Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 630 Deconstructing the Mystery

"Old Hei, is this Nan Zhuren?"

"Correct."

Among the crowd, Teacher Heiquan, who had arrived at the resettlement site early but hadn't had time to start working yet, took a deep breath.

Nan Zhuren is observing the sacrificial ceremony, and Teacher Heiquan is observing Nan Zhuren.

Those who were able to be brought to the disaster area by Professor Ji to participate in this project were basically graduate students with a certain foundation who could do the work well. The youngest of them was at the same level as Professor Heiquan.

However, among these graduate students, Professor Heiquan has relatively more experience in counseling and intervention, while the other graduate students are more focused on basic research.

Normally, Professor Heiquan would be half a level below his peers who do basic research in the research group; but in this rare on-site practical scenario, they subtly regard Professor Heiquan as the leader.

"We just arrived and haven't done anything yet. You said we should wait for Nan Zhuren to come." However, upon seeing Nan Zhuren, his fellow disciples still found it hard to believe. "Is Nan Zhuren really that scary?"

The teacher with dark circles under her eyes rubbed them and nodded, saying, "It's scary."

Seeing Nan Zhuren looking around, Teacher Heiquan said, "The teacher hasn't arrived yet, so let's just follow Nan Zhuren and record their achievements. At least we won't fall too far behind."

Upon hearing this, his fellow disciples were all shocked.

Would this be considered academic misconduct?

"Old Hei," his fellow student suddenly said earnestly, "we researchers, at least... sigh, what's wrong with you?"

The teacher in the black circle, who had been somewhat nervous since Nan Zhuren arrived, suddenly began to take deep breaths, as if she was suppressing something.

Ignoring his fellow students' questions, the black-circle teacher muttered to himself, "It's that look in his eyes... He's at it again!"

……

After observing the old woman who made the most noise, Nan Zhuren then turned his gaze to what was behind her.

[Micro-expression analysis - Intermediate] It operates continuously, like a precision instrument scanning a crowd. Countless pieces of information are transcoded in the visual sensors through Nan Zhuren's eyes and then enter the brain.

At the same time, Nan Zhuren's eyes became slightly unfocused.

[Flow State] is simultaneously enabled, allowing for rapid filtering of this information.

Li Lingling suddenly felt the breathing of the person next to her become much heavier. She turned her head and was surprised to find a thin layer of sweat on Nan Zhuren's forehead.

Before she could ask, she saw Nan Zhuren close his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, his pupils had returned to normal.

Nan Zhuren said, "Lingling, look there."

Li Lingling's attention was immediately diverted, and she looked in the direction Nan Zhuren was pointing.

A young mother holding a baby stood a little further away, her brows slightly furrowed, her gaze shifting back and forth between Old Chen and the child in her arms.

"Dragon King, please calm your anger—" Just then, Old Man Chen, who was performing the sacrifice, shouted.

Nan Zhuren also whispered at this moment: "Look, her shoulders are slightly tucked in—when she shouts the sacrificial incantation, the degree of tuck in her shoulders increases significantly—this is a tense and defensive posture."

"At the same time, she was blinking rapidly, which is a sign that she was under pressure to process information and that she was very uncomfortable with her environment. But this discomfort was not only with the ceremonial center, but also with the child in her arms."

"Her attention was more distracted by the crying child, and the pressures of real life temporarily overshadowed her fear of this... ritual."

Nan Zhuren concluded: "She has not yet been infected by the mass hysteria, or rather, she is a 'potentially infected group'."

Li Lingling squinted, trying to focus her gaze and see something similar to what Nan Zhuren had seen.

However, Nan Zhuren's hand quickly turned in another direction. There stood a middle-aged man wearing faded overalls with mud splattered on his cuffs.
"Hands in pockets, toes tapping the ground unconsciously and rhythmically—this is a subconscious signal of inner restlessness and a desire to leave," Nan Zhuren said. "At the same time, although his gaze was directed towards the sacrificial ceremony, his focus was actually on the building materials; he was more concerned with the actual reconstruction work."

Nan Zhuren glanced at the crowd: "We are relatively lucky. Most of the people in this resettlement site are in the same situation as them—temporarily."

……

Not far away, Teacher Heiquan watched as Nan Zhuren began to talk to Li Lingling beside him, and unconsciously began to move his feet.

"Hey, Lao Hei, it's too obvious, too obvious! You... tone it down a bit!" his companion urged.

The teacher with the black circle suddenly realized something.

Before he could adjust his mindset, Nan Zhuren had already changed direction.

……

Within the area between the young mother, the middle-aged man in work clothes, and the sacrificial circle that Nan Zhuren just pointed out, there was an old woman with gray hair, leaning on a tree branch as a cane.

Nan Zhuren gestured with his head, saying, "This old woman's expression is much more solemn. Look—her lips are moving slightly; she must be reciting the sacrificial inscription. This is a sign of acceptance and integration."

"When the chanting rose in pitch, her throat moved, making a clear swallowing motion."

Li Lingling involuntarily squinted her eyes again, almost turning them into slits, but she still couldn't see much of what Nan Zhuren was saying.

This person has incredibly good eyesight...

“This is to relieve stress,” Nan Zhuren said. “At the same time, her right hand unconsciously rose and touched her neck—remember the two most obvious somatization reactions in this [mass hysteria]?”

Li Lingling was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "The 'dragon scales' on the skin and the 'dragon ribbon' on the neck."

“But…” Li Lingling noticed this time, “that old lady didn’t have any corresponding skin lesions on her neck…”

Nan Zhuren nodded: "So this resonates with the symptoms of 'dragon sash strangling the neck,' and is a preliminary somatization sign of psychogenic reaction, where anxiety and fear begin to be expressed by the body."

Nan Zhuren summarized: "Her belief is not yet deeply rooted, but there are already some signs. It is clear that she has been influenced by the 'mass hysteria' and there has been a 'preliminary infection' in the group."

Li Lingling nodded as if she understood but not quite.

……

Teacher Heiquan watched as Nan Zhuren and Li Lingling's conversation became increasingly animated, even escalating into quiet discussions, seemingly growing impatient.

I couldn't resist taking a few more steps inside.

Nan Zhuren's direction changed again.

"Further down—look over there."

This time, Nan Zhuren tilted his head to indicate a tall, thin man closer to the inner circle. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes.

“You can tell from his appearance that he is sleep-disturbed,” Nan Zhuren said. “Moreover, compared to the two people I showed you before, he repeatedly and slightly scratched his left forearm throughout the entire ritual.”

The movement was quite large, and Li Lingling could tell at a glance.

Even through the clothes, the man's movements appeared hurried and focused.

“This is a typical manifestation of psychogenic itching or abnormal body sensation, with attention fixed on the body,” Nan Zhuren continued. “Moreover, his breathing was slightly shallow and rapid, which is a physiological reaction to anxiety.”

"His scratching will intensify significantly after the tone of the prayer rises, which is because the symptoms are activated by the language suggestion."

“He has closely integrated his inner fears with the narrative of the ‘Dragon King’ and has shown clear physical symptoms.” Nan Zhuren’s tone was solemn. “He has been affected by the spread of [mass hysteria].

“—Wait, Teacher Nan,” Li Lingling suddenly said.

"I have a question."

……

Nan Zhuren paused slightly.

He frowned slightly, but not because of Li Lingling's question.

He quickly relaxed his expression, adjusted his body orientation, and looked at Li Lingling: "What's the problem?"

Li Lingling organized her thoughts, her brows furrowing: "The root cause of the [mass hysteria] we're dealing with now is a psychological problem, right?"

"But the person you pointed out to me just now did have a rash on his arm. And in the previous materials, many people described skin tingling and numbness, and some people even had patches of dry, flaky, and red skin lesions on their bodies, which looked... really like a skin disease."

Li Lingling speculated, "Could it be... that they first contracted some kind of skin disease due to the harsh environment, such as pollution, dampness, and malnutrition after the flood, resulting in symptoms similar to 'dragon scales,' and then, out of fear, attributed it to 'Dragon King's punishment'?"

"So, the physical problems came first, and then the mental ones followed?" Li Lingling concluded.

This is a reasonable deduction based on her nursing expertise, and it is also a physiological factor that must be ruled out first in post-disaster medical relief.

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow and nodded, saying, "It's excellent that you thought of this. This is also the first step we must take before intervening—a rigorous medical screening to rule out organic lesions and ensure that we do not misdiagnose a real, organic skin disease as a psychological problem."

He then changed the subject and continued, "However, based on the information we currently have and the preliminary screening conducted by the medical team, we can most likely rule out a large-scale outbreak of a uniform, organic skin disease."

"Why?" Li Lingling pressed.

“There are several key points,” Nan Zhuren analyzed clearly. “First, the description of symptoms relies heavily on ‘cultural symbols.’ They don’t say ‘itching’ or ‘rash,’ but rather describe it very specifically as ‘dragon scales’ or ‘dragon ribbons’. If it were a purely skin disease, the description of symptoms would be more medical and individualized, rather than using mythological narratives in such a uniform way.”

"Second, the appearance and exacerbation of symptoms are highly correlated with 'psychological suggestion' and 'emotional fluctuations'."

This time, Nan Zhuren didn't tilt his head to indicate the direction again, but said directly, "Just like I pointed it out to you earlier—during the sacrificial ceremony, as the tone of the prayer rose, the man scratching his arm's movements became noticeably more intense. This is a typical characteristic of psychogenic symptoms; organic skin diseases usually don't show such immediate and obvious changes due to shifts in emotions and attention."

"Third, the transmission pattern of symptoms is social rather than pathological. It spreads along interpersonal networks, with close friends and family members who frequently interact being more likely to develop similar symptoms. It does not spread according to the physiological pattern of exposure to the same source of contamination or having the same immunodeficiency."

Li Lingling was taken aback: "You mean to say that their skin problems are just...imagined?"

Nan Zhuren shook his head.

"Just like you said, some of them do have what looks like a skin disease."

Nan Zhuren's expression became serious and earnest: "This is the most difficult part of 'mind-body interaction.' Psychological stress can actually cause skin changes through clear physiological pathways. The skin lesions on their bodies are real; but the root and driving force of these real skin lesions is that psychological state of fear and anxiety."

"To explain it in medical terms..." Nan Zhuren tapped his forehead with his finger.

I organized my words.

“Neurogenic inflammation. You understand what that is, right?” Nan Zhuren said.

Upon hearing this term, Li Lingling immediately added: "Continuous stress activates the nerve endings in the skin to release 'neuropeptides,' causing local vasodilation and plasma leakage, resulting in redness, swelling, and itching of the skin."

This time, it was Nan Zhuren's turn to be taken aback.

"Hmm...that's roughly the idea," Nan Zhuren said.

Li Lingling seemed to have her mind opened: "There's also the vicious cycle of scratching. Repeated scratching damages the skin barrier, leading to thickening of the stratum corneum, lichenification of the skin, and even scratching until bleeding, which looks even more like 'scaly'. Scratching itself also stimulates the skin to release more itch-inducing substances..."

"It could also be an immune system disorder..."

Nan Zhuren blinked and added, "Yes, anxiety and fixation can also lower the sensory threshold... It might just be mild dry skin or normal mosquito bite marks, but under extreme fear and suggestion, the brain can amplify and interpret them as severe 'dragon scales' symptoms, thus triggering more frequent scratching and turning the illusion into reality."

The two of them continued to deconstruct the text, one after the other.

The mystery surrounding the "dragon scales" was immediately greatly diminished.

Nan Zhuren summarized: "So, the complete logical chain may be like this - first there was a huge disaster, which brought about widespread psychological trauma and real-world anxiety - this is the root cause."

"This intense negative emotion found an outlet for explanation and expression within the specific cultural context of the 'Dragon King belief.' The persistent fear and anxiety, as a strong physiological stressor, actually 'created' or 'amplified' inflammation, itching, and skin damage through neural, immune, and other pathways."

“Collective beliefs and suggestions, on the other hand, ‘define’ and ‘shape’ these real skin lesions into the ‘dragon scale’ pattern familiar in their culture.”

"Finally, the spread of symptoms is accomplished through social networks and emotional contagion."

Nan Zhuren said, "Of course, this is just a guess. Next, we need to verify it and then find a solution."

“You need to know that this kind of ‘skin disease’... is actually just the least harmful manifestation of ‘mass hysteria’.” Nan Zhuren recalled the conversation he had with Wang Lili when he intervened with her.

As he said this, Nan Zhuren unconsciously shifted his body's orientation again.

From the very beginning, he had been feeling a faint, persistent gaze directed at him.

(End of this chapter)