While Li Xin was sleeping on the bed in his room, a maid arrived at the house in the middle of the night and walked toward him.

"Physician Li?" the woman asked as she gently shook Li Xin’s body to wake him up.

Li Xin slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them lightly as he saw a woman standing beside his bed.

"You?" Li Xin murmured.

"Sorry for disturbing your rest. Madam Si Zue has already obtained the herbal ingredients you needed."

"I placed them on the table," the maid said.

Li Xin’s attention shifted. There were ten wooden boxes stacked on top of each other on the bedside table.

From a glance alone, he could sense a faint qi aura coming from the ten herbal ingredients.

However, Li Xin’s task now was not pill refinement, but simply preparing ordinary medicine for a mortal like Tong Hong.

The man was worried that if he gave Tong Hong a pill, considering he was only a mortal, his body would not be able to handle the qi energy inside the pill, which could instead fatally damage his internal organs.

"Alright. Tell Madam Si Zue that I’ll prepare the medicine tonight. Tomorrow morning, Master Tong Hong can drink it immediately," Li Xin said as he sat at the edge of the bed.

"I’ll let her know," the maid replied. "Do you need anything else?"

"No. Everything I need is already available."

"Very well. I’ll leave and won’t disturb you anymore, Physician Li."

Li Xin smiled faintly and lowered his head. The maid began walking away and left the house.

The ingredients were already prepared. What he needed now were only the tools.

As for skill and knowledge in preparing medicine, Li Xin was more than proficient.

Simply put, medicine preparation was the basic foundation of pill refinement.

A cultivator could not be called a master alchemist unless they understood the basics of preparing medicine and herbal mixtures.

To begin preparing medicine from those herbs, Li Xin needed a stone mortar, wrapping paper, and hot water.

He stepped outside the house, searching for a stone and ten leaves.

It was not difficult to find them within the lush grounds of the village chief’s residence.

Several guards noticed what Li Xin was doing.

"Look at him! He says he can cure Master Tong Hong’s illness."

"He’s just bragging like all the other physicians. Don’t we already know Master Tong’s illness is difficult to cure?"

"Don’t speak too loudly. He might hear you."

Li Xin heard them clearly with his sensitive hearing. From their conversation, Li Xin learned that Master Tong Hong had been sick for a long time and many physicians had attempted to cure him.

However, from their expressions and conversation, Li Xin was certain those physicians had failed.

There were many reasons why their medicinal mixtures failed. Besides incorrect diagnoses, mistakes during preparation could also affect the results.

Li Xin managed to find a sufficiently large stone, along with ten fresh leaves picked from a nearby tree. Everything he needed was complete. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Alright. This is more than enough," Li Xin replied.

Since he did not yet have proper equipment, he would use his qi to turn the stone and leaves into the tools he needed.

The stone would be carved into a mortar, while the leaves would be neatly cut to hold the medicinal powder.

Li Xin tapped his bag of holding and summoned a cauldron. He poured a bucket of water into it before lighting a fire beneath the cauldron.

Gradually, the flames stabilized and began heating the bottom of the cauldron, causing the water inside to boil and become ready for use.

From the ten herbal ingredients on the table, Li Xin could make at least five medicinal mixtures for two different kinds of medicine.

The first medicine was to eliminate the poison in the stomach, while the second was to destroy the fungus inside Tong Hong’s lungs.

For someone who had once refined high-level pills, Li Xin was extremely confident that his medicine could cure Tong Hong.

He began placing the herbs onto the stone mortar before grinding them with steady movements.

Li Xin had to continue grinding the herbs until they were completely crushed into fine powder.

He worked throughout the entire night without becoming sleepy, fully focused on turning the herbs into medicine ready for use.

The ten clean leaves were spread across the table. Li Xin carefully poured the medicinal powder from the mortar onto each leaf in the proper amount and proportion.

There were now ten prepared medicines made by Li Xin. Five were for the lungs, while the rest were for the stomach.

He tied each leaf with a small twig so the contents would not spill while being carried.

The morning sunlight shone brightly, illuminating the village chief’s residence and making the plants and trees look fresh and lively.

Li Xin opened the sliding door and stepped outside. He walked while carrying a kettle filled with warm water taken from the boiled water inside the cauldron.

"Look! He’s finished. I wonder if his medicine is actually effective?"

"If he succeeds, our village will be very lucky to have a physician like him."

The guards once again whispered among themselves when Li Xin stepped out of the house.

The man walked up the stairs and arrived at the main building of the village chief’s residence, where a maid opened the door for him.

"Physician Li? Is it finished already?" the maid asked with a smile as she looked at Li Xin’s handsome face.

"Yes. Could you take me to Master Tong Hong’s room?"

"Of course. Follow me, Physician Li."

The two of them walked together through the main building of the village chief’s residence.

Li Xin glanced over and saw other servants preparing breakfast.

Their steps stopped in front of a bedroom door. Madam Si Zue opened it and appeared wearing her sleeping robe.

"Physician Li?" Si Zue greeted.

"My medicine is ready," Li Xin replied.

"Come in. Do you need anything else?" Si Zue asked.

Li Xin stepped inside and saw Tong Hong still lying weakly on the bed, occasionally coughing with a hoarse voice.

The man’s attention shifted to the side of the room. The window was open, and cold air from the front yard drifted inside, making the room damp.

"Do you leave all the windows open at night?" Li Xin asked.

"Yes. Why?"

Li Xin walked closer to the bed where Tong Hong lay weakly. His face looked pale, and blood could be seen in the bucket beside the bed.

"Master Tong’s severe coughing is caused by fungus in his lungs. Fungus grows aggressively in damp environments," Li Xin explained.

The man turned toward Si Zue.

"Do you have a metal container for burning incense?"

"Incense? My husband isn’t dead yet!" Si Zue shouted.

"Forgive me. I’m not trying to burn funeral incense," Li Xin replied.

Si Zue looked confused by Li Xin’s behavior before turning to order a servant to fetch the item he requested.

Not long after, the servant returned carrying a metal container usually used for burning aromatherapy incense.

"But the other physicians never did anything like this. What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Lung disease cannot be cured simply by drinking medicine. He needs to inhale medicinal air," Li Xin answered.

Li Xin placed the lung medicine powder into the incense container before walking toward the window and shutting it, preventing the cold morning air from entering.

Si Zue was still confused. Everything Li Xin did was completely different from the methods used by the other physicians.

The woman began to think that perhaps Li Xin’s words were completely true.

Li Xin lit a candle to brighten the room and began burning the medicinal powder inside the aromatherapy container.

Glowing embers appeared as white smoke rose from the incense holder.

"Alright. We need to let it burn until all the medicine inside the incense container is gone," Li Xin explained while turning toward Si Zue.

"It would be more effective if afterward, he sits under the sun in the front yard for half an hour," Li Xin added.

"I’ll do that."

The moment Tong Hong inhaled the white medicinal smoke, his coughing became much worse and more alarming.

Si Zue panicked and tried to rush toward her husband, but Li Xin stopped her.

"Master Tong’s lung disease is fungal. It can infect other people."

COUGH!

Tong Hong turned onto his side and vomited blood from his mouth, the effect of the medicine fighting against the fungus.

"HUSBAND!" Si Zue screamed.

"You’re making his condition worse! What kind of physician are you?!" the woman shouted angrily while pointing at Li Xin.

"This is the best method. The aroma from my medicine is fighting the fungus in his lungs. If he can endure it, his condition will improve tomorrow."

"Are you certain? If he dies, you’ll be executed for killing the village chief!" Si Zue threatened.

Li Xin smiled confidently, "I’m certain, Madam Si Zue."