The Patient

[November 15: The Iron Whale returned fully laden, bringing back mysterious minerals.]

[November 17: The Church established a branch church, and a Bishop in purple descended from above.]

[December 14: The Mist Ship passed through...]

"The timeline is wrong." Lu Yuan thought, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the tabletop.

Thomas's leg injury appeared after the Iron Whale returned, and Doctor Laisen's diary also began to turn deranged after that.

The Iron Whale had not brought back minerals at all, but perhaps... some kind of unspeakable "living thing"? And for the Church to suddenly send down an Archbishop at this point in time was clearly too much of a coincidence. Perhaps the Church was preparing to suppress something...

"This port seems to have already become a powder keg... I think I need to move faster."

[Intelligence analysis successful, Grim Port Status: +5, 14/50]

The later newspapers recorded nothing but ships heading out to sea, new bakeries opening in the port, or rental ads posted by some low-rent housing complex.

As for the information Lu Yuan wanted regarding the Night Watchers, the newspapers could be said to contain almost nothing.

The only useful piece of information was a statement jointly issued by Viscount Grim and the Night Watchers in a June newspaper, declaring that Grim Port had officially achieved electric lighting across the entire port.

And upon seeing this, the experience bar surfaced as well.

[Grim Port Status: +1, 15/50]

But after that, there was no further movement.

Lu Yuan could not even tell whether any abnormal incidents had occurred in the port recently.

Setting down the newspaper, Lu Yuan felt a headache coming on. If the experience bar did not react, it meant that the information related to Grim Port he could obtain from the newspapers ended there.

Although Grim Port in the newspapers appeared peaceful and tranquil.

Last night's experience was still vivid in his mind.

No matter how he looked at it, the two contradicted each other. It was extremely strange.

There was no better method. He could only investigate slowly.

Setting down the newspaper, Lu Yuan decided to read more books recently and raise his Basic Herbology experience to the Second Level.

Perhaps it might bring some unexpected effects.

Night fell. Lu Yuan sat before the fireplace, flipping through Basic Herbology by the firelight, trying to earn a little more experience.

Until a strange sound broke the silence.

"Scrape."

It was the sound of shoe soles dragging heavily across the ground, slow and stiff.

Lu Yuan looked up at the window. Night had fallen, and the fog was thick. Outside, only clusters of light stood along the roadside not far away.

"Coming to see a doctor at this hour..."

Lu Yuan immediately became alert.

The sound stopped outside the Clinic door.

Then came a dull knock.

"Doctor... are you there?"

The voice was extremely hoarse, as if a lump of phlegm were lodged in the speaker's throat.

Lu Yuan hesitated briefly before finally opening the door a crack.

A man stood outside.

He wore an expensive pure black wool suit and leaned on a silver-inlaid cane, looking utterly out of place on this slum-like street.

But what set off alarm bells in Lu Yuan's mind was not his attire, but the smell emanating from him.

A strong perfume scent attempted to conceal the faint... salty fishy odor beneath it.

Lu Yuan had only smelled that salty fishy odor on Doctor Laisen after he had turned into a fish.

"Good evening, Doctor." The man removed his top hat, revealing a sparse crown and a somewhat pale face.

Then the man grinned, exposing a row of slightly pointed teeth. "I'm Lausen. I'm the landlord of the nearby low-rent housing, and also the owner of this building. You can call me Mr. Landlord."

Lu Yuan's expression remained calm, but the hand gripping the doorknob tightened.

"Landlord?"

If he had come to collect rent, this impostor could be exposed at any time. Lu Yuan knew nothing about either the rent or the agreement.

Worse still, this so-called landlord before him seemed quite seriously ill as well.

[You observed traces originating from the Deep Sea. Forbidden Studies—Peeper: 5.2/10]

The prompt appearing in the corner of his eye confirmed Lu Yuan's guess.

He could gain experience merely through observation. What would happen if he got closer?

Lu Yuan braced the door, lowered his gaze, and hesitated internally for a long time. In the end, he chose to let Lausen in. If he left this place, Lu Yuan would be unable to move freely for a while. Besides, what else could he want from him at this hour other than medical treatment?

"Please come in, Mr. Lausen." Lu Yuan stepped aside with a fake smile on his face.

"I assume what you need tonight isn't rent collection, but... some medical advice?"

A strange glint flashed through Lausen's eyes, but he did not answer.

He merely walked behind Lu Yuan, moving very slowly. His legs seemed to be dragging something heavy, scraping against the floor with a rustling sound.

The Clinic's electric lights were not very bright, making the place seem somewhat dim and hazy.

Lausen looked around the room, naturally removed his hat and hung it on the rack by the door, then chose a chair and sat down.

Lu Yuan took out a notebook and fountain pen, returned to the sofa, and said,

"Mr. Lausen, tell me about your symptoms."

Lausen shook his head as though he had heard a joke.

"Why are you like Laisen? And I'm not sick. I've just been sleeping poorly lately. I only need something that will stop me from dreaming, or some medicine that can calm me down."

Lu Yuan did not respond. He wrote down "sleep" in the notebook, then looked up to signal for Lausen to continue.

Lausen simply sat there, with no intention of speaking.

For a moment, the Clinic fell silent. Only the crackling sound of the newly lit fireplace could be heard.

"Oh, right. What's your name?"

"Lu Yuan."

"Oh? You're actually from the East. That's quite rare in Grim Port. When will Laisen return?"

"I don't know."

Lu Yuan had no intention of continuing this meaningless conversation with Lausen. Clearly, this so-called Mr. Landlord not only distrusted him, but also maintained the airs of an aristocrat the entire time.

His time was precious. After all, it could all be exchanged for experience. More importantly, this landlord seemed unwilling to tell the truth.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to determine whether Doctor Laisen's illness was the same as the one affecting this landlord. That concerned Lu Yuan's own safety.

If they were the same, it meant the danger posed by the Strange Dream would increase greatly, and he himself might be infected as well...

So he had to apply some pressure and make Lausen tell the truth. With that thought, Lu Yuan issued an order to leave.

"Mr. Lausen, if you only need sedatives, I'm sorry, but we don't have any here for the moment."

"The medicine Laisen left behind before departing does not include those. Or you could go to the Church and take a look..."

After saying that, Lu Yuan did not even raise his eyelids. He merely picked up a book and began reading.

Lu Yuan simply did not believe that Lausen was not anxious at all, coming to see a Doctor at this hour. As long as he was anxious, he would definitely speak.