Chapter 130: Medicinal Bath

 Chapter 130: Medicinal Bath

"Do you want to try soaking?" 

Yan Wenkai hesitated as he held the medicinal pouch Daohua had given him, looking uncertainly at Yan Wentao.

Yan Wentao, without a second thought, called for a servant and asked them to prepare hot water. He then said, "Fourth Brother, don't worry. Daohua wouldn't harm us."

Yan Wenkai blinked. Is Third Brother trusting Daohua a bit too much? He hadn’t said she would harm them, but he was concerned because she was just a young girl—what did she know about herbal medicine? Even if she had read a few books on medical knowledge, it wasn’t like she could properly prepare medicinal concoctions!

"Are you not worried about harming your body? If something happens, we won't be able to practice martial arts anymore!" This was something he couldn't take lightly. First, martial arts was his dream; second, as the legitimate son of the Yan family, he wanted to contribute to the family.

Yan Wentao hesitated a moment, then suggested, "How about this? I'll soak first. If nothing happens to me, then you can try."

Yan Wenkai immediately widened his eyes. "Third Brother, what do you take me for? How can I let you take the risk for me? If anyone should go first, it should be me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, their servants entered with hot water.

Yan Wenkai, who had just been speaking with such conviction, immediately shrank back, looking anxiously at the pouch in his hand.

Seeing this, Yan Wentao grabbed the pouch, threw it into the bath tub, and soon the clear hot water turned into a dark brown medicinal brew.

"Are you really going to soak?"

Yan Wenkai was still hesitating, while Yan Wentao was already undressing.

"I'll soak first!" Yan Wentao quickly sat down in the tub.

Seeing him grit his teeth, Yan Wenkai immediately asked with concern, "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"

Yan Wentao shook his head, shivering for a moment before replying, "The water’s too hot! If you’re going to soak, wait until the water cools a bit."

Yan Wenkai was speechless, but he stayed alert, ready to call for help the moment anything unusual happened.

However, after the initial discomfort from the scalding water, Yan Wentao’s face gradually relaxed, and eventually, he even showed an expression of enjoyment.

"Fourth Brother, you should try it too! I don’t know if Daohua's medicinal pouch can really promote blood circulation or strengthen the body, but soaking in this really feels good."

Yan Wenkai was half-convinced, but after struggling with himself for a while, he finally grit his teeth and stepped into the tub.

To reassure himself, he instructed the servants to keep an eye on them and to call for a physician immediately if anything went wrong.

"Mmm~"

A satisfied moan escaped Yan Wenkai as he soaked in the medicinal water. He realized immediately that his sister hadn't lied. The soreness and aches from overexertion were gradually fading away, and the relief was undeniable.

If I had known it worked this well, I should have used it sooner. I’ve been suffering needlessly for months!

Outside the room, Yan Wentao’s servant, Tietou, and Yan Wenkai’s servant, Tieshou, kept peeking into the room. Seeing that the two masters were fine, they quietly started talking among themselves.

Tietou whispered, "Do you think we should tell the master and mistress? Other young masters who practice martial arts not only have experts from the medical field prepare medicinal baths for them but also have personal physicians tending to them."

Tieshou hesitated. "Is that a good idea? Our masters haven’t mentioned it. If we go behind their backs to tell the master and mistress, wouldn’t that anger them?"

Tietou sighed. "Ah, they’re just trying not to cause trouble for the family."

Tieshou agreed. "I never would have thought that a Prefect Magistrate’s household wouldn’t be as well-off as a county magistrate’s."

Before being sold to the Yan family, Tieshou had worked at a county magistrate’s home in a neighboring state. The magistrate had been corrupt and lost his position, which led to Tieshou being sold off.

Tietou said, "This shows that our master isn’t greedy and is really working for the people."

Tieshou nodded in agreement, appreciating how being honest and not greedy meant they wouldn't lose their position or be investigated. This also meant the servants wouldn't be sold around like they had been.

This time, Tieshou had been lucky. He’d ended up with a kind master, but who knew what would happen next? He’d seen many servants who were sold from household to household and ended up dying because they’d been mistreated.

People like them had one main wish: to meet a good master and live peacefully.

Tietou was luckier than Tieshou. At least he knew where his parents and home were. However, due to a drought, his family lost their livelihood. As the eldest son, he sold himself to ensure that his parents and younger siblings could survive with the silver he earned from the sale.

Young Master Wentao was a good person. He rarely scolded or hit him, and he had a genuine interest in farming, which made Tietou truly like his master and wish him well.

So, with his loyalty to his master, Tietou spoke up, "Master and Mistress are also in the wrong. If the two young masters don't mention it, do they think we should prepare all this ourselves?"

This issue wasn’t really Yan Zhigao or Madam Li’s fault. Neither of them had experience with martial arts and had no idea about medicinal baths!

Tieshou’s face changed at Tietou's words. "What are you saying? How dare you talk about the master and mistress like that?" He quickly reminded Tietou that they, as servants, shouldn’t be involved in the family matters of their masters.

He was worried that Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai were very close, and if they stayed with them for much longer, he didn’t want to get into trouble by saying the wrong thing.

"Your master treats us well because he is kind-hearted, but don’t get the wrong idea and act out of line. Third Young Master is always respectful to the master and mistress. If you keep talking like this behind their backs, do you think he’ll keep you around?"

Tietou was startled. "I didn’t say anything wrong."

Tieshou gave him a pointed look. "If you want to stay well with Third Young Master, just focus on your duties and don't interfere with the masters' matters."

Tietou nodded. "Understood."

The two fell silent. After a while, Tietou looked back into the room again. "The two young masters have been soaking for quite a while. Why haven't they come out yet?"

Tieshou also peered inside. Seeing that Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai were sitting still in the tubs, both became worried. They hurried into the room.

"Let’s go check on them," Tieshou urged.

When they reached the tubs, they saw that both Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai were just asleep, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are they okay?" Tietou asked, concerned.

Tieshou looked at them and saw the relaxed expressions on their faces. "They're fine. It looks like they're just resting. Quickly, help move them to the bed. If they soak for too long and catch a chill, it’ll be bad."

The next day, Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao arrived at the training grounds feeling refreshed.

"Ah, what a waste!" Yan Wenkai said with regret. "If I had known the effect of Big Sister’s medicinal pouch was this good, I would’ve used it much sooner!"

Yan Wentao gave him a glance. "If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have gone through this."

Yan Wenkai smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "In the past, Su Hongxin used to bully us because he had more energy. Today, I’m going to catch up to him!"

Soon, the other students started arriving at the training ground, surprised to see that Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai were there so early.

Martial arts practice was exhausting work, and if the body wasn’t properly rested afterward, it was hard to recover by the next day.

For people like Xiao Yeyang and his group, they had no issue. Their families had arranged everything for them—medicinal baths, specialized physicians preparing extra meals, and even massages and acupuncture after intense training. Their bodies could easily keep up.

But for Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai, things were different. Their family members didn’t understand martial arts, so they didn’t have any special care or treatments arranged for them.

Though the academy provided nutritious meals, it was only basic sustenance. After a long day of training, their bodies didn’t get the necessary recovery.

As a result, they were always the last to arrive at training, waking up late due to their sore muscles. The fact that they still managed to attend every session showed their extraordinary perseverance.

(End of chapter)