The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

The two clashed again, blood splattering and shadows flashing wildly.

Several minutes later, Yaheng removed the head made of blood and crushed it in his hand.

Yates' physical form collapsed, his divinity dissipated, and everything settled down.

Chapter Forty: The Banyan Tree of Death

【Calling for the Hooked Finger Medicine (2/3)】

[Quality: Flawless (Creator: Fran Hesser)]

[Effect: Created from a 'fallen leaf flower' imbued with the blessing and longing of a certain 'king,' it can achieve high-level cross-dimensional interaction. It can summon beings willing to respond to you, regardless of your location, for ten minutes.]

[Note: "We, the helpful Faded Ones, each possess extraordinary abilities and unique skills. Our combat techniques and prayers are truly astounding. Origin Magic will offer you even more unexpected surprises!"]

-

This small box of balm with a golden luster is a finished product made by Fran from the "biological raw materials" he obtained during his last cross-disciplinary medical visit.

Although fallen leaves are ubiquitous in the borderlands and almost readily available, the "boundary-crossing effect" prevents Fran from recklessly plundering materials from the borderlands. Furthermore, ordinary fallen leaves cannot be used to construct summoning runes that span the two worlds.

The reason why this raw material was listed as a flawless quality by the system module is naturally because it contains the power and blessing of Ivani.

The main hall of the Foggy Street Clinic.

Fran held a slender, light quill pen and made revisions in the thick, antique diary.

She made seven house calls to collect all of Ivanie's fate threads, resetting the memories after each call. Although all the memories have now returned, such a large amount of information still needs to be recorded and organized in writing to prevent conflicts and confusion.

As a doctor, she places great importance on her mental health.

Meanwhile, Haida was intently deciphering the heavy book in her hands. She had spent most of her vacation days at the Fog Street Clinic.

The funeral attendant's expression was one of almost pious solemnity, as if any omission in the reading would be a waste of precious resources.

"The 'boundary-crossing effect' actually refers to a rule that maintains stability. Specifically, it manifests as 'rejecting what comes and keeping what goes,' resisting external things and pulling away what is detached. It is precisely because of this that I was unable to take that giant sword from the boundary..."

She hesitated for a moment, a barely perceptible hint of regret showing in her gray-chestnut eyes.

Having grown accustomed to the intoxicatingly heavy feel of the greatsword, the wooden-handled folding knife she had previously used felt surprisingly light and difficult to adjust to…

"Actually, there are some advantages to being at the border. For example, when I'm there, I can use the power of runes to assist in healing to some extent. This saves me a lot of trouble... In Norrington, it's almost impossible to directly heal a demigod."

Fran closed his diary, took off his round-framed glasses with the silver-rimmed chain and put them in the box, then turned to Heda.

"How's your reading progress on 'The Blood and Tears of Ascension'?"

"About one-twelfth, even with Dr. Fran's notes... it's hard to go any faster."

Haida nodded slightly, looking somewhat apologetic.

Although she knew the progress was actually fast enough... it was best not to display any undue arrogance in front of this doctor. The code of the Hunter of Secrets dictates cautious humility, a principle she always followed.

“You did very well, don’t belittle yourself. This is the most obscure, profound, and mentally disturbing of the four classic texts on the physical body… even it took me a whole day to finish reading it.” (Ling)

Fran comforted Heda, then followed up on the topic by discussing the earlier "Drinker's Arrival" incident.

"Now do you know why you were able to hurt that 'servant in the cup' back then?"

Haida, drawing upon the knowledge gained from the Book of Skins, began to explain her own understanding. Ryu

"The drinker who first arrived had not yet adapted to the material world. Moreover... he had not completely shed his human nature, and was therefore merely a 'servant,' not a 'god.' Thus, he still possessed human weaknesses, namely, those organs that had not yet been completely emanated."

"That last organ is the 'heart of transformation'."

Fran smiled and nodded, clearly quite satisfied with the answer.

"The heart is the most difficult organ to ascend to a higher level, and it is also the key to maintaining the existence of the servant substances in the cup. It was probably well hidden, but your unusually keen intuition caught the clue."

"After the integrity of his heart was damaged, he could not survive for long, and in the end he had no choice but to self-destruct."

"I see..." (swelling)

Haida finally understood, on a fundamental level, why her opponent had reacted so strongly to her attack; she had clearly prepared herself for a fruitless defeat.

Fran touched his lips and added, "..."

"This is probably also related to the fact that your offensive intensity exceeded his expectations, but this is still in doubt... so let's not discuss it further."

The servant Yates probably thought Heda was just an ordinary funeral maid, and that even though her weapon was etched with the Hunter's Prayer, its power was no more than that of an ordinary person...

But to his surprise, her physical strength was comparable to that of a tyrant; two slashes almost pierced his kidneys.

Fran glanced at his brass pocket watch, confirming it was already afternoon. He immediately rose from the velvet sofa in the main hall to make a pot of tea and prepare some snacks.

[Dear Dr. Fran, the monthly outpatient schedule for July has been triggered. The target group is Norrington citizens infected with the Flesh Disease due to 'Servant of the Cup' Yates; the target number is 10.]

Afternoon tea has been temporarily cancelled.

She put the teapot she had picked up back in its original place.

"Next, we'll be heading to the central city for humanitarian and social welfare medical assistance... Sigh, let's just consider it a way to reduce the workload for the Hunter's Order's logistics personnel."

She opened her first-aid kit and began organizing her medical equipment and pharmaceutical preparations. She even took out her beloved circular saw so as not to frighten ordinary people…

"Are you making a house call, Dr. Fran?"

Heda's gaze toward Fran was somewhat subtle.

She was quite interested in the kind of medical visits that could cross borders, but the time span of the last time the borders were crossed was so long that Haida developed a slight psychological shadow.

"Don't worry, it's just volunteering in Norlington. The 'Drinkers' have had a big impact; some people have been infected with the disease that causes flesh to mutate. I'm just going to take care of them."

After Fran finished speaking, he suddenly looked at Haida and sized up the funeral maid. Then, as if struck by inspiration, he clapped his hands.

"Oh, right, we can do it this way! Just change into the clothes of the Hunter's Order, and we can easily gain the trust of ordinary people, saving us the trouble of using such an unseemly method as hypnosis..."

She immediately went back to her bedroom and retrieved the nun's robe that had belonged to the funeral attendant.

9. Haida remained silent, quietly watching Fran busy in the clinic.

Through their interactions over this period, she discovered that this doctor seemed enthusiastic about posing as a member of the Hunter's Order... and seemed to enjoy it immensely. But come to think of it, she was the one who actually gave away that nun's robe...

"Alright, Haida. Would you like to stay here and read a little longer, or come with me on my rounds?"

Within a few minutes, Fran had changed into her neat, pure black nun's robe.

This hunter's uniform had been meticulously tailored twice, fitting snugly and perfectly, almost as if it were custom-made. At this moment, she wore a warm, professional smile, like a cheerful and young ordinary funeral maid.

"Let's go."

Liu Haida agreed to Fran's request, left a small bookmark in the unfinished book "The Blood of Ascension" in her hand, and then got up.

Her understanding of this book on the skin had reached a bottleneck, and she needed to do something else to relax her tense and tired mind.

Moreover, Fran is now wearing the funeral maid uniform that I gave her, so I have an obligation to watch over her and maintain the image of the Order when necessary... Now I have no choice but to go on house calls with her.

"Why do you look so worried? It's not like you're doing anything wrong. I rarely provide medical services without charging a fee, you know?"

She gave a slightly reproachful, teasing remark, then pushed open the clinic door and casually flipped the wooden sign to the "Temporarily Closed" side.

-

Most of the areas in Norlington's main city where fighting occurred are now sealed off by the city hall. A quick search reveals numerous bullet holes on walls, roads, and even nearby flowerbeds, indicating the ferocity of the battle.

Although the cleaning staff had used detergent to wash and wipe the area no less than five times, a faint, lingering smell of blood could still be detected in the gaps between the various floor tiles.

Fran strolled leisurely along the road outside the lockdown area, seemingly in no hurry to find the patient.

No, she looks like she came out specifically to go shopping...

Heda suddenly realized something was wrong; the road was becoming increasingly familiar... Before she could even process it, the two had already arrived at the emergency entrance of Norlington Central Hospital.

For a fleeting moment, she felt she understood Fran's unusually peculiar thought process.

If you want to find ready-made patients, a hospital is of course the best choice.

The Central Hospital was under the Medical Division of the Hunters Order. With her nun's robes and Haida's identification, Fran entered with almost no difficulty, even using the internal staff entrance...

"The smell of chlorine-containing disinfectant... I really miss it."

Fran sighed briefly, then began searching for patients contaminated with blood and flesh.

The requirement for her house call is to cure ten patients, so she will choose to treat the most severe cases. As for the mild cases... the hospital can handle them on its own.

—!≤⌒&↑÷=｝=∴<#sOOSUo：—

"Mr. Clement, it's time for your medicine."

A light, bell-like female voice came from outside the ward door.

Clement was the leader of the team that went to support the Hunger Club. He was lying in a hospital bed, dazed and visibly weak.

"You took your medicine at noon not long ago, so the second dose should be after dinner, right? It's only early afternoon now... Are you a newly enrolled nun?"

He asked with some confusion, only to see an unfamiliar funeral maid appear before his bedside, toying with the razor blade in her hand, its edge as sharp as a mirror.

"You're still conscious, that's good."

Fran plunged the lancet in his hand straight into his neck, aiming precisely at the artery.

Normally, what follows would be a gruesome and spectacular fountain of blood... but unexpectedly, the incision seemed to have dried up, with the blood flowing slowly and thickly.

"The contamination directly from the Red Cup High Priest must indeed be hidden even deeper."

Her scalpel made a smooth cut around the affected area, eventually carving out a piece of constantly writhing flesh, resembling a crying human face.

"Cough, cough, nun... what's that?"

Clement, his face pale, stared at the howling, writhing mass of flesh and asked Fran a question.

"Don't speak, just wait for me to bandage you. This is the Crimson Cup's second-class superior secret technique, [Cistanche deserticola]. If left unattended, it will devour your internal organs and then grow a new 'Tragic Walker'. Have you had close contact with the ascetic high priest recently?"

Fran began applying medicine to his wound.

"Was it around that time...?"

Clement recalled how he had been ambushed by a hermit using bone spikes, and how he would have likely died on the spot if Sister Heda hadn't come to his rescue.

"Thank you very much, Sister. May I ask your name? I'll thank you properly later."

The wound in his throat made his voice sound like a broken bellows, but the outcast hunter still managed to get through the pain and deliver his thanks in full.

"It's nothing to worry about, colleague. It's what I should do."

Fran returned the greeting politely, then walked out of the ward into the corridor, where he wrote Clement's name under a row of handwriting in the booklet and marked it with a "9".

"Just one more..."

Most of the severely contaminated patients were hunters who went on duty that night, but there were also ordinary people among them.

This funeral maid uniform could easily gain the trust of ordinary people, but it was somewhat difficult to deceive those seasoned hunters with keen senses.

Fran's act of treating Clement was somewhat risky, but she didn't care... The senior executives of the General Affairs Department had actually known about her existence for a long time, but the two sides had maintained a certain degree of tacit understanding.

She paused slightly in front of an intensive care unit, her amber eyes gleaming, having already chosen the last lucky guest.

Haida followed beside her, pulling her hood down to minimize her presence.

The Central Hospital was, after all, an institution affiliated with the Hunter's Order, and Silver Feather Hydra was even receiving an IV drip while seated in the lobby. To avoid unnecessary trouble... it was best for the two to keep a certain distance.

Fran pushed open the door to the intensive care unit, and his aged, slightly irritable voice immediately rang out.

"Who is it? Didn't I tell you not to bother me? Let me have some peace and quiet! Can't you give a dying person some end-of-life care?"

Hei Rong lay on the hospital bed, cursing and shouting angrily.

He looked to be in good health, and his voice was quite strong, a stark contrast to the weak and tired Clement.

The only difference between this guy and a normal, robust old man was... his entire lower body was completely empty. No pelvic bones or flesh were visible at the incision site, only scattered, messy banyan tree branches.

"'S-923' Banyan Tree of Death... How interesting. It's clearly a dangerous relic that steals the perception and life force of others, yet you survived a certain death situation thanks to its side effects. How ironic."

Fran approached Black Banyan's sickbed and immediately put on his smooth, white medical gloves.

"A nun from the medical ward? No, you're wearing the uniform of a 'funeral maid'... Just who are you?"

Black Banyan took the banyan wood mallet from the bedside table and pointed it directly at Fran. Even with only half his body remaining, he showed no fear or panic, maintaining the composure of a funeral director.

"Its vitality was almost exhausted, but because the nature of its flesh and blood had become similar to that of a plant, the approach of death was very slow... The lower body was probably too polluted and has been disposed of in a harmless manner."

Fran ignored the threat posed by the relic in Black Banyan's hands, and did not respond to his question. He simply stroked his chin and began to ponder to himself.

"It's such a pity. I've always wanted to try to reattach limbs from a person in a vegetative state using cuttings and grafting..."

Hearing Fran's seemingly unintentional mutterings, Black Rong's hair stood on end.

To be assassinated in the hospital by an outsider disguised as an assassin—is this my final way to die? But I was already nearing my end, so what's the point? I know… her real purpose was to steal this relic?