At Dr. Valentine’s clinic, the physician, in his white lab coat all pilled with soft white fuzz, was pushing the syringe needle up vertically as he bled the air out in puffs.

Episser and Thorn were waiting on the sidelines when suddenly a commotion arose at the door. Amidst several footsteps, they turned to see that “thirtysomething ” young man bringing a few people carrying their luggage and coming over.

The somewhat weakened Liena was lying on a chair. Hearing the noise, she strained to lift her eyelids. When she recognized the tall figure crossing the threshold, her dim eyes were instantly lit up by surprise.

“Yi… “

“Liena. ” Episser quickly interrupted her sentence, signaling her not to reveal the bodyguard’s identity.

However, Dr. Valentine had already recognized him.

“You… couldn’t you be the one from the newspaper… “

Yang Zicang nodded in confirmation, his gaze skipping over the doctor to land on Liena:

“Is my friend in any danger? “

The clinic, with most of its walls occupied by medicine cabinets, was filled with a strong smell of disinfectant and herbs mingling together. Episser and Thorn were squeezed onto a faded wooden bench in the corner, waiting. Spotting Yang Zicang arriving with people, they rose in surprise. They were indeed worried about their luggage; having it within sight was the best scenario.

“No problem. ” Valentine, a man of average build, squatted down, swiftly jabbing the syringe into Liena’s bare arm as she lay across the back of the chair. Liena knitted her brows tightly and let out a soft moanlike whimper.

Seeing her like this, Yang Zicang actually felt a bit relieved.

“So what’s the matter with her? Is it a food issue? “

“Hmm, no. This girl probably rarely got sick since she was young, so she has few antibodies in her body and reacts strongly to dense miasma and medicinal herbs. “

Valentin stood up, pulled out the needle, and precisely tossed it into a rusty iron bucket in the corner.

“But this kid has a great constitution, so she can handle these things well enough. After this shot, her body won’t have any major problems. “

Seeing him do this, Yang Zicang felt a surge of goodwill towards him.

Doctors with such hygiene awareness on this continent weren’t exactly rare, but certainly not every one of them did it.

Limited by manufacturing techniques, some doctors would disinfect similar items and reuse them.

The doctor pulled off his pure rubber gloves, wiped his hands with a clean gauze, and extended a hand to Yang Zicang.

“Sir, on behalf of my many kidnapped compatriots, I thank you for your efforts. “

He patted Yang Zicang enthusiastically on the shoulder, then noticed the peasants peering in from outside the house and the luggage they carried.

“What’s all this? “

After explaining the situation, Valentin shook his head with a laugh. Enso went out and paid the laborers based on the price Yang Zicang quoted. Since they were hired for the whole night, the porters, happily clutching their money, excitedly declared that they would guard the luggage no matter what all night, following wherever Yang Zicang went.

Aibisert, watching the color gradually return to his daughter’s face, leaned in and asked in a low voice:

“Lianna, can you… still hold on? Anyway, it’s only a few hours till dawn—should we travel through the night? “

Dr. Valentine, who had been enthusiastically chatting with Yang Zicang and sharing his excitement using various old newspapers, turned his head at these words and said, “She can’t travel yet. “

“What’s wrong? ” Ebesel and Lianna both looked at him anxiously at the same time.

“Did you not just say her body would recover soon? ” Ebesel’s voice carried a note of confusion.

“Yes, I did. At… ” He glanced at his watch, “At 1:13 AM, I specifically said ‘body,’ didn’t I? “

Ebesel’s expression changed slightly. Yang Zicang’s eyes also grew sharp. “Doctor, is Lianna still in any other danger? “

“Don’t worry, hero from Mist Province. Ah, and you too, sir, the father of this young lady. “

Valentine pulled Yang Zicang aside and said in a voice too low for the girl to hear:

“As someone from Mist Province, you probably know that here in Mutao Continent, some people possess strange abilities, don’t you? “

Yang Zicang’s heart sank.

Since there was no way to prevent the girl from traveling to the next continent, the best approach was to keep her from showing any abnormalities.

But now, the doctor in front of は was saying exactly that kind of thing.

“I know. Is her danger really related to ‘Crossing People’? “

“Danger, huh… Looks I right—You’re not already somewhat aware of things connected to the Crossingn Ple. “

Valentine turned his head to see Lianna watching him. He smiled at her, then turned back and said calmly:

“Fortunately, the girl’s symptoms are mild, caused only by the drug-induced mental agitation. Overall, it’s still not too late. As long as she doesn’t let her mind wander later, once she grows up, gets married, and has a family and children’s ties to ground her, she’s unlikely to dwell on these ideas and run into trouble. “

Valentine finished speaking; but as he turned his head, he was startled into taking a step back—Ebaysayer was standing right beside him.

“You scared me to death, Mr. Achba. Ah, right; you are her father. “

Yang Zicang asked, “Just now you mentioned drugs—what was that about? “

“Hmm, she must have accidentally inhaled too much alkaloid from herbs, some of which have components similar to adrenaline. Combined with compounds that trigger and spread emotional waves, it resulted in these symptoms. “

Yang Zicang frowned, recalling the smell in the inn—he hadn’t actually noticed any unusual medicinal scent in Lianna’s room.

If someone was truly pulling strings behind the scenes to steal something, using a knockout drug like sleeping potion would’ve fit better. It shouldn’t have been targeted solely at one girl.

But half the night had passed, and there was still no sign of the disaster-induced anomaly in the village. Could it be whoever gave him that prophecy was just trying to scare him?

Suspicion churned in Yang Zicang’s heart.

“Doctor Valentine, ” Ebaysayer said with visible anxiety, “You said after her body gets better, there’s something else next to do? “

“Yes. We must perform a ritual to stabilize her spirit. “

Yang Zicang said urgently, “Will it make her misunderstand this world even more…? ” _”

“For her, she just needs to sleep soundly. If you’re uneasy about it, you can watch by her side. The reason I’m famous is because of this. “

By this time, it was indeed very late for Lina. With just a little lilac incense to lull her, the little girl fell into a deep, steady sleep in a private room.

By the small bed in the room, Yang Zicang and Ebesel stood watching. Only after confirming she was truly in a deep slumber did Doctor Valen turn to them with a solemn expression.

“Both of you, especially the Mist man. What you’re about to see may seem a bit strange, but there is absolutely no malice in it. You must trust me. “

Yang Zicang’s heart tightened.

A ring of light shone on his chest, and He Yishu, who had been on alert nearby, immediately connected with it.

｛Someone forewarned me earlier that if I didn’t show up here, calamity would strike the village. Watch your step from now on.｝

In an instant, He Yishu’s expression turned grave.

Telling him this onlynow? No wonder he insisted on hauling luggage along despite the late hour.

Damn it, a danger capable of leveling an entire village?

He Yishu’s eyes darted toward the hillside, glancing over the shantytown-like cluster of hovels, huddled together like a dense slum. Sparse lights flickered, but beyond that lay vast swathes of silent darkness, their jagged outlines cast eerily by the moonlight.

What he didn’t know was that even within a sub-etheric force field, the entire village was nearly as solidly constructed as reality—except for an added touch of ethereal dreaminess and an utter, lifeless desolation.

Inside the clinic, in one of the rooms.

Takekazu squatted down, flipped up the white bedsheet beside the sleeping girl’s cot, and then knocked on the headboard’s panel. He tapped it twice, and with a suddencreak, it sounded as though some kind of mechanism had been triggered.

“Heh heh, don’t be too surprised. This was designed for us by a Fogfolk peasant, though it’s already been a few years. “

“A few years? “

Then Embisser jumped in shock as Valentine lifted the panel upward.

Yang Zicang’s hand had already quietly curled around his silk scarf, ready to hurl it at a moment’s notice. Invisibly, a vortex of condensed air was already beginning to swirl in his grasp.

-Dealer: May Valkyrie is currently following my life experiences.

With a muffledbangof catch mechanism, Valentine actually lifted a floorboard the size of the cot and pushed it up. The entire wall section of the headboard revealed a “doorway ” whose edges rippled with soft, azure light.

A azure, swirling radiance lit up.

“This is…! ” Embisser stared in awe at the dreamlike glow.

Yang Zicang’s breath caught ever so slightly—here, there were actually… doors similar to those in “City number 11. “

“Gate of the Sub-Aether Passage? Has the ‘Sub-Aether Force Field’ in this area already been stabilized into a ‘Pristine Thought Space’? “

“You even know the origin of the gods’ abode…? ” Valenteen was somewhat surprised.

“The ‘gods” abode…? What are you going to do? “

If it was a “Sub-Aether Force Field Space ” similar to “Zone 11 “, this space wouldn’t be a problem at all. But Yang Ziceng’s expanding ‘Musing Night’ struggled to extend into it. After sensing, a shock went through his heart.

The space inside was very small.

Like a scene of a room, and inside… there even was a bed.

“I need to harness the power of the gods to stabilize Lady Lena’s ‘spirit’. Her emotions regarding ‘Real Illusion’ will be effectively suppressed, and by the time deeper bonds are forged in the future, she will be safe. The term ‘Real Illusion’ was taught to me by the Mistbound Isenhk peoples. You’re exceptionally knowledgeable—I truly yearn to see your continent. “

Upon hearing Valenteen’s words, Ebesel subconsciously turned his head to look at Yang Zicang, then flinched in surprise. A long spear had somehow appeared in the “hero’s ” hands.