The snake gallbladder still requires several years of complex soaking processes...
Though it appears to involve only nine medicinal ingredients, preparing these nine requires multiple supporting herbs.
"The Golden Eagle bone was passed down from my ancestors, while the remaining ingredients took this old man fifty years to collect," Old Man with White Hair spoke with some pride before cautiously adding, "I've experienced ten failures before successfully refining it..."
"With no ingredients left for further refinement, I scraped a small portion to test on humans and wild animals. It indeed has the effect of cleansing tendons, purging marrow, and transforming one's constitution. But whether there are other harmful effects... this old man no longer has the time or ingredients to verify."
The implication was clear: whether there were side effects would only be known after they took it.
Regardless, Shen Xihe had no intention of giving up. Her gaze turned to Hua Fuhai: "Hua Taoyi, while you were indeed the one who gathered this item, it came into my possession without coercion. Though this may sound like sophistry, this concerns life and death, and I cannot simply yield it."
Hua Fuhai nodded slightly: "Miss Shen could have denied finding it by the river."
If she insisted she obtained it elsewhere, he would have no proof.
Had you not been so peculiar, I wouldn't have admitted it, Shen Xihe thought to herself while maintaining a calm expression as she gave a slight bow: "Hua Taoyi is most magnanimous."
Old Man with White Hair looked between them and suddenly laughed: "People outside would fight tooth and nail for this old man's creation, yet you two remain so composed. Why don't I set up a challenge? Let both of you compete based on your abilities."
Shen Xihe and Hua Fuhai's eyes met again before calmly looking away, both nodding simultaneously to the old man.
Having worked with medicine his whole life, the old man came up with a test. His eyes shifted between them before settling on Shen Xihe: "Since Hua Taoyi obtained it first, I'll show him some favoritism."
Turning to Hua Fuhai, he asked: "What is your specialty?"
Hua Fuhai's eyes briefly swept over Shen Xihe. If he claimed martial arts as his strength, how could this noble lady possibly compete?
"Nothing remarkable - I'm skilled at weiqi," Hua Fuhai replied.
"Weiqi, would Miss Shen agree?" Old Man with White Hair asked Shen Xihe.
Shen Xihe thought Hua Fuhai was quite gentlemanly: "Agreed."
"Splendid! Let it be weiqi then," the old man clapped his hands. "But let's not stick to conventional play - it makes me drowsy to watch. Since it's Hua Taoyi's specialty, let Miss Shen set up a puzzle for him to solve. Meanwhile, I can discuss some matters with Miss Shen."
Though the old man claimed to favor Hua Fuhai, he was actually being quite fair.
"Please present your challenge, Miss Shen," Hua Fuhai agreed with grace.
"Take Miss Shen to prepare the challenge while I check Hua Taoyi's pulse," Old Man with White Hair instructed his old servant.
Shen Xihe followed the old servant to an elegant chamber. Sitting before the Go board, she pondered for a long time without making a move.
Hua Fuhai was definitely not the real Hua Fuhai. If he wanted to yield the Bone Shedding Pill to her, he would have said so directly. Therefore, his claim of being skilled at weiqi was certainly not empty boasting - he must be highly accomplished.
To win this game, she needed to outsmart him.
Having decided, Shen Xihe picked up the stones, alternately placing black and white pieces to set up her formation.
Halfway through setting up the puzzle, Shen Xihe's face began to pale, sweat beading on her forehead. Her constitution was too weak - even slight mental and physical exertion left her breathless and exhausted.
"Zhenzhu, cough... fetch my scented sachet," Shen Xihe instructed.
Zhenzhu immediately hurried out toward their family's carriage.Intermittently, Shen Xihe spent one shichen (two hours) to set up the unfinished chess game, then invited them over.
"Thousand-layer formation..." Hua Fuhai glanced at it and corrected himself before finishing, "No, not the thousand-layer formation..."
Shen Xihe's expression remained calm: "Hua Taoyi, please proceed."
"Miss Shen, this chess formation is exquisitely arranged. Does it have a name?" Hua Fuhai showed great interest in the chess setup.
"Moon Palace formation."
"With a time limit of two ke (half an hour)." Old Man with White Hair showed favor toward Shen Xihe in setting the rules, then invited her to the other side.
Shen Xihe was short of breath and spiritually depleted.
Old Man with White Hair performed acupuncture on her while Zhenzhu carefully took notes nearby. The room was silent except for the soft sound of chess pieces falling on the board. Shen Xihe seemed truly exhausted and fell asleep during the acupuncture treatment.
Only when the final chess piece was placed did Hua Fuhai announce: "The chess formation has been broken."
Shen Xihe slowly opened her eyes after being nudged by Zhenzhu, her expression still somewhat drowsy.
"Miss Shen, this old man has only a few months left to live. I observe that this maid by your side has some foundation. Would you consider having her study under me?" Old Man with White Hair asked upon seeing Shen Xihe wake up.
Shen Xihe glanced at Zhenzhu and nodded: "Indeed. I hope the old master will provide more guidance."
"Then let her stay," Old Man with White Hair nodded. "Miss Shen, please examine the chess game."
Feeling less exhausted and breathless, Shen Xihe stood up and walked over slowly. The chess formation had indeed been solved. She nodded: "Hua Taoyi's chess skills are remarkable."
As Hua Fuhai reached to collect all the captured white pieces, Shen Xihe stopped him: "Wait."
Hua Fuhai's hand hovered over the chessboard as he slightly raised his head. His deep, ocean-like eyes met Shen Xihe's.
If it was just intuition before, this glance now confirmed Shen Xihe's suspicion - Hua Fuhai was the embroidered envoy from last night.
With a faint smile, Shen Xihe used her slender, jade-like fingers to pick up a white piece from the edge and dropped it into the teacup she had previously drunk from. A pale white color dispersed, and the white piece turned black. She placed the piece back in its original position.
The situation where all white pieces had been captured suddenly reversed, with the black pieces now completely defeated. Shen Xihe spoke modestly: "Hua Taoyi, I accept your concession."
Watching the chessboard instantly reverse, Hua Fuhai's abyss-like dark eyes overflowed with amusement: "Interesting."
He picked up the damp black piece: "How did Miss Shen change it to white?"
The elegant room had ink available, and he had inspected all the black pieces without finding anything unusual. The black pieces represented him.
He never expected Shen Xihe could make black pieces as smooth and lustrous as white pieces in such a short time, causing him to be careless once.
"Fragrant balm," Shen Xihe explained. "I had my maid fetch some medicine.This demonstrated her tacit understanding with Zhenzhu. Before entering the elegant room, Moyu had mentioned there were people guarding outside, so she didn't give direct orders to Zhenzhu but used hints instead. Zhenzhu went to fetch her scented sachet - there was fragrant balm she had prepared using fragrant spices in the carriage.
The milky white substance resembled lacquer. A light coating, dried with an incense burner, was sufficient.
After speaking, Shen Xihe produced both the fragrant balm and incense burner.
The fragrant balm was stored in an exquisite palm-sized porcelain container, while the incense burner was originally from the elegant room.
Under time constraints, normal thinking would assume that if she were to tamper with anything, it would be with the white pieces - such as using ink to turn the arranged white pieces black.
Turning white to black is easy, but turning black to white is extremely difficult."Deploying spies when two armies confront each other is hardly ingenious. The superior strategy lies in making the enemy eliminate their own trusted aides." Shen Xihe's eyes, seemingly veiled by a wisp of cold mist, gleamed with profound depth.
"Miss Shen, I have learned much from your wisdom." Hua Fuhai rose to his feet and bowed deeply to Shen Xihe.
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