Chapter 6: A Psychological Problem

Words : 2162 Updated : Jan 15th, 2026

Della Sowden didn't know Joseph Lyson already had Perspective Vision. When she saw blood streaming from his nose, she grew anxious. "Joseph, are you seriously ill? Why is your nose bleeding again? Look at you-you're getting paler by the minute. I'll wipe you up, then we'll swing by Jessica's house to borrow an electric scooter and hurry to the hospital." Joseph had already overdrawn his vital essence, and the moment he saw what lay under Della's clothes, his nose bled. Of course his face turned even paler. But he didn't dare tell her that. "Della, don't worry. I'm fine. I'll go wipe it off," he said, turning back into the house. He grabbed a few tissues, rolled them up, and plugged his nostrils. The pressure eased the bleeding a little. Della, still flustered, shut the door and headed out with him to Jessica's house to borrow the scooter. Jessica Looske's husband repaired appliances and made good money, so theirs was one of the few households in the village that could afford an electric scooter. They soon reached Jessica's house. Seeing the door closed, Della stepped up and knocked. "Jessica, are you home?" "I'm here, Della," Jessica said, opening the door. The savory scent of braised fish drifted out. Jessica glanced at them. "Della, Joseph, what's up?" "This morning you and Chunhua said the town hospital got a specialist from the province, right?" Della said. "I want to take Joseph over so the specialist can treat him. We came to borrow your electric scooter so we can get to the town hospital quickly." Joseph stood off to the side, keeping quiet and playing dumb as he stared at Jessica. He found he couldn't see through her clothes, even though he had just seen under Della's. He still didn't know his ability was called Perspective Vision. Perspective Vision also needed a strong body to work at full strength. He had just had a nosebleed and spent a lot of vital essence, so of course it didn't function properly. Jessica smiled and nodded. "No problem. The scooter's just sitting at home anyway. I'll bring it out." She turned and went in to push the scooter out. She still planned to find an excuse tonight-maybe claim she needed a well fixed-to get Joseph to come help. Besides, he had saved her yesterday, and she wanted a chance to thank him. Most importantly, the simple kid was sturdy, and she liked that. So when they came to borrow the scooter, she certainly wouldn't refuse. Jessica soon pushed the electric scooter out. Handing it to Della, she said, "Take it easy. Be careful on the road-no rush." Della nodded. "Thanks, Jessica. I'm taking Joseph to the town hospital." Della started the electric scooter, and Joseph sat behind her. They left Alton Village and headed for Derlon Hospital. The scooter rattled nonstop along the road. Riding pillion, Joseph pressed against Della's back, and the feeling struck him as exquisite. "Joseph, don't lean so close to me. Hold the back handle," Della called over the wind. "Got it, Della." Joseph grabbed the rear handle and scooted backward until he put a bit of distance between them. After about half an hour, they arrived at Derlon Hospital. They parked, took a number, and headed to the specialist clinic on the second floor. The clinic was packed. Della tugged Joseph's hand and squeezed inside. At the center, a white-coated expert in his sixties was taking an old woman's pulse. Joseph had read the hospital postings; the old expert should have been Zachary Cath, a renowned traditional-medicine doctor from the provincial capital. Three junior doctors stood beside him. They held pens and paper, noting patients' conditions and the prescribed medications. All three were young women, likely fresh out of med school. After a few glances, Joseph discovered his Perspective Vision had come back. Of the three, two had modest figures; one looked impressive. Her face was delicate, her skin pale as milk, and her curves traced a bold S. Joseph stared, slack-jawed. As he watched, he suddenly noticed a white mass at the woman's lower abdomen. Since obtaining the Heavenly Emperor's Legacy, he already possessed extensive medical knowledge. Her case might have been severe Uterine Cold. When it flared, the pain would have had her writhing on the floor, drenched in cold sweat. Right-back at Jessica's house earlier, hadn't his vision failed? Why had it returned now? He quickly looked at the old lady and saw a milky-white substance swirling through her blood, with a white mist shrouding her legs. That was clearly arthritis-stubborn and hard to treat. He turned his gaze to Zachary Cath. Inside Zachary's chest clustered countless red clumps. One mass blocked the trachea and crept toward the throat, moving very slowly. It seemed his lungs had serious trouble. A bronchus was clogged by a blood clot. At this pace, Zachary would cough up the clot the morning after tomorrow. Joseph scanned the other patients. He could see the lesions in almost all of them. He kept quiet and watched Zachary diagnose. Zachary didn't prescribe quickly. Joseph and Della waited for almost two hours before it was finally their turn. He had already noticed that this so-called expert misdiagnosed about eighty percent of the patients. Joseph sighed inwardly. Traditional medicine had truly fallen. Della spoke up at once. "Professor Cath, please take a look at Joseph. Half a year ago he had something wrong with his brain and became a bit simple. And this morning his face suddenly went very pale. I don't know what's wrong. Could you see if you can treat him?" Zachary glanced at Della, then at Joseph, and smiled. "Alright, don't worry. Have the young man sit. I'll take his pulse." Joseph wasn't sick, but to avoid drawing suspicion, he obediently sat by the desk and offered his wrist. Zachary set three fingers to his pulse. After a few seconds he frowned and shook his head. Della panicked. "Professor Cath, what's wrong with Joseph? Is it serious?" Zachary spoke evenly. "Young lady, this young man's not only got a problem with his brain-he's got a problem with his mind." Della didn't catch his meaning. "How could his mind be a problem? Isn't the paleness from weak vitality?" Zachary explained, "Young lady, his weakness came from excessive bedroom activity." Excessive bedroom activity? The kid was simple-he didn't even understand what that meant! Della only felt more confused. "But Joseph isn't even married. How could he be overindulging?" Zachary chuckled. "Not married-exactly. That's why his mind has a problem. If my diagnosis is right, he prefers to handle his needs alone. I'd guess he sneaks off every night to take care of it himself." As Zachary finished, the three female doctors burst into laughter. Even two patients behind them snickered. Della wanted to sink into the floor. Mortified didn't begin to cover it. Joseph seethed inside. The old geezer was talking utter nonsense.

Chapter 6: A Psychological Problem

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