Dreamland Lake Water

A gray-robed priest respectfully handed him a letter sealed with wax as Ning Xiuyuan opened the door. "Mr. Arthur, a letter from Your Excellency the Bishop."

Ning Xiuyuan nodded and accepted it, offering a Dawn salute. "Thank you for your trouble. May the Lord watch over you."

The gray-robed priest returned the salute and turned to leave.

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

—Appointing him, Arthur, as a specially appointed physician at Francis Church Hospital.

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

"The Church is quite efficient. If I think about it carefully, I only mentioned it to Bishop Byron last night, and the letter of appointment arrived today."

Ning Xiuyuan was somewhat surprised by the Church's efficiency and felt quite invigorated.

He wouldn't be able to fully integrate the Plague Disciple anytime soon. To reduce the risk of loss of control, his only option was to quickly integrate the Disease Deceiver.

The Church Hospital would be the best place for him to perform the extraordinary ritual.

Furthermore, Ning Xiuyuan clearly remembered that when he almost lost control after consuming the Plague Disciple, it was the anchor of hope from a patient at the Church Hospital that awakened his self.

He didn't understand what had happened here.

But he was certain that the more such anchors he had, the better.

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

With that thought, Ning Xiuyuan picked up his lantern, planning to patrol the church, have dinner, and then visit Angela to discuss his medical experience.

However, as he picked up the lantern, a thought struck him. He brought the lantern closer to observe it.

—He wondered if the crystal lantern had absorbed another extraordinary characteristic this time.

Through the crystal lampshade, the turbid yellow lamp oil rippled slightly. The rootless soul was curled up in a corner, silent and still.

There was nothing else.

Nothing?

Ning Xiuyuan sighed with some disappointment, preparing 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 babbling. Why was there no reaction this time?

Ning Xiuyuan, who was already very curious about the nature of the rootless soul, suddenly transformed his left eye's black pupil into a striped goat pupil and looked at the rootless soul.

An endless turbid yellow ocean, like desert quicksand, desolate and dead, scorching hot!

Seeing the distorted, foolish, and blind face reappear in the sky, the rootless soul trembled in the corner.

Its mind screamed in madness, self-hypnotizing.

'Don't see me, don't see me, woohoo, please, don't look! Don't look!'

It curled into a ball, like an armadillo protecting its soft underbelly.

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

Seeing the foolish and terrifying face withdraw, the rootless soul's trembling body relaxed slightly. Endless fear, trepidation, joy, and excitement surged into its heart.

An indescribable sense of accomplishment made its whole body tremble!

—It had successfully fooled God.

'No, no, no...'

As the sense of accomplishment just began to form, it was horrified to discover that the distorted face that had just moved away suddenly approached again.

An eyeball, already distorted, abruptly transformed into a Mother Goddess's goat pupil, emitting an indescribable terror, like vast stars, pouring down.

"No, no—Great Master, You have arrived! Ah, I have been praying for Your arrival. Look, I have been carefully keeping it for You. Such pure Dreamland Lake water! No one can retrieve water from the Dreamland Lake where the great Water Lizard Bokeru'ge resides, except You! Great Master, let me praise You. You are the pride of the Supreme Mother God, a great being walking in the unknown lands of Creation."

The rootless soul trembled. It opened its liquid-like body, revealing a drop of azure water.

As the water bead broke free from its restraint, it immediately flew into the sky.

The rootless soul watched it fly into the sky with longing eyes, as if its soul had been lost, its heart bleeding, if it had a heart.

It watched in despair but dared not harbor the slightest thought of defiance.

It now only prayed for the great Master to forgive its greed!

Because that striped goat pupil had proven that it was a descendant of the Supreme Mother God, or at least of Old Ones' caliber.

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

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

The pitiful rootless soul had gone mad again.

Ning Xiuyuan, who had captured the azure water bead with his misplaced space ability, looked at it with a strange expression.

He hadn't expected the crystal lantern to take in another supernatural item.

Even less did he expect that the rootless soul, who seemed to have gone mad from fright, would dare to hoard a treasure?

If it weren't for his flash of inspiration to open his striped goat pupil, he might have been deceived.

It seemed it wasn't mad, then?

Or perhaps, even in its madness, it knew this azure water bead was an extraordinary treasure, and was willing to hoard it, risking the wrath of an unknown existence?

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

As his thoughts turned, relevant knowledge automatically appeared within the supernatural knowledge fed back by his striped goat pupil.

—In the Dreamland, there is a lake named Dreamland Lake. This is the habitat of the Old One Bokeru'ge, who rejects all visitors.

Only its kin, it is said, can enter and exit here.

As for the effect of the Dreamland Lake water?

There was no more supernatural knowledge fed back by the striped goat pupil.

He wondered if it didn't know either? Or was it deliberately hiding it?

However, it didn't matter. He could find an opportunity to inquire. The Church had the Dreamwalker supernatural characteristic, so it shouldn't be unfamiliar with the Dreamland.

After thinking this, Ning Xiuyuan glanced at the azure water bead, scanned the room, picked up an empty matchbox, coated the inside with a spiritual film, and used it to hold the azure water bead.

Still not entirely secure, huh? I'll need to find an opportunity to collect some supernatural materials and create a permanent misplaced space to serve as a personal mobile safe.

Ning Xiuyuan muttered to himself. After securing the matchbox on his person, he then picked up the lantern and left the groom's room.

After inspecting the church and having dinner.

He then carried the lantern, stepping into the twilight, and arrived at the Francis Convent.

"Knock, knock!"

As soon as the knocking stopped, a short, stout nun in a habit opened a crack in the door, staring at Ning Xiuyuan with a wary expression.

"The convent refuses all outside visitors!"

"I'm looking for Sister Angela. I have an appointment with her. It concerns the Church Hospital. Please inform her." Ning Xiuyuan said politely.

The convent held a very special position within the Church, difficult to describe in a few words.

The rules here were also extremely strict.

Apart from nuns, any girls or even priests were refused visits.

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

"Please wait a moment!"

The short, stout nun glanced at Ning Xiuyuan, then closed the door with a bang.

Ning Xiuyuan waited patiently.

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

Angela poked her small head out and saw Ning Xiuyuan standing obediently at the door, her face filled with surprise.

"Hi, Arthur!"

She seemed to have run over, her nose dotted with a few beads of sweat. Her flaxen hair was tied up in a white headscarf, and the faint freckles on her cheeks added to her youthful vitality.

Ning Xiuyuan's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the short, stout nun behind the door, who was watching him as warily as if he were her own daughter. He performed the Dawn Greeting obediently and then said:

"Hello, Sister Angela. I just received my physician appointment letter from Your Excellency the Bishop. I'm supposed to report to the Church Hospital tomorrow, so I came specifically to inquire about the work procedures and be prepared."

"Really? I knew your medical skill was so great, the Bishop would definitely agree."

Angela said with pleasant surprise.

She turned and whispered a few words to the short, stout nun before stepping out of the convent and openly introducing the Church Hospital's work procedures to Ning Xiuyuan.

The short, stout nun's expression finally relaxed a bit as she listened to their professional exchange... it wasn't some improper date, after all.

The two talked for a long time at the convent's door before bidding farewell and leaving.

During their conversation, Angela returned to the convent once to get a copy of the Compendium of Potions for Ning Xiuyuan.

The work procedures at the Church Hospital were surprisingly simple, far simpler than Ning Xiuyuan had imagined.

In this era, most people's first reaction to falling ill was not to go to the hospital, but to pray at the church.

They believed that illness was a punishment from God.

Therefore, most self-limiting diseases like colds and fevers never reached the Church Hospital, let alone private clinics.

If a patient's condition worsened, they would enter the second stage, which was to seek a physician.

At this point, they had two options.

One was a private clinic.

The advantage was no waiting time; the disadvantage was that it cost money, and a lot of it.

Of course, it wasn't guaranteed to cure them. If they encountered a doctor who firmly believed in the Four Humors theory and practiced bloodletting, they were essentially gambling with their lives, and paying for the privilege.

Second, there's the Church Hospital.

The advantage is that it's free of charge for the entire process, while the disadvantage is the long queue you have to wait in.

The above is the process for patients to see a doctor.

For physicians, the process of treating patients is simpler.

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

Potion Physicians and Surgeons.

The former need to diagnose what illness the patient has and then prescribe the corresponding potions based on the condition.

The latter need to use a knife.

Note that "using a knife" here does not refer to surgical treatment in modern medicine. It's mainly for obvious fractures, deformities, and similar ailments.

The concept of treating diseases through surgery does not yet exist here.

As an "Ascetic Physician," Ning Xiuyuan only needs to act as a Potion Physician. During the treatment process, he can provide preliminary treatment as needed.

At the same time, when a Surgeon needs to use a knife, the Ascetic Physician also needs to cooperate from the side to prevent the patient from dying on the operating table.

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

Seeing the few dozen finished potions, he felt relieved but also a bit sympathetic towards the people of this world.

How miserable!