Chapter 26: The Shaman’s Medicine
Chu Feng looked around Illya’s house. “This place of yours…”
Illya’s house was a wooden cabin, much larger than the treetop one in the forest. Its style somewhat resembled traditional ancient Chinese architecture—simple and elegant.
However, having just come from his own luxurious villa, Chu Feng found the cabin a bit plain in comparison.
Illya looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “Nothing. This house is pretty nice!” Compared to the one in the woods, this could already be considered a mansion. People should learn to be content!
Illya nodded. “Mm, when I was building it, a lot of villagers came to help.”
Chu Feng thought: Compared to the other villagers’ homes, Illya’s was indeed quite good. Given the strange abilities he had awakened, it made sense that he was doing better than most.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Chu Feng said.
He was still quite curious about everything in Crescent Village, feeling a bit like a tourist on a leisure trip.
Illya nodded. “Alright.”
As they walked, Chu Feng saw neat rows of lush green vegetable fields.
When he had been surviving outdoors before, he’d eaten fruit for days—fruits he’d never seen on Earth. So he was very interested in the plants of this world.
“What kinds of crops do you guys grow here?”
Illya said proudly, “The village grows just over twenty kinds. One called yellow millet stores well—everyone keeps some to eat during winter.”
“Only twenty types?” That didn’t sound like much.
Illya nodded. “Originally there weren’t that many, but Lord Qiu Luo went deep into the jungle and found a number of edible plants. Thanks to her, we now have all these.”
Chu Feng: …This Lord Qiu Luo sounds amazing.
“I heard there’s a crop called ground bean in Tianfeng Bay—it fills you up easily. But we don’t have it here. If we could get it, we might try growing it.”
Chu Feng thought: Ground bean… sounds a lot like potatoes! The crops in this world were probably very different from those in his. Maybe he could try bringing over some Earth crops and see if they’d grow here.
As he walked with Illya, they passed many villagers.
He noticed that the villagers looked very different from one another—likely due to their different races.
Several people stared at Chu Feng’s clothes.
Frowning, he looked at Illya and asked, “Where are the clothes I gave you? Didn’t like them?”
Illya had changed back into plain hemp clothing, similar to what she wore the first time they met.
“Someone borrowed them,” he said with some regret.
Chu Feng thought: So it’s not just my clothes that get coveted—even Illya’s aren’t safe? He suddenly felt a bit smug.
Illya looked at him and asked in confusion, “Why do you look so happy?”
Chu Feng quickly said innocently, “Not at all. I brought some clothes with me this time—I’ll give you a few later.”
Illya looked pleasantly surprised. “Including that?”
Chu Feng blinked. “That what…”
Illya blushed and shook his head. “Never mind.”
Chu Feng suddenly realized. “Wait… do you mean… underwear?” He remembered he had fixated on that during their first meeting. Thank goodness he didn’t go crazy and actually try to take it.
Illya stiffened. “Let’s go.”
Chu Feng chuckled. “I did bring some for you.”
He thought: He hadn’t brought many, but he could spare a couple new pairs from his backup set. Even if the size was a bit big, Illya probably wouldn’t mind.
Illya huffed lightly. As an assassin, poorly fitted clothes affected his movements, but the cotton underpants Chu Feng brought fit snugly. He’d loved them from the first time he tried them on.
“Lord Qiu Luo wants to thank you properly,” Illya said.
Chu Feng thought for a moment. “Because of the salt?”
Illya nodded. “Yes.”
Chu Feng mused: So this otherworldly Yuan Longping (agricultural genius) can be won over just with salt? This place really is different—so simple and honest!
*
Chu Feng followed Illya to Qiu Luo’s residence. From a distance, he could already smell a strong scent of herbs.
“Is Lord Qiu Luo a healer?” he asked.
Illya nodded. “Yes. When villagers get hurt during hunts or feel unwell, Lord Qiu Luo is the one who treats them.”
Chu Feng thought: This Qiu Luo person really sounds amazing.
As they reached the entrance of Qiu Luo’s home, Chu Feng was stunned by the sight of all the herbs.
“Th-this…”
Illya looked at him. “What is it?”
Chu Feng frowned slightly. “That’s ginseng!” The root looked huge—likely over a hundred years old. Back in China, rich people were always on the hunt for high-quality medicinal herbs, but real ones were rare and counterfeits were everywhere.
With the worsening environment, wild ginseng was nearly extinct.
Illya tilted his head. “That’s called earth root here. You have it too?”
Chu Feng nodded. “It looks similar. Don’t know if it’s exactly the same though.”
Still, it definitely looks like ginseng… It’s even vaguely human-shaped. And those root fibers—so lush! Chu Feng was shocked. This healer Qiu Luo must be loaded! If she sold all this ginseng, it’d fetch an insane price.
Illya simply nodded and said, “Oh.”
“This stuff is kind of bitter… and really fishy. It doesn’t taste good at all,” Illya said.
Chu Feng: “…” What does he mean by that?! This stuff would cause a bidding war back home—and he’s acting like he’s totally unimpressed?
“You’ve eaten it before?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya nodded. “Yeah. I was injured once, and the shaman cooked it for me.”
Chu Feng: …So it is for healing? Then it really must be ginseng.
“Let’s go in,” Illya said.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
He followed Illya into the house and saw a long-haired man dressed in black robes. The man looked quite young.
But from what Chu Feng had heard, this shaman was already nearing fifty. According to Illya, those with powers could live significantly longer than ordinary people—as long as they weren’t killed.
“You’re Chu Feng?” the man asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s right.”
“Let me see your wrist.”
Chu Feng raised his arm, and Qiu Luo stepped forward to check his pulse.
Watching the man take his pulse, Chu Feng thought, So this world also uses pulse diagnosis? Seems like there are more similarities between this world and mine than I thought.
Qiu Luo looked at him and said, “Your qi and blood are indeed very weak.”
Chu Feng blinked. What do you mean “indeed”? Did you already know I was weak?
“With qi and blood this weak, no wonder you can barely walk,” Qiu Luo said.
Chu Feng: “…” What exactly did Illya tell this guy? What kind of impression does he have of me—some frail, useless guy?
To be fair, he had slowed the group down when they traveled together. But that wasn’t his fault! Duoduo was a rabbit with four legs, and Illya and Gray were elves—not even human!
“Come with me,” said Qiu Luo.
Chu Feng glanced at Illya and asked suspiciously, “What’s this about?”
Illya looked at him and replied, “To thank you for the salt, the shaman offered to make you some herbal medicine to boost your stamina.”
Chu Feng’s eyes lit up. “Really? It can actually make me stronger?”
Illya nodded. “It should help, though the effect varies from person to person. Don’t expect a huge change.”
Chu Feng’s eyes sparkled with excitement. So this world has perks like this? Maybe I’ll get the chance to become a powerful warrior after all!
Qiu Luo selected some herbs and began brewing a pot of medicine.
After more than an hour, a bowl of dark, murky liquid was placed in front of Chu Feng.
The strong medicinal smell stung his nose. He stared at the bowl with hesitation.
“This is for me?” he asked.
Illya nodded. “That’s right. Go on, drink up.”
Staring at the bubbling black soup, Chu Feng inwardly recoiled. This better not be poison…
He hesitated for a bit, then shut his eyes and gulped it down.
The moment it touched his tongue, a wave of bitterness overwhelmed him, and regret hit him hard.
Why didn’t I keep a few candies in my pocket?! I brought a whole box of them, and not a single one on me!
Soon, Chu Feng felt his body warming up. His upper lip grew hot, and when he touched it—he was having a nosebleed.
He looked at Qiu Luo warily. Is this guy really a doctor? Or just a quack?
Illya was startled. “What’s going on?”
Qiu Luo touched Chu Feng’s wrist and said, “The medicine’s a bit too strong for his body.”
Illya frowned. “But I told you he was physically weak, didn’t I?”
Qiu Luo nodded. “Yes, I remembered. That’s why I halved the dosage. I even used the amount we normally give children in the tribe. Still turned out too strong.”
Chu Feng: “…” So it’s all my fault now? I’m even weaker than the village kids? And the two of you are just casually discussing it right in front of me?! That’s kind of harsh, don’t you think?
“You doing alright?” Qiu Luo asked.
Chu Feng gave an awkward smile. “I… I think I’m okay?”
Qiu Luo looked at him seriously. “You’ll need to exercise more over the next few days. That’ll help your body absorb the effects.”
Chu Feng nodded quickly. “Yes, of course. I’ll make sure to do that.”
I’ve already been exercising a lot lately… I walked more in a few days than I did in a whole month before!
