Ning Xiuyuan opened his eyes groggily and found himself lying in a somewhat filthy hospital room. The walls were covered in mottled brown stains—whether blood left behind by previous patients or some other bodily fluid, he had no idea.
On the mobile medical cabinet beside him sat various commonly used yet horrifying medical instruments.
A medical bone saw, bloodletting tools, giant scissors, hypodermic syringes, hemostatic fixation bolts...
A medical poster advertising lice was even pasted on the opposite wall!
"You're awake?"
A voice carrying a hint of mockery came from nearby.
Ning Xiuyuan struggled to sit up and looked toward the voice. The speaker was a black-robed priest standing beside the window. He was around thirty, with thick blond hair and narrow, cold eyes.
After looking around, Ning Xiuyuan saw another priest sitting by the door, his head lowered as he flipped through a book.
"How long was I asleep?" Ning Xiuyuan asked.
"Ha, listen to that. The first thing our Lamp Keeper cares about after waking up is how long he slept? Aren't you curious about how Orlando is doing?"
The blond priest's tone became increasingly sarcastic. "That's right. Orlando is dead. You already knew that before you started pretending to sleep, so of course you aren't curious."
Ning Xiuyuan frowned. He sensed that something was wrong.
"Enough. Notify the investigation team." The priest who had been reading finally spoke.
The blond priest narrowed his eyes. An invisible ghost leaped out of his body, slammed into the wall, and disappeared.
Clearly, it had gone to notify the investigation team.
Seeing that the two men were so cold and merciless, Ning Xiuyuan wisely kept silent.
He looked around and saw that his Crystal Lantern, revolver, and some miscellaneous items had been placed on the bedside table. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
After checking his physical condition, he found that it was unexpectedly perfect as well.
He pondered briefly, then suddenly understood.
After killing Orlando's loss of control, some of the supernatural characteristics it had absorbed had returned. His self and supernatural characteristics had also fused because he had killed the loss of control, advancing to another level.
His current degree of fusion had reached roughly one-quarter.
It was precisely these fused supernatural characteristics that gave him an abnormal recovery ability.
Before long, the dense footsteps outside interrupted Ning Xiuyuan's thoughts. He looked up to see several priests entering.
It seemed they were the so-called investigation team.
"Arthur, you should still remember what happened before you passed out, right?"
After entering, the leader got straight to the point.
His name was Father Rhodes, and Ning Xiuyuan knew him.
He was around forty, with sparse hair. He rarely appeared in the church, but whenever he did, all the priests treated him with great respect.
This made Ning Xiuyuan realize that even among priests, there were differences in status.
"I remember."
"Good. Tell us carefully."
Rhodes asked without even bothering to explain that this was a routine investigation.
Ning Xiuyuan also realized something. After organizing his words, he asked, "I... How many days was I unconscious? I need to know the exact time so I can describe what happened."
Rhodes drew a quiet breath. "One day and one night. Today is June tenth."
Ning Xiuyuan nodded.
"At around three or four in the morning on June ninth, I got up and went to the church to inspect the candle flames. After I finished my work, Father Wright suddenly rushed in and said that Orlando had suffered serious injuries and asked me to go treat him—"
Before Ning Xiuyuan could finish, a priest shouted angrily.
"You're lying! With so many medical practitioners in the church, why would Wright seek out a newly advanced person like you?"
In an instant, the atmosphere in the hospital room became tense.
Ning Xiuyuan's pupils contracted slightly. Only then did he finally realize what had happened.
The church suspected that I was the murderer!
"Continue." Rhodes raised a hand to stop his colleague's questioning and continued asking.
Ning Xiuyuan was furious. He had never expected that preventing a crisis caused by spreading loss of control would earn him this kind of treatment.
But he was under someone else's roof and had no choice but to bow his head. He could only continue.
"A rusty iron sword had pierced through Orlando's chest, passing right through his heart..."
"You can't even lie properly. Only Sister Angela could treat an injury this severe! Wright would never have sought you out." That priest shouted angrily again.
"Enough. Sister Angela wasn't in the city on the night of June ninth." Rhodes spoke in a low voice. His tone could not be considered a rebuke.
The priest's face stiffened awkwardly. He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
"Continue."
"Then I healed him."
"You..." The reprimanded priest was about to speak again, but his companion pulled him back.
"If I remember correctly, you only became an Ascetic Physician on June eighth, right? How did you treat such a serious injury?" Rhodes looked puzzled and suspicious.
"I only treated the heart. Healing an injured heart is no different in essence from healing an ordinary wound." Ning Xiuyuan spoke quietly.
As soon as he finished, the priests in the room looked at one another, apparently not expecting the answer to be so simple.
Unfortunately, no one in the room was an Ascetic Physician, and no one knew whether it would actually work.
"Is that so? I'll verify this with Sister Angela. She's an Ascetic Physician too. If you want to change your story, it isn't too late." Father Rhodes's expression remained blank.
"I suggest you verify it with several people, even Your Excellency the Bishop, to prevent anyone from colluding and framing me." Ning Xiuyuan's anger finally flared. His cold gaze swept across the priests watching him indifferently.
All the priests looked unpleasant at his words.
"Thank you for the reminder. I will." Father Rhodes nodded. "Continue."
"After I healed Orlando, no one expected a ghost to suddenly emerge from the rusty sword and burrow into Orlando's body, causing him to completely lose control."
Before Ning Xiuyuan could finish, he was interrupted again.
"That makes no sense at all. If the enemy wanted to kill Orlando, why would they launch a sneak attack afterward? The moment the iron sword pierced Orlando's body, it should have taken effect immediately."
This question came from another young priest with his arms folded and brown hair covering his head.
Ning Xiuyuan did not explain, because he did not know why either.
"What explanation do you have for this?" Unexpectedly, although he did not want to explain, the other man refused to let him off.
"I don't know. However, after I healed Orlando, I got out of the carriage and spoke with Payne. Payne said they had encountered a dangerous and cunning Puppet Master. He had disguised himself as the Gravekeeper and controlled zombies in battle. Orlando had suffered his fatal injuries after being ambushed by a headless zombie. Hiding a ghost inside the iron sword may have had its own purpose."
Ning Xiuyuan's thoughts raced as he explained. He had no choice but to explain.
His experience killing the loss of control had taught him that no one in this world could be trusted. The only person he could rely on was himself.
As expected, his words made all the priests frown.
Because they had indeed discovered that Orlando had encountered a Puppet Master who controlled zombies that night.
"Continue. What happened after Orlando lost control?"
"He killed Wright..." Ning Xiuyuan gave them a rough account of the battle.
"Wait. Are you saying that the loss of control killed Wright, Atley, and Payne one after another, and even dragged you back with it, intending to kill you as well?" Rhodes interrupted Ning Xiuyuan and repeated the question for confirmation.
"Yes!"
"Then how did the loss of control die? Don't tell me you passed out and knew nothing about it." Rhodes's gaze was deep and penetrating.
Ning Xiuyuan pressed his lips together. "I killed it."
The moment the words fell, they struck the room like a thunderclap!
"What? Did I hear that correctly? You're saying you killed the loss of control that had absorbed four supernatural characteristics?"
"Even if it had only partially absorbed them, even if it had no rationality left, a loss of control wasn't something an Ascetic Physician like you could kill!"
"Don't tell me you used a gun! To tell you the truth, the only thing found at the scene was the Supernatural Bullet issued to Atley."
The priests exchanged looks, their faces filled with shock and doubt. None of them believed that Ning Xiuyuan could have killed Orlando's loss of control.
"Silence! Arthur, tell me how you killed Orlando's loss of control. I want to know every detail."
Father Rhodes took several steps forward and stood before the hospital bed. Looking down from above, he stared fixedly into Ning Xiuyuan's eyes.
Ning Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes.
Do you think I can tell you?
If he told them, it would be the same as exposing the Disease Deceiver's greatest weakness to the world.
But if he did not, how was he supposed to clear his name?
Before you continue