Lu Yuan opened his eyes.
Everything was a dim yellow.
The ceiling was low, spiderwebs hung from the wooden beams, and dust drifted slowly in the light of a kerosene lamp.
The air was dry, smelling of hay and some kind of ointment.
He lay on a simple grass bed.
Underneath him was coarse hemp, and he was covered with a patched blanket.
Lu Yuan tried to move his body, but a dull pain from his left hand made him frown slightly.
He looked down.
His left hand was wrapped in bandages from his wrist to his fingers, and the seeping blood had dried into a deep brown. He could feel the burning heat of flesh beneath the bandages, that peculiar tightness that followed a burn.
At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text quietly surfaced:
【Sanity: 26/120 (Total Value)】
【Left Hand Status: Severe burns, recovering, temporarily unusable】
Lu Yuan stared at the lines for a few seconds, his face expressionless.
Footsteps came from outside the door.
The wooden door creaked open.
An old man walked in, a nearly finished cigarette holder in his mouth, followed by a young boy.
The old man was around sixty, his face a map of wrinkles and his skin tanned to a bronze hue; his eyes were cloudy yet shrewd.
He wore a faded linen shirt and a leather belt around his waist, which held several bulging pouches.
The boy looked to be twelve or thirteen, small and thin, but his eyes were bright as he curiously observed Lu Yuan on the bed.
"Hmm?" The old man saw Lu Yuan open his eyes and flicked his cigarette ash. "You're awake?"
Lu Yuan propped himself up against the edge of the bed, his movements stiff.
"Where is this?"
Lu Yuan's voice was extremely raspy, and the strange sensation in his throat caused him to cough a few times.
"Shashi Station." The old man walked to the bedside and crouched to inspect Lu Yuan's complexion. "It's a few hours' journey from Sandworm Town."
His tone was casual.
"I picked you up by the road. You were just lying there, covered in injuries, with your left hand scorched black."
As he spoke, the old man pulled a waterskin from a pouch at his waist and handed it over.
"I wouldn't have meddled if I hadn't seen that thing on your chest."
Lu Yuan glanced down.
The Nightwatchers badge was still pinned to his breast, the silver emblem shimmering in the dim light.
He took the waterskin and tilted his head back to take a few gulps.
The water was lukewarm and slightly salty, but the feeling of it moistening his throat allowed him to recover a bit of energy.
"Nightwatchers are quite dedicated." The old man straightened up, the cigarette holder dangling from the corner of his mouth. "Saving one might be useful later."
Lu Yuan didn't respond.
He knew it was the truth.
The Nightwatchers' reputation in the empire wasn't bad, especially in remote areas where ordinary people held a certain degree of awe for transcendent individuals. Saving a Nightwatcher was, in a sense, a worthwhile investment.
The old man didn't mind his silence and turned to look at the boy behind him.
"Karl, go bring the porridge."
"Okay." The boy responded and ran out, his footsteps gradually fading down the corridor.
The old man sat on a wooden stool by the bed, pulled a new hand-rolled cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"I'm Herman." He exhaled a puff of smoke. "A traveling merchant from Sandworm Town. That kid is my grandson."
Lu Yuan nodded.
"Lu Yuan."
"I know." Herman pointed to the badge on his chest. "It's engraved on there."
Lu Yuan looked down; his name and serial number were indeed engraved on the back of the badge.
Silence fell for a moment.
Herman took a puff, his cloudy eyes studying Lu Yuan.
"There's something I'm curious about."
His tone was casual, but Lu Yuan could feel the other man observing his reaction.
"What were you doing on that road?"
Lu Yuan's movements paused.
"There shouldn't be anything out there, right?" Herman continued, flicking his ash. "It's just a dead-end road leading to the seaside cliffs. I've been a merchant for many years and I've never seen anyone on that road."
There was nothing there.
Lu Yuan opened his mouth, but his throat felt as if it were blocked by something.
After a few seconds of silence.
"...Internal matter," he said, his voice calm. "I can't reveal too much."
Herman glanced at him but didn't press further.
An experienced merchant knew when to ask and when to back off. Ordinary people shouldn't get involved in Nightwatchers' business.
"Fine." He shrugged and took another puff. "Doesn't concern me anyway."
Footsteps sounded again, and Karl walked in carrying a coarse ceramic bowl.
"Grandpa, the porridge is here."
"Give it to him." Herman jerked his chin toward Lu Yuan.
Karl handed the bowl over, his curious gaze lingering on Lu Yuan before landing on the badge on his chest.
"Are you really a Nightwatcher?"
"Karl." Herman shot him a glare.
"I was just asking..." the boy mumbled, but he still stepped aside.
Lu Yuan took the bowl; it was a bowl of thin porridge with a few unidentifiable dried vegetable leaves floating in it. He held the bowl with his right hand and slowly took a few sips.
The porridge was warm and bland, but hunger drove him to finish everything in the bowl.
Herman watched him finish and crushed his cigarette against the leg of the stool.
"That hand of yours is badly injured." He pointed to Lu Yuan's bandaged left hand. "I applied some medicine and wrapped it, but I'm no doctor. I've done all I can."
He paused, his tone becoming a bit more serious.
"To be honest, I can't guarantee you'll keep it."
Lu Yuan looked down at his left hand.
The skin beneath the bandages still throbbed with pain.
"It's practically cooked." Herman shook his head. "When I found you, that smell... it was like roasted meat."
Lu Yuan said nothing.
He knew how severe his injury was. It wasn't a normal burn; it was the result of being scorched by some transcendent power. It was lucky enough that he still had the arm; as for how much function would return, he could only take it one step at a time.
After all, he didn't have any medicine on hand.
"How about this?" Herman stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. "That injury won't heal anytime soon, and I've finished this trade run. I'm heading back to Sandworm Town anyway."
He looked at Lu Yuan with a merchant's characteristic shrewdness.
"Come back with me to recover. Leave once you're better, so you don't end up dead on the road."
Lu Yuan was silent for a moment.
His current state was indeed unsuitable for traveling alone. His Sanity was only 26 points, and his left hand was half-useless.
Furthermore...
In Gelimu Port, the feeling of being pushed along by the hidden Deep Sea Church was truly unpleasant.
He indeed needed a quiet place to wait for his Sanity to recover fully and to think carefully about his next move.
And then he would consider heading to the Bronze City.
"Okay."
Herman nodded upon hearing Lu Yuan's answer and turned to walk out.
"Then it's settled. Rest for a bit. We'll head out once the sun goes down a little. Traveling in the desert during the day can turn a man into jerky."
Karl followed behind him, looking back at Lu Yuan with hesitation before finally saying nothing and running out.
The wooden door closed.
The room fell silent once more.
Lu Yuan leaned against the wall, watching the flickering light of the kerosene lamp.
He didn't think about those things.
Thinking was useless.
He reached into his breast with his right hand and pulled out that letter.
The envelope was somewhat crumpled, the corners dampened by sweat, but the handwriting was still clearly legible.
"To Laurina, Alchemy Department, Polymath Tower, Empire."
He had promised to deliver this letter, though he didn't know if its contents had already been twisted.
Lu Yuan tucked the letter back into his breast and checked his other belongings.
The Timekeeper pocket watch was still there, as were the enchanted revolver, the gold shields, and the book given by Ink.
The parchment scroll...
He pulled out the rolled-up item.
The array had completely vanished, leaving only a dry, blank scroll, as if all its power had been drained by something.
Lu Yuan looked at it, silent for a moment, then tucked it away.
The sun hadn't set yet; there was still time to rest.
He needed to recover his strength.
He needed to recover his Sanity.
He needed to survive.
And then he would think about what came next.
Outside the window, the desert wind howled, whipping fine sand against the window frame with a rustling sound.
Amidst this sound, Lu Yuan drifted back into a deep sleep.
Rate on N.U.
