Chapter 407: Chapter 407 The First Collaboration Between Master and Apprentice
"But Master, you also have to consider this, if the person who provided the seeds really wanted to harm him, then aren’t they afraid that someone will eventually uncover everything? When it’s discovered, there’s no need to investigate on their own, they can just direct all the clues towards them. I think, if this person goes to such lengths to meticulously harm someone, then they must make sure not to expose their identity."
"That’s right, I think so too. Anyway, these concerns aren’t within our purview right now. First and foremost, point one, we have to ascertain what this substance is, and moreover, what kind of interference and effects it can have on the human body. These are things we need to clarify."
"Okay, no problem. But I always feel that this substance is very strange, and it smells a bit like some kind of grass or stem plant. Do you get that feeling?"
"Strictly speaking, it’s not a grass or stem plant; it should belong to the metallophytes."
"Yes, yes, metallophytes, that’s it! Just now I was wondering which class it belonged to. It does seem to have a similar scent to those plants. I remember, back in the day, I’ve smelled a similar scent in my grandfather’s medicine chest, but it’s not exactly the same as this one."
"It’s definitely not the same. If it were, we wouldn’t need to do our own investigations. So, our important task today is to extract whatever’s inside and see exactly what kind of substance it is."
"Master, you’ve been talking about extraction all day, so does this substance have any direct connection to the patient you saw? Or is it that the illness your patient is suffering from was caused by this flower?"
"Based on visual assessment, it’s likely that there’s a big connection to this flower, but as for the specifics, I’m not ready to make a conclusion yet. Therefore, all we can do is proceed step by step. Also, time is of the essence, and I must extract it overnight and find a suitable antidote."
"I understand, then Master, where do we start?"
"Tell me, what is the first step when you want to extract the essence you desire from a herbaceous plant, even the pure substances you want?"
"Of course, distillation."
"Exactly, distillation. So, the next steps should be something I don’t need to teach you, right? I believe, having been with your grandfather, you must have learned a bit. So now, carry out a filtration cleanup, and I’ll get the equipment ready on my end. Afterwards, we can start the formal extraction process."
Having said that, the mentor and apprentice began to act separately. The truth was, Liu Zheng truly felt that having Liu Yang by his side really saved him an enormous amount of trouble.
If it were someone else, Liu Zheng would probably have to guide them through every step of the process meticulously, then make them aware of any potentially missing components.
But Liu Yang was different. He seemed to have a natural presence and also knew what each operation signified, so Liu Zheng didn’t need to worry unnecessarily about him.
When the master and apprentice got busy, they completely lost track of time; they forgot everything as if, in this world, only the two of them existed.
Since they had started working inside, four hours had passed, and now the sky outside was already darkening, but neither of them felt any perception of time, as if only ten minutes had gone by.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Just at that moment, they suddenly heard a woman’s voice coming through. Liu Zheng instantly reacted and turned around, only to realize that without his knowledge Liu Jiaxin had already stood by his side.
"Hey, Jia Xin, how did you get here? When did you come over?"
"When did I come here? I’ve been calling from outside for ages, and neither of you responded. I thought you’d died in this room. It wasn’t until I came in that I saw what you were doing."
"Hey, don’t touch."
As Liu Jiaxin was about to reach for the scattered leaves on the table, Liu Yang immediately shouted out, startling her, and she quickly withdrew her hand.
"What’s with the scare, you nearly gave me a heart attack. It’s just a dead leaf, what’s so precious about it?"
"Sister, this isn’t just any dead leaf. I tell you, this has been processed through multiple procedures. We’ve been busy with this all afternoon. Now, we’ve finally completed the initial steps. If you mess with it now and compromise the substance, then our entire afternoon will have been a waste."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jiaxin suddenly realized that they had been so engrossed in their work to find the poisonous substance hidden within that pot of flowers.
"No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat. If you two are too busy to care about anything, Liu Zheng, it’s one thing for you not to eat, but my brother is still growing. Are you really going to let him skip meals too?"
Liu Zheng suddenly paused, then looked up at the wall clock. Inadvertently, it was already 7:30 PM.
"Liu Yang, put aside what you’re doing, we need to eat something promptly. We have to eat no matter what. Besides, we don’t know how late we’ll be up tonight. If we keep going like this, we might not be able to take it. Come on, put the stuff down."
"Master, just wait a moment, just a little longer. I’m almost done with the last step. Once it’s finished, I’ll come right out to eat."
"Can’t you put it down first, eat, and then come back and continue? Why does it have to be down to the exact minute? Besides, it’s not as if eating a meal takes long, could it really hold you back from anything?"
"Master, I don’t like leaving things half-finished, and if I stop now, when I come back, I’m afraid the ideas and passion would have completely faded. Master, go ahead and eat, come back later to take over for me."
