半小时后.
陈洛看着那只蹬蹬腿在地上的莽狗,觉得有些不对劲.
"会不会剂量不对?"
陈洛有些困惑.他只喂了那只毛茸茸的狗一小口,结果却是这样——躺在地上,不停地踢它的腿.他不知道它是不是快要死了.如果他不早点想通,等他叔叔晚点回来的时候,他真的无法解释.
"大华,醒醒!我给你加了鸡腿!
陈洛喊了几声,但大华就像一个被剪断了绳子的木偶——僵硬地躺在地上,双腿抽搐.
失去耐心,陈洛抓住那只毛茸茸的狗的脖子,狠狠地给了它两巴掌.
他没有退缩——通常情况下,这只狗会害怕地大叫并收起尾巴.但今天,它根本没有反应,只是不停地抽搐着腿.
"我去找两只鸡再试一试."
陈洛心里不甘.
他终于看到了美好生活的一线希望,他不能因为这么小的挫折就放弃.
他绝对不能强迫自己直接喝下;他害怕死.
他转身走到后院,发现厨房里有两只鸡.这两只鸡是他回来时早些时候买的,打算晚上晚些时候用它们吃饭.但现在,这些计划被遗忘了.
他抓起那两只鸡,用它们把陶罐里的药倒进公鸡的嘴里.
咯咯!咯咯!
吞下药后,两只鸡变得激动起来,疯狂地拍打着翅膀.陈洛不得不用很大的力气把它们压住,但即使被固定在地上,鸡们还是不停地拍打着翅膀,仿佛已经失去了所有的痛苦感.
"这是怎么回事?!"
陈洛也有些困惑.
看着那只抽搐的狗和他压着的两只鸡,他根本搞不清楚这种药的性质.
一刻钟过去了.
抽搐的狗恢复了力气,突然翻了个身,困惑的眼睛扫视着周围,完全忘记了刚刚发生的事情.陈洛一直按住的两只鸡,现在已经没劲多了,翅膀不时地拍打着.
挣扎了一会儿,陈洛终于松开了手,扑通一声倒在了地上.
附近陶罐的药味已经大半消散,内容物已经开始凝固,变成了糊状的黑色粘液.
"必须再试一次!"
陈洛咬紧牙关,准备继续试验丹药.
他需要足够的样本来弄清楚这种药物的实际应用.江湖旅人在他脑海中留下的公式,一定有用;否则,这个人即使在死后也不会持有它.
陈洛手里拿着凝固的药膏,锁上了门,朝着自己家后面的山上走去.
Once on the mountain, he quickly caught a wild rabbit.
When he was poor, his father, Chen Lao Da, had raised him by hunting. Hunting wild game was no difficult task for someone from a poor family like his. Having lived in this world for more than ten years, Chen Luo had learned almost all of his father's skills.
Grabbing the wild rabbit by its ears, Chen Luo took a small piece of the ointment and forcefully stuffed it into the rabbit's mouth.
One minute.
Two minutes.
It wasn't until ten minutes later that the wild rabbit, which Chen Luo had been holding, suddenly began to struggle, its legs kicking wildly. A strange force radiated from the rabbit's body. Red veins resembling root-like patterns appeared in its eyes, making it look particularly vicious. Several muscle bulges formed on its skin, with tree root-like blood vessels protruding, giving it a very terrifying appearance.
Boom!Chen Luo felt a tightness in his chest as the rabbit's hind leg kicked him, almost causing him to lose his breath.The wild rabbit he was holding struggled more and more fiercely, eventually breaking free from Chen Luo's grip. The crazed rabbit, like one infected with mad cow disease, charged at a nearby tree stump.With a loud "Boom," it crashed into the stump.
The brain exploded.
The wild rabbit immediately smashed its own skull upon impact, and the force was so great that it left a dent in the dead tree in front of it."Such strength?"
Chen Luo was startled as well. He quickly walked forward and began examining the hole the rabbit had made.
A hole about seven or eight centimeters deep was knocked out on the bark of the old tree, with rabbit blood and brain matter mixed in it, which looked particularly creepy.
"The medicine works!"
Chen Luo became excited.
Now, the only thing left was to figure out how to use it.
Afterwards, Chen Luo went on to catch several small animals on the mountain—snakes, hedgehogs, and foxes. He didn't stop his testing until he had used up all the remaining medicine in his hand.
Through the 'sacrifices' of so many animals, Chen Luo roughly came to a conclusion.
The ointment is effective.
This was undeniable. The effects varied depending on the animal consumed.
Wild animals on the mountain clearly had a better reaction.
After a day of experimenting, Chen Luo returned home, feeling quite exhausted.
After drinking a little, Uncle Chen stumbled back home.Grave diggers like them were busy when there was work to do, but most of the time, they had plenty of free time. Uncle Chen was also an old bachelor, so after getting paid, he naturally went out to drink and visit the brothels. He had spent his entire life working in the city but hadn't saved a single cent. From this, it was clear just how carefree and extravagant his daily life was.
"Who the hell is cooking cow dung in my house?!"
As soon as he pushed the door open, Uncle San was knocked over by the stench from inside the room.
He spent a good while vomiting at the doorstep, taking half a day to recover.
Once he regained his composure, Chen Lao San immediately reached for the bamboo stick he usually kept hidden. When Chen Luo first arrived in the city, Uncle San had used that very stick to educate his nephew many times. Today, he had been out drinking, and since his nephew was the only one at home, it didn't take much to figure out who the culprit was.
The mangy dog, having finally recovered, came over with the bamboo stick in its mouth.
That dumb mutt had spent most of the day kicking its legs around the yard, but somehow managed to recover by evening. This gave Chen Luo a successful test case. At the moment, he was inside the house brewing a new batch of medicine, getting ready for another round of experimentation.
"Uncle San? Why are you back so early?!"
Hearing the voice, Chen Luo was stunned.
In his impression, Uncle San never came home the first night after getting paid. That charming woman from Widow Alley would never let him go so easily. Who knew what got into him today—for some reason, the old man actually came back early.
"You little brat! Go three days without a beating and you're tearing the roof apart! If I hadn't come back tonight, were you planning to dig up the old latrines next door and boil them?!"
Seeing the clay pot in Chen Luo's hands, Uncle San's temper flared. He raised the stick, ready to give the boy a lesson.
"Uncle San, wait! This is medicine!!"
Chen Luo wouldn't let Uncle San actually lay a hand on him. He raised one hand and quickly embraced Uncle San. Having been drinking heavily and vomiting outside the door, Uncle San was no match for Chen Luo. He was immediately held tight, leaving the mutt behind them anxiously circling around.
The dog was still hoping its master would get revenge for it!
"Medicine?"
Hearing it was medicine, Uncle San instantly became a bit more sober.
"Did the poison take effect?"
Uncle San no longer cared about being angry and immediately asked in a panic.
The Chen family had been passed down for three generations with only a single heir, and in this generation, Chen Luo was the only one. If something were to happen to Chen Luo, how could Uncle San face his elder brother?
"No."
Chen Luo quickly explained to his uncle what he had been doing.
He skipped over the part about seeing the deceased's lingering thoughts and only mentioned that he had obtained an ancient formula and wanted to try it out.
"You want to practice martial arts?"
Looking at his nephew, Chen Lao San furrowed his brows slightly.
The idea of practicing martial arts was not strange. When Chen Lao San was young, he had similar thoughts, even apprenticing under a master to learn a few farming techniques. But these were merely for strengthening the body, no different from ordinary people.
There is a distinct difference between true martial arts and farming techniques.
Powerful martial artists possess unfathomable strength, able to move mountains and seas, resembling deities walking on earth.
Although Chen Lao San had never personally encountered it, he had heard his drinking buddies in the yamen speak of it. They said martial arts can transcend the mortal realm, and when mastered to the extreme, one can attain godhood.
It is precisely because of this that martial arts are so heavily restricted.
For ordinary people, whether it's the imperial court or the martial artists, they live in completely different worlds. The things they pursue are the heavenly treasures and rare elixirs from myths and legends, while the common folk like them chase after the basics—firewood, rice, oil, and salt.
"Yes!"
Chen Luo quickly nodded.
It would have been fine if there was no hope before, but now that the opportunity is right in front of him, he couldn't just shrink back like a turtle.
Uncle Chen silently took a jug of wine from the nearby cabinet and poured himself a glass.
Chen Luo stood by, watching.
He didn't say anything.
He knew that Uncle Chen was thinking.
Unlike his parents back in the countryside, Uncle Chen had been a grave digger for many years and knew a lot of people. If he wanted to learn martial arts, he would have to go through his uncle's connections. Using his family ties within reason was the rational approach for an ordinary person.
As for taking the medicine...
He hadn't figured out the exact effects of the formula yet. He didn't know how effective it would be, and he was too scared to take it recklessly.
If his luck was bad and he ended up like the wild rabbit, going crazy and dying, it would be a big loss.
"Little brat, always causing trouble for me!"
Uncle Chen finished his last sip of wine, muttered a curse, then closed the door and went back to sleep.
Chen Luo let out a long sigh of relief.
He knew that his uncle had agreed.