CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 294 SWIMMING POOL

The early morning sun was bright and cheerful.

In the courtyard, Li Ang stretched lazily.

It was unusually peaceful at the moment. Perhaps it was because Situ Zhi had finally been caught, and the Suzhou Water Poison was being controlled much faster than he had imagined. The cultivators from the Academic Palace, the garrison, and Lu Li Academy had fully grasped the production process of artemisinin and Artesunate that Li Ang had provided. With the Cultivation Method as a supplement, they produced these substances on a large scale, meeting the standards.

Artemisinin could treat malaria. This was highly valued by the Yu Kingdom’s Court, which spared no expense or resources to expand the production lines before autumn arrived, fulfilling the medical needs of Yu Country’s citizens.

Yu Country had a population of four hundred million. Then there were Nanzhou, West Jing, and the Western Country. So many people in the world needed artemisinin drugs. Newspapers everywhere, even in foreign countries, had been continuously praising Li Ang’s miracle these days.

According to Ji Linglang, led by Shade, the folks of Yizhou were planning to have cultivators carve into a mountain outside the city (the one Song Shaoyuan often climbed). They intended to create a colossal statue of Li Ang right there on the spot. This was the Little Medicine King God, like a living Buddha who had saved hundreds of millions of lives, and even the Yu Kingdom’s Court could not find any fault in that.

Li Ang himself vetoed the idea. First, it was too expensive. Second, he didn’t want to return to his hometown only to see a giant statue of himself posing as a compassionate savior.

As a result, the folks of Yizhou came up with another plan: not a full statue, but a bust. So, in a few years, when Li Ang returned home, he would see his own enormous head carved into the mountain. So, they were aiming for their own Hokage Rock or Mount Rushmore.

On another note, the reforms at the Imperial Medical Bureau were also going relatively smoothly. The court recruited cultivators to expand the buildings of the Imperial Medical Bureau and posted notices announcing an increased intake of medical students this year. The notices also stated that graduating medical students would be assigned to sick houses across the country according to their grades, with salaries paid by both the court and local authorities.

There were certainly more reforms to follow. The management of sick houses, the salaries of Doctors and nursing staff, medical disputes, and more were all long-term issues.

For now, it was good enough that the new system was standing up.

WHOOSH.

Li Ang casually released his Telekinesis, digging up the courtyard soil and piling it on the ground.

"Master, good morning."

Chai Chai, rubbing her bleary eyes and yawning, walked out. She was astonished to see the huge pile of soil in the courtyard. Just as she was about to cry out, she realized something and hurried over to whisper in Li Ang’s ear, "Master, did you kill someone?"

Li Ang was bewildered. "What?"

"Why else would you dig a grave?"

Chai Chai spoke softly, "The aunts from our neighboring houses say that the gardens of the big families in Chang’an City are filled with bodies that can’t see the light of day. Who did you kill, Master? Did you leave any evidence? Galuo should be waking up soon. Should I go and get her drunk so she’ll sleep some more, and you hurry up and finish burying the grave? I’ll go buy some flowers from West Market to plant on top of it."

"I’m not some murderous bandit," Li Ang sighed in frustration and flicked Chai Chai on the forehead. Ever since Chai Chai started studying at the Academic Palace, she has become more and more cunning. She’s even capable of saying things like one person kills and the other buries. Before, she would at least have struggled with her conscience a bit more.

"Eh." Chai Chai held her forehead, looking innocent. "Then what is this?"

"A swimming pool," replied Li Ang.

He took out a talisman from his bosom. "Your master has reached the Middle Rank of Rain Listening. My Qi Sea is plentiful, allowing me to write ten additional talismans every day. Hang a Water Condensation Talisman on the roof to concentrate the moisture, then channel it into the underground water tank. Swap a Water Purification Talisman in the tank every day to purify the water quality. Just fill the clean water back into the pool, and isn’t that a swimming pool you can swim in?"

Summer should have elements like cicadas, watermelons, and swimming.

Li Ang didn’t want to touch river water, nor did he want to go to the Academic Palace swimming pool, so he simply dug one at his own home. After all, he was at the Middle Rank of Rain Listening and had enough Telekinesis and talismans.

"Oh, oh." Chai Chai nodded her head and brought over two chairs to watch Li Ang dig through the soil.

It has to be said that cultivators, especially Telekinesis Masters and Talisman Masters, are truly representatives of advanced productive forces. The Melt Soil Charm would dissolve solid rock, Telekinesis would clear away mud and sand, and the Rock Formation Talisman would harden the soil layer, then overlay it with a waterproof and impermeable layer of various colored tiles. In half a day’s work, a family swimming pool was completed.

Even more, talismans could be used to adjust the water temperature, simulate currents, and with a board, you could go surfing.

"No wonder the seniors and sisters who study talismanic study at the Academic Palace are the most numerous. It’s indeed a money-making venture." Li Ang lay back on the surface of the swimming pool, using Telekinesis to gently support himself, and took a sip of chilled watermelon juice as he reflected. "Even if one’s talismanic study skills aren’t exquisite and they can’t write many talismans in one day, they can still live a wealthy life."

"Yeah." Chai Chai, who was also lying on the water, took a sip of watermelon juice and watched the clouds floating across the sky with a silly, happy grin.

Ashina Galuo sat by the pool, pouting indignantly. The scars on her stomach hadn’t completely healed yet, so she couldn’t go into the water. She could only make slight waves for Li Ang and Chai Chai by patting the water with her feet.

Chai Chai sighed. "It would be nice if Spiritual Vein Talent weren’t so rare, and cultivators were no longer weapons of war but could use their Cultivation to produce things like building roads, bridges, houses, and dams."

"Spiritual Vein Talent..." Li Ang paused, thinking of the Mo Si within his body.

"If everyone could cultivate, I’m afraid the world would be in even more chaos," Ashina Galuo said casually. "The more cultivators there are, the more resources they’ll need, and the more Candle Cloud Cultivators can be produced. If the countries were to stand off against each other, it would probably quickly turn into a childbirth battle. Whoever had the largest population would have the most Cloud Patrol and Candle Cloud Cultivators in the future and gain an absolute advantage."

"Mhm." Li Ang nodded. "At the end of the Late Sui Dynasty and even further back during the chaotic times of the Two Jin Dynasties, some Sects and nobel families, in order to cultivate the most outstanding heirs, would crazily intermarry and even inbreed. This led to the birth of children who were naturally mentally and physically handicapped but possessed exceptional Cultivation Talent. These children were then treated as weapons for self-preservation. Sometimes they would even use Mutated Objects to speed up the reproduction process."

Some Forbidden Books in the Book Collection Pavilion recorded cases that seemed to involve dubious biological modification technologies. The most typical example was the Jieyi Sect, a hidden Sect specializing in assassinations. They had a team of fifty Cultivator assassins, all of whom looked alike and spoke with the same tone and manner of speech.

It was a madly chaotic, disorderly, and inhumane era, yet technology rapidly advanced. Even the Doctors of the Academic Palace, who operated on reason, sometimes couldn’t bear to burn those Forbidden Books that detailed such Mysterious Techniques. Instead, they chose to store them away, hoping that future generations might extract their essence and discard their dross, eventually using these techniques for righteous purposes. They believed in the wisdom of future generations.

Li Ang shook his head. No wonder there had been defectors like Jun Qianzi in the history of the Academic Palace. To a technology fanatic, the Academic Palace hoarding a treasury that could benefit the world but daring not to use it was a crime of great evil.