Chapter Forty-Seven: Identifying Medicinal Herbs Once Again

After this thought occurred to her, she realized that the chair she’d made was no longer so comfortable.

“Here, here! Miss Yan! Quick, take a look! I’ve been puzzling over this for ages and still can’t tell if this is the Seven-Star Moon or the Seven-Star Sun.”

The director came rushing back, clutching a stalk of medicinal herb. Seeing the way he hurried in, Yan Heru worried he might trip and fall at any moment.

“Director, watch out!” She quickly rose to steady him.

The director waved her concern away without a care. “No need to worry about me, I’m in fine health! Just help me figure out what this herb is. I’ve spent days trying to identify it, and I still can’t be sure.”

Yan Heru didn’t take the herb immediately. Instead, she said, “Director, perhaps you could ask one of the other physicians here. Even if I try, I can’t guarantee I’ll get it right.”

“Nonsense! I have the most experience in this entire clinic! If I can’t identify it, those youngsters are even less likely to manage. Just take a look!” The director cheerfully pushed the herb into her hands.

She glanced awkwardly at Han Xingzhou, who was standing off to the side, visibly suppressing laughter as he witnessed the scene.

“Since the director insists, I’ll try my best, but I can’t promise I’ll get it right,” Yan Heru said seriously.

“No problem! Give it a try.” The director looked at her with eager expectation.

Yan Heru exhaled softly and began to examine the herb intently.

But in less than three seconds, she’d already recognized it. She looked up at the director in confusion, then down at the herb in her hand.

Finally, she said, “Director… this is just a Seven-Star Moon…”

The director looked at her in delight. “You identified it so quickly? How can you be sure it’s a Seven-Star Moon?”

“The main difference between Seven-Star Moon and Seven-Star Sun is in the serration of the leaves. The Seven-Star Moon’s are round, while the Seven-Star Sun’s are oval, so it’s quite easy to distinguish,” Yan Heru replied honestly.

Han Xingzhou, listening to her analysis, couldn’t help twitching at the corner of his mouth. At last, he couldn’t resist commenting, “Are you sure that’s their main difference? And that it’s easy to tell?”

Yan Heru frowned in confusion but still nodded. “Isn’t that the main difference? I think it’s already quite easy to tell them apart—any other distinctions are too subtle.”

Han Xingzhou was shocked, while the director was elated.

The director leapt in front of Yan Heru, his eyes shining. “Would you be willing to become my apprentice?”

The moment he said this, Han Xingzhou was genuinely stunned.

Yan Heru had no idea what qualifications were required to become the director’s disciple. Hearing these words, she simply felt happy, without any other complex emotions.

“Me? Am I really allowed?”

“Of course! No one in the world is more suitable than you! In fact, in a few years, you could probably be my teacher, though you’re still a bit inexperienced now.” As he spoke, the director stroked his beard in all seriousness, as if pondering whether this might actually come to pass.

Yan Heru dared not imagine such a thing. “Director, just accepting me as your apprentice is already more than I could hope for! Please don’t joke about making me your teacher.”

The director laughed, thoroughly satisfied with her response. Though he harbored the wish to make her his teacher, she truly didn’t have the seniority for that yet; if it ever happened, the whole world would surely talk.

“Excellent! There’s no time like the present—let’s prepare the apprenticeship ceremony today! Wait here—I’ll give the order and have everything arranged at once. Tonight, you’ll formally become my disciple!”

With that, he dashed off like a whirlwind.

Yan Heru could only smile helplessly and shake her head. Then she noticed Han Xingzhou still standing there, his face frozen in astonishment, as if he hadn’t yet recovered from the news.

She waved a hand in front of his face. “Young Master Han, why are you so lost in thought?”

Han Xingzhou snapped out of it, though he still looked shocked. “You don’t realize how many disciples the director has had, or what it takes to become one, do you?”

Yan Heru shook her head. “He must have many disciples, but I suppose the requirements are strict. I was just lucky this time, all because I identified a single herb.”

Han Xingzhou shook his head. “No, to this day, the director has had only one disciple. And that disciple is almost like a phantom—no one’s ever seen what he looks like, only heard that his medical skill is extraordinary.”

Now it was Yan Heru’s turn to be shocked. The director had only one apprentice all this time—and he was a man. Now, suddenly, he’d taken another, and a woman at that. She felt as if a great honor had been bestowed upon her.

“I… I…” She didn’t know what to say.

Han Xingzhou gradually regained his composure and smiled. “Actually, it’s not surprising that the director chose you—you’re truly a rare talent.”

“Oh? Why do you say that? I just identified a rather ordinary herb. Surely the director wouldn’t take me as his disciple for something so minor?” Yan Heru asked, puzzled.

Seeing her confusion, Han Xingzhou seemed pleased to have information she didn’t. He spoke with renewed confidence.

“Because that wasn’t an ordinary herb. In fact, it had stumped the director for a long time. Even his only disciple couldn’t identify it.

“Everyone in the clinic, from the most senior physician to the lowest servant, was allowed to try. Yet, regrettably, not a single person could name it.

“The director was troubled by this for ages. For a long while afterward, he was in low spirits because of it.”

His words left Yan Heru even more bewildered. That was clearly a very easy herb to distinguish—why had no one been able to do it?

Could it be that the medical knowledge in this world just wasn’t very advanced?

Thinking this, Yan Heru suddenly recalled her first meeting with the director. His test for her then had also been to identify medicinal herbs. She’d even deliberately slowed herself down that time, and the director had been astonished. She’d thought he was simply surprised that a woman could be so adept.

But thinking it over now, perhaps it was because, in this world, no one had ever been so quick.