Listening to James' words, Grego's heart sank slightly, and then he continued to ask with some worry.
"Then... is there still a possibility for those children to recover?"
Grego said, having worked in the An Yin Bureau for two years, he had seen many ordinary people affected by extraordinary events. Some were controlled by cults using drugs, some were eroded by Spirit Sight, some were possessed by evil spirits, and some were attacked by extraordinary creatures.
These ordinary people who had encountered extraordinary events often suffered from sequelae, either minor or severe. Some sequelae were untreatable or too costly to treat and would accompany them for life, while others were forcibly dealt with due to their severe harmfulness.
Those seven children were discovered by Grego in the villa. He could still recall the situation at that time, so he still hoped they could be safe and sound.
"The secret transmission they practiced was not particularly profound, and the Spirit Sight they ingested had not reached the point of causing permanent mental damage. As long as they received sufficient long-term comprehensive treatment, recovery was not impossible. The ""Cup"" medicine had accumulated deeply in their bodies, but with sufficiently high-level'Shi' (Stone) medicine, combined with the Church's conditioning methods, they could recover, but..." As he spoke, James' expression sank, and then he continued.
"But such a long treatment period, which consumes precious medicine, is hugely expensive, far exceeding the guarantee fund we can provide. They are also orphans, with no family to continuously pay for the treatment costs. Soon, they will stop receiving medication and be sent to a mental asylum, where they will stay for the rest of their lives."
James continued, the An Yin Bureau had a special basic medical guarantee fund for extraordinary injuries, used to provide medical treatment to victims who accidentally suffered extraordinary injuries. However, the limit of this fund was not high, and medical expenses exceeding it needed to be paid by the patient themselves. But those orphans simply had no families of their own.
Listening to James' words, Grego became slightly anxious, and then suddenly spoke as if he had thought of something.
"But, but weren't they adopted by Viscount Field? Then Viscount Field's inheritance..."
"It's useless. Those seven children, even the one with the mildest symptoms, are still in a state of mental abnormality. Legally, this is considered mentally incapacitated, and they are unrelated to the inheritance. Several distant relatives of the Field family have already secretly received the news and are coming to Igwinte with lawyer teams to contest the inheritance. I've contacted them; those guys only have inheritance in their eyes, not a single one is willing to bear the medical expenses for these children.
"So... the outcome for those children afterwards is not optimistic..."
James said with a serious expression, recalling the disdainful looks on the faces of those minor nobles in his mind, and couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. Listening to his words, Grego also couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Is that... so..."
...
Shan Dian Hospital is located in the upper district, near Hui Guang Church. It is the only public hospital in Igwin County. Here, the few doctors are treating a constant influx of patients every day.
Due to its public nature, it naturally undertakes some other obligations. The only extraordinary injury treatment department in Igwin County is located here, jointly operated by the Church and the hospital, treating ordinary people sent by the An Yin Bureau who have been harmed by extraordinary events.
On a dedicated floor on the first level of the hospital building, there are rooms equipped with iron doors and iron windows, resembling prison cells, lined up. In those rooms, there are several children, big and small, wearing patient gowns.
Some of them were curled up on the beds, trembling non-stop. Others were struggling wildly with their limbs restrained, constantly howling. Some were held down by several doctors and Sisters, being forcibly fed medicine. Some had dull expressions and were constantly muttering something.
Even though the rooms were sufficiently sealed, sounds could still be faintly heard coming from within.
"Let go of me! Let go of me! I want to find Father! I want to find Father!"
"I want black tea, Father's black tea, quickly give me black tea..."
"Sheep... sheep... I am a lamb... the wolf's lamb... wolf, where are you..."
Scenes of madness were unfolding in the rooms. After Luer's death, these children, who had been "educated" by him using medicine and Spirit Sight, had already lost control.
At the end of this row of iron-doored rooms was a semi-open room. In this room, there was a white hospital bed, and sitting on the bed was a young girl, around ten years old, wearing a patient gown, with loose yellow hair, a thin figure, and a dull gaze.
On both sides of the hospital bed, a doctor and a Sister were standing. The doctor was currently holding up an animal card with a rabbit drawn on it, showing it to the girl.
"What animal is this? Anna."
"It's a sheep..."
Facing the doctor's question, Anna slowly replied with a wooden tone. Hearing Anna's answer, the doctor's expression froze, then he put away the rabbit animal card, took out a card with a horse on it to show Anna, and then asked.
"What animal is this? Anna, don't rush, think before you answer."
"It's a wolf..."
Anna continued to answer with an empty, wooden expression. Seeing this scene, the doctor and the Sister exchanged a glance. Then the doctor put away the animal cards and took out a card depicting several children happily chasing and playing, showed it to Anna, and then asked.
"Anna, look... what are they doing?"
"The wolf is hunting the sheep, the sheep should be eaten..."
Anna continued to mutter. Looking at Anna's performance, both the doctor and the Sister couldn't help but shake their heads, their faces showing expressions of disappointment.
"Alright Anna, you did great today, rest well, goodbye."
As they spoke, the doctor and the Sister waved as they walked out of the room, then closed the heavy iron door, and afterwards walked side by side down the corridor.
"It seems that even the child with the mildest symptoms has no way to fully recover to normal now," the doctor sighed as he walked down the corridor, while the Sister beside him also replied.
"Although the secret transmission they were forced to practice was short, the concentration of Spirit Sight was very high. Although we managed to timely clear a large part of the Spirit Sight shortly after Anna started practicing the secret transmission, the remaining residue is not so easy to deal with. To fully recover, it might require a four or five month course of treatment."
"Three or four months... I don't know if this child's guarantee fund can last until then. But she still has a little hope, while the others might not have any hope at all..."
As he spoke, the doctor turned his head to look at the children who were struggling wildly in the rooms. Because they had been poisoned by Luer for years, their symptoms were several times more severe than Anna's, and could not be reversed in just a few months.
Without more financial support, Anna might still have a glimmer of hope, but for the other six severely ill children, the only thing awaiting them in the end was a mental asylum.
The doctors and Sisters at this hospital had seen too many such cases, and because the extraordinary medicines involved were incredibly expensive, such situations were even more severe in this extraordinary injury department.
"It's really unbelievable, none of Viscount Field's relatives are willing to pay for the medical expenses, even though they were openly adopted children."
"Perhaps this is the norm for nobles. It's truly hard to believe that Viscount Field only did good because he was controlled. Holy Mother above, are there no truly great benevolent people in this world?"
Just like that, the doctor and the Sister walked forward while chatting about the children's condition, and on the corridor ceiling above them, a gecko clinging there flicked its tongue.