Chapter 14: The Perceptive Dr. Kureha Reaches A Treatment And Trade Plan
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After some time, Katsumi and his mother arrived at Dr. Kureha's yard and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
A somewhat weathered, yet spirited female voice came from inside the house.
Squeak!
The door opened, revealing a tall, elderly woman dressed in an unexpectedly fashionable style.
As soon as kureha saw Katsumi and Kaori, her sharp eyes and instincts immediately assessed their condition.
She raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "One is congenitally deficient? The other has a damaged origin, but I can see that you are obviously recovering quickly, so you shouldn't need my treatment, do you?"
Hearing this, Katsumi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "As expected of Dr. Kureha! You can actually see the general situation of my mother and me with just one glance. I truly admire your skills!"
"Hahaha!"
Kureha laughed out loud at his words. "Little brat! Don't think that flattering me will make me treat you! You clearly don't need my help, so get lost!"
"Wait!"
Just as kureha was about to close the door and send them away, Katsumi hurriedly stopped her. At the same time, he handed her a small half of a medical book and said, "Please take a look at this first!"
The truth was that Katsumi and his mother's conditions could indeed be resolved by relying on Sea King meat combined with health-preserving exercises and his steadily improving medical skills.
The only issue that was harder to solve was the lack of soul origin, but even that could be slowly recovered by enhancing life origin feedback. Or perhaps he could find a solution after breaking the limits of the Uchiha Meditation technique.
However, Katsumi couldn't forgive himself for not taking the chance to learn from such an exceptional doctor.
Who wouldn't want to recover faster?
Even better, he wanted to learn all of kureha's medical skills.
Only by learning from others and absorbing more medical knowledge could his own skills improve faster and reach greater heights.
Not to mention, he was also interested in Kureha's longevity medicine formula.
"Oh?"
Kureha raised an eyebrow as she took the small half of the medical book from him. Chuckling, she said, "Haha! Interesting kid, you've piqued my curiosity. Let's see what you've brought to impress me with!"
As she said this, kureha opened the book and began flipping through it.
The moment her eyes landed on the pages, her expression shifted. She became deeply engrossed, her focus completely absorbed in the contents.
After a while, she finished reading. Raising her head, she gestured toward Katsumi and his mother with her chin and said, "Come inside."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked into the house.
Katsumi and Kaori exchanged glances and quickly followed her, making sure to close the door behind them.
Soon, the three of them entered the living room, which also served as Kureha's workshop. The space was filled with various medical books, medical equipment, hospital beds, and other tools of the trade.
After inviting Katsumi and his mother to sit down, kureha poured each of them a cup of tea. She then grabbed a bottle of green plum wine, took a sip, and turned to Katsumi.
Holding up the small half of the medical book, she asked, "Boy, where did you get this medical book? The concepts here are entirely different from all the medical books I've encountered before. It doesn't seem to be something from this world—or even this era."
"Oh?"
Katsumi was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Kureha to discern so much from just a fragment of the medical book.
But Katsumi would not admit the truth directly unless Kureha's favorability toward him reached the required standard, and they signed a contract. Only then would he share some information about the Otherworld.
He immediately responded, "How can you be so sure that this medical book isn't from this era? Maybe it's just a hidden treasure from my clan's collection. Surely, you haven't read every medical book in the world."
"Haha!"
kureha noticed how Katsumi subtly redirected the conversation to focus on whether the book was from a different era. However, she didn't press further and instead laughed.
"Little brat! I'll admit there are some medical books in this world I haven't read, but the number is definitely very small!"
"Especially a book like this one—it's clearly out of place in both this world and this era!"
"Forget it! Let's not dwell on this."
"You've managed to pique my interest!"
"I can treat you, but on one condition: I want access to all the medical books you're willing to share."
"Of course, I know that's not a fair deal, so I'll allow you to study every medical book in my collection as well. How about it? A trade?"
The collection Kureha referred to contained at least several thousand medical books. To her, this trade was worth it.
Letting Katsumi read her books wouldn't diminish her knowledge. Instead, both parties would gain insights and expand their understanding of medicine.
It was a win-win situation.
Kureha, whose medical expertise hadn't advanced in years, saw hope for further breakthroughs in the concepts outlined in Katsumi's book.
"Perhaps, by integrating the knowledge from these books, I can truly break the shackles of mortality and uncover the path to a higher level of existence," Kureha thought with a sense of boundless hope.
Although she had lived for over a century, her desire to explore and understand life had never waned. She wasn't ready to slow down.
She wanted to see what lay beyond the boundaries of her current understanding of life.
If not for the trade, she might have been tempted to take the book by force.
After all, her nickname of "Witch" wasn't for nothing!
"Trade accepted!"
Katsumi nodded and calmly replied, "I have hundreds—no, thousands—of medical books that follow the same system. You won't find them anywhere in this world except from me!"
"So, the conditions you've offered aren't enough."
He raised three fingers and added, "I need three additional terms:
"First, in addition to curing the illnesses of me and my mother, you must develop or refine a nutritional potion or a formula for a body-strengthening potion to enhance the effects of our physical training."
"Second, I hope to learn from you and exchange medical knowledge. You must agree to teach me."
"Third, I want the formula for your longevity potion. If you're unwilling to share the formula, then I'll provide the materials, and you can refine it for me."
He believed that, as his medical skills advanced, he'd eventually be able to reverse-engineer the potion. Leaving room for negotiation, however, was a strategic move. He wasn't certain how much value Kureha placed on her longevity potion.
"Oh? Hundreds or thousands of books? Now that's impressive!"
Instead of being annoyed by Katsumi's demands, Kureha seemed even more intrigued. The thought of so many unique medical texts overshadowed her reservations.
"I agree to all your conditions!" she said without hesitation.
"Nutritional potions? Not a problem. Body-strengthening formulas? Easily done. And as for exchanging and teaching medical skills? I'd be delighted!"
"As for the longevity medicine formula? That's not a problem either! I agree to everything!"
"However, I need to remind you—refining the longevity medicine requires the dragon bones of a thousand-year-old dragon!"
"This is an essential ingredient, and there's no substitute for it. You need to be aware of this."
"Understood!"
Katsumi nodded confidently. "I've known about that for a long time! It's not an issue for me."
After all, acquiring the dragon bones of a thousand-year-old dragon might be impossible for others, but for him, it wasn't a challenge at all.
He knew exactly where to find them—hidden beneath the seabed near Gunkanjima.
Not only were there numerous remains, but there was even a living thousand-year-old dragon in that area.
"Haha! You've really done your homework!"
Kureha raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised by his readiness, but she smiled nonetheless. "So, is there anything else you'd like to add to this deal? Speak now, so we can finalize it quickly!"
"No," Katsumi replied, shaking his head. "I'm satisfied with these conditions. People shouldn't be too greedy."