Nine Tripod Grass

Nine Tripod Grass, called Dragon Beard Grass in the narrative, is a medicinal herb whose loss turns the Jade Rabbit’s knowledge of a cure into an urgent journey. It is not sufficient on its own: treating Hupo poison requires it in a decoction with a freshly picked blossom of the Essence of Heavenly Majesty, before the poison reaches the patient’s vitals. The grass’s abundance on Green Island offers a possible route to saving Xiu and the Jade Rabbit, but retrieving it depends on recovering from the theft of the Jade Rabbit’s medicines and meeting a deadline.

Identity and Medicinal Use

The Jade Rabbit identifies Dragon Beard Grass as one of two necessary ingredients in a cure for Hupo poison. The other is a freshly picked blossom of the Essence of Heavenly Majesty, found in the garden of the Queen Mother of the West. The treatment is a decoction, and timing matters: the poisoned person must drink it before the poison reaches the vitals. The grass is therefore an essential component of a specific remedy, not a cure by itself.

The need for both ingredients connects two distinct settings to the same medical task. Dragon Beard Grass grows on Green Island, while the flower must be obtained from the Queen Mother of the West’s garden at Kunlun Mountain. The Jade Rabbit had planned to travel to the mountain by summoning a cloud, but warned that the Queen Mother of the West was protective of what could be picked in her garden. The herb is plentiful where it grows; the flower is guarded by the rules of its garden. Together, their different circumstances shape the difficulty of assembling the remedy.

The Stolen Supply

When Mulan first learns what Xiu’s treatment requires, the Jade Rabbit says he still has Dragon Beard Grass but lacks the flower. The situation worsens after the foxes steal the Jade Rabbit’s bag, which contained his medicines and herbs. He explains that the bag was the most valuable item taken and that the theft leaves him without either required ingredient. The loss is practical as well as material: the healer who knows how to prepare the decoction can no longer make it from the supplies he carries.

The Jade Rabbit also cannot simply bypass the theft by flying to Kunlun Mountain. He points to four dark marks on his leg and explains that the fox’s attack has nearly destroyed his powers; he cannot change forms or reach the mountain as a rabbit. The missing grass thus becomes part of a broader constraint on the journey. Finding the herb on Green Island is necessary, while reaching the other ingredient’s location is made more difficult by the Jade Rabbit’s diminished abilities.

Green Island and the Remedy Quest

The Jade Rabbit tells Mulan that Dragon Beard Grass grows only on Green Island, though it is abundant throughout the island. This concentration makes Green Island the necessary destination for replacing the stolen supply. The abundance offers hope, but does not remove the pressure of the search: the poisoned patients need both ingredients, and the Jade Rabbit says they have only until the new moon.

Mulan accepts the journey rather than abandon the cure. After the theft, she asks whether the grass is difficult to find and whether they can go to the island; the Jade Rabbit confirms that they must. Later, she calls for Black Wind and carries the injured Jade Rabbit on her back as they continue toward the flower and the grass. The repeated insistence on both ingredients keeps the quest’s objective precise: neither the flower nor the herb alone can treat the poison.

Narrative Role

Dragon Beard Grass links the immediate danger to Xiu with the wider route of Mulan’s journey. The remedy’s two ingredients divide the task between Green Island and Kunlun Mountain, giving the search both a practical sequence and a geographic scale. The grass’s abundance contrasts with the flower’s guarded setting, but abundance cannot make it available once the Jade Rabbit’s bag is stolen; it must be sought again in its one known growing place.

The herb also marks the difference between knowing a cure and being able to carry it out. The Jade Rabbit is a healer and knows the ingredients and preparation, yet the theft deprives him of what he needs, his injuries restrict his powers, and the new-moon deadline limits the time available. Mulan’s decision to continue, despite Daji’s attempt to make her doubt whether the plants will work, turns the herb from a piece of medical knowledge into a concrete objective of their partnership. Its significance rests in that conjunction of remedy, loss, place, and urgency.