Eldritch Horror Theatre

That tone was less than friendly.

Even though catching up had gone smoothly, Fu Qian had never held much hope for the Old Doctor’s mental state to begin with.

So when forced medical treatment suddenly entered the picture, he didn’t find it strange at all.

Plainly, the Old Doctor wasn’t just asking a simple question.

The proof was right in his hand: as he spoke, he raised his sickle again, its snow-bright edge stinging the eyes.

”If I refuse, are you planning to use that thing on me?”

Fu Qian figured he could read that much body language.

He gave a slight nod, casually confirming the consequences.

”What else? Use my bare hands like you?”

The Old Doctor owned up to it without hesitation, even throwing in a jab at Fu Qian’s barbaric methods.Clearly, that scene back then—sliding in under the moonlight and ripping out a heart and lungs—had left a deep impression on him.

As for Fu Qian, while he felt there had been a certain beauty to it, he had to admit that when it came to dismantling a human body, the weapon in front of him was far more efficient. And he didn’t doubt for a second that the man would actually go through with it.

Chopping someone up to feed the pigs was nothing; anyone holing up in a place like this had to be ruthless.

Or to put it another way, since when was Brother Ji Feng some pious saint?

Whatever his reason for coming here, if a roadblock like this had been easy to deal with, Ji Feng would have disposed of him long ago.

Instead, he had been forced to leave a substitute behind, not daring to clash with the man head-on.

”What a pity. Fingernails piercing the diaphragm, muscle stretching and snapping between the palms, everything bathed in warm bodily fluids... That you can’t appreciate that kind of beauty at all is truly regrettable.”

Still, there was no need to blindly copy his predecessor. Fu Qian remained in no hurry to give an answer; instead, he let out a long sigh, mourning the Old Doctor’s lack of aesthetic sense.

”I can appreciate it...”

Apparently not expecting Fu Qian to court death this hard, the Old Doctor paused for a beat, his reply heavier with threat.

Paired with a gaze that sized Fu Qian up from head to toe, it unmistakably meant, ”If you don’t care for blades, these old bones know a bit of hand-to-hand too.”

”Really? I don’t buy it.”

The man had plenty of presence, though unfortunately he seemed to have no idea how many honorary titles the young man in front of him held. As an undisputed expert in flesh and blood, Fu Qian found zero appeal in a scene like that; he merely gave a light snort and met the man’s gaze without flinching.

”I can appreciate it right now—”

The air went taut in an instant, and the Old Doctor actually raised his hand.

Those withered fingertips, so thin they weren’t even rounded anymore, looked like jagged spikes that could easily punch through flesh—shhk!

Before the words had even faded, his middle three fingers had genuinely plunged into flesh—only it was his own.

In a deeply bizarre move, the Old Doctor had driven his hand backward, piercing right into his own waist.

The motion of his hand even made it look as if he were genuinely savoring the beauty Fu Qian had just described.

Not a flicker of pain showed on his calm face.

...

Patients who refused to follow medical advice were certainly infuriating, but a doctor angry enough to mutilate himself on the spot was a rare breed indeed.

Faced with the sudden turn, even Fu Qian clicked his tongue in amazement.

The Old Man’s mental state really wasn’t doing too well... Though of course, this hadn’t been a waste of time.

As the one on the receiving end of the Old Doctor’s abrupt change of subject earlier, Fu Qian had felt firsthand just how jarring it was.

Enough to make him a little curious about the man’s state of mind.

As it turned out, anyone capable of staying in a place like this really did have a somewhat abstract way of thinking.

It wasn’t intimidation, nor was he fierce of face and faint of heart.

In that moment, the Old Doctor gave the impression that he simply wanted to prove he really could appreciate that kind of beauty...

All in all, following that train of logic from start to finish was enough to make a person’s brain explode.

”Fair enough. I believe you now.”

Still, it was best to keep distinct matters separate; in all fairness, the man had proven his claim.

Fu Qian nodded readily, conceding that the doctor had won him over with sheer professional ethics.

”I accept the treatment.”

...The path had twisted and turned, but things were finally back on track.

Having evaluated the Old Doctor’s mental state, Fu Qian steered the conversation back without missing a beat.

”I knew you’d choose that.”

Hearing this, the Old Doctor pulled his hand out of his waist just as naturally, sounding as if everything were well within his grasp.

”We have a small problem now, though. There isn’t enough medicine.”

Yet that cool composure lasted half a second; right after, he pointed a bloodstained finger overhead, betraying a lapse in his professional preparation.

”I noticed.”

That wasn’t a lie, either.

Fu Qian had been eyeing that grime-crusted IV bottle for a while now.

He remembered clearly that when the thing had been hooked up to his hand, it was still more than half full of blood-like liquid; now that he was back, it was nearly empty.

Given the Old Doctor’s claim that he hadn’t treated any other patients since then, it made a man wonder whether he had gotten thirsty and downed it like glucose.

”I remember there being plenty left. Did you drink it?”

Fu Qian didn’t bother hiding his doubt.

”Of course not. I only inject this medicine into others.”

The Old Doctor denied it on the spot, self-righteously twisting the IV tube to direct Fu Qian’s eyes to a certain spot.

”This thing is broken. It leaks over time.”

...

So it was. He had nearly forgotten about that detail.

The Old Doctor’s policy of only giving the stuff out and never touching it himself did chip away at one’s confidence in his medical skills.

His logic, however, was sound enough, and Fu Qian nodded repeatedly.

He hadn’t sneaked a drink; it had just leaked dry.

”My fault. If I’d just agreed last time, it wouldn’t have gone to waste like this.”

Not only did he accept the Old Doctor’s explanation, he even offered a self-criticism while he was at it.

”So where do I need to go to get more?”

In the next breath, he went straight to confirming the details of the upcoming quest.

With the man talking like that, you could tell with your eyes closed he was about to send Fu Qian out to gather herbs.

”By the sea.”

Sure enough, the Old Doctor handed out the quest smoothly, and the location didn’t even surprise Fu Qian much.

After all, as mentioned earlier, most of the goods in this room were sourced from the ”Nightmare Borderland”—what was the issue in heading back out there to gather a bit of medicine?

”Got it. Follow the trail of wreckage outside, see the sea, and come back... Don’t tell me this stuff is just scooped straight out of the sea?”

Repeating the route the man had pointed out long ago, Fu Qian didn’t refuse, though he did wonder where on a beach one would find liquid like this.

”No. You’ll know when you get there.”

The Old Doctor denied the guess, and on top of that, his urge to share seemed to have passed; showing zero interest in saying another word, he simply unhooked the bottle and handed it over.

”Go on. The moon tonight is remarkably warm, too.”

Then he delivered that classic line he had used back then to usher his patient out of the clinic.