Rumors

Lu Yuan thought to himself, then motioned for Thomas to lie down on the small bed near the door. He drew the curtain between them, sat on the stool beside the bed, and began examining the wound.

[Basic Medical: +0.5 (observing injury)/20]

[You have discovered an atypical external injury, suspected to be a crushing wound caused by some kind of marine creature.]

The moment he saw Thomas's wound, his vision flickered slightly.

Seeing the prompt appear before his eyes, Lu Yuan smiled. As expected, the experience bar could be applied to treating patients.

Lu Yuan put on gloves and gently pressed the edge of the wound with his fingers.

The bluish-purple area was extremely stiff, nothing like ordinary human tissue.

It was more like frozen flesh.

"Does it hurt here?" Lu Yuan asked.

"It doesn't hurt... it's just numb, like a bunch of things are drilling into my bones." Thomas was covered in cold sweat. "Doctor, can my leg still be treated?"

Lu Yuan did not answer immediately.

At that moment, a line of grayish-white data in his vision was rapidly analyzing the injury:

[Contact with abnormal tissue. Basic Medical experience +1]

[Analysis result: Residual Deep Sea mollusk toxin (minor), accompanied by tissue necrosis. Recommended treatment: bloodletting, detoxification, hot compress.]

"It can be treated."

Lu Yuan turned and took the Red Grass Ointment he had refined the previous night from the shelf, then pulled out a disinfected knife.

"Bear with it."

Before the words had even faded, the knife tip precisely pierced the centers of those marks resembling suction cups.

Sizzle—

A stream of foul-smelling black blood instantly gushed out. When it landed in the tray, it actually made a sound like strong acid corroding metal.

Thomas screamed and nearly sprang off the bed.

"Don't move." Lu Yuan held his leg firmly down with one hand while swiftly stuffing the reddish-brown ointment into the wounds with the other.

The instant the ointment touched the flesh, the teeth-grating corrosive hiss stopped, replaced by a faint scent of pine.

Thomas's ragged breathing gradually calmed. He stared at the black blood in the tray in terror. "Wh-what the hell is that?"

"Bruised blood." Lu Yuan casually made something up as he bandaged the wound. "Don't you know where your injury came from?"

Though Lu Yuan sounded casual, he became more wary inside.

This toxin clearly did not come from any ordinary sea fish, and the medicine sold by the church had actually been able to suppress its spread.

Otherwise, Thomas should have died from the poison long ago.

Looks like I need to go take a look myself.

Yet upon hearing this, Thomas apparently had no intention of explaining the source of his injury.

He merely gave a helpless smile.

Lu Yuan did not mind. Seemingly casually, he asked another question.

"Has the dock been unsettled lately?"

"It has, a little." Perhaps wanting to change the subject, Thomas suddenly became much more talkative. "Didn't the Iron Whale return earlier? But the people on board were awfully strange... I heard they were taken away by the Night Watchers overnight as soon as they docked. They didn't even go home."

"And ever since then, the docks have often been pulling up strange things. This injury of mine..."

Thomas realized he had let something slip and gave an awkward smile.

Lu Yuan's movements paused slightly.

The Iron Whale again.

"All done." Lu Yuan tied a neat knot and straightened up. "Four Silver Shields. No credit."

Thomas tried moving his leg and discovered, to his delight, that the piercing numb itch had truly disappeared.

Only then did he cheerfully count out four silver coins, place them on the table, and leave with profuse thanks.

Lu Yuan's price was neither high nor low, and he had roughly based it on the figures in the notebook.

Of course, it was not particularly cheap for an ordinary dockworker, but it was not so expensive that a few days of medicine would leave the whole family starving.

As Thomas left, a line of text appeared.

[First treatment completed. Basic Medical: 2.5/20]

[Intelligence unlocked: Current state of Grim Port: 6/50]

Lu Yuan pinched the silver coins still warm from Thomas's body, gently rubbing them between his fingertips.

"They were all taken away by the Night Watchers?... It seems what was written in the diary really is true."

After Thomas left, not a single second patient came to the clinic.

Naturally, Lu Yuan had expected that.

After all, he had forgotten to advertise. Business was unlikely to improve anytime soon.

Unless Thomas's leg was cured by him.

"Slowly, then."

Lu Yuan returned to his chair and continued reading.

Time passed quickly. Over the entire morning, Lu Yuan did nothing but read.

Not a single patient came in.

Instead, his Pharmacognosy improved by another point.

[Basic Herbology: 8.5/20]

[Imperial Language—Reading: 6/1000]

At this rate, Basic Herbology would level up in three days at most. He wondered what effect that would bring.

Lu Yuan did not intend to wait any longer, because he was hungry.

And aside from a few cans of unknown age, the clinic had nothing else to eat.

With no other choice, Lu Yuan took a few Silver Shields and went out onto the street. He also planned to get a practical sense of the prices in this world.

At the same time, he intended to gather more information about this world to confirm some of his suspicions.

After putting on his suit and hat, Lu Yuan slipped ten Silver Shields into his pocket and headed out.

Beneath the gloomy sky, the streets were narrow and damp, flanked by towering, oppressive Gothic buildings.

The less-than-pleasant weather did not affect the residents here.

Even where Lu Yuan lived, in a relatively secluded area, there were still quite a few people coming and going.

After walking some distance along the cobblestone street and turning a corner,

the street suddenly became lively.

Several children who looked quite young were setting up stalls by the roadside, constantly moving about.

Whenever they saw a well-dressed man passing by, they stepped forward to recommend themselves and sell their shoeshining services.

Even after being turned down, they could pull a newspaper from their clothes and eagerly try to sell that instead.

The newspapers were exactly what Lu Yuan needed.

But before he could step forward, a skinny child approached him.

"Sir! May I ask if you need your shoes polished? Of course, I don't mean right now, but if you're going to the docks, your shoes will most likely get dirty."

"I'm very good at polishing shoes, and my prices are fair. Only two Copper Shields. If you decide now, then when you come back, I'll only charge you one Copper Shield."

Lu Yuan stopped and looked at the overly sharp-witted little brat before him.

"Very clever." Lu Yuan took out a Silver Shield from his pocket and spun it around his fingertip. Its glittering gleam immediately caught the boy's attention.

"No need to polish my shoes. But I have better work for you." Lu Yuan bent down and looked the boy in the eyes.

"I want you to keep an eye on what is happening at the docks, and... deliver the latest newspaper to the clinic up there every day. This Silver Shield is your deposit."

The boy swallowed and nodded vigorously. "No problem, sir! My name is Brent. There's nothing in this neighborhood that I don't know!"

"Very good, Brent." Lu Yuan flicked the silver coin to him. "Now tell me, what's the latest news from the docks? I don't mean the things printed in the newspapers."