As if explaining the reason to Fang Yue, Lin Ling spoke slowly.
"When the Patrol Team is on patrol, their main goal is to keep [the supernatural] from invading the village. If they spot anything supernatural, they test it with the [Anomaly Detection Talisman] made by Lord Han."
"But [Anomaly Detection Talismans] are difficult to make and extremely rare, so each patrol squad is allotted just one. They must have wasted theirs somewhere else."
"According to the Patrol Team's rules, if they encounter something they can't identify, they're to treat it as supernatural and execute it immediately."
"In practice, this method rarely goes wrong. Villagers go to sleep at night and don't wake until dawn. Usually, the only things that scream and cause a commotion in the middle of the night are supernatural."
As he spoke, Lin Ling noticed the words indicating that Fang Yue was losing health floating above his head. He froze for a moment.
"What's... wrong with you?"
Fang Yue gave a bitter smile. "Something went wrong while I was practicing. My meridians are in disarray, and I'm seriously injured."
"Could that really be?"
Lin Ling's face lit up with delight, but he soon realized that wasn't appropriate. He coughed twice and said, "I know a little about medicine. Shall I take your pulse?"
Fang Yue found it a little strange, but still nodded. "Then I'll be in your care, Captain Lin."
Lin Ling placed his fingers on Fang Yue's pulse, and delight welled up in him once more.
Sure enough, he'd gone berserk, and his meridians were in disarray!
"What a pity, what a pity!"
With a beaming smile, Lin Ling sighed, "Such a promising talent—even Lord Han thought highly of you—and yet you went berserk and ruined your Martial Path foundation. Heaven really does envy the talented!"
Wait... Your expression doesn't match what you're saying at all, man. At least pretend to care. It's pretty upsetting for me, the person this is happening to, to hear that.
"Um... Captain Lin, can my meridians still be healed?"
Lin Ling stroked his chin and chuckled. "There's no cure."
"..."
Can you speak like a normal person?
Just as Fang Yue was feeling dejected, Lin Ling drew out his next words.
"But..."
Fang Yue's spirits lifted. "But what?"
"But from now on, Little Ye, you can grow crops in the village or something. I can set aside a plot of land for you, so you'll never have to worry about food or clothing."
...As if I'd be bored enough to farm in a game.
If you can't help me, Captain Chen can. If Captain Chen can't, surely Lord Han can.
Fang Yue had a feeling that this whole Meridian Disorder business wasn't that serious.
He glanced at Lin Ling, who was still grinning, and asked gloomily, "Captain Lin, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"I went berserk and my meridians are in disarray. Why are you so happy about it?"
"Oh, Little Ye, don't blame me for being blunt. I, Lin, don't pretend to be a good person. When I heard Lord Han was treating you specially, I thought he might take you as a disciple and pass on his legacy to you, so I didn't like you much.
"But now that you're a cripple, I have another chance to inherit Lord Han's legacy.
"Don't be fooled by Captain Chen's superior Martial Arts. His talent and potential are both inferior to mine, and he only has a few years left to live. He won't last much longer. He's reached the end of his potential.
"As for Hua Wuye, her heart isn't in it, so she's no competition at all. Not one of the younger generation has caught Lord Han's eye. Before you showed up out of nowhere, I practically had no rivals.
"Now you've ruined yourself by practicing. How could I not be happy?"
Fang Yue understood.
This guy was a true villain.
But since he laid everything out in the open, Fang Yue didn't like him, but he didn't think he was particularly devious, either.
"I didn't realize Captain Lin disliked me so much. Then why did you save me earlier?"
"What kind of question is that? I'm just jealous that Lord Han thinks highly of you. That doesn't mean I'd stand by and let you die. Public duty is public duty, and private feelings are private feelings. You aren't supernatural, so the Patrol Team shouldn't kill you. Those are the rules."
He wasn't entirely bad, but he wasn't a good person, either... This guy...
Fang Yue asked gloomily, "Then could I ask Captain Lin to take me to Captain Chen's house?"
"No problem."
Captain Lin helped Fang Yue to his feet and headed for the north of the village.
Along the way, the words indicating that Fang Yue was losing health kept appearing above his head.
"Captain Lin, couldn't you be a little gentler with an injured man?"
"Practitioners of Martial Arts don't fuss over little things."
"I'm already a cripple! Could you show me a little consideration?"
"Fair enough. I'll slow down a bit."
-1!
-1!
Fang Yue watched his health keep dropping and sighed. He said nothing more.
About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Captain Chen's house.
"Little Ye? Captain Lin?"
The moment Chen Mu came out, he was stunned.
"Did you run into something supernatural?"
That was his first thought, but Lin Ling quickly explained.
"He ruined himself practicing. His meridians are in disarray. He's crippled."
The concise explanation left Chen Mu pale, his heart in turmoil.
"How could this happen?"
Chen Mu hurriedly helped Fang Yue inside, then instructed Captain Lin, "Lin Ling, go get Lord Han here at once!"
Lin Ling grinned. "All right."
Only then did Chen Mu take Fang Yue farther inside and carefully lay him on the bed. He took Fang Yue's pulse, his expression changing dramatically, and called to a servant.
"Go get Doctor Hong, too!"
"Yes!"
Watching everyone bustle around him, Fang Yue finally started to panic a little.
Maybe... my situation really is pretty serious?
Did I really ruin my character for good?
A little while later, Lord Han arrived, followed by Lin Ling, who looked delighted at Fang Yue's misfortune.
Lord Han entered with a frown and immediately put his fingers on Fang Yue's pulse.
After a moment, he let out a long sigh and looked at Fang Yue with a complicated expression.
"Your meridians are in disarray. You're crippled."
Fang Yue said, "That can't be... Lord Han, is there really no hope for me?"
"Not necessarily. The world is full of secret techniques and medicinal pills. There are naturally some that can treat those who've gone berserk and whose meridians are in disarray..."
Fang Yue brightened. "Right, right!"
"...And there are countless powerful experts in the world. They naturally have ways to treat something as minor as going berserk."
Fang Yue nearly jumped to his feet. "That's wonderful!"
"But there's no such miraculous pill in Ancient Moon Village or the surrounding villages, and I'm not powerful enough to heal your meridians, either."
Fang Yue: "..."
Lord Han: "..."
"...So there really is no hope for me?"
"That's right... Fate can be cruel. Sigh."
Lord Han sighed again, rose with a dejected look, and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Lin Ling hurried after him and tried to comfort him.
Chen Mu had everyone else leave, so Fang Yue could spend some time alone and compose himself.
The fall from a martial arts prodigy to an ordinary person was hard for anyone to accept.
Fang Yue was having a hard time accepting it, too.
But he couldn't bring himself to give up.
With all the skills he'd accumulated, he was already far ahead of other players. He was practically on the verge of taking off. He couldn't bear to give it all up just like that.
While he was wrestling with his thoughts, Doctor Hong arrived.
And someone familiar had come with Doctor Hong.
"Little Fox?"
Little Fox was the brother who'd shouted at the village entrance last night about refining pills to help his big brother. His full name was Tactical Breathing Fox.
Before you continue