From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

"No...no...I already had it this afternoon! This is terrible!"

Edmund's weak words did not stop the short, thin nun from raising the syringe.

"Lies breed evil, child. This afternoon is free time; no nun will give you an injection."

Although the attempt failed, Edmund was not saddened but rather pleased.

The fact that the other party is willing to communicate with him is tens of thousands of times better than those cult members.

"Wait, I remembered wrong! It was after the last fight..."

His mind raced, fragments of Ryan's memories flashing through his head.

After the needle pierced my skin, I became disoriented. When I woke up, I had a splitting headache, as if my entire skull had been hit by a heavy hammer...

"After the last injection, I woke up with a splitting headache!" Edmund said urgently. "It really hurt so much."

He let his voice choke up, which was somewhat genuine—it contained a deep sense of exhaustion and discomfort that came with taking over Ryan's body.

"Please... can you please not fight today? I promise I'll keep quiet and won't cause any trouble..."

The short, thin nun put down the syringe and looked at the tall, plump nun.

"Sister, it seems the Ningxi Oil has damaged his memory, could it be...?"

"Have you forgotten what the nun specifically instructed you to do?" The tall, plump nun seemed a little impatient.

"These past few nights, patients have been easily affected by evil influences. Everyone must remain calm. The nifedipine oil will help them get through this."

These past few nights? Have I been influenced by evil?

Edmund caught this detail; he recalled the hint he had seen earlier:

The "Song of Pearl" will resound from the underwater city on the day the stars shift, granting listeners many divine gifts, but also at a price...

I just finished yelling, how can I prove I wasn't affected? There's no way to prove it! I need to change my approach…

"Whatever, let's just end this."

Suddenly, Edmund leaned back on the pillow, seemingly having completely lost his fear and resistance.

"After this injection, I might not see the sun rise tomorrow morning. My last wish is to have me placed on the deck for half an hour before my sea burial, and also to tell my parents that I love them."

The short, thin nun lowered the syringe she had raised once more, and even the tall, plump nun's expression relaxed slightly.

There is a play!

Just as Edmund was about to strike while the iron was hot, the voice of that fanatical preacher rang out again amidst the howling of ghosts and wolves.

"The seas recede! The holy city rises! Krasin Turu reappears in the world!"

As he shouted, the lights on the ceiling began to flicker violently, and the environment inside the cabin suddenly became incredibly eerie.

The two nuns turned to look at the source of the sound almost simultaneously.

"It's starting again," the tall, plump nun said in a low voice.

The short, thin nun put the original syringe back into the box and took out another one—this one had an indigo liquid.

Bound to the iron beds, the patients began to echo the fanatics' calls, and a bizarre feeling crashed against the eardrums and minds of all rational people like waves.

Edmund lay on the iron bed, trying his best to remain rational while observing everything.

The two nuns quickly switched their methods of dealing with him to someone else.

The tall, stout nun easily subdued the patient who was still shouting "Klasin Turu" with astonishing strength, while the short, thin nun quickly inserted a needle into his arm.

The syringe emptied, and the fanatics' voices quickly subsided.

What disturbed Edmund was that, under the restored normal lighting, the patient's exposed blood vessels began to take on an unnatural pale blue hue.

But after treating this one patient, the situation inside the ward did not improve.

On the contrary, the other patients seemed to have been stimulated and began to become agitated.

Those "passengers" who were originally just going crazy in their own worlds are now seemingly connected by invisible threads, playing a chaotic symphony together.

"May the Holy Mother protect us." The tall, stout nun frowned, looking around. "Tonight's chaos is even greater than we anticipated."

Just as the two nuns seemed somewhat at a loss, a strong female voice suddenly came from the cabin door.

"quiet!"

The sound had a peculiar penetrating power, instantly drowning out all the noise inside the cabin.

Its owner followed, an elderly nun in a dark blue habit, followed by three young nuns.

The old nun began to slowly patrol the aisle between the two rows of iron beds, carrying a brass incense burner in her hand, from which wisps of smoke drifted.

As she passed each bed, she gently shook the incense burner in her hand, letting the strange smoke drift toward the patient on the bed.

Surprisingly, as the smoke came into contact with the patients, their mania subsided, replaced by a blank calm.

When she reached Edmund's side, the matron glanced at this otherwise calm oddball.

Edmund, however, saw much more.

Sister Maria

[A 63-year-old hermit who has reached the first tier through the "Path of the Hermit," belonging to the Silent Mother's Order, responsible for emergency escort missions on low-risk routes during the dangerous period of "The Return of the Stars."]

She possessed mastery of four low-level secret rituals: "Tranquility," "Silence," "Soul Soothing," and "Closed Eyes," and brought many rare items with her for this mission, including the "Silence Incense" she had just used.

"Silent Incense," a special incense made by the Order of Our Lady of Silence. It has calming and soothing effects, dispels low-level abnormal influences, and has a calming effect on spirits.

[Can exempt some dispel effects.]

Only after the nun had calmed all the patients in the cabin did the two nuns standing to the side step forward and bow to her with respect.

"Granny."

The old woman stopped and asked, "How did things go tonight?"

The tall, plump nun answered first: "It's worse than we expected, Mother. An abnormal reaction occurred on the 17th, and we were preparing to administer sedative oil, but the outbreak on the 5th triggered a chain reaction."

The old woman's gray eyes turned toward Edmund's direction.

Edmund was startled and quickly made sure his expression remained blank and weak, ready to meet the seemingly penetrating scrutiny.

The old woman's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before she quickly looked away, seemingly not noticing anything unusual.

"Everyone must remain calm tonight. Increase patrol frequency, and administer a standard dose of nifedipine oil every two hours to those with severe symptoms. For those already showing obvious symptoms..."

She looked at the fanatic whose face had turned blue: "Use the special version, but be careful with the dosage. We don't want anyone to die in their sleep from an overdose."

"Yes, Mother," the two nuns replied in unison.

"In addition, the protection of the upper deck needs to be strengthened," the nun added. "I have arranged for additional icons to be placed at the bow and stern, but you still need to remain vigilant during your inspections."

"Remember, this ship is not carrying ordinary patients. We not only take care of their bodies, but also protect their souls from being dragged into the abyss."

After giving the instructions to the nun, the nun went to Edmund's bedside and looked down at him.

Edmund forced himself to meet those grey eyes, whose deep sockets, under the light, resembled two deep pools of water, calm yet unfathomable.

The old woman suddenly spoke up: "Young man, what are you afraid of?"

[Currently undergoing psychic probing...exempted!]