Pandora Unchained - B1C65: Stent and Spear

Lady Duchene had a total of three obstructed meridians. For a mortal, that wasn't a big deal. Still, for a bone-forging cultivator, this was not only a massive impediment to their cultivation but a lethal flaw.

In Lady Duchene's case, the obstructions are causing some organs to be exposed to too much mana, thought Sorin. Meanwhile, other organs are starved for mana. A bone-forging cultivator's body might be powerful. Still, it similarly required high levels of mana and adequate mana circulation to maintain.

Marcus was a skilled doctor, and fortunately for Sorin, he made no move to hide his techniques as he first applied them to the spleen meridian. "We'll use this meridian as proof of concept," Marcus explained as he worked. "Our success will only slightly improve the lady's condition; conversely, failure will not lead to a significant decline in her condition."

"Agreed," said Sorin. "Is that a general spell structure you're using for your stent? I expected it to be a life mana spell."

Marcus chuckled. "Actually, you can also create a stent if you set your mind to it. The key is mana shaping practice and maintaining the stent's stable structure. The nature of the mana involved is irrelevant. Of course, there are benefits to each type of mana. Metal mana will create the strongest stent. Wood mana and water mana will create flexible stents. As for fire mana… well, I wouldn't recommend making a fire mana stent because it would result in an explosion if it failed."

"What about life, mana?" asked Sorin.

"Life mana stents can regenerate from damage," explained Marcus. "As for poison stents… I'd say the benefit is that it will be completely sterile. Life mana dispersion can result in pathogen mutation and cancerous growth. As for poison mana, it will simply poison the patient and can be cured with the right antidote."

Marcus pushed away Lady Duchene's mana, fully exposing the work site and the stent. It had a hexagonal mana structure, like a beehive filled with tiny amounts of honey. It's simpler than I imagined, thought Sorin as Marcus completed the framework.

"Your turn," said Marcus.

"Got it," said Sorin. "Injecting the treatment solution."

With the stent in place and the patient's mana cleared, the operation was now similar to operating on a mannequin. A poison needle formed from Sorin's personal meridian clearing cocktail appeared in needle shape, then slowly wandered over to the obstruction.

Once the needle and the obstruction made contact, Sorin activated its acidic and anti-mana properties and had them attack the obstruction. A mixture of flesh, corruption, and mana crystals melted away at a noticeable pace until, finally, the obstruction was cleared.

"Removing the treatment solution," Sorin said, pulling the needle-shaped mass of mana back into his body.

"Removing the stent," said Marcus, dismantling the mana structure plate by plate. He then proceeded to test the integrity of the meridian. "The meridian is clear and undamaged. Resuming mana flow."

Thanks to his Ophidian Eye enchantment, Sorin was able to see the mana flow trickle in and fill the previous void. Marcus slowly relieved his isolation plug until the meridian's mana flow reached 90% of its original rate. He then entirely removed the plug, fully restoring function to the corresponding body parts.

"That worked much better than I expected," said Marcus. "I take it your mana has special properties?"

"Indeed," said Sorin. "Acid, paralytic, and other special properties." Anti-mana was the fundamental property, but he did not share this detail.

"Regardless, the treatment seems effective," said Marcus. "Why don't we move on to the large intestine?"

"Sure," said Sorin. "You stent, and I'll spear."

The duo quickly replicated their solution, with Marcus isolating part of the meridian while Sorin dissolved the obstruction. This time, however, it took much longer to wear down the obstruction, as it was more crystalline than fleshy. Sorin didn't want to increase the amount of anti-mana in the needle for fear that it would result in residual damage.

Unfortunately, the third obstruction was even worse than the first. "I can't dissolve the obstruction with my current mana composition," Sorin was forced to admit. "Please allow me some time to recalibrate." Without waiting for an answer, he altered his mana needle template until it was 50% anti-mana and 50% acid. Though he was somewhat worried about clashing with Marcus's mana, he was confident that the man's bone-forging mana wouldn't be too greatly affected if push came to shove.

"Please reinforce the stent when I pierce the obstruction," said Sorin. "I'm afraid clearing it will exert more pressure on the meridian membrane than previously."

"Reinforcing," said Marcus, who then signaled for Sorin to make a second attempt. Sweat rolled off Sorin's face as he tore into the crystalline obstruction like a drill, slowly but surely wearing away at what appeared to be a large chunk of rock until it shattered into pieces. He then attacked the pieces that fell to prevent them from causing any further issues.

"That should be it," said Sorin, withdrawing his mana.

"Let's see if all our efforts paid off," said Marcus. "Withdrawing stent. Inspecting meridian for damage. Meridian is clear, retrieving plug at a controlled rate."

Mana slowly poured into Lady Duchene's body, instantly filling the area around her chest with warmth. Her heartbeat strengthened by the second until, finally, the plug collapsed like a dam. The sudden shock to her body was too much for the lady to handle; she coughed out a mouthful of black blood filled with impurities and corruption.

"Congratulations, Lady Duchene," said Marcus. "You're going to make a full recovery. I'll have to trouble you to stop by the clinic every day for the next three days for follow-up treatments, as much of the latent corruption in your body has been released and will require purging."

Lady Duchene cleared her throat. "That's quite possibly the most uncomfortable mouthful of blood I've ever spit up. And believe me when I say I've coughed up many a mouthful."

"Lady Duchene is part of the winter enforcement team," Marcus explained, noticing Sorin's confusion.

"You mean… when people go mad in the winter…" said Sorin.

"That's right," said Marcus. "It's their group who hunts down crazed cultivators and cultists for bounties. Thanks to their efforts, regular citizens can sleep soundly in the winter."

"You grossly exaggerate our efforts," mumbled Lady Duchene. "If anything, our contributions are much higher during the demon tides. Madness is a pervasive problem that requires the occasional nip, but Violence is a powerful and persistent force." She bent forward and spat out another mouthful of blood. This time, it was primarily red and devoid of the previous corruption. "I always underestimated corruption in my younger days. It's not until you reach higher realms that you realize how much of an impact it has."

"Corruption is the root of 90% of cultivation problems," agreed Marcus. "I often tell our clan's elders that they should really do more for the outpost cultivators in this regard. Unfortunately, their ideas are old and outdated. All they know is how to fight for power and keep it in their bony hands."

"I'll make a trip to the Alchemists Guild tomorrow to square accounts," said Lady Duchene. "Once again, thank you ever so much for the treatment. I must also apologize – in my current state, it won't do to see you out."

"No apology required," said Marcus. "I believe the guard outside is more than capable of seeing us off the premises."

"It was nice meeting you, Lady Duchene," said Sorin.

"Likewise, Sorin Kepler," said Lady Duchene.

Five minutes later, Sorin and Marcus were walking outside on the chilly street. The hour was late, so there was no point in going back to the guild. "That stent procedure was interesting," Sorin said as they walked. "I'm surprised I never learned about it."

"It's not something physicians use often," said Marcus. "Even two-star physicians."

"Where do you think I should read up on it if I'd like to learn specifics?" asked Sorin. "I ask purely for academic reasons, of course. To improve my ability to consult on future cases."

"Naturally," said Marcus, not denying nor answering his request. "I'm also equally curious about the peculiarities of your poison mana."

In Sorin's opinion, Marcus's knowledge was much less valuable than his own secrets. He could only let the matter drop for now. There are better things to exchange the meridian unlocking formula for. Information on my parents, for instance. Information about their death. Directly requesting such information could backfire, however, so he opted to wait until it was naturally brought up in conversation.

Judging by the recent batch of poisons his clinic has requested, they're making steady progress in determining the meridian opening formula, continued Sorin. He'll definitely breach the topic when they perfect the primary meridian formulas. After that, it becomes difficult to prevent casualties while improving the formula.

"Well, I'd best get going," said Marcus when they reached a fork in the road. One led toward the Kepler Manor, and the other led toward the Governor's Manor, where Marcus was currently residing. "I'm glad we could collaborate again to achieve such wonderful results. Don't be a stranger. And please prioritize my clinic's concoctions if you're able to."

"I always prioritize medical poisons, so there's no need to worry about that," said Sorin. "Have a good evening, Marcus. Please let me know about any developments with Lady Duchene's treatment."

The lights were still on when Sorin arrived at the manor. A sumptuous dinner had been left in the kitchen, so Sorin and Lorimer helped themselves before retiring to the office.

Several hours later, Sorin put down his pen and looked through several sheets of notes on possible mana structures. What a pain, he thought, rubbing his bleary eyes. The only way to know for sure is to test everything.