Chapter 189: Power

In the spiritual realm, the disintegrating spirit body turned into something with the texture of fine sand or liquid, uncontainable, emitting a shrill scream of void that erupted and splashed, forming a dull ripple that swept around the furnace.

Even without spiritual senses, the others present, including the Duke who had just emerged from his convulsions, felt they heard a strange sound, as if some thread-like, amorphous thing crawled out of the carbonized, brittle tubing, struggled briefly, and then burned away completely.

Wherever that ripple passed, the mold spots long dormant on the wooden furnishings regained life, seeping in like water drops on paper, swelling and puffing up into foam-like clusters of fungal bubbles while sucking moisture and organic matter from their surroundings.

Leftover food grew dense fur; mushroom caps spread open in cups and plates, blooming with decayed, bewildering colored spots. Even the most steadfast guards felt an uncontrollable panic and fled in terror.

Kraft sensed its range and shifted slightly; the rotting, decaying ripple stopped half a step behind him, its momentum spent.

"The treatment has temporarily concluded, Your Grace." He pulled out the needle and pressed the puncture site with cotton gauze. "Next, I suggest you lie down and rest until at least noon, avoiding any major movements."

"Stop staring at that over there. Help move the bed to another location, give this place a thorough cleaning, and preferably scorch it with fire."

He was glad the thing hadn't been removed from the mouth. The Duke might not mind for long, but given his current state, it was already quite dire; for the first time, he wore a complex expression dominated by disgust and repulsion, indescribable in nature.

After the guards, having come to their senses, moved him elsewhere and he rested for a while, the Duke gradually recovered from the lack of oxygen and the mental shock. He took the cup of water handed to him, drank a mouthful, and suppressed the slight pain and acid reflux in his throat.

"There are also some dietary changes that are necessary." Kraft spread out the written medical instructions and pressed them onto the small table beside the bed, fearing the patient might not look, and personally instructed, "I recommend removing mushrooms from the menu indefinitely; at the very least, they must be thoroughly cooked before consumption."

"I think I won't touch them for a very long time."

"Not 'a very long time,' but never. I am not sure if such things still wander in Westmin; to them, you are practically a vacation resort."

"Alright, then is roasted acceptable?"

"It is best if no single mushroom comes near you within this year." Quickly scanning all cooking methods and considering the Duke's previous behavioral patterns, Kraft decided to be absolute in his wording. "Furthermore, I wish to make a request of you regarding this matter."

"Oh? That is rare. Please speak; I did not achieve everything I have today through stinginess."

"Ahem." Kraft cleared his throat and adjusted his sitting posture.

"I must frankly state that, as a doctor, I have not encountered diseases with special manifestations for the first time. They often present as one or several symptoms that resemble other diseases yet possess distinct differences."

"From your account, you have also witnessed special phenomena in environments where every means was exhausted, phenomena that cannot be explained by current knowledge."

"It is not difficult to reach a consensus conclusion: beyond the normal states seen in daily life, there exist some exceptional cases. Beneath their seemingly completely different appearances lies some unified law, but due to their extremely low frequency and the rarity of preserved evidence, they cannot be summarized."

"Some scholars have given them a name opposite to the normal state: 'Anomalies.' Currently, such things have never been formally acknowledged by mainstream views, especially in emerging disciplines. The Church, however, is willing to offer a few vague, non-explanatory explanations, which can be seen as a tacit acknowledgment of their existence from the side."

"Hmm." The Duke let out a noncommittal grunt from his nose, waiting for him to continue.

"It is undeniable that if we define anything that destroys physiological functions or social behavioral capabilities as a disease, they are a type of disease with very high susceptibility and lethality; once they occur, they can cause regional, group-wide impacts."

"Although from the perspective of the entire kingdom, they are self-limiting, often confined to a very small area, and perish along with the death of the victims. But judging by single events, the impact caused is still extremely severe."

"I can roughly guess what you want to say, Doctor Kraft." The Duke pressed the puncture site and shifted to a semi-reclined position.

"I recall reminding you that those who actively contact these things have never seen a good end; those hoping to achieve their goals through them have never succeeded, at least in my decades of experience."

His old but sharp eyes met Kraft's, but without any intention of applying further pressure, they soon half-closed, appearing unwilling to discuss the matter further.

"You are a smart man with talent, of not low birth, strong and full of time; sooner or later, you will bring glory to your family. If needed, Westmin Castle and Rivers will not hesitate to provide a little 'small' help."

Anomalies are uncertain and extremely dangerous things; once one gets involved, a slight carelessness—or rather, inevitably one day—one will bring fire upon oneself. For someone with a future, this is the most unwise choice.

"For the individual, the diseases caused by anomalies bring immense suffering to the patient; even if not fatal, they cause loss of labor capacity, which for many people is basically equivalent to death."

"For a larger scope, in cases where anomaly events occur repeatedly and organized exploitation emerges, from a possibility standpoint, we cannot guarantee that one day an anomaly will not appear that spreads without limit or carries a cost too great to bear."

This possibility seemed somewhat persuasive; imagining mushrooms spreading across the entire Westmin Castle, the Duke was moved, yet still not fully convinced. "How can you guarantee that what you do will not become that unbearable cost?"

"We do not investigate or exploit it; we merely summarize and classify methods of handling it. As you saw, even if this treatment were entrusted to an experienced surgeon familiar with the human body, it could be completed just the same."

"Even if we do not go further, when I am not here, should you or others have a need, there must be a doctor who understands the pathology to take over the treatment, right?" Kraft brought up the practical necessity, looking at him sincerely; if necessary, he could even write a proposal.

The room fell silent; the Duke kept his eyes half-closed, as if already asleep.

Kraft did not disturb him, sitting patiently by the side. Not giving an immediate reply was a good sign, indicating he was truly considering it again. Even if this attempt failed, stepping back might still yield some support.

After a long while, just as he thought snoring might emerge, the Duke opened his eyes.

"What do you need?"

"A title, a permanent organization under Rivers University. It need not have a fixed location or staff, but when someone comes to verify, there must be a positive confirmation of its existence."

"And a tiny bit of financial support, for disease research including tuberculosis, printing books, and covering the miscellaneous expenses needed for normal operations." Compared to a title with a solid background, economic support could indeed be considered trivial; he believed it would not amount to much for Westmin's finances.

"Viscount Feiernan can handle it; announce it at that... that academic gathering."

As expected, the Duke showed no intention of opposing, automatically ignoring the latter part. Kraft quickly pressed his advantage while the iron was hot, seeing if he could create a little more convenience for future work.

"And, uh, I hope for a little, really just a little... armed forces with permission." His voice grew smaller and smaller.

The Duke's chest heaved significantly. Perhaps the openings made today were enough that this didn't matter, or perhaps he felt that handling such matters required military force; he agreed without much hesitation.

"I will not provide any financial assistance for this; that is the bottom line. Like before, it is only a title."

A minor noble from the north, even if he held a real fief, plus a professor needing funding support, could not possibly achieve anything significant anyway; moreover, Kraft would inherit the armed forces within his territory in any case. In the Duke's consideration, this item was purely incidental.

"I will write a letter to Professor Feiernan. Before that, you can consider what to call it; it is best not to put those things on the surface."

"I have already thought of it." Kraft's face lit up with joy. "The Westmin Tuberculosis and Rare Diseases Medical Society, a public welfare, academic, non-profit legal social organization. We currently have three cooperating industry institutions, including Rivers University, Wenden Port College, and Comfort Port General Surgery Clinic."

"What?"

"The Westmin Tuberculosis and Rare Diseases Medical Society!"

"Ah?" The name was long, but not the longest among the titles the Duke knew, so it was acceptable. "Then what do you plan to do next?"

"In the name of the Society, review all reports from the attendees, including the report by the late Lecturer Petrie from Dunling University."

Having successfully obtained the Duke's approval, Kraft gritted his teeth and stayed with him until noon, confirming that days of treatment would not be ruined by a final moment of carelessness, before returning to his room.

During this academic gathering, due to the traitor Brimmer, the participants were basically transparent to the outside world, but they should have no reason to confirm that surgical means would ultimately become the key to treating the Duke. The materials left by Petrie might help lift a corner of the fog.

Those things, along with the relics, were sealed in the residence within Rivers University, awaiting reception by someone from Dunling or to be packed and sent.

And before departing for Rivers University, he still had to perform one more examination for Yin Feng.

After several days of recuperation, the girl's fall injury on her back had basically healed; she could get out of bed and walk freely, and her spirit was recovering day by day.

However, the attached fungal spirit also showed signs of revival; the wound closed, and the body expanded. Kraft realized the situation had fallen into a strange loop; the time required for the spiritual body to recover was not much different from that of the fungal spirit.

Leaving aside the impact on the spirit, this method could only continue to maintain the balance.

He could do nothing about it for now, so he began with the routine physical examination. When he lifted Yin Feng's left arm, he again felt that subtle change in tension, and this time the range was broader, extending from the upper arm to the forearm and even the wrist.

"Strange, movement doesn't seem affected." Kraft pressed on the left arm and continued testing muscle strength. "Come on, lift it hard, resist my force."

To match Yin Feng's strength, he deliberately controlled his force according to his memory, preparing to match it exactly.

The slender arm lifted, muscles tightening and hardening; a strength utterly inconsistent with its appearance broke free from his control, nearly prying open the stable arm forged by years of sword training.