**
"One gram?!" I unsatisfactorily cough out.
"Our Elder Miss almost died and you only give her one gram worth of the herb?" Xiu Ying shakes her head in disappointment.
If it isn't because I haven't heard of this ancient plant before, I would've searched for it myself!
"Well, you see.. this plant is extraordinarily rare. It blooms every five years. I found it near the mountains and was only able to preserve its leaves." I look at Li Shi Zhen, who wears a face of guilt. He seems to be hiding something.
"Okay, fine. One gram is better than no gram. Give it here." I open my hands to receive the grand prize.
"Hmm.." he ponders as he taps his chin. "How about this, you help me with another task and I help you find another one of this plant?"
"No way." I immediately deny the offer but reconsiders, "Is it life threatening this time?"
"Of course not. Miss Yuan, since you seem to have considerable knowledge of herbs, I'll have you help me with completing this book. All I need you to do is sketch a portion of the herbs, their treatment principles, contraindications, category, and dosage."
My mouth is wide open in shock. "So much?!"
I can barely write in ancient Chinese characters and yet he wants me to complete all of this?
"No, no, no. I'll pick three. Three or none."
Three simple ones that I know how to do. Numbers.. drawings..
Li Shi Zhen helplessly nods, "Fine. You pick."
"Sketching, category, and dosage."
"Deal."
The next few days, I spend day and night in the Manor drawing herbs, inputting the strengths of dosages, and writing the categories in which the herbs will be utilized.
I groan, "When will this be completed?" I stretch my arms in agony.
Xiu Ying massages my back, "Elder Miss. Xiu Ying doesn't understand why you have to obtain the herb that will grant sleep for eternity."
I smile, "To get back home, Xiu Ying. Although if I do explain it, you wouldn't understand." I rub my chin as if I have a beard. "It will be some time until I complete this for Li Shi Zhen.."
A few days later, I receive news that Xu Kai is back from a mission. He is, however, in a critical condition.
"Intense pain?! Stabbed in the chest with a poisonous sword?!" I exclaim to the unfortunate news, which wake me up from my half-thinking, half-dreaming self.
It hadn't even been two months since the incident and yet he found trouble himself!
And he told me to "not push my luck."
I shake my head from the thoughts and rise from my chair, trembling in my earthly shelter. "Where is he now?" I ask her anxiously, concerned with his situation.
"In Li Shi Zhen's Manor," answer Xiu Ying. "Are you going to visit him? What about the book?"
"I am growing weary of this amusement. It can be completed later. Fetch the carriage, Xiu Ying," said I before dropping the brush.
When I arrive at the Manor of Li Shi Zhen, I told the servants I am a friend of Li Shi Zhen. Welcomed with respect by the servants, I trace behind them around the garden and into the collection of rooms. The Manor is quite large in size; a little more wide than the Yuan Manor. Perhaps Li Shi Zhen came from a wealthy household. The servants brought me to the room in which Xu Kai is being treated by Li Shi Zhen.
"Your stubbornness can kill you, Sir Xu." I hear Li Shi Zhen from afar, outside of the door. I knock on it.
"Come in," Li Shi Zhen announces. After seeing me, he brightens up, "Miss Yuan!" He rests several cloths on the table, adjacent to the pan of water that is blended with blood.
"Scholar Li," I greet him as my eyes trace to Co-Commander Xu, who is lying critically on the bed. His tilts his head to see me; his eyes are lifeless again.
Scholar Li wipes his hand on another clean cloth, "What brings you here? Did you finish my medical book entry? I knew you are always so swift." With a smile, he opens up his hand to obtain materials from me.
I smile with a hidden devilish grin, "What do you think?"
He laughs nervously, "I was just kidding." He stops for a moment and points to Xu Kai, "Must be for this fool, huh?"