By the time Gu An returned to Jiayuan Community, the sky was already growing dark.
Today's haul had been quite good.
He had turned five thousand Star Coins into three hundred and twenty thousand. After spending two hundred and seventy-two thousand on four portions of ordinary Creation Origin, he still had nearly fifty thousand Star Coins left in his account.
Although he had yet to repay the loan he had taken out yesterday, at least for the time being, he no longer had to worry about investing Origin in the Primordial World.
Before going upstairs, Gu An glanced again at the shopping bag in his hand.
He had bought two boxes of peach-flavored candy.
One was for today, and the other could be eaten slowly, so the one at home wouldn't keep craving it every few days.
Thinking of how Gu Xi had hugged a cushion that morning and confidently demanded candy from him, he couldn't help smiling a little more.
Yet when Gu An opened the door, he found the apartment unusually quiet.
The living room lights were off, and the curtains by the balcony were half drawn. Only a few rays of the setting sun slipped through the gap and fell across the floor.
"Xiao Xi, I'm back."
There was no answer.
Gu An changed his shoes and was about to call out again when his gaze fell on the wheelchair beside the balcony.
Gu Xi was sitting there.
The girl had her head slightly lowered, her long black hair falling over her shoulders. She still held the cushion from that morning in her arms, but the thin blanket over her had mostly slipped off.
On the little table beside her, the book she hadn't finished last night still lay open where she had left it.
"Xiao Xi?" Gu An moved closer.
Usually, when his sister heard him come home, she would have greeted him with a smile long ago.
Yet today, even though he was right in front of her, she was still asleep.
He was about to tease her when he suddenly noticed something was wrong.
The girl's face was even paler than it had been that morning, the hair on her forehead was damp with fine sweat, and there was barely any color in her lips.
Her breathing was shallow, too, and her chest rose and fell a little rapidly.
Gu An's heart sank. He hurriedly crouched down and took her hand.
The little hand that usually loved tugging at his sleeve was now alarmingly cold.
"Xiao Xi, wake up."
Gu An gently patted the girl's shoulder, his voice growing anxious despite himself.
A moment later, the girl finally struggled to open her eyes.
"Brother...?"
She didn't seem fully awake yet. She stared at Gu An, who was right in front of her, in a daze for quite a while before managing a faint smile.
"You're back..."
Gu An didn't answer. He reached out to feel her forehead, then took a close look at her complexion.
"Have you been feeling unwell today?"
"No, I'm just a little sleepy."
As Gu Xi spoke, she seemed to be trying to sit up straight, but the moment she exerted herself, her vision went dark.
She drew a soft breath and sank back weakly.
Gu An hurried to support her. "Don't move around."
This time, his voice was noticeably stern.
Gu Xi seemed to realize she couldn't hide it anymore. She pressed her lips together and explained softly, "I woke up once around noon and wanted to get up and eat something, but I felt dizzy as soon as I sat up. I thought I'd be fine if I slept a little longer, but who knew..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.
After hearing that, Gu An had no thought of scolding her.
He quickly opened his terminal and contacted the emergency center, then settled his sister comfortably and stayed beside her, watching her breathing.
Gu Xi looked at him. She had still wanted to say she was really fine, but when she saw her brother's tense profile, she obediently closed her mouth in the end.
Before long, she suddenly noticed the shopping bag on the coffee table.
"Brother."
"Hmm?"
"My candy..."
Gu An paused.
Then he took the two boxes of peach candy out of the bag and waved them in front of her.
"I bought them. I didn't forget."
The girl finally smiled a little. "That's good."
After saying that, she seemed tired again and slowly closed her eyes.
Gu An held her hand, feeling an indescribable ache in his heart.
She had been fine that morning. How had things come to this by evening?
He suddenly remembered how his sister had been curled up lazily on the sofa before he left, barely even leafing through the book she usually loved most.
At the time, he had just thought she was sleeping in because it was the weekend.
Looking back now, perhaps it hadn't been because she was still sleepy at all.
Linjiang City First Hospital.
By the time the series of examinations was finished, it was already evening.
Gu Xi received emergency treatment and was temporarily stabilized, then admitted to an observation ward.
Gu An sat in the consultation room, looking at the freshly issued examination report in front of him.
The doctor in charge of her treatment was around fifty and was no stranger to Gu Xi's condition.
Over the years, the siblings had been here many times.
"Gu An, your sister's condition isn't very good this time."
The doctor pointed to several clearly abnormal figures in the report, his expression rather grave.
"Her congenital vitality deficiency is considerably worse than it was at her last examination. Her vitality index in particular has dropped rather quickly."
"The drowsiness, weakness, and brief confusion she experienced today are all related to that."
Gu An was silent for a moment before asking, "Hadn't the medicine you prescribed been keeping it under control?"
"She was indeed relatively stable before, but with a congenital defect like this, no one can guarantee it will never change."
The doctor sighed softly and set the report back on the desk.
"Her body is like a lamp born with too little oil. Medicine can help her reduce the consumption and barely keep the flame from going out, but it can't truly replenish the missing part of her life foundation."
Gu An had actually known this for a long time.
But although Gu Xi's body had been weak over the past few years, her condition had never noticeably worsened.
As the days went by, he had even gradually grown accustomed to life this way.
Until today.
"Is there another way?" Gu An looked up. "Money isn't a problem. As long as she can be cured, I'll find a way."
The doctor glanced at him.
He had known the young man before him for several years.
When Gu An had first brought his sister in for a follow-up examination, he had still been a minor, yet he had already organized all her medical records, medications, and treatment costs with perfect clarity.
"For now, we'll continue treatment under a new plan and keep her in the hospital for observation tonight. As for a complete cure..."
He paused before continuing, "Congenital vitality deficiency involves the origin of life. Ordinary treatments really can't do much about it."
"Unless you can find high-end resources that can truly repair her life foundation, or enlist the help of a powerful Creator who has mastered a relevant life law."
Gu An's eyes flickered.
Life law?
The doctor didn't notice the change in him. He simply continued to give him a few precautions and told him not to worry too much for now.
Gu An listened carefully and noted down the subsequent treatment arrangements before leaving the consultation room.
By the time he returned to the ward, Gu Xi was awake.
The girl was resting quietly against the head of the bed. When she saw him enter, she closed the book in her hands and gave him a faint smile.
"Brother, what did the doctor say?"
"You need more rest these next couple of days, and you'll stay in the hospital for observation tonight."
Gu An pulled up a chair and sat down, tucking in the corner of her blanket as he did.
Gu Xi watched him for a while, then suddenly reached out and gently touched the space between his brows.
"Don't frown."
"Am I?"
"You are."
With a perfectly serious expression, the girl held out two fingers and tried to smooth his brow.
"You've been frowning ever since just now, like a little old man."
Gu An felt somewhat helpless, but let her carry on.
"Get well first, and I won't have to frown."
"It's a deal, then."
Gu Xi withdrew her hand and looked at him, her eyes curving into crescents.
"When I'm better, you have to take me out somewhere, Brother. Anywhere is fine, but you can't say you're busy with school and don't have time for me again."
"Okay."
"And you can't change your mind at the last minute."
"I won't."
Gu An held out his little finger and hooked it around the one she offered.
The siblings had made this childish promise countless times when they were young.
Only this time, he felt far less at ease than he appeared.
After talking with his sister for a while, Gu An waited until she fell asleep again before dimming the lights in the ward.
He sat by the bed, gazing at the girl's peaceful sleeping face without moving for a long time.
The doctor's final words still echoed in his mind.
Repairing her life foundation.
A powerful Creator who had mastered a life law.
If this had been yesterday, he might only have been able to consider continuing to earn money and finding a way to buy better treatment resources.
But now...
Gu An suddenly thought of the Mythic Chaos he had created.
Shi Chen held sway over the Time Dao, and Yang Mei held sway over the Space Dao.
After the two innate demon gods were born, he had already been able to use the feedback from his bonded world to briefly foresee the future a few breaths ahead.
Since the Time Dao could become a real divine ability, what about the other Daos?
Among the Three Thousand Great Daos, there were more than just time and space.
Life, creation...
Gu An's eyes gradually brightened.
Especially creation.
In his mythical conception, each of the three thousand innate demon gods held sway over a Dao, and among them was naturally the Creation Demon God.
If he could use the power of the Creation Dao to complete his sister's congenitally deficient life foundation, wouldn't there be a real possibility of curing her?
At that thought, Gu An couldn't help looking at the girl in the hospital bed.
This time, he was no longer doing it solely for the grade-wide evaluation ten days from now, nor solely to help the Primordial World grow as quickly as possible.
He suddenly had a more pressing reason.