藥師少女的獨語 16

薬屋のひとりごと [Kusuriya no Hitorigoto] (Light Novel) #16

by Natsu Hyuuga, 日向夏, Touco Shino (Illustrator)

皇帝的手術成功後過了半個月，到了孟冬初寒的季節。
術後治療的差事由上級醫官接手，貓貓回去過她忙碌的日常生活。
某日，妤看了老醫官收到的信札後，當場變了臉色。
「恐怕要出大事了。」信上寫到近日有愈來愈多患者的身體突冒水疱。
貓貓產生了不祥的預感，無奈憂心之事最終化為現實。
「痘瘡疫災發生」。
此種時疫傳播極快且易於致命，又往往在臉部與身體留下疤痕，令人聞風喪膽──

在調查痘瘡感染源頭的過程中得知震驚的事實……

Genres: Light Novel, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Manga, Historical

328 pages, ebook

First published May 30, 2025

About the author

See: 日向夏

Reviews

[Hannah]

Every time a new book comes out i read it so fast that i feel like a dog begging for food at the dinner table. Can't wait for the next novel.

[d]

there hasn’t been a wedding yet but maomao jinshi and are married as fuck

[Miki]

Need a palette cleanser every once in a while and Apothecary Diaries V16 released just in time <3

- I liked the few mysteries that Maomao got to solve, which is reminiscent of the more earlier volumes. I think the author had said she was going to revert back to those instead of the longer arcs that dragged on a tad.
- Changsha is a MVP. Thank you for calling out bullshit when you see it.
- That last chapter with Kokuyou was just... damn. I still like him, he's very interesting. I'd love to see him meet Tianyu.
- Basen and Lishu are adorable. Just get together already.
- So little Maomao/Jinshi interaction but their moment in the epliogue was cute at least.

V17 Release when? I do adore this series but I'll admit not much seemed to happen in this book other than the introduction of smallpox which may or may not become an issue. I am wondering when the series will end. I'm worried it's going to be stretched out though I will always love Maomao and her direct nature.

[Sig]

As always 5 stars for my beloved Chinese Dr. House

[JG]

Yeah so I said I’d only read Devotions by Mary Oliver this month, but the English translation of this came out, so what was a girl to do?

Anyway, the mystery is as good as always, love to see Maomao’s character development in terms of her relationships with certain characters (Her father: a little progress; Lahan: zero progress), the inevitable marriage talks regarding the Moon Prince keep on coming up (Chue and Maamei are my fellow Jinmaoers for life), and the epilogue! One thing about Natsu Hyuuga is she knows how to write an epilogue.

To think that Maomao has allowed herself some moment of vulnerability in front of Jinshi, and he admits to her his heart’s true desire…And to see how Maomao always refuses to eat first when they’re together, but was either too exhausted or too comfortable around him to drop formalities and eat ahead of him this time…Need them to end up as commoners because I cannot see another ending where they end up happy.

[Taam]

VIVAN LOS NOVIOOOOS!!!!

[stunningpages]

The ending means everything to me. How far one can come even with the smallest of steps but with centaincy and continuation.

[yane]

Once more digging how the author solved everything by the end of the book.
Again, more than any poison or sickness, the story keeps showing us that what can be dangerous and problematic are people, their malice and relationship.

There was a lot of characters again, but I was never bored by any of them. And as always its great to see how Maomao shows us how human she is through her relationships and decisions.
Her relationship wirh Jinshi is evolving!! Please get married already!!! What are you doing screaming this at Lishu and Basen when you two are the same!!!!

Sadly it will probably take a while to the next entry in the series since this volume was the Last one released in Japan, but I will be waiting patiently!!!

[Imane]

4.25

The diet of JinMao crumbs has officially been upgraded to a single piece of stale yet surprisingly nutritious bread... We're getting somewhere!! FINALLY!

[RoroReads]

I need season 3 immediately 🥹🥹 I can't believe I'm done I swear I've been reading these light novels for ages 😭

[mudslug]

love kokuyou. big steps for maomao too.

[Mollie McMullan]

I wish I could give a book more than 5⭐️ but alas.

My only (small) gripe was that there was no Lihaku. I missed him.

Everything else was perfection. It felt like coming home in the best ways. The thru lines that have been there all the way since books 1-4 were so apparent and the evolutions of each character between then and now was just astounding. I feel like Maomao is really finally coming into herself in a way that she’s ready to share with those around her and *chefs kiss*.


Two quick small things that made me happy (everything made me happy but to limit myself hehe):
1. When Maomao grabbed Jinshi’s arm at the Red Plum Village to stop him from talking to Lishu. 1. She doesn’t hesitate to touch him, even in front of others. Oh, the pride I felt!!!! 2. When Maomao realizes that he doesn’t know what to do with her having grabbed his arm, she simply continues to hold it and drags him along. It’s giving “you are my boyfriend, get over it,” oh. my. god.
2. Jinshi protecting Maomao from “the attacker.” The pulling his sword and pushing her behind him? THAT gave “NOT MY WIFE!”


Lastly, Jinshi, this is your opportunity to find Xiaolan anyways and maybe even go so far as to give her a non-pleasure-district address for her to send letters to Maomao. Maybe even go so far as to give her YOUR address so you can give your WIFE her letters.

[Paula (lovebookscl)]

Me encantó el misterio de este vol, se va a uno de mis favoritos. Y no puede faltar también el plot más general y que involucra a todos los personajes secundarios que rodean a Maomao. Sumamente entretenido.

Además amo ver como ha avanzado la relación entre Jinshi y Maomao, ver su madurez, confianza y momentos juntos. Maomao ya no se puede hacer la indiferente jajaja se pone feliz cada que ve a Jinshi (la carta fue muy linda). Y la escena del epílogo: la guinda en la torta.

[pili]

you can tell this was written with the anime in mind and it makes it a little jarring? to read.

maomao and jinshi are so cute tho, their dynamic has evolved so nicely I love them

[⋆˚꩜｡autumn ˚꩜｡⋆]

the epilogue has fed me for another few months. I am no longer starving. Natsu Hyuuga knows exactly how to feed my delulu 😭

i think we all can collectively agree that lishu and basen's dynamic is just so perfect <3 but maomao CANNOT be complaining about them moving too slow, because she and jinshi are currently participating in the LONGEST SLOW-BURN IN HISTORY.

so happy the mysteries came back too!!! I missed them sm. I did feel like the beginning of the book was a bit slow, hence why I gave it only four stars. Still, rating any apothecary diaries light novel below a 3 is impossible.

jokes aside, I really wish I read this light novel one page a day. How the heck am I supposed to wait for LN 17 now? i fear i'll be starving again by the time it comes out, which is prob in late 2027 😔

[Jade A]

ended too soon (maybe spoiler)

I’m always a little sad when I finish these books but the cliffhangers make me so eager for where the next installment will go.
This installment is focused on an outbreak of smallpox with little bits of loooove in between. I’m so glad the story of Jinshi and Maomao is unfolding the way it is (same with Basen and Lady Lishu, I can’t wait to see how they unfold), as slowly as it is. It makes it more realistic in the way of their respected places in their world. The ending? Swoon. Maomao may act and believe she has no romantic feeling for the man, but Jinshi has become an important person to her. They have both to each other.
I honestly never want this series to end, I’ll recommend this book and this whole series 10x over. Natsu Hyuuga has done it again and I’m so happy to read his work.

[Sergio]

This was the first entry in the series I had to wait for and reading it felt like coming back to the surface to breathe; the wait for the next one will be excruciating. I love everything going on, it's just a great time to hang out with the gang again. The current status quo feels a bit too comfortable though, the major threat in this one feels like it's being given second-hand to the reader, every character is in relative comfort, and even the romantic tension feels like it has resolved for the most part. I'm guessing we're due for a big shakeup soon. Still, it's nice to see everyone be mostly successful and not in major peril. The letters chapter was absolutely a standout.

[Zlatka]

Not sure if to put 4 or 5 stars. First, it was nice to be with Maomao again, but... I thought the last book was a filler. This one is nice read as always, there are two mysteries to solve (yay).

The main characters don't move at all... So the question is, does the author have some overarching storyline in mind?

[Jesica]

CLASIFICATION: 4.5 ESTRELLAS

SPOILERS ASI QUE NO LEER... O HACERLO BAJO SU PROPIO RIESGO. DEJO ESTA INFORMATION AQUI PARA SABER SI ADAPTAN TODA LA INFO EN EL ANIME (SI ES QUE LO ADAPTAN CLARO ESTA).

Bueno ahora pasamos de la apendicitis a unas aldeas incubando viruela.
A lo largo de la novela nos comienzan a dar datos sobre estos casos y al final del libro se sabe todo lo que y porque paso.
Además de que nos enteramos de algunos secretos de la vida de kokuyo.
Haciendo que gracias a esto nos demos cuenta como MaoMao ha ido madurando a lo largo de la historia. Porque ya no es un personaje que ve, especula y no se involucra. Ahora inconscientemente esta involucrada activamente en la historia de las personas que la rodean, haciendo que las acciones de esas personas sean malas o buenas la hagan sentir emociones qué al comienzo de la historia no pasaba, haciendo que creyera qué MaoMao era demasiado hermética para mi gusto.
Sabemos cositas de otros personajes.
Y el epilogo, simplemente hace que se nos esponje el corazón con un momento Jinshi/MaoMao hermoso, donde nos hace entender que oficialmente MaoMao esta involucrada en esa relación, la acepta y también la espera.
Además la relación de Basen con Linshi ya está avanzando por buen camino, creo que dentro de poco nos contarán qué están comprometidos.
Ps: Me sorprendió bastante la personalidad espejo de Kokuyou.
Ps2: me encanta como MaoMao se preocupa cada vez más y abiertamente por Jinshi sin negarselo a ella misma o a los demás.
Ps3: Necesito el volumen 17 para ayer y tambien el anime.

[Femke]

Finally finished the last novel! I think this series is far from finished but I’ve really enjoyed reading it so far. It’s a lighter read but still well written with interesting topics.

I also really enjoy Maomao as a main character and I’m glad the books are taking a more medical turn instead of just focusing on smaller mysteries. I don’t think we’re done with the whole smallpox plague arc yet so I’m interested to see where they go next with this.

Anyways now it’s time to wait for the next book and translation to come out, and figure out what i'm going to read next :)

[Carly Nguyen]

Wow.. it feels unreal that I finally read all the published books of this series. I don’t know what to do now I suppose I’ll have to wait for the next book but who knows when it will release. My favourite part of this book was definitely the epilogue but I’m gonna miss reading this series, until next time I guess? 🥲💔

[✿ Axa ✿]

My least fav volume😭 the premise is just so so nothing special. Ngga ada storyline yang bikin Maomao’s knowledge on full display. Apaan yang jade elder ga jelas banget sebel!!!

Cuma ketolong sama endingnya🪓

[Loles]

Kevin when i get uuuuyuuu WHATTAHELL IS THIS TRANSLATION !!!!!!!!

Horror porque ahora ya he atrapado a Japón y me tocará esperar... Quién sabe cuánto😭😭😭

[aleeeeessa]

the ending was wild

[Ray]

Such good characters, can't wait for the next volume!

[Lizaveta Zhuk]

Я хочу еще 16*10 томов этого шедевра… 😭

[niezrównany ogórek]

joł

[Alhelí de Vaslez]

Sinceramente no entiendo muy bien hacia dónde estamos yendo en esta historia, porque hay muchas cosas ocurriendo al mismo tiempo en un mismo espacio que a veces parece que solo están ahí para hacer bulto. Y antes de que me odien daré mis razones del porqué lo digo.
Desde ya hace mucho sé que este tipo de volúmenes que tratan muchos temas son así porque nos están preparando para un arco de trama brutal, como en su momento lo fue el arco del clan Shi, o el arco de la capital del oeste (si no mal recuerdo); pero en verdad que no sé hacia donde quiere llegar este volumen. Porque por un lado tenemos la trama de la prima de Jinshi, por otro la trama de Lahan, por otro la trama de En'en y Yao (no recuerdo bien si así se escribe pues nunca he ocultado mi desagrado a este personaje y su trama), por otro el de Basen y Lishu y por otro el de la viruela (el más interesante de todos). En verdad es mucho, y muy pocos realmente se llegan a desarrollarse bien y aportar algo nuevo o relevante a la trama, yo esperaría que en los siguientes se den más razones de existir.
Las cosas a favor que encuentro y que aplaudo mucho de la obra y la autora es que nos dejan ver que Maomao ha evolucionado mucho emocional y mentalmente porque se ha vuelto más compleja en varios aspectos de su vida, sobre todo en el aspecto que respecta a sus sentimientos por Jinshi, en donde pudimos ver por fin un gran avance y muestra de afecto genuino por parte de ella. Además de que uno de mis personajes favoritos y que considero es clave en estos volúmenes, Chue, nos ayuda a entender y avanzar en la trama de una manera única.
Espero que el siguiente volumen me calle la boca y me haga enamorarme nuevamente de la historia

[Mimi Parraguez]

#nomáshatehaciabasen

[yt]

took me a while to finish reading this as there were a few new events in this book and was quite dry to me. I hope I still remember the lore by the time the next book comes out.