Snar had regained consciousness, but his body was still extremely weak, and his mind remained in a haze.

"Everyone, please be quiet," Li Xu called out loudly.

After demonstrating his superb medical skills, his prestige had skyrocketed.

With just that one shout, the surrounding clamor quickly died down.

Everyone stared at Li Xu with rapt attention, awaiting his instructions.

Li Xu said to Snar’s two wives, "Go boil a basin of hot water and bring two clean towels."

The two wives didn’t dare to delay and immediately ran home to prepare.

Soon, two dusty-looking gray towels were brought over.

Li Xu had them soak the two towels in hot water and apply them to the areas under Snar’s ribs on his left and right sides, right on his ribcage.

In the human body, the area beneath the ribs is governed by the Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian.

The ’Shaoyang’ acts like a hinge for the body’s entire system, a crucial pivot point that governs the flow of Qi and facilitates the interaction between Yin and Yang, Qi and blood.

Applying warm, wet towels to the Shaoyang meridian area is, in effect, a form of transdermal therapy. It effectively guides the newly stimulated Yang Qi from within the organs to circulate outward and connect with the protective Qi on the body’s surface.

In ancient Chinese medicine, this method is known as the ’Five-Point Iron.’

Sure enough, after less than half an hour of the warm towel compress, Snar’s condition improved significantly once more.

The color gradually returned to his face, and his breathing became steady and strong.

He was even able to slowly sit up with his wives’ support.

Li Xu, however, couldn’t completely relax yet.

The acupuncture and hot compress were merely treating the "symptoms," forcibly pulling the man back from a state of apparent death.

But the "root" cause of Snar’s condition—the stagnant, unexpelled "yin-evil toxicity" within him—was still present.

Only by using an herbal decoction to completely purge this toxicity could the treatment be considered a true success.

"Ye Mushen," Li Xu said, turning to the still-dazed herbalist, "do you have any medicinal herbs in the village?"

Ye Mushen nodded hastily.

Then he went back to get the herbs.

A moment later, he returned with a pile of herbs he had gathered from the mountains himself. The variety was limited, not nearly enough to formulate an effective prescription.

Fortunately, Li Xu had brought some of his own.

He took out a few packets of commonly used herbs from his backpack.

He pulled out processed Aconite, dried ginger, and licorice—all herbs with extremely pungent and hot properties. He then had Ye Mushen fetch some common local herbs and combined them on the spot, creating a simple "Yang-warming and purging" decoction.

He handed the prepared mixture to Snar’s wives, telling them to brew it immediately and give it to Snar to drink.

Only after all this was done did Li Xu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

By now, Snar was able to speak. Supported by his wives, he thanked Li Xu profusely.

Meanwhile, the way the surrounding villagers looked at Li Xu had completely changed.

It was a look of awe and adoration, as if they were gazing upon a celestial being or a living Buddha.

Ye Mushen also had a quick change of heart.

He gave a thumbs-up. "The medical arts of the East are incredible."

He then enthusiastically invited Li Xu to be a guest at his home.

"Respected doctor from the East, you must do me the honor of visiting my home. Allow me to offer you our most sincere respects."

Seeing his sincerity, Li Xu didn’t refuse.

This was a perfect opportunity to speak with the only local doctor and learn more about digging for Yabulu.

Surrounded by an escort of villagers, Li Xu followed Ye Mushen to his home.

Ye Mushen’s home also served as the village’s only "clinic."

It was an adobe house, slightly larger than the other residences.

Inside, the light was dim, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of medicinal herbs and dust.

The furnishings were very crude.

In the corner were piles of various dried herbs whose names he didn’t recognize.

On a worn-out wooden table sat a few simple medical instruments—a mercury sphygmomanometer, and a few pairs of tweezers and scissors for treating external injuries.

To Li Xu’s surprise, he even spotted several glass syringes and some antibiotic injectables in a cabinet.

Apparently, this traditional herbalist also knew a few modern medical treatments.

However, everything looked very primitive, even a bit unsanitary.

The stone mortar used for grinding herbs still had black medicinal stains along its rim, and the cloth sacks for storing herbs were covered in a layer of dust.

Ye Mushen invited Li Xu to sit on a relatively clean chair.

He then turned, went into the inner room, and retrieved a small tin box from a locked wooden chest.

He opened the box. Inside was the item he had treasured for a long time to serve guests—tea leaves.

Li Xu recognized it with a single glance as low-quality black tea.

But out here, it was a delicacy.

Ye Mushen carefully pinched a small amount, placed it in a rough earthenware bowl, poured in some milky-white milk from a nearby jar, and then added a few lumps of yellow rock sugar.

He placed the earthenware bowl on a stove, lit a fire, and began to brew it.

Soon, a steaming bowl of "milk tea" was ready.

"Honored guest, please."

Ye Mushen presented the milk tea with both hands, serving Li Xu with great hospitality.

Li Xu looked at the oddly colored milk tea in the bowl,

a mixture of tea, the gamey taste of milk, and sweetness.

Though he felt a bit reluctant,

he couldn’t bring himself to refuse the man’s kind gesture.

He picked up the bowl and took a small sip.

Instantly,

an overly sweet, cloying, and gamey flavor filled his mouth.

Li Xu really couldn’t get used to the taste. After just one sip,

he placed the bowl back on the table.

Just then, a man in his forties was peeking in at the doorway, looking like he wanted to enter but was too embarrassed.

When Ye Mushen saw him, he frowned and said with displeasure, "Belik, what are you doing here again? I already told you about your condition—you have to take that medicine slowly. I’m entertaining an honored guest today. Come back tomorrow."

The man named Belik scratched his head in embarrassment, but his gaze went past Ye Mushen and landed on Li Xu.

"Ye Mushen," he said in a low voice, "I... I’d like to ask this Divine Physician from the East to take a look at my illness."

Ye Mushen’s face immediately darkened.

This was tantamount to saying, right in front of his guest, that his own medical skills were lacking.

But he had no way to refute it.

Because he had indeed treated Belik’s ailment—hemorrhoids—several times with various herbs, but to no effect.

Li Xu understood the situation through his translator.

Ye Mushen turned to Li Xu. "Divine Physician from the East, what do you think...?"

Treating the sick and saving lives is a doctor’s duty.

Li Xu didn’t refuse.

"Let him come in."

Overjoyed to hear this, Belik quickly walked inside.