Practicing medicine

People in this life had little knowledge of those herbs and illnesses.

Simply asking them would certainly yield no answers.

He had to investigate firsthand.

"Nix, there's a very demanding task..."

Lin Ke's expression grew slightly serious.

Tears streamed from Nix's two large, glossy black eyes. "Mr. Lin Ke, tell me. I'll make sure to do it well."

His tear glands are far too active. Perhaps once he becomes a Doctor, he should treat those first... Lin Ke found it amusing. Some people in his previous life had overactive tear glands too, the sort who cried even while arguing.

"Here's the thing. I realized my approach was wrong. To understand the defining traits of a [Doctor], you should go to the villages..." Lin Ke explained.

"The villages?" Nix's tears slowed a little.

"Yes. Let me tell you a story-the story of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs..."

Lin Ke told it slowly. In truth, there wasn't much to it; a few sentences covered most of the story.

Once he finished the story of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, John and the other two were filled with respect.

"What a truly great pioneer. Where did you read this story, young master?"

Steward Billy was full of reverence for the Shennong Lin Ke had described.

"My teacher told me. So, Nix..."

Lin Ke made up an excuse, then looked solemnly at Nix. "You don't need to taste a hundred herbs like Shennong, but you do need to stay in a village for a while and see how the villagers and hunters treat illnesses."

As he spoke, Lin Ke stood and continued, "To enter the [Doctor] profession initially, perhaps you'll only need to spend some time in a village. But afterward, you may need to spend your entire life saving lives and tending the wounded."

Lin Ke gazed into Nix's eyes, still marked by tears, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"This is an entirely new profession, one that can give ordinary people who aren't Professionals a better life. You'll be the first Professional in this world to serve ordinary people."

"Your experience will inspire countless ordinary people, allowing them to become people who save lives and tend the wounded just as you do. Even Professionals with awakened bloodlines will enter your profession."

"But this process will be full of hardship, as well as the danger of contracting all kinds of illnesses. The slightest carelessness could leave you poisoned to death while tasting herbs, or infected with some terrible disease or virus. The god of death watches every step of this path. Are you... willing?"

Lin Ke's tone was solemn. Steward Billy and John stood quietly with their heads lowered, making no sound to interrupt.

A summer breeze drifted inside, gently stirring Lin Ke's brown hair.

Nix recalled the day he first met Lin Ke.

He immediately dropped to one knee and declared loudly, "Mr. Lin Ke, I swear to follow your glory unto death, until the stars fall, the world collapses, and the rules are destroyed... my loyalty shall never waver, even in death."

That doesn't answer my question... Lin Ke muttered inwardly. Still, he understood what Nix meant and sighed. "I hope you'll come to enjoy the satisfaction of saving lives and tending the wounded."

He didn't want Nix to live solely for him, either. He wanted him to truly love the [Doctor] profession and live for himself.

"Learn Nathang Common Script first. You may also need to learn drawing later."

After giving Nix a few more instructions, Lin Ke sent him back to rest.

Unlike Lin Ke, Nix hadn't mastered the various common scripts yet. He only knew some basic characters and still needed to study.

However, he and John were both [Scholars], so they could learn these things quickly.

Having finished with Nix, Lin Ke turned to John next.

"How was it?"

Lin Ke looked at John with smiling eyes.

John blushed a little. "It felt... well, actually, it felt pretty good?"

Pretty good?

Lin Ke could only marvel.

If he had hosted a show in front of everyone with that much enthusiasm, he would probably cringe every time he thought about it afterward. He would die of embarrassment.

People really were different.

"As long as you enjoyed it. I'll need you to host the day after tomorrow too. Try to do it without a script."

Lin Ke was very pleased with John's performance as well. In fact, John had performed the best that night, followed by the little maid who sang "Free to Fly."

"Yes, young master." John bowed.

"Uncle Billy, those servants won't need to do other chores from now on. Go hire another batch of servants," Lin Ke said to Billy after some thought.

"Yes, young master. But I'll need to report this expense to the first lady. If she doesn't agree..." Billy looked troubled.

"If she doesn't agree, tell her I saw some parchment at Puxin... at the baron's place in Parrot City."

A cold gleam flashed in Lin Ke's eyes. Even now, he hadn't bothered to remember Baron Puxin's name.

He would settle accounts properly with the first lady, Antova, someday.

For now, though, he needed to focus on his tasks. As long as Antova didn't get in his way, that was enough.

"Yes, young master." Billy agreed without asking further questions.

"As for the funding... don't worry about that either. I'll take care of it later."

Lin Ke pondered for a moment, considering how to charge for the performances.

For now, these were trial performances, and the villagers were getting a taste of them.

Later, Lin Ke would certainly bring people from Parrot City in as audience members too.

Those people from all walks of life liked to spend lavishly after every adventure or completed task.

Rather than let them crawl into Pink Street, better to hand their money over to the noble and righteous young master Lin Ke to manage. Heh heh.

Once their reputation spread, even nobles, merchants, and others from outside Viscount Azan's territory could come drawn by their fame.

At that point, entertainment's money-making potential would be revealed in full.

It might not bring in more than taxes, but it would certainly earn more than the farms under Azan Castle.

That way, he could earn more money to repay the debts.

"...So you need to practice hard too." After finishing with John, Lin Ke sent them back.

He took a bath, then lay down on his bed and began meditating.

Meditation wouldn't tire him out. On the contrary, it would leave him refreshed.

If his bloodlines didn't get full, Lin Ke could even go an entire night without sleep.

Ove was like that. Apparently, he stood on top of the castle all night.

Outside the soul space, points of light bobbed and drifted.

Lin Ke sank his consciousness into it and began catching the various points of light.

Suddenly, a green point of light jumped out.

"Right, that rotten piece of wood from before."

Lin Ke remembered that the Divine Artifact Fragment was sitting in the small cabinet beside his bed.

His consciousness immediately lunged toward the large point of light, enveloped it, and fed it to his "Knowledge" bloodline.

The "Knowledge" bloodline was instantly stuffed and began digesting it.

Lin Ke was about to leave the space when his "Knowledge" bloodline grew a little taller.

It grew taller?!

Lin Ke was delighted.

Immediately afterward, a sudden understanding arose within him.

Level-one [Scholar].

He was already level one!

He could learn some simple, unranked spellcraft now!

Just what you'd expect from a Divine Artifact Fragment!

Generally speaking, it was very difficult to become a level-one Professional immediately after entering a profession. Those with less gifted bloodlines might need several years just to reach level one.

But with the help of that rotten piece of wood, the Divine Artifact Fragment, combined with Lin Ke's own considerable bloodline talent, he had reached level one directly!

That rotten piece of wood really is a treasure!

I wonder if there'll be tasks for other fragments later. Perhaps I can put together a whole Divine Artifact?

With his bloodline fed and his mind wide awake, Lin Ke simply got out of bed.

"Someone, bring me some parchment and a quill."

Lin Ke wasn't sleepy at all now.

A servant on night duty outside immediately ran to the study to fetch the paper.

Azan Castle covered a vast area and had five floors, not counting those underground.

He was on the fourth floor, very close to the study on the fifth. The manservant soon returned, panting, with the parchment.

There was no papermaking here. Although parchment was called "sheepskin," it wasn't necessarily made from sheep. It could also be made from the hides of animals such as the local Gula Cattle or domestic pigs.

The hide was stretched as tightly as possible over a wooden frame, scraped thin with a knife, then dried into parchment.

When he had the chance, Lin Ke would introduce plant-fiber papermaking too. One of the Four Great Inventions of his previous life would become one of his inventions today.

Meanwhile, in the castle, after Steward Billy reported to the first lady...

"Did he really say that?"

The first lady stood before her desk, her voice cool.

"Yes, my lady..." Steward Billy bowed behind her, then said hesitantly, "My lady, I think your plan to nurture young master Lin Ke has caused a misunderstanding..."

At this point, Antova waved her hand. "All right, go help him first. As for gold... sell that level-five Curltail Goose quill I brought from the Brando Family."

"My lady, that was part of your dowry..." Billy hesitated before replying.

The first lady waved her hand again. "We need to get through this difficult period... I remember those novels saying that at times like these, you shouldn't keep making things harder for Lin Ke."

Only then did Billy nod and take his leave.

Antova stood quietly where she was.

"Pfft."

Antova suddenly couldn't help laughing. Her smile grew broader and broader, and a flush rose to her cheeks.

"Hmm, little Lin Ke saw the letters between Sandir and me. It looks like he knows how much his first mother cares about him now. All those times I told Sandir to protect them weren't wasted... heh heh... heh, hee hee hee..."

But as she laughed, Antova frowned again and muttered to herself, "But that bastard Sandir actually treated my Furon like that..."

The more Antova thought about it, the angrier she became. Finally, she went straight to her study, picked up a quill, and began writing on the parchment:

My esteemed elder brother, head of the Brando Family, please allow your younger sister to convey how deeply she misses you and cares for you...

Antova wrote for a while, filling an entire sheet of parchment, then went to the window.

A wooden birdcage sat by the window. Seven or eight tiny birds resembling hummingbirds stood on one leg inside, looking adorably bewildered as they watched Antova.

Antova opened the cage and held out a hand, saying softly, "Hedwig, deliver this letter to my brother... don't let my father see it!"

One of the hummingbirds hopped onto Antova's hand, picked up the letter with its slender beak, and shot away.

Antova watched the little bird disappear into the distance, her face full of anticipation. "I hope my brother can bring some money back... But after I eloped all those years ago, I wonder whether Father is still angry..."

P.S. On the second day of the new year, eating, sleeping, and relieving myself really feel like life's great pleasures.