In the dical chamber behind the Hall of Light, the air carried a peculiar scent, a mix of dicinal herbs, holy oil, and disinfectant alcohol.
The light here was dim and soft. The walls were inscribed with symbols of the goddess Isis, the deity of healing and protection in ancient Egyptian mythology. These symbols were said to accelerate wound healing and soothe the emotions of the injured.
However, William, lying on the cedarwood sickbed at this mont, felt no peace whatsoever.
His body was wrapped in thick linen bandages. His right arm was fixed between two smooth wooden boards, suspended high on a stand at the edge of the bed.
A healing priest from the Brotherhood had just finished examining William's injuries and was handing a piece of papyrus filled with a diagnosis in Coptic to Lin Jie, who stood nearby.
Lin Jie took the papyrus. Although he couldn't read the words on it, the grave expression on the priest's face had already made him realize the severity of the situation.
"How is it?" Lin Jie asked in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the veteran who was in a state of deep sleep.
The priest sighed and replied in stiff English, "The external injuries are not fatal. The special dicine sent by the Redgrave family works very well. The fractures in his arm and ribs are slowly healing. The real trouble is his internal organs."
He pointed at William's chest, which rose and fell weakly.
"The force left by that man is extrely bizarre. It's like an invisible, destructive snake that burrowed into his body and is continuously impacting his vital organs. We've used up all our holy oil and calming herbs, but we can only barely slow down the rate of its destruction. We cannot eradicate it."
"This is a kind of persistent internal damage we have never seen before." A look of helplessness appeared on the priest's face. "If we cannot find a way to dispel this force, I fear Sergeant Keane's body will be slowly destroyed from the inside by it."
Lin Jie sighed.
He certainly understood that the "snake" the priest spoke of was precisely the unique penetrating force of Yan Xilou's [Nine-Bend Yellow River].
This force had not only shattered William's bones but had also left a ticking ti bomb inside him, constantly eroding his vitality.
This situation was more malicious and torturous than a clean, straightforward penetrating wound.
"I understand." Lin Jie nodded, indicating the priest could leave first. Then, he pulled over a wooden stool and sat quietly by William's bedside.
Looking at this teammate who had always been as reliable as a rock, now lying here so fragile, a mix of anger, guilt, and helplessness churned within him.
The main reason William was so severely injured was to protect him.
If the old soldier hadn't intervened at the last mont, it would be Lin Jie himself lying here now, or even a cold corpse.
As Lin Jie sank into self-bla, William on the sickbed opened his eyes.
His gaze was no longer as steady as before;
it held a rare confusion and self-doubt.
"I lost."
William spoke each word with imnse difficulty.
From the brutal war, to the Catacomb Nightingale in Paris.
From the Petrification Worm atop the Alps, to the Swamp Tree Fiend deep within the Black Forest.
William Keane's combat philosophy had never wavered before this.
That was—charge forward, suppress, and crush all threats head-on with absolute force.
He believed the strongest defense was offense, accustod to using his own steel-hardened body and superb military combat skills to clash head-on with enemies.
He would charge into enemy ranks like a fearless rhinoceros, drawing the fiercest fire for his teammates, then use his lever-action rifle to deliver precise shots to enemy weak points.
He was the "breaker of formations" who used his own flesh and blood to carve a path to survival for his comrades.
This belief was the foundation of his existence as a hunter.
However, in the obsidian hall of the Osiris temple.
Yan Xilou used only two moves to ruthlessly shatter the philosophy he was so proud of, forged from decades of combat experience and life-and-death trials.
The spiritual blow from this collapse of his core belief was far more fatal than the physical injuries.
"That wasn't your fault," Lin Jie spoke up. "We all underestimated him, and underestimated the weirdness of the weapon in his hands."
"No..." William shook his head, a look of pain surfacing in his confused eyes. "The weapon is just a tool. The real failure was ."
With difficulty, he raised his left hand, looking at the thick calluses on the back from years of gripping a gun.
"I always thought, as long as I was fast enough, as long as my rifle barrel was hot enough, there was nothing that couldn't be torn apart. Even UMAs, they are ultimately flesh and blood, they have limits too."
William closed his eyes in pain.
"But that day, in that temple, I charged forward, but it was like crashing into cotton. All my strength was dissolved by him."
"This injury, the priest said it might never heal properly." William opened his eyes, his gaze drifting to the sky outside the window. "I might never be able to pick up a gun again, never be able to keep up with your pace."
"Anna is still waiting for back in Devon. That kid Tommy is still waiting for to teach him how to use a slingshot to shoot birds. If I beco useless like this, what will happen to them?"
"And the team, Lin Jie," William's gaze finally settled on Lin Jie, filled with deep worry. "You're a genius, but you need a spear that can clear the path for you. Ethan is strong, but he's too flashy, not steady enough. If you encounter an enemy like Yan Xilou again next ti, who will block that first strike for you?"
Seeing this veteran fall into anxiety about the future and self-doubt because of a single defeat, Lin Jie felt a sharp pang in his heart.
Any pale comfort like "you'll get better" right now would be an insult to William.
What this old soldier needed was not sympathy, but a practical thod that would allow him to grip his weapon again.
Lin Jie remained silent for a mont. He didn't talk about the injury or the future, but calmly posed a seemingly unrelated question to William.
"William, have you seen the waterwheels used in country mills to drive millstones?"
William was slightly taken aback. His thoughts were scattered, unable to keep up with Lin Jie's sudden question.
"Waterwheels?" William frowned. "Of course, there's one by every river in Devon. They use the impact of the water flow to turn the wheel and drive the millstone. But what does that have to do with..."
"What is the key to driving it?" Lin Jie didn't let him continue, instead guiding him to think. "Is it the water flow itself?"
"It's the guide vanes installed on the wheel, set at specific angles," William answered instinctively.
"Exactly right." Lin Jie nodded, a smile of approval appearing on his face. "Then let's change our perspective. If the water flow is too turbulent, capable of washing away the entire waterwheel, what would a foolish miller do? He might build a stone dam upstream, trying to resist the water flow head-on."
Lin Jie stood up and made a simple gesture in the not-so-spacious dical chamber.
He extended both hands, palms together, mimicking a "wall."
"This was your previous way of fighting, William," Lin Jie said. "You used a wall to resist the impact of the water flow."
Then, Lin Jie's gesture changed slightly.
His palms were no longer tense and straight, but beca soft and curved, forming a slanted surface with a specific arc.
"But a clever miller, he would tear down the stone dam and instead build a more ingenious, curved water channel in the riverbed."
"When the flood cos," Lin Jie mimicked a force crashing against his palm, "I don't block it. I just use this slanted surface to give it a gentle guide, following the direction it ca from."
"What happens?"
William's eyes were fixed on Lin Jie's hands guiding the invisible water flow. His breathing had unconsciously beco rapid.
He seed to see that terrifying water flow capable of destroying dams. Upon contacting the guide channel, its straight-line rushing force was decomposed and guided in another direction, ultimately transforming into the power that drove the waterwheel to turn!
"The water flow will follow the direction of the channel. Its destructive power... is transford."
"Correct." A smile belonging to the "ntor" appeared on Lin Jie's face. "Not only are we not washed away by the water flow, we effortlessly neutralize its entire impact."
"Even," Lin Jie's gesture changed again. His hands seed to be kneading an invisible ball of water, "if our understanding of the nature of water is deep enough, we can even borrow the power of this water flow, guide it in the direction we want, to crash into our enemies!"
"This is called borrowing force to strike in my holand."
"This, is also another, higher level of charging!"
Lin Jie's words shattered William's ntal deadlock.
The confusion in William's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a growing light.
Confrontation and guidance, charging and borrowing force!
These thoughts, derived from everyday observation, opened a new door for his combat philosophy that emphasized ferocity and straight-line force!
"Guidance..."
William murmured, repeating the word.
"I understand..."
He lifted his right hand, the one suspended high in bandages, its bones shattered.
The look of pain and confusion faded from William's face.
He looked at his nearly crippled arm and said to himself, "If steel cannot stop a river. Then let steel... learn to flow as well."
Lin Jie was happy that William could erge from his ntal predicant, but at the sa ti, a heavy sense of responsibility weighed on his heart.
The "breaking of the wall" in philosophy was only the first step.
That "river" entrenched within the veteran's body was the fatal threat.
If a thod to resolve it couldn't be found, then even the most profound philosophy of flow would be nothing but empty talk for soone who couldn't even lift a gun.
Lin Jie reached out, gently placing his hand on William's uninjured shoulder.
"The path, you have found it."
"As for that remaining river," Lin Jie's voice was resolute, "leave it to ."
"I promise you, whether in the Witch Mountains of the East or the depths of hell, I will find that dicine capable of taming it for you."
"Then, I will personally place the [Church Holy Cannon] back into your hands."
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