Chapter 23: A Letter with Elegant Handwriting

A letter with elegant handwriting

To Professor Kraft:

Please forgive my sudden departure. By the time you read this letter, I will already be aboard a fast ship bound for Dunling.

This is not because I have developed new hopes for that lifeless land ruled by authority and the Church, but because my long-uncontacted mentor sent me his latest research and invited me to Dunling to offer whatever help I could, specifically mentioning he had no sufficiently trustworthy people around him.

To be honest, my responsibilities made me want to refuse this invitation—I am not the kind to neglect public duty for personal gain; there is too much to handle at the Wen Deng Harbor Medical Academy. But this time is different—it is for a greater future.

Though I can fully trust his academic integrity, the progress described in this research still left me stunned, convinced I was dreaming, unable to believe I could witness such a moment in my lifetime.

You must still remember Edward, the man who signed his name on the cervical vertebrae in “Human Anatomy,” who has already confirmed three of the four humors in traditional theory, breathing new life into the centuries-old “Humoral Theory” through bold modern verification.

In this groundbreaking work, the author left unfinished a gap that remained unaddressed for decades—the black humor. This mysterious fluid, symbolizing stillness and end, had never been truly found, and was even regarded as metaphorical, an embodiment of inhibition.

This argument, now treated as a new classic, was accepted as unshakable truth, chanted for decades by those incapable of critical thought as proof that modern medicine had surpassed its predecessors.

How absurd—something born to shatter tradition has become a new tradition. That cervical vertebra, seemingly smiling, may well be mocking such foolishness: turning an unproven guess into an idol, using the academy as its temple.

Now, we will honor our predecessors in our own way—by thoroughly overturning the errors in his theory. Of course, with empirical evidence.

Here, allow me to introduce my mentor, Professor Mo Lisen, in a less formal manner—he is also the leader of the Dunling University Medical Academy.

Thanks to over a decade of progress in glassmaking, increasingly precise glass instruments have made experimental observation easier, and in his recent experiments, my mentor accidentally discovered an inexplicable phenomenon. As a meticulous and rigorous man, my mentor would never overlook such an anomalous event by dismissing it as a “mistake.”

Due to length constraints and other considerations, the specific process cannot be described in the letter sent to you. In short, after a series of complex procedures, a minute quantity of black liquid was extracted from the human body.

In subsequent experiments, this liquid exhibited extraordinary properties, becoming even more pronounced after further purification.

I suspect you have already guessed what I am about to say—it is the inhibitory property we have long sought.

In every respect, it demonstrates an inhibitory effect that drives living things toward stillness, requiring only minuscule amounts to achieve it. I have already conducted some tests using the samples my teacher sent; the detailed results are recorded and stored alongside the samples, entrusted to Lu Xiusi for safekeeping—he is my most trustworthy and most gifted student here, qualified to know all of this.

If all goes as planned, these two items and this letter will be delivered to you by Lu Xiusi; you may discuss all matters related to this with him, but absolutely must not reveal them to anyone else. Experiments must be conducted in secrecy—Lu Xiusi will tell you where my private laboratory is.

Before I return, you may use my laboratory to conduct more detailed and comprehensive tests on this black liquid from your own perspective.

As fellow scholars, you must understand the urgency of one who pursues knowledge. I simply cannot bear such a tremendous temptation.

The magnificent palace of medicine is nearly complete, with only the final corner left for us to fill—the physical confirmation of the four humors is within reach!

If my mentor is correct, I should be able to help him accomplish this feat within three months, returning to Wen Deng Harbor with a new treatise to share with you. May we together admire the newest, most beautiful treasure in the treasury of knowledge.

Additionally, I have an empty house near the academy, suitable for long-term residence. The key is enclosed with this letter—feel free to use it if needed.

Signed: Karlman