Anbers was as talkative as ever.
He spoke at length about his experiences studying medicine in the East. His voice was hoarse, and he paid particular attention to enunciating every word, though his accent had not changed much.
"My dear old friend, I learned a great deal this time, especially about the medicines used in traditional Chinese medicine. Take flying squirrel dung, for instance. It comes from the complex-toothed flying squirrel and can be used to treat pain caused by blood stasis. Then there's bat dung. They believe it clears the liver, improves eyesight, and treats night blindness.
"And moon gazing dung comes from rabbits, while white lilac comes from sparrows. Both can be used as medicinal ingredients."
"It's truly miraculous."
"There are also hair ash and placenta, which have astringent, bleeding-staunching effects, invigorate essence, and nourish the kidneys..."
Xie De quietly lowered the tea he had just brought to his lips. "Let's talk about something else, Anbers."
"For example..." Xie De glanced at Wei Yunmo, who was brewing tea beside them, and said teasingly, "your apprentice."
Wei Yunmo looked up, surprise flashing in his eyes, then obediently lowered his head again and fanned the fire beneath the tea stove.
"You mean Yunmo." Anbers's satisfaction with Wei Yunmo was plain in his voice. "He's very clever. Though he can be a little single-minded at times, he clearly has a gift for surgery. I'm not sure how his talents ended up distributed this way, but Wei Yunmo is also very good at treating gynecological conditions."
Gynecological conditions?
Xie De glanced at Wei Yunmo again and caught him sneaking a look at him too. The moment their eyes met, Wei Yunmo ducked his head.
After all this time apart, had he actually become introverted?
*A little introversion was good. Maybe that meant