Chapter 116: Plague Doctor (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!!!)

He went out, shuttling between various shops, spent an afternoon, and finally bought all the needed materials.

Lei Keton converted a bedroom on the second floor into a storage room, now filled with the purchased materials.

"Tu Ba Ge, come over and help me make some special clay."

Lei Keton called the Tu Ba Ge, who was lying on the sofa munching fruit, over to help; a cultivator's path is well suited for this kind of manual work.

Lei Keton took out a feather pen and parchment, and wrote on it a story—or rather a description of a monster:

Plague Doctor: Ka La Xius. They wear a beak-shaped mask, wield a cane or a bell, drape a jet‑black robe, and wander the night like a terrifying grim reaper.

The feather pen, dipped in ink made from ritual ingredients, inscribed the legend of the beak doctor on the parchment, then drew a picture of the beak mask.

Lei Keton himself didn't know whether the legend was true, but since it wasn't for any mysterious summoning, truth or falsehood didn't matter.

With the clay Tu Ba Ge had made, he shaped the outline of a Plague Doctor, carved its details with a knife, painted it, and finally etched a circle representing a spirit‑world sorcerer and his own symbol onto the base.

"It's that simple—a lifelike Plague Doctor figurine is done," Lei Keton said, holding the finished piece and admiring it in the sunlight.

Beside him, Tu Ba Ge watched the failed pieces piled to tabletop height and silently shook his rabbit head.

Lei Keton randomly combined a physician's extraordinary traits with some ingredients, brewing a failed elixir, and drizzled it onto the finished Plague Doctor figurine.

Beneath the still‑rough beak mask of the figurine, a pair of crimson eyes seemed to emerge.

Tu Ba Ge, looking at the Plague Doctor figurine, felt an uneasy sensation grow inside, instinctively stepped back two paces, and whispered:

"Boss, I feel this thing is so evil! There's a very unsettling feeling."

"It's alive, but not fully; some spirits are budding!"

Wu Ya Anu was also drawn by the commotion, watching the Plague Doctor figurine in Lei Keton's hand with caution.

Lei Keton looked at the crow with surprise, not expecting it could discern something different about the figurine.

Thinking that the crow, as an extraordinary being of the Death God path, might see what he could not, he asked curiously:

"What else can you perceive?"

The crow shook its head, its tone hesitant, and said:

"I can only feel that it is very evil, yet also very sacred."

"Hmm."

Lei Keton nodded and said no more.

That blend of evil and sacredness matched his own understanding of the Plague Doctor; perhaps his perception nudged it toward this direction.

With the figurine completed, Lei Keton quickly prepared the ritual ingredients, set the candles, and drew a mysterious sigil symbolizing the Hidden Sage on the floor, placing the parchment with the Plague Doctor story and the figurine upon it.

He dripped essential oil and hydrosol onto the lit candles, causing the flames to flicker wildly. Lei Keton stepped back, scattered herbal powder around, then retreated a step and began chanting:

"Sage who perceives the world, eye that probes truth, embodiment of endless knowledge and spirit numbers!"

"I pray to you, seeking the power of knowledge."

"I ask that you grant tangible power to abstract knowledge."

As the prayer finished, the room's light dimmed, and Lei Keton could clearly feel the link between the spirit realm and the mortal world strengthening.

Tu Ba Ge and Wu Ya Anu had retreated to a corner, watching the surroundings warily.

A whooshing wind roared through the room, the candles taking on a hazy violet glow, wavering.

Lei Keton lifted the ritual dagger, cut a wound on his palm, and let the blood drip onto the parchment and figurine on the floor.

A pair of eyes, cold and detached, without lashes, filled with countless brilliant stars, appeared in the flickering candlelight.

Immediately, the parchment and the Plague Doctor figurine on the floor began to disintegrate into streams of information, coalescing into an illusory sphere of light.

More information merged into the sphere until it was tinged with a hazy bronze glow, then it ceased.

The illusory sphere contracted, reformed, and emerged as an even more realistic Plague Doctor figurine.

"Spread its story, and one can draw power, gradually revitalizing it."

A fragment of information entered Lei Keton's mind; the surrounding anomalies faded, leaving only the scattered charred herbal powder and the lifelike figurine on the floor, confirming what had just occurred.

Lei Keton knew his experiment had succeeded, for he had received feedback and the secret‑master elixir inside him had digested a portion.

He bent down, picked up the Plague Doctor figurine, and the instant his hands touched it, a cold, heavy, deathly silence flooded his mind.

Holding the figurine, Lei Keton stared at it for a while, feeling as if it were gazing back at him.

"It possesses a certain living trait."

He whispered a line, then returned to the armchair by his desk, using a dream‑divination to determine the figurine's effects and abilities:

Plague Doctor: Ka La Xius

It possesses medical arts beyond reality, delights in following the steps of plague and disease, gladly heals every patient it sees, yet its cures are accompanied by severe side effects, granting it the ability to cure grievous ailments and stitch souls.

By infusing spirit, the figurine can be briefly animated to summon a Plague Doctor, though it will not obey commands absolutely; it has its own likes, dislikes, and judgment.

"Some use, but not much!"

"A perfectly good healing ability, yet it mutated into this form; who would believe it's a manifestation of a physician's extraordinary power? Moreover, it has its own preferences and judgment, which could become an unstable factor in battle."

After obtaining the detailed information on the Plague Doctor, Lei Keton muttered a couple of thoughtful lines, speechless.

Regarding this creation, Lei Keton was not entirely satisfied:

"If it had the traits of a Pain Witch, or the main ingredients of the elixir, the Plague Doctor could be further refined; it would match plague and virus better!"

Nevertheless, the Plague Doctor's success shows the concept is viable, and the current version is still a half‑product; according to Lei Keton's design, it still lacks plague‑ and virus‑related abilities.

"With enough materials, I could raise an entire army in the future!"

Lei Keton imagined waving his hand and seeing swarms of Plague Doctors scattering out from behind him.

He planned to find time to test the Plague Doctor's abilities with the East District gang, and to replenish some funds.

At night, a light drizzle fell; on the streets of Bei Ke Lan De East District, vagrants huddled under eaves or bridge arches for shelter and warmth.

Under the dim streetlights, Lei Keton walked with a jet‑black umbrella; it was as if a veil of night cloaked him, and the faint traces on his body were mysteriously concealed by the gloom.

Indeed, unless one focused attention, passersby would subconsciously overlook Lei Keton as he walked the street.

This is one of the many spells mastered by wizards; after reaching Sequence Five, Leikton gained a higher-level understanding and application of spell abilities.

Using the corresponding materials and incantation, Leikton solidified this trace‑hiding spell onto the black umbrella; although its duration wasn't long, it was sufficient for use.

Leikton arrived familiarly at an underground casino controlled by a gang, encountering no obstruction, because the unprofessional guards were busy boasting and chatting among themselves and failed to notice an inconspicuous figure slipping by.

"Big! Big!"

"Damn it! You should have listened to me!"

"Hurry up, next round! Next round!"

Compared to the quiet outside, the casino inside was lively. Leikton skillfully took out a gold coin to exchange for chips, then, by cheating with divination, wandered among the many gambling tables.

After making sure he had been noticed, Leikton returned to the casino counter, exchanged his chips for cash. His total takings amounted to 73 pounds, 18 shillings, and 5 pence.

Leaving 8 shillings and 5 pence as a tip for the counter staff, Leikton flicked his wallet, bulging with banknotes, twice, and walked out of the casino amid greedy or envious glances.

After the rain outside had stopped at some point, Leikton walked a distance and then opened his black umbrella again.

Under the dim glow of the streetlamps, he walked forward slowly.

Thud thud thud~

Behind him came hurried footsteps and heavy breathing.

Ahead lay a shadowed area where the streetlights on either side could not reach; the instant Leikton stepped into the shadows, he sidestepped forward, twisted his body, and flung the umbrella he was holding straight at the head of the person behind him.

Smack!

The umbrella struck his face hard, the opened umbrella blocking his view.

After he flung the bothersome umbrella aside, standing before him was a terrifying figure wearing a bird‑beak mask, holding a cane, and draped in a black robe.

The Plague Doctor merely stood there; the originally fierce and vicious gambler, ready to rob with a knife, instantly panicked, trembling as he raised a fruit knife and stumbled backward.

"Don't come over!"

"I, I have a knife! I'm not afraid of you."

"You're sick! Don't be afraid! I'll cure you!"

The Plague Doctor walked forward two steps with his cane, a bell hanging from it that rang crisply with his movements.

Leikton discovered a spot that his earlier divination had missed; the Plague Doctor's bell seemed to have an effect that provoked inner fear.

It wasn't an extraordinary ability; it was more like a psychological inducement.

As the creator and user of the Plague Doctor, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:

"This really feels a bit perverse; is it because I wrote the Plague Doctor's image too perversely in my story!"

(End of chapter)