In the inner courtyard of the herb hut, the afternoon sun cast long shadows of the stone mortar.
The Art of Qihuang? Zhang Fan's heart was stirred with waves of excitement.
"Apprenticeship? Studying medicine? Isn't this the start of a hidden quest chain? Of course, I must agree! Only a fool wouldn't!"
Suppressing his inner joy, he forced a sincere yet slightly overwhelmed expression onto his face and bowed deeply to Doctor Lin.
"I am willing! Of course, I am willing! Thank you, Master, for your kindness!"
The word "Master" was uttered quickly and loudly, fearing the other might change his mind.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing "Master," Doctor Lin's face showed no joy; instead, it became even more serious. He waved his hand.
"Don't rush to call me Master yet. I just see some talent in you and am willing to give you a chance. Medicine is a matter of life and death, not something achieved through clever tricks. If you want to be my disciple, you must pass a test."
With that, he turned and walked into the herb hut, laboriously dragging out a heavy wooden box from the dusty bottom of a medicine cabinet.
When the box was opened, the smell of old paper mixed with herbs wafted out.
Doctor Lin took out a thick, yellowed ancient book with severely damaged corners and handed it to Zhang Fan.
On the cover, in ancient seal script, were large characters: Primer of a Hundred Herbs.
"To learn medicine, you must first recognize herbs. This is the foundation of the foundation." Doctor Lin's voice was devoid of emotion, but his eyes inadvertently glanced at Zhang Fan with a hint of scrutiny and expectation.
"This old man clearly just wants free labor, yet he acts so serious."
While Zhang Fan grumbled inwardly, he respectfully extended both hands to receive the Primer of a Hundred Herbs.
As soon as the book was in his hands, his wrist sank heavily.
This wasn't a book; it was like two bricks put together!
This thing could be used for self-defense, one hit and it would be spot on!
He weighed it, feeling that his pitiful 3 points of strength were barely enough.
Doctor Lin, feigning aloofness, snorted coldly and began to announce the rules of the test.
"Take this book and read it. You have three days, only three days."
"On the morning of the third day, I will randomly select thirty herbs in the back courtyard of the herb hut for you to identify by name and properties. I will also randomly check any content recorded in the book for you to recite."
He paused and added, "If you make a single mistake in reciting or identifying, you fail the test. Then, you needn't come back here; go back to where you came from."
Three days? New chapters come out on g.com first.
Memorize this book thicker than a brick? And identify thirty herbs?
Zhang Fan's mind buzzed; he felt like this old man wasn't testing him but trying to make him drop dead in the Novice Village.
"Even if I have to hang my head from the beam and stab my thigh, I must memorize it."
With a hint of desperation, he opened the first page of the book, and then he was completely dumbfounded.
Dense traditional characters were arranged vertically from top to bottom, without a single punctuation mark throughout the text.
It was interspersed with many obscure characters he didn't recognize and various convoluted pharmacological descriptions like "cold nature enters the meridian" and "qi floats to the upper burner."
He tried reading a few sentences, feeling as if he was reciting an incomprehensible incantation, his tongue almost tying in knots, and his mind a complete mess.
Beside him, Doctor Lin noticed his constipated expression, a barely perceptible smile flickering at the corner of his mouth, before he resumed his stern demeanor, hands behind his back, leisurely returning to the front hall, ignoring him.
Zhang Fan, clutching this "heavenly book," stood dazed in the courtyard, feeling as if the whole world had abandoned him.
He knew this test was a hundred times harder than chopping wood or pounding herbs before.
Memorize it by rote?
Don't be ridiculous.
As someone raised on nine years of compulsory education and various vernacular texts, memorizing this in three days without error was a fantasy.
"Calm down, calm down..."
Zhang Fan forced himself to sit down, taking deep breaths.
He quickly analyzed his situation, his mind racing.
"Rote memorization is a dead end, absolutely impossible. The only breakthrough... is my Talent!"
He recalled the description of [Heaven Rewards Diligence]: Diligence can make up for clumsiness, practice makes perfect, repeated effort will eventually yield rewards.
"Chopping wood was because I repeatedly swung the axe and failed, triggering the Talent."
"Pounding herbs was also because I succeeded once after repeated attempts, triggering the Talent."
Zhang Fan's eyes grew brighter, and he slapped his thigh.
Having figured this out, he immediately took action.
He took the heavy Primer of a Hundred Herbs, found a small stool in the corner of the herb hut, cleared his mind of all distractions, and began using the simplest, and at this moment, the only method he could think of—reading aloud.
"Licorice Root, neutral nature, sweet taste, enters the heart, lung, spleen, and stomach meridians. Used raw, it clears heat and detoxifies, alleviates pain; used roasted, it tonifies the spleen and stomach, boosts qi and restores pulse..."
He didn't care whether he understood it or not, or if he recognized all the characters, he just followed the shapes on the page, reading them out loud one by one.
Zhang Fan's voice was dry and awkward, standing out starkly in the quiet back courtyard of the herb hut.
Soon, villagers coming to get medicine and two apprentices in the medicine shop heard the strange noise and cast curious glances.
When they saw Zhang Fan, like a bookworm, holding an ancient book and reading aloud, their eyes turned as if they were looking at an idiot.
"Is this Outsider out of his mind?"
"Shh, keep it down, maybe he's possessed."
Ignoring the whispers around him, Zhang Fan was fully immersed in this monotonous, endless repetition.
Two hours passed quickly.
Zhang Fan read until his throat was dry and burning, drinking several mouthfuls of cold water, but his mind was still a jumble, remembering nothing.
He even began to doubt whether his judgment was wrong.
"Could it be that reading doesn't count as a repeated action? Does it have to be hands-on?"
Just as his confidence wavered and he was about to give up, the long-awaited, heavenly system notification finally sounded in his mind.
[System Detection: Player Mortal Dust's repeated action "reading aloud" exceeded two hours, determination passed, Unique Talent [Heaven Rewards Diligence] triggered!]
It happened!
Immediately, another notification popped up.
[Ding! Under the influence of [Heaven Rewards Diligence], you have automatically comprehended the Life Skill: Reading!]
"I knew it! It really works!"