I came for Healing, but a Gate Appeared

Do You Know Herbs?

When the medicinal herb woman revealed her raw, wounded leg, people started murmuring with unrest.

"Oh my, that's a bad injury! How did that happen?"

"The skin's all scraped off. That must hurt."

"Was it that dog? It didn't bite your leg... Did it lick it?"

"Yes! That monster licked my leg. It licked me right through my pants, and look at this! A normal dog couldn't do this. There must be some kind of poison on its tongue!"

The medicinal herb woman insisted. She felt wronged that such a huge creature was being called a dog.

Yet, even as people pitied the wounded woman, no one seemed ready to see Hao as a monster anymore.

They had already decided it was a dog, so now it was awkward to call it a monster.

"That's odd... With those big eyes, the dog looked rather gentle, didn't it?"

"It's just so big, that's why. A big dog means a big tongue..."

"It wasn't unreasonable for the herb woman to mistake it for a monster. Just look at what happened."

"But it only licked her, didn't bite. Dogs sometimes lick people to be friendly, right?"

"No, I'm telling you—it's a monster!"

Clutching her stinging leg, the medicinal herb woman shouted.

But by insisting so, she was in a way admitting she no longer really thought of the creature as a monster.

"Tsk tsk. The skin's really gouged out. You should put some medicine on it. Did you?"

"I put ointment on, but it's no use. It stings so much..."

"But aren't you a herb woman? Don't you have some herbs that would work for this?"

Lee Donghoon clicked his tongue and asked, causing the medicinal herb woman's eyes to narrow sharply.

She clearly felt insulted.

"Herbs are mostly for decoctions, not really for this sort of thing. Besides, that monster already ate all the herbs I was drying earlier. Even ate the bench! Why are you all blaming me? Is there some curse on this house? I need to ward it off, honestly. Oh, what bad luck."

The medicinal herb woman was nearly putting on a pansori lament with her complaints. It was time for Ian to step onto the scene.

Ian made eye contact with Hao, who sat behind him, and then approached the woman.

"Ma'am, I'm really sorry. I didn't know Hao would hurt you. It must be really painful."

At once apologizing, Ian saw the woman's expression soften a bit, probably sensing his sincerity.

He truly did feel bad.

Of all people, the medicinal herb woman, whose house was right below his, had been the one to suffer—twice, unexpectedly.

"You can't just let a big dog like that roam loose. What if it had bitten, not just licked?"

The medicinal herb woman spoke with a grimace—her leg was clearly hurting a lot.

Ian examined the wound carefully.

'Huh? It's deeper than I thought. The tissue under the skin's damaged?'

He'd assumed Hao had only licked as a friendly gesture, but now saw the wound was quite deep.

Hao generally wasn't a dangerous animal, but in this unfamiliar environment, perhaps he acted differently.

'Hao, did you really attack her?'

He glanced back: Hao was lying calmly, looking at him with clear eyes.

No matter how he looked at it, that didn't seem the case. Hao hadn't attacked menacingly; he'd just licked her once with his tongue.

Maybe Hao's energy was simply too potent here on Earth.

Either way, he had to treat the herbalist's wound as soon as possible.

"I have an herb that can treat your wound. I grow it myself—I'll go grab it right away."

As Ian said this, the medicinal herb woman's eyes widened.

"What? You know herbs?"

"Just wait a moment, please."

Ian took Hao and ran up the hill to his house.

"What's he going to bring?"

"He said he's getting herbs for the herbalist's place?"

"Does that young man farm herbs too?"

Not only the herbalist, but all the villagers waited, curious.

Fortunately, no one followed Ian up to his house.

They had admitted Hao was just a dog, yet people still seemed wary.

Especially after hearing the herbalist had been hurt by Hao, nobody wanted to get too close.

If someone got hurt just from being licked, a little fear was understandable.

'That's good. With Hao here, nobody will just barge into my house.'

He figured he just had to watch out for Haeyeon, the one who first called Hao cute.

"Hao, sit here."

He sat Hao down in a corner of the front yard and went inside to look for something to use as a leash.

It was unfortunate he had to tie up Hao, but there was no other way—he had to calm the villagers, even if just for show.

There was no dog collar, so he searched Ahn Bin's wardrobe and found a belt.

"This should work."

He looped the belt around Hao's neck; it fit surprisingly well—even with a dog collar, it likely wouldn't have fit. He attached a long cord to it to make a makeshift leash.

"Hao, you need to behave and stay here."

Really, a leash wasn't necessary at all—Hao would absolutely obey Ian's commands.

But to put the villagers' minds at ease, some theatrics were needed.

"Don't cross the boundary between the house and the fields. I'll take you for a walk later."

If he sent Hao back past the Praeri portal, Hao could run free, but that wasn't possible anymore.

Now he'd told everyone Hao was his dog; there was no choice but to keep him.

Not a loss, honestly.

Hao was a creature from Ian's home world—they could comfort each other in this alien place...

But more than that, Hao was actually really helpful.

Not only was Hao a great pet thanks to his friendliness, but he could also guard the land and work hard.

Hao was so good at communicating he could handle most tasks as well as a person.

Anyway, occasional walks out onto the Praeri would do.

Thinking of this, Ian went out to the backyard and checked the portal gap.

The planks he'd hidden it with had been pulled apart, probably by Hao coming out.

Luckily it was daytime, so the blue gleam wasn't obvious.

'Hope nothing else slipped out in the meantime...'

First, he had to complete the concealment and barrier.

He quickly drew on his energy and visualized the effect. With the slime core he'd absorbed earlier, he had plenty of Praeriland power.

Like water flowing down, the spellwork was gentle and natural.

Perfect. Now, no one would notice the portal's existence.

Only Ian could move freely through it. He was satisfied.

'All right, now let nothing else come out of there.'

Finishing quickly, Ian went to the porch.

"Now, let's get some herbs to treat the herb woman."

He gathered all the herbs he'd laid out to dry on the porch.

They were dry enough, and if he crushed them now, they'd make a good poultice.

"Nothing's better for healing wounds than this herb."

He put the herbs in a large stainless bowl and slowly crushed them, infusing them with energy.

Crushed, they filled only about half the bowl, with just the right viscosity for use as a poultice.

"Perfect."

Ian picked up the bowl and went down to the house below.

The villagers, curious to see what Ahn Bin the young man would bring, were all waiting.

"He's already made a poultice?"

"Is that made from the young man's own herbs?"

They craned their necks to peek inside the bowl.

"Yes. I'll apply it to your leg."

Ian sat down in front of the medicinal herb woman.

"What kind of herb is this? And how could you crush it already if I don't even know what it is?"

The woman peered inside the stainless bowl, eyes filled with suspicion.

"This herb is extremely effective for healing wounds. I've used it countless times—trust me."

But she didn't trust Ian's words so easily.

"So what is this herb, exactly? I'm the herb woman! Yet I've never smelled anything like this before."

The crushed herb exuded a sharp aura and a prickling scent that seemed to reach deep into the sinuses.

Some might call it a refreshing mint scent, but really, it was more of a heady, sharp odor.

Anyone unfamiliar with this plant would find the smell off-putting.

Ian could see why she was uneasy.

'But the effect is guaranteed...'

Trying to convince her with words felt strange.

Back on the Praeri, no one ever doubted Ian's knowledge about healing, so he'd never had to try persuading someone before.

Thinking for a moment, Ian pulled out a stalk of the raw herb from his pocket.

"This is the herb. Since you don't know it, I'm guessing it's not a local species—probably an introduced one."

He'd brought one along knowing people would be curious—he quickly made an excuse and handed it to her.

The herb woman took it and studied it closely.

"This... I've really never seen this before! The smell is so strange. I guess it *is* an herb, but how do I know it isn't poisonous?"

As she griped with suspicion, some of the people beside her prodded gently.

"Come on, just try it."

"Ahn Bin says it's a medicine. Would he really bring poison to a neighbor?"

"Haha, I'm not sure which one's the real herbalist now."

The talk of cowardice and questioning who was the real herbalist spurred her into action.

If she kept resisting, she'd look even more foolish—and her leg really hurt.

'Oh, whatever.'

Herbs could be dangerous if misused, but the young man said he'd tried this plenty of times. What choice was there?

The encouragement of the villagers couldn't be ignored either. Whatever that young man had done, everyone was unusually favorable toward him.

Finally, the medicinal herb woman stuck out her leg.

"All right, go ahead and put it on. Let's see if it works."

She spoke as if giving a challenge.

"Once I apply this, you'll feel better."

Ian hurriedly began applying the poultice to her leg.

The condition was worse than the villagers realized. Left untreated, even the ligaments and muscles could have started dissolving.

'Regenerate, life.'

As he gently spread the poultice, he let his energy flow into it quietly. Silver energy seeped into the skin.

For a wound of this level, there was no need for dramatic flair—just quietly visualizing and gently applying the medicine was enough.

The energy flowing from Ian's fingertips doubled the effectiveness of the poultice.

"Huh? Is it healing already?"

The effect was immediate.

As the dark-green poultice was applied, the red, raw wound started closing up.

Like a video rewinding, the wound vanished in moments, new skin forming cleanly.

"Wow, the wound's healing as if by magic!"

"That's amazing! Ahn Bin really does have healing hands, healing hands!"

The villagers watching in a circle exclaimed in awe.

But the person most astonished was in fact the herb woman herself.

'... What is this? What is this poultice, this herb? No—what is this young man?'

Wherever the young man's hand passed, pain disappeared and a wave of comfort followed.

She couldn't tell if the effect was from the herb itself or the healer's abilities.

'How can this be? He's really something else. Did he train at some mountain hermitage or something?'

A rush of awe—and a stab of envy.

She'd lived as a herb woman for some twenty years, proud she knew everything about herbs—yet here was a plant she'd never seen before.

'The herb is impressive, but his touch is even more amazing.'

Besides, no matter how potent an herb—or even a miracle cure—it shouldn't act instantly on contact.

Only a true healer's skill could make this happen.

She was certain she felt some unknowable energy at the touch of his hand.

She'd spent years seeking out mountain monks and miracle workers for their elixirs and secrets.

But now?

'No need to travel far—it was right in my backyard! Should I ask him to be my master?'

There was no point in picking on or envying this neighbor. She had to forge a close and precious relationship with such a rare benefactor.

During the treatment, the herbalist's expressions shifted by the moment.

Ian, sensing these changes, kept his focus on the healing.

'Do I know herbs? Oh, not just herbs.'

If anything, he knew too much.