Chapter 410: Chapter 410 Testing with One’s Own Body
Upon entering the room, he saw Liu Yang sitting in front of him, using a pair of tweezers to carefully observe the specimen at hand.
"Master, after detailed observation, he found the network of veins to be incredibly intricate, resembling a natural pattern of water ripples," said Jia Xin.
"Such a plant is very rare in nature, and I never imagined its vein pattern could be so enchanting. Normally, it’s impossible for a plant to have so many veins."
"However many veins it has, you should go out and eat now, how about that? Leave this to me. Go eat slowly outside; your sister is waiting for you."
Hearing this, Liu Yang finally placed the item back into the specimen box, then walked out of the room.
"Sis, go ahead and leave. It’s already so late and if you don’t go back to rest, we don’t know how late we’ll be up here. Don’t worry, the food has been brought over, hasn’t it? I’m about to eat now."
"How old are you now? You still need me to worry about you eating. You’re not a three-year-old child. Even if you’re busy, can you really afford to neglect your own life? Alright, enough talking, hurry up and eat."
"Sis, did you know? The thing Master brought over this afternoon was really strange, very strange indeed. In all the years I followed Grandpa, I’ve never seen anything like it. My master is convinced it’s a type of herbal medicine, but I’m hesitant to make a blind judgment just yet. I feel that what Master said must be right, but there’s no substantive evidence to prove it all yet."
It had to be said that Liu Yang was truly fascinated by it all, even to the point of obsession.
Even while eating, with his food container in hand, his mind was always fixated on the work he’d just been doing. To this moment, it was all vivid in his mind, impossible to forget.
Seeing all this, Liu Jiaxin could only shake her head in resignation. It seemed that Liu Yang was truly cut out for this sort of thing. If he were thrown into a big hospital for a nine-to-five job, it might not suit him at all. Perhaps, it was only by staying at Liu Zheng’s side that he could truly utilize his talents to their fullest.
After eating, the master and apprentice continued their busy work in the room. It was now twelve o’clock at night, and at that moment, Liu Zheng started to grow impatient. So far, everything was in disarray with no leads whatsoever.
"It won’t do. There are simply too many types of herbs in the world. We can’t keep verifying them one by one. We must use a quicker elimination method to weed them out. First, we need to mix it with an alkaline reagent and then let them combine to see which category it belongs to."
"Ah, Master, why didn’t I think of that? I was just focused on identifying its characteristics. Right, I understand; I’ll get on it right away," Liu Yang said as he walked over to retrieve two experimental supplies. Following Liu Zheng’s instructions, he applied some substance onto them, but he found that there was no change in color after the application.
"Master, there’s no change. Should we try some acidic reagent now?"
"If it’s not alkaline, then it must be acidic."
Ultimately, he poured another type of liquid onto it and spread it evenly. Unexpectedly, there was still no change. This left them in a difficult situation, as it was neither alkaline nor acidic. The only remaining hypothesis was that it must be a neutral medicine.
"If it’s neither alkaline nor acidic, then we must categorize it as neutral. Initially, we thought it might lean towards being alkaline or acidic which would narrow down the scope. But if it’s neutral, the scope suddenly seems much larger."
"We should consider a different approach. We can’t just rely on its characteristics. Shouldn’t we try another method? Additionally, how would the substance, after evaporating into the air, affect the human nervous system? I think the only way to get a direct and clear picture of all this is for me to try it myself."
"What did you say? Master, you, you want to try it yourself? Like Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs? But, you can’t do this now. If something happens to you at this moment, it would all be over. Besides, haven’t you promised that you need to come up with a solution urgently by tomorrow?"
"Yes, it may be risky, but there’s no choice. If I didn’t expose you to this research, then I would never know what substances it contains. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Also, do you see that white jar? If I really fall unconscious on the ground, pour all the powder inside into my mouth. It’s fine, it can save my life."
"Master, can that thing neutralize what’s inside here? Besides, you don’t even know what the substances are inside now."
"Be assured, since we’ve already determined it’s neutral and so many people have already smelled it, it’s likely not to cause direct harm to the human body. To harm the human body, it must contain a certain substance. Only a combination of the two can cause the symptoms we are talking about."
By now, even Liu Zheng seemed to be out of better options. Everyone knew how dangerous it was to use one’s body for experiments, but they seemed to have no other choice.
In the end, Liu Zheng walked over and picked up some green powder, which he then placed over the substance, finally shaking it gently over an alcohol flame.
It was only by combining the substance with a volatile agent that they could simulate the effect of air evaporation. He brought his nose close and gently inhaled the smoke.
Just then, Liu Zheng felt his head begin to spin, and his hands started to feel numb. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the entire world beginning to sway.
