After a long while, Durin barely recovered some strength. Before leaving, he saw some clothes hanging under an eave that hadn't been taken in. He walked over, tore one down, and quickly ripped it into strips, haphazardly wrapping them around his wound to reduce blood loss.
With a pale face, Durin staggered toward the Public Lift. He was going to the Border Market to find the Toad Witch Doctor to treat his injuries.
Despite carrying the secrets of the Darkin, Durin felt that if he didn't find a doctor to treat the abdominal wound, he was truly afraid that if he closed his eyes now, he would never open them again.
Compared to other unfamiliar doctors, Durin at least felt somewhat more at ease with the Toad Witch Doctor.
Durin did feel some regret, wondering why he hadn't brought the Emerald Potion with him; it would have at least helped stop the bleeding.
But it was only regret.
Durin forced himself to the Public Lift. Many people were waiting to ride, but when they saw his injured state, the Mace at his waist, and the section of the Mantis Blade poking through the hole in his backpack, they instinctively moved away, afraid of provoking this unfriendly-looking fellow.
As a result, after Durin entered, the others remained standing where they were, refusing to ride with him for anything.
The operator had no choice. After taking a copper circle coin from Durin, he closed the iron gate and flipped the switch. The elevator emitted a mechanical roar and descended to the Border Market.
By now, the sky was completely dark, but the Border Market was still brightly lit and bustling with people.
Durin stumbled into the backstreets, fumbling his way deep into the area until he stopped in front of a familiar building. He then pounded heavily on the Toad Witch Doctor's iron door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After knocking, Durin, who had reached his limit, leaned his back against the wall and waited quietly.
After a moment, the rolling shutter door slowly rose. A burly man covered in tattoos and bare-chested walked out. His arms were also mechanical prosthetics, but the liquid flowing through the plastic tubes was purple. One could even see purple patterns like spiderwebs on his neck.
"Who is it? Looking for death... hmm?"
The burly man was grumbling, but upon seeing the large amount of blood on Durin and the blood-soaked rag at his waist, he frowned. He turned and shouted into the house, "Boss! Someone's been stabbed in the gut! Looks like he's here for treatment!"
The house was silent for a moment, then a lazy voice drifted out: "Understood, bring him in!"
The burly man reached out and said to Durin, "Come on, I'll help you inside."
"Thanks..." Durin's voice was so pained it sounded like the hum of a mosquito.
The burly man supported Durin as they walked laboriously into the house.
The room was filled with the smell of boiling herbs, mixed with the pungent scent of onions and garlic.
An oversized blue-skinned toad sat on a custom chair. His accumulated fat and loose folds of skin squeezed his small, round eyes into narrow slits. He held a pipe in his left hand, quietly smoking tobacco, the smoke curling from his nostrils like dragons.
He saw Durin, his small eyes widening slightly in surprise. "Durin? You're injured again, kid? Tsk tsk, it's only been how many days!"
"Stop talking... quickly treat my wound... money is no issue..." With the burly man's help, Durin slowly lay down on the operating table and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Hehe, I like smart people like you. Come, let me see your wound."
The Toad Witch Doctor stood up from his custom chair, walked to the side of the operating table, and carefully removed the ragged cloth wrapped around Durin's abdomen, revealing the wound.
"Hmm..."
The Toad Witch Doctor leaned over, bringing his massive toad head close to Durin's abdomen. He not only used a magnifying glass to observe the wound closely but also occasionally touched it gently with the tweezers in his hand.
"Orc, you go out first," the Toad Witch Doctor suddenly said to the burly man.
The burly man called Orc grunted in response and walked out of the room.
Durin lay on the operating table, still gasping for air. He felt a mixture of pain and itching in his abdomen, causing cold sweat to break out on his forehead and temples, his body trembling slightly.
"If you don't treat me soon, I'm going to die," Durin said weakly.
Only after the burly man had left did the Toad Witch Doctor say unhurriedly, "Die? What kind of joke is that? You're doing just fine! Tell me, how did this wound happen? It looks like someone stabbed you with a knife, but it seems there was some emergency treatment. What kind of medicine was used? The effect seems quite good."
"Medicine?" Durin asked, somewhat stunned. "I didn't use anything. On my way home, I ran into two desperate robbers and accidentally got stabbed. I just bandaged it simply and came to find you."
"Is that so? How long ago was that? This wound feels like it's been at least two hours old; it's already started to heal initially, taking you out of life-threatening danger." The Toad Witch Doctor picked up a small bottle of alcohol from the table, uncorked it, and poured the entire bottle directly onto the wound. The stinging alcohol irritated the wound, causing Durin's face to contort, nearly making him fall off the operating table.
Durin's face turned deathly pale, and he replied weakly, "No, I came to find you the moment I was injured. It's been forty minutes at most, definitely less than an hour."
"What! Less than an hour?"
This time it was the Toad Witch Doctor's turn to be surprised. After staring at Durin for a good while, he picked up the pipe on the table, put it in his mouth, and puffed away, blowing out clouds of smoke.
"I understand."
The Toad Witch Doctor picked up a syringe of anesthetic from the table and said to Durin, "Now, get a good sleep! I'll handle your abdominal wound."
Before Durin could say anything, he felt a sharp needle pierce the skin of his right arm. The agent was pushed into his body. The anesthetic was very effective and acted quickly; the pain soon faded from his perception.
A little while later, Durin felt his eyes beginning to close. The peeling walls disappeared, the window revealing the bright moonlight vanished, the Toad Witch Doctor's voice ceased, and everything began to return to stillness.
In the final moment before the darkness engulfed Durin like a tide, he could only see the Toad Witch Doctor lift his shirt, a look of astonishment on his face.
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