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Chapter 768: 768

Chapter 768: Massages and Herbs

The old trainer wanted to say something, but he suddenly decided to shut his mouth .

Not long afterward, Zhang Heng also heard someone talking and the faint sound of footsteps coming from the corridor . A large group of gladiators walked in from outside . It seemed like they had just finished their training . They were talking and laughing while walking . The old trainer then said, “I will go to you, and we can discuss more then . ”

After he was done talking, he got down from the alcove and went back to the hot pool .

And Zhang Heng decided to enjoy the hot steam for a little longer before returning to the hot pool .

“As someone who’s experiencing such hot steam for the first time, I must admit you lasted quite long,” said Varo after seeing Zhang Heng coming out of the sudatorium . Varo seemed to have recuperated after soaking in the pool for a while . He then got out and said, “It’s my turn now . ”

“I will wait for you here,” replied Zhang Heng .

When Varo came out of the sudatorium, the two went to the cold pool next door . The ancient Romans had a bizarre bathing habit . They seemed to like to alternate between hot and cold baths . Actually, this kind of bathing method was very likely to cause them heart problems . Other than that, staying in a cold and humid environment for a long time might even cause sailor syndrome and hearing loss .

As compared to the men, the women in ancient Rome were healthier since they hardly took cold baths .

Zhang Heng tried it once and decided not to do it again in the future . And he also advised Varo not to alternate hot and cold baths in the future . The latter listened to what Zhang Heng told him and immediately nodded obediently without asking why .

After that, they ended their bathing session with a massage . According to Varro, although the public bathhouses had a very cheap admission fee, services such as storing clothes, buying snacks, and getting massages were all charged separately . However, the bathhouse in the gladiator school was served to protect the valuable assets of the school owners . Hence all the services for gladiators were given free of charge .

This was also one of the few perks of being a gladiator .

When Zhang Heng and Varo returned to their residence, the “battle” over there was already over . The four female slaves had left the room, leaving the two drunk gladiators lying on the bed . Looking at the smiles on their faces, they seemed to be having good dreams .

Today was the day when they passed the assessment . Gaby also knew that they had worked hard for a long time, so he did not ask them to train today . Everyone was allowed to savor this victorious moment to the fullest .

Varo, on the other hand, was very disciplined . After his mind and body fully recovered from their exhaustion, he returned to the training ground and began to train . He knew that it was sheer luck that he could pass the assessment this time . Even if he did not face Habitus during the final assessment, his combat skills were still below average compared to other new gladiators . Hence, to regain his freedom in the future and carry out his revenge plan, his fighting skills needed to improve to survive the next few battles .

As for Zhang Heng, he took a nap and then wandered in the gladiator school until it was dark .

After they became official gladiators, the areas that they could go to had expanded a lot . As long as they did not leave the gladiator school’s premises, they could wander anywhere they wanted . Zhang Heng first talked to a few gladiators to learn more about the gladiator schools and staff . Especially the information of some trainers; he wanted to know what they were good at . In the near future, he would love to learn all those skills from them .

Zhang Heng paid close attention to the old Persian trainer’s information, but from the information collected so far, it was almost the same as before .

His name was Dadatis, and he joined the gladiator school half a year ago . The school assigned him to train a group of newcomers . After that, he was asked to focus on Habitus’s training only . His origin was very mysterious . It was said that he hew Gaby many years ago . Other than that, no one knew much about him .

Many gladiators consulted him about their training, and Dadatis was always willing to give them advice . However, his answer was not much different from other trainers . In the end, fewer and fewer people came to him .

After that, Zhang Heng went to the medical bay . Almost every gladiator school would be equipped with a medical bay, where all wounded gladiators would receive medical treatment . This place could also help the owners reduce their losses .

In all fairness, the doctors in this era were quite skillful . Take the gladiator school where Zhang Heng worked as an example . There were retired emperor doctors who worked here, especially good at dealing with external and bone injuries, and they were even equipped with stainless steel or copper surgical tools . Their had a very similar shape to modern surgical instruments—except having no effective means of anesthesia other than alcohol and opium . And, of course, disinfection was something the people of that era had no knowledge of .

Other than that, they had no good way to deal with internal injuries or organ damage . Hence, they could only wait for the reapers to harvest their patients’ life .

When Zhang Heng entered the medical bay, he saw a doctor with half-white stubble bandaging a gladiator with a leg injury . Zhang Heng stood by the door to wait for the doctor to finished treating the injured gladiator . After he told the injured gladiator about what he should be really paying attention to, he raised his head and looked at Zhang Heng .

“Where did you hurt yourself? Let me see . ”

“I am not injured,” said Zhang Heng .

The doctor frowned, “Then why are you here?”

“Oh, I simply wanted to seek your advice . I wonder if I can buy any herbs here?” Zhang Heng explained his intentions .

He spent the remaining time in the Alien’s dungeon to learn more about herbal medicine . It could come in handy in an era where medical treatment was not as advanced . Zhang Heng picked a few commonly used herbs to treat inflammation, diarrhea, fever, and bruises . Most of them could be found in the Mediterranean . But even so, it took him a long time to describe what the herbs looked like to the doctor .

The doctor seemed skeptical after listening to what he had to say . Fortunately, Zhang Heng met a doctor that was willing to open to new things . Some of the herbs were widely used in this era . Except for these surgeons, herbal medicine and prayer remained the most popular treatment for internal diseases .

The doctor promised to help Zhang Heng look for the herbs that he wanted . If it worked, the doctor did not plan to charge him . The school would bear the cost of all the gladiators’ treatment anyway, which was why he was willing to accept the invitation to be a doctor here . Besides the generous income, he could also get a lot of opportunities to verify his medical theory .

After that, Zhang Heng returned to his residence in the evening .

During this period, the old Persian trainer did not come and look for him again, as if he had forgotten about him .

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