Chapter 303: You Can Always Trust Green

In the unbearable wait, two days passed.

As expected, a third tremor occurred, but it was noticeably lighter, happening at midnight; some deeply asleep people weren't even awakened.

Kraft temporarily returned to his regular duties; besides this, he didn't know what else he could do.

The patient who underwent the craniotomy finally woke slowly after a full day of deep sleep, his mental state appearing dull and sluggish, requiring prolonged thought to answer questions most people could answer instantly.

His memory had also declined; he could not clearly recall past events mentioned by family members and often forgot things that had just happened, even after being specifically reminded.

In language, he showed signs of comprehension and expression difficulties, unable to understand fast-paced or lengthy sentences, and struggled to construct logically coherent long sentences, frequently stalling mid-speech as if suddenly forgetting how to say a word.

There were many other issues of varying sizes, including lack of concentration, impaired motor function, and disorientation, likely caused by pressure damage from brain herniation, ischemia and hypoxia, and unresolved cerebral edema.

But for the patient's brother, the mere fact that he had awakened was already a miracle, especially since the tube inserted into his skull still dripped fluid and the area unprotected by skull bone subtly rose and fell with pressure changes.

More concerning to Kraft than these was the patient's emerging fever, noticeable even without a thermometer, merely by rough sensation.

So far, only slight redness and swelling were observed at the incision edges, and the silver indwelling catheter showed no obvious purulent drainage.

Of course, even if problems arose, little could be done; they could only give the patient oral teas of elderberry, echinacea, and similar herbs—elderberry, at least, was said to contain some anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds and vitamin C, with a pleasantly sour-sweet, slightly bitter taste, not bad at all.

Dr. Davis was very satisfied with this level of involvement and readily accepted several improvement suggestions.

Given that the current medical system still could not fully break away from herbal medicine, Kraft realized it was necessary to absorb some talent from this field, despite their unsatisfactory performance.

Davis didn't yet know he had been added to the invitation list of the suspicious society.

Besides focusing on critical patients, Kraft also saw several consult cases, adjusting displaced splints and disinfecting and changing wound dressings.

They also brought news from across the city—about gushing groundwater, damaged buildings, and various unverifiable ominous rumors.

But among all this, the one part Kraft most wanted to know was missing—the royal family's movements: whether they were mobilizing personnel or using special methods to quell the unrest underground.

Perhaps the upper echelons' actions were small and secretive enough that he hadn't heard of any mass appearances of armed personnel in the city.

Instead, an unexpected letter arrived on his desk, sealed with blue-mineral pigment, its unique color always reminding one of its origin.

It was a friendly greeting from a high-end jewelry and medical equipment supplier, mentioning satisfactory acceptance of new equipment and interest in collaborating on new medicines, and at the end, seemingly as a courtesy, expressing concern for the safety situation.

Some authors refused to name the specific high-ranking individual who had recently left the city, causing some nobles who hadn't planned to leave to begin wavering—including the Higo family themselves.

They planned to hold a summer hunt, along with equestrian competitions, knightly tournaments, and other social events, all set in a location far from Dunling.

As a cooperative friend, Francis Higo proposed that all professors currently engaged in academic exchange join them, to avoid this period of widespread anxiety.

After all, if the high-ranking person had left, there must be good reason.

Similar invitation letters had already been sent to other professors, implying there was no need to feel embarrassed about fleeing—everyone was just going for socializing.

【Huh?】

After reading the letter, only one interjection echoed repeatedly in Kraft's mind.

If he understood correctly, the party that should have taken action most urgently had chosen to run far away.

Reality might truly be the worst scenario he could imagine—the best way to escape deep influence was to cut off and discard the affected parts entirely.

He should have realized this when he left—it was clear the soil sealing the secret passage beneath the coffin had hardened to the point where several men couldn't push it open, and the heretics had been active below for so long without being discovered; clearly, they had prepared to permanently bury their past.

And the cost was the loss of information; the current royal family was nothing like the one that once wielded the "Sword in the Stone," knowing only that the matter was dangerous and uncontrollable, with no response plan.

Although the royal family back then probably had no plan either.

Now, all that remained was to rely on the Jiaotangji Sect; even if they had no response plan, they should at least send people to investigate the known information.

But since that day when he parted from Brother Wading, he had seen only one church member—someone who came for emergency rescue after the incident at the Cathedral of the Mother, offering thanks on behalf of the Jiaotangji Sect.

Though Kraft didn't care much, they hadn't provided any financial support, only gifting a small object that looked somewhat cheap.

A standard double-winged protective amulet, carved from a translucent milky silicate stone, with an inscription on the back reading "Protected by the Devout Father," and a signature of a name he'd never seen.

Its only redeeming quality was its smooth, pleasant texture, like opal or nephrite.

He hadn't dared to slip it into his pocket in front of them, so he held it for a moment before putting it away—something to keep as a memento.

Such days passed for another two or three days; the critical patient, after a transient fever and worsening consciousness, barely stabilized, seemingly having survived the local infection through immunity.

Just as Kraft was about to give in and seek out Brother Wading, an unexpected visitor pushed open the clinic door.

He wasted no words, stating his purpose bluntly:

"I'm looking for Professor Kraft. Urgent matter."

A trainee, accustomed to emergencies, promptly led him to the doctor, interrupting his lunch.

"Why are you here?"

Seeing the man before him, Kraft rubbed his eyes, nearly doubting he was hallucinating—the confusion equal to seeing the patient who had just been taken off ICU monitoring ordering a spicy hotpot at a late-night diner.

The man shot the trainee a sharp glance, sending him out, then shut the door: "We convinced them—at least, some of them."

"What do you mean 'we' and 'them'?" Kraft couldn't comprehend; he'd even believe the man standing before him was a twin brother. "Aren't you supposed to be recovering in that monastery?"

"Brother Sandor is gone—he was being held in a room on the upper floor of the monastery." Green unfolded everything that had happened these past days himself. "With the monastery's control over its gates, he shouldn't have escaped."

"I used the thing you gave me in his room—it glowed."

"Rather than vanish without a trace, it's better to do something. I returned the next day—and the facts proved who was right: ignoring what's beneath our feet only makes things worse."

"We should have cut off all abnormal activity at the earliest possible moment, at any cost, instead of hesitating due to losses and letting it escalate to this point."

He paused, took a breath, and continued: "The Inquisitor-General supports me. He persuaded some of the Bufenzhu Sect to let us do real work while others are busy making 'insurance' moves—transferring scriptures and treasures."

"We now need a reliable professional to accompany us. I hope you haven't changed your mind."

"Of course not."