Dreamland Lake Water

Opening the door, a gray-robed priest respectfully handed over a sealed letter and said, "Mr. Arthur, a letter from His Excellency the Bishop."

Ning Xiuyuan nodded and accepted it. "Thank you for your effort. May the Lord watch over you."

The gray-robed priest returned the greeting and left.

After closing the door, Ning Xiuyuan turned and broke the wax seal. Inside was a formal letter of appointment.

--Appointing Arthur as a specially engaged physician at Francis Church Hospital.

The appointment required Ning Xiuyuan to report to the hospital on June 12 and accept the hospital's arrangements!

"The Church works pretty quickly. Thinking about it carefully, I only mentioned it to Bishop Byron last night, and the appointment letter was delivered today."

Ning Xiuyuan was somewhat surprised by the Church's efficiency, and even more exhilarated inside.

He could forget about fully merging with the Plague Disciple anytime soon. If he wanted to further reduce the risk of losing control, his only choice was to merge with the Disease Deceiver as soon as possible.

Francis Church Hospital would be the best place for him to perform the supernatural ritual.

Besides, Ning Xiuyuan clearly remembered that when he had nearly lost control after consuming the Plague Disciple, it had been the anchors of hope from the patients at Francis Church Hospital that had awakened his sense of self.

He did not know what had happened.

But there was one thing he could be certain of: the more such anchors, the better.

This might be one of the fundamental reasons why God spread faith.

Thinking of this, Ning Xiuyuan picked up the lantern. He planned to inspect the church, have dinner, and then visit Sister Angela to ask for advice on medical practice.

However, when he picked up the lantern, something stirred in his heart. He raised the lantern before his eyes and examined it.

--He wondered whether the Crystal Lantern had contained another supernatural characteristic this time.

Through the Crystal Lampshade, the murky yellow lamp oil rippled faintly. The Rootless Soul curled up in a corner, silent as the grave.

There was nothing else.

Nothing?

Ning Xiuyuan sighed in disappointment and prepared to put down the lantern.

Wait!

Something was wrong with the Rootless Soul.

Every time he approached the lantern before, the Rootless Soul would fall into a frenzy of muttering. Why was there no reaction this time?

Ning Xiuyuan had always been intensely curious about the Rootless Soul's true nature. His left eye suddenly changed from a black, round pupil into a Horizontal-Pupiled Sheep Eye, and he looked toward the Rootless Soul.

--·--

An endless ocean of murky yellow stretched as far as the eye could see, like drifting desert sands. It was barren, silent, searing, and scorched!

Seeing that twisted, foolish, blind face appear in the sky once again, the Rootless Soul curled up in the corner and trembled.

Its mind screamed frantically as it hypnotized itself.

You can't see me. You can't see me. Boohoo, please, don't look! Don't look!

It curled into a ball like a pangolin, protecting its soft belly.

It seemed to have heard its thoughts and slowly moved its face away.

As that foolish, terrifying face withdrew, the Rootless Soul's trembling body relaxed somewhat. Boundless dread, fear, relief, and exhilaration churned together in its heart.

An indescribable sense of accomplishment made its entire body shudder with excitement!

--It had successfully deceived a god.

No, no...

The moment that sense of accomplishment arose, it realized in horror that the twisted face that had just moved away suddenly drew close again.

An already twisted eyeball abruptly transformed into a Mother God's sheep pupil, radiating an indescribable terror. It was like a vast expanse of stars crashing down from the heavens.

"No--Great Master, you have come! Ah, I have been praying for your arrival all this time. Look, I have carefully safeguarded it for you all this time. Such pure Dreamland Lake water! No one can take water from the lake where the great Water Lizard Bokeru'ge dwells except you! Great Master, let me praise you! You are the pride of the Supreme Mother God, a great existence walking through the unknown lands of creation."

The Rootless Soul began to tremble. It spread open its liquid-like body, revealing a drop of emerald-blue water.

The droplet immediately flew into the sky after breaking free of its restraint.

The Rootless Soul watched it fly upward with desperate longing, as though it had lost its soul. Its heart bled, if it even had a heart.

It watched in a daze, but did not dare give rise to the slightest thought of disobedience.

All it wanted now was for its great master to forgive its greed!

Because that Horizontal-Pupiled Sheep Eye had already proven that He was a descendant of the Supreme Mother God, and would at the very least possess the Old Ones' Rank.

Wait, how did I know that was the bloodline of the Supreme Mother God?

"Who am I? Who am I? Ah, Great Master, please tell me, who am I?"

The pitiful Rootless Soul had gone mad again.

--·--

Using his ability to misalign space-time, Ning Xiuyuan drew the emerald-blue droplet before him, and his expression turned strange.

He had not expected the Crystal Lantern to contain another supernatural item.

Even more unexpected was that the Rootless Soul, which seemed to have been frightened into madness, had dared to hide a treasure for itself.

If he had not opened his Horizontal-Pupiled Sheep Eye on a sudden impulse, he might truly have been deceived by it.

So it was not mad?

Or perhaps, even if it was mad, it still knew that the emerald-blue droplet was an extraordinary treasure and would rather risk offending an unknown existence than surrender it?

Speaking of which, what exactly was this Dreamland Lake water?

At that thought, the supernatural knowledge fed back by the Horizontal-Pupiled Sheep Eye automatically brought up the relevant information.

--There was a lake in the Dreamlands called Dreamland Lake. It was the dwelling place of the Old One B'rk'ug, who refused all visitors.

Supposedly, only His kin could enter and leave the place.

As for what Dreamland Lake water did?

The supernatural knowledge fed back by the Horizontal-Pupiled Sheep Eye contained no information on that.

Was it because He did not know either, or because He was deliberately concealing it?

That did not matter. He could find an opportunity to ask around. The Church possessed the supernatural characteristic of a Dreamwalker, so it should not be unfamiliar with the Dreamlands.

After thinking it over, Ning Xiuyuan glanced at the emerald-blue droplet. He searched the room with his eyes, then took an empty matchbox, coated its interior with a layer of spiritual film, and used it to hold the droplet.

This still isn't safe enough. Looks like I'll have to find an opportunity to collect some supernatural materials and create a permanent misaligned space to serve as a personal portable safe.

Ning Xiuyuan muttered to himself. After putting the matchbox close to his body, he picked up the lantern and left the Groom's quarters.

After inspecting the church and having dinner,

he immediately carried the lantern through the dusk to Francis Convent.

"Knock, knock!"

As soon as the knocking stopped, a short, plump older nun in a habit opened the door a crack and stared at Ning Xiuyuan warily.

"Francis Convent refuses visits from all outsiders!"

"I'm here to see Sister Angela. I've already arranged to meet her. It concerns Francis Church Hospital, so please inform her," Ning Xiuyuan said politely.

Francis Convent held a very special position within the Church, one that could not be fully explained in a few words.

Its rules were also extremely strict.

Apart from nuns, it refused visits from all women and even priests.

In theory, not even His Excellency the Bishop was allowed to step through the convent's gate.

"Please wait!"

The short, plump nun glanced at Ning Xiuyuan, then slammed the gate shut.

Ning Xiuyuan waited patiently.

After a long while, the wooden door of the convent finally creaked open.

Angela poked out her small head. When she saw Ning Xiuyuan standing properly at the entrance, her face lit up with delight.

"Hi, Arthur!"

She seemed to have jogged over. A few beads of sweat dotted the tip of her nose. Her flaxen hair was bound beneath a white headscarf, and the freckles scattered across her cheeks made her youthful vitality even more apparent.

Ning Xiuyuan cast a sidelong glance at the short, plump older nun behind the door, who was watching him as warily as if he were courting her daughter. He properly performed the Dawn Rite, then said,

"Hello, Sister Angela. I just received my appointment letter as a physician from His Excellency the Bishop. I'm supposed to report to Francis Church Hospital tomorrow, so I came specially to ask about the work procedures and familiarize myself with them."

"Really? I knew the bishop would agree. Your medical skills are so impressive."

Angela looked delighted.

She turned and whispered a few words to the short, plump older nun before stepping out of the convent. Standing openly before the gate, she began introducing Ning Xiuyuan to the work procedures at Francis Church Hospital.

As the short, plump nun listened to their professional discussion, her expression finally eased a little. ...As long as this wasn't some improper date.

The two of them stood before the convent discussing things for a long while before finally taking their leave.

During that time, Angela also returned to the convent once and brought Ning Xiuyuan a copy of the Compendium of Potions.

The work procedures at Francis Church Hospital were much simpler than Ning Xiuyuan had imagined.

In this era, when most people fell ill, their first reaction was not actually to go to a hospital, but to go to a church and pray.

They believed that illness was God's punishment.

Therefore, most self-limiting illnesses such as colds never made it to Francis Church Hospital, or even private clinics.

If a patient's condition grew increasingly serious, they would enter the second stage of the process: finding a physician.

At that point, they had two choices.

The first was a private clinic.

The advantage was that no waiting was required. The disadvantage was that it cost money, and a great deal of it.

Of course, there was no guarantee of a cure. If they happened to encounter a physician who firmly believed in the Four Humors theory and bloodletting, they might as well prepare to gamble with their lives--and pay for the privilege.

The second was Francis Church Hospital.

The advantage was that everything was free. The disadvantage was that they had to wait, and wait in a very long line.

That was the process for patients seeking medical care.

For physicians, the process was even simpler.

In this world, physicians were mainly divided into two categories:

Potion Physicians and surgeons.

The former had to determine what illness the patient was suffering from, then prescribe the corresponding potion based on the patient's condition.

The latter had to use a knife.

Note that "using a knife" here did not mean surgical treatment in modern medicine. It mainly involved obvious fractures, deformities, and similar conditions.

Here, there was still no concept of using surgery to treat diseases.

As an Ascetic Physician, Ning Xiuyuan only needed to serve as a Potion Physician. During treatment, he could provide preliminary care as appropriate.

At the same time, whenever a surgeon needed to use a knife, they would also need an Ascetic Physician to assist from the side and prevent the patient from dying on the operating table.

Ning Xiuyuan returned home and flipped through the potion books Angela had given him.

Looking at the mere dozens of finished potions, he breathed a sigh of relief, but he also felt some sympathy for the people of this world.

How miserable!