well, it turns out he is the third patient to have an appointment with the "Divine Doctor" today.
What a small world!
Jiang Yuqing realized what was going on and quickly whispered everything to Doctor Qiu's ear before making himself scarce.
Now, let's talk about Huyan Xuri Gan, who had been waiting in the corridor for quite some time and finally got his turn.
With hope in his heart, he entered the consultation room. Just as he sat down and before he could say anything, Doctor Qiu glanced at him and blurted out, "No cure!"
Huyan Xuri Gan's face instantly stiffened. "Why no cure?" he asked.
Doctor Qiu coldly responded, "I don't like the look of you."
Indeed, Huyan Xuri Gan had heard of the "Three No Cures" associated with the famous and capricious Divine Doctor.
He never expected to find himself categorized as one of the "Three No Cures."
Huyan Xuri Gan made an effort to relax his expression and said, "I have never met the Divine Doctor before, nor have I ever offended him. Why does he find me displeasing?"
Huyan Abalu, who had hobbled in alongside him, didn't care about any of this. He raised his large fist and slammed it heavily on Doctor Qiu's consultation table, causing the items on the table to bounce high.
With an angry voice, he said, "Old man, I don't care about your damn rules. Today, you will treat me whether you like it or not. Otherwise, I'll show you how powerful my fist is."
Doctor Qiu had seen all sorts of situations, and if it were a woman throwing a tantrum, he might have been at a loss. But someone like this, he had no reason to fear.
The old man sat there calmly, disdainfully glanced at Huyan Abalu, and smiled mockingly at Huyan Xuri Gan, saying, "This is the reason why I won't treat you. Is that enough?"
Huyan Xuri Gan, expressionless, looked at his bear-like younger brother.
Deep down, he resented why he had been born in the same womb as such an idiot.
He endured and endured, but in the end, he clenched his fist tightly, closed his eyes in despair, and after a while, gritted his teeth, nodded at Doctor Qiu, and said, "Sorry for the disturbance."
Then, without saying another word, he forcefully dragged Abalu out of the consultation room.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yuqing, after leaving the consultation room, felt that something was amiss. How could this Hun man be released so easily? And why was he openly appearing at He An Hospital?
No, she needed to find out what was going on.
So, she summoned a little bird and instructed it to follow them as soon as they left the hospital, to see who they really were.
Jiang Yuqing was extremely surprised when the little bird returned and told her that those few people had returned to the State Guest Inn in a furious manner.
Normally, only foreign envoys would stay at the State Guest Inn. The fact that these Hunnic people were able to stay there indicated that their status couldn't be too low.
The contradiction lies in the fact that Great Xia and the Huns are archenemies, and there is no possibility of establishing diplomatic relations between them. Moreover, there haven't been any reports of Hunnic envoys entering the capital recently.
Furthermore, judging from the reaction of the leader of the Five City Military Office the other day, they were also unaware of this matter. Therefore, it is highly likely that these people infiltrated the capital of Great Xia quietly.
The appearance of high-ranking personnel from an enemy nation, disguised and hidden in Great Xia's capital, is worth pondering.
And now, they have actually appeared at the State Guest Inn.
What's going on?
Jiang Yuqing had someone check the list of scheduled patients for today at the front desk and found that the person who should have been third on the list was an old woman who came to seek treatment for an eye ailment, not this Hunnic person.
Jiang Yuqing sent someone to the address left on the appointment list and found the old woman who had originally made the appointment.
The old woman said that a man came a few days ago and claimed that his master was seriously ill and wouldn't last much longer. He offered a high price of one hundred taels of silver to buy her appointment. Seeing that the man was offering a large sum of money, she didn't think much of it and agreed.
Jiang Yuqing had the hospital blacklist the old woman right away.
She wasn't a saint, and she didn't tolerate scalpers.
Connecting the dots, Jiang Yuqing roughly deduced what had happened.
It seemed that the Hunnic person who came for treatment today indeed had an incurable disease. That's why they traveled a long distance and secretly infiltrated the capital of Great Xia in search of her master to treat the illness.
Unfortunately, old habits die hard, and despite changing their clothes, they couldn't change their innate nature as thieves.
It seems that shortly after arriving in the capital, their comrade-in-arms, the "Hairy Bear," succumbed to his old habit of "robbing" and was inadvertently taken to the Five City Military Office.
After that, everything fell into place. The people at the Five City Military Office checked the Hairy Bear's identity and also discovered a string of accomplices.
Although these "big rats" were disgusting, their identities had to be taken into consideration to some extent, which is why they were brought back to the State Guest Inn. It was probably called hospitality, but it was actually a form of surveillance.
No wonder the Hairy Bear limped as he walked. It's likely that the brothers at the Five City Military Office didn't show him any mercy.
Regarding this, Jiang Yuqing could only say, "Well done!"
She had a feeling that this matter wasn't so easily resolved.
With that in mind, after returning home later, she would instruct Manager Zhao to inform any visitors that she wasn't available.
