Chapter 381: 380
Li Ang wasn’t chopping off the patient’s left leg out of some perverse delight. Nor was it because he was homesick and craving a taste of shrimp fried rice with ham. Since the right leg required tumor removal surgery, it was simply convenient to also help the patient deal with the varicose veins in his left leg.
So, in the eyes of Dr. Carly and the others behind the one-way mirror, Li Ang wielded a scalpel as thin as a willow leaf. He hopped and skipped beside the operating table, his cuts seeming random. He looked less like he was performing surgery and more like he was performing some primitive dance, using a stone knife to carve the lamb placed upon the bonfire.
Blood splattered and screams filled the air. The patient, firmly secured to the operating table, was drenched in sweat. He struggled to sit up, his face filled with horror as he looked at his mangled legs.
After dancing around for a while, Li Ang seemed to feel it was about right. He carelessly stuck the scalpel into the patient’s thigh, then bent down and packed all the supernatural materials surrounding the pattern on the floor into his inventory slot.
Then, Li Ang returned to the operating table. He pressed his hands on the patient’s leg, his eyes turning white as he began to mutter mystical incantations.
John Joyce and the others in the back sang "Hallelujah" three notes higher. As a gentle breeze blew and holy hymns swirled around, everyone clearly saw the patient’s mangled legs gradually stop bleeding and heal rapidly before their very eyes.
Dr. Carly and the other female physicians instinctively moved forward a few steps, pressing their hands excitedly against the one-way mirror. They were completely unaware that beneath Li Ang’s heavy surgical gown, a rectangular Origin of Life of unknown material had quietly appeared, hidden between the gown and his chest.
The tingling pain from the wound was agonizingly intense, but when he got off the operating table, all the suffering was washed away by the joy of his recovery.
Before he could even thank Li Ang, the female physicians rushed into the operating room. Carefully avoiding the pattern on the floor, they began to scrutinize the patient.
The tumor in the patient’s right leg had vanished. His left leg, which had shown signs of varicose veins, had also returned to normal, allowing him to walk and run freely. The only oddity was that the healed areas were devoid of leg hair, feeling unnaturally smooth.
Dr. Carly and the other physicians were thrilled. They eagerly asked Li Ang how he had achieved this, but he merely pretended to be exhausted and waved his hand, indicating he needed to rest.
Once inside the private room, Li Ang chanted another incantation, "summoning" an Automated Pet Box that was painted with various colors and resembled a lotus throne. He sat cross-legged on it, retrieved the supernatural materials from his inventory slot, hid them again beneath his surgical gown, and then transferred them into the Breeding Box.
After completing this process, Li Ang had mostly recovered and was ready for the next surgery.
In half a day, all ten surgeries were completed. All ten patients, each with different complex illnesses, were cured under Li Ang’s Eastern-flavored treatment plan.
Dr. Carly and the other physicians were utterly convinced. Whether they were medical doctors, Advanced Casters, or experts in mysticism, none could find any sign of fraud or trickery. They could only conclude that this might indeed be some magical Eastern power.
And Li Ang took advantage of these surgeries to pack a large amount of supernatural materials into the Breeding Box. This was far more satisfying than the time at Solitary Cold Temple when he had swindled minor demons and fiends.
They were impressed, but according to security regulations, Carly and the others could not allow Li Ang to treat Princess Anna just yet. They had to wait a while longer. This time was needed to further analyze this so-called Eastern Ritual track, to see if they could thoroughly understand its principles and replicate it. Simultaneously, they needed to observe if any of the ten patients would suffer from aftereffects, such as suddenly dying or anything similar.
Li Ang and the others were respectfully escorted back to their room. Although they remained under close surveillance, the attitude of their captors had undoubtedly improved.
Time flew swiftly.
「A day later.」
The players confined in the small room once again heard the sound of the door handle being turned from the outside.
The person who entered was Dr. Carly. This time, she looked grim and anxious. Standing at the doorway, she waved her hand, signaling the uniformed Spellcasters behind her to enter the room and escort Li Ang and the others out.
John Joyce and his companions felt uneasy, their minds filled with chaotic thoughts. Had a ruthless Eastern Monk truly come to the Rune Kingdom and exposed Li Ang’s ruse? Or perhaps, during one of the surgeries, Li Ang had accidentally left a scalpel inside a patient’s abdomen, leading to their sudden, unexpected death?
"All this panic. What a disgrace," Li Ang chided his disciples, then asked Dr. Carly without changing his expression, "What has happened?"
Carly, walking at the head of the group, kept her face tense and did not reply. Only after everyone had rounded the corner of the corridor and arrived in front of a secluded room upstairs did she whisper, "Go in."
Is this the surgery for Princess Anna? Why the sudden rush? Li Ang frowned. The last time he saw Anna, her condition had been stable. If she continued to take the Magic Potion, she could likely hold on for at least another three or four years, even without their intervention.
Dr. Carly did not respond. She opened the door and led Li Ang and the others inside.
The room still contained the same sickbed they had seen before, but Princess Anna, lying on it, appeared even more haggard.
Her eyes were tightly shut. Her once dark brown hair had turned somewhat gray, withered and split at the ends. Her lips were cyanotic, and a visible layer of pale frost coated her eyelashes and nails. The tips of her fingers were a stark, deep black.
Frostbite! The thought flashed through the players’ minds. Almost all of them immediately thought of the Snow Queen, who lived in seclusion within the palace.
Smoker blurted out, "Is this—"
"Don’t ask what you shouldn’t," Li Ang cut Smoker off abruptly. He saw Carly nod in approval before she walked straight to the sickbed and bent over.
Princess Anna barely opened her eyes. She whispered a few instructions to Carly before closing her eyes again, saying nothing more.
Carly straightened up. As Princess Anna’s personal secretary, attending physician, and childhood friend, she naturally shouldered all responsibilities during this period of the princess’s severe illness. Carly’s connection to the princess was deep: she was the daughter of a physician from the Kingdom of Elendale and had become Anna’s childhood playmate—and one of her most trusted confidantes—after Princess Elsa grew reclusive.
"Masters," Carly said, turning to Li Ang and the others, her voice grave. "Please prepare for the surgery immediately."