Chapter Twenty-Eight: Tasting Every Herb and the Mushroom Greenhouse

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Pharmacist’s Glossal Perception: Lv3 (0.2/1000) (Knowledge Fragment 0/1). Forms a blood pool within the tongue, capable of storing active ingredients from ingested medicinal herbs and granting immunity to toxicity.

Warm currents of vital energy surged from his mind, circulating endlessly through the meridians of his body. Lin Bo rested his hands on his pulse points, closing his eyes to sense his current physical state.

Within the translucent, white outline of his body, the flow of energy through his meridians was clearly visible to his inner eye. As the energy coursed through sinews, bones, flesh, and the five viscera and six bowels, every structure of the human anatomy revealed itself one by one.

He could clearly see the vital energy leaving his meridians like silver threads taking flight, converging toward his tongue. It passed through the Jinquan point—a depression in the midline of the tongue’s surface—and descended to the Haiquan point at the midpoint of the sublingual frenulum. There, it branched into left and right paths, connecting the Jinjin and Yuye points, before returning to Jinquan.

These four points formed the vertices and base midpoint of a triangle, with energy circulating between them like a whirlpool. This was the so-called "blood pool," which was, in reality, a confluence of blood and vital energy.

Even after the skill upgrade, there remained a constant exchange of energy between the blood pool and the meridians, as if it were a heart suspended outside the typical circulatory system.

All medicinal ingredients stored within the blood pool resonated with his meridians, allowing the pharmacist to observe the effects of the drugs. Should any toxicity be present, it would be sequestered within the blood pool, preventing it from entering the body, and later expelled using saliva and tongue-tip blood as a medium.

If a suitable knowledge fragment were found to break the bottleneck to Lv4, it would unlock a skill trait: "Sublingual Alchemical Furnace." The blood pool would then be able to store multiple medicinal ingredients, fusing and gathering them to refine simple potions.

The deeper the medicinal potency stored within the blood pool, the greater the variety and dosage of drugs the Sublingual Alchemical Furnace could compound. This would allow him to continuously bolster himself with various medicinal effects—a truly miraculous capability.

Lin Bo felt that, for now, the Lv3 Pharmacist’s Glossal Perception was perfectly sufficient. Having gained the ability to neutralize ingested poisons, he could now begin to "taste the hundred herbs."

He planned to sample all the common flora found in the vicinity of Stone Tower Town.

Firstly, by cataloging these herbs, he could gather materials on the spot whenever needed in the future, whether for decoctions to treat the sick or for supplements to replenish essence and restore mental clarity—he would be self-sufficient.

Secondly, this was in preparation for cultivating medicinal mushrooms. To imbue mushrooms with complex medicinal properties, they required the genetic information of the herbs to allow the fungal strains to replicate and proliferate on a large scale.

This was a long-term endeavor. Considering the seasonal growth cycles of the vegetation, he would need to set aside a few weeks every season over the coming year to collect samples and fill in the gaps in his research.

Since his two most time-consuming skills, Surface Tactile Introspection and Pharmacist’s Glossal Perception, had reached his current goals, he could ease up on his training schedule.

Lin Bo decided to focus his primary energy on his construction plans in the near future.

The sound of the waves hummed incessantly, acting as a daily reminder from the mage that a hurricane was approaching.

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Today, the tropical cyclone was charging full steam toward the Sail Islands, and by tomorrow, it would likely be circling some nearby islet. Meteorology was inherently a chaotic, unpredictable system; there had never been a truly accurate weather forecast.

Regardless of whether the hurricane arrived sooner or later, Lin Bo had to continue his work as a laborer; the sooner he finished, the sooner he could enjoy the results.

The construction of the East Cliff Grotto was proceeding methodically. Limited by his construction equipment, he could not build anything perfect, so he had to make do with what he had.

Lin Bo’s goal was to ensure the mushroom garden remained unaffected by gale-force winds and torrential rain. Given that the grotto itself had sufficient depth and the mountain above acted as a massive umbrella, the central courtyard would largely remain dry.

His biggest concern was that the grotto floor sloped downward toward the interior; precipitation from the entrance could potentially pour into the courtyard.

The entrance to the grotto was not an oval, but an arch, higher in the middle and lower on both sides. Lin Bo had observed the accumulation of aged bird droppings in the entrance area; their distribution suggested that runoff had indeed formed there in the past, as the droppings were sparser and fresher on the sides.

Since the courtyard floor was lower than the entrance, any rain that poured in would inevitably spread and pool, likely soaking the mushroom garden. He could not afford to take this lightly.

Another issue was the rapid drop in temperature brought on by the hurricane, which would likely interfere with the mushrooms' growth.

A qualified mushroom garden needed at least the ability to block wind and rain while maintaining a constant temperature and humidity.

Lin Bo prepared to build a greenhouse and had purchased some materials from Agilent.

He used a lightweight alloy frame for the structural support, resulting in a shape resembling the felt tents common on the grasslands.

The alloy frame was foldable and easy to install; it simply needed to be pulled open. It was currently just an empty skeleton with an interior space of about thirty cubic meters—spacious enough for a temporary greenhouse.

The courtyard floor had a certain incline, so Lin Bo first had to lay a level foundation.

He planned to buy quick-drying cement to build a level base, then set the alloy frame upon it. He would then line the skeleton with thin sheet metal, add a layer of aerogel for insulation, cover it with a waterproof tarp, and install one door for access and four windows for ventilation.

As for heating the mushroom garden when the hurricane hit, Lin Bo intended to use electric heaters. He had already dismantled several of these, and adding a temperature control function would be simple.

The advantage was that it was cheap, simple, effective, and energy-efficient. He wouldn't need to haul a generator to the East Cliff Grotto; a few storage batteries would provide power for several days to a week.

As for the downsides? They were limited by power output, and the heating speed wasn't particularly fast. However, as long as the room had a reasonable ability to retain heat, he wouldn't need to worry about a sudden drop in ambient temperature.

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In addition to the mushroom garden project, Lin Bo also intended to spend his spare time renovating the lighthouse.

The key was to lay out the electrical wiring. The whale oil generator in the machine room powered only the Fresnel lens and the lightbulb on the third floor. The first and second floors had no electricity; whenever he wanted to read in his bedroom, he had to light a whale oil lamp, which was hard on his eyes.

Currently, the kitchen didn't even have a stove, only a fire pit. He used charcoal to cook, hanging a cast-iron pot over the fire. Such cookware was only suitable for simple dishes, which was why the watchman’s daily diet was so plain: bread and soup for every meal.

Lin Bo planned to switch to an induction cooker for better temperature control. In the future, whether he was cooking, simmering medicinal decoctions, or refining pills, he wouldn't have to rely on a hanging pot.

The wires, switches, sockets, and other parts needed for the renovation, as well as inverters, transformers, and electrical components, could basically be scavenged from the instance.

Lin Bo now made "zero-cost purchases" at the mechanical factory three times a day. The more he explored, the more he realized how many good things were there—just a little repair was all that was needed to make them functional. This was the benefit of his ever-increasing professionalism in the field of mechanics.

On Saturday morning, some people spotted the lighthouse keeper wandering in the woods on the outskirts of town, carrying a notebook, a fountain pen, and a canvas bag slung over his shoulder. Whenever anyone greeted him, the watchman would respond with a smile. If asked what he was doing, he would simply say, "Seeking herbs."

From then on, they saw the watchman heading to the woods and meadows every day. He would always stop at certain spots, writing and drawing in his notebook while chewing on something. Occasionally, one could see traces of dark green herb juice on the corners of his lips, and the many bottles and jars in his canvas bag would clink softly as he walked.

Rumors began to circulate through the streets and alleys of Stone Tower Town that the watchman could cure illnesses. The recovery of the old schoolteacher, Jorun, became headline news at the bakery—the town's intelligence center—and, carried by the diligent tongues of the local women, it flew into every household.

Soon, people began seeking him out at the lighthouse for medical help.

More than half of Stone Tower Town’s labor force consisted of workers from the nearby port city of Gold Bay, while the rest were fishermen and sailors who made their living on the sea. The probability of injury in the factories was high, and falling ill while drifting at sea was a common occurrence.

Working people only chose to see a doctor when they could no longer endure their pain. For a long time, there had been a vast number of people in this town suffering from injuries and illnesses.

Not to mention the health issues of the teenagers and children; no one grew up without getting hurt, whether from accidents while playing or from injuries sustained while participating in labor at an early age. Yet, previously, these young people could never get effective help for their ailments.

Everyone here was just hanging on, taking it one day at a time.

It wasn't until the rumors of a physician appearing in Stone Tower Town spread that those who could no longer endure their suffering, and who really didn't want to go to the clinics or hospitals in the city, finally arrived at the lighthouse with a "wait and see" attitude.