Back in the dorm, Zhao Yuan devoured all ten steamed buns in one go, then chugged a large glass of water. Only then did he pat his stomach and let out a satisfied burp.
'I wonder how Guo Shun is doing?'
After sating his hunger, Zhao Yuan thought of his injured classmate and prepared to visit him in the infirmary. But at that exact moment, he was surprised to discover a new sliver of energy inside his Dantian.
This energy radiated a faint warmth, making him feel very comfortable.
"This is…" Zhao Yuan hurriedly searched for the answer within the Inheritance Seed. "Wish Power?"
According to the records in the Inheritance Seed, Wish Power was a type of energy generated from the gratitude of a patient and their family when an illness improved. A Witch Doctor could absorb it for Cultivation. In places where Spiritual Qi was depleted, Wish Power was especially useful!
And this sliver of Wish Power came from Lin Xue, absorbed into his body by the Inheritance Seed.
Zhao Yuan's eyes lit up. 'So healing the sick and saving people is also a form of Cultivation. That fits the Witch Doctor Dao quite well. Huh? Why is there a new section on the Information Leaf?'
Previously, the Information Leaf only had three sections: Cultivation Techniques, Medicine, and Miscellaneous. But now, a Talisman section had appeared.
'Weren't Talismans supposed to appear only after my Cultivation reached a certain level? Why is it out now? Could it be because of the Wish Power?'
Zhao Yuan's guess was correct. The Talisman section had appeared early precisely because of the Wish Power! This magical energy was not only helpful for Cultivation, but could also be used for Drawing Talismans and Casting Spells. However, the Talisman section was currently blank, likely due to insufficient Wish Power.
Although he was a little disappointed, he was mostly excited.
'Once I have more Wish Power, will I have to worry about not learning Talismanic Spells?'
When Zhao Yuan arrived at the infirmary, the basketball game was already over. Students from both Class Three of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine and Class Two of Orthopedics and Traumatology were there. When they saw him appear, the two sides had completely different reactions.
The gazes of the students from Class Three of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine were filled with excitement and admiration. The gazes from the students of Class Two of Orthopedics and Traumatology, however, were far more colorful—a mix of resentment and unwillingness to concede, but mostly, fear.
Zhao Yuan walked straight over to Guo Shun and asked, "Guo, how's your foot?"
"It's nothing serious." Guo Shun held an ice pack to his ankle and replied with a smile, "Just some soft tissue damage. I'm much luckier than those guys over there."
The injuries of the students from Class Two of Orthopedics and Traumatology were much more severe than Guo Shun's. Xing Qiang, in particular, had a broken bone; he wouldn't be recovering for several months.
"Good, as long as no bones were broken." Zhao Yuan was relieved. He then asked Liu Zhu, "Boss, did we win the game?"
"Of course we won!" Liu Zhu grinned smugly. "You completely destroyed the morale of Class Two. How could we possibly lose? Third Bro, how come I never knew you were such a beast at basketball?"
"I'm just a rookie, I'm only just starting." Zhao Yuan wasn't being humble; he truly was a beginner when it came to basketball.
However, to the ears of the students from Class Two of Orthopedics and Traumatology, his words dripped with sarcasm.
'Damn, does he have to be so cocky? If he's a rookie, then what are we?'
'This kid is definitely doing it on purpose! He single-handedly destroyed our entire class and he still calls himself a rookie. He's clearly putting himself down just to mock us!'
'Is it fun to rub it in our faces after winning?'
The students from Class Two were all fuming, but not a single one dared to talk back. Zhao Yuan had already scared them witless.
After icing his ankle, Guo Shun left the infirmary to rest in his dorm. He would come back the next day to apply a medicinal plaster to promote blood circulation and reduce swelling.
Zhao Yuan also returned to his dorm. After shooing away the classmates who had come to worship the 'Great God', he lay on his bed. He appeared to be sleeping, but he was actually immersed in the vast ocean of medical knowledge on the Information Leaf, studying with ravenous hunger.
The next day, Zhao Yuan went to several pharmacies near the school, but returned empty-handed.
These pharmacies were either missing a few key medicinal herbs, or their prices were over his budget. After some thought, Zhao Yuan decided to take a trip to the Traditional Chinese Medicine market over the weekend. The herbs there were sold at wholesale prices, which would certainly be much cheaper than retail. Every penny he could save counted.
For the next few days, aside from attending classes, Zhao Yuan spent his time studying the Traditional Chinese Medical Theory left behind by Wu Peng and practicing the Four Saints Technique. His days were quite fulfilling, but his appetite kept growing, causing his wallet to rapidly deflate.
In the blink of an eye, it was Friday.
Just after the afternoon classes ended, Wu Yan returned to the dorm and started to get ready. Not only did he change into a stylish outfit, he also slathered a ton of gel on his hair, making himself look all dapper.
"Fourth Bro, what's the occasion? Going on a date?" Wang Rongfeng asked curiously.
Wu Yan turned back with a smile and replied, "You got it, Second Bro. I'm taking a girl from the teacher's college out for dinner and a movie."
"Whoa, damn, you're too good at picking up girls. When are you gonna teach me a thing or two? I've been single for almost twenty years," Wang Rongfeng said, green with envy.
"Keep dreaming, Second Bro. Fourth Bro is a classic pretty boy. How can you compare to him?" Liu Zhu shot back mercilessly.
"I may not be on Fourth Bro's level, but I'm still a flower in my own right," Wang Rongfeng said, still a bit confident.
Liu Zhu glanced at him sideways and retorted, "Yeah, a cauliflower or a corpse flower?"
While the two were bickering, Zhao Yuan said to Wu Yan, "Fourth Bro, can I borrow your computer tonight?"
"Use it whenever." Wu Yan placed the laptop directly on Zhao Yuan's bed. He then checked himself in the mirror, nodded in satisfaction, and walked out of the dorm with his head held high.
Liu Zhu sidled up and asked curiously, "Third Bro, are you planning to play games? Come on, play LoL with me. Bro will carry you and make you look cool!"
Zhao Yuan shook his head and refused. "I don't play games."
"Then you're going to watch a movie? Second Bro has some good films right here, wanna watch? I've got all the latest movies from companies like 'Tokyo Sizzle,' 'Giant Mosquito Coil Productions,' and so on!" The more Wang Rongfeng spoke, the more excited he got, and the louder his voice became.
"Uh… no thanks. I borrowed Fourth Bro's computer to do practice problems," Zhao Yuan said quickly, afraid the misunderstanding would deepen.
"Practice problems?" Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng froze in unison.
"Yeah, for the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine," Zhao Yuan said with a nod.
For the past few days, he had been mainly focused on studying the Essence and Qi Theory and the Yin Yang Five Elements Theory—the absolute fundamentals of the fundamentals. It might not seem like he had learned much, but the content was extremely profound. After all, Wu Peng's understanding of Essence Qi and Yin Yang Five Elements far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even though Zhao Yuan hadn't fully grasped everything, his knowledge in these two areas already exceeded that of most doctors!
Zhao Yuan wasn't in a hurry to learn new things. He understood the principle of not biting off more than you can chew. What he needed to do now was consolidate and deepen the knowledge he had already acquired, which was why he thought of doing practice problems. In his view, there was no better way to reinforce his memory.
Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng didn't know the story behind it. After confirming that Zhao Yuan was serious, they were both stunned.
They had seen people borrow computers to play games, to catch up on new anime, or to watch adult films, but they had never, ever seen anyone borrow a computer just to do practice problems… Not even the top students did things like this.
Zhao Yuan gave a wry smile but didn't explain. After setting Wu Yan's laptop aside, he left for the anatomy building.
His assistant duties weren't finished yet. The task of doing practice problems on the computer would have to wait until he got back at night.
Ever since their utter humiliation a few days ago, Wang Lei and his two friends had resigned from their assistant positions in the anatomy building. Although a few new people had been hired, they weren't familiar with the work yet, so things still depended on Zhao Yuan to keep them going.