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Chunji nodded, but the problem was where to start. Otis provided him with the Doctor's insight and seemed to have an idea of how to proceed. As much as he wanted to protest, they needed to take a risk to ensure Davil's survival. First, Davil required to be examined further to gain an understanding of what exactly happened to him.

Otis was fitting that it wasn't a curse. Chunji had checked for any obvious ones and checked to see if there were other wounds. The only source of injury was the wound in question. "They're no traces of a curse," Chunji confirmed with Otis. His newly gloved hand became bloodied as he tried to prevent any more of Davil's body from escaping.

It seemed that Otis didn't have a spell that scanned a person's body. Otherwise, he would have already cast it by now. That left to use Ethos to identify the root cause, the problem...

I am nearing my limit.

Essence Rebound was imminent. Judging from the amount of essence he used today, Chunji had a rough estimate that he had a few seconds before entering rebound.

His eyes cried out in pain as he closed them. "I will use my Ethos for the remaining time I have left today. If the situation devolves, I won't hesitate to enter rebound." With a simple briefing, Chunji channeled his soul's spoken words.

"透过现象看本质"

In the blink of an eye, the world flickered. The gaze was lowered onto his peer's body. In the next, the world returned to normal.

There was a soft grunt from Chunji as he breached the edges of rebound. What he had seen was troubling. "Otis, I have identified the source of the Stagnation." The gloves were removed from Davil and Chunji's hands and dug into his pockets. Retrieving a small vial, he applied it to his new gloves and began applying it to Davil's body. The small was particularly acrid.

What was he exactly applying to Davil's body? 

Snake Oil.

Sacrifice was one of the core principles that Chunji had been taught as an occultist. In a land where the fear of Death had been alleviated, people from lands far from the sea worshiped the concept of Death.

Death had a purpose. To give back what was taken, to start anew with a blank slate, to weep for what was lost.

The Great Lotus Serpent had died for the sins of its followers and returned to a more powerful state. Gone was the Divine Beast and returned to as a Guardian Spirit. The recipe created was in honor of their Guardian Serpent and a reenactment of their first sin.

The Snake Oil would inflame Davil's body, but what it did was needed for the moment. It'd eat away at the concept of Stagnation and weaken it. While not as good as a potion, it would allow Otis and him leeway to restore their classmate. There was one additional factor that was a benefit of this potion.

Luck.

Chunji believed that the snake oil brought luck when used. It was the one key factor that they needed to preserve the unknown. Life and Death were decided by skill, but luck was the unknowing factor influencing such situations.

"There's an unknown, purple substance in Davil's bloodstream. It is slowly approaching Davil's heart as we speak. As for the second, the Umbralist's blade had left fragments within the wound. The most reasonable conclusion is that the substance and fragments originated from Umbralist's blade."

The question was, how would they deal with it? If Chunji had any spare essence, there was a chance that he could have flushed out the substance and fragments from Davil's body. But he didn't. He would need to use tools from the clinic to do what his lack of essence cannot.

"Otis, if you have a procedure, please tell me. Error is unacceptable." They both needed coordination on this unknown, complex problem they found themselves in. It was a test with the thinnest of nets that could hardly be called safe. Chunji looked at Otis with his reddened retinas to hear confirmation.
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