"Don't pour this water out. Find a secluded spot, dig a hole, and bury the basin along with it," Zhu Yanyi said.
"If we bury it, won't someone find it and cause trouble?" Old He asked. He knew from the wine gu that this was no good thing. He worried someone might dig it up and make a fuss.
Zhu Yanyi smiled faintly. "Since you are so worried, I will handle it myself."
"Fine, you deal with it." Everyone disliked the water in the basin anyway, so letting Zhu Yanyi handle it was best.
Zhu Yanyi did not refuse. She carried the basin outside. Yan Aohan went with her. Once they found a suitable spot, she summoned Binglan to burn the contents and the basin together.
"Why would wine gu appear here? It is truly strange," Zhu Yanyi said to Yan Aohan.
Yan Aohan had noticed too. Even common gu were hard for non-professionals to obtain. How Wang Xiuliang got this wine gu was baffling.
Zhu Yanyi smiled slightly. "Gu come from poison doctors. I am not sure if it is my illusion, but gu poison seems to be appearing more frequently lately. Now it has reached such a remote place. I wonder what will happen next."
"Soldiers block troops, earth blocks water. I have no special skill in this area, but I believe you, Ani, can handle it," Yan Aohan said, looking at Zhu Yanyi with full confidence.
"By the way, why did you use vinegar and sour plums just now? If I didn't know you were sure about these gu, I would have thought you were cooking," Yan Aohan joked.
Zhu Yanyi explained, "It is similar to cooking. Wine gu, food gu, and water gu are all food-related gu. Wine gu loves alcohol. Food gu makes people never feel full, like a one-year-old child with an endless appetite. It is like a fattening gu. Water gu makes people need to drink constantly. Without water, they sweat and feel thirsty."
Zhu Yanyi paused. "Regardless of the type, since they target food, the antidotes are also food. Wine gu needs vinegar and sour plums, plus other herbs. Food gu needs chili and rock sugar, plus other herbs. Water gu needs honey and citrus, plus other herbs. So, saying it is like cooking is not far off."
Zhu Yanyi sighed. "If I hadn't read all the books in the Sage Academy, I wouldn't know so much about these gu."
She smiled faintly. "However, every carving and polishing is destined. Just like this time, we were trapped by heavy snow and could not move forward. Without this snow, we would have bypassed this village. But the snow trapped us here, leading us to discover this. Perhaps Heaven’s will wanted us to save Ju Xiu."
As she finished speaking, the snow intensified.
"No way. Is it really related to the Heavenly Dao?" Zhu Yanyi was stunned. "Don't tell me Heaven’s will brought us here not just to save Ju Xiu, but to save this village too."
Zhu Yanyi was just talking nonsense, but the snow suddenly decreased, as if agreeing with her.
"(⊙o⊙)…" Zhu Yanyi was speechless. "It seems true. But what happened in this village that requires our intervention? And what does this village have to do with the Heavenly Dao? Why did it trap us here to save the villagers?"
Yan Aohan raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask me. I don't know either. But since the Heavenly Dao arranged it, let's go with the flow. Judging by the snow, it shouldn't be related to the weather. I guess it might be connected to the gu poison you just neutralized."
Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned. "Related to gu poison? No way. Does that mean someone else in this village is infected?"
"Or," Zhu Yanyi continued, "someone in this village is secretly making gu poison."
As soon as she said this, the snow seemed to lighten a bit. It was no longer as heavy as when they woke up.
"So someone is really making gu poison. This person doesn't want to live," Zhu Yanyi said, feeling helpless. Truthfully, she wasn't afraid of people making gu, as gu could be good or bad. Good gu could save lives. But this clearly wasn't good gu. It was a deadly poison unknown to others.
Who made this poison and for what purpose remained a mystery.
"I am more curious about what is happening in this village," Zhu Yanyi smiled.
Yan Aohan nodded slightly. "I am curious too. So let's watch closely and see who is causing trouble."
Yan Aohan and Zhu Yanyi exchanged a smile. The Heavenly Dao did not need to give them detailed answers. With a clue, they knew what to do next.
Anything might fool everyone, but it cannot fool Heaven and Earth. Hence the proverb: "If not for retribution, the time has not come." There are also rural sayings like, "Shitting behind the door, Heaven will see." Though the words are rough, the logic is sound. These sayings clearly tell people that everything will come to light, depending only on time.
Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan felt confident inside, but showed nothing on their faces. They returned quietly. Old She and the old lady did not ask where the basin went. They knew it was unusable anyway.
Zhu Yanyi went inside and saw Ju Xiu had changed into clean clothes and was lying on the kang. On the other side lay She Atu.
"Divine Doctor girl, please check on Atu. Is she feeling better?" Even though she Atu had mistreated her before, she knew it was not voluntary now, so she did not hold a grudge.
Zhu Yanyi went over, took her pulse, and smiled. "She is fine. However, her vital energy is damaged. For the next few days, eat light food. In two days, when she has some strength, you can buy other things, like ginseng roots. Making ginseng soup for her is good. You don't need old ginseng; regular pharmacy ginseng roots are fine. Of course, don't eat too much. When her body recovers, she can stop."