Xiao Zou, you're not asleep yet, are you?
From the voice, it was clear that Luo Yong had arrived.
Zou Feng opened the door and respectfully said, "Master, do you have something to instruct?"
Luo Yong nodded, "I'll be busy these days and won't have time to teach you skills for now. You can take some time to read this book first."
Having taken a disciple but not yet imparted skills, Luo Yong felt a bit apologetic.
So, he personally came to deliver the book before it was too late at night.
Under the moonlight, Zou Feng saw "compendium of materia medica" written on the cover of the book.
"Only by being skilled in identifying various herbal medicines, understanding their properties, and knowing their principles can one make medicinal meals without errors."
Zou Feng's eyes lit up.
He also happened to want to catch up on the pharmacological knowledge of this world.
One must know that medicine and poison share the same origin; the more one understands pharmacology, the easier it is to deal with poisons.
After all, Five Poison Palm, this kind of evil Cultivation Technique, is not a brilliant Cultivation Technique.
If one truly wants to achieve something, then using only the venom of common household poisons is not enough.
Sooner or later, one will have to deal with more complex poisons.
"Thank you, Master!" Zou Feng solemnly took the book with both hands.
Knowledge-based books like this are quite valuable in this world.
They are not something one can just read whenever they want.
"The compendium of materia medica has six volumes, and this is just the first volume."
"Once you've finished this volume, come find me for the subsequent ones."
A herbal medicine book thicker than two bricks combined, and there are six volumes?
Although he had originally planned to catch up on herbal medicine knowledge, thinking of the immense workload still made Zou Feng feel a headache.
Luo Yong then continued to instruct, "Read and memorize a lot, do not be lax. In a few days, I will test you on things from the book!"
Here, being an apprentice to any craftsman is not an easy task.
If an apprentice is disobedient or not skilled enough, the Master will inevitably resort to corporal punishment.
Hearing that there would also be an "exam," Zou Feng felt an even greater headache.
Before his Transmigration, he was not good at rote memorization in his studies and was only interested in science.
After a few more casual words, Luo Yong turned to leave.
However, after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turned back, and said with a look of disdain, "Oh, right, you're a good man, can't you stop wearing those sachets on you?"
"As chefs, if we smell too many pungent fragrances, it will affect our sense of smell when cooking!"
Upon hearing this, Zou Feng first paused, then nodded and said, "Oh, oh, I understand, Master, please take your time..."
Only after Luo Yong had walked far away did Zou Feng slowly close the door.
Then he frowned and looked at his palms.
He wasn't wearing any sachets at all.
The fragrance Luo Yong smelled was actually emanating from his palms.
As the Cultivation of Five Poison Palm deepened, the fragrance emitted by his palms would become more obvious.
It was just that Zou Feng hadn't expected that Five Poison Palm would actually make his hands smell like five-spice powder...
Fortunately, he was always helping out in the kitchen and already came into contact with various spices, otherwise, the misunderstanding would have been huge.
"However, according to the introduction in the Secret Manual, after Cultivating to a certain extent, the fragrance will gradually fade. As long as I don't circulate Qi, the smell will no longer be obvious."
"And after the Cultivation Technique reaches Major Achievement, even if I fully circulate Qi, it will be completely colorless and odorless..."
So, he still had to quickly continue Cultivating!
Moving out the urine pot containing the venom, Zou Feng once again started to let Li Rui suffer for him.
But this time, he also lit an oil lamp and placed the "compendium of materia medica" on the nearby table.
Clearly, he intended to Cultivate and read at the same time.
Multitasking during Cultivation is a major taboo, but Zou Feng didn't need to focus when Cultivating.
Anyway, whatever problems arose during Cultivation, Li Rui would bear them all.
After some reading, the familiar, uncontrollable drowsiness he felt when reading textbooks before his Transmigration surged forth.
There was no other way; it was simply too, too tedious, especially since he had to memorize it diligently.
Moreover, although the herbal medicines in the book all came with very realistic illustrations, many distinctions were in subtle details, making it easy to strain one's eyes.
It was all hard knowledge; how long would it take to memorize all this?
Zou Feng now deeply envied the protagonists in the novels he had read before.
It felt like these protagonists basically got some Secret Manuals and memorized them after reading them a few times...
Just as he was feeling helpless, the panel in his mind suddenly popped up automatically.
"Five Poison Palm (Beginner), Progress: 67%"
"compendium of materia medica Volume One (Beginner), Progress: 2%"
"Cultivation Side Effects: Excruciating pain, chronic poisoning."
"Drowsiness, irritability."
"Do you wish to transfer the side effects?"
"Currently available transfer target: Li Rui"
Uh... this can be transferred too?!
Zou Feng clearly remembered that the side effects of Cultivating Five Poison Palm were only excruciating pain and chronic poisoning.
But now that "compendium of materia medica" was added, drowsiness and irritability immediately appeared.
But the problem is, the compendium of materia medica is not a Cultivation Technique...
No, the reason he was studying the compendium of materia medica was not to be a chef or a doctor.
It was to help him improve Five Poison Palm in the future.
Therefore, the act of studying the compendium of materia medica should be categorized as part of Cultivating Five Poison Palm.
And staying up late to study after a long day of work is inherently suffering, so of course, there would be side effects.
Not to mention, he was naturally not good at rote memorization.
So, Li Rui would have to suffer again...
The transfer took effect immediately, and Zou Feng instantly felt refreshed; the drowsiness he had just felt completely vanished.
Looking at the herbal medicine knowledge in the book again, he no longer found it boring and could read it with great interest.
As is well known, once learning no longer feels tedious, memorizing becomes much easier.
If he had this ability during his student days before his Transmigration, how wonderful that would have been...
After the Five Poison Palm Cultivation was complete, Zou Feng continued to memorize the "compendium of materia medica" for a while before finally going to sleep with peace of mind.
Early the next morning, as the Yang Manor's banquet was still ongoing, Zou Feng would remain very busy.
It was said that this banquet would actually last for seven days.
Li Rui's condition today looked even worse.
Although he had detoxifying medicinal soup to suppress the toxicity, he also suffered the hardship of studying, which inevitably led to poor sleep quality and feeling completely drained.
Seeing this, Zou Feng asked with concern, "Li Rui, did you not sleep well?"
Li Rui didn't even want to say much and just nodded weakly at the question.
Zou Feng then said, "Your junior just happens to know a formula for invigorating Qi and calming the mind. Li Rui, you can try it."
The herbs required for this formula were very cheap and common, so he didn't need to risk 'zero-yuan shopping' in the kitchen.
Therefore, it wouldn't make Li Rui feel like there was a trick.
"Thank you..." Li Rui looked at Zou Feng with a doubtful gaze.
Does this guy still not know that he was the one who reported him earlier?
He's still quite a good person.
However, the next moment, Li Rui's nose twitched, and then he stared at Zou Feng with a puzzled expression and said, "How come you... smell so fragrant!?"
The five-spice fragrance emanating from Cultivating Five Poison Palm was becoming increasingly strong.
Zou Feng made up an excuse, "It must be because I've been spending these past few days in piles of medicinal herbs!"
These two days, Li Rui had also been handling medicinal herbs, so upon hearing this, he lowered his head and sniffed himself as well.
"There's a bit of a smell, but it's nowhere near as fragrant as yours..."
Zou Feng said with an embarrassed expression, "Cough cough, let's get to work first. Sigh, today is going to be exhausting again!"