Nix was interested in medicine.
That made Lin Ke quite happy. After all, anyone around him could fall ill or get injured at any time.
He couldn't possibly go begging that Witch Doctor in the city for help every single time, could he?
Training his own doctors, and even establishing a medical system, was important.
That night, though, Lin Ke only took a quick bath before going to sleep, without thinking too much. After everything that had happened that day, he was tired too.
The next day, many simple wooden shelters went up outside the castle, cool and well ventilated.
The castle also had some medicinal herbs purchased from hunters, which could be applied to wounds and bound in place with bandages.
Two people were busy working there.
"Nix, watch closely. First, remove this dead, rotting flesh and anything that's festering. Wash away any debris with clean water, then disinfect it with wine."
Lin Ke taught Nix as he worked.
His technique wasn't particularly practiced, but to Nix, it was already impressive enough.
Nix watched intently, then asked curiously, "What does disinfect mean? Did someone put voodoo on them?"
Put voodoo on them?!
At the mention of voodoo, the guard whose wound was being bandaged turned deathly pale. His lips trembled as he looked at Lin Ke. "Y-young... young master... I..."
"No." Lin Ke gave the guard an exasperated look, then glared at Nix. "I mean things like viruses and bacteria. They're tiny 'animals' we can't see with the naked eye. Perhaps we'll be able to see them with tools someday. They're everywhere in our daily lives..."
Then Lin Ke gave him a rough explanation of things like why people caught colds and why food rotted.
At first, Nix looked completely bewildered, but gradually, some understanding began to dawn on him.
Lin Ke spent the entire morning teaching Nix, until Nix asked him a question.
"Sir, those tools you mentioned, and alcohol and all that-why don't we make them?" Nix asked directly.
Lin Ke froze.
Why don't we make them?
Why?
Why...
Because I didn't think of it!
Damn, damn, damn, damn!
For nearly six years, Lin Ke had been learning the basics of this world, such as its language and etiquette, or thinking about how to protect himself.
Recently, he had more or less finished learning those things, only to encounter magical phenomena that drew his attention all over again.
So much so that he had gradually forgotten that the most valuable thing about transmigrating was the wealth of knowledge he brought with him!
Even just the Chinese, math, English, history, geography, biology, physics, and chemistry he had studied in high school in his previous life would be useful.
Not to mention that he had later graduated from a prestigious university, earned two master's degrees, worked in a technical STEM position, studied humanities subjects such as economics and finance out of personal interest, and eventually passed the civil service exams and governed a region.
He wasn't foolish enough to think that the knowledge he had acquired alone could utterly outclass everyone in another world, but at the very least, it could help his territory develop faster.
Things like distillation, glass, and alcohol!
"Sir?" Seeing Lin Ke standing frozen in place, Nix couldn't help asking softly.
That was the difference between him and Steward Billy or Little John.
When Lin Ke was thinking, Billy and John would simply wait quietly rather than ask questions, because doing so might interrupt his thoughts.
Nix didn't think that way.
Fortunately, Lin Ke had already finished thinking by then.
Delighted, he ruffled Nix's furry head. "You're right! We'll make those things in a few days!"
But before that...
"Nix, stay here and bandage their wounds for now. I'm going to ask Uncle Billy something."
With that, Lin Ke dashed off toward the castle.
Nix stood rooted to the spot, holding a bottle of Sour Berry Wine.
"Hey! Little rabbit boy, have you learned our young master's wisdom yet? If you have, hurry up and bandage me!" the guard beside him called.
At that, Nix stopped watching Lin Ke's retreating figure and nervously approached the guard, muttering to himself, "First, wash the wine off with clean water, then scrape away the flesh... Huh, why did I need to wash the alcohol off again? Never mind, I'll scrape off a couple of layers of flesh first..."
The guard's blood ran cold.
He distinctly remembered that wasn't what the young master had just said!
Inside the castle.
"John, tell Uncle Billy to come see me!"
As soon as Lin Ke entered, he spotted John counting copper coins. He gave him the order and ran upstairs.
He had no idea what Steward Billy was doing. He had probably been busy arranging compensation for the guards these past two days, and there was no telling where he had gone.
Rather than going to find Billy, he might as well have Billy come to him.
"Yes, young master."
John nodded, put everything down, and ran off. Whether he was a personal valet or became a steward in the future, carrying out Lin Ke's instructions was his first duty.
Lin Ke returned to his room, settled comfortably into a velvet chair, and waited quietly for Steward Billy.
Billy only appeared after more than half an hour, when Lin Ke was almost asleep.
"Young master, you sent for me." Still dressed in bright red, Steward Billy gave his characteristic bow.
Steward Billy had still been ill yesterday, but his complexion looked much better today.
"Uncle Billy, is your chest feeling any better?" Lin Ke was genuinely concerned about him.
"A little better. Thank you for your consideration, young master. Your words are as warm as sunshine." Steward Billy bowed.
"Good, as long as it's getting better... By the way, Uncle Billy, I want to awaken my bloodline tomorrow. Can I?" Having asked after Billy, Lin Ke immediately got straight to the point.
Billy paused. "But you haven't turned six yet..."
Lin Ke frowned. "Does it have to be on my sixth birthday? What difference does doing it a dozen or so days early make?"
Billy slowly shook his head, then reminded him, "It makes no difference, but your father may only be able to return that day..."
"Viscount Garros? Don't worry about him. Let's discuss awakening my bloodline on its own merits." Lin Ke waved a hand. Judging by the standards of his previous life, that bastard of a father hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities as a father at all.
Actually, he didn't particularly care about that. What bothered him was that the bastard hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities as a husband.
Several times, he had seen his innocent, romantic mother staring blankly out the window, shedding tears.
"Well... you can actually awaken your bloodline any time after turning five, though the specifics still depend on the [Enlightenment Teacher]'s judgment..."
Steward Billy knew perfectly well how much Lin Ke resented Viscount Garros, so he said nothing more about it.
Lin Ke nodded slightly. "How do we go about hiring an [Enlightenment Teacher]?"
Billy understood what Lin Ke meant, so he answered directly, "The master happened to make the acquaintance of a level-eleven [Enlightenment Teacher]. He should already be on his way here."
"Because of their friendly relationship, the awakening fee is one thousand gold coins per person. We've already set aside two thousand gold coins to awaken your bloodline and John's."
One thousand gold coins, huh...
Lin Ke pondered.
He knew the family's income and expenses well.
Their castle had five farms and two orchards under its control. In a long month, they brought in roughly four thousand gold coins, with expenses of around eighteen hundred.
He was still young and had no extra income or pocket money, but since he was currently the only member of the family's main line, he had a considerable amount of gold at his disposal.
Still, a price of one thousand... that did sting a little.
"Set aside another thousand gold coins and have Nix's bloodline awakened too."
With a grand wave of Lin Ke's hand, another thousand gold coins were gone. An amount those commoners could never earn in a lifetime was merely something that "stung a little" to him.
He hoped-truly hoped-that the system's description of "exceptional potential" would bring him a pleasant surprise.
Awaken our bloodlines, then get to work developing industry!
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