Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 14 "Real Skills"

The old man standing in front of Gailis had messy gray hair covering his head, looking unkempt. He was wearing a dirty brown coarse cloth robe. The cuffs and hem of the robe had been worn out due to years of use, revealing the patches inside.

Of course, the most convincing thing to prove his "real talent and knowledge" is that this guy looks quite old, perhaps over 60 years old.

In the Middle Ages when the average age was no more than 40 years old, a guy who was still alive at the age of 60, who could go to bed and sit at the desk normally, and manipulate herbs, was considered a person with "real skills" in the eyes of ordinary farmers.

After all, most people don’t even live to this old age and are buried in the ground.

"poison?"

Hearing what Garys said, the old man laughed sarcastically.

"Wow, what a well-informed guy."

"Since you know what it is, why don't you know that this herb has been used to treat diseases for thousands of years! Many people say that this thing is poisonous and dangerous. Yes, fire can also burn people, but don't we still use it to cook and keep warm? Just because fire can burn people, should we stop making fire?"

"You have to understand this thing. It symbolizes rebirth and is the balanced interval between life and death. That's why it can be used to treat diseases. Not only can it cure diseases, but it can also be used to dispel evil spirits and protect the wearer from witchcraft!"

Garys still held the old man's hand and did not let go, but stared at the old man, staring at those gray-blue eyes.

Since the fusion of memories, Garys not only possessed great physical strength and extraordinary reaction speed, but also the sharpness of his six senses has been improved.

Garys could see the old man's grey-blue eyes flashing with greed and cunning, and a false sarcasm hanging from the corner of his mouth. He could clearly feel that the old man in front of him was talking nonsense. This nonsense was not based on some ancient medical records, but a set of nonsense that he invented himself, did not believe in himself, but used to fool others.

It is true that belladonna was used in various medical treatments in the Middle Ages, but truly sophisticated pharmacists would at least consider how to control the dosage and be aware of its negative effects. Of course, even so, medical accidents caused by the abuse of belladonna were countless in the Middle Ages.

As for the old guy in front of him, Garys even doubted whether he really knew the name of the plant in his hand.

"So what is this herb called?"

The old man rolled his eyes at Garys, obviously dissatisfied with Garys's rudeness, and naturally didn't want to continue talking about this issue.

"Idiot, someone come! Drive out these troublesome outsiders!" the old man shouted loudly.

The people around them also started to get agitated and tried to push Garys and his group.

Then a loud noise was heard, not far behind Garys.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Simon drew out the long sword hidden under his robe at his waist and protected the others behind him.

The carefully polished blade looked dazzling in the sun, and the sharp tip of the sword revealed a bloodthirsty deterrent. After seeing Simon draw his sword directly, the surrounding farmers became more rational. They were not ready to see blood because of the herbalist's words.

Garys frowned, knowing full well that it was impossible to reason now, because any attempt by Garys to present facts, evidence, or reason would be regarded by the old man in front of him as a challenge to his authority in the village.

In order to maintain his prestige in the village, the old man would never admit that he had made a mistake. Therefore, it would be his subconscious instinct to use his long-standing prestige in the village to drive away Garys and his gang.

A thought suddenly occurred to Garys - kill him.

Even with his heels, Garys could realize where the old man got all those cows, and why he had a better house than ordinary farmers.

Just a liar...With the level of cultural literacy in the Middle Ages, where did all those herbalists and doctors come from? Fraudsters like the old man in front of me would be the norm.

A swindler in a medieval village, who had a little knowledge of herbal medicine, would be lucky enough to cure a few patients. He would then brag about himself as an omnipotent miracle doctor, and then use all kinds of rhetoric to convince the farmers: those unlucky guys were not actually caused by him, a herbalist.

As long as the old man was killed, there would be one less scourge in the village, and Garys wouldn't have to go to great lengths to engage in verbal battles with the other party.

Even if Garys really wanted to kill the old man, it would be no more difficult than crushing an ant. As for the farmers around, they couldn't help the old man at all, because before they could react, Garys could crush the old man's larynx.

But in the end, Garys let go and let the old man go.

"This thing is called belladonna. I'm not sure if you've confused it with nightshade. Although both are Solanaceae, the fruit is similar in color, and the leaves look somewhat similar at first glance, nightshade is only slightly poisonous, while belladonna is highly poisonous. It's not difficult to tell the difference between the two. Nightshade's flowers are star-shaped, white or lavender, while belladonna's flowers are bell-shaped, purple or green."

As far as Gellis knew, both nightshade and belladonna actually had medicinal value, and even had some similarities in efficacy, but nightshade at least wouldn't kill people, and was even used as a substitute food during famines in the Celestial Empire. As for belladonna...it was said that the Roman Emperor Octavian was poisoned to death by his wife with this stuff.

Religion and superstition are homogenized in the eyes of many people, but in fact they are two completely different words.

Superstition refers to blind belief and worship. In this scenario, it means using belladonna to harm people without them realizing it is superstition... He, Gary, wants to break this superstition and ignorance.

Garys noticed that the old man's eyes flickered. He was indeed listening to Garys' words carefully, and his hand holding the belladonna plant loosened slightly and trembled a little.

The old man was scared. Obviously, this old man, this liar, knew that he was ignorant. Now after getting the information from Garys, he made a judgment based on his past experience and knew that the young man in front of him was not lying.

"What nonsense! How can I not know what this thing is called? Get lost! What's belladonna, what's nightshade, what's nonsense! You little brat, you haven't even fully grown your hair yet, and you're trying to act mysterious in front of me, right?"

As the old man got angry again, the atmosphere between the two sides became more intense, but this time Garys stopped Simon and the others from continuing to swing their swords, and led everyone out of the herbalist's yard.

For Garys, killing the old man was indeed a simple matter, but that would go against the reason why he came here.

(End of this chapter)