-POV Elder Wang Wei

"How is that possible? Raising people from the dead is in the realm of the divine!"

"Perhaps not only spirits and gods can raise the dead?"

"Don't you dare blaspheme gods!"

Chaos erupted in the hut, and thankfully, Hu took the hint and had already escorted Jié Míns outside before the arguments could start. Then, one line of argument cuts through the chaos.

"What if we just ask him?"

"What? Just ask the mysterious man for his secrets? That's outrageous!"

"No, listen to me. We can request him to teach his arts to Mù Zhì. The pact between healers is sacred, and if he is simply a healer, even if of divine origin. He would not mind teaching him the arts, let alone take offense."

Aside from a few grumblings, I finally stepped in, as there were no more complaints.

"So, who shall give the man the proposal?"

Every head turned to me, and I sighed. Leading this village is a thankless job.

* * *

-POV James

Sitting in my hut, I thought about everything that was happening. The elders seemed to believe I brought back the kid from the dead. All I did was perform CPR and get the kid breathing. I couldn't even fault their line of thought since the kid did stop breathing for a solid minute or two. For all they thought of, he was dead. And here comes a stranger who looks nothing like them and simply wakes the kid up? They probably thought I was divinity or some kind of great spirit.

That was bad. They might think that I could resurrect people, which I couldn't, and demand me to try and raise the dead. They might try to get me to heal the sick. Once I was unable to do so, they would either blame me for their deaths or claim me an imposter or scam artist.

I knew basic first aid since the homestead was so far from civilization that accidents would have to be dealt with at home. But I didn't have any medicine to heal fevers. I could help with physical ailments like broken bones and troubled breathing, but anything more advanced wouldn't work.

I laid down on the bedding as I brainstormed my game plan for the future. I didn't know enough to defend myself against being accused of divinity, but maybe I could curb it slightly. I'd have to first figure out how to explain that I can't resurrect people at random. I also needed to explain why I couldn't simply heal everyone's ailments.

Thankfully, my racing thoughts were interrupted by the movement of the leather flap. I sit up and look at the door as Wang Wei walks in by himself. Wei bows down.

"Thank you, Jié Míns, **** ******, for saving *** child."

"Wang Wei, you have no… need… thank me."

Unlike how he would look at me before, like a potentially dangerous guest, and maybe some amusement in his eyes for my broken Xuanyu, the local language, but this time there was none of the amusement or caution, but only deep respect and thankfully no awe.

"Would you ** able to ****** the village healer? We would like to ******* you teach him your arts."

As he said that, he bowed once more. I can't understand a few of these words, but I can puzzle out the meaning. It seemed he wanted me to teach another person, probably the village doctor. Perhaps they want me to teach CPR, or perhaps they think I have more to teach. But this was good for me, as they know a lot about the local remedies, and I know a lot about old-fashioned ways to fix broken legs and puncture wounds.

"I agree to teach, and would be nice if he taught me."

As I said that, he seemed to visibly relax, and I wondered why that was such an important decision. Still, nonetheless, I had to power on.

"Would you like ** follow me? I **** lead you."

Seeing no reason to refuse right now, I nodded and got up to follow him out. The moment I stepped outside of the hut, all eyes turned to me. Everyone wanted to look at the weird-looking guy who saved a child from the impossibility. There were a varied amount of emotions, and I decided it would be best for my mental health if I ignored those gazes. Thankfully, there wasn't a crowd, so we simply walked past them, heading past the chief's hut.

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The hut was a short walk, maybe not even a minute away. And after the chief announced our presence, we walked into the hut. The inside of the hut is precisely what one would imagine a doctor's hut from such a remote village would look like. Plenty of herbs hung from the ceiling, and there was a strong smell of various herbs and spices. There were a couple of beds lined up, but they were empty. Near the back sat an elderly man who was probably the doctor, or as they called him, healer.

Wei called out a greeting, and the healer responded in kind. I looked at the man. He looked like the rest of the villagers, as in, he had the standard black hair and brown eyes. He had a fairly majestic beard with white streaks going through it. There was nothing remarkable about him besides his age, as he seemed to be the oldest one I've seen so far besides the chief.

In front of the man, there seemed to be a stone slab that served as a table. There were some foods. Nothing crazy, but slightly more variety than usually seemed to be available. There was some venison and plenty of roots and berries. As we sat down, I went ahead and greeted him.

"Hi, Healer. How are you doing?"

The chief next to winces but says nothing as the elder in front of chuckles.

"I greet you, ****. I am Mù Zhì. I would like to exchange ******** with my healing **** for yours. ** ****** I promise to not spread it. *** **** keep it to myself without your ****** (permission?) to share it."

"No need, Mu Zi, please share CPR with everyone who learns it. But I would enjoy to learn your arts."

There was a momentary surprise between the chief and healer before they readily agreed. After all, who wouldn't want to learn the supposedly godly technique to raise the dead. Unfortunately, they are likely to be disappointed.

"So how do this?"

"Well…" They look at each other, not expecting me to agree without asking for something ridiculous, it seems. "As a **** of good ****, I will share first. What would you like to know?"

"How to treat… uh," I think briefly before deciding to simply fake cough.

"You would like to know how to treat… a cough?" They looked at each other hesitantly. "But such know**** is *******. I cannot take your art for a ******* ******."

I spend a few seconds puzzling out the words or at least guessing them. They probably thought that was the only thing I was asking for, and thankfully, they decided to inform me instead of taking advantage of the misunderstanding. I shake my head as I answer.

"Take me and teach me. Once trade done, you stop."

They hesitated a bit at that, but after looking at each other, they seemed to reach a conclusion.

"We will do that. I will teach you **** I ***** I have traded *********."

Coming to the conclusion of our deal, I reached to shake his hand before realizing that he did not know what a handshake was and that I was simply embarrassing myself. They looked at me, but after I showed no signs of clarifying, they simply moved on.

The chief excused himself, and Zhì stood up and showed me some herbs and their use cases. Sadly, most of the information went over my head, as my language had not been developed enough to understand all the names or even the symptoms. I tried my best, but I only caught a few, and only for the basic ones, like cough. Eventually, the healer ran out of steam after realizing I was struggling to keep up and turned the conversation to me instead.

"So how did you bring **** back to the kid? What technique did you use?"

“*****?”

"Ah, like…." he mimics, breathing heavily for a few seconds before I realize the word.

As I tried to figure out the words, I realized I could return to the good old drawing on the ground. I did a quick stick figure before drawing a horrible attempt at lungs and ribs. I thought about explaining the heart in this equation, but I had no idea how to explain blood and veins, so I decided against it. I pointed at the section right under the ribs, even clipping the ribs a bit.

"This is where place arm. Then you push…" I mimicked performing fake CPR on the ground at a specific rhythm. It felt a little silly, doing it to nothing, not even a mannequin, but oh well. Then, gestured for him to do it as well.

"You do now."

He looked a little hesitant, but when I didn't stop telling him, he relented and did it to the ground. I then helped him maintain the specific rhythm, even singing Stayin' Alive, which Zhì started copying. He butchered every single word to the point that no one would recognize the song even if they had the words in front of them to follow along. But it helped him maintain the proper rhythm, so I let him be. Once we were done with our little exercise. I then continued my "lecture".

"Doing that, help push this" I say as I tap the lung, "help push breathe, even if person no breathe. Help stop dead, but not always."

"What do you mean ****** always work?"

"Does your herbs always work?"

He resumed his silence at the logic, and I was content to let it sit there as I too, was trying to figure out the tribal remedies. Deciding I had done my part, I returned to the herbs, touched some, and asked what they did. Most of them went over my head, but I caught a few, like cough, cold, and even fever, which we played a guessing game to figure out. Eventually, I point at a plant that looks similar to ginseng but is longer and darker.

"*** that? That helps a person l*** much longer! I have been ******* it to trade for ** favor."

“l***?”

"It is the day you were ****, to kid, to adult, and to death."

Ah, so live. It seemed like that plant should extend life. But that sounded outrageous. Extending life? Plants don't work like that. Some give vitamins, and others provide properties to fight off infections or colds. But outright extending lifespan like a flat bonus? That was too weird. It was probably some kind of myth that the plant looked similar to, and now it has gained the status of life extension. He kept it instead of using it and probably didn't care about it himself; that's why he saved it. To pawn off to a foolish traveler.

However, I noticed from the interactions, was that there were no systemic ways to know whether herbs worked or not. He used some herbs for nearly everything, while others would only help with a scratch on a body part. I bet most of it was placebo. I planned to change that, and it would all start once I learned this language.