A group of barbarians exchanged bewildered looks.
Parasites bred from bile, what does that have to do with eating fish raw?
But no one dared to question Garrett. Elder Grom, within hundreds of miles, was the strongest caster; yet, even Elder Grom had never poked a needle into a human body, extracting bile and breeding parasites as Garrett did.
Such methods, seemingly miraculous, were beyond their wildest imaginations.
After exchanging looks for a moment, the tallest and most robust barbarian took a step forward, hesitantly asking:
"That... When at sea, who has the time to start a fire?"
"What about on land?"
"On land... sometimes we eat... as you know, it’s inconvenient to use fire when hunting..."
"You must cook your food!" Garrett, holding a cup full of liver flukes, presented it to them one by one, emphasizing:
"Many animals, whether it’s fish, shrimp, snails, clams, forest game, domestic livestock, or fish caught from the sea, harbor parasites. You must cook your food thoroughly, otherwise, parasites will emerge from your stomach, even your brain and eyes! It must be cooked thoroughly!"
Pork can contain tapeworms, which can grow up to 15 meters long and invade the human brain and eyes; Anisakis worms can infest the entire stomach lining; liver flukes can block the bile duct, leading to liver cancer, with a single patient potentially harboring over twenty thousand liver flukes...
Garrett couldn’t possibly explain every type of parasite, how to identify them, and their dangers individually. Time was short, and the setting inappropriate, so he focused on the most critical advice:
As he brought the cup under each nose, they shuddered and quickly stepped back. Everyone nodded vehemently until at the back of the line, the shortest and youngest-looking barbarian dodged the cup, whispering:
"But... sometimes, it’s really not possible..."
Garrett was taken aback. He looked into the youth’s eyes, deep blue and clear, flickering uneasily, seemingly guilty for voicing dissent. Garrett opened his mouth to speak but ultimately let out a long sigh:
These people were not city dwellers from his past life, not those with abundant food who ate raw fish out of curiosity, preference, or habit. These people battled against the harshness of nature, ventured into the wild, fought against the raging seas, doing everything in their power for a morsel of food...
They didn’t prefer raw food; sometimes, they truly had no choice.
—There’s only one illness in this world, and that’s poverty.
The familiar line echoed in his mind. Garrett hesitated several times before solemnly asking the youth:
"Then, please, cook your food whenever possible. —Promise me, will you?"
"Okay, okay!" The youth nodded vigorously, almost bowing. The entire village of barbarians listened in silence. After a prolonged silence, only the Silver Dragon Lady softly chuckled, breaking the silence:
"So, how do we treat this disease?"
Praziquantel or albendazole—
The answer was clearly written in the books, simple and straightforward. However, Garrett had neither praziquantel nor albendazole. As for the molecular formulas, properties, synthesis processes, and identification methods of these drugs, Garrett admitted ignorance.
He wasn’t a pharmacy major, and even if he were, in this different world, it would likely be impossible to produce them by hand—
Garrett’s only solution was to hold the cup full of liver flukes, looking towards the Silver Dragon Lady:
"Is there any way to kill all these parasites inside him?"
Please, there must be a way! Garrett looked at the Silver Dragon Lady eagerly, as if willing to offer three sticks of incense to a panda and pray to it if he had one.
You can do it, right?
Elder Elwin—previously adjusted divine magic to target and exterminate pathogens after observing dysentery bacteria under a microscope;
You’re a powerful Silver Dragon, and these liver flukes are visible creatures; you can surely eliminate them, right?
"There is a way." Ophelia softly smiled. Without any visible action, one of the densely packed liver flukes in the cup began to float towards her. A foggy light surrounded her palm, lifting the worm into midair, as she slightly tilted her head, her eyes half-closed.
, she opened her eyes, pointing at Elder Grom. A stream of pure silver light shot from her fingertip, flowing like water, sweeping over the elder. A gentle wave of magical fluctuation passed, and the Silver Dragon Lady elegantly blew on her fingertip:
Garrett was skeptical. He rushed to press down Elder Grom, lifting his shirt, applying glycerin, and conducting an ultrasound in one go. Then, to Garrett’s delight, he discovered:
Within the gallbladder and bile ducts, the previously clustered or stringy, wriggling shadows, stopped moving.
At least they weren’t moving! If they weren’t moving, they were mostly dead!
"What magic is this?" He turned towards the Silver Dragon Lady, his eyes burning with intensity. If his eyes could sprout hands, Garrett would have grabbed the Silver Dragon Lady without hesitation:
"Can you teach me? I’ll trade anything! Gold, magical equipment, my unique magic, anything I have is yours!"
Targeted parasite extermination!
No more fishing for roundworms like unclogging a drain, inserting a catheter into the bile duct to drain liver flukes, or removing hydatid cysts like popping soap bubbles. Thank heavens he wouldn’t have to do that anymore!
"Anything?" Ophelia tilted her head, her eyes twinkling with amusement: "Even that..."
She raised her right hand, forming a claw, mimicking the gesture for activating an ultrasound: "You’ll trade this too?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Garrett nodded eagerly. It’s just an ultrasound; if the Silver Dragon learns it, she’ll use it for healing. Let’s teach her!
"And the one you use to examine bones?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Detection magic, that’s simple. Even if I don’t teach, you’d probably learn just by watching.
"And that one... you used for checking blood when you were treating the dwarf’s lungs?"
"Uh... Lady, if we add that, could you help me solve a magical problem?" Garrett’s forehead beaded with sweat. He couldn’t give away any more! My unique secrets, that’s all I have!
If I keep giving things away, what if she wants another of my skills? I’ll have nothing left to trade!
The Silver Dragon Lady smiled, seemingly content. Not too generous, after all. It’s one thing to give away his things, but he feared the young fellow, in a moment of enthusiasm, might even offer his niece’s possessions...
Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.
If you come across any mistakes within this chapter, kindly notify me in the comments below, so that I can make the necessary corrections.