Stay in the Light

Lu Yuan decided to hurry home first, for the electric lamp above his head was flickering precariously, as if it were under an unbearable strain.

On the way back, the sky had turned completely dark.

The lights on the streets grew increasingly dense.

Beneath a streetlight, two or three figures wrapped in tattered blankets were curled up at some point.

One of them pillowed their head on an empty wine bottle, while another curled into a ball, eyes staring blankly at the shadows at the edge of the light.

Lu Yuan pushed the empty bed past them.

The creaking sound drew their attention.

The homeless men initially only looked up warily, but when one of them caught sight of the bed Lu Yuan was pushing, his expression stiffened. Then, he spoke up:

"Wandering around at this hour... I take it this is your first time in Gelimu Port, sir?"

Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks, raised an eyebrow, and then nodded. "Gelimu Port? Oh, it is indeed my first time. Are there any rules here?"

"Don't go to the port at night; other than that, just stay in the light." He pointed to the buzzing bulb overhead and gave a ghastly smile.

"What if the light goes out?" Lu Yuan asked casually.

The homeless man looked at Lu Yuan as if he were an idiot and pointed his finger toward a pitch-black alley nearby.

"Then pray that the lords in charge of this town send someone to fix it quickly."

An old man huddled in a tattered blanket beside him muttered in a low voice, "Why bother saying such things to him? Do you really expect this young man to toss you a few copper shields for wine?"

"Shut up, Fei Yi! This is none of your business, you drunkard!" The homeless man flashed a wide grin and then said, "Sir, I know it's a dangerous thing for a vagrant to talk to you at night."

"But for the sake of Doctor Laisen, I'm giving you this advice. You must be a friend of Doctor Laisen, right?"

"That's right. He entrusted me to look after the clinic in Gelimu Port for a while." Lu Yuan showed a hint of surprise and followed the homeless man's lead.

"And you are?"

The man waved his hand and continued, "Doctor Laisen saved my life. He once pushed me on that very bed."

"Gelimu Port isn't like the inner city; conditions aren't that good here. So, sir, you must stay in the light at night!"

"Don't be like those lords from the outside who lose their lives in a muddle. Get back quickly."

Having said his piece, the man ignored Lu Yuan, simply burying his head as if to say, 'Get lost and don't disturb my sleep.'

"I'll remember what you said." Seeing this, Lu Yuan prepared to leave, but after a moment's thought, he added, "My name is Lu Yuan. If you need anything, you can find me at the clinic."

After saying that, Lu Yuan pushed the small bed and left without looking back.

Only the homeless man remained, his head buried as he muttered to himself, "Lu Yuan? Is that an Eastern name?"

Upon returning to the clinic, Lu Yuan locked the door. It was only after he had scrubbed that foul-smelling small bed three times that the lingering chill on his body finally began to recede.

After a quick cleanup in the washroom, he lit the fireplace, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and took out a new notebook to plan his next steps.

First was the 'experience bar'.

Lu Yuan thought to himself, preparing to conduct a basic test.

He took a copy of 【Basic Medicinal Herbology】 from the bookshelf on the second floor and began flipping through it.

The contents of this book were very basic, documenting the identification and effects of a hundred types of herbs, and even providing recipes for several common medicines.

Even though Lu Yuan's knowledge in this field was quite scarce, he could still understand the book.

However, no experience bar appeared in his vision.

Lu Yuan wasn't in a hurry; he just kept reading until the moment he committed the effect of one of the herbs to memory.

【Basic Medicinal Herbology: +0.5.../20】

【Imperial Language - Reading: +1.../1000】

Grayish-white experience bars surfaced in Lu Yuan's vision, beginning to twitch slightly as he continued reading.

Lu Yuan barely stopped during this time. As he read further, his originally drowsy brain became increasingly clear, and those unfamiliar herb names and detailed effects began to arrange themselves automatically in his mind.

Lu Yuan continued learning like this, losing track of time.

It wasn't until his neck became unbearably sore that his hand loosened; he folded a corner of the page and closed the book.

At this point, he had already read through more than half of 【Basic Medicinal Herbology】.

【Basic Medicinal Herbology: 7/20】

【Imperial Language - Reading: 5/1000】

'I actually entered a state of deep learning?' Lu Yuan put the book down, stood up, and gently rotated his neck, realization dawning on him.

'It seems the function of the experience bar isn't just as simple as visualizing progress.'

'In that case, posing as a doctor later on might actually be feasible.'

'And...' Lu Yuan looked through the window at the world illuminated by the lamps outside, a flash of fervor crossing his heart, 'this world seems to hold many unknown secrets.'

However, there was still one thing Lu Yuan didn't understand: what exactly are the effects after the experience bar levels up?

Currently, he only knew that increasing Sanity could improve his mental resistance, but what about the other entries?

As Lu Yuan was thinking, the grayish-white experience bars surfaced again.

【Sanity II: 2/50】

【Basic Medicinal Herbology: 7/20】

【Imperial Language - Reading: 5/1000】

【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: 5/10】

Among these entries, except for Sanity which had its own line of introduction, the others had no explanations whatsoever.

So the situation was clear: the experience bars only seemed to provide related introductions for entries that had been upgraded.

Therefore, no specific descriptions could be seen for either 【Imperial Language】 or 【Forbidden Lore】.

As for Imperial Language, it could be set aside for now; after all, he had the translation ability, so whether he learned it or not wouldn't have much of an impact in the short term.

But for Forbidden Lore, if he could see the introduction, perhaps his understanding of this world could deepen a bit more.

He didn't dwell on it too much.

Because Lu Yuan planned to perform some small tests tonight to try and turn knowledge into actual commodities.

With that thought, Lu Yuan rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the collection of bottles and jars.

After all, Lu Yuan was currently facing a problem: he was hungry.

Although he had inherited this small building, the money left behind by the 'unlucky fellow' was pitifully small—only a few silver shields and dozens of copper shields.

Although he wasn't sure of the purchasing power of the Imperial shields, he suspected it wouldn't be very high.

The small amount of Imperial shields in the drawer would likely only be enough for a period of frugal survival.

As for researching new medicinal materials later on, he couldn't even dream of it.