Chapter 34: The Learned Simpleton
Li Qi felt his body; he had nine hundred ninety-two coins.
Damn it, the new boss only gave him the cultivation method and that willow branch, no money!
He alone could manage, sleeping outdoors, by the bridge, or even on the street if need be.
But now there was a woman beside him… and this woman was dressed richly, with a silk scarf and pure silk clothes, looking spotless and clearly wealthy.
No, officer, this doesn't seem very safe. How dare they sleep on the street?
Most critically, there were no guards or anything. The only accompanying person, Li Qi himself, was a tattered boat hauler who obviously looked like a pauper.
Going out dressed like this felt like telling everyone: "Come rob me! Come steal from me! I'm not only rich but also clearly incapable of resisting!"
So Li Qi walked a few steps on the street, diverting the young lady Shen's attention, and then said to her, "Miss Shen, my name is Li Qi. You probably already know that."
"Mm, Li Qi, my name is Shen Shuibi." Shen Shuibi's attention had already been diverted; she seemed to have forgotten her previous indignation.
This made Li Qi sigh with emotion.
This demon truly lacked common sense. No wonder it was a world dominated by humans. With this kind of brain, it would be a miracle if it wasn't a human-dominated world.
Oh, no, he should say… was this innocence?
He truly wished everyone in the world were so innocent.
Li Qi led Shen Shuibi to a riverside.
He squatted by the river, and Shen Shuibi stood behind him, seemingly puzzled, not understanding what he was doing.
At this moment, Li Qi spoke: "Miss Shen, we are about to embark on a journey together… ah, no, embark on a trip together. We must get to know each other, right? Besides your name, I know nothing else about you."
"However, understanding must be mutual. Let me introduce myself first."
Li Qi said, and began to introduce himself.
His life was originally very meager. Apart from being an "outsider" which was not something he could talk much about, it wasn't like he could tell people he was a transmigrator, right?
Although being an "outsider" actually made little difference; from Mister Zhu's demeanor, it seemed there were quite a few of them…
He wondered if he would ever meet someone from his old world?
Besides that, he simply introduced himself as a boat hauler, while telling stories he encountered during his boat-pulling days.
Things like outsmarting Big Strong Shan, or encountering mountain spirits and water monsters while pulling boats.
Usually, when encountering such spirits, the important figures above the boat owners would be responsible for resolving them, not sending the boat haulers to their deaths.
After all, those who could navigate boats were incomparable to mere boat haulers.
He also mentioned some legendary stories he had heard while traveling near the docks, such as water-parasite worms, water monkeys, and witch doctors casting spells.
As he told his stories, he completely captivated Shen Shuibi's attention. She had never heard these things before and clearly regarded Li Qi as a storyteller.
"So, because of the influence of the ritual priests here in Great Lu Kingdom, if a child falls seriously ill, they usually won't go to a doctor, but rather seek out a local shaman doctor to treat the illness," Li Qi said, recounting some of the strange tales he had witnessed in the Baiyue region.
Now, he was just talking about the witch doctors who roamed the streets, who, in Li Qi's view, filled the role of barefoot doctors, using herbs or mystical practices to treat illnesses.
However, at this point, Shen Shuibi suddenly spoke.
"I know about this. A scholar of the Confucian path once wrote a book detailing the customs of Baiyue, saying: 'The customs of Baiyue highly favor village shamanistic masters. When a person is ill, they ask the shaman with their eight characters. When the shaman arrives, they break an egg and examine its yolk and white to discern the severity of the illness. If mild, they perform a blessing with wine and food; if severe, they draw a divine image in the hall. The shaman, acting as a beautiful woman, blows a horn, beats a gong, and dances, holding a chicken on a flower staff while singing. Their dances are called the Soul Redemption Dance and the Embryo Breaking Dance. Their songs are called the Chicken Song and the Warm Flower Song. Warm Flower refers to when a male infant is ill, the shaman encircles him with colorful flowers, and relatives each point to a flower to offer a blessing. After the blessing, they sing; this is called Warm Flower. The shaman carves their own arm to draw blood to smear on talismans; this is called Manifesting Yang.' This describes how illnesses are treated by local shaman doctors in the Baiyue region, not by physicians."
"Therefore, that scholar also criticized the ignorance of Baiyue, saying that in the countryside, there are often ten local shamans but barely one physician, and the common people's lives are inevitably difficult. One must know that while shamans can treat illnesses, they cannot prevent them. Physicians, in addition to treating illnesses, can also get to the root of the problem, investigate the cause of the illness, and cure it from its source. Curing one person can prevent a hundred from falling ill, whereas shamans can only treat one at a time, a drop in the bucket."
Li Qi listened to these words, turned to look at her, his face full of surprise.
This woman… no, female demon, although she had given Li Qi the impression of being dull-witted, could always speak eloquently. It was the same when she spoke of the willow branch earlier; she casually cited classics, as if she had read many ancient books.
However, despite having read many books and possessing a wealth of knowledge… why did her mind still seem to be missing a link?
"That's indeed the case. What this scholar said makes a lot of sense." Li Qi agreed profoundly. Those village shamans could cure illnesses, but once cured, that was it; they didn't even know how the illness was cured themselves.
Li Qi himself had experienced it. When he was pulling boats, he was infected by a water parasite, becoming pot-bellied and round, filled with squirming worms. He paid a shaman doctor, who performed rituals and danced, and soon, all the water parasites died and were expelled.
But although the illness was cured, Li Qi didn't know how to prevent it afterwards, or how to keep others from getting sick. Even the shaman himself didn't know; they could only treat one case at a time.
Hearing Li Qi agree with her opinion, Shen Shuibi let out a proud hum.
She truly was… carefree.
After chatting for about twenty minutes, she seemed to have completely forgotten her previous unhappiness.
However, this was exactly what Li Qi wanted to achieve, but even Li Qi himself hadn't expected the effect to be so immediate.
He wondered if his conversational skills were too strong, or if the target person was simply too easy to fool.
He then struck while the iron was hot, continuing, "After all this talk about my side of things, Miss Shen, you haven't said anything about yourself. How did you end up in the Great Lu Kingdom?"
With the conversation at this point, Shen Shuibi didn't feel anything amiss: "Me? I don't have as many stories as you. I'm just the Lady's rabbit. I've been with the Lady since I was little. When the Lady studied, I studied; when the Lady cultivated, I cultivated; when the Lady ate, I ate. It's been like that for about a hundred years, I guess? Then, as you know, the Lady was being pursued, and halfway through, she feared I would be killed by the aftershocks, so she left me in Great Lu."
"It's just that I was unlucky. I was infected by a spell from the pursuers. That thing would transform into my wei qi (defensive qi), feeding on my cultivation and revealing my location."
"The 'floating qi' that does not follow the meridians is wei qi. However, wei qi and ying qi (nutritive qi) follow each other in yin and yang, permeating internal and external. It cannot be eradicated. I could only abandon all my cultivation base and destroy my own foundation to get rid of this spell."
(Chapter End)