Ergou was a strapping sixteen-year-old after all, with plenty in the tank. After two bowls of medicine and a good hard sweat, the fellow's fever actually broke.
Ergou's family was overjoyed, and with the apothecary Old Luo now free, he briskly mixed Zhou Yuan's medicine for him.
"Shitou, this is a nourishing, body-mending medicine, but you mustn't take too much — go easy. Remember, every medicine is three parts poison."
"Don't worry, Uncle Luo. I'm only using it for emergencies. To take it regularly I'd need pricey tonics, wouldn't I?"
"Listen to you. Fine tonics are worth more than you are — ginseng, lingzhi, fleeceflower root, as if you could ever afford to eat those."
After prying twelve copper coins out of Zhou Yuan's hand, Old Luo explained once more how to decoct the herbs.
Relying on his attribute panel, Zhou Yuan boldly experimented with the medicine's effect. A neighbor like Old Luo wouldn't cheat him, and sure enough, as the bitter, acrid brew went down, his health bar did change.
But at first it wasn't a rise — it was a drop. After his Health fell 2%, it then rose 4%; converted out, one bowl of medicine recovered only 2% of his Health.
Watching his bar go from 92% down to 90% and back up to 94%, Zhou Yuan suddenly understood the saying "the depleted cannot take tonics." It was only because his blood and qi were full and his body sturdy. Let someone frail endure this a few times, and the harsh medicinal force would likely do more harm and heal less — worse than no tonic at all.
Zhou Yuan believed this world held prescriptions both gentle and potent. It was only that Old Luo had no precious tonics and no fine formulas.
"One man's honey is another man's arsenic.
I have Food Replenishment and Recuperation; I can draw out more of the tonic's effect and ease the brew's negative impact.
For me this dose is a tonic, a little health-recovery soup; for others, not so much."
A brew that recovered health — even harm-first-then-mend, even yielding only 2% net — was acceptable to Zhou Yuan. One packet could be boiled twice, recovering 4% of his Health a day, so besides poaching chickens he now had a new way to recover.
With the tonic's help, Zhou Yuan pushed his skill training harder, and soon reaped a new reward.
【You have comprehended "Spear Thrust" and mastered a spear technique.】
【Spear Thrust, Lv1 (1/10)】
【Effect: Front hand like a ring, rear hand like a lock; gather your strength, and the spear flies in a single line.】
The core of the spear-thrust was two things: power and precision. Once it became a skill, Zhou Yuan's thrust finally crossed past the stage where hand and intent disagreed, and his accuracy soared.
"Clang..."
The tipless bamboo pole struck the copper coin hanging on a grass cord dead center. The ring of metal drew the three village men's attention; just as they put it down to luck, clang, clang, clang sounded again and again.
A bamboo pole striking a coin was far more visible than a hatchet splitting wood. Only now did the three men realize with surprise that Shitou had truly trained something up.
"Incredible, Uncle Dahuang — Shitou's really had a breakthrough this time.
I've swung sticks plenty these past days; aiming for an eye and hitting a neck is about my best. Shitou can actually hit a coin that small."
"Don't measure yourself against Shitou. How many breakthroughs has he had now — he'd have to train up something real. Still, the boy gets more sinister by the day. He's at least five paces from that coin — how does he hit a hanging copper?"
A spear in a single line sounds easy, but in practice it is far from simple. Zhou Yuan's thrust wasn't a slow aim-then-extend; it was strength erupting, a fierce stab. To keep that accuracy under an explosive thrust already put him on par with a properly trained hand.
"Now there's something, this boy. If he became a fighting soldier, that aim alone could ruin a few skulls.
A long spear, vicious and deadly, is just the thing. You two — pour him tea, fetch his towel, say some nice words, and get Shitou to teach you."
"Uncle Dahuang, why don't you learn?"
"I'm old and worn — what chance have I of becoming a fighting soldier? You two train hard. A long spear a hair faster, a fraction truer, beats anything."
The two village men took the advice. When first assigned to watch Zhou Yuan, they'd mostly been resentful. But things were different now — Zhou Yuan had spirit, dared lead them to drive off the idlers, and his long spear struck wherever he pointed. It truly won them over. So they brought tea and towels and stood quietly at his side, hoping to learn a move or two — more capital for their service.
"Whew..."
Only after Spear Thrust reached Level 2 did Zhou Yuan set down the bamboo pole and stretch his aching arms. The benefit of skill-ifying an ability was simply too great. A skill's appearance was like a passing line, firmly anchoring the floor of his technique; and rising proficiency kept lifting that floor, until Zhou Yuan felt the heady ease of the spear moving with his will, wholly in his grasp.
"Shitou, done practicing? Say something."
"Say what — that I've had yet another breakthrough?"
"Yes, that's the line. Shitou, since you've broken through, you must've grasped the knack — why not teach us? We won't let you work for nothing; eggs, beans, melons and fruit, all the good eats, we'll lay them on for sure."
"Fine. Run a couple of thrusts and let me watch first."
Without an attribute panel — that one-proof-proves-forever, effort-always-rewarded thing — training a technique fast was very hard. Zhou Yuan coached them for half an hour, and the two men's thrusts showed no obvious improvement. Luckily his words were plain and his pointers clear, so even untrained, the two felt they'd gained a great deal.
An action-type skill like Spear Thrust gave clearer tactile feedback than a life skill. Having gained another new skill, Zhou Yuan's hunger for "Running" grew keener still. He compressed his rest; whenever he wasn't drilling a technique, he focused on running.
"Brother Shitou, running again? When I'm better I'll run with you."
"Sure. Feeling any better, Ergou?"
"I can get out of bed, and the aches are gone — just weak, and I keep coughing."
Passing Ergou's house, Zhou Yuan glanced in; the boy sat on a wooden stump, soaking up the sun. His wife, afraid he'd tire, wouldn't let him lift a finger and made him rest. The health bar over his head had recovered from 76% to 80% — young bodies have deep reserves, and once the illness turned, his vigor came surging back.
"If you're weak, rest more. I've got the tonic Old Luo packed for me — when you're well I'll bring you a dose to build you up."
Seeing Zhou Yuan wave and make to leave, Ergou hurried up from the stump and leaned over the fence to call out.
"Brother Shitou, come here — I've got something to tell you."
"What is it, Ergou? You've got another secret?"
"Brother Shitou, I nearly died this time, and it set a lot straight in my head. This pearl was part of Cuiniang's dowry. Keep it — if you get into the army, you can bring it out to bribe an officer and land a better post."
The round pearl was lovely in the sunlight; one look and Zhou Yuan knew it came from the 【Nest of the Clearsand General】.
"It's too precious — I can't take it. Besides, we're enlisting together; if there's a good post to angle for, you should angle for it."
"Just keep it, Brother Shitou. My pa sold the field and begged the village head to report me as plague-stricken; the county's agreed to swap in someone else for my service."
"All right then. Find yourself a livelihood soon, boy, and live well."