Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Peter's sudden appearance startled the castle's four members. Romeo wiped the blood from his nose and hurried over to thank him.

"Thank you, Sir Griffin. Your virtue shines as brightly as the sun. May the Lord bless you."

"May the Lord bless you, young herbalist." Peter sheathed his sword. "I heard a legend at the Zheleyov post station about a wrestling master hiding in the northern forest, who is also a master healer. Are you that person?"

This is a lie.

Peter had never been to the post station; this information was all from his previous gaming experiences.

"It's me. But I'm sure you'll be disappointed. A fake expert like me can't even beat four troublemakers."

Romeo looked very frustrated.

Peter comforted him, saying, "There's a saying in my hometown: 'Two fists can't beat four hands.' Especially since you're facing four people at once. Of course, that's not the point right now. You can wash your face first, and I'll help you clean up the mess in the yard. Then I have a patient who needs your treatment."

Upon hearing this, Romeo hurriedly bowed and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Sir Knight, my grief has delayed your business. To repay your kindness in saving me, let's go treat your patient first. My place... is already in such a mess, it doesn't matter when we clean it up."

"No need to rush. I've already brought the patient; he's in the woods. Go wash your face first."

Peter shook his head and pointed to Romeo's face, which was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood from his nose.

"As you wish, sir."

Romeo also felt that his dirty appearance was somewhat impolite, and quickly bowed in agreement.

While Romeo was washing his face, Peter returned to the woods, picked up the old hermit again, and carried him to the herb hut.

"My God, this place is in complete chaos," the old hermit lamented, observing the appalling state of the place. "Civilization takes a hundred years to build, but only a war to destroy it. A warm home takes years to create, but only a conflict to disrupt it. This is not the world God wanted to see."

"That's why we need to be the ones who control the force and the victors in war." Peter placed the old hermit on the bed inside the house, untied the linen binding him, and made him more comfortable.

"I agree with that." After all, the old hermit had been fighting for half his life in the Knights, possessing both the benevolence of a monk and a reverence for martial prowess.

A short while later, Romeo, having washed and changed into a clean set of clothes, came over and, seeing the old hermit on the bed, knew that this was the patient. After examining and questioning him, he gave a diagnosis.

"It's not the terrible Black Death, just depletion of bodily fluids and excessive internal heat. I'll brew him a bottle of fever-reducing medicine to alleviate the symptoms, and with sufficient food and rest, he'll gradually recover."

Medieval European herbalism was a complex system that combined classical knowledge, folk wisdom, and Christian concepts. Hippocrates of ancient Greece believed that the human body was composed of four humors: blood (hot and moist), phlegm (cold and moist), yellow bile (hot and dry), and black bile (cold and dry). Diseases originated from an imbalance of humors, and herbs could regulate humors through their "properties" to cure diseases.

This is also the most widely circulated theoretical foundation of herbal medicine among the people. Even though the church later burned a large number of books, these theories were preserved through oral transmission by folk herbalists.

Judging from Romeo's rapid diagnosis and finding of a treatment, his skill level is indeed much higher than Bojina's.

"Please let the old man rest. I still need your assistance with preparing the medicine."

Romeo led Peter outside to the alchemy hut. Pointing to the damaged alchemy table, he said angrily, "Those fellows not only destroyed my herb garden but also smashed my alchemy table. I need to repair the equipment and gather some special herbs. Do you know anything about herbs?"

What a coincidence! In the game, I'm known as a "laboratory resident" and a potion-making fanatic. I've memorized all kinds of herbs, potion recipes, and processes.

It's just that when you switch from a game to reality, all your skills are reset to zero, your alchemy proficiency is low, and your success rate is low.

"I know a little. What do you want me to do?"

Peter chose the traditional virtue of "humility".

Romeo was pleased that the knight didn't share the priests' prejudice against herbalism, so he continued, "To concoct the fever-reducing potion, I need one bottle of strong liquor, three parts white chrysanthemum, two parts ginger, and one part elderberry leaves. Grind and boil them, then distill them. I'm out of elderberry leaves here; I'll need you to go into the forest and gather them for me. In the meantime, I'll use this time to repair the alchemy table. What do you think?"

"No problem."

Elderberries are hard to find in the wild, but Peter knew there were gathering points near Trossky Castle. This was no problem for him.

"Thank you for your help, my lord. May God bless you."

"No, I should thank you for helping my friend get treatment. I wish you all the best."

The two split up, and in less than half an hour, Peter returned with several elderberry bushes and a wolf on his back.

"There was a lone old wolf in the woods that tried to attack me. I killed it while I was at it, and it'll be my dinner tonight."

Peter's relaxed demeanor made it seem as if he hadn't dealt with a wolf that was lurking and waiting to attack, but rather casually swatted a fly.

"You are truly powerful, my lord. I have also prepared the necessary tools, so let's begin the concoction. Please wait two hours; brewing the potion takes a long time."

Romeo began working on the alchemy table. In the game, one round of the hourglass lasts 10 seconds, but in reality, it lasts an hour. Two rounds of brewing would require at least two hours of boiling over high heat followed by simmering over low heat.

Peter knew he couldn't rush things, so he simply drew his dagger and began butchering the wolf for meat.

In the game, wolf meat can be eaten after being cooked, increasing satiety but reducing health. The reason for this is that wolf meat contains many germs and parasites, and simply cooking it cannot effectively kill them.

Simmering in an iron pot for a long time actually yields better results.

Two hours later, as the sun was about to set, Romeo's fever-reducing potion was perfectly prepared, and Peter's stewed wolf meat was tender and soft.

The old hermit drank the medicine and ate some tender wolf meat, and his condition was effectively controlled.

Peter and Romeo also sat around the campfire, eating meat and chatting.

"God bless, everything is going well."

Romeo felt both unlucky and lucky today; perhaps this was God testing him.

"Indeed, I am a knight blessed by God, and the Hermit is a church armed monk who has fought for God for thirty years. So, our meeting today is obviously not accidental. Perhaps it is God's secret guidance that brought us together."

Peter, as usual, started to lie again. His original plan was to send the old hermit to Romeo for treatment, and then take him back to his camp in Devil's Canyon when he could walk healthily again.

But the scene of the four castle occupants causing trouble at the herb hut made Peter realize that the castle servants had discovered it, and how far away would the guards' harassment be? It was no longer safe here. This herbalist was a talent; perhaps he should kidnap him too.

"Thank God, thank you, Knight."

Romeo, unaware of Peter's kidnapping plan, still foolishly expressed his gratitude.

"A herbalist as skilled as you shouldn't remain unknown. Can you tell me your story?"

Peter carried out the first step of his kidnapping plan: recalling his suffering.

"If you'd like to hear it, here's what happened..."

Romeo began to recount his life experiences and the reasons for being driven out of the castle, his narration tinged with sadness but lacking much anger. As a commoner in the Middle Ages, even when treated harshly by nobles, it was difficult to feel anger or rebellion.

So Peter carried out the second step of his kidnapping plan: to incite hatred.

"In God's eyes, all souls are equal. Nobles may have a higher social status, but their souls are not necessarily noble or pure. Nobles can fall into hell because of their corrupted souls, while commoners can ascend to heaven because of their noble souls. In God's eyes, there is no difference between nobles and commoners, and when they do evil, commoners also have the right to say no to them!"

Then Peter began to analyze the injustice Romeo had suffered.

As Peter analyzed the situation, Romeo's anger was gradually stirred up.