With the experience of the previous two treatments, Luo Yang finished treating Su Changming in less than twenty minutes this time. As he put the Golden Bronze Mask into his shoulder bag, Su Changming woke up.
"Where am I..." Su Changming looked dazed.
Luo Yang sat down beside the bed. "Professor Su, let's talk."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Luo Yang. I'm a doctor. Your treatment was successful. You're all right now." Luo Yang kept it brief.
Su Changming stared at Luo Yang, looking somewhat blank.
Luo Yang guided him into the conversation. "Professor Su, do you remember that Bronze Knife?"
Su Changming nodded instinctively.
"Tell me what happened when you held the knife. Did you experience any unusual reactions?" Luo Yang asked.
The dazed look left Su Changming's eyes, but he merely looked at Luo Yang without speaking.
"Professor Su, please tell me everything you know. This is important."
A trace of suspicion entered Su Changming's eyes. "You said you're a doctor. Why would a doctor ask about these things? And am I obliged to answer your questions?"
Luo Yang froze for a moment.
"Now answer my questions," Su Changming said sternly.
Luo Yang: "..."
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Of this teacher and student pair, one compulsively interrogated people, while the other was overbearing and unreasonable. Neither seemed particularly normal.
"There's definitely something wrong with you." When Luo Yang failed to answer, Su Changming reached his own conclusion.
After a brief silence, Luo Yang said, "Professor Su, let me put it this way. Director Ma paid me a million to solve this problem. If you won't cooperate, I won't force you. But if anything happens to you, your student, or the other experts again, I won't be helping you."
Su Changming frowned, his expression darkening.
"All right, then. Take care." Luo Yang rose and headed for the door.
Su Changming led this archaeological team, and he was also the one who had discovered the Bronze Knife. He certainly knew more about it than Bai Jing and could provide more important information. But the old man was as stubborn as a mule, and Luo Yang didn't want to waste any more time. He would have to go to the Sacrificial Pit and confront the Bronze Knife eventually anyway.
"I heard a voice," Su Changming suddenly said.
Excitement surged through Luo Yang. He turned and came back. "What did the voice say?"
"It was inside my head, but I couldn't make out the words. It sounded like a spell," Su Changming said.
So it really was connected to a shaman!
"And then? What did you feel, or what reactions did you have?" Luo Yang pressed.
Su Changming looked pained. "My body felt as if it were bound with ropes. I could barely breathe. One moment I was burning hot, and the next I was freezing. Then I realized I couldn't control my own mind at all. I had only one thought: chop! Keep chopping!"
His right hand swung back and forth.
Luo Yang caught his right wrist. "Professor Su, it's over now. Don't be afraid."
Only after taking two deep breaths did Su Changming calm down. He looked at Luo Yang. "You said you came to solve the problem, so you must know what's going on. Tell me what you know."
"The problem lies with that Bronze Knife," Luo Yang said. "It's a Witch Artifact."
"A Witch Artifact?"
"You can think of them as vessels or weapons made by shamans using special methods. They possess spiritual awareness, and even memories. That Bronze Knife is responsible for what happened to all of you. I suspect it holds spiritual awareness and the memories of a certain shaman. These exist as a form of energy, and that energy affected your brains," Luo Yang explained briefly.
He couldn't treat Su Changming the same way he treated Bai Jing. He would inevitably need to consult someone about the Sanxingdui civilization, and Su Changming was an authority on the subject. Establishing a good relationship was necessary.
Su Changming suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha..."
Luo Yang frowned slightly. "Professor Su, what's so funny?"
Su Changming finally managed to stop laughing. "Young man, are you telling me a fantasy story about immortals? How could an artifact possess memories? And you claim it can control people's brains, too. That's absurd."
"There are five more archaeological experts. Once I've cured them, I'll go take a look at the Sacrificial Pit. If you don't believe me, you can come along and see for yourself. It doesn't matter whether you trust me. We'll let the facts speak," Luo Yang said.
"Then how do you know all this?" Su Changming looked into Luo Yang's eyes. "It's strange enough that a doctor would know these things, yet Director Ma paid you a fortune to help solve the problem. Who exactly are you? Answer my questions."
Luo Yang smiled. "Don't be impatient, Professor Su. We can talk on the way to the Sacrificial Pit. Get some rest. I'll go treat the other experts first."
He walked out of the prefabricated isolation room.
Hiss, hiss!
A cloud of disinfectant mist hit him in the face.
It was the same medical worker from Luo City. Behind the transparent face shield was a greasy face, with a pair of grayish-white eyes calmly watching Luo Yang.
"What's your surname?"
Hiss!
Another cloud of disinfectant mist sprayed into Luo Yang's face.
Forget it. An eagle doesn't squabble with sparrows.
Luo Yang headed toward the end of the corridor. Ma Zhonghua, Ye Yiming, Shi Fei, and Bai Jing were all there, talking.
When she saw Luo Yang approaching, Bai Jing was even more anxious than Ma Zhonghua. She jogged over to meet him. "Dr. Luo, how is my teacher?"
She was just over 1.6 meters tall, by no more than two centimeters. In an age when long legs dominated beauty standards, that height was certainly a disadvantage. But her proportions were excellent, and her legs didn't look short. Her frame was slender and petite, making her look delicate and dainty. What caught Luo Yang's eye now, however, was the extra weight on her chest. He hadn't noticed while she was lying down, but now that she was running, it bounced along with her. Its size was frankly a little excessive, and it was the only part of her that looked out of proportion.
Still, nobody seemed to mind that particular imbalance.
"Don't tell me you couldn't cure my teacher?" Bai Jing stopped abruptly in front of Luo Yang, her eyes full of worry.
The extra weight settled.
Luo Yang gave a dry cough. "Professor Su is fine. He'll be out soon."
Bai Jing breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried sick."
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she added, "Dr. Luo, that wasn't a complicated question. Why did you take so long to answer? Was something on your mind, or were you doing something?"
Luo Yang: "..."
"Please answer my questions." Bai Jing watched Luo Yang's eyes with the earnestness of someone searching for an answer.
Luo Yang felt a headache coming on. "Well, let's talk later. I need to hurry and treat the next patient."
He pulled away and left.
Wasn't it perfectly normal for a man to be drawn to certain features of the opposite sex and space out for a moment, or contemplate how human civilization had been passed down?
She actually had to get to the bottom of even something like that. Wasn't her compulsive questioning a little too bizarre?
Before you continue