The patients in the clinic indeed panicked due to the sudden night of the hunt, just as Yusefka said, and erupted into anger.
The patient huddled in the corner clutching a straw hat to his chest, as if expecting this small hat could cover him entirely. His eyes nervously swept over Lann, muttering under his breath.
"Outsiders... country bumpkins from afar... they’re the ones, they brought the plague!"
Lann had long experienced the hostility Yan Nan People harbored towards outsiders, so even though he heard the man’s muttering, he only regarded it as the ramblings of a madman.
Other patients either lay vacant-eyed on the sickbeds or shrank back, screaming in fright at their own imaginations.
Yusefka roamed among the patients; at this moment, she couldn’t treat these common illnesses but had to soothe and comfort their souls.
And just this work alone was already overwhelming for her.
"Are you hungry, Oliveira?"
Viola grasped the ruby brooch at her chest, found a place, and sat down with the two sisters. Under the thickening scent of incense, their relaxed minds finally noticed their hunger.
The little girl nodded obediently, looking expectantly at her mother.
"I—I ate quite a lot last night, but I still feel hungry now."
"I’m like my sister, I’m hungry too, Mommy."
Viola took the food out of her pocket—a large thick-cut bacon slice, a piece of cheese, and two apples.
She herself found it strange, as they’d just had dinner not long ago.
Lann watched them start eating, walked over, and pulled out a large chunk of bread from the alchemy pocket at his lower back.
It was a traveler’s bread, roasted much longer than usual to remove more moisture.
More solid, more filling, more durable... and more awful-tasting.
Viola’s eyes widened, and the two little girls silently opened their mouths.
It wasn’t for any other reason, but when Lann grabbed something out of his pocket, he pulled out a breadstick as thick as combining three adult arms!
"Outsider’s dry goods."
Lann pursed his lips and joked with the little girls, who indeed managed a rare smile during the night of the hunt.
The Demon Hunter then handed the breadstick to Viola.
"Eat slowly, Viola. You should plan your food distribution; the night is still long."
Viola was puzzled; in her mind, the night of the hunt should merely last one night.
Lann didn’t offer much explanation but simply stuffed the breadstick into her hands.
"This clinic looks safe enough; stay here and don’t go out alone."
The Demon Hunter had said when he entered that he had other things to do, so Viola wasn’t too surprised.
She only sincerely blessed the ’kind hunter’ who helped her and her daughters.
"May Holy Blood guide your path, Mr. Lann. If you have your own goals, please attend to them; you have already helped us greatly."
Lann smiled at Viola’s blessing.
"But it’s not enough; I promised Gascogne I’d watch over you until he returns home. Now I’ve merely sent you to a place that seems safer."
"I’ll check on Gascogne’s whereabouts while I’m out handling affairs and let him come over. Stay here and don’t think walking outside with me once means the night of the hunt isn’t dangerous; understand? You’re just ordinary women and children, unable to take a step away from the incense tonight."
"We understand, Uncle Lann!"*2
The two little girls agreed quickly, and Lann smiled encouragingly at them.
Then he sternly looked at Viola, who was silent.
"I know you’re a strong woman, with opinions, courage, and love for Gascogne. But none of these can save you from the blades of beast-turned patients, Viola. For the sake of the two children, stay here obediently!"
Only until Viola nodded heavily did Lann turn to leave.
He walked over to Yusefka, as the patients he passed glared at him with resentment and scorn.
This was because of his identity as an outsider.
Yan Nan People could smell that his pure blood was incompatible with Yan Nan.
He was a country bumpkin not blessed by Holy Blood.
Lann ignored these harmless stares; if he cared about this extent, the discrimination he’d faced as Demon Hunter in the Magic World would be far more severe.
The farmers over there even had more ways to curse than these ’townsfolk’ here.
"Can I have a moment of your time, Doctor?"
Faced with Lann’s polite inquiry, Yusefka nodded straightforwardly, and the two of them moved to a corner of the lobby to talk.
"Yan’an blood healing seems quite magical; how much do you know about this?"
As an opening for talking with a Yan Nan doctor, praising the blood healing was obviously a suitable choice.
Yusefka unknowingly became more talkative.
This earned Mentos an approving nod from Lann for planning the conversation flow.
"Blood healing... Ah, Mr. Lann, why else would you come to Yan’an? It’s for the blood healing. Is your ailment urgent right now?... Sorry, the clinic is out of blood for blood healing."
At this, Yusefka’s gentle face showed visible apology.
The topic unfolded, unknowingly steered by Lann.
Mentos’ advice along with the foreign diplomats’ memories raised Lann’s conversational skills significantly.
From Yusefka, a local doctor, Lann gained a rough understanding of [Blood Healing], which was the linchpin of Yan’an.
The blood used in [Blood Healing] did not magically appear through rituals or modifications.
The Healing Church used its own techniques to select women among the populace with innately superior blood quality; these were called ’Blood Saintesses.’
These Saintesses underwent church training, further enhancing their blood quality. Official source ıs n0velfire.net
Only the blood drawn from these church-trained Saintesses could be used for [Blood Healing].
Otherwise, if the ceremony and technique of [Blood Healing] were adopted, but the vital blood source was confused, even the church’s rules would label it as ’tainted’ or ’desecrated.’
The Healing Church’s strong rule over Yan’an came from its monopolization of [Blood Healing] tech and resources.
Ordinary people couldn’t even grasp the concept of ’blood quality’, as these Saintesses seemed no different from regular people.
"If you wish to learn more about [Blood Healing], I would recommend after the night of the hunt you go directly to the church to inquire."
Yusefka still treated this night like any other, casually talking about the unattainable day ahead.
"The church welcomes foreign hunters, and it’s where [Blood Healing] originated. To understand the blood, that’s the best place to go."
The doctor asserted, while Lann silently nodded in agreement.