In the whole town, there was only one medical clinic, and Chen Muxue quickly found the place.
The doctor felt Xiaohua's pulse, stroking his beard and pondering for a while.
Chen Muxue got nervous: "How is it, doctor? Is it very serious?"
The doctor shook his head and sighed.
Chen Muxue's heart instantly rose.
Xiaohua, a little child of four or five, at this age, could she have contracted some terminal illness or been poisoned by some toxin?!
"The little girl's pulse..."
Chen Muxue took a few deep breaths, her eyes widened, listening carefully.
"Exceptionally healthy! It's rare to see such a well-raised girl in town these days!"
Chen Muxue almost couldn't catch her breath; she felt like hitting the doctor with a pot—is this normal?
However, although this world does have cultivation, it's essentially ancient times, and this town isn't big, with no high-ranking officials. There aren't many people who can raise a girl so finely.
Xiaohua had been abducted for so many days, yet under the previous owner's careless "nourishing," she still had such a strong foundation, which shows how good her original life must have been.
But why hasn't anyone come to look for her?
The doctor then felt Xiaohu's pulse, and this time, he frowned: "Young lady, are you a girl, so you prefer little girls? It's not that I want to meddle in other people's business, but it's better to treat them equally, after all..."
The doctor gave Chen Muxue a subtle look and did not continue.
Chen Muxue paused and didn't explain too much: "Doctor, please prescribe the medicine. I'll make sure to nurse the child back to health."
As the Sect Leader's daughter and a natural cultivator, the original owner didn't really know how to take care of ordinary children, which was understandable. But now that Chen Muxue is here, she couldn't bear to let the children continue like this.
Only then did the doctor look at Chen Muxue with slight satisfaction: "The medicine doesn't need to be taken much; I will only prescribe a few mild tonics. It's mainly important to pay attention to their diet in daily life."
Chen Muxue had no problem with diet; she nodded confidently: "Please prescribe for three people; there are two more children at home."
The doctor paused but said nothing, then prescribed for three people.
"The total is twenty taels of silver."
Chen Muxue's hand paused as she took the medicine: "How much?"
"Ahem, young lady, this medicine includes ginseng beard. Fifteen sets of medicine for three people; twenty taels of silver is already cheap," the doctor explained.
"Sect Leader, I don't need..." Xiaohu, upon hearing, tugged Chen Muxue's sleeve.
"We still have twenty taels of silver." Chen Muxue fished out the pouch full of broken silver. She didn't have the original owner's memories, so she didn't know how much each piece of silver was worth inside, but she estimated it should be enough.
The doctor, practicing medicine for many years and not being someone who would rip people off, counted out twenty taels of silver and returned the pouch to Chen Muxue.
Chen Muxue weighed it, pleased to have some left over.
However, Xiaohu got anxious: "Sect Leader! Didn't you say we would plow a few more mu of land for planting grain this year? Signing a land contract requires silver! And the roof, you noticed it was leaking when it rained, and you said if it poured this summer, it might not hold up, so we need to repair it, right? We can't waste the silver!"
"This isn't a waste. To me, your health is the most important," said Chen Muxue, pausing.
No worries, money can be earned again, but health is the real treasure...
In the original story, these kids were killed for no reason; now that she is here, at least I'll strive to let them escape?
After leaving the medical clinic, Chen Muxue bought quite a bit of food and groceries for the two kids. She hesitated when passing by the cloth shop but ultimately didn't go in; she couldn't sew clothes.
They still had seven taels of silver left, which was enough for their daily expenses. As Chen Muxue passed the town's only restaurant, she glanced at it and began planning how to earn money.
Fortunately, through observing the restaurant and street food stalls, she discovered that this world's culinary culture was indeed lacking. Although they had started using chili and potatoes, the cooking methods were still subpar.
Leveraging her status as a cultivator with spiritual power bonuses, Chen Muxue carried two sacks of grain on her shoulders, letting Xiaohua and Xiaohu hold her clothes.
She didn't notice a sneaky figure following her from behind.
"At least find out what happened to that little girl before making a move..." Cen Lizhui thought to himself, "Solving that kind of poison without the Life Fruit? Even the Sect Leader of Liuyun Sect was at a loss..."
Following them all the way to Qian Ding Sect, Cen Lizhui harshly criticized the Qian Ding Sect's near-nonexistent barriers, claiming it only kept away gentlemen but not thieves—
No, tsk, he's a gentleman!
These barriers only kept away novices but not experts, probably relying on the Sect Leader's own skills for support.
The ancestors imagined the Sect's development to at least gradually ascend, if not flourish, right?
Who knew that by Chen Muxue's generation, she was the only cultivator left, and only with a mid-grade Water Spirit Root, only at Foundation Establishment Sixth Rank by now.
Thinking of this, Cen Lizhui's eyes glistened.
Still, it was alright. According to his information, she had been stuck at Foundation Establishment Fifth Rank recently, hardly progressing. But now, she's moved forward, so she is not entirely hopeless.
But surprisingly, she did not fast... Cen Lizhui couldn't help shaking his head.
This time, Chen Muxue was fortunate to buy homemade smoked meat from a farmer, and the quality was pretty good. Otherwise, she wouldn't dare to make more to sell, as ordinary farmers nowadays are reluctant to eat meat.
Because the seller wanted quality and a good price, they took a gamble offering it now; first, after the new year when spring has begun, not many families have smoked meat left. Second, only the wealthier families would buy meat when it's not a holiday or festival.
Chen Muxue first started rendering pork lard, for which she bought a huge chunk of pork fatback. This time, adding water would be different from before. Last time, a tiny bit of water was added just to prevent the small amount of fat from burning, as burnt residue would taste bitter.
This time, with such a large amount, adding water is only for rendering purer pork lard, which solidifies into a white, clean fat.
To save time, Chen Muxue quickly cut the pork fat into one-centimeter cubes, placed them in a pot with water, and burned the fire to a medium-low level; the rest was just waiting.
Of course, Chen Muxue used her iron pot. After all, anyone could see this pot was unusual—it could knock the male protagonist away, let alone fly on its own to hit a supporting female character... quite unique.
After the water evaporated, the fat had been fried into residue, with pale yellow lard remaining in the pot.
On the kitchen roof, the oil smoke blurred Cen Lizhui's vision, and he coughed slightly, covering his mouth in disgust: "How dare she use a divine artifact for such things! Pork, such an inferior meat... it's simply tarnishing the divine artifact!"
Let alone something so greasy!
Cen Lizhui couldn't stop shaking his head; if it weren't for ethical reasons and having witnessed the divine artifact hitting people, he would have taken it away!
How could a cultivator enjoy food! This greasy stuff is nauseating just from the smell!