Overlooked

I practically sprinted to the ward.

There were only one or two nurses on duty standing inside. Zhao Qian's father, Zhao Xi, stood there like a sheet of white paper, his bloodshot eyes filled with exhaustion and frustration.

His father had died during the ritual performed by the Daoist priest he had invited. His daughter had nearly been strangled to death in the funeral hall. His son had killed his own friend and landed in the police station. His wife had taken their relatives to the station to smooth things over. The useless man himself could only come to the hospital to watch over his unconscious daughter, only for her heart to stop moments later, leaving her life hanging by a thread.

Zhao Xi panicked. Deep self-reproach and helplessness clung to him like wronged spirits. He did not know why he had been so unlucky, or how he had managed to endure this day. If there had not been people beside him, he would never have doubted that he would end up kneeling on the floor and wailing his heart out.

The ward was heavy with yin energy, almost spilling out through the door.

The door was half-shut. The two nurses were trembling as cold and fear mingled within them while they desperately administered first aid. Zhao Qian lay there motionless, her face greenish, seemingly no longer breathing. Every so often, her arms and feet twitched.

A miserable-looking boy of seven or eight knelt on Zhao Qian's body. Black light gleamed in his eyes, and his thin, slightly transparent hands had sunk into Zhao Qian's chest, tightly gripping her heart.

When the boy in white saw Han Shanshan and me arrive, he slowly turned his head. There was not the slightest trace of white in his pupils, as though he were warning us and blocking any living person from taking another step forward.

Then the little boy let out a shrill roar. His pitch-black eyes bulged as if they were about to split, and the yin energy surged toward us again like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam.

Bang! Bang! The two doors kept closing and opening, while the ceiling lights flickered on and off.

The boy in white appeared and vanished with the flickering light. Zhao Xi's eyes flew open, and he stared at the scene before him in terror. Unable even to speak, he rushed forward to pull the boy in white off his daughter.

The doctors and nurses began filing into the ward from the corridor, and my brows had already drawn together into a deep frown.

"Qianqian!" Han Shanshan was so frightened that she tried to rush in, but I stopped her where she stood.

"Han Shanshan, keep them out at the door!" I ordered Han Shanshan, then walked in front of the two nurses and Zhao Xi and grabbed Zhao Xi, who was desperately trying to seize the boy in the air.

Han Shanshan took out her special action group police badge and stopped the doctors from moving forward.

I immediately said to Zhao Xi, "Uncle Zhao, take them all outside. This isn't something you can handle."

"You are...?" Zhao Xi looked at me, his dull eyes filled with uncertainty. I opened Xijun's Soul Urn, and her red figure appeared beside me.

Only then did the little boy kneeling on Zhao Qian realize fear existed. He shrank back his hands in fright, but Xijun dragged him off Zhao Qian like a dead dog!

"Xijun! Eat him!" I ordered.

With my permission, Xijun had no reservations. Bite by bite, she tore the screaming, wailing little boy into pieces. Zhao Xi saw the scene, his eyes wide as saucers, looking as though he had been possessed.

He probably never imagined that the migrant worker his daughter had kept company with all day would have a ghost-eating evil spirit by his side.

I took out the Spirit-Calming Talisman and Ghost-Repelling Talisman I had stolen from Adept Canyun and stuffed them beneath Zhao Qian.

"Brother Tian... I still have some..."

Zhao Qian's heart began beating again, and she woke up weakly, her face bluish-gray.

It seemed there was still something on her.

"Everyone, get out! No one comes in without my permission!" I looked firmly at Zhao Xi, signaling for him to leave, and drove the two nurses out as well.

"Everyone... everyone get out! Make way and let Master save her!" Zhao Xi immediately shouted at the two nurses. When he saw that they still did not leave, his expression turned somewhat hostile. His daughter had said there was something filthy on her, and if they delayed, something might truly happen.

The two young nurses saw that Zhao Qian had regained consciousness, but they had no idea what was going on. They could not see Xijun, much less the little boy. Yet the eerie flickering lights, the opening and closing doors, and the chill in the ward all frightened them. Anyone working the night shift knew that this was the most terrifying part of the day.

Now that the family had issued a strict order, they had even less reason to stay. They clasped hands and ran out.

"Please, you must save my daughter!" As he left, tears overflowed from Zhao Xi's aged eyes while he begged me.

"Of course. Even if you hadn't asked, Uncle Zhao, I would have done it." I nodded. After watching them close the door, I stood guard outside and finally let out a breath.

"Xijun, protect her from the side."

After saying that, I began removing Zhao Qian's little jacket. I carefully checked it once and found nothing, so I began examining every detail of her body, including the private area of her chest, her bra, and even preparing to inspect beneath her.

Zhao Qian's skin was glossy, like milk, radiating a girl's unique fragrance beneath the light. As I examined her body, heat rose across my face, while the scent rushing toward me was intoxicating.

Of course, I kept my eyes straight ahead, afraid of missing any sign that someone had cast a spell on her. Thus, even when my wife-sister blew air behind me, I ignored her completely.

After all, I was carrying out this task with an incomparably serious and reverent attitude. Besides, just look at Zhao Qian. Her face was as red as a watermelon, yet she had not said a word, had she?

I believed that even if my wife-sister did not understand now, she would understand eventually.

Under my searching hands, Zhao Qian struggled and moved her body. After holding out for quite a while, she finally could not endure it any longer and said awkwardly, "Brother Tian... what I mean is... I actually have several Spirit-Calming Talismans and Ghost-Repelling Talismans in my pocket too..."

"Huh? What did you say?" I froze, stopping the hand that had been reaching toward her panties.

"I mean... I have talismans in my pocket too... I wasn't cursed by anyone..." Zhao Qian's face was as red as a dragon fruit as she turned her head away.

This... had I misunderstood?

My old face instantly flushed red. I coughed twice to hide my embarrassment and said, "Ahem, I was just worried you hadn't noticed them. I wanted to check everything once so I could rest easy."

"Oh..." Zhao Qian hummed shyly. I think you did that on purpose, Brother Tian!

I fastened her clothes and covered her with the blanket. Zhao Qian immediately buried her head under the covers.

Afraid of leaving Zhao Qian with the impression that I had taken advantage of her while she was helpless, I felt extremely embarrassed. I opened the door and said to Zhao Xi and Han Shanshan, "All right, there's basically no problem now. Let the doctors examine her. After they give her a shot and some medicine, she should be fine. She's only caught a chill. It isn't serious."

"Thank you, Master. I, Zhao Xi... sigh, I was negligent before! I never imagined you were a true master who kept his abilities hidden until the right moment!" When Zhao Xi saw me come out, he immediately seized my hand and showered me with extravagant praise.

I could barely keep a straight face. I had just accidentally done that sort of thing to his daughter, and he still did not need to be so polite with me.

"Heh... Even if you hadn't said anything, Zhao Qian is my good friend, so I wouldn't have stood by and done nothing. If I hadn't underestimated my opponent just now, Zhao Qian wouldn't have had to suffer like that." I shook my head with a bitter smile, deeply regretful in my heart.

I never expected that after Zhao Zhou and Wu Zhenghua left, they could still cast a curse on Zhao Qian and Zhao He. Even Master Wang Heng of the Wang Family had failed to hold the situation together and had been beaten to death with a brick.

"In any case, it was Uncle Zhao who misjudged things. From now on, you're the benefactor of my entire family. If there's anything you need, just say the word." Zhao Xi held on to my hand without letting go.

"Uncle Zhao, you're too kind." I could feel Zhao Xi's hand trembling. It seemed he was deeply grateful to me, which left me somewhat at a loss.

"Are you really that capable?" Han Shanshan suspiciously glanced at Zhao Qian, who was buried under the covers, then looked at me. She seemed to think there was some hidden story.

"What do you think?" I smiled nonchalantly, but my heart was in turmoil. What if Zhao Qian told her best friend everything that happened just now?

"Hmph. I suppose you do have some ability after all." Han Shanshan still looked puzzled, but she ignored me and ran over to check on Zhao Qian.

"Uncle Zhao, let's not block the way here. Let's go talk over there. You can also tell me what happened after I left." I led Zhao Xi into the corridor, getting in the way of the doctors' examination as well.

This was a VIP private room, so as soon as they heard that Zhao Qian's heart had stopped, the doctors grew extremely anxious. Not only did the doctors on duty come; even those who had been sleeping gradually arrived.

The doctors examined Zhao Qian inside and found that she had merely caught a slight chill and suffered excessive fright. They could not find anything seriously wrong with her body either, and they all breathed sighs of relief.

Afterward, they hurriedly performed a CT scan, an ECG, and other comprehensive examinations. Only after finding nothing wrong did they finally relax and stop putting Zhao Qian through further tests.

They did not know what I had done in the ward. However, because the matter was so mysterious, rumors continued to spread afterward. Some said I was a medical expert, some said I was the disciple of a famous acupuncture master, and others even claimed I was a witch doctor. All sorts of wild stories circulated.

I estimated that Han Shanshan, that woman with her wild imagination, had made most of them up. No one else could have pulled off something like that.

In the ward corridor, Zhao Xi told me that after I left, nothing strange had happened in the funeral hall. Old Master Zhao had been placed in the coffin and nailed in, and the relatives had gradually arrived from the county town.

He had also brought Master Wang Heng with him. They burned incense, paid their respects, and proceeded with the "great vigil"—a large-scale funeral ritual. Around four in the morning, everyone was exhausted and sleepy, and half of the dozen or so people in the funeral hall had fallen asleep.

Zhao Qian was heartbroken over her grandfather's death, so she stayed by the coffin with several relatives who had not fallen asleep, burning incense for the old man.

Then, for some unknown reason, Master Wang Heng suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed Zhao Qian by the neck. She could not call for help. She was nearly dead, and several relatives rushed over to pull Master Wang Heng away, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not move him and had no idea what to do.

Fortunately, Zhao He had just returned from relieving himself. The moment he saw his little sister being strangled, he did not stop to think. He grabbed a brick and smashed it into Master Wang Heng's head, splitting it open.

No one had expected Zhao He to swing that brick with such brutal accuracy and force. One blow had sent Master Wang Heng's brains flying and killed him. His body was now in the morgue, waiting for the police to perform an autopsy.

Zhao He could not escape charges of excessive self-defense and negligent homicide.

No one else knew why Zhao He had struck so accurately and viciously with that brick, but I did. I still remembered him beating Zhang Kaifu to death with a brick back in Little Righteousness Village. I guessed that was when the brat Zhao He had gotten hooked and discovered the thrill of smashing people with bricks.

Zhao He had been taken to the station, but Zhao Qian still did not know.