-POV Healer Mù Zhì

This Jié Míns is a weird character. He seemed to have come from nowhere and didn't look like anyone I had ever seen. Some said he was an ancestor who returned to care for his descendants, while others claimed he was simply a ghost or spirit. I had no idea, but I knew his knowledge was effective, like the see-pee-ar. It was a unique technique that even required a chant. I wouldn't doubt its effectiveness since the kid was clearly alive, but it was concerning that it wasn't a foolproof technique.

I taught him everything I knew, but he challenged me on some herb use cases. He claimed that Jiànzhǒu Yào, the herb good for speeding up the healing of left arms, was a foolish idea. I really wanted to chase him out, but I held myself back because I did not forget the favor he had already done for this village.

He memorized enough of the herbs and healed enough villagers that he was given his own healer's hut that he used for his weird experiments. It felt good to finally rid myself of him and his crazy experiments. He had tried to create poison in my hut, and I have banned him from experimenting in my hut ever since.

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-POV James

It has been months since I came into this world, and most of the time had been spent learning the language and getting accustomed to the environment. The language was surprisingly "simple," with many of the words being the same for multiple cases, and other times, it was simply adding an adjective. For example, they didn't have a word for running and would simply say "fast walking."

In time, I had become sort of like a comrade to Mù Zhì, or brother, as he would say. I would help him in his duties of healing any sickness. Thankfully, perhaps, since the village was really small, it wasn't even every day that somebody needed attention. Most of the day was spent discussing herbs and their use cases. It was a little frustrating at times since sometimes I would disagree on certain herb use cases, and he would simply say that the knowledge of his predecessors was infallible.

One major thing I noticed throughout is that there was very little sanitary concern in the village. While I hadn't needed to work on open wounds or births, I knew that it wouldn't look pretty. I needed to figure out how to get alcohol. I know that there were cases of fruit trees and berries left under the shade after they had fallen, intoxicating local wildlife as they ate them up.

So currently, I was trying to reproduce it by taking available fruits and berries, smashing some, and placing them in the bowl. Some of the bowls were filled with whole fruits and berries, some had the crushed produce, and others had water and crushed produce. I could already have some if that old geezer let me experiment in his hut, but noooo, what you are trying to make is "poison."

While I was observing one of the bowls to check for rotting or spoiling, a man walked in with a reasonably terrible cough. I placed the lid on the bowl and looked up at the man.

"Hello, Bai. It seems that you aren't in favor of the spirits today." I crack a joke as I stand up and usher the man to a primitive chair I have made. Being a doctor in a village comes with a lot of downtime, which I spend on making furniture.

"Don't make fun of me, Sage. I have come here since I am feeling of fire, and the cough won't go away."

I frowned at that. Fevers were complicated to treat since they came from various sources, such as infection, viruses, bacteria, and even parasites. Unlike Zhì, who would likely give him an herb and tell him to rest and come back, I first needed to eliminate the cause before giving him an appropriate herb or some other treatment.

Placing the back of my hand against his forehead, I feel an almost scalding heat. These guys usually walked around with a slightly higher body temperature than I was used to, but what the man was experiencing was a whole nother level of intense. I quickly usher him into the bedding and go to the corner of the hut to move a clay pot of water to his side with a bunch of moss that I have dried up to use as a sponge.

I strip off some of the hide from his chest while he complains about how undignifying this is. I ignore it. I soak some moss in the water and place it throughout his chest, neck, and forehead.

"Did you get cut anywhere or even bitten?"

"No, I haven't been hurt at all recently."

"What have you been eating for the past few days? Anything new? Uncooked meat or unboiled water? Does anybody else feel sick?"

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"Just what we usually eat, deer and whatever we usually forage. I haven't eaten anything new. I swear on the spirits! And I have been drinking only recently boiled water, as you have taught us. No one else has gotten sick. Will I be ok, Great Sage?"

"Of course, Bai. I will ensure you can go back and enjoy your hunts in no time."

I checked his body for any unnoticed injuries, but he seemed to be in the clear in that regard. Trusting his statement about food and that no one has gotten sick, I thought it might be a virus or bacteria. Unfortunately, I couldn't narrow it down further than that. I looked through the herbs I have and looked for any that are good for reducing the symptoms.

"Are you feeling any pain?" I ask while looking through my herbs.

"My head and neck hurts."

I grabbed a couple of herbs, some immune-boosting, and even one that induces sweat. I let him eat the herbs raw and wash them down with water. I needed a combination of herbs for the fever itself that I didn't have. I needed to head over to Zhì to ask him for some of the herbs he has since I haven't built up as much of a stockpile. Looking at the poor man, I placed the bowl next to him while getting up to leave.

"I'm going to visit Mù Zhì. I need some herbs that I don't have here. I'll be back soon. The bowl is next to you, so if you need water, go ahead and drink from the clay pot. Don't run off now."

As I jogged through the village, I got a lot of bows from passing villagers. I even saw a parent shove a kid's head down in a bow toward me, which I found amusing. At first, I tried to stop people from bowing to me, but they never stopped. They found the act of not bowing to be disrespectful to me, even if I asked and said the opposite. So eventually, it grew on me, not completely, but I could go about my day without cringing now. I made sure to do a slight bow as well so as not to disrespect their customs in return.

As I reach Mù Zhì's hut, I announce my presence and walk inside.

"Healer James requests to meet Healer Mù Zhì."

I don't wait for a response since it was more of a formality than an actual request. I walked into the hut, and it looked and smelled much like it did whenever I came here. Zhì looked up from the carving he was working on. Ever since I started making my own carvings, it seems to have inspired the oldie to pick up his own projects in his free time. It looks like he's carving some kind of animal, but I stopped admiring it since I came here on a mission.

"How are you doing, Sage Jié Míns? What brings you to my humble abode?"

I frowned as he emphasized Sage instead of the title I gave myself. I would rather be called a healer than a Sage, but these people saw a miracle. They would not drop the title no matter how much I denied being a Sage, claiming I was simply being humble. I could get behind the bows since that seemed to be a cultural thing, but being called a Sage, a being of "divine" origin, was unnerving and unpleasant. But I didn't come here to fight, and instead, I walked deeper and started looking for the herbs I needed.

"I am doing well today, Zhì. Unfortunately, I cannot enjoy the days blessed by the spirits when I have patients. Do you have any Dragon Heart Flower, Pearl Root, Phoenix Leaf, or Tiger Spirit Branch? Bai has come to me with a terrible fever, and I only have the Life-Nourishing Herb and Sweat Dew Herb."

"You with your manners. Ever since you have gained the Sage title, you have stopped showing me the proper respect, but yes. The Tiger Spirit Branch and the Pearl Root are hanging over there."

"You were lukewarm about me getting the Sage title until you heard how much I didn't want the title. If anything, you're the one that showed me deep disrespect. Even the great ancestors would be wary of offending a Sage like that, and here you are."

He scratched his head with slight guilt, but he grinned nonetheless. He was really proud of the fact that he had solidified me the Sage title, saying that if I was named a healer, he wouldn't be able to be called one. I would have gotten the Sage title anyway, but he ensured that there was no question or doubt about the title.

"That's exactly right. Only a true Sage can argue with an elder and get away with it. I did you a favor."

We continued to quibble back and forth as I collected the herbs. Although there were only two of the four, it should be enough. I figured the best way to heal people in this era was to nuke them with all the relevant herbs since it was hard to pinpoint which herb did precisely what and which disease reacted with which herb. It was a carpet bomb approach, with the hope that the problem would get caught up in the bombing.

"Thanks for these, Zhì. Bai and I are in your debt. May the spirits bless you with a long life."

I quickly slipped out before he could say anything more and continued my jog back. Making it back to the hut, I looked inside to make sure the man didn't scamper off somewhere. The man was still lying on the bedding.

"How are you holding up Bai?"

"Feeling a little better, Sage Jié Míns. You really are a miracle worker."

"Wait until I get you out of my hut before thanking me. I have some more herbs for you. You'll be up and running in the forest in no time."

I sit beside him, take off the warm moss, and feel his forehead. It seemed about the same, but the placebo might be kicking in, which is better than the fever getting worse. I go fetch another pot of water and use that to resoak the moss instead of the drinking water in the other pot. After making sure everything is in order, I go ahead and feed him the herbs I brought back and make sure to keep the man hydrated. After a couple of hours, the fever seemed to have reduced, and the man appeared to be feeling better. I also consistently fed him completely harmless plants every hour, saying they were medicine to hopefully help kick in a placebo for the extra effect. This was going to be a long day, but he'll be fine.