Chapter 2348

Chapter 2348: Desert Essence

"Nang itself isn't much, just like a large baked cake. It’s bigger than the ones we make daily, and the wheat here is very fragrant," Luo Gang explained. "It smells great, but without water, it’s too dry for us to eat comfortably."

Zhu Yanyi thought for a moment. "So, there’s no Paomo (steeped noodles) here? I miss mutton Paomo. But with this desert and no pastures, raising sheep seems impossible. So, forget about mutton."

"We can still get Paomo," Li Yang smiled. "We can ask the town clerk to help."

"Really? I don’t think we need to bother anyone," Zhu Yanyi said. She disliked asking for favors or relying on others' goodwill. To her, it was just trouble.

Since Zhu Yanyi refused, Li Yang and the others didn’t push it. So, although Zhu Yanyi still disliked the noodles, she finished them all.

"I’ll go explore the desert tomorrow. Maybe I’ll find something delicious," Wang Ye said.

"Desert jerboas taste good. Wang Ye, if you can, catch two," Luo Gang added with a smile.

"Then I’ll go with Wang Ye tomorrow," Li Yang said. "We can look for other things too."

"Just don’t look for Desert Roses," Zhu Yanyi reminded them with a grin.

"We’re not that stupid," Li Yang and Wang Ye said in unison.

There were indeed many edible things in the desert, but they required searching. Zhu Yanyi had no time, but Li Yang and Wang Ye did. Finding jerboas wasn’t hard; they were usually near oases.

The next day, Zhu Yanyi continued her clinic stall, with Yan Aohan accompanying her.

At noon, Ge Tan arrived with a plate of roasted meat. "Thank you for helping me yesterday."

"You could have paid yesterday. I’m a doctor. If you pay for a visit, I’ll come," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile.

"Still, thank you. If not for your miraculous skills, my bar would have had a death. No one would come after that, and I’d go bankrupt," Ge Tan said, looking relieved. It was true; yesterday’s situation was dangerous. Without Zhu Yanyi, that man would have died.

"You should boil mung bean soup daily or give a free bowl to every drinker. That way, alcohol poisoning won’t happen," Zhu Yanyi suggested.

Ge Tan thought for a moment and nodded. "You’re right, Doctor. I’ll boil a pot of mung bean soup and give a cup to every customer. It’ll be safer."

Zhu Yanyi smiled lightly. "No need to thank me. Consider this my thanks for this large plate of meat."

Ge Tan laughed. "I bought this meat from a distant town and kept it in the ice cellar. I specially took it out today to roast it. This portion is to thank you."

"I won’t be polite then," Zhu Yanyi said. She cut a piece of meat, ate a few bites, and nodded. "The meat is good, but the seasoning is lacking. I have a spice. It’s a deadly poison to ordinary people, but it makes roasted meat incredibly sweet and fragrant." Zhu Yanyi took out a bottle and tossed it to the others. "Take the antidote first."

After everyone took the antidote, Zhu Yanyi took out another bottle and sprinkled some powder on the meat. She cut a piece, ate it, and nodded. "Indeed, my 'Intestine-Breaking Powder' makes it the most delicious."

Yan Aohan also cut a piece and ate it, nodding slightly. "No wonder you said poison is the most delicious."

Luo Gang and Pei Tiandu also cut pieces and ate, nodding. "Delicious."

Zhu Yanyi said directly, "So, following me, even poison is delicious."

"Are you really eating poison?" Ge Tan asked curiously.

"Yes," Zhu Yanyi admitted openly. "Poison on meat creates an indescribable flavor. Especially this 'Intestine-Breaking Powder,' it’s better than natural chili powder on this roast." Zhu Yanyi spoke seriously. "But you can’t eat it."

"Why?" Ge Tan asked.

"Because we took the antidote first. You didn’t. If you eat this meat directly, you’ll die," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile.

Ge Tan looked at Zhu Yanyi skeptically. Zhu Yanyi raised an eyebrow. "You don’t believe me? Then eat this meat."

Ge Tan looked at the meat but didn’t move. "Forget it. This is for you all. I won’t eat it." He was clearly still wary.

Zhu Yanyi smiled faintly. "Whether you eat it or not doesn’t matter. What matters is the 'deliciousness' in your meat. My 'Intestine-Breaking Powder' pairs perfectly with the 'Three-Day Soul-Severing Powder' already in your meat. It’s much better than natural chili powder. So, if used correctly, poison is also delicious food."

Zhu Yanyi spoke lightly. Yan Aohan remained expressionless. Luo Gang and Li Yang exchanged glances and looked at Zhu Yanyi. "Madam, was there originally poison in this meat?"

"Yes, 'Three-Day Soul-Severing Powder.' The name sounds scary, but the effect is just so-so. Don’t worry. You’ve been specially trained by me, so you’ll be fine," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile.

"We know we’ll be fine because you’re here. If anything happened to us, that would be strange," Luo Gang said casually. "But…" He looked at Ge Tan. "Mr. Ge Tan, this meat was sent very suspiciously."

Ge Tan chuckled, showing no other emotion. "You misunderstood. How could I have poison here? Besides, I made several portions. Some are left in the shop for others."

Zhu Yanyi said calmly, "If you didn’t add this special ingredient, someone else did. If so, I suggest you check your other portions of meat to avoid coming to me again."

Ge Tan looked at Zhu Yanyi, then turned and left hurriedly.

"Madam, do you believe he didn’t know?" Luo Gang asked.

"Does it matter? The poison doesn’t affect us," Zhu Yanyi said with a faint smile. "Not just this shallow poison, but even Gu poison becomes high-protein food for me. Why worry? Besides, maybe we were just dragged into it."

Luo Gang understood. "Madam means someone is targeting Mr. Ge Tan, and we were caught in the crossfire."

Zhu Yanyi shrugged. "I don’t know the details. I’m just a doctor."

This made Luo Gang and the others look at her with disdain. She was a doctor, but was she the kind who could say anything? With her skills, who could compare?

Pei Tiandu and Wang Ye returned, bringing four jerboas.

The jerboas weren’t large, about the size of bamboo rats. Bamboo rats eat bamboo roots, so their meat has a natural bamboo fragrance. Jerboas eat desert plants and animals, so their meat is naturally tougher. However, Zhu Yanyi had many good ingredients, and Yan Aohan had excellent cooking skills. Two jerboas were braised, and two were made into soup with various dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots. The soup was delicious.

"Delicious," Wang Ye said, giving a thumbs up. "So good."

"Maybe I’ll go find jerboas tomorrow," Li Yang said, his mouth full of meat flavor.

Zhu Yanyi looked at them. "If you want to find them, go ahead. Eating this won’t upset your stomach."

"Madam, we haven’t had any patients here. It’s been four days. Should we leave?" Pei Tiandu asked curiously.

Zhu Yanyi thought for a moment. "Let’s stay for a full week. If there are no patients after a week, we’ll leave."

Zhu Yanyi wouldn’t waste time where there were no patients, but since they were here, they needed time to settle in.

The others had no objections since Zhu Yanyi had a plan.

However, things didn’t go as planned. That evening, a group of police officers arrived. Ge Tan led them and pointed at them. "It’s them."

The officer, Yuan Ha, looked at Zhu Yanyi and the others. "Hello, comrades. I am Yuan Ha, officer 0905172 from the Shaojia Town Police Station. I’m here to investigate the poisoned meat at Ge Tan’s bar."

Zhu Yanyi saw Yuan Ha’s attitude was decent, so she nodded and pointed to a seat. "Sit down and talk."

Yuan Ha sat down. "I heard from Boss Ge Tan that you found poison in the meat he sent?"

Zhu Yanyi raised an eyebrow. "You mean 'Three-Day Soul-Severing Powder'? Yes, we found it." She looked indifferent. "So what?"

"You know the poison. Do you know its origin?" Yuan Ha asked.

Zhu Yanyi laughed. "How would I know? To me, I’m just a doctor, a traveling doctor."

"You recognized the poison. Don’t you know its origin?" Yuan Ha frowned slightly.

"Everyone knows rat poison is toxic, but who knows which factory produced it?" Zhu Yanyi said calmly. "To us, this poison didn’t cause any danger. That’s simple. We were kind because Boss Ge Tan sent us meat, so I warned her. If she’s unhappy with us because of that, I can’t help it."

"Others don’t know, but you do. I suspect you put the poison," Ge Tan said directly.

So that was why he brought the police.

Zhu Yanyi gave her a look of disbelief. "If I really poisoned you, I’d never tell anyone. If I poison someone, no one will know it was me. Understand?"

Zhu Yanyi stared at Ge Tan, her eyes full of contempt. "Don’t try to pin this on us because you can’t find the source. You’re helping the real culprit. Do you understand?"

Zhu Yanyi’s tone was calm, but Ge Tan couldn’t breathe freely. She felt completely suppressed by her.

Zhu Yanyi looked at Yuan Ha faintly. "This has nothing to do with us. I’m a traveling doctor. I happened to arrive in Shaojia Town. If there are no patients, I’ll rest for a week and leave. If there are patients, I’ll practice medicine here. That’s all."

Yuan Ha said, "Can you provide evidence to prove your innocence?"

"I think I should ask you for evidence proving we are the culprits. Otherwise, I’ll report to the authorities that you people here can’t distinguish right from wrong," Zhu Yanyi replied calmly.

Ge Tan said, "You have the antidote. Isn’t that the best evidence?"

Zhu Yanyi laughed loudly. "Mr. Ge Tan, do you know that no one in this world can poison me? All poisons in this world are just seasonings to me. Otherwise, why do I practice as a traveling doctor? Why do I dare to treat others? This world is peaceful, but there are many strange people."

Yuan Ha’s eyes lit up. "Doctor, are you saying you’re not afraid of any poison? Can you cure all poisons?"

"Yes," Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly. "At least, I haven’t encountered any poison that can stump me yet." Zhu Yanyi wasn’t arrogant; she was confident.

Seeing Zhu Yanyi’s confidence, Yuan Ha believed her. "Doctor, my mother was poisoned some time ago. She’s getting thinner and thinner. I’ve tried everything, but nothing works. Can you help her?"

"My medical vehicle is here. If it’s convenient, bring your mother over," Zhu Yanyi said calmly.

As a doctor, she never turned away patients.

Yuan Ha stood up immediately. "I’ll go get my mother. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Please wait, Doctor." Yuan Ha ran off quickly.

Ge Tan’s mouth hung open. This wasn’t the result he wanted. He thought the poisoned meat would find a scapegoat, but the outcome was completely different.

Zhu Yanyi didn’t even look at Ge Tan. She just gave her a faint glance, not caring about her. She wasn’t an equal opponent. Winning against her meant nothing.

This was what made Ge Tan most resentful. she didn’t understand the background of this traveling doctor. If her medical skills were so good, why wasn’t she a坐诊 doctor in a key hospital in the capital? Why was she a traveling doctor?

Sometimes, people are like this. The more resentful they are, the more they want to suppress the other person, but it often leads to disappointment.

Zhu Yanyi didn’t care about her thoughts. To her, dealing with such people was less important than drinking another bowl of jerboa soup.

Yuan Ha was as fast as he said. In just ten minutes, he pushed a wheelchair over.

A woman sat in the wheelchair. Her mind was clear, but she was very thin. Her thinness looked natural, which made it seem unusual.

"Doctor, please help," Yuan Ha bowed. "This is my mother, Mary Qiya. Ten years ago, she became like this for unknown reasons."

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "Madam, I need to take your pulse. Do you mind?"

"I don’t mind," Mary Qiya said. Her voice was beautiful, as if it belonged to someone like her.

Zhu Yanyi raised an eyebrow. The voice seemed strange, not like that of a sick person. But Zhu Yanyi trusted her judgment, so taking the pulse was necessary.

Zhu Yanyi pointed to the pulse pillow. Mary Qiya placed her right hand on it. Zhu Yanyi began to diagnose. As she diagnosed, she saw everything inside Mary Qiya’s body clearly. "Madam, did you go to a very hot place ten years ago?"

Mary Qiya’s eyes showed surprise. "How did you know? Yes, ten years ago, my husband went missing. He said he disappeared in the Scorching Canyon in the desert. The Scorching Canyon is the hottest place here. My husband went there to find a stone called 'Starfire Stone.' Someone buys it at a high price, and only the Scorching Canyon has it. But my husband disappeared there. I went to look for traces, and I accidentally fell into quicksand. I thought I would die, but strangely, I didn’t. The quicksand somehow sent me out. But since then, I’ve had this illness."

Zhu Yanyi understood. "Madam, this isn’t really an illness. For those who know martial arts, it’s actually a good thing. Your body is strong, but since you haven’t learned martial arts or internal energy, you’ve become like this."

"How so?" Mary Qiya asked curiously.

"Madam, it’s not an illness. There’s an extra essence in your body that doesn’t belong to you. If I’m not mistaken, it’s an essence from the quicksand. If you knew martial arts, you could use it to absorb this essence for your own use. But since you don’t know martial arts, this essence can’t function properly, so it affects your body," Zhu Yanyi explained to Mary Qiya.