"Sit up straight! Even straighter!"

"Head back! Mouth open! Open it wider! Good, now hold it there!"

"Seraina! Immobilize!"

After a bout of intense lung-cleansing training, undergoing an endoscopy was nothing to Garrett. He had the old hunchback sit up straight, tilt his head back, and open his mouth wide to breathe as much as possible. With a snap of her fingers, Seraina cast an immobilization spell, and Garrett, wiping away a bead of sweat, slapped the old man’s throat—

Local anesthesia, eliminating the gag reflex!

The operation began!

Three tendrils advanced side by side, moving downwards. Using tendrils as an esophagoscope was much more convenient than in Garrett’s previous life: the esophagus has an average diameter of 2 centimeters, whereas the esophagoscopes back then had an outer diameter of about 9 millimeters. A slight misalignment or too much force could puncture the posterior wall of the esophagus, directly into the chest cavity. But the tendrils Garrett used?

Less than 1 millimeter in diameter!

Even with three tendrils together, the diameter was less than 3 millimeters, much higher margin for error than an esophagoscope. Plus, the operation was more convenient—

Garrett focused on the Arcane Eye display. The screen showed a rotating view of the mouth’s bottom, the base of the tongue, the uvula, and then curved around the epiglottis. In the bright light, an entrance that kept opening and closing appeared. The silver dragon girl, not missing a beat, stood behind him, watching. Upon seeing the entrance, she immediately shouted:

"Garrett! Here!"

"Seraina... this is the trachea, we need to enter the esophagus..."

Garrett replied with a slight sense of resignation. While speaking, he controlled a tendril to gently lift the cricoid cartilage. The camera rotated, and under the light, another hidden entrance appeared. The Arcane Eye dived in.

Seraina, standing by Garrett’s side, had seen more than one endoscopic surgery before, but this was different. Previous tendrils followed the trachea, which was supported by rings of cartilage, maintaining a relatively stable shape. The esophagus, however, constantly expanded and contracted with inhalation and exhalation, never ceasing its movements.

"...Didn’t I use an immobilization spell..."

Seraina murmured softly, fingers twitching, eager to cast again. Garrett coughed:

"Don’t move!"

As for the principle of immobilization spells, like the Peace Spell of the Temple of War, or similar spells, Garrett still hadn’t figured it out completely. They certainly blocked pain by interrupting the central nervous system and could control voluntary muscle movement, but involuntary muscles likely couldn’t be controlled?

Otherwise, like during general anesthesia, a dose of muscle relaxant would stop the lungs from breathing on their own, necessitating a ventilator. Using a divine spell to this extent could be lethal!

The Arcane Eye fluidly continued downwards. Garrett, managing the flow of magic, estimated the tendrils had penetrated 20 centimeters deep and slowed the pace. 21, 22, 23 centimeters... Suddenly, a reflection flashed on the screen, making him squint.

"Seen it!" cheered Seraina.

"Seen it!" Elder Gushan held his breath.

"Seen it..." White Wolf Wolfgar’s eyes widened, his large furry hands instinctively covering his mouth, afraid to make a sound. As for the old hunchback’s young apprentice, the boy had already collapsed on the ground, trembling with fear.

Garrett took a deep breath. The screen showed, at the 7 and 11 o’clock positions on the esophagus, a broken spoon head, with one end embedded in the esophageal wall. The depth of the embedded part was unclear, but as the Arcane Eye moved, not much bleeding was seen on the esophageal wall, nor any tears, which seemed promising.

"Seraina, prepare the healing spell," Garrett commanded solemnly. The silver dragon girl stepped forward, her fingertip glowing with a fluctuating white light. Garrett glanced at her, and suddenly, the tendrils expanded dramatically, parting thousands of fibers to forcefully expand the surrounding esophageal wall!

The broken spoon was dislodged from the wall, immediately wrapped tightly by a cluster of fine tendrils. The Arcane Eye turned around the esophageal wall, and Garrett carefully observed the screen. The mucosal damage caused by the spoon showed signs of erosion and congestion but no clear perforation or active bleeding. It looked like the aorta behind it should be fine...

He focused his mind, conjuring a healing spell that landed on the damaged area of the esophagus. Then,

while retracting the tendrils, he healed along the way. Soon, the tendrils, with the broken spoon wrapped within, exited the mouth and were tossed aside.

"Done!"

Quite good, having a healing spell to clean up saved a lot of trouble. Garrett clapped his hands together, feeling relieved:

If this were his previous life, what followed would be placing a gastric tube, administering antibiotics, providing fluids for supportive treatment. Then, removing the gastric tube the next day, allowing the patient to start on a liquid diet, and after five to seven days, once the incision had healed nicely, discharging the patient...

Healing spells are wonderful things!

He signaled Seraina to release the immobilization, and using Mage Hand, Garrett presented the broken spoon to the old hunchback. Though he was confident there had been no damage during the operation, it was still necessary to ask:

"How do you feel? Any discomfort?"

Thud!

The old man knelt down on all fours.

"Hey... You don’t have to..."

Garrett was full of helplessness. Ah, this was the downside of immobilization spells. In his previous world, it would take at least half an hour to an hour for a patient to recover from anesthesia and move freely, not immediately kneel before him.

After much persuasion and with the help of six strong Mage Hands, they finally got the man up from the ground and out the door. Turning around, Garrett found the place empty, leaving only him, Seraina, and Bernard, standing amidst the desolation.

Garrett shook his head vigorously. For a moment, he almost thought he had crossed into a tale from "Liaozhai," having spent a pleasant night in a haunted mansion, only to turn around and find everything gone...

"Garrett, what are you daydreaming for? Do we still need the 【Refuge Hut】?"

Uh... right, he had forgotten about that...

Garrett returned to the wagon and buried himself in paperwork, documenting the case history. Seraina quietly copied his CT records, flipping through them, trying to study. Midway, Bernard’s voice came from outside:

"What is it?"

"We’ve come to give thanks..." the old hunchback’s voice rose again, humbly and with a hint of a smile:

"In our little village, we don’t have much, but these are treasures I’ve accumulated over the years, dedicated to you, the healer. Also, I have a request."

"Boss...?"

Bernard turned to ask for instructions inside the wagon. Garrett hurriedly finished a sentence, lifted the curtain, and climbed out. Glancing over, the wooden box in the old hunchback’s hands contained various animal teeth, bones, bird claws, fish bones...

Uh... let’s pass on those. They were of no use to him, and even after activating 【Detect Magic】, he found no magical materials. Glancing at Seraina, who looked disinterestedly skyward, clearly unimpressed, Garrett thought for a moment:

"Old man, these items are of no use for my treatments or research." Seeing the old hunchback’s face fall, he quickly pointed at Bernard, speeding up his speech:

"However, I’ve always wanted to get a mount suitable for this follower’s abilities. I’m not familiar with the Northlands. Elder, do you have any suggestions?"

"Your follower is a remarkable warrior." The hunched Whitfen squinted, examining Bernard carefully, and said solemnly:

"Such a warrior deserves a worthy mount. A steed with the blood of demons, a giant wolf that breathes ice, or a stag taller than a man’s shoulders—only such magical beasts are worthy to be ridden by your follower."

A Shael horse weighing a ton? Winter wolves, frost wolves, moose? Garrett sifted through his limited knowledge of zoology and magical beasts, selecting a few targets from his memory. It sounded like these mounts could indeed support Bernard. So, the question was, where to find them?

"Healer, once you reach 【Akula】, many tribesmen will boast their strength by hunting magical beasts or taming mounts," the old hunchback provided the answer:

"At that time, I will use all the power of my tribe to seek opportunities for your follower."

"That would be wonderful." Garrett breathed a sigh of relief, grateful. Heaven knows, he was tired of riding magical horses or phantom steeds while Bernard ran on foot:

"If your tribespeople have any ailments and need my assistance, please feel free to ask!"

"That’s excellent!" The old hunchback’s eyes brightened. He raised his right hand, twisted it, and, with difficulty, reached towards his left back:

"To tell you the truth, this has troubled me for many years. I’ve tried medications, spells, various methods, and sought help from many healers. But either it was ineffective, the surface skin ulcerated, or it grew even larger the more it was treated..."

He

bowed respectfully, almost bending his head to his knees:

"Respected healer, your miraculous methods have reignited my hope. I earnestly request you to relieve my pain..."

"Okay!" Seraina’s voice, delicate and immediate, reached him. Fortunately, she didn’t shout but used a spell to direct her voice into Garrett’s ear. Her tone was excited and full of anticipation:

"He came to us himself! Garrett, treat him!"

I do want to treat him. But...

Garrett sighed. He glanced sideways at Seraina, holding a thick record book in her hand.

Since the old man mentioned it could grow, prioritize various tumors. Whether fibromas, lipomas, hemangiomas, or any other benign or malignant tumors...

The examination method always comes back to CT.

"Uh..." Garrett tentatively asked the old hunchback:

"For a safe treatment, we need to repeat today’s exploratory spell, which might take ten times longer... Why don’t you wait until we reach the gathering, and I can summon an ethereal body then?"

Please agree! You must agree! On my honor, he really didn’t want to do it again today... That scan range was so vast!

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