Stay in the Light

Lu Yuan decided to hurry home first. The electric light above his head was flickering under the strain.

By the time he was on his way back, the sky had already gone completely dark.

The lights along the streets had also grown denser and more numerous.

Beneath one streetlamp, two or three figures wrapped in tattered blankets had curled up at some point.

One of them used an empty wine bottle as a pillow, while another had curled into a ball, eyes vacant as they stared at the shadows at the edge of the light.

Lu Yuan pushed the empty bed past them.

The squeaking drew their attention.

The vagrants had merely raised their eyes warily at first, but when one of them caught sight of the bed Lu Yuan was pushing, his expression stiffened before he said,

"Wandering around outside at this hour? You must be visiting Grim Port for the first time, sir?"

Lu Yuan stopped, raised a brow, then nodded. "Grim Port? Ah, it is my first time here. Are there any rules?"

"Don't go to the harbor at night. Other than that, stay somewhere with light." He pointed at the buzzing bulb overhead and gave an ugly smile.

"What if the light goes out?" Lu Yuan asked casually.

The vagrant looked at Lu Yuan as though he were an idiot, then pointed toward a pitch-black alley nearby.

"Then pray that the lord who runs this town sends someone to fix it quickly."

An old man huddled beneath a ragged blanket muttered, "Why waste your breath telling him that? Do you expect this young man to toss you a few Copper Shields for wine?"

"Shut up, Faye! This has nothing to do with you, you drunk!" The vagrant flashed a broad smile, then said, "Sir, I know that at night, a vagrant striking up a conversation with you can be a dangerous thing."

"But for Doctor Laisen's sake, I'm giving you this advice. I assume you're Doctor Laisen's friend?"

"That's right. He asked me to look after his Clinic in Grim Port for a while." A trace of surprise appeared on Lu Yuan's face as he went along with the vagrant's words.

"And you are?"

The man waved a hand and continued, "Doctor Laisen saved my life. He pushed me on that bed."

"Grim Port isn't like the inner city. We don't have such good conditions here, so sir, make sure you stay somewhere with light at night!"

"Don't be like those lords from outside and lose your life for no reason. Hurry home."

After saying that, the man ignored Lu Yuan. He simply lowered his head, looking as though he were saying, Get lost and stop disturbing my sleep.

"I'll remember what you said." Lu Yuan lifted a foot to leave, but after some thought, he added, "My name is Lu Yuan. If you need anything, you can find me at the Clinic."

With that, Lu Yuan pushed the Small Bed away without looking back.

Only the vagrant from before remained, head lowered as he muttered to himself, "Lu Yuan? An Eastern name?"

After returning to the Clinic, Lu Yuan bolted the door. Only after scrubbing the foul-smelling Small Bed three times did the lingering chill in his body recede slightly.

After quickly freshening up in the washroom, he lit the fireplace, sat cross-legged on the sofa, took out a new notebook, and began planning what to do next.

First was the "experience bar."

Lu Yuan decided to conduct the most basic test first.

He picked up a copy of Basic Herbology from the bookshelf on the second floor and began reading.

The contents of this book on pharmacognosy were extremely basic. It recorded the identification and uses of a hundred medicinal herbs, along with methods for preparing several common medicines.

Although Lu Yuan's knowledge in this area was quite limited, he could still understand the book.

Yet the experience bar did not appear in his field of vision.

Lu Yuan was in no hurry. He simply kept reading until the moment he memorized the effects of one of the herbs.

[Basic Herbology: +0.5.../20]

[Imperial Language - Reading: +1.../1000]

The gray-white experience bars appeared in Lu Yuan's vision and began to twitch faintly as he continued reading.

He barely stopped throughout the process. The further he read, the more awake his previously drowsy mind became. The unfamiliar names of medicinal herbs and their detailed effects began arranging themselves neatly in his mind.

Lu Yuan continued studying, losing all track of time.

Only when his neck ached unbearably did his hand loosen. He folded down a corner of the page and closed the book.

By then, Lu Yuan had already read more than half of Basic Herbology.

[Basic Herbology: 7/20]

[Imperial Language - Reading: 5/1000]

"So I entered a state of deep learning?" Lu Yuan set down the book, stood up, and gently rolled his neck, immediately understanding.

"Looks like the experience bar does more than simply visualize progress."

"If that's the case, then pretending to be a doctor might actually work."

"And..." Through the window, Lu Yuan looked at the world outside illuminated by the lights, a flicker of heat rising in his heart. "This world seems to hold many secrets unknown to others."

However, there was still one thing Lu Yuan did not understand. What exactly happened when an experience bar leveled up?

At present, he only knew that increasing Sanity could enhance his mental resistance. What about the other entries?

As Lu Yuan pondered this, the gray-white experience bars appeared again.

[Sanity II: 1/50 (Experience)]

[Basic Herbology: 7/20]

[Imperial Language - Reading: 5/1000]

[Forbidden Studies - Peeper: 5/10]

Of these entries, only Sanity came with a description. The others had no explanation whatsoever.

The situation was clear now. It seemed that only entries that had been upgraded would receive a corresponding description.

That was why neither [Imperial Language] nor [Forbidden Studies] had any detailed explanations.

Imperial Language could be set aside for the time being. After all, he had the ability to translate, so whether he learned it in the short term would not make much difference.

But if he could see the description for Forbidden Studies, perhaps he could deepen his understanding of this world even further.

He did not dwell on it.

Because Lu Yuan planned to conduct a few more small tests tonight, trying to turn knowledge into tangible goods.

With that thought, Lu Yuan rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the pile of bottles and jars.

After all, Lu Yuan was currently facing a problem: he was hungry.

Although he had inherited this small building, the money left behind by the "unlucky bastard" was pitifully scarce—only a few Silver Shields and several dozen Copper Shields.

Although he did not know the purchasing power of Imperial Shields, it surely could not have been very high.

The Imperial Shields in the drawer would most likely only be enough to live frugally for a while.

As for researching new medicinal herbs afterward, there was no need to even think about it.