A basin of water mixed with powdered energy restoration was splashed onto Gan Jin. Oulala, clearly lacking Black's sense of romance, was busy digging some hot spring in the backyard; here, she just used a wooden basin to hastily manage.

Traces of strength were restored within Gan Jin's body, yet the potion he had drunk earlier showed absolutely no reaction—no pain, no itch, not a single indication of anything happening.

“Could it be that the potion has failed?” Gan Jin looked down at his abdomen with some worry, fearing that some strange incident might suddenly erupt from the mixture.

“That’s enough. Your lesson for today is finished; you can leave now.” Oulala waved her fingers, pointing toward the building across the street. “Go learn some useless things from that ragged old apothecary.”

Gan Jin looked down at his hands in confusion, then walked forward with Oulala, once again voicing his concern, “Is it really over? That second bottle of medicine just now…”

“Over, completely over.” Oulala pointed across the street. “Go on.”

Gan Jin shook his head in frustration. These three hours spent studying mysterious potions had only offered him a direct, terrifying experience of their abnormality, leaving him knowing nothing at all about what a mysterious potion truly was. Would Adams pull the same trick on him later?

Gan Jin arrived at Adams’ Apothecary across the street. The architecture here differed again from the style of Black’s smithy.

Along the street side of the building was the apothecary’s sales counter. Behind it was an herb garden filled with various plants, and a small section sectioned off into little squares housing different insects. Further inside was a pond, also divided into smaller sections, where various aquatic creatures drifted leisurely.

The creatures here appeared very gentle, not strange and terrifying like those near Oulala’s place; the entire atmosphere was one of harmony.

Gan Jin carefully passed through the plant fields and entered the room in the courtyard. He found Adams intently focused on manipulating a few test tubes, with pungent medicinal herbs boiling in an iron pot beside him.

“You’re here?” Adams pointed to another room behind him. “Go on, finish reading that book tied with the red string first.”

A Compendium of Medicinal Herbs and Plants, Volume One: Author: Adams. Gan Jin picked up the massive book, which was nearly a foot square on the cover and over a foot thick. The weight—easily over ten pounds—sank into his hands immediately. He chuckled lightly; Uncle Black was a blacksmith who was both practical and theoretical. This Adams, it seemed, was an apothecary who was theoretical first, then practical.

Opening A Compendium of Medicinal Herbs and Plants, Volume One, the very first line of text that met his eyes exuded a strong scholarly aura, yet the words also contained an honest pride: Master the potions, and you master life!

Gan Jin recalled the expression on Adams’ face when he spoke of potions and smiled faintly; this truly was a man fanatically devoted to his craft.

True scholars were the most pragmatic of people. Adams clearly belonged to this type.

Turning past the title page, there was a small, three-petaled green flower. A long stem was paired with several dark red leaves: the Serpent’s Crown Flower, slightly spicy in flavor. It bloomed once every three years, possessed a Fire attribute, and when combined with Delan Grass and Kong-type fruit pits, could cure the alternating chills and fever of the cold-heat sickness.

For details on Delan Grass, see A Compendium of Medicinal Herbs and Plants, Volume One, page one hundred and ninety-seven.

The second page of the book specifically detailed how to configure the proper dosage of potion and the intensity of fire needed to boil the medicine, depending on the severity of the cold-heat sickness.

Gan Jin nodded repeatedly as he read. In this world, no one dared claim they wouldn’t get sick. Even powerful warriors, while able to eliminate illness from themselves, couldn’t guarantee their loved ones would remain healthy. Learning even a little something would surely do no harm.

Flipping another page, the slight smile on Gan Jin’s face was replaced by one of nine parts seriousness. The prescription card detailing the Kakasara Fruit was for treating internal organ damage following severe physical impact, detailing how to treat and regulate injuries to the viscera and lungs.

This was clearly a prescription designed specifically for warriors. Fights between warriors, or battles against Martial Mages, often involved broken bones and internal abdominal injuries; a heavy blow to the lungs was nothing unusual. Obtaining a highly effective remedy would naturally increase a warrior’s chances of survival.

Turning one more page, Gan Jin’s eyes could no longer leave this Compendium of Medicinal Herbs and Plants, Volume One, which he had initially intended only to skim.

The section on treating lung injuries was extremely comprehensive. It provided different prescription formulations based on the varying severity and precise location of the lung trauma.

Following these prescriptions were supplementary lists for strengthening the lungs, tailored to different warrior constitutions. After the body recovered, these different supplementary lists, used in conjunction with eating and soaking remedies, could even enhance pulmonary function.

As a warrior, Gan Jin perfectly understood the utility of strong lungs. It wasn't merely about having prolonged stamina for breath. An extra measure of strong respiratory capacity often meant an extra measure of hope for survival on the brink of death.

For three full hours, Gan Jin was completely immersed in this thick volume of A Compendium of Medicinal Herbs and Plants, Volume One. It contained not only prescriptions for lung injuries but also formulae for healing other internal organ damage, and these were also—

Adams’ bear-like, sturdy body had been standing beside Gan Jin for a full half hour. He stared curiously at the young man. Originally, he had only sought Gan Jin as an apprentice to spite Oulala, that wicked mysterious apothecary. He never expected that this apprentice, sought out due to their rivalry, would become so engrossed in the Compendium, which many considered tedious, boring, and incomprehensible.

Adams could see that Gan Jin was absolutely not pretending to be serious through superficial reading; he was genuinely absorbing the content.

“Think it’s alright?” Adams checked the time and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, “Is it interesting?”

Gan Jin jumped when he saw Adams standing beside him. His Demon-Slaying Third Battle strength, combined with the vigilance honed by training in the West Mountain and the Four Seasons Valley, had somehow failed to detect Adams’ presence. He realized he must have been too engrossed in the book; otherwise, he wouldn't have missed Adams approaching. Adams was very satisfied with the reaction as Gan Jin pulled himself out of his absorption, which further confirmed his suspicion: this young warrior was genuinely studying with great seriousness.

“More than just alright?” Gan Jin took a bookmark from the shelf and placed it between the pages, carefully and seriously returning the book to its place on the shelf. “This is astonishing! And deeply meaningful.”

Adams’ face broke into a look of pure happiness upon hearing his apothecary work praised. He suddenly asked, “What are the characteristics of Earth-Rising Grass?”

“Two years to grow, one year to mature. Total lifespan of three years. Its nature is mild, suitable for use as a potion balancing agent. The plant grows between one foot three inches and one foot eight inches tall. If the left side has serrated edges, it is the male grass. If the right side has serrated edges, it is the female grass. Taking it alone…”

Gan Jin recited the record from the Compendium without thinking, secretly amazed at his own memory. While he had always considered his memory quite good, it had never reached the point where he could memorize something perfectly after just one reading. In three hours, he had gone through nearly a hundred different plants!

Adams was momentarily stunned. He had assumed that being able to answer correctly about the Earth-Rising Grass section would have been an excellent response. He hadn't expected this young man to recite everything recorded, word for word! This memory... this memory... it was simply magnificent!

Possessing an exceptionally sharp memory was an essential basic quality for an apothecary! Adams could barely believe it, even suspecting that Gan Jin had simply memorized that specific entry by chance. He casually posed questions about three other different herbs, and Gan Jin answered them all fluently.

The room filled with bookshelves fell silent, the kind of quiet where the drop of a pin would sound like a loud crash.

Adams, his expression slack, turned his ecstatic gaze toward Gan Jin. Gan Jin stared back at Adams, unable to believe himself. His memory was certainly good, but it absolutely couldn’t be this good. This level of recall was too exaggerated!

Next door, in Oulala’s Mysterious Potion Shop, the sound of boiling water suddenly rang out, and a wisp of white smoke curled out from the doorway.

Oulala smiled, looking at a test tube of red potion in her hand. “I just gave that boy the last bottle of my memory potion; I’ll have to brew another one. That old dullard Adams will definitely make him read first; it’s always good to have him take a memory potion.”

The red potion in the test tube slowly flowed into a small, round glass vial.

A gust of wind swept in from the street, blowing open a notebook resting on the table, revealing a few hastily scribbled lines.

Memory Potion: Triples memory capability for three hours. Anything read within those three hours will not fade after the potion’s effects disappear; memory returns to normal afterward.

The wind stirred the notebook on the table again, and the pages flipped rapidly, making a soft slapping sound as they struck each other.

“Player Gan Jin, please note: your daily game time is about to expire. Please prepare to log off.”

For the first time, Gan Jin hated hearing that so-called system voice. Whether it was this or that, he was nowhere near finished reading—this was knowledge for which he couldn’t buy even ten thousand gold pieces in the True Policy Dynasty!

The surrounding world warped, and the space before him turned pitch black. Gan Jin helplessly lifted his cap, using the sunlight shining in from the opening to dispel the endless darkness.

A warm piece of roasted meat had already been placed beside Gan Jin’s straw mat, and a stone bowl, chiseled from rock, contained two handfuls of boiled drinking water.

Ten thousand extra copies have been released; I am very gratified! And very happy! However, the number of monthly passes today really wasn't high.

What I still want to say is that old line: Race the sun with me, battle the storm fiercely; my pride is forged by myself, C