PFC Chapter 230 Fragrance
Chapter 230 Fragrance
"I don't have any aphrodisiacs, but I do have a medicine here that would be perfect for you."
Xie Yan smiled slightly, and then threw a small, exquisite medicine bottle from his hand, aiming precisely at someone's face, which was as thick as a city wall.
Chu Ling reacted extremely quickly, easily raising his right hand to firmly grasp the medicine bottle.
Judging from the force felt in his palm, it was easy to see that Xie Yan's attack was aimed at swelling his face.
"This is?"
Chu Ling turned the medicine bottle over and examined it carefully.
Unlike other medicines with strange and unusual names, this very simple-looking medicine bottle has no writing on it.
Chu Ling raised an eyebrow slightly and pulled out the bottle stopper with great interest.
The tip of my nose barely brushed the bottle opening, and a delicate fragrance instantly wafted up and rushed straight to my brain.
Just one sniff of it and my brain, which was still a little tired, instantly became clear. All the fatigue and drowsiness vanished in an instant, and I felt refreshed.
So Chu Ling subconsciously moved a little closer.
At the same time, Xie Yan finally spoke slowly and deliberately, "This medicine is called Qingxin Guayu San (清心寡欲散)."
The name alone reveals the extraordinary nature of this medicine.
Chu Ling paused, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. "...What are the effects of the medicine?"
"It doesn't pose any harm to the human body."
Xie Yan smiled warmly, "It just makes people impotent."
Chu Ling: "..."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ling, who was usually unfazed even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, involuntarily trembled.
Although he still maintained a calm and composed expression, the medicine bottle that was in his hand vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.
Xie Yan, who saw through everything, maintained her smile, "It's no use for you to throw them away, I have plenty here."
This was a secret medicine that he specially sought out Uya to concoct after that night on the ship, just to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Chu Ling: "..."
"Ahem, enough joking around, we haven't gotten down to business yet."
Xie Yan: ...Who was being indecent first?
Chu Ling rested his chin on his hand and instantly became serious.
"Actually, it's not like we have absolutely no clues."
Xie Yan raised an eyebrow, expressing her doubt, "What clue?"
Chu Ling took a light breath and said, "Someone has returned to, or rather, come to this place."
"what?"
Xie Yan was slightly taken aback.
He frowned slightly, gazing at the ruins as if trying to find even the slightest clue amidst the heavy weight of time.
But no matter how he looked, all he could see were broken walls and ruins, and he couldn't find any clues.
She could only look away and ask Chu Ling again, "How did you know?"
"Because he left this thing behind."
As Chu Ling spoke, he slightly raised his left hand.
In his palm lay a half-burnt incense stick, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"Half an incense stick?"
Xie Yan was stunned. His first reaction to the appearance of this object was—
"So you found a clue but didn't say anything, instead you're harassing me here?"
Seeing Xie Yan about to reach into the hidden bag containing the "Powder for Clarifying the Mind and Reducing Desires," Chu Ling slid to his knees decisively, "...I was wrong."
Although the incense stick in Chu Ling's hand was not complete, just by looking at the remaining half, it was enough to tell from its appearance that it had not been eroded by time for too long.
It is obvious that the person who left this incense must have arrived here not too long ago, and it is very likely that it will be soon.
Xie Yan lowered her eyes and slowly focused her gaze on the half-burnt incense stick.
The act of burning incense is generally only performed during prayers or sacrifices.
It is obviously impossible to come here to pray for blessings.
But if it is a ritual, who would come to a remote and desolate ruin to perform a ritual?
If they weren't villagers left behind by the Fu family village, then they must be someone connected to this village in some way, such as—
The prince who was hiding in the Church of Saint Sun.
After all, this place was once the hometown of their ancestors, so it is only natural to come here to remember their homeland and pay tribute to their ancestors.
Is this the only incense stick available?
"There's only one left," Chu Ling said meaningfully, "and it fell in a very conspicuous place."
The half-burnt incense stick spun between his fingers before being flicked into the blazing fire.
That's really strange.
Watching the incense stick gradually disappear in the flames, Xie Yan's eyes flickered slightly, understanding Chu Ling's unspoken meaning, "Who would only use one stick of incense for a sacrifice?"
If one wanted to erase all traces of their presence after a ritual, they would have been extremely careful in cleaning up, so how could they possibly leave a single trace behind?
unless……
The two looked at each other.
"It seems someone left this on purpose."
The question remains: is this person friend or foe? Is this a clue or a trap?
"But since they went out of their way to leave this for us, we can't let them down."
Xie Yan narrowed her eyes slightly and said softly, "Thanks to him, this thing reminds me of something else."
Chu Ling: "Oh?"
"It is said that after the successful coup, Emperor Taizu even brought the corpses of his enemies back to his hometown and paid homage at the graves of his clansmen."
Chu Ling was slightly surprised, "You mean..."
Xie Yan pondered for a moment, then turned her head to meet his gaze and said, "If this is true, do you think there might be any graves of the Fu family members nearby?"
Logically speaking, even if one were to offer sacrifices, one should go to that particular place.
The sun was high in the sky when a dog at the village entrance barked twice, signaling the arrival of two outsiders in Sifang Village outside Jinlin City.
They were two young men dressed simply, yet possessing an extraordinary air about them.
They were weary from their journey, their origins unknown, as they rode their horses through the village, looking around as they went.
It was Xie and Chu who had been searching for the Fu family graves since leaving Fu Family Village.
Traditionally, if a family member is to build a grave and erect a monument, it should be located near the village or not too far away, so that future generations can make daily offerings and pay their respects from time to time.
The two searched for two days, but they didn't know how far they had gone from Fu Family Village. They encountered several other villages, but they still couldn't find a trace of the Fu family's graves.
"Hey, you two unfamiliar young men over there, what brings you to our village?"
The two men reined in their horses and looked in the direction from which the sound came. They saw several farm women sitting around a large banyan tree.
They had probably just finished working, and the sweat on their faces had not yet dried. They were gathered together to rest and cool off.
Having not seen outsiders for a long time, before the two could even reply, he enthusiastically called out to them, inviting them over for a cup of herbal tea.
The two exchanged a glance and did not refuse.