Fu Yuhai was also surprised and asked, "I should be asking you that too. Why is your hair a mix of white and black? Did you get it dyed at the hair salon this morning?"
"No, I slept until now, I just woke up, I haven't even left the house, why would I dye my hair? Besides, I'm already this old, why would I dye it? It's a waste of my time."
Fu Tianlai answered with a puzzled look, then suddenly fixed his gaze on Zhou Xuan and asked, "Zhou Xuan, did you do something? Oh... I remember now, wasn't it you who gave us that tonic soup yesterday?"
Zhou Xuan scratched his head and chuckled, saying, "I'm not sure either, but I think it might be related to that. I checked online last night, and those two tubers I dug up, the ones that look like sweet potatoes, are most likely He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum). My ancestors planted it for decades, so the fruit must have great nourishing properties. But I don't really know what it can nourish or to what extent. I feel it's extremely nourishing. There were also many other medicinal herbs added to the soup, so I guess it's still related to that."
Of the group, only Fu Tianlai and Fu Ying knew that Zhou Xuan possessed extraordinary abilities, and they also thought that these abilities were related to Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan chuckled and added, "That might be true. It's somewhat related. Yesterday, I gave the leftover soup to the bodyguards, so it probably had some influence on them too."
Fu Tianlai immediately went out to check on the bodyguards. Sure enough, they had all just woken up, but they didn't look like they had just woken up. Instead, their mental state was exceptionally good. The bodyguards, in particular, felt that their eyes were brighter and their hearing was sharper than usual. They even performed some movements, some of the more difficult ones, quite smoothly. It was all incredibly strange.
Zhou Xuan was now truly certain that it was that thing that caused it. It seems that spiritual herbs and objects are indeed different. No wonder they say that there are thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, thousand-year-old ginseng, and thousand-year-old He Shou Wu. Although these are legends and their effects may be exaggerated, these rare and hard-to-find items are still very different from ordinary items.
Fu Tianlai and Fu Yuhai were even more puzzled. Fu Tianlai was only in his early seventies, while Fu Yuhai was 102 years old. Even if Zhou Xuan's medicine was effective, how come the older one had much more black hair, while the younger one had less black hair?
Fu Yuhai's hair was more than half black, while Fu Tianlai's hair was only a third black, which made everyone feel that they were somewhat opposite.
However, Zhou Xuan understood that he could tell the reason by using his supernatural ability to detect it. Although Fu Yuhai was much older, he was simple-minded and did not think as much as Fu Tianlai. He usually did not think about those grudges and affections, but only missed his family and relatives. After Fu Ying returned, his heart was overjoyed, and he was much more responsive to the medicine.
Fu Tianlai was concerned about the Fu family conglomerate, missed his granddaughter, and worried about his elderly father. Beset by internal and external troubles, he was physically aging, and his cells were not recovering as well as Fu Yuhai's.
Zhou Xuan laughed heartily, ignoring their surprise, and said, "You all chat, I'll go and fix that thing. There are still a few left, I'll continue making soup to turn Grandpa and Great-Grandpa's hair completely black, and make them look young again."
Although it was said in jest, Zhou Xuan had those thoughts in mind. His ability enhancement and improvement had reached its limit. He had already received confirmation from the old man that while the improvement could significantly improve his health, after one round of enhancement, further enhancement would not have a noticeable effect. In other words, once the ability enhancement and improvement was activated, it was basically at its limit, and further use would be ineffective.
Now, Zhou Xuan realized that his ability had reached its limit, but the medicinal herbs had a different effect, and when combined with his ability, they had an even greater effect.
Because Fu Yuhai, Fu Yuanshan, Zhou Cangsong and Jin Xiumei, and Fu Ying had all been enhanced and stimulated by Zhou Xuan's supernatural abilities, the effects of drinking the tonic were very obvious. The effects on the bodyguards were slightly less pronounced, but still quite remarkable. A spiritual medicine is a spiritual medicine, incomparable to ordinary items.
Zhou Xuan smiled and went to the backyard alone. The air in the yard was fresh; it was morning, and the oxygen content was very high. With a deep breath, Zhou Xuan smelled that scent again, but this time it was many times stronger than yesterday. From this scent, Zhou Xuan felt his supernatural abilities stirring, a reaction far more intense than yesterday's excitement.
Zhou Xuan paused for a moment, then quickly walked towards the backyard wall, using his special ability to probe as he went. However, this probe startled him.
From the corner, many animals crawled out of nowhere—snakes, centipedes, and other creatures. Their colorful appearances suggested they were highly venomous.
For a time, this corner was practically a gathering place for poisonous insects.
Zhou Xuan dared not get too close. There were too many poisonous insects. Although he had superpowers and could control them, he did not want to kill too many animals before he understood the situation. Animals gathering always had a reason.
After thinking about it, could it be because of those he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum)?
But it doesn't seem like it, because this has never happened in the past few decades. And yesterday I was here for so long and didn't see a single bug. Why are there so many now?
Zhou Xuan still used his special ability to probe the roots of those plants. When he probed again, his mouth gaped open wide and he couldn't close it.
At this time, the roots of those plants, which were about the size of sweet potato tubers yesterday, have grown into little babies here. The roots are about a foot long and the waist is as thick as a small bowl. They are like little babies, with feet, hands and heads. Of course, they are not real hands, feet and heads, but the roots have grown to that extent.
Surprised, Zhou Xuan counted again: one, two, three, four, five. There were five in total, five little babies growing in the soil by the corner of the wall, while the poisonous insects surrounded these five plants.
Now Zhou Xuan understood. These poisonous creatures had come for these He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) roots. They hadn't come before because these roots had only grown for about thirty years and weren't potent enough to warrant their pursuit. But now, they looked just like the legendary He Shou Wu roots that had grown for over a thousand years.
Zhou Xuan finally understood. The reason these He Shou Wu plants had grown so rapidly overnight, as if they had been growing for thousands of years, was because he had concentrated his supernatural power into them yesterday. His supernatural power was the most extraordinary ability in the world. He could save people from extremely serious injuries or incurable diseases with his supernatural power. His supernatural power stimulated the human body to recover from injuries and illnesses at a speed hundreds or thousands of times faster than normal. This caused these He Shou Wu plants to grow at an accelerated speed, possibly hundreds or thousands of years. Adding so many years at once was naturally better than growing for thousands of years in the deep mountains and forests. In the deep mountains, people might see them and pick them, but in this courtyard, no outsiders would pick them. Moreover, very few people recognized this plant nowadays, let alone in New York, where how many people would recognize He Shou Wu?
Even if you put it in front of these foreigners, they will only think it's a piece of rotten dried sweet potato that's even worse than a sweet potato. It's also dark in color, and they can't see what's so good about it.
When Zhou Xuan took two more steps forward, all the poisonous creatures raised their heads to face him, spitting out their tongues and spraying venom, clearly harboring ill intentions. These poisonous creatures all had a protective instinct for their treasure.
Zhou Xuan didn't hesitate at this moment. He activated his supernatural power and quickly transformed and devoured the poisonous creatures. Dozens, even hundreds, of venomous snakes and insects vanished without a trace in an instant.
Zhou Xuan chanted "Amitabha Buddha." He had killed the living beings, but these He Shou Wu were cultivated by him using his special ability, and the ownership belonged to him, not these poisonous creatures. He stepped forward without hesitation, used his special ability to transform and devour the soil, and this time he only took one plant, taking out the He Shou Wu doll and examining it closely.
This He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) is purplish-black, about a foot long, with a waist shaped like a small bowl. It has two horizontal tendrils like arms, and two more tendrils branching out like legs. On top is a large, round head, resembling a chubby baby. No wonder it's said that thousand-year-old ginseng and thousand-year-old He Shou Wu, these miraculous herbs, can take shape and grow like humans; it seems this legend is indeed true.
Zhou Xuan just couldn't figure out how many more years the supernatural power he had gathered yesterday could make the He Shou Wu grow. Judging from the appearance of these He Shou Wu, they must have been over five or six hundred years old to grow to this size, right?
Those tubers, smaller than a fist, have been growing for over thirty years. A person would be a middle-aged man by then, let alone a plant. Even a small tree can grow into a large tree, but this He Shou Wu really only has such a small amount.
Even if it takes five or six hundred years, it probably wouldn't grow to this size. According to the legend, it would probably take more than a thousand years to grow to this size.
Zhou Xuan took the plant and then covered the other orchids so they were no longer visible. If it weren't for his special ability to detect them, no one would have been able to find it. The bodyguards wouldn't know it either, and none of the foreigners outside would recognize it. Besides, this was the Fu family's backyard, and no one else could get in, so he wasn't worried.
There were four plants left. Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then concentrated some of his special energy and poured it into the he shou wu again. He took one out, went back to the kitchen, washed it clean with water, and said to Aunt Wang with a smile, "Aunt Wang, could you please find me some more tonics? I'll make some soup for everyone."
Aunt Wang chuckled. She felt much better today and noticed that the two old men's white hair had turned black. Thinking of this, she went back to the mirror to look at her own hair. She was almost fifty, but because she had always lived in the Fu family and her life was not bad, she had very few white hairs. However, she had a few dozen strands. She looked in the mirror for a long time but couldn't find a single one. Not a single white hair had disappeared. Moreover, she noticed that her face seemed to have become smoother and younger. She couldn't help but stare blankly.
After thinking for a long time, Wang Sao still couldn't figure it out. She just felt that today was strange. It wasn't just her; the whole Fu family was acting strangely. At first, she thought it was because Miss Fu Ying brought her husband's family back, which made the Fu family happy. But later she realized that it definitely wasn't. No matter how happy they were, it was impossible for her to turn her white hair black, reduce her wrinkles, or make her look younger.
Thinking about it again, I remembered that I drank the soup that Zhou Xuan had been simmering for several hours yesterday. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that was the reason, because when I drank it, I could feel that the soup had a strong medicinal smell.
Now that I see Zhou Xuan making soup again, I can't help but look curiously at the he shou wu that Zhou Xuan has cleaned. I saw it yesterday too, but back then it was just two dark, sweet potato-like things. Now, Zhou Xuan is holding the cleaned he shou wu in his hand, and it looks like a doll. Is it some kind of big radish?
As Wang's wife answered, she asked again, "Son-in-law, what are you holding?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "These are herbs I got; they're very nourishing. This one is even better than yesterday's. They're the same ingredients as yesterday, for making soup. Hehe, I'm really addicted to making soup."
Wang Sao went to the food warehouse and took out the medicinal herbs for making soup. Zhou Xuan cut the Polygonum multiflorum into slices, but this time there were too many, filling a large porcelain pot halfway. After adding water, Zhou Xuan put the pot on the stove, lit the fire, and then turned it to medium heat. It took half an hour to bring the water in the pot to a boil. After boiling for a few minutes, he turned the heat down and simmered it for another two hours.
Two hours later, steam escaped from the pot, and the smell alone made Zhou Xuan feel incredibly refreshed. He knew then that this stuff was at least a hundred times more effective than the soup he had made yesterday.
That stuff from yesterday, if sold, could probably fetch a high price. Wealthy people would definitely flock to it, especially rich women, who are crazy about beauty. Think about those expensive cosmetics, or those rich people and celebrities who get sheep placenta injections. A single injection is said to cost hundreds of millions, and there are side effects, but they don't care about anything else in order to maintain their beauty.
Zhou Xuan has seen quite a few news reports like this. The soup he made yesterday definitely had that effect, but it wasn't very obvious, and he needed to use his special ability to improve it.
What will be the effects of today's soup, which has even more unique and potent properties?
As Zhou Xuan tended the fire, he thought with a touch of excitement, wondering if he could make his great-grandfather and grandfather younger and stronger. If that were possible, it would be the most gratifying thing for him.