I Have Medicine

T/N: For any new readers, this story is a thousand-chapter, slow-burn romance novel. It will take hundreds of chapters to get to the point where the MC and the ML begin to acknowledge their feelings for one another. This novel focuses on gradual developments in relationships and world-building. The relationship between the MC and the ML starts off as tentative business partners, to friends and “brothers”-in-arms, to finally lovers.

Gu Zuo hugged a bag of groceries as he trotted home. His family’s house wasn’t close, and it would take another ten minutes to get there.

He was feeling a bit anxious. His dad should’ve been waiting at home for a while now, and wouldn’t have started eating without him. His dad had stomach problems, and while his other father wasn’t around, only he could take care of his dad.

Thinking this, Gu Zuo sped up.

But just as he crossed the road, an extremely fast truck swerved into the intersection. The driver was clearly drunk out of his mind!

Shocked, Gu Zuo tried to dodge, but there wasn’t enough time. The truck was upon him. He only felt a sharp pain before he blacked out, and knew no more.

Before losing consciousness, Gu Zuo failed to notice a twinkling object entering his forehead between his eyebrows. Then, his body vanished.

At the same moment, another body replaced his and was crushed beneath the truck.

Soon, a crowd gathered and shouts filled the air…

Gu Zuo crashed to the ground and grimaced in pain. However, he was still relieved. Whatever happened, he was still alive after being hit by a truck, right?

He got up, and dusted himself off. As he looked for the bag of groceries he dropped, he was stunned by the scene around him.

A carved wooden window and antique furniture — What was this place?

Gu Zuo felt anything but reassured. He’d just been hit, but hit by what? There was nothing here that could’ve hit him!

As he looked around, he found a young man lying on a bed.

Gu Zuo immediately went over to ask about his situation.

He didn’t feel quite right. The person’s appearance felt off somehow… As soon as he reached the bed and got a clear view of the person lying on the bed, he froze.

Who was this… How could this person look exactly like him?

The person on the bed was a teenager. His complexion was deathly pale and eerily motionless like a pool of stagnant water.

Gu Zuo’s face went pale as well.

This person shouldn’t be dead, right?

Composing himself, Gu Zuo gathered all his courage and waved his finger under the teenager’s nose. Immediately his whole body weakened — Damn it, he really was dead! If someone walked in, he wouldn’t have been able to explain himself even if he had ten thousand mouths! Moreover, he inexplicably came across a dead body that had his face. It felt like he was looking at his own corpse! It was too deceptive!

Gu Zuo retreated a few steps. He walked over to the window and looked outside to see an empty courtyard with glimpses of people flickering in the distance.

Thinking about his dad who needed assisted living, Gu Zuo wondered how sad he’d be when he found his son missing. Gu Zuo felt terrible.

It shouldn’t be like this… Wasn’t he asked to process some medicinal herbs at Huichun Pharmacy today? How could this have happened? Gu Zuo collapsed onto a bench in a daze. Even getting hit by a truck would’ve been better than this…

Wait a minute!

Gu Zuo’s face paled further.

He was hit.

Yes, he remembered he was clearly hit by that truck and felt intense pain. But now that his body was uninjured, it didn’t make any sense!

His whole appearance was unscathed…

It couldn’t be that he crossed over because he had magic powers?

Gu Zuo couldn’t make sense of anything. With his mind in chaos, he didn’t know what to do.

With this dead body that looked exactly like him, was it a coincidence or a deliberate ploy? Was it like those novels where he was supposed to take over the body’s identity?

At this time, a line of text suddenly flashed inside Gu Zuo’s mind.

[Medicine Refining System greets the host. Will the host allow this system to bond?]

Gu Zuo stared blankly.

System? What system? What was this thing in his head?

Another line flashed.

[After bonding, this Medicine Refining System can help the host become a pharmacist. This system program is currently in the host’s mind space, but it is not yet activated. When the host faced imminent death, this system teleported the host to the Cangyun Empire, located on the Tianwu Continent. Then, the host’s body was restored. Will the host allow this system to bond?]

Gu Zuo was a little confused.

He wrung his fingers to calm down as much as possible before he proceeded to talk to the thing in his head.

He thought in his mind the questions he wanted to ask: How do you bond with a host and what do I get if I become your host? Can I still go back home? And what if I don’t accept you?

[After bonding with the host, this system will provide a step by step guide on how to refine medicine. The host will then complete corresponding tasks and gradually become the world’s greatest pharmacist. If the host works hard enough, you can return home with your own strength. In the case that the host chooses to bond, the host merely needs to give consent to immediately bond. In the case that the host chooses not to bond, this system will automatically separate itself, and the host will have to survive alone.]

Gu Zuo stared blankly again.

The idea of surviving alone… Blindly wandering around by himself?

Although he didn’t know what this Medicine Refining System was, he knew it transported him here and it could turn him into an expert. It could be counted as his golden finger. Naturally, he’d accept!

However, Gu Zuo still warily asked: What restrictions do I have if I choose to bond? If I don’t complete my tasks, will my life be in danger?

[If the host does not complete the tasks within the allotted timeframe, this system will obliterate the host.]

Gu Zuo: “…”

As expected, it was quite dangerous.

Then he shouldn’t bond…since the thing he was most afraid of in the world was dying.

[Disaster and happiness go hand in hand. Host, please consider things carefully. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Furthermore, this continent is not safe at all.]

Gu Zuo hesitated.

[Insufficient energy. This system will enter sleep mode in half an hour. Please make your decision as soon as possible. If an answer is not provided in half an hour, this system will remove itself by default.]

Gu Zuo hesitated once again.

So if he bonded with the system and failed a task, he would die, but if he didn’t bond, he wouldn’t have any protection in this world.

But in the end, how unsafe was this place? Could he survive by himself? How difficult were those tasks? Right now he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have enough information to make any decisions!

Without a definite grasp of the outcomes, he feared making the wrong choice.

[If the host makes contact with the body on the bed, you can obtain its memories. You can make a decision after watching.]

Gu Zuo felt his mouth twitch.

In this world, were people able to extract memories from dead bodies?

[No.]

Gu Zuo relaxed.

In other words, this was the system assisting him? He warily moved towards the corpse.

The body wasn’t rotting and it wouldn’t get up all of a sudden…

After gathering his courage, Gu Zuo ran passed the corpse and smacked it with his hand.

Sure enough, in the next moment, countless bits of information frantically poured into his mind. A painful headache erupted and he staggered back a few steps. But soon enough, all the information melded into his brain as if it had belonged there all along.

After he looked over the information, a vein on Gu Zuo’s forehead popped up in anger.

…This guy’s circumstances were so unlucky!

This world was practically a tragedy. It barely had any laws at all. Although in Wuxia tales, even though there were those who believed that might made right, for good or for ill, at least the ‘Xia’ (hero) was still present there. This place, however, was empty of any good will. Everything was based on the laws of the jungle. Only the strong were at the top of the food chain!

If ordinary civilians were killed here, there was no place for compensation. Those with higher strength received respect and attention. They had the power to protect their families and provide for them. Along with the rise of one’s strength, one’s lifespan also increased.

The only thing worth celebrating was that, though martial artists were powerful, the continent was still ruled by a humanistic empire. Although the world existed in feudal times, most cities had some degree of law to allow the common people to prosper adequately.

But still, this continent had an awfully strong martial spirit. For those didn’t have the means to cultivate their martial strength, if they were lucky, they would be mediocre their whole lives, and if they were unlucky, they would perish. They wouldn’t have personal freedom, and any wealth would be exploited by those with strength. Any hint of refusal and they’d surely perish.

Simply put, it was very easy to die.

However, in addition to martial artists, there was one other class of people who were regarded even more highly: The pharmacists. During cultivation, martial artists faced many bottlenecks when they broke through to the next level. In order to supplement their development, one needed medicinal pills, which only pharmacists could refine.

At the same time, becoming a pharmacist was incredibly difficult. A prerequisite to becoming a pharmacist was that one must possess a medicinal bead located in the acupuncture points of both hands. Otherwise, one would be incapable of harnessing their inner power to properly regulate their medicinal cauldron. Any inferior medicinal pills made this way would be useless to martial artists.

However, people with medicinal beads were very rare, perhaps not even one in ten thousand. One could well imagine their high status.

If Gu Zuo bonded with the Medicine Refining System, he would be able to become a pharmacist. As long as he could become proficient in this skill, he would be able to ensure his own safety.

Gu Zuo wasn’t stupid. Although he wasn’t a person from here, the system insisted that he could become a pharmacist. Even if he didn’t have medicinal beads, he was sure that the system would help him acquire them… It seemed that there really weren’t any reasons to avoid bonding.

Rubbing his hands over his face, Gu Zuo resigned himself.

So be it. To traverse this dangerous world, he would join together with this system.

He spoke: “I agree to become your host.”

At that moment, a strange feeling permeated through his whole body. All of a sudden, he was able to sense something inside his mind.

Moreover, although he couldn’t control the thing in his head, he felt inexplicably connected to it. Truly, it was very…magical.

Was this the real system?

T/N: Attention to new and old readers alike. This volume has been completely edited as of July 14, 2021. I devote more of my attention to translating new chapters than editing the old ones, so it’s only now that this volume is up to speed. Don’t be alarmed if there are different terms moving forward.

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