"Hey... Black Hawk, you must know I came to save you. Whatever happened before, let's call it even this time..."
Although he knew perfectly well that this Black Hawk couldn't understand human speech, Fang Yuan still felt fairly confident with Flower Fox Ferret translating for him.
He said a few words to the Black Hawk, then returned to Hidden Valley and brought back a large assortment of bottles and jars.
"Chirp..."
As Fang Yuan drew closer, the Black Hawk seemed a little nervous, but Flower Fox Ferret calmed it down.
These two, an eagle and a ferret, sure took to each other at first sight...
Seeing this, Fang Yuan was utterly speechless. He stepped forward again and began carefully examining the Black Hawk's injuries.
"Whoa..."
Surprise flashed in his eyes. "No wonder it's a Spiritual Beast. Its ability to heal itself is astonishing. The bleeding's already stopped, and it's started to recover..."
That was excellent news. At the very least, he wouldn't have to use too much of his precious wound medicine.
"Phew!"
Fang Yuan took the gauze and medicinal paste, trying to make himself look as harmless as possible as he slowly approached. His mind, however, was more focused and alert than ever. He kept the energy of Iron Cloth Shirt guarding his vital points, not daring to relax for even a moment.
Even with Flower Fox Ferret vouching for him, this Black Hawk was wild and hard to tame. It might suddenly take a bite out of him. Wouldn't that be a rotten way to go?
"Chirp, chirp!"
Fortunately, although the Black Hawk looked extremely tense, it held itself back and didn't move.
"These injuries..."
Fang Yuan went closer. The Black Hawk's wounds had stopped bleeding, but they were a mess of bone fragments, broken feathers, wood chips, twigs, and all sorts of debris. If it healed just like this, it would probably end up a deformed eagle, unable even to fly.
"The key is removing the foreign objects and setting the bones. That's incredibly difficult for an eagle, but for me..."
Fang Yuan stepped forward and laid a hand on the Black Hawk's wing.
Its black feathers were sleek, yet had a faint metallic sheen, giving them a remarkably strange feel.
"I'm about to start. Try to bear with it!"
Fang Yuan steeled himself, grabbed a branch, and yanked hard.
Whoosh!
A jet of blood shot out. The Black Hawk shuddered all over and instinctively turned to peck at him.
"Chirp, chirp!"
Flower Fox Ferret hurriedly pounced over and soothed it with a series of calls. Only then did the Black Hawk calm down again.
"Honestly... you don't know a good thing when you see one!"
Fang Yuan let out a long breath and extended two fingers. He had practiced Eagle Claw, and with energy channeled into his fingers, they were no different from iron tongs. He plucked out a bone fragment at once and tossed it aside.
As he felt the Black Hawk's body, hard as steel bones and copper skin, then looked at its terrifying wound, his eyes gleamed. He had gained a much deeper understanding of the fighting strength of the Red-eyed White Bird King after it went berserk.
Looks like defeating that Bird King won't be easy...
Thinking to himself, Fang Yuan's hands moved like the wind. In moments, he had cleaned out the wound and applied medicine.
"Next, I need to set the bone..."
Fang Yuan shook his head. "Even with your extraordinary talents and your rapid recovery, your wing feathers need time to grow back. You won't be able to fly for a while..."
In truth, that was the Black Hawk's greatest concern.
Even as a rare Spiritual Bird, it couldn't go without food and water for long—especially when it needed a great deal of energy to heal and grow its feathers.
"Don't worry. Since I saved you, I'll see you through to the end!"
Fang Yuan reassured it, his hands already finding the bones. He suddenly squeezed them together, putting all his strength into the motion!
Creeeak!
A horribly grating sound rang out.
The Black Hawk shrieked, flung Flower Fox Ferret aside, and pecked fiercely at Fang Yuan.
"I knew it!"
Fang Yuan laughed. He had been ready for the Black Hawk to react that way while he set the bone. He retreated like lightning, then lunged forward and threw a punch.
Thud!
With a muffled impact, his fist slammed into the top of the Black Hawk's head. The eagle's eyes rolled back, and it could no longer hold on. It fainted on the spot.
"Right... that's a good bird!"
Fang Yuan clapped his hands. "I should've knocked you out from the start!"
"Chirp..."
Flower Fox Ferret shrank its neck as it watched. Its little face was full of sympathy for the Black Hawk.
"All done!"
After treating the Black Hawk, Fang Yuan said to Flower Fox Ferret, "Next, we'll build a little shelter here and bring it a pile of meat every few days. That should take care of things..."
But just then, his expression changed.
One of the specialties in the attribute panel, visible only to him, had changed.
The words "Level Two" after Medical Skill blurred, then jumped to "Level Three"!
Medical Skill at Level Three? I finally broke through!
Fang Yuan was delighted. Treating a Spiritual Beast this time was completely unintentional, like planting a willow and having it grow into a shade tree...
He looked at the description for Level Three Medical Skill:
Medical Skill [Level Three]—You are a master physician, a divine doctor in the eyes of ordinary people. You will receive a tremendous boost when treating any difficult or unusual illness! (This effect is not limited to humans.)
"Not limited to humans..."
Fang Yuan glanced at the Black Hawk, his expression complicated. "Did I just teach myself to be a veterinarian, too?"
At that moment, his attribute panel had changed:
Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 3.5 Qi: 3.4 Spirit: 2.3 Age: 18 Cultivation: Martial Arts, Sixth Gate Skills: Black Sand Palm [Fifth Layer], Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt [Sixth Layer] Specialties: Medical Skill [Level Three], Planting Skill [Level Three]
"Very good. It seems specialties are indeed much harder to advance than skills, and they also require specific conditions..."
Fang Yuan stroked his chin, thoughtful.
"Besides, the higher the level of a specialty, the more frightening the system's boost becomes... Looks like I might have to keep making a name for myself as a divine doctor?"
After Medical Skill reached Level Three, its proficiency had reset to zero, so naturally he would need plenty of practice to improve it further.
And to break through the bottleneck, he might really have to cure some difficult, unusual illness. That meant opening a charitable clinic and saving lives.
"Seems there may be some room to work with there..."
Fang Yuan gazed in the direction of Qingye City, his eyes distant...
Time flew by, and more than a month passed in the blink of an eye.
After the Guo Family's upheaval, the once-restless Qingye City gradually settled down.
But word also spread that a young divine doctor lived in a remote valley deep in the mountains, and that he had a mercurial temper and must never be offended.
Even the curious were turned away outside by the Zhou Family, making Hidden Valley seem all the more mysterious.
Early morning.
Fang Yuan stepped out of Spirit Cottage, planted, weeded, fertilized... After finishing his farm chores, he entered his daily cultivation routine.
"Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt is at its peak again. It's about to break through!"
After completing a set of martial arts, Fang Yuan closed his eyes. His abdomen churned, and he exhaled a searing white line that shot out like a sharp arrow, piercing half a zhang into the distance.
"Phew... The three inner gates are Shang, Jing, and Si. I've sensed Jingmen now. As expected, it mainly tests the Divine Essence..."
Progress in Medical Skill had also greatly benefited his martial arts.
At the very least, Fang Yuan knew that, with his accumulated Divine Essence, he was sure to pass the Seventh Gate.
Other martial artists, however, could go slightly astray and end up raving mad and mentally deranged. Such cases were extremely difficult to treat.
"Chirp, chirp!"
A flash of white appeared, and Flower Fox Ferret showed up beside Fang Yuan, gesturing animatedly.
"Something happened to that Black Hawk?"
Fang Yuan's eyes shifted. "It must've recovered and flown away on its own, right?"
Flower Fox Ferret's eyes widened. He had guessed exactly right.
It had every reason to be so indignant. When the Black Hawk had badly injured its wing and could barely move, Flower Fox Ferret had done most of the hunting to feed it.
Now that it had recovered, it had left without a word. That was enough to make anyone feel hurt.
"Eagles are proud. Since it let us save it, it'll surely remember us. It'll repay us someday..."
Fang Yuan patted Flower Fox Ferret's head. "You came at just the right time. Let's have some tea!"
"Chirp, chirp!"
At the mention of Heart-Questioning Tea, Flower Fox Ferret was overjoyed, forgetting all its worries and troubles.
Living secluded in the mountains, sitting quietly in Spirit Cottage, sipping tea and discussing the Dao, and occasionally checking on the Spiritual Seeds and Spiritual Objects here and there—all of it gradually calmed Fang Yuan's mind during this period. Even his martial arts had benefited.
In technical terms, he had built a solid foundation and eliminated all the hidden problems left by his earlier impatience.
That alone made the effort entirely worthwhile, even if his attributes had barely increased.
After tea, Fang Yuan left Flower Fox Ferret to guard the cottage and went out of Hidden Valley with a small medicine chest on his back.
Beyond the valley, a short distance away on a flat slope, three small thatched huts had appeared at some point, along with a pavilion beside them.
Several figures paced back and forth, but none dared cross the threshold.
The plump steward at the front was the most anxious. Though the weather was quite cool, sweat kept running down his forehead, and he paced like an ant on a hot pan.
"Heh... Old Master Lin and the Secluded Valley Divine Doctor are old acquaintances. Why not go straight in? I'm sure the doctor won't blame you..."
A few people were seated in the pavilion. The one in front was Zhou Wenwu. He had once been on good terms with the Lin Family, but after the Song Zhong incident, their relationship had cooled, and his words carried a hint of mockery.
"Haha... how could I dare?"
Steward Lin laughed it off, but inwardly he grumbled: That nephew Fang has risen to the top in one leap. They say his medical skill is divine and his martial arts unfathomably deep. He even took down Elder Song. What could my old face possibly be worth? If I really offended him and he refused to treat that person, I'd be in trouble too. How could I risk that?
"Divine Doctor Fang is here?"
As everyone watched with eager anticipation, Fang Yuan finally appeared in the distance, drawing a chorus of delighted voices.
"Good morning, everyone. You know my rules, right? No more than three patients a day, and you must first pay a fee that satisfies me... If you can't do that, please feel free to leave..."
He finished speaking and went straight into the thatched hut without concerning himself with what anyone else did.
These family heads and martial artists might be formidable in their own right, but none dared make a fuss with a divine doctor who could save their lives. Like little white rabbits, they obediently lined up, even the most unruly Steward Lin among them.
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