Synopsis

The chapter opens with medical explanations of petechial hemorrhage and splenomegaly, as several people die with these symptoms and rapidly decreasing platelet counts, including a young woman. A new administrator, Rao, arrives in the Bay Region to investigate, but finds the townspeople enamored with a local healer named Raymond, who they call "the Prince". Rao suspects Raymond of manipulating the town, while Raymond himself is motivated by profit and recognition. A man, seemingly healthy, suddenly succumbs to a brain hemorrhage, further deepening the mystery and angering Raymond.