Jimin Hall

Walking along the country path from Shanbei Village, it took about two shichen to reach Hua'an Town.

Li Mo, hurrying along with his head lowered, heard shouting in the distance.

"Golden Juice, Night Fragrance! A shoulder pole weighs heavy at both ends—make way, everyone!"

He looked up and saw a line of porters approaching from afar.

He recognized the man at the front. Dressed in coarse hemp clothes covered in patches and straw sandals with his toes sticking out, he strode as swiftly as if flying. It was Uncle Cai, who lived at the eastern end of Shanbei Village.

The so-called Golden Juice and Night Fragrance were the excrement of Hua'an Town's residents.

These country porters came to town early each morning. After collecting the filth, they tirelessly hauled it to rural farmers to sell as fertilizer, making it a means of livelihood.

Li Mo hurriedly stepped aside and watched the porters disappear into the distance.

Every trade had its own rules. The rule of these manure porters was not to greet acquaintances on the road, lest they pass their bad luck onto them. Thus, Uncle Cai did not pause at all when he saw Li Mo.

Even after the porters had gone far away, the stench lingered in the air.

"Yellow in Human: grind licorice into powder and place it in a bamboo tube, soak it in Golden Juice for three days, then wash it with running water. After sun-drying, exposing it to night dew, and shade-drying it, split open the bamboo and remove it. It tastes sweet and salty, is cold in nature, and can purge fire and detoxify, clear heat and cool the blood. It may treat Dandrug, Warm Fever Epidemic Poison, Evil Sores, Smallpox Sores, and other conditions."

Recalling the properties and medicinal principles of Yellow in Human, Li Mo continued on his way.

Before he knew it, it was noon. The terrain around him gradually flattened, and a small town appeared in his sight—it was Hua'an Town. Even from far away, Li Mo could hear all manner of hawking.

"Steamed Cakes! Piping hot Steamed Cakes!"

"Freshly steamed meat buns!"

"Candied Hawthorns..."

Li Mo still had several bitter wild fruits picked by the roadside in his sleeves. After passing a sour plum stall and a bun shop, he paused briefly before the Candied Hawthorns stall.

One skewer of Candied Hawthorns cost eight Copper Coins.

But remembering that the half-string of Copper Coins in his chest was this month's living expenses, which had to be carefully budgeted, and that his mother still needed medicine for her illness, Li Mo forced down his craving and headed toward the three-story building at the end of the street.

Jimin Hall stood in Hua'an Town's busiest district.

To Jimin Hall's east was the Chengxin Pavilion pawnshop, while Fengshan Restaurant stood to its west. Across the street was Blacksmith Street. Nearby was the market held on the third and fifteenth of every month, and not far away were the Xiangyue Yamen and the Constables' Office, where Brother Zhang Qin worked, though they hardly ever met.

After returning to Jimin Hall, Li Mo first glanced into the front hall, where only one patient was having their pulse examined.

He then passed through the pharmacy and entered the rear courtyard. At that moment, three boys around Li Mo's age were following an old man as they gave preliminary treatment to herbs gathered by herbalists.

Li Mo hurriedly bowed respectfully to the old man.

"Teacher Zhang."

They were all apprentices under Jimin Hall and were not yet qualified to call him Master. They could only address him as Teacher, or Doctor according to his position.

"Mm."

The old man's surname was Zhang. He was already past sixty, with dark spots on his face. He wore a black gauze cap set with a piece of jade.

Doctor Zhang was one of Jimin Hall's four chief physicians. As he grew older and his vigor waned year by year, he had begun withdrawing behind the scenes to train apprentices.

A chief physician at Jimin Hall earned at least ten strings of Copper Coins per month and was considered an important figure in town.

Below the chief physicians were Traveling Doctors and prescription doctors. There were more than a dozen of them, some of whom spent all year away from town, and their incomes were considerably lower.

After them came the herbalists. Not only was their income unstable, but they also had to sleep rough and dine in the wind. Their work was exceedingly dangerous and arduous. Should they encounter a mountain tiger, mountain spirit, or water monster, they might lose their lives on the spot. It was the last-resort livelihood awaiting apprentices with poor grades.

"Go quickly and return quickly. Bring the paper, ink, brushes, and inkstone while you're at it."

"Yes."

Li Mo hurried to the side room in the rear courtyard. There were two wooden bunk beds inside, where he and the other three apprentices rested. After putting away the food, clothing, wild fruits, and ceramic jar of meat sauce his mother had prepared, Li Mo rushed to another room, fetched the paper, ink, brushes, and inkstone, and returned to Doctor Zhang's side.

The three apprentices studying with him were Wang Pan, Zhang Limin, and Jiang Ming.

The courtyard was filled with herbs that had yet to be processed. Li Mo carried over a stool and sat beside Wang Pan.

He was a chubby boy half a head shorter than Li Mo, with fair, tender skin. One look showed that he was a town boy who had never suffered hardship since childhood. Though his eyes were fixed unblinking on Doctor Zhang, Li Mo knew that his mind had long since wandered beyond the clouds.

Doctor Zhang picked up an herb and began explaining.

"This is Indigo Flower, also known as Qingdai. It can clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood and dispel spots, purge fire and calm Wind Shock. Those with cold stomachs should use it cautiously..."

Holding the Qingdai, Doctor Zhang spoke in one breath for several minutes while Li Mo and the others continually took notes.

"But the principles of medicine cannot be learned by rote. One must also observe, listen, question, and feel the pulse before prescribing according to the illness. After class, you must combine the many elements mentioned in such medical texts as Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases, Compendium of Materia Medica, Danxi's Heart Method, and On Plague, and comprehend them alongside the pathology of other prescriptions. I will test you in the middle of the month. The next herb is called Pinellia..."

Over the past two years, Doctor Zhang had not only explained medicinal principles but also taught them to read and write. Li Mo had learned literacy here.

After Doctor Zhang explained the medicinal principles of nine herbs in one go, Li Mo encountered several rare characters. He silently committed them to memory, intending to ask others about them when he had time.

Soon, it was You Time in the afternoon.

You Time at dusk was known as Xi Time, the forbidden hour throughout the nations of the Central Plains.

During this period, it was time to rest. One had to set everything aside and return home to focus on eating, avoiding exposure to the setting sun. Even if one had business outside and had no choice but to go out, one should carry an umbrella whenever possible or rest in the shade.

After class, Li Mo returned to the side room and opened the pouch of mixed rice his mother had prepared, then opened his jar of meat sauce. Wang Pan took out dried fish and white rice, and the two sat together to share their food.

"Li Mo, the meat sauce your mother made is really delicious."

The little fatty ate with boundless delight.

But Li Mo knew Wang Pan's family was far wealthier than his own. Who knew how much salt had gone into that dried fish? Wang Pan was blissfully unaware of the blessings he possessed.

As for Zhang Limin and Jiang Ming, one was the son of Manager Zhang from the Constables' Office and seemed to be related to Doctor Zhang as a distant relative, while the other was the descendant of a wealthy household from Five Pine Mountain. Both had entered through connections. Compared with Li Mo and Wang Pan in their coarse hemp clothes, the two wore garments woven from satin. They usually kept to themselves.

Zhang Limin, who had returned after buying several meat buns from the street, smiled at Jiang Ming. "When I went home this time, my father arranged a marriage for me. It's with a girl from Stone Village."

Meat buns in town cost three Copper Coins each. Zhang Limin had spent thirty Copper Coins on this meal alone, and Li Mo felt somewhat envious.

His words also attracted Li Mo and Wang Pan's attention, and the two could not help looking over.

"How is she?"

Jiang Ming asked curiously.

Sitting on the bed, Zhang Limin picked up a meat bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Shaking his head, he said, "The sun is strong over in Stone Village, and all the girls' skin is too dark. I saw her. I didn't like her."

As the two chatted back and forth, Li Mo could not help thinking of Zhao Siman. Imagining the scene of bringing her home as his wife, he broke into an excited smile. In his heart, he urged himself to work hard and not be lazy. Thus, after finishing his meal, he picked up Compendium of Materia Medica and began studying medicinal principles and properties alongside Doctor Zhang's teachings.

Having also eaten his fill, Wang Pan leaned backward and flopped onto the bed, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Jiang Ming noticed what Li Mo was doing and shot Zhang Limin a meaningful look, seemingly mocking him. Zhang Limin snorted without trying to hide it, called him a bookworm, then said to Jiang Ming, "The test isn't until midmonth. It won't be too late to memorize it in a few days. Shall we go out for a walk?"

"Let's go."

The two left Jimin Hall together.

Li Mo did not get angry at being mocked as a bookworm by Zhang Limin and Jiang Ming.

He had been at Jimin Hall for more than two years. Jimin Hall held two examinations every month, yet the person beaten most often each time was either him or Wang Pan.

Wang Pan was not so bad, at least. He truly did not work hard, so his beatings were not undeserved.

But Li Mo spent every day looking as though he worked diligently. Yet whenever an examination came, he always dropped the ball. Doctor Zhang had punished him with the ruler more times than he could count. At first, he could explain it away by saying his foundation was poor and that he had to begin with literacy, but so much time had passed that Li Mo could already read and write proficiently. Yet he was still beaten after every examination, so naturally Zhang Limin and Jiang Ming ridiculed him.

But Li Mo did not abandon his persistence because of this.

For he firmly believed his mother was right: one had to be diligent and focused in one's work, wholehearted and single-minded, never cutting corners or playing tricks. Otherwise, one would eventually deceive both others and oneself and accomplish nothing.

The reason Li Mo was punished by Doctor Zhang after every examination was that he had always followed Doctor Zhang's demands to the letter, meticulously connecting every herb with the medicinal properties and principles in the books. This required enormous effort, causing him to struggle to master all the assignments Doctor Zhang left for each examination. The herbs he had not yet thoroughly studied naturally became the reason Doctor Zhang brought down the ruler.

Zhang Limin and Jiang Ming, on the other hand, generally waited until the last few days before an examination to memorize Doctor Zhang's lectures word for word, using them merely to muddle through.

Before the oil lamp.

Li Mo earnestly flipped through his medical book. This should have been another ordinary, uneventful day.

Yet as night fell, Doctor Zhang unexpectedly entered the side room. After sweeping his gaze around and seeing that Wang Pan was already asleep while Zhang Limin and Jiang Ming were nowhere to be found, he said to Li Mo, "Li Mo, come with me to Pear Blossom Village."

Li Mo jolted awake and hurriedly rose to his feet, only then noticing Doctor Zhang behind him.

Could it be that all the Traveling Doctors in the front hall had left?

"Yes."

After fetching the medicine chest, he supported Doctor Zhang all the way and followed a dark-skinned, powerfully built woman from the front hall toward Pear Blossom Village.

"Doctor, you must save my husband!"

The woman wept and wailed all along the road, crying about heavenly misfortune and the like.

Pear Blossom Village was not far from town and could be reached in half a shichen. It was already night, and Doctor Zhang seemed to be suffering greatly as he listened to the woman's endless prattle along the way.

By chance, all the Traveling Doctors had gone out that day. Doctor Zhang, upholding the kind heart of a healer accumulating virtue, had tirelessly left Jimin Hall. Li Mo naturally did not complain. He was more than happy to learn some skills at Doctor Zhang's side.

Following the sturdy woman, the two finally hurried through the night and reached Pear Blossom Village before Xushi ended.

After entering the house, Li Mo saw a man wrapped in a cotton quilt. His face was pale, his body trembled constantly, heavy dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and his eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.

Based on his own experience, Li Mo made an assessment in his heart and reached a preliminary conclusion, then waited quietly to one side.

Doctor Zhang gestured for the woman to turn up the oil lamp.

After initially feeling the man's pulse, Doctor Zhang pulled down his lower eyelids, examined his tongue coating, and asked him several questions. In the end, he gave an answer not far from what Li Mo had suspected.

"Wind Shock?"

"Yes."

Doctor Zhang said unhurriedly, "In this old man's view, your husband must have accidentally collided with a Fierce Sha Malevolent Spirit. His qi and blood are in disorder; his body is depleted, and he has suffered Wind Shock. This old man need only prescribe a formula. If he takes the medicine on time every day and rests well for a while, he will recover without trouble."

"A Fierce Sha Malevolent Spirit? That's it, that's it!"

The woman seemed to recall something. Weeping, she repeatedly slapped her thigh and cursed loudly, "It must be that cursed demon book! Ever since he read it, he's talked every day about going to find Mystic Mountain and the Sun Palace. He's been distracted all day long. I'm going to burn it right now!"

The fierce woman then found a gray-covered book and was about to throw it into the stove.

Li Mo was greatly startled. It was a book! Sold at the market, it could fetch at least several dozen Copper Coins. He hurriedly stopped her.

"If you do not want it, madam, why not give it to me?"

The woman froze for a moment and looked at Doctor Zhang questioningly.

Seeing this, Doctor Zhang stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "Those who read the signs accumulate virtue; gods and ghosts do not deceive them."

"If you're not afraid, take it."

Li Mo thanked him repeatedly and accepted the book.

"Mystic Box?"

Though he did not understand why, Li Mo's face lit up with delight as he tucked the book into his chest.