Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

"Place the selected Gu creatures into the Gu cauldron, play the Gu flute to drive the Gu creatures to fight, and only the last one that survives can be used to refine Gu."

"Afterwards, feed them a certain number of poisonous insects every day, preferably live insects, to train their hunting ability and improve their combat power."

"Soak the poisonous creature daily in a highly toxic medicinal decoction to enhance its toxicity. The decoction recipe is as follows..."

"Drip blood once every three days to facilitate the Gu worm's recognition of its master."

"Practice to make the Gu worms more sensitive to flute sounds, so that they can be better controlled in the future."

Youlu glanced at the secret technique for refining Gu that Meng Tianhong had written for him, then looked at the ice toad that was fast asleep in the box, and couldn't help but feel troubled.

He pointed his index finger at the ice toad's head, and the little ice toad immediately nuzzled his fingertip affectionately, making a soft "croaking" sound.

The skin of the ice toad is smooth but not sticky; it's cool, soft, and feels very comfortable to touch.

"Damn it! I just can't bring myself to do it!" Youlu clutched his heart.

This adorable little thing only sleeps all day long and looks so weak. How could it possibly defeat those poisonous insects? Throwing it with those insects would only lead to its death. How could he bear to do that!

Pixiu looked speechless. [Boss, are you going to continue refining it or not?]

"It's not that I don't want to refine it, it's just that the recipe given by my traitorous brother is far too vicious. It uses both poisonous insects and poison, and Little Melon is still so small, it can't withstand it! Such a precious thing as the Ice Toad cannot be ruined in my hands!"

"Little Melon" is the nickname he gave to Ice Toad.

The Pixiu gazes at the sky, ["Keep making excuses."]

"No, I need to improve the method. Little Melon is a precious Ice Toad; it would be a waste to refine it into a poisonous creature." Youlu rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a wolf-hair brush, and began to study new methods for raising Gu worms.

The first step can be skipped. The Ice Toad is a sacred object, and its quality is much better than those poisonous insects. There is absolutely no need to hold any more Gu insect melee.

Poisonous insects can be fed to them, since most of them are medicinal materials and can also be used as food for ice toads. However, they cannot be fed to them alive. Dead insects are still insects, and eating them means they have been devoured.

The poison soaking method could be modified. Soaking the ice toad in poison for too long might turn it black. Anyway, it has eaten so many poisonous insects that its toxicity should be sufficient, but its medicinal properties are not enough. You could consider preparing several highly nourishing soups and alternating them with poison for the ice toad's bath.

The method of feeding with fresh blood doesn't need to be changed, nor does the method of playing the flute for the Gu creatures. Cultivating artistic talent is essential, but the music needs to be modified.

With a few tweaks and adjustments, a new Gu-raising formula was quickly developed. Youlu tossed aside his wolf-hair brush, flicked his masterpiece, and laughed heartily, hands on his hips: "Gu poisons are too limited in scope. Now, the trend is to be proficient in both medicine and poison. This is what you call maximizing the effectiveness of the Ice Toad!"

The Pixiu covered its face with its paws. Oh no, the boss has gone mad.

The ice toad, lazily lying in the small jade bowl, opened its mouth and croaked.

Everything is ready except for the final touch. Youlu is eager to start refining the Gu, but not yet, the materials are not yet complete.

He made a list of all the medicinal herbs he might need, handed it to Xiao Dongzi, who had been serving him these past few days, and instructed, "Go and give this to Eunuch Kang, and have him prepare the herbs for me. Also, kill and send over those poisonous insects that the Emperor sent to find. Oh, and also, find me a flute."

The Imperial Medical Academy keeps records of all medicines obtained from them. His list contains many poisons, and obtaining them from the Imperial Medical Academy could easily give others cause for criticism. Furthermore, many of the medicines he listed are rare and might not be available at the Imperial Medical Academy. It would be more convenient to leave it to Eunuch Kang to search for.

Xiao Dongzi didn't dare to ask any more questions. He took the order, said "yes," and left.

There aren't many people serving in the Deer Palace now, just four palace maids and one eunuch, all transferred from the main hall of the Yixin Palace. Originally there were two eunuchs, but one of them died yesterday.

Xiao Dongzi handed the list to Eunuch Kang, who glanced at the herbs and his legs went weak. There was Gelsemium elegans, Aconitum carmichaelii, Tripterygium wilfordii, and Saussurea involucrata—all highly poisonous. Looking further down, his vision blurred again: Tian Shan snow lotus, century-old ginseng, and top-grade deer antler—each more precious than the last.

Kang Gonggong dared not make a decision on his own. He waited until Emperor Wulong finished reviewing a pile of memorials and took a short break before presenting the list to him and bowing his head to await Emperor Wulong's decision.

Emperor Wulong held the list, his brow furrowed in worry. After a long while, he rubbed his temples and said, "Give it to him. If he doesn't have it, take it from my private treasury." He paused, then added, "Take only a little."

"Yes," Eunuch Kang replied with a smile.

"I've raised a money-devouring beast," Emperor Wulong sighed, a ghost face drawn on the corner of the prescription he was holding.

Eunuch Kang was very efficient; he delivered all the medicinal herbs to the side hall that very afternoon. At that time, a deer was practicing playing the flute. The hall was empty; even the Pixiu covered its ears and stayed far away. Only the ice toad in the box was swaying back and forth, completely absorbed in the music.

The sound, more agonizing than fingernails scraping a wall, made Eunuch Kang's brow twitch violently. He remained calm and didn't show it, chuckling, "The young prince is playing the flute. Then this servant won't disturb you any longer. I've put everything here for you."

He turned to run away, but Lu grabbed him. "Eunuch Kang, don't worry, I have something else I'd like to ask you. Could you send over a few of these poisonous insects every day? They're all dead, but fresh ones are always better."

"Of course, of course." Eunuch Kang breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't that he had to stay and listen to the young prince play the flute.

Watching Eunuch Kang's retreating figure as if fleeing for his life, Youlu scratched his head, puzzled, and asked, "Is there some kind of ferocious beast or flood in my palace? Why is Eunuch Kang running so fast?"

The Pixiu, tormented by the demonic sound all morning, was on the verge of tears. There were no floods or beasts, but your flute music was more terrifying than floods and beasts!

Youlu didn't take it to heart. He turned around and patted the ice toad's little head, saying smugly, "Little melon likes listening to me play the flute so much. It seems I really am a genius. Playing the flute is no problem for me."

Pixiu chuckled dryly: "Hehe, whatever makes you happy, boss."

After everything was prepared, Youlu put down his flute and began to refine the Gu poison.

He first wrote out two prescriptions, one for poison and one for tonic, both for giving the ice toads a bath.

Considering that the ice toad is still too young, it could easily cause problems if the medicine is too strong. Therefore, the first two prescriptions were relatively mild, and the strength will be gradually increased after the ice toad adapts.

However, after the prescription was written, decocting the medicine became another problem.

The ice toad is really too small; half a cup of medicine is enough for it. Not to mention a medicinal bath, even the amount of medicine for internal use is more than that, and we have to brew a new one every day. It's too much trouble for us.

After thinking for a moment, Youlu decided to grind all the medicinal herbs into powder, and then mix them with water when needed. This would be convenient to use, easy to carry, and would also greatly save costs.

He remembered that Emperor Wulong had told him to go with the eldest prince to provide disaster relief. He knew it would be inconvenient to brew medicine on the road, so powdered medicine would be more suitable.

After considering all this, Youlu wrote down all the prescriptions that would be needed later, prepared the medicines one by one, and asked Xiaodongzi to borrow a mortar and pestle from the Imperial Hospital. Together with several servants in the palace, they ground the prepared medicines into powder.