It would also serve to verify whether what Lawson had was indeed the Strange Dreams.
Lawson's interest was piqued immediately. Leaning on his cane, he stepped forward to receive the silver medicine sealed in a glass vial the thickness of a finger.
The color of the medicine was dreamlike, especially under the light. As the angle of the glass vial changed, the liquid within constantly shifted between various shades of silver.
"Is this guangyin grass?"
Lawson recognized the primary ingredient in the vial at a glance.
"Yes, left behind by Dr. Laisen," Lu Yuan nodded.
"How much more do you have? I'll take it all!" Lawson clearly knew something and made an immediate decision to buy the entire stock.
But Lu Yuan would not agree.
"I'm sorry, guangyin grass is very rare. I need to keep some for myself. I can only give you two bottles at most."
"Three bottles for one gold shield."
Lawson pulled a glittering coin directly from his coat.
Looking at the glittering imperial gold shield on the table, Lu Yuan was in no hurry to take it.
He pushed the three vials over but kept his hand over two of them. "This gold shield pays for the medicine, but I also need you to do something for me."
Lawson impatiently grabbed one bottle to examine it. "What is it? As long as it helps me get a steady night's sleep."
"These medicines were left by Laisen; once they're gone, that's it. If you want more in the future, you have to help me obtain the raw materials."
Lu Yuan produced a prepared list including mercury, guangyin grass, and other items.
"Regardless of how you do it, I want to see these things at your next follow-up."
Hearing this, Lawson moved his gaze from the shimmering silver bottle and stared at Lu Yuan in the darkness for a long while with his somewhat cloudy eyes.
"You're much bolder than Laisen. Interesting. It's a deal."
"A deal."
A slight smile appeared at the corners of Lu Yuan's mouth as he pushed the remaining guangyin grass mixture across the table.
This transaction was a guaranteed profit.
Laisen's purchase records were clearly documented in the logbook.
A single stalk of guangyin grass cost about ten silver shields, and none of the other herbs recorded alongside it exceeded that price.
Regardless, the price of one gold shield far exceeded the intrinsic value of the medicine itself.
Of course, Lu Yuan also needed money because he needed to increase his skill levels as quickly as possible.
And that required money—a lot of money.
Lawson left with the medicine.
Lu Yuan closed the door, put away the gold shield, and re-evaluated Lawson's symptoms.
From the current situation, there was a very high probability it was the 'Strange Dreams'.
The 'Strange Dreams' were contagious.
This fact was now essentially confirmed.
However, what Lu Yuan couldn't understand was why the timing of Lawson's infection basically coincided with Dr. Laisen's.
And why were Lawson's symptoms still stuck in the initial stage?
Furthermore, what exactly was the transmission route for the 'Strange Dreams'?
Would he be infected as well?
Lu Yuan couldn't figure it out. After all, he was just an ordinary person. If a professional doctor couldn't handle it, how could he expect to solve it easily?
He shook his head helplessly and decided to stop thinking about it for now.
He simply picked up Basic Medicinal Herbology and began flipping through it.
"Let's grind some levels first."
While thinking, Lu Yuan sat on the sofa and read continuously. New firewood added to the fireplace radiated warmth, but fatigue quietly began to creep in.
Crash—
The sound of freezing waves exploded in his ears.
Lu Yuan snapped his eyes open.
Looking around, there was no clinic, no fireplace, and no warm blanket.
He looked up, and an endless black sea suddenly appeared before him.
A pale, deathly moon hung in the gloomy sky, reflecting a localized, eerie white glow onto the ocean surface.
Lu Yuan tried to control his body, only to find his feet were like roots, nailed firmly into the sand.
The tide was coming in.
Ice-cold, bone-chilling seawater washed over his feet. That frigid cold seeped through his skin and bored into his bones, accompanied by a nauseatingly salty and fishy smell.
"Are these... the Strange Dreams?"
Lu Yuan realized what was happening and struggled desperately, but his body gave him no response at all.
At this moment, Lu Yuan could only stare helplessly at the sea before him.
He watched as the waves gradually began to swell.
The freezing seawater slapped against him repeatedly, the piercingly cold temperature making him shiver uncontrollably.
Eventually, the distant surface of the sea turned pitch black at some unknown point.
"Wait, something's wrong."
There was something beneath the sea.
Boom!
A massive wave crashed down on him, and the sensation of suffocation instantly swallowed Lu Yuan whole.
"Hah—!" Lu Yuan bolted upright from the sofa, gasping for air. His clothes were completely soaked with cold sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the ocean.
The fire in the fireplace had gone out at some point, and a cold draft whistled through the room occasionally.
The clinic remained silent. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was just past midnight.
Lu Yuan looked around to confirm he was truly awake before sitting back on the sofa with lingering fear.
In that dream just now, the sensation of seawater pouring into his nose and the feeling of suffocation had been terrifyingly real.
But before Lu Yuan could even breathe a sigh of relief...
A grey experience bar appeared in his vision.
【Witnessed deep sea nightmare; Sanity check in progress... Sanity II: +5, 16/49】
"My Sanity experience increased by that much? But... wait..." Lu Yuan looked at the experience bar floating before him and suddenly noticed something.
"The total value required for Sanity to level up has decreased?"
Lu Yuan remembered clearly that the experience required for the next level was 50, but now it had decreased by 1 point.
What did this mean?
Lu Yuan fell into silence because he didn't know.
But it was definitely not good news. One thing was certain: he was infected.
The experience bar was the proof; the slight trace of luck he had been holding onto had completely vanished.
Though he had known this day might come from reading the diary, he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
He sighed; the priority now was to prepare in advance.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment and then took out the logbook to record his plans.
Observe changes in the dreams while using them to increase Sanity level; figure out the cause and impact of the decrease in total Sanity capacity.
Maintain contact with Lawson and find a way to discover why his symptoms are progressing so slowly.
Go to the Church to gather information and purchase some holy water.
Lu Yuan stopped writing here. If none of the above worked, there was one last resort: take the initiative to contact the 'Nightwatchers'.
Even though it seemed everyone knew about the 'Nightwatchers', they were nowhere to be found in newspapers or daily life.
Most importantly, he wasn't sure how the Nightwatchers treated 'anomalies'.
Of course, the worst-case scenario was simply being purged.
If Lu Yuan's later symptoms really turned him into a dead fish like Dr. Laisen, he would rather take his chances with the Nightwatchers.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Lu Yuan took out his book and began studying hard, hoping to grind his experience up as soon as possible.
The next day.
【Basic Medicinal Herbology: 11.5/20】
Lu Yuan rubbed his aching eyes and looked at the progress of the experience bar, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.
As his studies deepened, Lu Yuan found that his learning progress and efficiency were both accelerating.
Furthermore, any knowledge related to skills he already possessed allowed him to reach Entry level and then mastery much faster in subsequent study sessions.
This could be considered good news.
After a quick wash in the bathroom, Lu Yuan straightened his clothes, preparing to head out to the Church.
His main goal in going to the Church was to find a way to get some holy water, and secondly, to see if he could purchase some medicinal herbs.
Rate on N.U.
