Sanity Barrier

"Thank you, uh... what should I call you?"

Brent opened his mouth to express his thanks, but the words caught in his throat.

"Either Mo Shui or Sister is fine."

Lu Yuan interjected at just the right moment, placing the book Mo Shui lived in before Mina.

"Mina, from now on, Mo Shui will stay with you until you can master your own talent."

As he spoke, Lu Yuan pointed at the black notebook.

"This will be where Mo Shui lives from now on. Remember, wherever you go, you must take this notebook with you."

Mina struggled a little to hug the notebook to her chest, then nodded solemnly with her tiny face.

"Doctor Lu, don't worry. Mina will protect Sister's house."

"Mm, good."

He patted Mina on the head in approval before turning to Brent.

"Your sister is fine now. In a while, I'll take her to the base for a simple registration and arrange for you two to move into the room next door as soon as possible."

"Ah! Doctor Lu, are you saying my sister will be registered with the Night Watchers?" Brent looked at Mo Shui floating in midair, his mind racing as he instantly realized this was a perfect chance to cling to a powerful patron.

"Mm, you two are quite lucky." Lu Yuan took Mina's hand and gestured for Mo Shui to follow. "Brent, stay at the clinic for now. If anyone comes looking, tell them to wait. Also, the room next door belongs to you and Mina now. Remember to tidy it up."

"No problem, Doctor Lu!"

"And Mo Shui, it's time to get inside."

Lu Yuan patted the notebook.

Mo Shui drifted over reluctantly. After tearing another clump of black knowledge from Mina's body, she finally slipped into the book and vanished.

By the time Lu Yuan brought Mina to the base, Mary was already waiting.

Mary's eyes lit up when she saw the little girl Lu Yuan was holding by the hand. She quickly stepped forward and rubbed Mina's head.

"She's so adorable. Lu Yuan, you really do have an eye for things. You run into all kinds of people."

"I was surprised too." Lu Yuan replied as he looked at Mina, who did not resist Mary's touch.

"Alright, how should we register her? Do we need to call Mo Shui out?"

"Just bring the girl with me. As for Mo Shui, better not. That little thing doesn't like me."

Mary's hand paused on Mina's head, as though she had recalled some unpleasant memories.

"Mm. Mina, go with... Aunt Mary—no, Sister Mary for a bit. I'll wait here for you."

Lu Yuan spoke softly to Mina.

"Okay. Doctor Lu, wait for me to come back."

Mina was not afraid. She nodded her little head, then took Mary's hand to show that she was ready.

The smile on Mary's face grew even brighter.

"Alright, Doctor Lu, I'll take her first. It'll take some time. Once we're done, I'll send her back to your clinic."

Halfway there, Mary suddenly added another sentence.

"Don't worry. There won't be any danger."

"Mm."

Only after hearing that did Lu Yuan leave the base with Mo Shui.

When he returned to the clinic,

Brent was energetically cleaning up the room next door.

Clearly, he was extremely satisfied with their current home. Naturally so—the environment here was countless times better than the low-rent housing.

Seeing that Lu Yuan had returned alone, he instinctively asked about Mina.

After Lu Yuan gave him a simple explanation, Brent finally relaxed.

Then Lu Yuan thought for a moment, took several Silver Shields from a drawer, placed them on the table, and pushed them toward Brent.

"Go buy dinner."

"No, no, no, Doctor Lu, I have money on me!" Brent hurriedly waved his hands, trying to refuse.

"This is for future meals, and it includes your wages."

Lu Yuan's expression was stern, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Since you work for me, you follow my rules. I don't want my employees working on an empty stomach."

Brent looked into Lu Yuan's eyes. His outstretched hand froze in midair before he finally took the silver coins, his eyes faintly red.

"Thank you... Thank you, Doctor Lu. I'll go right away."

"Mm. If it isn't enough, remember to tell me."

With Brent gone, the clinic fell silent once more.

Lu Yuan sat down and tapped the black notebook.

"Come out and get to work. Stop playing dead."

A wisp of black smoke emerged from the notebook in his arms, and Mo Shui floated out indignantly. "What do you take a noble Book Spirit for? You think you can summon me whenever you want?"

"Spit out that copy of Basic Structure of Sanity Barrier." Lu Yuan ignored her protest. "I know you put it in your stomach."

Mo Shui rolled her eyes, opened her mouth, and made a retching motion.

"Plop."

A thick book covered in crystalline mucus dropped onto the tabletop.

Lu Yuan deftly wiped the cover clean. Just as he was about to open it, a tiny icy hand pressed down on the pages.

"You'll be too slow reading it like that."

Mo Shui looked at Lu Yuan with disdain.

"At your reading speed, Mina might already be grown up by the time you learn to construct a Sanity Barrier."

"You have a faster method?"

Lu Yuan did not argue. He merely asked.

"Of course." Mo Shui snorted, then fluttered her little wings and flew onto Lu Yuan's head, where she sat down.

"Empty your mind. Don't resist. Consider this payment for bringing me out."

The next moment, Lu Yuan felt a torrent surge straight into his mind.

That torrent was not dry, tedious text, but pure experience and knowledge that had been dismantled and refined.

The originally obscure terminology became like enlarged building blocks. How to assemble them and how to stack them was clear at a glance.

At the same time, a string of grayish-white text appeared before Lu Yuan's eyes:

[Receiving knowledge infusion...]

[Sanity Barrier under construction...]

Lu Yuan abruptly opened his eyes, a trace of deep blue flashing through the depths of his pupils.

Deep inside his mind, his sanity—far beyond that of ordinary people—continuously gathered. Under Mo Shui's infusion, Lu Yuan repeatedly mobilized his own sanity until it finally formed a tough, invisible barrier that completely enveloped his brain.

And at the very instant the barrier formed—

[Sanity Barrier (Beginner): 3/3. A special technique that condenses one's sanity into a "wall," improving sanity's defensive power and resilience to a certain extent.]

[Your understanding of sanity has deepened. Perhaps you truly can uncover sanity's secrets?]

[Sanity III: +2, 2/75.]

Lu Yuan sensed the "sanity" in the depths of his mind becoming increasingly solid, and an unprecedented sense of security rose from within him.

More importantly, Lu Yuan discovered that his maximum sanity had actually recovered by two points!

"It really works! The reduction in sanity caused by Strange Dream isn't completely irreversible! As long as I master more skills for solidifying sanity, sooner or later I'll completely break free from this illness!"

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Lu Yuan grabbed Mo Shui, who was still clinging to his head, and pulled her down.

"Mo Shui! Does this knowledge infusion of yours have any limitations?"

Mo Shui did not answer immediately. Instead, her entire spirit looked dazed and weak, as though she had been drained.