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Chapter 12 - The Southern Healer

A humble abode, yet enriched by virtue.

Inside her modest stilt house, Su Min squinted at the tightly sealed furnace in her hands. Though closed, her senses could perceive the medicinal concoction within slowly dissolving. Soon, a peculiar smell wafted out.

With a flick of her wrist, she extinguished the flame and lifted the lid, allowing the contents to cool in the open air.

[Black Jade Bone-Setting Ointment: Rapidly heals bone injuries.]

Her Alchemy and Artifact Manual was a treasure trove, containing countless pill formulas and forging blueprints. But there were limits.

Each breakthrough in her cultivation unlocked new recipes and schematics. Unlocking them was one thing—actually crafting them was another. Currently, everything she refined, whether pills or specialized ointments, fell within the first-tier category.

"Master, my child—"

As Su Min stepped outside, a woman dressed in ethnic attire rushed toward her in a panic.

"How did this happen?"

Su Min didn't answer immediately, instead eyeing the wailing child before her. The boy couldn't be older than ten, but his lower leg was bent at a near-ninety-degree angle. She could even see bone fragments and torn flesh.

People in this world were surprisingly resilient. Though most couldn't harness spiritual energy, merely breathing it in strengthened their constitutions. In the year she'd settled here, she'd rarely encountered common illnesses like colds or fevers. But traumatic injuries? Those were plentiful.

"He was teasing a calf today... The mother cow rammed him straight in the leg. Master, please save him!"

The woman sobbed uncontrollably. Su Min remained impassive.

"Master" was the honorific the locals used for her. Since arriving, she'd treated ailments with her pills and salves, earning a reputation for near-miraculous recoveries.

Serious illnesses were beyond her, minor ones didn't require her—but injuries like this were right within her expertise. Establishing herself here hadn't been easy, though. When she first arrived, young, pretty, and alone, some had assumed she was easy prey.

The next morning, the boldest offender had been found hanging upside-down from the village's largest banyan tree. Then she'd paid the local chieftain a "friendly visit."

No one bothered her after that.

With her healing arts, she'd quickly gained respect. In these parts, having a skilled physician as an ally was worth its weight in gold.

"This is the bamboo token our family received. Please..."

The woman handed her a carved bamboo slip. Currency was scarce here, and bartering was the norm. Su Min's system was simple: she needed herbs and ores to hone her alchemy and forging techniques.

Rather than scavenge the wilderness herself, she relied on the locals—hunters and gatherers who roamed the mountains. They couldn't tell spiritual plants from ordinary ones as she could, but generations of experience had sharpened their eyes for the unusual.

In exchange for their finds, she issued bamboo tokens redeemable for medical treatment. To her amusement, these tokens had become a form of currency, traded for food and goods across neighboring villages.

Each token bore a hidden mark. When held under moonlight, faint luminescent patterns emerged, infused with her spiritual energy. Counterfeits were easy to expose, not that anyone dared to try.

After all, what kind of healer couldn't break bones as easily as set them?

"This'll do. Kid, take a whiff."

After verifying the token, Su Min snapped it in half and produced a small vial from her belt. The moment the boy inhaled its contents, his screams stopped, and he slumped into unconsciousness.

[Soul-Dazing Incense (Tier 1): Induces temporary coma.]

For Su Min, it might cause slight dizziness. For mortals, it brought instant, deep slumber lasting at least two hours. She sterilized a blade over the flame, removed the necrotic flesh, and then—with practiced precision—wrenched the bone back into alignment.

From a gourd inside, she retrieved a pill, crushed it into paste, and slathered it over the wound before bandaging it with bamboo splints. This wasn't Earth. Her methods didn't need to be gentle.

"Alright, did you see what I just did? In about a week, crush one of these pills and mix it with water to make a paste. Apply it to the wound. Once it's used, the bone will almost grow back. And here's another pill to prevent infection. Have him take it when he wakes up."

She handed the woman two gourds, each containing several Tier-1 pills. By modern standards, they would've been miracle drugs worth a fortune.

"Also, I used your local hemp cloth instead of proper bandages. Change it daily. Wash the used ones thoroughly and boil them before drying."

"Thank you, Master!"

The woman kowtowed repeatedly. In the past, such an injury would have meant amputation. Now, not only was the leg salvageable, it might even heal completely.

(Though whether there would be long-term complications was anyone's guess.)

"Ugh—"

As the woman left, a sudden, splitting headache nearly sent Su Min to her knees. She barely caught herself on a railing.

But the pain brought a revelation.

"This sensation..."

Heavenly Dao Insight—the path walked bears fruit.

Her year of labor had yielded new insights.

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