Help

By the time he returned from the church, the sun had already climbed overhead.

Lu Yuan carefully placed the two bottles of Intermediate Holy Water, which had cost him twenty Silver Shields, into the bottommost compartment beneath the counter.

As his fingers touched the bottles, a line of gray-white text appeared:

[Intermediate Holy Water: Water tainted with the aura of the sky. Can significantly suppress disease and low-level contamination.]

"I hope it's worth the money."

Lu Yuan shut the cabinet door and collapsed onto the somewhat worn sofa, rubbing his throbbing brow.

In this harbor filled with strangeness at every turn, this was not merely medicine—it was a trump card that could save his life.

[Sanity II: 11/49 (Experience)]

The number floated quietly in the lower-right corner of his vision.

Lu Yuan stared at that incomplete "49," his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest.

Only 49 points of maximum remained... At the current rate, if he did nothing, he would be lying at the entrance alongside Doctor Laisen in two months at most.

As he was calculating, the rumble of wheels rolling across the bluestone pavement came from outside.

A black carriage stopped at the entrance. A uniformed servant stepped down and, without a word, unloaded a large crate.

"Doctor Lu, this is the 'first batch of goods' Mr. Lausen ordered delivered."

The servant set down the crate, bowed, and turned to leave.

Lu Yuan opened the crate.

A strong, bitter herbal scent rushed at him. The crate was stuffed with dried Silverlight Grass, several sealed jars of Mercury, and a jumble of mineral powders.

"This 'client' sure moves fast."

Lu Yuan casually grabbed a handful of Silverlight Grass and sniffed it. The quality was good.

It seemed that the landlord tormented by Strange Dream had truly spared no expense for a good night's sleep.

With these raw materials, Lu Yuan could attempt to make Silverlight Grass Mixture.

Naturally, Lu Yuan did not know the precise ratios, but he had Doctor Laisen's notes.

Lu Yuan walked over to the Bookshelf and pulled out the thick experiment journal Laisen had left behind. He quickly found the records concerning Silverlight Grass. The handwriting was messy and stained with some unknown liquid, but it remained readable.

"Three portions of Silverlight Grass, one portion of Mercury, heat until boiling..."

Lu Yuan spread the notes across the table, set up a crucible, lit the alcohol lamp, and began the process.

For the entire afternoon that followed, the clinic was filled with the smell of boiling herbs.

Like a tireless machine, Lu Yuan watched the constantly flickering [Pharmacology] experience bar in his vision and mechanically repeated the steps of extraction, blending, and bottling.

[Pharmacology: +0.5...] [Pharmacology: +0.5...]

Watching the experience rise bit by bit, that simple feedback temporarily made Lu Yuan forget everything around him.

Only when the sky outside had turned completely dark did a timid knock break the clinic's silence.

"Doctor Lu... are you there?"

The voice was soft, mixed with the sound of the wind.

Lu Yuan put down the still-smoking bottle in his hand, his brow creasing slightly.

[Pharmacology: 6.5/50 (Beginner)]

Anyone coming at this hour probably did not bring good news.

He walked to the door and undid the bolt.

Standing outside was Brent, the shoeshine boy he had met yesterday.

Brent held a thick stack of newspapers in his arms. His face was dirty, and the wind had reddened his small cheeks. Yet the moment Lu Yuan appeared, those once-clever eyes were filled with anxiety. He shivered inside his thin coat.

"It's you." Lu Yuan stepped aside to let him in. "Today's newspapers? Just put them on the table."

Brent put the newspapers on the table, but instead of taking his money and leaving as usual, he remained standing there, both hands tightly twisting the hem of his clothes. He stammered for a long time without saying anything.

"Is something wrong?"

Lu Yuan noticed something was off. He casually tossed him a piece of bread from the plate. "Since you helped me before, tell me what it is if you have a problem."

Brent grabbed the bread but did not eat it. His eyes immediately reddened.

"Doctor Lu... please save my uncle!"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Your uncle?"

He recalled the uncle Brent had mentioned before, the one who worked in the dockside cold storage and had told him not to eat fish.

"What happened to him?" Lu Yuan sat back down and took a sip of water.

"My uncle is sick, very sick." Brent's voice trembled as he desperately suppressed his fear. "For the past few days, he's locked himself in his room, saying he's cold and that his body itches. I went to see him today and found that my uncle... he... he's covered in something really strange!"

"Something strange?" Lu Yuan's hand paused with the cup halfway up.

"Yes... it's like he grew a new layer of skin. Wet and slippery." Brent swallowed, terror in his eyes. "And it's ugly and reeks of fish."

"Have you gone to the church?"

"He refuses to go!" Brent dropped to his knees in desperation. "He says the church people will burn him to death! Doctor Lu, you're Doctor Laisen's friend. You must have a way, right? I have money... I have money!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a handful of Copper Shields from his pocket.

Lu Yuan looked at the pile of Copper Shields and said nothing.

If he refused to go to the church, there was usually only one reason: his uncle knew that what he had was not an illness, but some kind of mutation.

And from the description, these symptoms were completely different from Lausen's mentally induced Strange Dream.

New skin? Wet and slippery?

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes and lightly rubbed his chin.

That sounded dangerous.

But if he dealt with it, perhaps he could learn something else?

He glanced at the experience bar at the Edge of his vision.

[Forbidden Studies-Peeper: 6.2/10]

He was not far from leveling up. Contacting such an obvious "abnormality" carried great risk, but the rewards might be considerable too.

Looks like there's another job.

"Put the money away."

Lu Yuan stood up and brushed the medicinal residue from his hands, his tone calm. "You can't lead the way today. It's dark outside, so go home first."

"Come pick me up at eight tomorrow morning."

Brent froze for a moment, then nodded frantically. Tears and snot streamed down his face. "Thank you! Thank you, Doctor Lu!"

After sending off the endlessly grateful kid, Lu Yuan shut the door, and his expression instantly turned cold.

Skin covered in strange things... Refusing the church...

He walked to the window and looked toward the harbor, shrouded in dense fog.

The darkness there was thicker than anywhere else.

"I hope it won't be too troublesome."

That night, Lu Yuan slept uneasily.

He dreamed of that sea again.

It was still black as ink, and he was still nailed helplessly to the beach.

But this time, the sensation of waves striking his body was clearer. That cold, slick touch felt as though countless wet tentacles were caressing his skin.

Under the pallid moonlight, a massive shadow seemed to rise from the sea. That thing was quietly watching him through the deep water.

"Hah—!"

Lu Yuan jolted awake from the dream, his heart pounding wildly and his entire body drenched as though he had just been hauled out of water.

[Sanity II: +4... 15/48 (Experience)] (Uh, it should have been +5, but changing the later parts would be too much work, so it'll only be +4 today. Just pretend I ate the other point.)

The maximum had dropped by another point.

Lu Yuan stared fixedly at the changed number, feeling a surge of urgency.

"48..."

"I hope tomorrow brings me a few pleasant surprises."