In the inner courtyard of the herb hut, the sunlight was just right.
Doctor Lin led Zhang Fan to a waist-high stone mortar, pointing at a pile of dried, oddly-shaped herbs in a bamboo basket beside it, and began explaining the essentials of herb pounding.
"Watch closely, kid! This isn't about brute force!"
As he spoke, he picked up a heavy stone pestle and demonstrated personally.
"This 'Sanchi' is dry in nature, requiring 'alternating force', heavy first, then light. This 'Bletilla' is sticky, needing 'seven parts pounding, three parts grinding' to turn into powder. Finally, when sifting, you must 'remove the floating, keep the sinking', to extract the essence..."
Doctor Lin's speech was rapid, and his mouth continuously spouted professional terms like "monarch and minister", "herb properties clash", and so on.
Such profound explanations would leave any ordinary player utterly confused.
Ordinary person: "Feels harder than advanced math, I understand every word, but can't make sense of a single sentence."
However, at this moment, Zhang Fan was experiencing something entirely different.
Perhaps due to the bonus from [Comprehension +1], Doctor Lin's obscure explanations became clear and logical to him.
Every term, every step, he absorbed like a sponge, instantly grasping the key techniques.
"The joy of a scholar is so plain and dull," he couldn't help but think.
"Got it? If you understand, do it yourself!" Doctor Lin finished his explanation, tossed the stone pestle to the ground, and went to a corner of the courtyard to sun-dry herbs, with a look that said, "Let's see what you can do."
Zhang Fan confidently stepped forward, mimicking Doctor Lin's actions from memory, picked up the heavy stone pestle, grabbed a handful of 'Sanchi', and began his first attempt.
However, theory and practice are ultimately two different things.
"Bang!"
A dull thud echoed.
He had clearly overestimated his control, using too much force, and the herbs in the mortar were smashed into a pulp mixed with fibers, impossible to turn into powder.
A cold system notification sounded: [Herb pounding failed, 'Sanchi' destroyed.]
From the corner came Doctor Lin's disdainful snort: "Hmph, see, I knew it! You only have three chances to fail, ruin two more, and you're out!"
Zhang Fan's face flushed with embarrassment, but he wasn't discouraged.
He carefully recalled the experience of his failure—was it too much force, or the wrong angle?
He steadied himself and began his second attempt.
This time, he cautiously controlled his strength. While he didn't smash it, he ran into problems during grinding—the powder was uneven, with a strong grainy texture, far from the "fine as dust" requirement.
[Herb pounding failed, 'Bletilla' destroyed.]
"That's twice!" Doctor Lin's voice was full of impatience.
Sweat began to form on Zhang Fan's forehead.
For the third attempt, he switched to a different herb, more focused, but ultimately failed again due to a small mistake.
[Herb pounding failed, 'Sanguisorba Root' destroyed.]
"Three times! Get out!" Doctor Lin finally lost his patience, stood up, ready to kick him out.
But just as Doctor Lin was about to do so, he was surprised to find that Zhang Fan seemed to have grasped the pattern.
Watching Zhang Fan pound herbs with a semblance of proficiency, he decided to give him another chance instead of immediately driving him out.
After three failures, Zhang Fan's luck turned, and he succeeded on the fourth try.
Finally, the system notification echoed in his mind:
[System detected: Player Mortal Dust successfully completed the repetitive action 'herb pounding' once, triggering the Unique Talent [Heaven Rewards Diligence]!]
"Buzz—"
A sensation even cooler and more refreshing than when he comprehended [Woodcutting] surged into his mind.
When Zhang Fan looked again at the stone mortar and herbs in his hand, the world before him transformed once more!
The fiber structure of the herbs, the moisture content inside, the varying hardness of different parts... everything presented itself in his mind with a mysterious clarity.
He could even "see" the optimal angle for the pestle, the most suitable force distribution, and the most efficient grinding trajectory!
He almost instinctively adjusted his breathing and stance, applying force with his wrist, the heavy stone pestle in his hand feeling as light as a feather.
Down it went!
This time, his movements were fluid, imbued with an indescribable rhythm.
Each pound landed precisely on the critical points, producing a series of rhythmic "thud, thud, thud" sounds.
[Ding! Under the influence of the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] talent, you have automatically comprehended the life skill: Herb Pounding!]
Success!
Zhang Fan was overjoyed, immediately opening the skill panel to examine this hard-won new skill.
[Name: Herb Pounding]
[Level: Level 1 (0/100)]
[Learning Requirement: Spirit 3, Comprehension 3]
[Attribute: When pounding herbs, success rate increases by +10%, with a 5% chance to produce perfect quality powder.]
"The comprehension requirement is three points, which means my comprehension is at least three points?"
"A mediocre doctor's path?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth upon seeing this remark.
[This damn system is too harsh, I'm clearly on my way to becoming a legendary doctor! At the very least, a master poisoner!]
Despite his dissatisfaction, his hands didn't stop moving.
After comprehending the skill, herb pounding became exceptionally smooth and simple for him.
He quickly succeeded in producing a batch of fine, even, and pure-colored powder.
[Ding! You successfully used the Herb Pounding skill, Skill EXP +1!]
Originally preparing to kick him out, Doctor Lin was drawn by the rhythmic and distinctly different pounding sounds.
As he observed Zhang Fan transitioning from clumsy to proficient, with movements as if he had been immersed in the craft for decades, and the uniform, impurity-free powder in the mortar, his stern face showed genuine, incredulous shock for the first time.
"This... this kid... could he really be a genius?"
Right before his eyes, he only failed three times before succeeding?
Then his technique became increasingly skilled?
Zhang Fan, riding the momentum, continued with unstoppable progress.
He soon successfully pounded thirty portions of qualified powder, neatly wrapping them in oil paper.
He carefully presented the thirty portions of powder to Doctor Lin, respectfully saying, "Uncle Lin, I did not fail you."
Doctor Lin suspiciously took them, pinched a bit of powder to his nose to smell, and carefully felt the fineness with his fingers. His previously cloudy eyes now shone brightly, nodding repeatedly:
"Not bad! Truly not bad! Much better than my useless apprentice! You, kid... have the makings of an apprentice!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the system notification arrived as expected.
[Ding! You successfully completed the Temporary Quest: Learn Herb Pounding!]
[You received the quest reward: Copper Coin ×20, Doctor Lin's Favorability +2.]
20 copper coins!
That's two thousand yuan! Zhang Fan was ecstatic.
More importantly, not only did he unlock a new life profession skill [Herb Pounding], but he also gained favorability with a key NPC!
This meant he had mastered a skill that could continuously generate income, a production skill more advanced than woodcutting!
As he happily planned for the future, Doctor Lin looked at him with an unprecedented, scrutinizing gaze, solemnly saying:
"Kid, with such talent, just pounding herbs is a waste."
"I ask you, would you be willing to stay and learn the true Art of Qihuang with me?"