Chapter 173: Gathering Medicine 

Man Zhi, who had a tumor on his neck, was recovering well after surgery.

After a careful examination, Jian Mo told Xing Yi and the others:

“Give it another two days. Once the wound closes, Man Zhi will be able to freely switch between his human and beast forms again.”

Xing Yi asked:

“So right now the worry is that the stitches might split, right?”

Jian Mo nodded.

“Yes. If he shifts now, the wound might tear and cause heavy bleeding.”

Lying on the ground while they examined his neck, Man Zhi hurriedly said:

“I definitely won’t be reckless. I’ll wait until Doctor Jian Mo says I can shift again.”

Jian Mo smiled, patting him reassuringly.

“You’re in good health. From my experience, three or four days should be enough for you to heal almost completely. It won’t be long.”

Man Zhi beamed.

“That’s wonderful.”

Since Man Zhi’s recovery was going so well, everyone’s confidence in Jian Mo’s medical skills grew.

Jian Mo made use of the time to operate on a few more patients. All of them recovered well—at the very least, better than before they had fallen ill.

Word of Jian Mo spread. Patients from a dozen nearby tribes rushed to him for treatment.

With Xing Yi there, the number of unresolved patients wasn’t high, but those who came had more complicated illnesses.

Some conditions Jian Mo couldn’t cure alone, so he and Xing Yi worked together. For cases they still couldn’t solve, they had to temporarily set them aside.

Still, with their combined effort, another wave of patients in the surrounding region was treated, and sick people became scarce.

What amazed everyone most was that Jian Mo could treat teeth.

Toothache was a torment many endured for years, suffering terribly. Now that Jian Mo could fix teeth, people were overjoyed.

Those plagued by toothaches would come no matter the distance once they heard of him.

Because of this special skill, Jian Mo not only didn’t run short on supplies but received even more new ones—metal ingots, cloth, food, everything imaginable.

Privately, Jian Mo sighed to Wu Jiong:

“Good thing we brought plenty of anesthetic and glue. Otherwise, we might have had to rush all the way back to the tribe for more.”

Wu Jiong:

“Wouldn’t matter. I could ride Ying’ao back, deliver a message, and return.”

Jian Mo gave him a look.

“But I don’t want to be apart from you.”

Wu Jiong said nothing, just pulled Jian Mo close and kissed his beast ear.

Jian Mo was still in his secondary growth phase. Xing Yi noticed and prescribed supplements.

About Jian Mo’s condition, Xing Yi explained:

“Yours is unusual, but nothing to worry about. It’s not an illness, just your personal trait. Eat more, eat well, and your development will catch up naturally.”

Jian Mo nodded.

“I know. I’m not in a rush.”

Xing Yi patted his shoulder kindly, clearly fond of this young healer from afar.

For now, Jian Mo’s group stayed in the Chuxing Tribe.

The tribe welcomed them warmly. The chieftain even gave them a spacious house to live in.

The patients Jian Mo treated all had good prognoses. Under Xing Yi’s care, Fen Hui also improved day by day, even gaining some weight.

Jian Mo exchanged medical knowledge with Xing Yi constantly, taking extensive notes every day.

The paper and brushes he brought fascinated Xing Yi, who even traded for a stack of them.

Jian Mo had intended to give them as gifts, but Xing Yi insisted on trading. In the end, Jian Mo gave him quite a bit, half gift, half trade.

One day, Xing Jiu came to find Jian Mo.

“The autumn winds have started. We’re heading to the coast to collect a seaweed used to treat ringworm and scabies. Want to come?”

Jian Mo’s interest flared.

“Of course!”

Xing Jiu:

“Then I’ll gather some of our beastmen. It’s tricky to collect—you have to get it off fish.”

Jian Mo blinked.

“From fish?”

Xing Jiu smiled mysteriously.

“You’ll see.”

Soon, he had gathered several beastmen.

Their skin was darkened from the sun, their smiles bright with white teeth.

“Doctor Jian Mo, Chief Wu Jiong.”

Jian Mo quickly returned the greeting.

“Hello.”

After introductions, Xing Jiu said:

“Let’s hurry.”

The beastmen shifted into beast form, carrying baskets and sub-beastmen on their backs, and ran toward the sea.

Chuxing Tribe wasn’t far from the coast—just a mountain to cross.

After a while, they arrived.

The weather wasn’t cold yet, but the seawater was.

Jian Mo dipped a foot in and shivered violently.

Xing Jiu suddenly remembered to ask:

“You can swim, right?”

Jian Mo:

“Yes! My whole family can swim—even Chirchirp and Ying’ao. They’re masters at it.”

Xing Jiu laughed.

“Too bad they’re not here today. Would’ve loved to see it.”

Jian Mo:

“Tomorrow then.”

Xing Jiu pointed out to the sea.

“We’re going to that bay ahead. We’ll call the fish over, then harvest the seaweed from their bodies.”

Jian Mo:

“Got it. We’ll follow your lead.”

He motioned for the beastmen to continue running.

After a while, they reached a rocky islet.

The bay’s waters flowed deep.

At Xing Jiu’s signal, one beastman climbed a high rock and played a bone instrument.

The sound was deep, far-reaching, and ethereal—like a whale’s call.

Jian Mo had never seen such an instrument, nor heard such a sound. He couldn’t help staring.

The sound carried far. They waited patiently on the rocks.

The beastman played, and they listened for any response.

After a long time, a similar sound echoed back.

Jian Mo, excited, asked:

“That’s the fish calling back, right?”

Xing Jiu smiled.

“Yes, a kind of large fish.”

The beastman kept playing. Soon, a group of big fish swam slowly toward them, entering the bay.

The fish glided leisurely, completely at ease.

Xing Jiu said:

“Now we’ll jump in and scrape the seaweed from their bodies. Since you’ve never done it, you can watch from shore.”

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong didn’t act tough.

“Alright, we’ll observe first.”

Xing Jiu and his men dove in, swimming to the fish.

The fish were friendly, not shying away.

They swam close and, with scraper-like tools, scraped seaweed off the fish. If they found other debris, they cleared that too.

Watching, Jian Mo whispered to Wu Jiong:

“They look like fish spa workers.”

Only, instead of fish eating dead skin off people, they were cleaning the fish.

The role reversal was funny and endearing.

Jian Mo added, “Looks fun. Should we try?”

Wu Jiong held his arm.

“Wait. Let’s ask them about precautions first.”

The beastmen’s lung capacity was astounding. They stayed down for six or seven minutes before surfacing.

Jian Mo called:

“How is it?”

Xing Jiu wiped water from his face, grinning.

“Great. We’re used to it.”

Jian Mo:

“We want to try too. Is that okay?”

Xing Jiu:

“Go ahead. Warm up first, then jump in. The water here is calm, and we’ll watch you.”

Jian Mo laughed.

“Alright, here we come!”

They didn’t undress, just adjusted their baskets and jumped in.

The seawater’s buoyancy was different, but not as cold as Jian Mo feared.

He remembered bathing in the Xuejiao Tribe’s icy meltwater—that had been much colder.

He swam hard toward Xing Jiu and the others, Wu Jiong right behind him.

Up close, Jian Mo saw the great fish swimming below and gasped.

“They look like Riverqin fish!”

Xing Jiu:

“You’ve seen Riverqin too?”

Jian Mo:

“Yes. We went to a tribe called Shangmeng for chili peppers. Their Riverqin had trouble giving birth—I helped deliver.”

Xing Jiu:

“You really know everything.”

Jian Mo chuckled.

“Just experience. Delivering Riverqin isn’t too stressful. I treat many animals—treating animals is easier than treating beastmen and sub-beastmen. With them, I can risk techniques I wouldn’t dare use otherwise.”

Xing Jiu nodded.

“True. For safety, we often hold back on certain treatments for our people.”

After chatting, Xing Jiu saw they were adapting well. He signaled underwater.

“Just scrape the seaweed off the fish. If you scrape the wrong kind, it’s fine—we’ll sort it later.”

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong nodded.

They followed him, learning quickly. Wu Jiong, in particular, scraped fast and clean.

Every few minutes they surfaced for air—it was tiring but exhilarating.

At one point, Jian Mo noticed a fish seemed to enjoy it, rolling over to show its belly and even calling out like it was asking for more.

Jian Mo happily rubbed its belly. The fish squirmed in delight, clearly interacting with them.

Since the water was chilly, they didn’t stay long.

Back on shore, they lay in the sun, ate some food, and sorted the collected seaweed.

Xing Jiu showed them the varieties, pointing out which were medicinal. Jian Mo wrote everything carefully in his notebook.

After, Jian Mo said:

“I once treated a beastman with severe ringworm. Took a long time, and even now his fur hasn’t grown back properly.”

He described Dan Guan’s case.

“On the bald spots, the skin was so smooth—especially the scalp. If I hadn’t seen patches on his body, I’d have thought it was just baldness.”

Xing Jiu thought a moment.

“That sounds like oily ringworm. Seaweed won’t work. It needs Black Knife Grass and White Clay. When you leave, I’ll give you some.”

Jian Mo:

“That would be great. Poor guy—still bald, and so young.”

Xing Jiu laughed.

“Baldness alone is fine. At least oily ringworm isn’t painful or itchy. There’s a kind called tumor ringworm—painful, itchy, and bald. That’s real suffering.”

Jian Mo:

“Then you’ll have to teach me how to treat tumor ringworm too.”