"Get up! Everyone up! Quickly! ..."
A faint shout, seemingly from a distant horizon, startled Elara Stonefield from her deep slumber. She snapped her eyes open to see an enormous face almost pressed against hers. Elara yelped in fright and quickly recoiled. Only then did she clearly see that the owner of this face, which had nearly scared her to death, was the other child left behind with her by Physician Morus—Tyg.
"Eat something quickly," Tyg said, handing Elara two still-steaming hard rolls. "After we finish these, we have to go see Old Morus."
"Where did you find these?" Elara asked, pausing for a moment, before taking the food.
"I saw what looked like a communal kitchen over in the valley. Everyone living nearby gets their food there, so I went and got a share. After I ate, I realized you hadn't eaten yet, so I went back and got these two rolls especially for you." Tyg grinned at Elara good-naturedly, revealing a set of white teeth.
"Thank you so much, Tyg." Elara felt a warmth spread through her heart. She saw that although Tyg was about her age, he was a bit taller and seemed more mature and steady, so she addressed him warmly by his name.
"It's... it's nothing," Tyg seemed a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his head, his words becoming a bit hesitant. "I'm used to doing rough work at home. If I don't do something for a while, I always feel a bit... a bit restless. If you need my help with anything in the future, just ask. I might not be good at other things, but I do have some strength."
Elara hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch since yesterday and was indeed famished. She didn't stand on ceremony and, in a few large bites, devoured one of the hard rolls. Before long, she had completely finished both of the sizable rolls.
"It's about time. We should go see Old Morus," Elara said with a small burp, glancing at the gradually setting sun outside the window. She estimated the time and figured it was about when they should visit Physician Morus.
Tyg naturally had no objection to this, nodded, and followed Elara to the main house Physician Morus had previously indicated.
In Physician Morus's main house, tall wooden bookshelves lined all the walls. Upon the shelves were densely packed books and scrolls of various thicknesses, their sheer number astounding.
"Old Morus!""Old Morus!"
Elara and Tyg called out respectfully.
However, Physician Morus was currently leaning back in a large, high-backed armchair, holding a book, and reading with great relish, as if he hadn't noticed their arrival at all, nor seemed to have heard their greeting.
Elara and Tyg were, after all, still just children. Seeing Physician Morus ignore them, they both became somewhat flustered, unsure of what to do next, and could only stand awkwardly to one side, waiting.
It wasn't until Elara felt her feet go a little numb from standing that Physician Morus unhurriedly placed the book in his hands gently on the adjacent oak desk. He coolly sized up Elara and Tyg with his deep-set eyes, then picked up a cup of tea from the desk that exuded a faint herbal aroma, took a few slow sips, and only then, in his characteristic hoarse voice, began to speak slowly: "From this day forward, you two are considered my probationary apprentices. I will teach you some basic knowledge about identifying medicinal herbs, processing them, and brewing basic potions. Perhaps, in the future, I will also impart to you some practical medical skills for saving lives and treating illnesses. However," Physician Morus said, his expression unchanging as he placed the teacup back on the desk, his tone becoming serious, "I will absolutely not teach you any martial techniques or offensive magic meant for fighting and killing."
"However, I have a nameless incantation here that can regulate the body and mind and temper the will, which I will impart to you both. Although this incantation cannot grant you powerful abilities to defeat enemies, diligent practice can strengthen your constitution and help you resist common illnesses. If you are truly interested in those combat skills or offensive spells, you may seek instruction from several other basic instructors within the Outpost. I will not object to this. But, after half a year, I will only assess your progress in cultivating this nameless incantation. If you fail to meet my requirements by then, you will likewise be driven away from me and sent back to the outer areas to become an ordinary outer apprentice. Do you both understand clearly?" Physician Morus's tone suddenly became exceptionally solemn, and his gaze sharpened considerably, indicating he seemed to place extraordinary importance on this so-called nameless incantation.
"Understood!" Elara and Tyg dared not dally and replied quickly in unison.
"Very good. Then, you two may leave now. Come see me here again tomorrow morning." Physician Morus casually waved his hand at them, signaling they could depart, then picked up the book from the desk again and began to read, paying them no further heed.
Before leaving the room, Elara couldn't help but sneak another glance at the book in Physician Morus's hands. Unfortunately, she herself knew very few characters and naturally couldn't understand what was written on the cover. She only knew that the title seemed to be composed of three ancient-looking black symbols. It was a pity; those symbols seemed to recognize her, but she knew nothing of them.
Walking out of Physician Morus's house, Elara couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief. Inside the room just now, for some reason, she felt as if she couldn't even breathe properly, and her whole head had been tense. Now that she was outside, that intangible pressure instantly vanished, and she immediately felt much more relaxed, her usual liveliness returning.
In the following days, Elara's spirits remained high due to this sudden turn of events. After all, she was now an apprentice of the Stonefist Outpost, albeit currently only a probationary one, which was still much better than those children who were directly eliminated and sent home. Moreover, even if she truly failed Physician Morus's assessment after half a year, she would still have the opportunity to become an outer member like her Uncle Hobbes. In Elara's young mind, her Uncle Hobbes was already a "great figure" of considerable status and standing. So, she wasn't actually too worried about the assessment six months later; deep down, she even harbored a faint hope that she might not pass. That way, she could leave this deep-mountain Outpost sooner and return to the home she missed day and night, to be reunited with her dear parents and her beloved sister, Lina.
In the days that followed, Physician Morus, true to his word, would spend some time each morning teaching Elara and Tyg introductory medical knowledge, such as the identification of various herbs, analysis of their properties, and basic processing methods. In the afternoon, he would arrange for them to go to a simple schoolhouse to learn literacy with some of the other younger, lower-ranked apprentices in the Outpost, as well as some basic knowledge said to be essential for cultivating advanced martial arts or magic, such as the body's magical conduits, energy flow, and the distribution of key energy nodes throughout the body. At the same time, they would also be required to practice basic posture and balance training, as well as tedious basic physical conditioning and combat drills against training dummies.
About a month later, Elara and Tyg's daily schedule completely diverged from that of the other low-ranked apprentices. They no longer had any spare time or energy to learn other miscellaneous things. Because Physician Morus began to formally impart to them what he called the "Nameless Incantation." Merely practicing this mysterious incantation daily consumed almost all of their time and energy. Physician Morus also very sternly ordered them never to reveal the contents of this incantation to any outsider. If he ever discovered anyone daring to disobey and pass the incantation to others, he would inflict severe punishment upon that person and immediately expel them from his tutelage, never to accept them again.
During this period, Elara also gained a more detailed and in-depth understanding of the Stonefist Outpost organization and Physician Morus himself through sporadic conversations with other Outpost members and her own careful observations.
The Stonefist Outpost, it was said, was led by a Grand Marshal named Reynard "Ironfist," who seemed to have some mysterious connection to an ancient lineage known as the "Seven Arts Adepts," and was considered a direct descendant of that lineage. Besides this Grand Marshal, there were three other Deputy Commanders in the Outpost who jointly managed its daily operations. The Stonefist Outpost could generally be divided into two main parts: the outer areas and the core area. The outer areas comprised four branch organizations: the "Eaglet Messengers," the "Treasure Caravan Guild," the "Four Winds Network," and the "Outer Edge Wardens." The core area housed four key departments: the "Hall of Hundred Forges," the "Hall of Seven Arts," the "Hall of Honored Patrons," and the dreaded "Crimson Blade Raiders." Furthermore, the Stonefist Outpost also had a "Council of Elders" with a transcendent status, whose authority was said to be second only to the Grand Marshal, and even on par with the other Deputy Commanders, jointly influencing the Outpost's major decisions.
As for Physician Morus, Elara learned that he was not originally a member of the Stonefist Outpost. It was just that several years ago, Grand Marshal Reynard "Ironfist" of the Stonefist Outpost had fallen into a meticulously planned trap set by a rival faction while on an inspection tour. He was ambushed and besieged by numerous experts, suffering extremely severe injuries and hovering on the brink of death. At the time, the many skilled Outpost members accompanying him were helpless. At this critical juncture, they happened to encounter a traveling physician nearby—that was Morus. As it turned out, Physician Morus, with his miraculous medical skills, managed to pull Grand Marshal Reynard back from the brink of death, a true case of bringing the dying back to life and curing illness as soon as medicine was administered.
After Grand Marshal Reynard recovered, he was naturally immensely grateful to Physician Morus. Later, he unexpectedly learned that, in addition to his superb medical skills, Physician Morus also possessed formidable mysterious powers (whether martial arts or magic, opinions varied, and no one knew the specifics). Thus, Grand Marshal Reynard, overcoming all objections, sincerely invited Physician Morus back to the Stonefist Outpost. He even specially selected this secluded and tranquil small valley in the mountains and had this elegant residence and medicinal herb garden built for Physician Morus, allowing him to settle down peacefully within the Stonefist Outpost. From then on, Physician Morus became a highly respected Honored Physician in the Stonefist Outpost's "Hall of Honored Patrons."
During Physician Morus's years at the Stonefist Outpost, although the members had almost never seen him truly display his skills, and thus did not know the exact extent of his mysterious powers, he had, on more than one occasion, saved the precious lives of many Outpost members with his divine medical arts. Therefore, despite his usually expressionless, taciturn, and unsmiling demeanor, he was nonetheless genuinely respected and admired by almost all members within the Outpost.