The House of the Witch Doctors.

Beneath the small cabin high up, a cluster of stone houses had appeared.

From the initial lonely group of six witch doctors, the number had gradually grown to include several dozen apprentices.

The apprentices had built a castle-like structure on the other side of the suspension bridge, calling it the Medical Fortress.

They would take turns going out to treat patients.

Their daily tasks also included helping the witch doctors with experiments, dissecting human bodies or other animals, transcribing books, looking after experimental animals, creating dissection models, and teaching new apprentices.

Life here was not easy, but incredibly busy.

The several dozen apprentices didn’t all stay permanently. Some felt they had learned enough and left, returning to their hometowns to become qualified doctors and enjoy their success.

Others, wanting to learn more profound knowledge, chose to stay.

Apprentices came and went.

The six witch doctors never tried to keep anyone, allowing everyone the freedom to stay or leave as they wished.

The witch doctors spent most of their time researching how to discover new species, or even create new life.

Occasionally, one could see a witch doctor returning from outside, bringing back records of newly discovered species.

This meant the six witch doctors were often traveling, rarely gathering together.

On this day, apprentices who had been out treating patients returned to the Medical Fortress.

In the darkness of night, with lamps lit, the apprentices gathered together.

“There are more and more people on the other side of the bridge, it’s almost like a small town now,” said one apprentice, holding snacks he had traded for outside. He thought this wasn’t bad, as not everyone liked living in a completely uninhabited wilderness.

“Many who come for treatment stay in the outer houses while recovering, and after they’re cured, they just end up staying here,” someone explained to the newly arrived apprentices.

“Also, the war outside hasn’t ended yet. Recently, quite a few people have come to our side not for treatment, but to escape the war,” sighed an apprentice who had just returned.

“Fleeing to such a remote wilderness?” This was an apprentice who hadn’t ventured outside for a long time, immersed in medical studies. He was surprised to hear this news.

“War is too terrifying! Those soldiers loot everywhere and kill anyone they see, no different from bandits,” the apprentice explained.

“War has broken out in my hometown too, I don’t know how things are there now,” someone in the crowd worriedly recounted.

Lester was in the middle of the group. He was the first apprentice to come to the House of the Witch Doctors, and also the one most trusted by the six witch doctors, with the best medical skills among them.

Among these apprentices, Lester held very high prestige. He would handle important matters on behalf of the witch doctors.

Usually, he would take advantage of these casual chat moments to lecture on theoretical knowledge, allowing everyone to ask him questions which he would then answer.

But today, he remained silent.

No one dared to disturb him, as everyone could see he was in a bad mood.

He held a letter in his hand, a letter from his hometown.

His relatives had written to tell him that war might soon break out in Cross City.

The kingdom’s army sent to suppress the rebellion and the armies of several great lords were about to engage in a decisive battle in this area. Tens of thousands of soldiers, along with priests and monsters, had already begun slaughtering each other among a dozen or so cities, towns, and villages, eliminating each other’s strongholds.

Cross City was one of the most important cities, currently fallen into the hands of the rebels. His Majesty the King would absolutely not give it up.

War was unavoidable.

And no matter what, the civilians in the city would inevitably be affected, or rather, they would usually suffer the greatest harm.

“War!”

Lester couldn’t understand. They were doing everything they could to save people, while others were doing everything they could to kill people.

How could there be such strange things in this world?

The next day, while conducting an experiment, he asked the witch doctor named Left Hand.

“Esteemed Witch Doctor.”

“What are all these experiments for?”

“We seem to have no direction, just trying aimlessly.”

The witch doctor told Lester: “We were born to seek the mysteries of life, and the mysteries of life don’t appear out of thin air, they exist within life itself.”

“They exist in those undiscovered lives, in new lives.”

Lester pressed further: “Then what exactly are the mysteries of life?”

Witch Doctor: “We’re still searching.”

Lester found it hard to understand: “Searching for something you don’t even know what it is, what’s the meaning in that? What can it bring us?”

Witch Doctor: “It’s precisely because we don’t know that we need to search.”

“As for what it can bring, that’s another matter.”

“Finding it is our mission.”

Lester didn’t care about the mysteries of life; he just wanted to learn the medical knowledge he desired here, then return to his hometown and become a doctor who could heal and save people.

No longer helplessly watching patients suffer unbearably, no longer being blocked at the door and cursed as a fraud.

No longer would he fail patients due to lack of skill and knowledge, risking the label of a murderous doctor.

Of course, beyond this, he had some grander goals.

To become a great doctor who would lay the foundation for medical science, then pass on his knowledge and discoveries, so that the name “doctor” would no longer be associated with “charlatan,” but become a truly respected profession.

He wanted people to remember him.

Suddenly, he thought of the statue he had seen when passing through Anho City.

The statue of Saint Stan Tito.

“Perhaps someday,” he mused, “people will erect such a statue for me too. Everyone passing through Cross City will see it and remember me.”

“They will bow before my statue, remembering my name for generations to come.”

It was at this moment that Lester began to think about returning home.

He had learned everything he could learn; what remained to be learned involved supernatural powers.

Yet, he felt somewhat unsatisfied.

Just go back like this?

Although he had learned quite a lot of medical skills and had gained a very deep understanding of human anatomy.

He knew how to treat various injuries and illnesses, perform surgeries for many diseases, knew how to use cultivated plants to heal wounds and accelerate the healing process.

But so what?

Having seen the witch doctors’ almost life-mastering techniques, he felt his own powers were so shallow.

For many truly serious diseases and life-threatening organ injuries, they were still helpless, needing to rely on the witch doctors’ powers for treatment.

He knew exactly what caused death, but had no way to prevent it.

They were apprentices to the witch doctors, calling themselves witch doctor apprentices.

But they were not witch doctors.

Because the most powerful aspect of the witch doctors’ methods was their ability to produce elixirs that could cure all kinds of diseases, capable of creating various organs through mysterious powers.

Lester had asked the witch doctors many times: “How can I possess such power?”

The witch doctors would only answer: “You can’t learn it.”

Lester was unsure if this was the truth or if the witch doctors were simply unwilling to share such miraculous power.

As he pondered this, the witch doctor unexpectedly addressed him: “Lester, go to the trilobite cultivation room and catch ten trilobites.”

Lester nodded: “Yes, Esteemed Witch Doctor.”

After saying this, he walked out of the three-story building of the House of the Witch Doctors, passing through the streets where the apprentices lived.

He came to the mist outside.

The thick mist veiled the sun, casting a gloomy and damp atmosphere over the area.

Shrouded in the mist were various buildings, their dim outlines barely visible in the distance.

That was the outer layer of the House of the Witch Doctors, those towering walls reaching into the clouds.

“Hiss!”

“Thump thump!”

Before even entering, he could hear the faint sounds of insects, and the noise of crawling, hitting, and tapping on glass.

He walked into a building with a sign that read “Trilobite Cultivation Room.” Inside were tall glass cabinets everywhere.

The glass contained seawater, in which trilobites of various sizes swam about.

Different glass cabinets were labeled with coarse tags, noting the differences between these trilobites.

This was the ordinary life collection and cultivation room. Besides this, there was also a modified life breeding room and the most secure supernatural experiment lab.

The ordinary life cultivation room housed common life forms collected from various places, mostly naturally evolved.

Just looking at the clay plates hanging on the doors around the trilobite cultivation room, one could see there were worms, trilobites, pedicle cup worms and other creatures, as well as some ancient cup creatures and sea lilies, all placed here as specimens or experimental materials.

The apprentices would help look after these monsters and life forms created by the doctors on a daily basis.

The modified life breeding room was different, housing the creations from the witch doctors’ life experiments.

However, most of them were closely related to other creatures in nature, and many could hardly be considered new species, having only undergone some peculiar changes.

Lester had seen giant blood-sucking worms over ten meters long; the witch doctors had used some unknown method to make these things grow incredibly large.

He had also seen mollusks with various strange organs growing out of them, insects that had grown legs and could walk on land, and even man-eating plants with mouths large enough to swallow a Trilobite Man whole.

Only those with permission from the witch doctors could enter here, as there was indeed a certain level of danger.

As for the supernatural experiment lab, it was strictly forbidden for others to enter.

Because even if the monsters inside were confined, just hearing their voices or being looked at by them could potentially control you or cost you your life.

Lester, carrying a jar containing trilobites, came to the witch doctors’ three-story building, only to find that the witch doctor named Left Hand was already waiting there.

“Come with me.”

“The other witch doctors are busy, so you’ll be my assistant today.”

The witch doctor led him directly to the supernatural experiment lab.

This was Lester’s first time coming here. The building was entirely underground, accessed through an elevator that resembled a bone cage.

The elevator had a small window, and it would stop briefly at each floor as it descended.

When they reached the first floor, he looked out through the small window.

A narrow passage stretched before him, lined on both sides with prison-like structures, each housing a terrifying monster.

Even though they made no sound or movement, Lester felt a strong sense of pressure weighing on his heart.

It was the instinctive fear that life forms have towards supernatural beings.

The passage continued downwards, with each level imprisoning numerous monsters, becoming more dangerous the further down they went.

The last floor opened up into a spacious plaza.

The plaza was circular, with one stone door after another, each bearing different patterns indicating their various functions.

Lester noticed the crisscrossing pipelines overhead, which converged into a massive water pipe several meters in diameter on the ground.

This enormous pipeline led to the sea, connecting with the ocean floor.

“So that’s where our water comes from.”

Having been at the House of the Witch Doctors for so many years, Lester had always used water that flowed at the turn of a tap, but only today did he truly understand its source.

It was these pipelines that pumped seawater to the various cultivation rooms and witch doctors’ cottages on the surface, supplying everyone’s needs and nurturing experiments.

The pumping mechanism undoubtedly involved supernatural powers, a concept beyond Lester’s comprehension.

Lester inquired, “Esteemed Witch Doctor! What experiment are we conducting today?”

The witch doctor replied, “Creating Trilobite Men.”

Lester was stunned. “What?”

He thought he must have misheard.

The witch doctor had just had a sudden inspiration. They had already modified life forms and created unstable supernatural life forms with extremely short lifespans.

Could they then create a Trilobite Man derived from the power of life, an intelligent species born from the power of life?

This idea had suddenly occurred to him when he saw Lester just now.

The moment the thought struck, he was eager to put it into action.

Even if it failed, it didn’t matter. After all, it was just the first experiment.

The witch doctor pushed open a stone door, revealing a floor already inscribed with the corresponding ritual array.

“Lester,” the witch doctor instructed, “take out a trilobite and place it there.”

The witch doctor took out a stone, an irregularly shaped blood-red stone.

It gleamed with a mirror-like luster, its transparent, gel-like appearance so intense it seemed as if it might drip water.

“What is this?” Lester had seen this stone before, but this was the first time he dared to ask about it.

In his view, such an object must be involved in the witch doctors’ most fundamental secrets.

Asking rashly might displease the witch doctors.

He had previously seen the witch doctor use this to instantly create a heart, large amounts of blood, and replicate Trilobite Men’s organs.

He had witnessed witch doctors holding it in one hand, using the other to completely revive patients who were clearly on the brink of death but not quite gone.

Lester had also seen the witch doctor use this stone to transform some weak life forms into terrifying monsters. These creatures could easily devour and kill Trilobite Men in the blink of an eye.

“You can call it the Life Blood Stone,” the witch doctor answered.

This thing was like the legendary panacea of doctors.

It was capable of healing all injuries, regenerating lost limbs, reviving the nearly dead, and even creating life.

In its presence, the impossible became possible.

The apprentices in the House of the Witch Doctors often said that the witch doctors had mastered the power of the panacea, and the strange medicinal powder they produced using the divine technique of bones was proof.

In reality, this was the solidified form of the mythical blood of the power of life.

The ritual began.

The Life Blood Stone placed on the ritual array by the witch doctor flowed with blood-red light, infusing into the trilobite’s body.

The trilobite’s body swelled rapidly, but it was clear that it couldn’t withstand the power for long.

The witch doctor only managed to create a large trilobite, which died shortly after birth.

The experiment had failed, or rather, it went exactly as the witch doctor had expected.

The witch doctor shook his head and calmly said, “Creating intelligent life, this truly is the power of divinity!”

“God could create Trilobite Men from trilobites, but we are far from reaching that level.”

“What? You’re saying this thing is our ancestor?” Lester found this notion ridiculous.

“Don’t you think they look very similar to you?” Lester hadn’t even noticed that the other had said “you” instead of “us.”

“How are they similar? Esteemed Witch Doctor, please don’t joke,” Lester couldn’t accept this idea.

They were Trilobite Men.

God’s favored children, rulers of the earth, how could they have evolved from insects?

The witch doctor looked at him with interest and mentioned another piece of evidence.

“Consider this,” he began. “Why are you called Trilobite Men?”

“And they… just happen to be called trilobites?”

“Both these names were given by God.”

The witch doctors said this, but the Trilobite Men didn’t believe it: “It’s just a coincidence that the names are similar.”

The witch doctor didn’t dwell on this issue.

He used his mental power to control the dead experimental specimen, placing it into a glass jar, then carried the jar out of the laboratory.

“Wait here for me.”

The witch doctor named Left Hand left, and Lester looked around idly.

Suddenly, he noticed that the red stone was still on the ritual array.

He was stunned for a moment, then, as if possessed, he picked up the stone.

The irregular stone felt gelatinous to the touch, smooth and slippery.

It didn’t look very solid.

“Pop!”

Exerting a little pressure, he managed to break off a small piece from the stone.

He immediately panicked, thought for a moment, then quickly put the small piece he had broken off into his pocket.

He had just put the stone back in its original place when footsteps were heard from outside.

“Lester!”

“I’m here,” Lester responded immediately, but his body was somewhat stiff, his speech extremely rushed.

The witch doctor came in and began tidying things up, then said to Lester.

“Let’s go!”

“We’re heading up.”

Lester followed behind the doctor, but his mind was involuntarily focused entirely on his pocket.

His heart was racing.

Some time passed, and news came from outside that the Dark River region had been completely recaptured by the kingdom.

The rebellious lord’s head had been cut off and sent to the God-Descended City.

The war was over.

It was at this time that Lester proposed to the witch doctors his idea of leaving the House of the Witch Doctors.

“Lester,” the witch doctor named Left Hand asked, “how long have you been here?”

This witch doctor was relatively friendly towards Trilobite Men and trusted Lester very much.

In a sense, he was Lester’s teacher.

Although Lester had always addressed him as Esteemed Witch Doctor or Lord Left Hand.

Lester said, “Almost ten years.”

The witch doctor nodded: “Ten years.”

“For your kind, that must be a very long time.”

“It’s indeed time to go home.”

Ten years was but a moment for witch doctors, but for ordinary people, life doesn’t have many decades.

Especially during one’s most youthful and physically robust years.

The Left Hand witch doctor stood up and patted Lester’s shoulder with his gloved hand.

“I hope the knowledge you’ve learned at the House of the Witch Doctors will become the power to realize your ideals.”

He paused, then continued, “Power itself is neither good nor evil. It can save lives, and it can also take them.”

“I hope you can truly use it well.”

Lester nodded: “Lord Left Hand, I will.”

After saying this, the witch doctor also gave him a gift.

A blood-red worm in a jar.

Lester asked the witch doctor, “What is this?”

“A blood-sucking worm?”

The witch doctor shook his head: “This is my latest creation, a supernatural life form.”

“But don’t worry, it’s not harmful.”

“As long as you feed it, it can store blood in its body, and the blood it stores can be converted to match anyone’s blood type.”

“When you need it, you just need to follow the method I’ll tell you, and you can produce suitable blood.”

Without further explanation, Lester naturally knew how important and powerful this medical tool was.

Most severely injured people die from excessive blood loss.

Likewise, when performing surgery on people, a blood supply was indispensable.

With this blood-sucking worm, he could now work freely and boldly.

The witch doctor had been very kind to him, which suddenly made Lester feel guilty about his previous actions, but he still didn’t return the Life Blood Stone he had stolen.

“Thank you, Esteemed Witch Doctor,” Lester said, his voice filled with gratitude.

Cross City.

Lester rode a three-wheeled cart loaded with boxes.

The familiar Cross Avenue and the ancient, weathered city walls appeared in the distance.

“Finally back.”

Lester excitedly jumped down and pushed the cart forward.

He looked at the surrounding scenery. Every stone here, every distant mountain peak, could evoke his memories.

A war had broken out here not long ago. To fight for this prosperous city in a strategic location, both sides had deployed the power of their priest corps.

The city walls were pocked with large holes, some parts showing signs of collapse.

It was after this battle that the rebel forces no longer had the strength to resist. The king’s legions advanced deep into the Dark River region, reclaiming the last of the lost territory.

Lester pushed his cart to the city gate, paid the entry tax, and went in.

As he inspected Lester’s cart, the guard at the gate remarked to his companion, “The war is finally over. It’s good to see more people returning.”

His companion nodded, “After fighting for so many years, it’s about time for some peace.”

As the rebellion was quelled, peace descended once again.

But upon entering the city, Lester saw a scene of devastation.

The prosperity was gone.

Years of war, lack of production, and disrupted trade routes had caused people to flee or die. Those who remained weren’t faring well.

Beggars and orphans left by the war were everywhere, and many people with missing limbs could be seen on the streets, casualties left behind by the conflict.

“It’s truly heartbreaking!”

Lester was worried, but he also believed that with the return of peace, everything would recover.

Lester returned to his home. Just as he pushed open his door, a voice came from behind.

The neighbor across the street looked at him, surprisingly not recognizing Lester: “Who are you?”

Lester felt both amused and a bit sad: “I’m Lester!”

The other person looked at him carefully, then finally remembered.

He rushed over, examining Lester from head to toe, then pointed at him and exclaimed loudly.

“You’re Lester?”

“The Lester who went to learn medical skills from the witch doctors?”

Lester nodded: “That’s me.”

Immediately, shouts echoed through the street: “Lester’s back!”

“Lester’s back.”

“The Lester who went to learn medicine from the witch doctors is back.”

In this street, Lester was quite a renowned figure.

Like the Vivien sisters from another street, he was a source of pride for his hometown, a name often mentioned in casual conversations.

A large crowd of people suddenly poured out from the streets and alleys, coming over to look.

The quiet street suddenly became extremely lively.

“You’re back.”

“How many years have you been gone?”

“How was it with the witch doctors? Did you really learn that magic that can revive the dead?”

As stories spread, they often grew more fantastical with each retelling.

In the eyes of his hometown people, Lester seemed no longer human, but rather someone who had mastered some miraculous secret technique, someone who could fight against death.

Lester found it somewhat amusing and could only explain.

“I learned medical skills.”

“Not divine techniques.”

The locals saw little distinction between the two. In their minds, what real difference was there between the witch doctors’ medical skills and divine techniques?

Moreover, divine techniques were something they couldn’t see or touch, but medical skills were tangible things that could save their lives.

Lester looked at everyone, these familiar faces, feeling somewhat emotional.

“Everyone has changed so much!”

When he left years ago, these people were in their prime, and many were still children.

Now that he had returned, many had grown old.

And the children from back then had grown up, looking at him with unfamiliar faces, as if gazing at some legendary figure.

“Is that the Lester?”

“The Lester whose medical skills are so amazing he can revive the dead?”

“I told you, he was the most skilled one from the House of the Witch Doctors.”

“I heard that back then, he guided the Vivien sisters to find the witch doctors, which saved Vivien’s younger sister, who later had the chance to go to the Temple of Truth.”

Seeing the expectant looks of his hometown people, Lester stood on the steps of his house.

He said to everyone.

“Let me tell you something, I’m back for good this time.”

“I’ll establish my own medical clinic here, to treat everyone from now on.”

“If anyone has any difficulties or problems, you can come to my clinic or my home to find me.”

The crowd erupted in cheers. Having a doctor from the House of the Witch Doctors was a good thing for all of Cross City.

In the future, when serious injuries or illnesses occurred, they wouldn’t have to wait for death in suffering.

Lester’s clinic was established on this street, simply named Lester’s Clinic.

In its first year, Lester’s Clinic gained a great reputation.

He could save people on the brink of death from severe injuries, and solve all sorts of perplexing ailments through miraculous surgical procedures.

The various techniques he employed seemed like divine techniques and magic to ordinary people, mysterious but capable of saving lives.

He was the enemy of death, the savior of patients.

“Lester, the Holy Hands.”

This was how people referred to Lester, and his fame spread far and wide.

Not only did the people of Cross City recognize his medical skills, but the wealthy and powerful also treated him as an honored guest.

Even patients from outside the city flocked to Lester’s clinic, seeking his treatment.

By the second year, Lester’s clinic had expanded into a huge medical fortress, occupying the most prominent location in the city.

He also took on many apprentices, with dozens of people in the medical fortress, treating a large number of patients daily.

In his third year back, Lester married and started his own family.

His life was happy and fulfilling, and Lester was satisfied with his life.

But he still had areas of dissatisfaction, namely his medical skills.

Lester’s home was filled with various treatment case records, shelves packed with medical books. It looked less like a home and more like another clinic.

His wife was also a doctor, one of his admirers.

At the same time, his wife was responsible for helping compile his medical techniques into books.

This was Lester’s greatest ambition.

To promote his medical skills and become known as the founder of medical science by all.

One particular day, Lester returned home and sat dejectedly in a chair.

“What’s wrong?”

Lester: “A patient died today. I couldn’t save him.”

His wife comforted him: “That’s normal, you’re not a god. How could you possibly save everyone?”

Lester looked at his wife: “Do you think my medical skills are impressive?”

His wife looked at him adoringly, hugging his neck.

“Of course.”

“You’re the most skilled doctor I’ve ever seen.”

Lester shook his head: “But compared to the witch doctors, my skills pale in comparison.”

“Even the most skilled doctor can’t compare to the witch doctors.”

“No, that’s not right.”

“We can’t even compare to one of their little fingers.”

He released his wife’s hands and went to the tightly closed building behind the courtyard.

Here, many deep-sea plants were cultivated, and a huge glass dome housed numerous insects.

He opened a secret door and descended into the hidden chamber below.

This place was completely different.

It was filled with numerous bottles and jars containing various internal organs.

Most conspicuous among them was a blood-colored worm, the gift given to Lester by his teacher, the Left Hand witch doctor.

It was precisely because of this that Lester had been able to quickly establish his reputation in Cross City, becoming the widely known “Holy Hands.”

Lester opened the desk and took out what was inside.

It was a red stone the size of a fingernail, but despite its small size, it possessed an unparalleled life force.

“Life Blood Stone.”

“Stone representing the power of life, what other miracles can you create?”

Lester had been constantly researching the effects of this Life Blood Stone, as well as the power of the blood-sucking worm.

The blood-sucking worm could replicate blood, and the Life Blood Stone was also a kind of blood.

It’s just that the power of the Life Blood Stone was too strong and too unstable.

He had been trying to combine the powers of the two to create a medicine that possessed the power of the Life Blood Stone but was more stable.

Something that could heal any wound and cure all diseases.

Just like how the witch doctors had created bone powder for healing, just like the panacea that doctors spoke of.

“Universal Elixir.”

“I must be able to create a true universal elixir.”

Lester looked at that red stone.

The red seemed to have a special power, carrying a strong allure, involuntarily drawing people in.

It represented death, yet also represented life.

Despair and hope, it seemed both could be seen in this color.

“The power of witch doctors can’t be passed on to everyone.”

“So I’ll use my own method to create a power that belongs to us.”