Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Back in the small village, Hua Xiong took Ming Yue to her personal home. A small hut that had little interesting features but there was a sense of warmth to it. 

The two both sat in front of each other, drinking tea from wood cups as Ming Yue retold the entire ordeal to Hua Xiong. From finding her at the Violet Sun Sect to watching her falling body. Her face barely changed as she listened to Ming Yue's story. 

Hua Xiong just listened. She listened to every word and when Ming Yue was done, she was silent.  Her eyes moistened as she processed through it all. 

Ming Yue could see that, the river or emotions running through her comrade. 

"I'll be outside, I'm going to speak with the Elder."

Standing up, she walked towards the door before turning back to Hua Xiong, trying her best to hold the tears. 

"He'll be inside his hut..." she spoke softly, her voice trembling ever so little. 

Ming Yue nodded and left. 

Strolling through the village with a heavy heart, she saw Hei Yue asleep with the children under a tree. Xiao Yin was perched above, watching over them. 

"Hm, at least they're having a bit of fun."

She smiled at the sight before deciding to check out more of the village. The various demons here all gave polite greetings as did she, giving a small bow. As she walked around, she noticed a few things, namely the food and one other strange detail. 

"There's a lot of beast pelts... And the food here... they have meat."

At first she thought that it was Elder Shu or Hua Xiong but they both didn't seem like the type to hunt down beasts. Not to mention, most of the villagers were either women, children, or the elderly. There weren't many fit for battle either. But if that was the case then who provided the meat?

As much as she wanted to ask, everyone was busy with their own chores and tasks. There was no opportunity. She only looked a bit more before heading to the elder's abode. It didn't take long for her to reach it, still surrounded by baskets of herbs, fragrant with that sweet bitterness. 

Peering into the baskets, Ming Yue found interest in these herbs for she had never really seen them before.

"Please, come in."

The elder's quiet voice spoke from within, beckoning her. 

Taking one more glance, she went in, her eyes met with the same sight of the elderly demon seated by a steaming pot of medicinal water. 

Elder Shu looked at her with a gentle smile. 

"You must have an interest in medicine if you stood outside for so long", he said. 

"I studied medicine under my father as well as a few other masters. The medicines here are much different from what I've seen before", she replied.

The elderly demon chuckled.

"The materials might be different but the methods are still the same. It is still pills, raw form, or a refined form", he explained. 

"Refined? LIke this?"

Ming Yue took out the last few rolls of bandages along with what was left of her medicinal paste. They were of good quality, standing at Rank 3. Not to mention, they were personally created by her. Something like this could not return lost limbs but serious wounds would only take a few days to fully heal. 

"Oh, interesting... Medicine- soaked bandages and a paste... May I?"

Ming Yue handed it over to him as he studied their make. 

"Grinded and mixed with water... There's at least five different ingredients and all of it must have taken time to make. With bandages, its much easier to absorb and helps staunch the wound. The paste is quick acting and concentrated, well-suited if one is on the move."

"So quick!"

She was shocked to see the Elder understand the method of her medicine so quickly. The fact that he was able to determine the exact number of ingredients was even more surprising. 

"These do fall under the refined category."

Ming Yue's brows furrowed in curiosity. 

"What do you mean by "refined" exactly?" she asked. 

"Mmm, from what I recall, humans had generally perfected the method to pill- making. However, these pills are not the best for us demons."

"But why? Pills are supposed to be the highest form of medicine, a point where it cannot be improved upon."

"For humans, Yes, they are. But demons are different.  How many different humans are there?" asked the Elder. 

Ming Yue paused before coming to a conclusion. 

".... One, no?"

"Indeed one, there is only the human race but for demons, there are over a hundred different races. Each race further segmented into various clans. For some, pills might work just fine but for others, they may only be a quarter as effective. I am one such example."

Elder Shu then pointed towards the pot of steaming medicinal water. 

"As a Liferoot Demon, my body is similar to that of a tree. My bark- like skin and body make it so that absorbing pills take over a day. Even then, its effect is weaker. However, by refining medicines into this soup and allowing it to boil and steam away, it takes only half a day for twice the effect."

He then stood up and slowly hobbled over to his bed where he took out a small booklet. 

"This here is a manual containing all of the basic methods over refining methods that demons use. Such methods include cooking it, making a bath, boiling and absorbing the vapor."

Handing it to Ming Yue, she looked through it, flipping the pages quickly. 

She absorbed the information quickly and was surprised to read of these strange methods. Of all these methods, she was only familiar with medicinal baths, havingin done it to cleanse her body of impurities. At the same time, some of these refining process were incredibly strange.

"Mixing your blood and cooking it... Combining beast meat with certain herbs... Using a specific type of water to create a medicinal bath... Boiling to the point where you extract all of its efficacy... Why did you let me see this?"

She looked at the Elder with serious eyes but he merely smiled. 

"You seemed quite interested. Besides, it is not as if this information is important. This sort of knowledge is commonly known. Every race has their own unique way of making medicine and many saw fit to record it. In the end, it was realized that these unique methods had similarities and only differed in things like time and ingredient", he explained. 

After listening, Ming Yue looked back at the manual.*

He chuckled before going quiet, thinking of a way to ask this next question. In the end, the elder just asked. 

"How is Hua Xiong?"

Ming Yue stopped flipping through the manual and looked at him. There was silence between them befroe she finally answered 

"I don't know. After telling her everything, I left to give her time. The current her is much different compared to the one I had seen. She was much more composed, almost lacking in emotion because of that inheritance. But now, It's as if she had returned to her original self", she said. 

Elder Shu had a concerned look on his face and gave a long sigh. 

"She is still young and her mental state is fragile. From losing her memories to finding out that everyone she knew is dead now. More than anything, she needs time to come to terms with it all."

He then faced her, his eyes shimmered for a moment. 

"Though I suppose, you have been met with a similar tragedy. Perhaps, it is what built your strength in the beginning. It may be the same for her", he said. 

Her eyes widened in surprise. 

"How do you-"

The elderly demon straitened his body as he looked away. 

"I've been alive for hundreds of years.. There isn't much my eyes cannot see through."