Recognizing Herbs with Eyes Closed

Cheng Sufeng glanced up at the clothes and Silver Token. "Take them to the room," he said slowly.

The middle-aged man bowed respectfully and agreed. He did not dare say more. Only after delivering the dark robes and Silver Token to the room did he come back out. "My lord, did that Bronze Prefecture Captain disturb your cultivation just now?"

Cheng Sufeng shook his head. "Not at all. The Suwen Cultivation Method requires me to experience the many facets of a physician's life. He counts as one of them. I merely found him interesting."

The middle-aged man froze for a moment.

Interesting?

It was rare to hear Lord Cheng use that word.

Cheng Sufeng reached out and nudged a silver needle with one finger. "Evil Extermination Division Members all like fighting and killing. It's interesting that he's come to study medicine. Bring me his information later."

The middle-aged man hurriedly agreed.

He did not understand.

Why would a mere Bronze Prefecture Captain catch a Silver Prefecture Captain's interest? But his superior had spoken, so he could only comply.

The mild-looking man before him was someone who struck terror into the hearts of countless demons and False Gods across Ling Prefecture.

Only because his cultivation method had reached a bottleneck had he changed his appearance and opened East Glow Hall.

He seemed as gentle as a spring breeze, but when it came to killing, he never hesitated.

The man had no idea what awaited the Bronze Prefecture Captain who had caught Cheng Sufeng's attention.

Cheng Sufeng yawned and headed outside. "Don't overthink it. I'm only interested, that's all. I'm off to treat patients."

After Cheng Sufeng left, the courtyard fell quiet again.

Once back at the Evil Extermination Division from East Glow Hall, Qin An shut his door and began reading the Herbal Medicine Primer.

The Herbal Medicine Primer contained more than text. Each medicinal ingredient came with a simple illustration.

According to Cheng Sufeng, memorizing it was enough to get started.

With his Scholar talent, Qin An read extremely quickly.

But the Herbal Medicine Primer was dense and difficult to understand. Even with his profession talent, it was evening by the time he had memorized it.

Darkness had swallowed the view beyond the window.

Qin An gathered his thoughts, and a line of Smoke appeared before his eyes.

[Physician lv.1 (0/100): Your treatment of patients is somewhat effective.]

"So it really did appear."

Qin An had not expected Cheng Sufeng to be right: memorizing the book was all it took to enter the profession.

As he memorized it, Qin An had also gained an understanding of the Physician Profession. His ability to identify medicinal ingredients had improved in particular.

First, I'll raise the Physician Profession to level three and unlock its talent.

After a moment's thought, Qin An made up his mind.

To improve in the Physician profession, he naturally had to study. He planned to visit East Glow Hall tomorrow and practice the identification methods from the Herbal Medicine Primer to build proficiency.

It was already late, so Qin An went to sleep fully dressed.

The next day.

As morning sunlight streamed down, a knock at the door roused Qin An from sleep.

"Lord Qin, there's been a problem with your assignment. We won't be able to settle it for the next few days."

A Prefecture Clerk from the Internal Affairs Division stood at the door, his hands tucked into his sleeves as he spoke softly.

Qin An got up and opened the door. "What problem?"

After promotion to Bronze Prefecture Captain, one gained not only the authority to recruit Prefecture Clerks but also a place under a Silver Prefecture Captain's command.

Each Silver Prefecture Captain commanded a hundred Bronze Prefecture Captains, and each Bronze Prefecture Captain in turn commanded anywhere from a dozen to over a hundred Prefecture Clerks.

These overlapping ties formed the intricate network of the Ling Prefecture Evil Extermination Division.

By the rules, his assignment should have been settled today. If something had come up instead, he doubted it was minor.

The Prefecture Clerk from the Internal Affairs Division shook his head. "This subordinate doesn't know either, but there should be an answer in a few days."

Qin An nodded. "Understood."

Since he could get no answer, he set the matter aside for now.

He had no assignment today and still needed to go to East Glow Hall to practice his Physician Proficiency.

When a mission arose, the Evil Extermination Division had two ways to contact him.

The first was a message delivered in person.

The second was through his token.

If he was away from the Evil Extermination Division, the token would tremble faintly to signal a mission, and he would have to return at once.

As for how the token worked, Qin An had no time to waste finding out.

After delivering the notice, the Prefecture Clerk from the Internal Affairs Division left alone.

Qin An went out for breakfast, then headed to East Glow Hall.

East Glow Hall was as crowded as ever.

Cheng Sufeng spotted Qin An and beckoned. "Over here."

Qin An walked up to him. "I want to identify medicinal ingredients."

Rows of medicine cabinets lined the room, making it ideal for what Qin An had in mind.

Cheng Sufeng nodded slightly. "All right. Feel free to identify them yourself, my lord."

Qin An rubbed his chin. "You agreed readily enough."

Cheng Sufeng smiled. "I'm just an ordinary citizen. I can't afford to offend a lord from the Evil Extermination Division, so I can only agree."

Qin An shook his head. "I won't interfere with your patients or disturb your treatment. Take this silver as payment for the time I'm taking up."

Cheng Sufeng accepted the silver, a glint flashing in his eyes.

As a Silver Prefecture Captain, he had seen plenty of colleagues.

He had assumed Qin An had come here on a whim. He had not expected him to offer payment today.

An official paying him? That was something new.

Cheng Sufeng could not help growing curious.

For the next two days, Qin An traveled back and forth between East Glow Hall and the Evil Extermination Division.

This afternoon, Qin An looked at the Smoke before his eyes and picked up a strip of white cloth from beside him.

[Physician lv.1 (100/100): Your treatment of patients is somewhat effective.]

[Advancement condition: Identify one medicinal ingredient with your eyes closed (0/1).]

This was the condition for reaching level two.

Qin An was already at East Glow Hall, so he could try it here.

Cheng Sufeng had just seen off his last patient. He was about to speak to Qin An when he saw him tie the white cloth over his eyes and reach toward a medicine cabinet.

"What are you doing?"

Qin An picked up a piece of medicinal herb. "Identifying herbs with my eyes closed."

Cheng Sufeng paused, then shook his head. "You've barely studied. You couldn't have learned that skill yet."

He had entered the path of cultivation through medicine and studied the Evil Extermination Division's Suwen Cultivation Method. He considered himself quite accomplished in medicine by Ling Prefecture's standards.

Learning to identify herbs took at least three months, and it required talent.

To identify them with one's eyes closed, one had to know the scent of every medicinal ingredient and still keep a clear head amid the many mingling aromas from the cabinets.

Qin An had only been coming here a short while. It was impossible.

Cheng Sufeng stepped closer. "You can't be impatient when studying medicine. Take it one step at a time."

Having finally met someone so interesting, Cheng Sufeng naturally did not want to crush Qin An's confidence.

He still wanted to see what would happen next—even to see the moment Qin An gave up.

"Chinese angelica." Qin An suddenly spoke and put the herb back in the cabinet.

Cheng Sufeng stopped short, his eyes widening. "What did you say?"

Qin An removed the white cloth. "Nothing."

Before his eyes, the Physician Profession had changed.

[Physician lv.2 (0/200): Your treatment of patients is somewhat effective.]

The condition had been met, and Qin An had advanced.

Next, he needed to train it to level three and unlock the talent.

With that in mind, Qin An planned to return to the Evil Extermination Division and rest.

Just then, a hand reached toward him, holding the white cloth.

"Put this back on. Let's try a different herb."