With that thought in mind, Lu Yuan motioned for Thomas to lie on the small bed near the door, drawing the curtain to partition the room. He then sat on a stool by the bedside and began examining the wound.
The moment Thomas's wound came into view, a notification flickered in his vision.
【Basic Medicine: +0.5 (Observing Injury) / 20】
【You have discovered an atypical trauma, suspected to be a crush injury caused by some kind of marine organism.】
Seeing the prompt pop up, a faint smile played on Lu Yuan's face. The experience bar could indeed be applied to medical treatment.
Lu Yuan put on gloves and gently pressed his fingers against the edge of the wound.
The bruised, purplish area felt incredibly stiff, unlike normal human tissue at all.
It felt more like frozen meat.
"Does it hurt here?" Lu Yuan asked.
"It doesn't hurt... it's just very numb, like a swarm of things are burrowing into my bones." Thomas was drenched in a cold sweat. "Doctor, do you think my leg can be cured?"
Lu Yuan did not answer immediately.
In his field of vision, a line of grayish-white data was rapidly analyzing the situation.
【Contact with abnormal tissue texture, Basic Medicine Experience +1】
【Analysis Result: Deep-sea mollusk toxin residue (minor), accompanied by tissue necrosis. Recommended protocol: Bloodletting, detoxification, hot compress.】
"It can be cured."
Lu Yuan turned around to take the red-leaf grass ointment he had refined last night from the shelf and produced a sterilized small knife.
"Bear with it."
Before the words had even finished echoing, the tip of the blade accurately pierced the centers of several marks that resembled suction cup imprints.
"Sss—"
A stream of foul-smelling black blood surged out instantly, landing in the tray. It actually made a sound like strong acid corroding metal.
Thomas let out a miserable cry, his whole body nearly springing off the bed.
"Don't move." Lu Yuan pinned his leg down firmly with one hand while quickly filling the wound with the reddish-brown ointment with the other.
The moment the ointment touched the flesh, that grating corrosive sound ceased, replaced by a faint scent of pine.
Thomas's ragged breathing gradually leveled out. He looked at the black blood in the tray with a trace of terror. "What... what the hell is that stuff?"
"Stagnant blood," Lu Yuan lied casually while bandaging the wound. "Don't you know where your injury came from?"
While Lu Yuan's tone was nonchalant, he was inwardly on high alert.
This kind of toxin was clearly not something a common sea fish would possess. Furthermore, the medicine prescribed by the Church had actually been able to suppress the spread of this toxin.
Otherwise, Thomas would have died of poisoning long ago.
'It seems I need to go see for myself.'
Hearing this, Thomas didn't seem to want to explain the source of his wound.
He only offered a helpless, bitter smile.
Lu Yuan didn't mind and asked another question as if in passing.
"The docks haven't been very peaceful lately?"
"They really haven't." Thomas likely spoke more to distract himself from the situation. "The Iron Whale returned a while back, didn't it? But the crew on that ship were very strange... I heard they were taken away by the Nightwatchers the very night they docked, without even being allowed to go home."
"And since then, we've been catching strange things at the docks quite often. This injury of mine..."
Realizing he had let something slip, Thomas gave a sheepish smile.
Lu Yuan's movements paused slightly.
The Iron Whale again.
"All finished." Lu Yuan tied a neat knot and straightened his back. "Four silver shields. No credit."
Thomas tried moving his leg and was pleasantly surprised to find that the piercing, numbing itch had truly vanished.
He then readily counted out four silver coins, placed them on the table, and left with a thousand thanks.
The price Lu Yuan quoted was neither high nor low, based roughly on the figures in the ledger.
Of course, this price wasn't particularly cheap for an ordinary dockworker, but it wasn't so high that his family would go hungry for days.
As Thomas left, a line of text emerged.
【First diagnosis completed. Basic Medicine: 2.5/20】
【Information unlocked, Gelimu Port Status: 6/50】
Lu Yuan pinched the silver coins that still carried the warmth of a human body, his fingertips lightly rubbing them.
"Were they all taken away by the Nightwatchers?... It seems the things written in the diary are indeed true."
After Thomas left, not a second patient arrived at the clinic.
This was also within Lu Yuan's expectations.
After all, he had forgotten to promote the place, so business wouldn't be very good in the short term.
Unless he waited for word to spread about Thomas's leg being cured.
"Slow and steady."
Lu Yuan returned to his chair and continued reading his book.
Time passed quickly. Throughout the morning, Lu Yuan did nothing but read.
There wasn't a single other patient.
However, his herbology knowledge had improved slightly.
【Basic Medicinal Herbology: 8.5/20】
【Imperial Language - Reading: 6/1000】
At this rate, Basic Medicinal Herbology would level up in three days at most. He wondered what kind of effect it would produce then.
Lu Yuan didn't plan on waiting any longer because he was hungry.
Aside from a few cans of unknown age, there was nothing to eat in the clinic.
Out of options, Lu Yuan took a few silver shields and went out to the street, intending to see for himself what the cost of living was like in this world.
At the same time, he planned to collect more information about this world to confirm some of his suspicions.
Dressed in his suit and hat, with ten silver shields in his pocket, Lu Yuan stepped out onto the street.
Under a leaden sky, the streets were narrow and damp, flanked by towering and oppressive Gothic buildings.
The poor weather didn't seem to affect the residents much.
Even in the relatively remote area where Lu Yuan lived, there were plenty of people coming and going.
After walking a distance along the bluestone street and turning a corner,
the street suddenly became lively.
Several children who didn't look very old were setting up stalls along the roadside, constantly moving about.
They would approach well-dressed men, offering to show off their shoe-shining skills.
Even after being rejected, they would pull a newspaper from their coats and aggressively try to sell it.
A newspaper was exactly what Lu Yuan needed.
But before he could step forward, a thin, small boy scurried over to him.
"Sir! Do you need a shoe shine? I don't mean right now, but if you go to the docks, your shoes are very likely to get stained with something nasty."
"My shoe-shining skills are excellent, and the price is very fair—only two copper shields. If you make the decision now, I'll only charge you one copper shield when you get back."
Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks, looking at the overly clever little rascal before him.
"Quite smart." As Lu Yuan spoke, he pulled a silver shield from his pocket and spun it between his fingers. The glittering light instantly caught the boy's attention.
"No need for a shine. But I have a better business deal for you." Lu Yuan leaned down, staring into the boy's eyes.
"I want you to keep an eye on the movements at the docks for me, and... deliver the latest newspaper to that clinic up there every day. This silver shield is the deposit."
The boy swallowed hard and nodded vigorously. "No problem, sir! My name is Brent, and there's nothing in this neighborhood I don't know!"
"Very good, Brent." Lu Yuan flicked the silver coin to him. "Now tell me, what's the latest news from the docks? I want to know things that aren't in the newspapers."
Rate on N.U.
