On Earth, Fang Mo had seen his fair share of battle-hardened warriors. He had roamed all over Africa for nearly half his life, and the level of violence he'd witnessed was not something to be taken lightly.
But when General Wan's killing intent fell upon him, he finally understood what a true warrior was. It felt like a dinosaur had come back to life and was about to swallow him whole, something no ordinary human should be capable of.
Just through the force of his killing intent, General Wan made Fang Mo's knees buckle and knocked the air from his lungs. If the general wished, he could likely kill him with a snap of his fingers.
He must be a cultivator! Contrary to General Wan's expectations, Fang Mo didn't show fear; only excitement lit up his face. He understood that no human could possess such strength, but an immortal cultivator might.
General Wan stared at Fang Mo, dumbfounded. His first thought was that the man was insane. Only a madman would grin in the face of death like that. The killing intent he had just released could make even a first-level Meridian Opening Stage cultivator tremble, let alone a frail mortal like Fang Mo.
"General Wan," Fang Mo said with difficulty, his breath ragged but a faint smile playing at his lips. "Since you know my background, you must also know I have no loyalty to the Wei Zhou State. If anything, I want to kill the State Lord even more than you do."
General Wan frowned. He understood Fang Mo's words clearly. He had assumed Fang Mo would be easy to manipulate due to his age, but now it was obvious the man before him wasn't afraid of death or threats. He withdrew his killing intent and sat back down.
"Are you a cultivator?" Fang Mo asked, eyes gleaming with longing. For a moment, he forgot all his negotiation plans.
A chuckle echoed through the tent. General Wan finally understood where Fang Mo's excitement came from. For a mortal, cultivation was a dream, a path countless people yearned for.
"I'm not," General Wan replied. "I have mortal spiritual roots. But I've trained in martial arts all my life. I can even hold my own against a third-level Meridian Opening Stage cultivator."
Fang Mo sighed, the spark in his eyes dimming. Even a martial artist as powerful as General Wan could only contend with early-stage cultivators. How pitiful was that?
He quickly hid his disappointment, but it didn't escape General Wan's eyes. "Doctor Mo, a martial artist of my caliber can shatter boulders with a single punch. Reaching this level took over two decades of body training."
"General Wan, my apologies. I didn't mean any disrespect." Fang Mo clasped his hands before shifting the subject. He knew the general wouldn't kill him; the general needed him just as much as Fang Mo needed him. "I believe we can help each other. Have you noticed an unusual number of soldiers suffering from infections?"
General Wan's face twitched. Lieutenant Xiang had just mentioned that to him. But how could a newcomer like Fang Mo notice it so quickly?
A grin spread across Fang Mo's face. Though this world's medicine lagged behind Earth's, it wasn't so primitive that it couldn't treat common infections. Their drugs might be basic, but they were generally effective.
The real reason so many soldiers were dying of infection was that the enemy was deliberately spreading something that their current medicine couldn't treat.
"What if I told you I could not only solve the infection issue but also treat the soldiers your medics are unable to help?"
To General Wan, Fang Mo's words sounded like the whisper of a devil. There were too many strange things about this young man. Fang Ye was a well-known figure in Baoxiang City, so investigating him hadn't been hard. But his medical background was completely shrouded in mystery. How had a pampered, arrogant young master suddenly developed god-tier medical skills?
"What do you want?" General Wan asked directly, pushing aside his doubts for the moment. He was certain Fang Mo wouldn't betray them, not after fleeing Wei Zhou State like a fugitive.
"I want access to a private lab to work on a drug," Fang Mo said without hesitation. "And I want more information about immortal cultivation."
General Wan didn't respond immediately. He studied Fang Mo in silence before finally speaking. "I don't know much about cultivation myself. Even as a general of the Cheng Hou State, I'm not privy to the immortals' secrets. But I can tell you what little I do know. As for the lab, if you can cure my soldiers, I'll arrange it for you."
Fang Mo exhaled. He had expected a much harder negotiation, but things were going better than expected.
What he didn't know was that the only reason he could speak with General Wan on equal footing was because he had passed the general's test. Had he shown fear when pressured by that killing intent, things would have turned out very differently.
"Then we have a deal," Fang Mo said. "I'll need a few things to start…"
***
Two weeks passed quietly. Fang Mo took the time General Wan was arranging everything he asked for to recuperate. But even while his body was healing, he didn't waste time.
During these past two weeks, Fang Mo had madly read books about plants and drugs in this new world. Now, he might even be more familiar with them than many renowned medics from the royal capital.
Many of the plants that existed on Earth also exist here, but some don't, and vice versa. Luckily, it seems all the herbs he needs for his Opening Meridian Solution can be found here, with the exception of one.
Despite the problem he would face in concocting his solution again, Fang Mo wasn't worried. It was just a matter of finding another ingredient to replace it. He had built the solution once, he could build it again. This time, he was confident it wouldn't take him years, but only a few months.
"Doctor Mo!" a rushed voice entered his tent. Fang Mo looked in the direction of the voice and saw a disheveled Doctor Xue with wrinkled clothes looking at him.
"Good morning, Xue Xiu," Fang Mo greeted her as he closed the book in his hand. "What's the rush so early in the morning?"
A blush appeared on Xue Xiu's face as she realized she had acted disrespectfully toward Fang Mo. Her thirst for knowledge sometimes made her lose her reason.
She adjusted her clothes and hair before addressing Fang Mo again. "Doctor Mo, General Wan has finished arranging everything you asked for. Are we finally going to begin production of the antibiotic you mentioned?"
Fang Mo nodded and walked out of his tent with Xue Xiu following behind him. Though he didn't appear as agitated as she was on the outside, the excitement inside him to grow stronger and start working on his Opening Meridian Solution was just as intense as her thirst for new knowledge.
"Doctor Mo, good morning!"
"Ah, it's Doctor Mo! Thank you so much for helping me!"
"Doctor Mo, let me buy you a drink!"
Fang Mo had also taken the time to heal a few more patients during the last two weeks. Because he only accepted difficult cases that troubled the other medics, his fame had spread far across the military camp.
Some rumors even claimed that as long as you had a breath of air in your lungs, Doctor Mo could save you. It was like making a deal with a demon, but the demon in question didn't take anything from you.
Whether it was a god or a demon who saved their lives, it didn't matter. What every soldier in war wanted was to leave the battlefield alive and return to his family.
Fang Mo only nodded in response and continued walking. His cold expression didn't dampen the mood of the soldiers around him. Even if he was arrogant and rarely spoke to them, so what? He had the ability to act that way.
After a few minutes, Fang Mo and Xue Xiu arrived at a spacious, single-story building with high walls, surrounded by soldiers. The heavy security made it clear just how important whatever was inside must be.
"Doctor Mo, Doctor Xue!" the soldiers at the entrance saluted.
Fang Mo nodded and entered the building without delay. Inside, eight metal tanks occupied half of the floor space.