Chapter 18: Pharmacy 60 Seconds

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Pharmacy 60 Seconds

Xu Mo’s knowledge of pharmacology was virtually nonexistent. What little he knew came from his second uncle’s dubious boasts and scattered information from the internet. Right now, he could only rely on his most primitive instincts and his gut feeling for certain words.

His gaze flashed across the shelves.

"Bruises and Sprains," "Blood Circulation," "Muscle Relief"—these keywords became Xu Mo’s guiding light.

Ten seconds passed.

Xu Mo’s hands moved like phantoms. The first things that caught his eye were various medicinal oils and liquids. Honghua Oil, Yunnan Baiyao aerosol spray, Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Tincture... He grabbed several bottles of Honghua Oil and cans of Yunnan Baiyao aerosol spray, stuffing them into the already-open backpack on his back without a second glance. The glass bottles and metal cans clinked at the bottom of the bag.

Twenty seconds passed.

Next was the plaster section. Musk Bone-Strengthening Ointment, Yunnan Baiyao Plasters, Pain-Relieving Patches... He swept piles of plasters, their packages printed with diagrams of muscles and bones, into his backpack. The thick boxes quickly devoured the remaining space.

Thirty seconds passed.

The backpack was now bulging so much it could barely close. Xu Mo decisively rushed to the doorway and forcefully threw the stuffed bag onto the ground on the post-apocalyptic side with a heavy thud. He then quickly took off his jacket, spread it out in front of him to serve as a makeshift bundle, and turned to the oral medication section. His eyes locked onto Trauma Pills, Sanqi Tablets, and Muscle Relaxing and Blood Circulation Pills. Glass medicine bottles rained onto his jacket, quickly piling into a small mound.

Fifty seconds passed.

The jacket bundle was also full to bursting, but Xu Mo’s heart sank slightly—he hadn’t seen the medicinal wine he’d been hoping for!

Just then, in his peripheral vision, he glimpsed several brocade boxes containing ginseng inside the traditional Chinese medicine counter.

Not much time was left.

Without hesitation, Xu Mo smashed his fist into the glass counter. Amidst the CRASH, he snatched the ginseng boxes, stuffed them inside his shirt, and simultaneously wrapped his jacket around all the medicines, holding the bundle in his arms.

His vision flashed. The sixty seconds were up. A smile finally appeared on Xu Mo’s face.

Even though he hadn’t found any medicinal wine, all this Honghua Oil, Yunnan Baiyao, and the various other medicines were enough to support his continued training.

Xu Mo shouldered the still-heavy, repacked backpack and tightly clutched the jacket-bundle stuffed with medicine bottles and boxes, his steps fast yet steady as he headed back to the shelter.

Despite the heavy load, Xu Mo’s heart felt as if it were about to take flight, filled with an indescribable joy and a sense of security.

This "door opening" had yielded a harvest far beyond his expectations.

Back in the relative safety of his shelter, Xu Mo eagerly and carefully spread all his "spoils of war" out on the floor. A dazzling array of medicines nearly covered a small patch of ground, but the seven ginseng roots in their exquisite brocade boxes were the most eye-catching of all his gains.

He picked up a brocade box and gently opened it. Inside lay a ginseng root with its rootlets intact and its main root thick, exuding a rich and unique herbaceous fragrance. Just smelling it seemed to invigorate his spirits.

"Ginseng... this is the good stuff!" Xu Mo muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Although he didn’t know much about Traditional Chinese Medicine, ginseng’s reputation as the "King of a Hundred Herbs" and its function of greatly replenishing vital energy were universally known—common knowledge for the average person.

From what little Xu Mo knew about ginseng, its core effects were to "greatly replenish vital energy, restore the pulse and prevent collapse, tonify the spleen and benefit the lungs, generate fluids and nourish blood, and calm the mind and improve intelligence."

To put it in simpler terms, it was a treasure that could save and extend life. It could massively supplement the body’s most fundamental energy, or "vital energy," and had a miraculous, almost resurrective effect on those recovering from serious illness, weakened by chronic disease, or suffering from a great loss of vital energy.

Xu Mo clearly remembered hearing many true stories before, about elderly people at the end of their lives, unable to eat, who managed to extend their lives for a while longer just by holding a slice of ginseng in their mouth or by being fed ginseng soup. This showed just how potent its medicinal effects were.

For his current situation, the high-intensity Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Cross Training was essentially a process of constantly overdrawing his body’s potential, consuming vast amounts of "vital energy" to temper his muscles, bones, and skin, while also continuously creating micro-injuries. Ordinary food provided energy and repaired muscles, but its effects were slow and insufficient for replenishing the deeper loss of vital energy and repairing damage to bones and sinews.

’This ginseng is the perfect thing to fill that gap. When I feel like I’ve over-trained, when my body feels depleted, or if I suffer a relatively serious internal injury, I can cut off a small slice to hold in my mouth or steep in water. It might quickly replenish my vital energy, speed up my recovery, and maybe even help me break through a training bottleneck.’

In Xu Mo’s eyes, these seven ginseng roots were seven life-saving talismans and boosters for critical moments.

After the initial ecstasy, Xu Mo looked at the assorted plasters, medicinal oils, and oral medications on the floor, then back at the ginseng roots. A clear thought emerged, cooling his earlier excitement and turning it into more deliberate planning.

’I got lucky this time and guessed right about a few things. But that traditional Chinese medicine counter, with all those drawers... they must be full of all kinds of medicinal herbs...’ Xu Mo thought with a hint of regret.

Back then, faced with that dense row of small drawers inscribed with the names of medicinal herbs, he had no idea where to even start. He didn’t understand even the most basic principles of herb properties, channel tropism, effects, or compatibility. Even if he’d had time, he would have had no clue which herbs would be helpful for his External Skills training.

Xu Mo knew he had hit a knowledge barrier. It was more frustrating than not finding supplies at all—to be sitting on a treasure trove without knowing how to use it.

’Next time. Next time I go to a pharmacy, or... even better, if I can find a bookstore, I’ll look for books like the *Chinese Herbal Medicine Canon*, *Traditional Chinese Medicine*, or *Trauma Diagnosis and Treatment*!’ Xu Mo made up his mind.

Supplies alone weren’t enough; he also needed the knowledge to use them. This was especially true in the vast and profound field of traditional Chinese medicine. Using herbs randomly without theoretical guidance could easily turn a good thing into a disaster. He needed to systematically learn which herbs could strengthen muscles and bones, which could invigorate blood and dispel stasis, which could nourish vital energy, and how they should be used—orally or externally, whether they needed to be combined with other herbs, and so on.

Only by mastering this knowledge could he maximize the resources brought by the "door." Only then could he truly turn the treasure troves of Chinese medicine in that static world into his own inexhaustible Pill Room for cultivation.

The establishment of this new goal gave Xu Mo a new, clear direction for the next forty-eight hours of waiting.

He carefully stored all the medicines, especially the seven ginseng roots. Then, Xu Mo picked up a bottle of Honghua Oil, poured a small amount into his palm, and began to rub and pat it onto his arms and shins, which were still faintly aching.