Futan's Whisper

Under normal circumstances, Medicine could be used in place of Pharmacy for a check, though depending on the situation, the Medicine skill would suffer a penalty, or the check might simply be made Hard or Extremely Hard.

Now, KP004 said, "All right. Since the Player's Medicine skill has reached 78, Medicine can barely be used for a Pharmacy check, but it must pass a Hard check."

Medicine, 47/39, failure.

"Although you desperately wanted to identify the source of this herbal scent, you had never smelled anything like it before, so you were unable to determine what it was." KP004 gave a sinister laugh and continued, "At the same time, you felt a wave of dizziness. Your thoughts immediately became sluggish and chaotic, so your Inspiration would be reduced to 10 for one hour!"

The moment KP004 finished speaking, Liu Xing's vision blurred. He involuntarily collapsed onto Isabella's bed, and his head began to ache. His brain felt like a mess of paste, filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts that left him unable to think normally.

Clearly, Liu Xing knew that the herbal scent he had just smelled was most likely a hallucinogenic drug that affected human thought, which was why he had ended up in this state.

Naturally, Isabella noticed Liu Xing's abnormal condition and immediately grew nervous. Liu Xing was one of the rare people willing to talk with her, and Isabella had already considered him a friend. Seeing her friend lying painfully on her bed made her terribly anxious.

At that moment, Isabella remembered Grandfather Wayne. Old butler Wayne had once given her some painkillers, telling her to take them whenever she had a headache. Looking at Liu Xing clutching his head in pain, Isabella felt that he must have a headache too, so she could give him those painkillers.

Thus, Isabella took an unlabelled little bottle from beneath her pillow, poured out a capsule, and hurriedly handed it to Liu Xing.

Since Liu Xing had already lost the ability to think, he did not consider what medicine Isabella had given him and simply swallowed it.

The instant he swallowed the capsule, the last of Liu Xing's Sanity told him that if it was poison, then he was doomed this time.

Fortunately, the capsule was not poison. It effectively relieved Liu Xing's painful symptoms. Though he still had a faint headache, he could at least think normally again.

"Because the Player took the painkiller Isabella gave him, the headache and dizziness were immediately relieved. However, his thoughts are still somewhat confused, so the Player's Inspiration is currently 60. This will continue for one hour." KP004 spoke with some regret.

Having regained his ability to think, Liu Xing finally came back to his senses. He forced out a smile and said to Isabella, "Thank you for your help, Miss Isabella. Otherwise, I would have had a headache for quite a while longer."

Seeing Liu Xing return to normal, Isabella finally breathed a sigh of relief. Smiling, she said, "It is good that you are all right. Luckily, Grandfather Wayne prepared this bottle of painkillers for me."

Isabella proudly picked up the little bottle and shook it at Liu Xing as if showing it off.

Only then did Liu Xing notice that there was no label on the bottle, so he felt that these so-called "painkillers" might be more than they seemed.

After all, Liu Xing knew very well that his headache was caused by smelling that strange herbal scent, and he was certain that it was an herb with powerful hallucinogenic effects!

Yet Isabella, who had lived here for a long time, had not shown any adverse reaction like his. That meant Isabella had likely developed a resistance to this hallucinogenic herb. However, the painkillers Old Wayne had given her suggested that Isabella might still suffer episodes from time to time.

With that in mind, Liu Xing decided to ask Isabella about this hallucinogenic herb.

"Miss Isabella, what kind of incense do you use in your room? It smells so pleasant," Liu Xing asked with a smile.

Isabella chuckled, then pointed to a strange-looking plant in the corner of the room.

The plant was about half a meter tall and somewhat resembled a gladiolus, except that only a single red flower bloomed at its top.

"My father gave me this flower long ago. I think it is called Futan's Whisper, and it has a calming effect," Isabella explained to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing silently nodded, because he had not forgotten that Cthulhu's full name was Cthulhu Futan!

So this plant might as well have been called The Call of Cthulhu!!!

As for its calming effect, Liu Xing could only give a hollow laugh. After inhaling this plant's pollen, his Inspiration had probably plummeted. Not only had his head felt like it was splitting apart, but he had completely lost the ability to think. Could that effect really be called calming?

But Liu Xing's Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge was currently 0, so there was nothing he could do about it. He could only reply with a cheerful smile, "I see. I did feel that this lovely scent has calmed me down quite a bit."

Isabella nodded with a smile as well and said proudly, "Of course. It was a birthday gift from my father. How could it possibly be bad?"

Liu Xing went along with Isabella and offered a few flattering remarks, but his heart was full of all kinds of questions. However, with his Inspiration still affected, he could not calm down enough to think them through properly.

Therefore, Liu Xing decided that after meeting up with Chen Ling and the others, he would leave this information and these questions for them to deal with.

Liu Xing had wanted to chat with Isabella a little longer, but he suddenly heard a string of urgent, loud coughing coming clearly from the first floor.

This was the signal Liu Xing had arranged with Chen Ling and the others. If Chen Ling and the others, who were keeping watch, saw Old Wayne or the Castle Lord return to the Main Building, they would give this signal, and Liu Xing would have to leave the second floor as quickly as possible.

So Liu Xing said to Isabella, "Miss Isabella, it seems one of the friends who came with me to tour the castle has fallen ill again. I need to go down and help him take his medicine right away, so I can only say goodbye to you for now. Let us meet again in a little while."

Isabella nodded understandingly and said with a smile, "Then go ahead and take care of your friend, Mr. Liu Xing. But if you can, could you come chat with me again for a while?"

Liu Xing nodded without hesitation. How could he refuse the chance to chat with such a beautiful girl?

PS: There will be another chapter this afternoon. Also, friends who want to play tabletop games can join the group; it is pinned in the book review section.