He had already reached the pinnacle of his superpowers and couldn't go any further; that was for sure. It wasn't that he didn't want to; if it were possible, he would have been willing to pay any price to save the old man back in China.
Zhou Xuan turned the fire down even lower, and the medicinal smell in his nose made his supernatural abilities surge.
After simmering for another hour, Zhou Xuan felt that the time was almost up, so he took the pot off the stove, let it cool for a while, and then asked Wang Sao to bring over a dozen bowls.
After lifting the lid of the soup pot, Zhou Xuan shook it. There was less soup inside than yesterday because there were fewer ingredients yesterday, while today's He Shou Wu was more than ten times larger than yesterday's, taking up more space. Although there was less soup, the concentration and flavor were many times stronger than yesterday.
Looking at the dozen or so bowls, Zhou Xuan shook his head with a wry smile, then said to Sister Wang, "Sister Wang, let's bring a dozen or so cups instead. Considering the number of people, including the bodyguards, one cup for each person. Let's bring small cups. This soup is very nourishing, but the portion is small, so everyone can just have a little bit. It's only enough for one small cup."
Aunt Wang smiled. The soup was dark and thicker than yesterday's. Although it didn't look very appealing, the change in appearance today made her think differently about Zhou Xuan's soup. She chuckled and went to get a dozen small cups, each holding about an ounce of water.
Zhou Xuan picked up the pot and poured the soup into it cup by cup. After filling more than a dozen cups, the soup was finished, just right. The last two cups were still slightly unfilled.
Zhou Xuan smiled, then picked up a cup and handed it to Sister Wang first, saying, "Sister Wang, please drink this first cup. It's small, you can only drink this little bit to taste it."
Aunt Wang wouldn't refuse. Smiling, she picked up the cup and drank it down in one gulp. The taste was too strong; compared to yesterday's, it was like comparing a glass of water to a very strong cup of coffee—completely different.
However, Wang's wife wasn't sure if it was the soup from yesterday that made her look younger; she just couldn't think of any other reason. And now, Zhou Xuan had brought out another pot of soup—this grandson-in-law was really quite strange.
Zhou Xuan then filled a tray and was about to take it to the living room, but as he picked it up, he said to Sister Wang, "Sister Wang, if this soup works for you, please don't tell anyone. I'll make this soup especially for you from now on."
Aunt Wang just smiled and said, "Of course I won't tell you, but where did you learn this, son-in-law? It really does have some effect. Although the taste isn't very good, the effects are indeed quite good."
Volume 1, Chapter 636: The Venomous Snake
Chapter 636 Poisonous Snake
Wang Sao was telling the truth. Zhou Xuan had made her drink the soup yesterday, which she had been somewhat reluctant to do, but today she drank it with great enthusiasm. In her heart, she was wondering if Sun's family practiced medicine. This nourishing soup was truly surprisingly effective!
Today's soup was much smaller than yesterday's bowl, but the color looked much richer. Wang Sao drank it in one gulp. The medicinal taste of today's soup was stronger. Thinking about the secrets she had discovered and the beauty and health benefits, she couldn't help but want to drink another cup. However, Zhou Xuan happily took the remaining cup to the living room.
As they approached the door, Zhou Xuan turned back to Wang Sao and said, "Wang Sao, boil the remaining dregs in water again. This soup still has some nutrients, and boiling it might still have some effect!"
Aunt Wang quickly nodded, added water to the soup pot, and then lit the stove to start cooking.
Zhou Xuan carried a tray of cups into the living room, smiling broadly as he said, "The youthful, beauty-enhancing, and longevity-promoting tonic soup is here again..."
Seeing the cups on Zhou Xuan's plate, which were much smaller than the small bowls from yesterday, and with much less dark broth inside, everyone was curious. Although Zhou Xuan sounded like he was joking, the soup he had made really did have a peculiar effect. At first, they wondered if it was because he was too happy, but being too happy and excited couldn't possibly reduce wrinkles and turn white hair black overnight. Such a strange thing was indeed hard to believe for a while.
However, they couldn't find any other reason to explain it. When Zhou Xuan mentioned it, Fu Yuhai, Zhou Cangsong and his wife began to believe it. Fu Ying and her grandson Fu Tianlai, on the other hand, were certain that it was Zhou Xuan who did it. Only she and her grandfather knew about Zhou Xuan's peculiarities.
Zhou Xuan put the plate on the table. This time, without his persuasion, the family members laughed and picked up their glasses to drink. Fu Yuhai and his son Fu Tianlai even drank two glasses!
Zhou Xuan naturally didn't object; there were already extra cups, and the extra ones were given to the bodyguards to drink from.
After drinking the dark broth in the cup, Fu Yuhai asked, "Zhou Xuan, what did you put in this soup? Grandpa's hair has turned black, his eyesight is better, and he doesn't tremble when he walks anymore. It's very strange!"
Fu Ying and Fu Tianlai also stared at Zhou Xuan strangely, because they knew that although Zhou Xuan had special abilities, it was not easy for him to do this. If he could do it, he would have done it a year ago, so why wait until today?
Previously, it was known that Zhou Xuan had the ability to cure diseases, but it seemed that he did not have the ability to make them younger.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Grandpa, this is actually not my achievement, it's your own achievement!"
"Oh?...Then what's the reason?" Fu Yuhai asked Zhou Xuan, puzzled. Zhou Xuan's words confused him.
"Grandpa, I have something to tell you..." Zhou Xuan looked around and, seeing that there were no outsiders, immediately leaned closer and whispered to everyone, "Grandpa, Grandma, I'm telling you, the stuff I'm cooking in this soup is a thousand-year-old He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) that I dug up from the corner of the backyard wall. You mustn't tell anyone. There are four more in the backyard. I've already dug up three. The one I'm cooking today is big. The two I dug up yesterday were small. The remaining four are all big. This stuff can't be bought with money!"
Fu Yuhai and Fu Tianlai were both surprised, especially Fu Yuhai, who was stunned for a while before asking, "Is it a thousand-year-old He Shou Wu? But I only bought this house less than forty years ago. I heard that the house was only a little over forty years old when we bought it, and it was still very new when we bought it!"
Zhou Xuan was also stunned. This question made his words contradictory. He scratched his head and then just smiled bitterly, not knowing how to explain it.
Fu Tianlai quickly came to his rescue, laughing, "Dad, Zhou Xuan was just using a metaphor. That thing is definitely He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum). It probably doesn't exist for a thousand years, but it definitely exists for several decades. He Shou Wu is a rare medicinal plant, so it's normal for it to have special effects. Otherwise, why wouldn't it grow everywhere like grass and cabbage?"
Fu Yuhai nodded and then said, "Since this is He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum), I have to keep a close eye on it and dig it out one by one when I'm making soup. It's best not to dig it all out, lest I lose its vital energy!"
As he spoke, Fu Yuhai picked up Xiao Sisi and went to the backyard to take a look. Zhou Xuan was worried, so she quickly asked Fu Ying to take the remaining soup to the bodyguards and followed Fu Yuhai.
Because of the existence of the medicinal herb, the thousand-year-old He Shou Wu has strong medicinal properties, and with so many plants growing, it has attracted the cravings of poisonous creatures. Zhou Xuan was attacked by them as soon as he got close. If it were Fu Yuhai, he would not have been able to avoid it.
Fu Yuhai walked in front, with Zhou Xuan following behind. He quickly used his special ability to detect the area where the Polygonum multiflorum plants were growing. Sure enough, four or five more venomous snakes had appeared. After Zhou Xuan had devoured so many, the amount of poisonous creatures in the vicinity had decreased significantly. These poisonous creatures usually have territorial habits, just like in wild forests. "One mountain cannot hold two tigers," which is the same principle.
However, this is the city center, so even if there are poisonous creatures, they are relatively few. After Zhou Xuan transformed and devoured them, the poisonous creatures in this area were almost completely wiped out. This can be considered a good deed by Zhou Xuan, as poisonous creatures with strong toxicity pose a great threat to people.
Of course, Zhou Xuan was also a little puzzled. This was clearly the city center. Even if there were poisonous creatures here, how could there be so many? There were reinforced concrete facilities everywhere, and their living places were limited. If they were to appear, everyone would want to kill them!
Zhou Xuan quickly used his special ability to transform and devour the venomous snakes. By the time Fu Yuhai arrived, there was no danger left.
Fu Yuhai moved with light and agile steps, not at all like a 102-year-old man. His skills and movements were no worse than those of a 50 or 60-year-old.
Arriving at the corner of the backyard wall, a spot Zhou Xuan had pointed out to him yesterday, he hadn't paid much attention to it then, but now he was overjoyed. He immediately handed Xiao Sisi, whom he was holding, to Zhou Xuan, and parted the orchids to carefully examine the four remaining He Shou Wu seedlings.
Of course, Fu Yuhai had never seen a He Shou Wu plant before. But after looking at it closely now, he was sure he had never seen one. As he slowly recalled the past, although he couldn't remember it very clearly, he guessed that it was probably the He Shou Wu seeds that he had brought back from the martial arts school back then that had grown.
Hearing Zhou Xuan say that these four plants were large, and thinking about the changes in him today caused by the soup he drank yesterday, he realized that this stuff was a treasure, something that money couldn't buy, and he had to protect it well.
After checking everything, Fu Yuhai crawled out again to cover the he shou wu with orchid grass, and finally carried Xiao Sisi back to enjoy the scenery.
Zhou Xuan looked at the high courtyard wall. The wall was so sturdy, how did those poisonous creatures get in? It was very strange. It couldn't possibly have come in through the main gate or by climbing over the high wall.
As Zhou Xuan looked around, he used his supernatural abilities to search everywhere. From the traces left by the venomous snakes, Zhou Xuan slowly found a sewer opening in the bushes.
The sewer was covered with plastic mesh, but there was a hole about the size of a small bowl. The pipe inside wasn't very big; you could see that it was only about 30 centimeters in diameter. Large animals couldn't get in; only smaller creatures could. Snakes, insects, and rodents were fine.
Zhou Xuan immediately used his supernatural ability to probe the underground pipe. After leaving the courtyard wall, it was about five meters deep under the road, and even deeper in some places, extending towards the southwest of the Fu family's residence.
After passing a distance of 200 meters, Zhou Xuan could no longer detect it. After thinking about it, since he had nothing else to do, he might as well go and take a walk to find out the source of these poisons. It was still a bit dangerous for Fu Yuhai to stay here all the time, so he might as well go and find and block the source to save himself the trouble of worrying.
When Zhou Xuan left the front yard, the bodyguards had already drunk the cup of black soup. The small bowl yesterday had given them unexpected health benefits, which was already strange and delightful. Westerners rarely eat Chinese tonic soups, so it's not surprising that the Fu family, being originally Chinese, had this preference. Today, they heard that Zhou Xuan had made another tonic soup, and although it didn't taste very good, the bodyguards scrambled to drink it.