Eternal Life Begins with Learning

For the apprentices at the Medicine Hall, the most detested task was likely sorting herbs.

After all, the sheer variety of herbs was overwhelming. A great many of them had no significant difference in appearance; in fact, many looked nearly identical.

But a subtle difference in appearance could mean a world of difference in medicinal properties.

The slightest mistake would inevitably earn a harsh reprimand from Elder Li—or even punishment.

But for Chu Mu, this chance to perfectly combine theory with practice was something he truly enjoyed.

After all, if he were to purchase these several large sacks of herbs himself, even just a small amount of each variety, the cumulative cost would be astronomical.

The medicine cabinet in his now-ruined guest room had only held a few dozen common herbs in minuscule amounts, yet that alone had cost him nearly two months of his Black Gold and Monthly Stipend combined.

How could Chu Mu possibly be unhappy with such a legitimate opportunity to use public resources for his private benefit?

As he sorted through the herbs one by one, Chu Mu’s expression was as focused as ever. Occasionally, he would pinch off a piece of an herb, place it in his mouth, and chew. As he savored its medicinal properties, he cross-referenced the experience with the knowledge from the medical texts in his mind.

Elder Li lay back in his recliner, watching Chu Mu with narrowed eyes. He wore a pensive expression, as if lost in thought.

Chu Mu, however, was completely immersed, utterly oblivious to the world around him.

Time flew by. Only when the last of the herbs in the sacks had been sorted did Chu Mu finally snap back to reality.

Recalling the sorting process, Chu Mu began to meticulously review what he had learned.

It is a virtue to know oneself.

Chu Mu knew very well that without his Spiritual Radiance Blessing, he was no different from any ordinary person.

At best, the knowledge from his past life simply gave him a more structured way of thinking about learning than the average person of this era.

’Review the old to learn the new. Once I learn something, I have to reinforce it over and over until it’s completely absorbed.’

’Otherwise, I’ll forget most of it within a few days, and all this effort will be for nothing.’

"Those are herbs in that Wooden Box, too. Go sort them as well."

Elder Li said leisurely, gesturing to a Wooden Box sitting off to the side.

"Alright."

Chu Mu nodded and strode over. As he opened the Wooden Box, he couldn’t help but freeze.

The Wooden Box wasn’t large and looked rather plain. But inside, instead of the pile of herbs Chu Mu had expected, there were rows of smaller, neatly arranged Wooden Boxes.

In contrast to the plainness of the large container, the smaller Wooden Boxes stacked inside were clearly far more exquisite.

Their wood was a faint, uniform red—not from paint, but the natural color of the timber itself. Furthermore, each Wooden Box was carved with a different, intricate design.

’Just one of these Wooden Boxes is probably worth a small fortune.’

"’Herbs?’"

Chu Mu pursed his lips. Dubiously, he picked up one of the Wooden Boxes and opened the lid. A single herb lay inside.

"’Heal-all. Its taste is bitter and astringent, its medicinal properties are cold and yin...’"

The memories associated with this herb flooded his mind subconsciously.

It was a very common herb, found almost everywhere around Nanshan Town. It was also one of the few herbs Chu Mu could easily afford on his own.

’To package such a common herb in such an exquisite Wooden Box...’

Chu Mu was a little speechless. Given how common and cheap Heal-all was, the cost of this Wooden Box alone could probably buy a huge pile of the stuff.

Just as Chu Mu reached to take the Heal-all out of the Wooden Box and sort it like the others, his hand suddenly froze.

’Something’s not right...’

Chu Mu stared intently at the Heal-all before him.

’He was certain. The herb before him was, without a doubt, Heal-all!’

’But...’

"’This herb grows in flat marshes, its leaves resemble the inula. It sprouts at the start of spring, and its flower spikes emerge in the fourth month. Its purple and white flowers are similar to those of the red sage, and it is found everywhere. After one year of growth, its leaves have many purple and white veins. After ten years, the white veins become faint and difficult to discern...’"

In that instant, every detail he had ever learned about Heal-all rushed to the forefront of his mind.

Every herb naturally has its own growth cycle: it sprouts, flowers, bears fruit, grows, and withers. This is an inevitable process.

It was true in his past life, and it was true in this era as well.

The only difference was that the plants of this era had a much stronger will to survive than those of his previous life.

Take this Heal-all, for example. It was no different from the Heal-all used in traditional medicine in his past life.

But the Heal-all of his past life was known for its ’White Flower Summer Withering’—its white flowers would wither away in the summer.

The Heal-all of this era also experienced White Flower Summer Withering, but only partially. A portion of the plant would survive and continue to grow, defying its natural life cycle.

One year, two years, three years...

And according to the descriptions in his medical texts, it wasn’t just Heal-all. The vast majority of other medicinal plants also exhibited this phenomenon of defying their natural life cycles.

Of course, for an herb that had surpassed its normal life cycle, its medicinal properties naturally changed with its age.

The older it was, the more precious it became!

Chu Mu didn’t know the maximum age they could reach, as none of the medical texts described it.

However, according to the herbal field guide Elder Li had given him, the section on identifying the age of Heal-all went all the way up to a two-hundred-year-old specimen.

The book stated: ’At two hundred years, the rhizome is uniform and straight, nine to ten inches long. The leaves become twinned, dark red in color, with cyan-green veins...’

As for the stalk in his hand, Chu Mu examined it carefully, applying his limited knowledge to the infinite possibilities before him. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A slightly hazy answer began to form in his mind.

"’Fifty... around sixty years old...’"

In other words, the Heal-all he had dismissed as unremarkable was actually a treasure fifty to sixty years old!

Chu Mu’s breath hitched. His gaze instantly locked onto the large Wooden Box before him. Inside, the smaller, exquisite Wooden Boxes were arranged in neat rows. Given the size of the container, there had to be at least twenty or thirty of them!

Chu Mu gingerly placed the fifty-to-sixty-year-old Heal-all back into its Wooden Box. His movements were more delicate than they had ever been, terrified that even the slightest amount of excess Power would cause it any damage.

The moment he closed the lid, Chu Mu eagerly picked up another Wooden Box from the larger container.

He opened it, and another seemingly unremarkable herb came into view.

Having learned his lesson with the Heal-all, Chu Mu no longer dared to underestimate anything. After careful examination, he identified it as a Pinellia of about twenty years—a specimen he had previously only ever seen in books.

One by one, he opened the Wooden Boxes, then carefully closed them again.

He held one herb after another, the contents of countless medical texts cycling through his mind at a frantic, unprecedented pace, connecting piece by piece with the reality before him.

Ten years, twenty years, thirty years...

Each one was a seemingly ordinary herb, the physical changes brought on by their advanced age subtle and not immediately obvious.

He used every ounce of his knowledge, exhausted all his focus, and immersed himself in this incredibly rare experience...

...