"Because you made it up, naturally no one has heard of it," the Huang family young master added from behind.
"Made it up?! Do you have medical classics here?" Xiaoyao looked at the Huang family young master indifferently, with a hint of disdain at the corner of his mouth—disdain for the other's self-righteousness.
"How could we not have medical classics? This is the most basic thing. Whether alchemists, doctors, or those of us who sell medicinal materials, we all have medical classics! Don't tell me you want to look at the medical classics now to see if you said something wrong!" The Huang family young master looked at Xiaoyao with narrowed eyes, seeming to misunderstand Xiaoyao's meaning.
"Since you have them, then turn to volume four, page sixty-seven, and look clearly at what's written there," Xiaoyao said calmly.
"Looking at anything would be the same..." the Huang family young master said. "I've been reading medical classics since childhood. I know every word in them. There couldn't possibly be any Ice Condensation Grass!"
"Then you definitely haven't looked carefully. Have you found it? Read this passage aloud." Xiaoyao looked toward those flipping through the book, ignoring the young master's presence.
"This... this..." Those people seemed unable to speak, looking toward the Huang family young master.
"Just say it directly!" The young master frowned. Could it be that this Ice Condensation Grass really existed? If it didn't, they would have said so immediately.
"There is indeed a record of Ice Condensation Grass..." the assistant answered weakly.
"What?! Are you sure?"
"Yes! However, it only says 'in legends' and doesn't say it exists in the world!"
"Let me see!"
The Huang family young master took the medical classic, looked for a while, then laughed: "Haha, I thought it was something important. Little fatty, you're too amusing. Even the medical classic says it's something from legends—that means it doesn't exist,"
"Since the medical classic records it, it must exist. You don't know about it only because of your ignorance," Xiaoyao replied indifferently.
The Huang family young master snorted and said: "Do you understand what legend means? It's something illusory and ethereal! Let me read it to you: 'Legend says Ice Condensation Grass comes from the extreme cold lands of the north, can extinguish all internal fire qi, can prevent and treat qi deviation! But it's only legend...'"
"Legend means it's possible to exist—it's not a reason for denial," Xiaoyao replied.
"Ridiculous! These legendary things can't possibly exist—they're all fake," the young master said.
"Let's put it another way. According to the Beauty Rankings, Princess Mengmeng of the Great Tang Empire is fifth, and legend says she has breathtaking beauty that makes people fall in love at first sight. According to your logic, this is impossible and fake, meaning Princess Mengmeng doesn't have stunning beauty and is just seeking false fame, right?" Xiaoyao looked at the young master.
"This... this can't be compared. Princess Mengmeng truly exists—it's just because very few people can see her appearance that it became legend," the young master said.
"Ice Condensation Grass also truly exists—it's just that very few people have seen it, so it became a legend, Otherwise, how could its medicinal properties be written down? If you don't have it, go ask other shops—maybe they'll have it." Xiaoyao said with a smile.
"Impossible! Such a thing can't exist! Someone..." The young master prepared to have Xiaoyao dragged out directly. He didn't want to debate this issue with such a small character. However, at this moment, someone interrupted him.
"Ice Condensation Grass does indeed exist—it's just that very few people use it. Our Liu family has a small amount in storage," A young lady appeared in everyone's sight.
"Miss Liu, you must take responsibility for saying this. Don't speak nonsense just because you want to attack our Huang family!" the young master said. He originally liked this Liu family miss, but the problem was she looked down on him. Therefore, he became displeased and started opposing her, speaking with hostility.
"Hmph, I have no interest in attacking your Huang family. Do you really think you can compare with us? Ice Condensation Grass does exist. If you don't believe it, follow me. I'll sell it to your Huang family to preserve your shop sign!" Miss Liu replied coldly. She had just happened to pass by, heard what was happening inside, and came in out of curiosity. Their Liu family indeed had a small amount of Ice Condensation Grass.
"It really exists?"
An uproar...
At this moment, everyone would no longer doubt anything. Since Miss Liu said so, this thing definitely existed. But why had they never heard of it?
"It's normal that you haven't heard of it. I only knew about it because I happened to inventory our storage. Although Ice Condensation Grass is very rare and has miraculous effects, very few people use it because it not only extinguishes demonic fire but also other fires. The human body needs certain fires to exist, or yin and yang will become imbalanced, which is very serious!" Miss Liu seemed to know everyone's confusion and began explaining. Her explanation resolved everyone's doubts.
"So that's how it is, no wonder..."
"Since this gentleman knows about Ice Condensation Grass, he must be very learned. Are you an alchemist or a doctor?" Miss Liu asked with a smile, with some respect in her tone. Anyone who knew about Ice Condensation Grass definitely wasn't ordinary.
"Neither—I'm just a small servant!" Xiaoyao answered with a smile.
"A servant? Then your master must be someone who deals with medicinal materials," Miss Liu said with a smile.
"No, she's completely unfamiliar with medicinal materials. She's a martial artist," Xiaoyao shook his head directly.
"If your master doesn't know, then how do you know about Ice Condensation Grass? Could it just be a coincidence?" Miss Liu asked somewhat puzzled.
"If the master doesn't know, then we servants have to learn. Otherwise, if masters knew everything, what use would we be?" Xiaoyao asked in return.
"This..." Miss Liu was stunned. She found Xiaoyao's reasoning seemed to make sense, although it was somewhat against common sense. Generally, people would think only masters would know things, then servants would.
However, thinking about it the other way, if masters knew everything, then servants would be useless except as assistants. But if servants knew things masters didn't, their usefulness would naturally be much greater.
"You seem to be right. Then let me ask you—what do you plan to use this Ice Condensation Grass for? So far, Ice Condensation Grass hasn't become part of any pill formula or medical prescription. Are you just trying to make things difficult for them? Although I quite like you doing this, it seems somewhat inappropriate!" Miss Liu's tone was neutral—she didn't support Xiaoyao's deliberate troublemaking just because she disliked the Huang family.
"I wouldn't be as boring as some people. Since I want Ice Condensation Grass, I have a use for it. You seem not to have read the Danyang Records. There's a very unique formula in there that includes Ice Condensation Grass. Among all things in heaven and earth, everything can be used as medicinal material—even a rock could become medicine. Ice Condensation Grass itself is a medicinal material. Although its effects are somewhat overbearing, if used skillfully, it can become the best and most suitable top-tier medicinal material!" Xiaoyao slowly explained.
Everyone basically understood the principle Xiaoyao spoke of, but no one could achieve it. Because of this, they didn't pay much attention to it or even completely ignored it.
"Danyang Records? Do you mean the Danyang Master from five hundred years ago? He was indeed a legendary alchemist. It's said he had records documenting his lifetime alchemy experience, but few people read them. Most think Danyang Master's pill formulas were somewhat fanciful!" Miss Liu said. From her response, one could see she was very knowledgeable, unlike some people—for instance, the Huang family young master before them.
Yes, Xiaoyao thought this way. He felt the Huang family young master was far inferior to this Miss Liu, possibly reflecting the gap between the Liu and Huang families.
"'Fanciful' has two meanings. One is impractically fantasizing—that's delusion! The other is boldly hypothesizing or predicting something correct, then following that direction—that's a good thing! Danyang Master's formulas can be referenced!" Xiaoyao replied.
Referencing meant ultimately deciding for oneself—not copying blindly.
"I understand. Since that's the case, I won't ask further!" Miss Liu said. "Young Master Huang, what do you say now?"
"What do I say?" At this moment, the young master seemed to have forgotten he was the main character in this incident—just having his spotlight stolen by Miss Liu.
"Naturally, whether you want to go to our Liu family to buy Ice Condensation Grass to give free to this gentleman servant, or let this gentleman servant smash your shop sign? I suggest you buy from our Liu family. We won't raise prices opportunistically, that's the behavior of despicable people. Our Liu family doesn't do such things. The Liu family has always been fair to all, with genuine goods at fair prices!" Miss Liu said with a smile. Although she was smiling, Xiaoyao could sense her disdain for the Huang family.
From her words, it seemed the Huang family had done some profiteering.
"We'll go buy it. Our Huang family will definitely do what we say! This time you were lucky. I want to see what you'll say next?" The young master said through gritted teeth. He still wanted to continue with Xiaoyao—he wanted to teach Xiaoyao a lesson, so he had to continue.
"If I were you, I'd stop immediately!" Miss Liu spoke up.
"That's you—I wouldn't be like you, cowardly!" The young master looked disdainful.
"Sorry, I am indeed a weak woman!" Miss Liu said with a smile.
"You..."
Miss Liu's cotton-soft words made the young master feel frustrated with nowhere to release his strength, making him too angry to speak.
"Miss, what's your surname..." Xiaoyao suddenly asked Miss Liu.
"...My humble surname is Liu..." Miss Liu was silent for a moment. Wasn't this obvious?
Afterward, Miss Liu continued: "Liu Yiyi."
(End of Chapter)