In the afternoon, when Fang Bai arrived at the medical college's classroom, he saw his classmates gathered in groups of twos and threes, discussing something. Words like "Su Linglong," "head class representative," and "sick" occasionally reached his ears, stirring something in his heart.
"Liu Yang, what are you all talking about?"
Fang Bai patted a male student's shoulder and asked with a smile.
The boy named Liu Yang turned his head to look at Fang Bai, was about to speak, but was interrupted by a girl with a quick mouth next to him.
"Fang Bai, you don't know yet? Our class rep Su Linglong got a brain tumor, and I heard she's already been admitted to Zhongzhou City First Hospital! Ah, such a beautiful girl, how could she get such a disease..."
The girl who spoke usually had a good relationship with Su Linglong, and as she spoke, her face showed a look of compassion and sorrow.
Another girl frowned and said, "Wasn't the class rep fine yesterday? How did she suddenly come down with an illness today? Xia Juan, you can't spread unconfirmed news so recklessly."
The girl with the quick mouth responded, "I'm not talking nonsense! I went to Teacher Qin's office today to hand in some materials, and she was discussing this with several teachers. I secretly listened in for a bit... Teacher Qin and they wouldn't joke about such a matter, right?"
Others might not believe that Su Linglong was ill and hospitalized, but Fang Bai had no doubts about it at all.
"Su Linglong must have gone to the hospital for a check-up today and was admitted after finding the problem. It seems that my previous diagnosis was not wrong; she indeed has a brain tumor... Sigh, is this the curse of beauty?"
Fang Bai sighed inwardly, thinking that if Su Linglong's brain tumor was benign, then with the medical skills of this world, there might be hope for a cure, but if it was malignant, it would be much more troublesome.
Fang Bai wanted to help Su Linglong, but firstly, he didn't know if her family would accept him, and secondly, his own cultivation level was too low and his True Yuan too weak; he wasn't confident he could cure her completely.
If Su Linglong's condition could remain stable without worsening quickly, it would be best if it could be delayed for some time. Perhaps by then, his "Dragon-Tiger-Lion-Elephant Technique" would have reached the second level, the Accumulating Essence Realm, and he would have more confidence in treating Su Linglong.
In the afternoon class, Fang Bai continued to flip through his textbooks and various study materials.
After eating dinner at home in the evening, his mother Yang Mei still went out to set up her street stall. Seeing that it was still early, Fang Bai asked his father Fang Gang for a hundred yuan, added it to the few tens of yuan he had saved up, and went to a nearby pharmacy to buy a large bag of herbs.
"Why are you buying so many herbs?"
Seeing Fang Bai return with a big bag of herbs, Fang Gang, who was sitting in a wheelchair facing the setting sun and reading the newspaper, asked in surprise.
"Herbal bath!"
Fang Bai answered casually, went into the utility room, and after rummaging around for a while, found a large wooden tub.
This large tub used to be for herbal baths for customers back when Fang Gang had a traditional medicine clinic. After the clinic closed down, the tub was thrown into the utility room and had gathered a thick layer of dust.
"A herbal bath? What sickness are you trying to cure?"
Fang Gang watched his son carrying the big tub around the yard rinsing it repeatedly with water and couldn't help but ask again.
"Marrow Cleansing, for a strong and healthy body."
"You rascal, have you been reading too many fiction novels? Marrow Cleansing... do you also think about shattering the void?"
Fang Gang laughed and scolded as he shook his head, not bothering to interfere with his son anymore, and returned to his newspaper.
"I actually am thinking exactly that..."
Fang Bai replied with a smile, then cleaned the tub thoroughly, placed it in the kitchen, and entered the kitchen with the large bag of herbs.
In the kitchen, Fang Bai used a herb cutter to chop up the herbs, which he then dumped into a large pot. He filled the pot with water and began to boil it.
Half an hour passed, and the water in the pot was "gurgling" and boiling, the strong scent of herbs permeating the entire courtyard.
Fang Bai poured the thick herbal decoction into the large tub, leaving the herbs in the pot, before filling it up with water to boil once more.
After heating three large pots of herbal concoction in succession, Fang Bai stopped once he saw the big wooden tub was nearly full.
Checking the time and seeing it was almost eight o'clock, Fang Bai pushed his father back to his room, helped him into bed, and then returned to the kitchen. He stripped off his clothes, jumped into the large tub, and slowly sat down cross-legged in the brimming medicinal bath.
Though the herbal water wasn't boiling, it was still very hot. Fang Bai gritted his teeth and endured the temperature for a moment before gradually getting used to it.
He closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began to silently circulate "Dragon-Tiger-Lion-Elephant Technique".
Under the guidance of the "Dragon-Tiger-Lion-Elephant Technique," the blood and qi within Fang Bai's body surged through his meridians and blood vessels without rest. The countless pores on his skin opened wide, continuously absorbing the medicinal properties from the water.
In fact, the herbs that Fang Bai had purchased were the cheapest ones available in the drugstore, making the medicinal bath's effects very weak.
But Fang Bai had no choice, given the current financial difficulties at home, he could only make do with this.
If he didn't find a way to earn money soon, he feared that even such rudimentary medicinal baths could no longer continue.
Fang Bai didn't want any factors to interfere with his body cultivation plan, so at this moment, his desire to earn money became even more urgent.
The medicinal bath lasted for about an hour until the water started to cool slightly, and then Fang Bai got out of the tub.
In the water, there were some viscous black substances.
Fang Bai knew that these were impurities expelled from his body during the bath.
Once the impurities were completely eliminated, his body would undergo a transformation akin to Marrow Cleansing, resulting in a remarkable metamorphosis.
After showering off the residue and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Fang Bai returned to his room to review his textbooks. He waited for his mother to get home before turning off the light, lying in bed, and silently circulating the "Dragon-Tiger-Lion-Elephant Technique," entering a state of cultivation.
The next day at four in the morning, just like the day before, Fang Bai got up, slipped out of his house, and ran towards Wolong Mountain.
Upon reaching the mountain peak, he practiced "Tiger Roar Thunder Fist" and "Divine Elephant Eight Desolate Steps" a few times, then sat cross-legged on a flat rock, facing the sunrise to the east, absorbing and exhaling.
After two hours of intense physical training and sitting in meditation, although there was no progress in terms of his realm, Fang Bai felt that the strand of True Yuan in his Qi Sea had condensed and become purer.
For Fang Bai, this was also a form of progress. The purer the True Yuan, the greater the power unleashed, and the speed of recovery after depletion would be faster too.
"Eh?"
Just as he was about to take the trail back home, Fang Bai suddenly sensed a faint wisp of Essence Energy,
Following that faint Essence Energy to the side of the path, amid a crack between two stones, Fang Bai discovered a wildflower.
"Seven-Leaf Golden Lotus! It's actually a Seven-Leaf Golden Lotus! I never thought that in a place not renowned for its spiritual landscape, such a spiritual flower could grow!"
Fang Bai's eyes lit up with wild joy as he crouched down to take a closer look at the wildflower.
The "Seven-Leaf Golden Lotus" was only the size of a palm, with seven golden leaves surrounding a flower bud the size of a thumb. The faint wisp of Essence Energy was emanating from within the bud.
"With the 'Seven-Leaf Golden Lotus,' which can absorb Heaven and Earth Origin Energy, my cultivation speed will greatly increase!"
Fang Bai knew that once the spiritual flower matured, it would bloom into a golden lotus-shaped flower.
At that time, it would release even more Essence Energy. Meditating beside it would have an effect of redoubling the efforts of one's cultivation.
In this world where the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy is sparse, majestic flowers and herbs usually grow only in a few reclusive places brimming with Origin Energy.
Finding a "Seven-Leaf Golden Lotus" near a major city was certainly lucky for Fang Bai.