"That's weird. Why aren't those fools practicing their escape routes today?"
"Who knows? Maybe they've lost their nerve and their legs have gone soft."
"If you ask me, Shi Tou and his lot are just cowards. If it were us brothers serving in the army, I guarantee we'd be fearless and fight to our heart's content."
"Of course. I've long wanted to charge into the enemy ranks and kill to my heart's content. Just haven't had the luck or the opportunity."
Five loafers and layabouts, living off their wives, were lounging under the elm tree at the village entrance, eating dates and boasting.
To hear them talk, you'd think they were true, unsung heroes whose talents went unrecognized.
The loafers were getting into the swing of their boasting when they suddenly noticed three men approaching from the south. At first, they paid them no mind, but a closer look scared them half to death.
"Brothers, it's about time for the noon meal. I've got to head home and check on things."
"Uh, my stomach hurts. I'm gonna go relieve myself."
"What a coincidence, I forgot to feed my dog. Let's get together later, brothers."
******
Seeing the figure of Zhou Yuan, a wooden club in hand and a woodcutter's knife at his waist, the men who had been so incredibly brave with their words tossed out a few excuses and vanished in a flash.
"You two, hurry up. If you're too slow, you won't even get a swing in."
With some "friendly" encouragement from Zhou Yuan and the two villagers, the five local bullies were escorted back to their respective homes by way of clubs and sticks.
In a three-on-five conflict, they had routed their opponents without taking any damage. The two villagers following Zhou Yuan were exceptionally excited.
"Shi Tou, you're the man! When dealing with scoundrels like them, you just have to get physical."
Sharing in the glory, the villager puffed out his chest, all his previous frustrations gone.
"Come on, let's drop by Er Gou's place. That kid came to visit me the day after his wedding; I can't just forget about him."
Only after walking openly into Er Gou's courtyard did Zhou Yuan realize that Er Gou was in serious trouble.
Last night, Er Gou could still talk and move, but by noon today, he was bedridden with a high fever.
Zhou Yuan glanced inside through the window and saw that Er Gou's health bar had already dropped to 77%.
Er Gou's father and mother were in the courtyard, sighing and quietly wiping away tears. Inside, Cui Niang was repeatedly rinsing a cloth to cool his fever.
To be honest, Zhou Yuan wasn't surprised to see this.
It was perfectly normal for an ordinary person to catch a cold and run a fever after being exposed to such a drastic temperature change, let alone someone like Er Gou who had entered and exited the Instance multiple times.
Er Gou wasn't Zhou Yuan, who had recovery skills, and this wasn't the medically advanced Blue Star.
A severe cold isn't a big deal on Blue Star, but here, it was a different story.
"Uncle Zhao, has Old Luo from Qiaodong Village been here yet?"
"He's already seen him. Old Luo said Er Gou has been invaded by a malevolent wind and has caught a chill. He went back to get some medicine. I don't know if Old Luo's remedy will work. If he's not better in a couple of days, we'll take Er Gou to the county to see a doctor."
"Alright. If you go to the county, just say the word, and a few of us will help carry him there."
"This is why I always say Shi Tou is the reliable one. My legs aren't what they used to be, and I don't have any brothers to help out. Thank goodness we can count on our Shi Tou."
Although Er Gou's family had schemed against Zhou Yuan a little, their goal was to build a closer relationship and form a mutual-interest group for the next generation.
Therefore, Zhou Yuan held no ill will toward the family.
While comforting Er Gou's parents, he kept an eye on Er Gou's condition. Before long, he noticed Er Gou's health bar had dropped another 1%, falling to 76%.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The sound of coughing drifted from the room from time to time. The weak and listless Er Gou was living proof of the consequences of a normal person's health bar dropping.
In most games, characters are still full of vigor even when their health drops below 70%, let alone 30%. It's not uncommon to see a comeback kill with just a sliver of health left.
But in this real world, the consequences of a rapidly dropping health bar were far too severe. In a mild case, one would lose their combat effectiveness; in a severe case, their condition would continue to worsen, and their life would be in danger.
This meant that a normal person's health bar was an inflated statistic. It didn't need to be fully depleted; losing around 40% was enough to make it difficult for them to maintain their combat status.
Take Er Gou, for example. His health bar was seemingly still at 76%, which didn't look like a big problem on the surface.
But in reality, it was a matter of a dozen days or so. After ten days to half a month, either his illness would be brought under control and he'd gradually recover, or the whole village would be setting up tables for his funeral feast.
"Father of my child, Old Luo only has a few remedies. He prescribes the same medicine for every illness. I'm afraid it won't cure Er Gou's fever. Why don't we take this chance while Shi Tou is here and send him to the county to see a doctor right away?"
"Let's wait and see. We don't have that much cash on hand. If Er Gou's fever doesn't break by tomorrow, we'll sell the land and go to the county."
Er Gou's family had money now, but the pearls from the Instance couldn't see the light of day. If they hastily took them out, they would likely be killed for them by the powerful figures in the county.
"Sigh... we were too greedy..."
Er Gou's father sighed softly, his lips trembling as he muttered silently, as if praying for his son's safety.
"Creeak."
The wooden courtyard gate was roughly pushed open, and an old man whose clothes had very few patches, followed by an honest-looking young man, barged in.
"Is the water boiled? Hurry up and brew the medicine. My son and I will stay at your place tonight. If it's not effective, I'll take you into the city to find my old master first thing in the morning."
Everyone bustled about, and they finally got Er Gou to take the medicine. Now, it was all up to fate.
Seeing that things were settled for the moment, Zhou Yuan prepared to leave Er Gou's house.
But Er Gou's parents, worried he might refuse if they needed his help again, insisted on giving him two chicken eggs, pushing them into his hands.
To put them at ease and show that he was willing to help take Er Gou to the city, Zhou Yuan had no choice but to accept the "deposit" that came with a favor attached.
Although they only got two eggs, the two villagers accompanying him weren't upset.
They split one between themselves and left the other for Zhou Yuan.
To them, helping a fellow villager get medical treatment was only natural. Er Gou's family was so poor; no one could hold it against them.
Zhou Yuan accepted the egg without ceremony. Peeling the shell, he sidled up to Old Luo and asked about tonics for qi and blood.
"Uncle Luo, do you have any remedies for replenishing qi and blood? Could you prepare two doses for me?"
As the one who both made the house call and was responsible for contacting the medical hall in the county, Old Luo's treatment was naturally not bad. He and his son also had eggs in their hands.
Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, his hand, which was peeling an egg, suddenly stopped. He sized Zhou Yuan up carefully.
"Shi Tou, with your ruddy complexion and abundant vitality, you don't look like you're deficient in qi and blood. Do you have some hidden ailment? Don't be embarrassed to say it. You're still young; the sooner you treat it, the better. If you delay and it becomes a chronic disease, your life will be miserable."
"Uncle Luo, I'm serious. It's because I'm about to go serve in the army. I've been training hard these days, and it's left my back sore and my body feeling out of sorts."
"Oh, so that's it. I do have a remedy that invigorates the blood, dispels stasis, and nourishes qi and blood. However, tonics are expensive. You can't afford them, and I don't have any. I can only prescribe you some cheap, common herbs."
"Deal. I'll try it out. If it's effective, I'll order a few more doses."
Proofreader: Peter Pan