He was a man, with internal heat and a strong temper, so some colder medicinal herbs were added to his concoction.
As for Lu Xiu, she was a woman with a naturally colder constitution. It was no wonder she fell ill after taking cold and cooling pills.
One day, Ge Hong said he had finished writing his prescriptions. Gu Zhaobei came to inspect them.
"Divine Physician Gu, I've finished all my prescriptions and handed them over to you. Are you going to let me die after I'm done?"
Ge Hong asked Gu Zhaobei with a serious expression.
"If you think that, why don't you just drag your feet? For such complex prescriptions, you could take three months or half a year to write them, and we wouldn't be able to rush you."
Gu Zhaobei said, sensing there was more to Ge Hong's words.
Ge Hong chuckled and replied, "You asked me to write these prescriptions not without ulterior motives. You must want me to refine them again, right?"
"Indeed, you are a wise man. If you can refine another batch of these pills, I will spare your life," Gu Zhaobei said.
"It's a deal!"
Ge Hong and Gu Zhaobei made a verbal agreement.
"It's a deal," Gu Zhaobei stated solemnly.
"Do you also wish for immortality?" Ge Hong asked curiously.
"No. But I must research. Because villagers fleeing from the north told me that humanoid monsters that feed on human blood and flesh have appeared in the north. These monsters are incredibly strong, and ordinary people are no match for them.
I suspect these humanoid monsters originated from Prince Xia. The exact method of their spread needs to be researched through your prescriptions to find an antidote. Otherwise, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, including ourselves, will not be spared."
"What?" Ge Hong was shocked. He never imagined things would escalate to this point. He said with a hint of desperation, "But if I were to refine these pills, the village doesn't have a large supply of the necessary medicinal herbs. I'll need to go out and purchase them."
"Leave this to me," Gu Zhaobei promised.
After returning home, Gu Zhaobei told his family about the matter.
"Old Gu, do you think Ge Hong is reliable? What if he's playing us?"
Hu Lanfang was worried.
Gu Zhaobei said, "For now, he is within our control. But the medicinal herbs he needs must be found."
Gu Zhaobei asked his daughter if she knew of any places to find these herbs.
Gu Qingcheng asked Zhu Liang and confirmed that these herbs were not available on the mountains. If they were truly needed, they would have to be purchased from Jiaocheng.
Jiaocheng was the distribution center for medicinal herbs in the Great Zhou Dynasty, with over half of the country's herbs being purchased from there. Additionally, the local Jiao Mountain also produced many unusual medicinal herbs that were often discovered by herb collectors and traded in the market. It was worth a visit.
Gu Zhaobei decided to descend the mountain and head to Jiao Mountain to find these medicinal herbs.
Hu Lanfang, Gu Qingcheng, and Mi Guo were all uneasy about him going alone. After discussing it, they decided the entire family of four would go together.
Before leaving, Gu Qingcheng instructed Yan Xin to ensure someone watched Ge Hong 24 hours a day. No matter what he said, they were not to believe him and must keep a close eye on him, preventing him from escaping.
Yan Xin, who had received direct instructions from Gu Qingcheng, naturally dared not be negligent. He patted his chest and said,
"Don't worry, even if he's a cunning wolf, I can keep him under control."
After all the necessary arrangements were made, Gu Qingcheng's family set off for Jiaozhou.
Gu Qingcheng had checked, and Jiaozhou was at a high altitude and had not yet been flooded, so trade should be normal.
They descended Yunwu Mountain only to discover that the water had risen to the foot of the mountain. The town of Zhanchun had also disappeared underwater.
This made things easier for Gu Qingcheng. She could directly launch the yacht into the water and set sail.
The four of them boarded the yacht again.
Along the way, they saw many former high mountains transformed into small islands in the water. There were quite a few disaster victims on these islands, all looking emaciated. Without rescue, they would likely perish soon.
Faced with the drastic changes of natural disasters, humanity seemed so insignificant.
Gu Qingcheng could only secretly drop dozens of boxes of compressed biscuits before leaving. With these, the people there should be able to survive for another month, hoping they could find a way to cope.
Of course, with the catastrophic flood, some people quickly adapted to survive.
Gu Qingcheng also saw some people escaping to higher ground and beginning to establish a basic order of life.
Perhaps some powerful forces still existed, such as the military or large landowners who had previously hoarded troops and supplies. Under their leadership, the survivors on the higher slopes had built various thatched huts and temporary shelters, forming living bases.
Although their environment was poor and their living conditions rudimentary, at least there was a sense of human presence, preventing the despair of human extinction.
As for Gu Qingcheng's family's life, it was naturally comfortable, as always. Compared to the suffering common people outside the boat, it was like heaven and earth.
Whenever Hu Lanfang thought about this, she would express her gratitude, saying that they were fortunate to have Qingcheng. Otherwise, she didn't know if they would have survived if they had fallen into such a predicament.
Gu Zhaobei playfully patted her head and said, "Don't think like that. Even if Qingcheng were ordinary, as long as our family is together, we can get through it."
Gu Zhaobei said this not to deny Qingcheng's efforts but to avoid putting too much pressure on his daughter.
However, his doting head pat caused Gu Qingcheng, who was nearby, to receive a large helping of "dog food."
Well, she was practically raised on dog food.
Speaking of which, dog food was quite nutritious. Since arriving here, she had grown seven centimeters, now standing at 1.65 meters.
Although it was still not as tall as her previous height, considering she was only 14 years old and had great potential for growth, Gu Qingcheng felt somewhat comforted.
After sailing on the water for a few days, Gu Qingcheng had timely activated the air filtration system this time. Otherwise, the water surface was filled with floating corpses, a gruesome sight, and the air was foul.
Gu Qingcheng mused that in a while, this scene would disappear, as nature was the best purifier.
However, for a long time afterward, Gu Qingcheng would definitely not eat seafood from here anymore, especially fish.
Gu Qingcheng was determined to only eat seafood purchased from her Mountain Cat Supermarket.
About 100 li away from Jiaozhou city, the water level slowly receded, and normal embankments, houses, and piers began to appear along the roadside.
Gu Qingcheng and her family found a secluded spot to disembark, then put away the boat and headed towards a nearby town.
It was a small town called Xinyang. They found an inn to stay in and then asked the innkeeper for information.
The innkeeper told them that it was still 100 li to Jiaozhou city and that they could hire a horse-drawn carriage to get there, costing about 300 wen.
Gu Qingcheng asked the innkeeper to help them hire a carriage and gave him a five-wen tip.
The innkeeper's eyes lit up, and he promised to hire a driver with a pleasant and easy-going personality.
With the tip, the innkeeper became more talkative and said, "Judging by your accents, you're not from around here, are you?"