Chapter 172: Each With Their Strengths

Xingyi and Xingjiu hadn’t held anything back when dealing with Jian Mo, and Jian Mo had no intention of keeping secrets from them either.

After hearing Xingyi’s request, Jian Mo said, “I’m better at treating external injuries. I’m not very good with all kinds of illnesses.”

Xingyi: “You’re too modest.”

Jian Mo: “I mean it. My edge is that I handle certain surgical instruments well, and I also have a pretty good stethoscope. Want to take a look?”

Xingyi: “Of course!”

Jian Mo went inside, took the stethoscope from his pack, and brought it out for Xingyi and Xingjiu to see. “In a way, listening to the sounds inside a patient’s body and using a stethoscope are similar methods. But with a tool, you can hear more clearly.”

Xingyi accepted the compact metal instrument. “How do you use it?”

Jian Mo: “Press the thick end against the patient, and bring the thin end to your ear.”

Following Jian Mo’s instructions, Xingyi tried it and discovered the sounds really were clearer. “What’s the principle behind it?”

Jian Mo: “Well… sound transmits better through solids?”

He’d seen plenty of stethoscopes and roughly knew how to make them, but he really wasn’t clear on the precise mechanism.

Xingyi was the type to habitually chase things to the root; he asked, and seeing Jian Mo wasn’t sure, he let it go.

Instead, taking advantage of the clearer sounds, he beckoned Jian Mo over and explained in detail what the different internal sounds represented and why they differed.

Under his guidance, Jian Mo quickly understood.

Excited, Jian Mo pulled out his notebook and carefully wrote down everything he’d learned that night in neat block characters.

Watching Jian Mo’s tidy square script, Xingyi was quite intrigued.

After Fenhui sweated, Xingyi had someone bring meat broth; they fed him a serving with vegetables, then had him shift back into human form and helped him into a room to rest.

Both sides had come into contact with medical knowledge unfamiliar to them; none of the three felt like sleeping.

Knees almost touching, they talked late into the night.

By the latter half of the night, when they truly couldn’t stay up any longer, Xingyi said, still reluctant to stop, “Tomorrow I’ll ask around and see if anyone is willing to undergo a surgery, so we can learn procedures from you.”

Jian Mo had no objections. “All right. Once a patient comes, I’ll examine them—if surgery is indicated, we’ll do it. If not, we’ll look for another case.”

Xingyi: “Sounds good. Get some rest—we’ll head back first.”

Xingjiu supported Xingyi to leave.

Xingyi was quite advanced in years and had been up late; it was truly taxing. Seeing this, Wu Jiong planned to shift into the great wolf and escort them home.

Xingyi hadn’t expected this seemingly aloof man to be so considerate. He demurred once, couldn’t refuse, and happily accepted the offer.

Having learned something new, Jian Mo’s spirits remained high despite his fatigue.

The next morning he didn’t sleep in at all; he woke with the sunrise and went to check on Fenhui.

Fenhui still hadn’t awakened, sleeping deep and sound.

Jian Mo didn’t disturb him; he simply observed his complexion and skin tone at the side.

Even after just a single day, Fenhui’s facial skin and exposed hands were clearly less sallow, shifting back toward a more normal color.

After a careful once-over, Jian Mo slipped out and told Wu Jiong, “A miracle worker.”

Wu Jiong: “Witch-Doctor Xingyi really is impressive.”

Jian Mo: “Right? He’s totally different from Lian Ke. When I met Lian Ke before, I thought witch-doctors here would put ‘witch’ before ‘doctor.’ Turns out that’s not the whole story. I want to stay a few more days and learn properly.”

Wu Jiong: “All right. We can stay into winter if needed. If it’s too long, I’ll run back to the tribe and let everyone know.”

Jian Mo thought for a moment. “No rush. Witch-Doctor Xingyi might not necessarily agree to keep us.”

Wu Jiong: “I think if you want to stay, they won’t object. They like you—and the medical techniques you brought.”

Jian Mo smiled. “Then it’ll come down to whether my surgeries can win them over.”

Xingyi’s passion for medicine was as strong as ever. By noon, six patients they’d found had arrived.

Among them, two had severe inflammatory infections of limbs, two had growths (tumors), one had a broken hand, and one had a hard mass inside the body—nothing showing on the surface; you could only feel it through the skin.

Xingyi: “Witch-Doctor Jian Mo, these patients fit what you asked for. We don’t have appropriate methods here—can your side treat them?”

After examining each case carefully, Jian Mo said, “The two with tumors and the one with the internal hard mass should be relatively straightforward. The other three will require more thought.”

Xingyi’s eyes lit up. “Which one shall we treat first?”

Jian Mo considered it. “Let’s start with the one whose neck has a tumor.”

He’d handled a similar case before and had experience; the chances of success were high. He wanted to impress Xingyi and the others, and it was best to begin with a more manageable operation.

Xingyi said quickly, “Yes, yes. Man Zhi’s growth is a sarcoma. We’ve tried medicinals to shrink it with no success, and it’s only gotten bigger. We’ve been worried.”

The sarcoma on the beastman Man Zhi’s neck was nearly as big as his head. Its heavy weight had slightly deformed his neck and shoulder bones.

He was a handsome man by nature, but this growth made him look odd and affected his life enormously, even if it wasn’t the most dangerous condition.

Jian Mo had Man Zhi sit on a low stool, examined carefully, and explained as he went: “There are many blood vessels in the neck. The difficulty here is avoiding them; nick a vessel and you can cause massive bleeding.”

Xingyi: “Exactly—and with an incision that large, if we handled it, it’d be hard to heal well.”

Jian Mo: “Right—postoperative care is crucial.”

Xingyi: “We do have a few herbal washes that help wounds close nicely.”

Jian Mo: “Perfect. That’s exactly what I’m short on for post-op care.”

Before, his surgeries were done after assessing either human or beast form. Now that he was in Star-Store, where they had a knack for examinations, he followed their lead and checked Man Zhi’s beast form as well.

Guiding Jian Mo’s listening, Xingyi said, “Hear that? He’s in good shape overall; no issues with his organs. It’s just this big tumor blocking the flow of qi and blood.”

Listening closely, Jian Mo really could hear subtle differences.

Xingyi: “That’s also why our medicinals couldn’t bring it down. This tumor is congenital—solid flesh, not a newly formed abscess.”

Jian Mo: “It is troublesome—but since it hasn’t turned malignant, surgery should be relatively manageable.”

Man Zhi’s beast form was horse-like; he lay quietly on the ground while they discussed him.

If not for the growth, the massive horse would have been strikingly powerful and handsome. With it, the beauty was spoiled—and it interfered with his running and hunting.

After the exam, Jian Mo decided to operate in beast form.

He explained, “Beast bodies are huge. When it was just me and Wu Jiong, doing operations that big was a bit taxing, so I’ve gotten used to operating on the human form. But I’m actually more familiar with beast forms—they feel more natural to me—and it’s more convenient for you to observe. So this time I’d like to operate in beast form.”

Xingyi had no objections and said cheerfully, “Whatever you think best—we’ll listen to you on this.”

Jian Mo: “Then let’s prepare, and I’ll first talk about sterilization.”

He carefully explained surgical sterilization and why it was necessary—this was an area he’d studied systematically, and his explanation was on point.

Listening, Xingyi and the others had a sudden realization. “So there’s so much to it! No wonder our past surgeries didn’t fare well.”

Jian Mo: “What surgeries have you done before?”

Xingyi: “Out on hunts when someone got pierced by branches or spears, we had to operate to remove whatever was lodged in the flesh—does that count as surgery?”

Jian Mo: “Yes. Removing foreign objects is a fairly classic operation.”

Xingyi: “After surgeries like that, we often end up with hard lumps inside, especially in the limbs. Patients feel their hands or feet don’t work as well afterward.”

Jian Mo thought a moment. “Likely tissue adhesions. After such operations, rehabilitation is needed.”

He then explained adhesions and rehab.

Xingyi: “We’re learning so much from you—we didn’t know any of this.”

After discussing surgical knowledge, Jian Mo had them sterilize and put on masks and gloves.

Xingyi’s hands weren’t steady anymore due to age, so he observed while Xingjiu and Wu Jiong assisted Jian Mo.

Man Zhi’s tumor was large, but the procedure wasn’t overly complex.

Jian Mo carefully dissected and freed the mass, then sutured the relevant tissues.

The tumor, once removed, filled an entire basin—heaped to the brim.

If they’d had the equipment and techniques, they should have sent it for histological sectioning, but that wasn’t an option here.

The anesthetics, scalpels, and the long-tail beast sinew used for suturing were all things Jian Mo had brought; it was Xingyi and Xingjiu’s first time seeing such instruments, and they marveled at them.

Once the operation and closure were finished, that was that.

While they rested, Xingyi compared: “Surgery does seem more convenient—done in an afternoon—whereas medicinals take many days.”

Jian Mo: “Different conditions call for different treatments. Fenhui’s case clearly lent itself to medicinals.”

Xingyi nodded in agreement. “True.”

Man Zhi hadn’t woken yet. Xingjiu volunteered to stay and observe, sending Jian Mo and the others off to eat.

The Star-Store Tribe had advanced individualization: no communal meals, no communal hunting. They lived in one tribe but everyone handled their own affairs; only in war did they act as one.

The meal was prepared by a sub-beastman Xingyi had hired; that evening he made soup and tubers.

Jian Mo took a look—the soup turned out to be seafood, with various shellfish, crab pieces, fish, and shrimp, plus vegetables. It was deliciously fresh with a hint of spice.

There were doughy lumps in the soup—apparently the staple—soft and tender to the bite with a plant fragrance.

Smiling, Xingyi asked, “How is it? Can you get used to this?”

Jian Mo nodded. “It’s great—very fresh.”

Wu Jiong said, “I like it a lot.”

Xingyi: “Eat more, then. This is our local specialty soup dumpling—I had them made just for you.”

Jian Mo: “Then we won’t be polite.”

Xingyi added, “Stay a while longer. Let’s exchange and learn more.”

That was exactly what Jian Mo wanted. He asked, “May I look at your prescriptions? I’m very interested and would like to copy them.”

Xingyi: “Of course. We’d also like to record your surgical techniques—and your sterilization methods.”

Jian Mo agreed without hesitation. “No problem at all. If it’s convenient, we can start tonight. I can’t read your script, so I’ll need someone to help translate.”

Xingyi: “Let Xingjiu do it. He’s familiar with everything in the formulas.”

Jian Mo smiled. “Perfect. I’ll copy and ask questions as I go—please be ready for lots of questions, Xingjiu.”

With consensus reached, both sides decided to exchange skills.

Jian Mo felt a surge of excitement. After being here so long, he could finally study properly.

If he truly mastered this, he could call himself a witch-doctor without feeling a pang of guilt.