Such Medical Skill

Buku Town was less than half a day's journey from Medimoth City. Before the city gates closed that evening, Ace and his group arrived safely.

Romon had been waiting at the gates early. He had not seen his wife and child for several months, busy every day with the printing works. Now, he was already a qualified businessman.

"I missed you to death!" The moment Romon saw them, he gave Marina and Ace each a bear hug.

"Ace, you've grown quite a bit taller. Looks like the land and water of Buku Town really do raise people well. The printing works have been making a killing lately. If you didn't still have more than two years before you could officially obtain Citizenship, I'd have bought us a huge villa in the First District."

By city-state law, non-citizens could not buy or sell property in the First District. So for now, they could only continue living in the two-story villa awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Education.

The city was far safer than the towns outside its walls. The two old soldiers parted ways with Ace's family and returned to their respective homes.

As soon as he got home, Ace saw five cages in the courtyard, each draped in black cloth.

"Low-level Demonic Beasts are still Demonic Beasts. They aren't easy to capture, especially the ones you wanted, since they all have special abilities. I've only managed to get these Corrosive Jackals lately."

Romon lifted the black cloth from one of the cages. Inside lay a blue-gray dog tightly bound like a trussed fowl. A special iron muzzle had been clamped over its mouth, keeping it from opening its jaws; it could only make muffled whimpering sounds. When it saw them, its eyes turned savage, and it struggled to attack.

Ace recalled the records in the Compendium of Low-Level Demonic Beasts. Corrosive Jackals were widespread across the plains of the continent. They lived in packs, usually three to five to a group, loved eating sulfur, and were cunning and highly aggressive. They could spray strongly corrosive acid from their mouths over a distance of three to five meters.

I want to use it for experiments right now. Why can it spray such massive amounts of corrosive acid without its own mouth being corroded? Is it merely biology, or is there some mysterious supernatural power involved? I want to dissect it as soon as possible and properly study its structure.

Ace suppressed the urge. Conducting experiments within the city-state was neither safe nor secret. He nodded to his father. "In a few days, I'll take these dogs to the estate in Buku Town. Dad, please have a carriage ready."

"You're going back in a few days? Aren't you planning to study medicine under Doctor Tailos?"

"Of course I am. From now on, I'll stay here three days a week and go to the estate the rest of the time."

"What's so good about Buku Town? Fine, fine, do as you please." Romon spoke helplessly.

The next day, Ace brought specialties from Buku Town to Teacher Peter's house. He handed the gifts to Joan, confirmed that his teacher was home, and headed straight for the back courtyard. It happened to be Friday, the day Peter gave his public lecture.

Ace had not listened to Peter's lectures for a long time. He found a comfortable spot in the courtyard, quietly greeted the disciples he knew, and began listening to Peter teach.

At noon, after Peter finished his lecture, Ace stood and gave Teacher Peter a slight bow. "Teacher, I'm back."

"I heard you spent some time living in Buku Town. The countryside is quite pleasant. In just a few months, you've shot up by a whole head." Peter smiled at Ace.

Ace had indeed developed rapidly during this time. He suspected it was related to the great increase in his spiritual power after practicing the meditation method. But he could not say that, so he merely agreed. "The countryside is indeed beautiful. If you have time, Teacher, you are welcome to stay at my estate for a while."

"I'll certainly visit when I have the time. I've already contacted Physician Tailos. He has agreed to let you study medicine under him three days a week. Since you won't be an apprentice, you'll need to pay fifty Silver Talers in tuition each month."

"That is perfectly reasonable, Teacher Peter."

"His clinic is in the First District. I'll take you there."

Tailos's clinic was in the bustling part of the First District, serving mainly nobles and citizens. The clinic was a three-story building facing the street. At noon, while Tailos was taking his break, Peter brought Ace there.

"Tailos, this is my student Ace. He wants to study medicine under you."

Tailos was short and thin, with bright, piercing eyes.

He stared at Ace for a while. "You aren't willing to become an apprentice, so you'll need to study for a fee. Fifty Silver Talers a month. Whether you come for many days or only a few, the price is the same. Every evening, I lecture the apprentices. You may sit in whenever you like. During the day, we treat patients. If you are willing, you can come lend a hand. You can still learn quite a lot."

"No problem. Then let's begin today, Teacher Tailos. I would like to adjust the schedule. Each month, I'll study under you for half the month. I won't come during the other half."

"That's fine. Whether you come all thirty days of a month or only one day, it will still cost fifty Silver Talers. I hope you learn something and don't squander those Silver Talers."

Peter left, while Ace stayed behind. He began working as an assistant in Tailos's clinic.

It was his first close encounter with this world's medical practice. He spent the entire afternoon busily doing odd jobs.

"Please wash those dirty wool cloths clean, then boil them in water for an hour."

"Newcomer, clean up this patient's vomit."

"This patient was bitten on the leg by a venomous snake. Newcomer, bring an axe over here."

"High fever. He needs bloodletting. Newcomer, bring a basin quickly."

"He ate something bad. We can only give him an enema. Newcomer, go get the large metal syringe."

After a busy afternoon, Ace had witnessed the city-state's finest medical practice. They understood high-temperature sterilization and used some medicines, but far more often, a leg injury meant chopping off the leg, a hand injury meant cutting off the hand. They were highly skilled in bloodletting and enemas.

That evening, Tailos was giving a lecture.

"Amputation is often the most effective treatment. Only by cutting away the poisoned or ulcerated parts can we stop disease from spreading throughout the body..."

"The human body contains an overall excess of blood. Bloodletting can remove the diseased matter. Find the right location, and the disease can be resolved quickly..."

"Disease enters through the mouth. Once it enters the human body, it can only be expelled through the intestines. We use enemas to accelerate excretion..."

After about a week, Ace had gained a complete understanding of the city-state's best clinic.

Tailos's overall approach to treatment was to eliminate the diseased matter. Whether by severing limbs, bloodletting, or enemas, the goal was ultimately to remove the disease.

But their methods were far too crude and simplistic. Many treatments were based on experience mixed with imagination, on speculative guesses made in advance.

That was why their methods worked sometimes and failed at others. Some people suffered terribly, only to lose their lives in the end.

Ace had not studied medicine in his previous life. As the saying went, "Persuade someone to study medicine, and heaven will strike you with thunderbolts." But after seeing a week of such brutal treatments, Ace shuddered with cold dread.

For many patients, there was no need to chop off their hands or feet. It would have been enough to promptly clean the wounds with salt water or alcohol, then use a fire-heated steel blade to cut away the rotten flesh. He planned to study medicine himself. He had to conduct experiments anyway; if he wanted to avoid having his own legs chopped off, being bled, or receiving enemas in the future, he had to research medicine.

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