Chapter 365: Pre-Operation

"To be honest, I still don't understand the purpose behind this structural variation." Kraft held a wooden stake, complaining incessantly.

There was no one else here, only Kup, also preparing for surgery, threading a needle through a sheep's head, familiarizing himself with the feel of scalp suturing.

He wisely made no comment, nor did he have time to comment.

Suturing was indeed part of the curriculum, but until leaving Dunling, his practice progress had remained stuck on overnight pigskin. The Priyer Lordship had not provided opportunities for practice either; maintaining his feel was already an achievement.

The weather is unpredictable; no one could have foreseen encountering a situation even Kraft couldn't handle alone so quickly, forcing the only two people who still knew some basics to be thrust into the role.

Understanding the part one is responsible for is one thing; the psychological pressure is another.

By tomorrow, the sheep head in hand could be replaced by Dominic's head, and the lead surgeon might not even have the capacity to provide cover for himself. Anyone in his shoes would lose a whole night's sleep.

"Don't be stressed. I think you're stitching quite well. Just make it a bit more even, and there won't be any mishaps tomorrow."

A sharp, dangerous sensation, fleeting yet hidden like a needle in cotton, flashed by, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

Kup watched the axe raised high. After a few practice swings, it came down cleanly, splitting the wooden stake in two. On the cross-section, an etched cavity was visible, as if carved out of thin air by an extremely sharp blade.

"I'm the one who should be nervous." Kraft held the two halves of the stake, measuring the size and angle of the cavity. He then added two more axe chops, turning it into several small wood chips, and casually tossed them into the fireplace.

The stove, fed with excessive fuel, heated Kup's cheeks until they burned. He had lost count of how many stakes this was, yet the precision clearly still did not meet expectations.

"No good, I cut half a ring of wood grain too much." Kraft leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath as if to calm some unbearable discomfort, which made him look even more worrying.

An abnormal state in the lead surgeon was bad news for both the patient and the assistant.

"Is this a bit risky?" Kup finished the last stitch, tightened the suture thread, and secured it with a double knot. "You don't seem to have tried using 'this kind of thing' directly in surgery before."

As an assistant, he knew well that special means had certainly been used to intervene and guide some past surgeries, but this was the first time such overt use of unnatural power had been involved.

As the saying goes, once the devil sticks his foot in the door, he will settle in the soul.

The critical significance of some things lies not in their inherent right or wrong, but in setting a precedent, becoming an ominous sign.

"Necessity knows no law. Do you remember the hypnotic substance dumped into the well at Venden Port?"

"How could I not remember? That thing almost took my life."

"Back then, we even diluted the raw liquid to use as surgical anesthesia." Kraft picked up a new wooden stake and closed his eyes again.

Kup felt a bit short of breath, unsure if it was an illusion caused by the room being filled with something formless and intangible, or the shock of suddenly learning the truth behind the earliest anesthesia methods.

Perhaps he had never truly left that world; from Venden Port to the South, from beginning to end, the gaze from the other side had been like a shadow following him.

"You know, if the raw liquid hadn't been dumped into the well to demonstrate the consequences of large-scale influence, we would probably still be considering using it to replace ether inhalation anesthesia for some high-difficulty surgeries, given how perfect the effect truly is."

"If we control the number of surgeries and the density of the population within the area, the theoretical probability of problems arising is very low."

"This time is much the same. We are merely using this cutting method as a temporary emergency measure. Naturally, it will be replaced as experience and technical conditions mature, though it will be difficult to achieve a similar effect."

As Kraft spoke, he stood up again to split the wood, making satisfied clicking sounds. It seemed this time the positioning was accurate; practice makes perfect.

"Of course, your concerns are very reasonable. Using unnatural power is like lighting a fire in a forest at night; after accumulating quantity and frequency, it will inevitably attract something with some probability."

"But the specific result depends on whether the one holding the fire is a child unarmed or a knight fully armored. If it's the latter, ordinary jackals and wild beasts are of course no matter."

"We are no longer powerless children. Unfortunately, what wanders in this forest is not just jackals. If only we had an army."

"But an army makes even more noise." No one knew the fear of facing ignorant darkness better than Kup, let alone becoming the focal point within that darkness.

He had never supported actively using power from that side, yet every exception Kraft made always had sufficient reasons. He could not refute a master with his own irrational fear.

"May you succeed."

"May we succeed." Kraft nodded. "Don't throw away the stitched sheep head. It can't be eaten, but save it to boil into a skin jelly for the culture medium."

His hands, trembling slightly, showed he was not as relaxed as he looked. Even with such mild use of "magic," the burden was not simple.

"Come on, recite tomorrow's procedure one last time."

Kup took a deep breath. "Start preparations before morning prayer. I will lead people to clean the operating room again, converted from the scripture-copying room on the second floor of the southeast corner. The patient enters, fasting time is confirmed, and inhalation anesthesia begins."

"By the time morning prayer ends, anesthesia will be complete, and I will notify you to enter. We will complete skin disinfection and draping together, paying special attention to covering the patient's eyes. Next, I will be responsible for holding the ether bottle."

"As required, all open-flame lighting is to be avoided for the light source; only silver mirror reflection will be used. The base is already fixed, far from the operating table. Yvon is adapting to the operation; that thing is a bit heavy, but for her, it is nothing."

He paused, realized the sheep head was still in his hand, set it aside, and continued reciting the content he knew by heart: "You will cut open the forehead skin and skull. During the process, Mr. Benny is permitted to observe from a distance. I hope our success will give him confidence."

"Then continue the deep operation. I will be responsible for observing the patient's condition and supplementing anesthesia as needed. Before using special means to observe and cut, you will remind me separately to prepare."

"Very good, continue." Kraft moved his chair away from the fire. Perhaps the temperature was too high; sweat seemed to be trickling down his back.

"Timing starts once entering the cranial cavity. The hourglass flipping twice reminds that half the time has passed; flipping four times reminds that it should end as soon as possible. If you find my state is abnormal, you may point it out in time. Otherwise, try not to make a sound."

"If everything goes smoothly, you will definitely finish before breakfast time. At that point, I will disinfect my hands again and take over the suturing work."

"Throughout the entire surgery, Mr. Benny is permitted to observe from a distance. I hope your success will give him the confidence to sign the surgical consent form for his own child."

"Completely correct." Kraft sighed with slight relief, then posed a sharp question. "If I make a mistake midway, or even faint abnormally, how will you handle it?"

"Then I should control the scene cleanup, suture directly to maintain aesthetics, inform others that the patient has been summoned by the Lord, attend to the emotions of Field and Benny, just like talking to family members after a treatment failure in the past. Afterwards, prepare for confession, last rites, and burial matters."

"Correct." Kraft squeezed out the last word, collapsing into the chair, making the aged mortise-and-tenon fasteners creak under the weight.

He muttered something between his somewhat pale lips, looking like the low prayers of those monks.

Kup removed the sutures from the sheep head, threw it into the pot boiling on the fire, and quietly closed the door to leave.

Before stepping out, he saw Kraft raise his hand, holding an invisible sharp blade, and bring it down onto the fictional skin.

(End of this chapter)