Chapter 251: Chapter 251 Fresh Corpse
251 A Fresh Corpse
"Honestly," Zhao Zhitong said with mock disdain. "Still so delicate. Alright, as your ’little bro,’ I’ll protect you. Let’s go, let’s go!"
With that, she grabbed Qiao Muchen and ran towards the Mass Grave Hill outside the village.
Halfway there, they saw Zhao Yue and Wei Shulan had also come out.
In the past three years, Wei Shulan, like Zhao Zhitong, hadn’t grown much taller. However, Wei Shulan’s disposition had become increasingly cold. If this continued, she would definitely turn into an ice beauty.
The one who had changed the most among the four of them was Zhao Yue. Perhaps because he had grown taller, his once chubby little frame had vanished, replaced by a robust and upright physique. The two trails of snot that used to constantly hang under his nose were gone too, and he finally looked somewhat handsome.
Seeing her two other friends on the street at midnight, Zhao Zhitong was overjoyed and ran over to ask, "Why are you two here as well?"
Wei Shulan grabbed Zhao Zhitong’s hand, pulled her close, and said with a smile, "We came to accompany you."
Zhao Yue also puffed out his chest. "We’re friends, so of course, we have to help you! But let’s get this straight: this is absolutely the last time! Don’t even think about asking me to come again!"
Qiao Muchen mercilessly exposed him, "You said the same thing last time."
Zhao Yue: "..."
Zhao Zhitong looked at Zhao Yue, puzzled, and asked, "Aren’t you scared anymore?"
The previous few times, Zhao Yue had always been dragged along by Qiao Muchen.
Zhao Yue’s face indeed turned a few shades paler, but he insisted defiantly, "Hah! Me, scared? I’m a true man, through and through!"
"Alright then," Zhao Zhitong nodded. "Okay, ’true man,’ let’s hurry up and go."
After that, they ran towards the Mass Grave Hill outside the village.
It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination. This was a place where unclaimed corpses were dumped. When they arrived, they could see will-o’-the-wisps drifting about, and the cries of strange insects and birds made the place even more terrifying. The group couldn’t help but pull their clothes tighter around themselves.
Zhao Yue’s teeth were chattering, but he still tried to appear calm, saying, "Heh, it’s quite cold here, huh?"
Zhao Zhitong replied, "Of course it is. It’s already October; how could it not be cold?" She shivered as she spoke.
Then, she glanced around and, without another word, started digging with a shovel. The other three stood frozen, not daring to move.
In no time, Zhao Zhitong had unearthed a corpse. Then, her excited voice rang out, "Hey, come and help! This corpse is quite fresh!"
Her excited voice, coupled with the word ’fresh,’ was enough to send a shiver down the spines of the other three.
Zhao Yue almost roared, "Hey, Zhao Zhitong! Can’t you be a bit more ladylike? What kind of disgusting adjective was that? It’s making me nauseous just hearing it!"
Qiao Muchen, who had already gone to help, said cuttingly, "Zhao Yue, you really need more experience. You keep saying you want to join the Dali Temple in the future. But seeing how timid you are, I think you should just forget about it."
Wei Shulan twisted the knife, "He’s right. I heard that in places where they solve cases, they have to examine all sorts of corpses. Oh, right, and coroners perform dissections and stuff."
Zhao Yue’s face turned a little paler. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he also rushed forward and helped them lift the corpse out.
The moment they lifted it out, Zhao Yue immediately let go and jumped two meters away. "There, are we done?"
Zhao Zhitong said, "We still have to carry it back."
Zhao Yue: "...You’re my nemesis."
With that, he reluctantly stepped forward again. Then, the group worked together to carry the corpse to a dilapidated hut on a hill behind the village.
This hut previously belonged to Wu Da. Wu Da was now living next to the Zhao Family’s orchard, so the hut was vacant. No one had lived there for three years. Thus, it had become Zhao Zhitong’s place for dissecting corpses.
Opening the main door, Qiao Muchen and the others placed the corpse on a wooden plank inside the room. Zhao Zhitong had already lit a torch, instantly illuminating the room. The room’s interior and its furnishings became clearly visible.
Zhao Zhitong had kept the room very clean. Some tools were laid out on a table. Other than a bed made of wooden planks and the table, there was nothing else in the room.
Zhao Zhitong brought a brazier in from the doorway. Inside it were atractylodes rhizomes and soapnuts. She lit them, then dabbed sesame oil inside her nostrils and put a piece of raw ginger in her mouth. Then, from a cabinet beneath a table, she took out a case. Opening it revealed an assortment of specialized knives, all of which she had bought from the market.
Zhao Zhitong arranged the tools on the edge of the wooden plank, put on gloves and a mask, and handed a mask to Qiao Muchen who stood nearby. Then, she began dissecting the corpse...
She was extremely focused throughout the entire process, approaching the task with a profound sense of respect, seriousness, and solemnity. Qiao Muchen usually watched from the side. He would occasionally ask Zhao Zhitong questions that piqued his curiosity. And Zhao Zhitong would always answer him in detail.
Wei Shulan sat by the door, resting with her eyes closed.
Zhao Yue had initially wanted to build up his tolerance, forcing himself to stay in the room and watch. However, after a short while, he couldn’t bear it any longer and ran out, going "BLERGH! BLERGH!" as he vomited.
After finishing her work, Zhao Zhitong would restore the corpse, give it a proper burial, and erect an unmarked tombstone. After all this was done, Zhao Zhitong would have all four of them step over the brazier, disinfect with alcohol, wash their hands with soapnuts for disinfection, and then head home.
Once home, she would enter her space and record the day’s learnings and observations. By this time, her space already contained a complete diagram of the human skeleton. She was currently working on perfecting a diagram of human organs. Whenever she was engrossed in her work, Grandpa Bai would watch from the side with a gratified smile. After completing these tasks, Zhao Zhitong would leave her space and go to sleep.
「The next afternoon.」
When she went to her grandfather’s place, he had already decided that they would open a pharmacy in the county town. It wasn’t just for their own family but also for the common people who couldn’t afford medicine.
Zhao Zhitong hugged Sun Kang’s arm, bursting with joy. "Grandfather, Grandfather! When the time comes, I want to treat patients in the pharmacy too!"
Sun Kang nodded and chuckled, "Alright, alright. But you’ll have to study hard then."
Zhao Zhitong patted her small chest, indicating that she was indeed very diligent.
The laughter of the grandparent and grandchild echoed in the courtyard.
Opening a pharmacy was no simple matter. First, they needed to secure a suitable shop. Sun Youwei spent three full days searching in the county town before finally selecting a storefront. It was a fairly large shop with a rear courtyard where they could dry medicinal herbs in the future.
Once he found it suitable, Sun Youwei initially planned to rent it. However, to prevent future disputes over rent, Zhao Zhitong suggested buying it instead. So, Sun Youwei gritted his teeth and bought the shop outright.
But the shop needed to be renovated first. Unwilling to spend money on hiring workers, Sun Youwei called on his second and third younger brothers, along with Sun Daji, Sun Daqing, and a few others, to thoroughly clean and organize the shop, inside and out. After that, they had to build counters and medicine cabinets.
To open a pharmacy, they needed a comprehensive stock of medicinal ingredients. This meant herb traders would need to travel around to procure them. So, during this period, Sun Youwei had Sun Daqing and Sun Daxiang go out and establish contacts with various herb traders.
Sun Kang had insisted that the Sun Family’s plans to open a pharmacy be kept quiet, and indeed, they carried out all these preparations discreetly.