Being used by players, related to props, and with bloodstains near the heart area, the first thing Zhong Mu could think of was that he was currently holding this prop.
He tentatively asked, "May I ask what the doctor's name is?"
The doctor smiled slightly, "Drink the medicine first, then I'll tell you."
Zhong Mu frowned as he looked at the bowl of medicine in his hand. He wrinkled his nose and gulped down the entire bowl of medicine in one go. A wave of nausea surged up, making him want to vomit but he couldn't.
"You can't vomit now." The doctor lowered his head and touched the little paper figure standing to the side, instructing him to take a bowl from the corner.
"I...want to vomit...there's something in my stomach..." Zhong Mu's nausea wasn't just because the medicine tasted bad, but more importantly, the moment she drank it, her body suddenly felt a burning and stinging pain, as if something was churning in her stomach, and she tried her best to vomit the medicine she had drunk.
"Just bear with it a little longer, it'll be over soon." The doctor murmured softly, slowly reaching out and groping in the air before handing out a sachet from his sleeve. "If you really can't stand it, just smell this."
Zhong Mu didn't think too much about it. He took it and covered his nose with it. It smelled of mugwort, which immediately cleared his muddled mind a bit, but he still felt uncomfortable.
"If you can feel something in your throat that you can't help but try to get out, then you can spit it out. But if it's medicine, you absolutely cannot spit it out," the doctor carefully instructed. The little paper figure beside him held a bowl, waiting for Zhong Mu to finish.
Zhong Mu could feel something churning in his stomach the moment the medicine went down, an unknown entity trying to make him vomit it up, causing him great pain.
Zhong Mu endured the ordeal, and the contents of her stomach also endured it. When she couldn't hold on any longer, the contents naturally came out.
"Are you alright?" The doctor frowned with concern as he listened to Zhong Mu's heavy breathing.
"I... vomit...!" As soon as he opened his mouth, a foreign feeling rushed up in his throat. Zhong Mu grabbed the bowl and vomited. Along with the black, viscous medicine, something rolled out of Zhong Mu's throat.
Before he could examine it closely, the little paper figure beside him quickly covered the thing with another bowl and then happily ran out of the house.
"Are you feeling better?" The doctor groped around on the table, walked over to Zhong Mu, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "Once you vomit that out, you won't be affected by the dungeon anymore. Your headache, tinnitus, and dizziness will all disappear."
"What...did I vomit something?" Zhong Mu was in so much pain that he didn't even get a clear look before the little paper doll took it away, but he could clearly feel that what he vomited was a living, moving thing.
"It's the medicine you ingested." The doctor smiled faintly, wiping the medicine from the corner of his mouth. "You'll see what it is when it's packed up and brought back in a bit."
Zhong Mu's face was grim. If he remembered correctly, the medicine he took was actually an eyeball, right?
Suppressing her discomfort, Zhong Mu wiped her pale face and looked up at the doctor earnestly, "I've taken the medicine. Now can you tell me your name?"
Her face was as pale as a sheet, yet she still kept asking his name; her thinking was truly simplistic.
The doctor smiled and stood up straight, saying, "My name is Mu He. Generally speaking, I don't like to tell players my name. And you? What's your name?"
Upon hearing the familiar name, Zhong Mu felt that his guess was indeed correct. The doctor in front of him was Mu He, the owner of the SSS-level item he had obtained, the heart.
"My name is Zhong Mu. You may not know me, but I know you!" Zhong Mu immediately lowered his head and began searching for the heart that had been wrapped up for him in his storage items. Now that he had seen its owner, it would be convenient to return it.
"Zhong Mu…you're the one Yin Xiu mentioned…the one who possesses my heart?" The doctor paused slightly, then smiled silently and touched his chest.
No wonder my heart has been pounding these past two days, and I've been getting easily startled. It turns out the person with the heart-bound character was running a dungeon and got scared.
"I found it!" Zhong Mu found an iron box in his pile of props. As soon as he opened the box, he saw a soft cloth lining it, and a blood-red heart was beating inside the iron box, its bright red color dazzling.
Mu He couldn't see it, but he could feel it. He slowly reached out and touched the iron box, whispering, "It really is my heart. It's already here with you..."
"Okay!" Zhong Mu nodded. "I'll give it back to you now."
Mu He was taken aback. "You want to give my heart back to me?"
"This was originally yours, and since you helped me, I should return it to you." Zhong Mu stuffed the metal box into his arms, her face full of righteousness. "If you didn't have a heart, you'd be in a lot of pain, wouldn't you?"
The heart is bound to the player as an item, so not only is the pain connected, but the emotions are also connected. Even though they are strangers, he has to accept what the other person shares. He is unwilling to even think about it.
The doctor silently held the heart that had been easily shoved into his arms, as if it were so cheap that it wasn't even an SSS-level item. Countless players had wanted it before, and every player who knew that his heart could become a top-tier item had harbored wicked thoughts about it, but now it was being so easily stuffed into his arms.
"Are you sure you want to give this back to me? SSS-level items are very important to players, aren't they?"
"High-level items can help you get through many difficult dungeons and save your life, but I only lost a heart." Mu He was somewhat at a loss, holding the iron box in his arms.
I've never encountered a player like this before, I'm a bit confused.
Zhong Mu waved his hand dismissively, "It's not that important to me. The experience and reaction speed in clearing dungeons are the most important. Relying on items will only lead to a quicker death. Here, take this back."
He spoke so casually, as if Mu He had simply lost something ordinary, and Zhong Mu had kindly brought it to him.
At least in Mu He's understanding, once a player hears him, his heart can become an extremely useful tool. Almost every voice that speaks to him reveals an undisguised greed, but the person in front of him has a very calm tone and a clear, simple and pure voice.
After a moment of silence, Mu He slowly raised her gray eyes. "You want to... pretend you're not interested in my heart first, gain my trust, and then take more from me? Just like Xiao Si did."
Zhong Mu was confused. "Who is Xiao Si?"
"The previous owner of this prop."
"Oh!! That kid!" Zhong Mu immediately remembered the wounded child he encountered in the hunting ground instance, but then he frowned. "Did he treat you like this? Pretending not to be interested, and then ripped your heart out?"
"Their methods are all pretty much the same: robbery, deception, and stealth. Countless people want to get their hands on this heart."
Mu He murmured, raising her eyes to look at the faint light in her vision, "You seem to be different from them."