Negligence

I practically rushed to the ward.

There were only one or two nurses on duty in the ward. Zhao Qian's father, Zhao Xi, stood there with a face as pale as paper, his bloodshot eyes filled with exhaustion and frustration.

His father died during a ritual performed by a Taoist priest he hired, his daughter was almost choked to death in the mourning hall, his son killed his best friend and was taken to the police station. His wife took relatives to the police station to smooth things over. Incapable, he could only come to the hospital to look after his unconscious daughter, only for her to suffer cardiac arrest, her life hanging by a thread.

Zhao Xi panicked, deep self-blame and helplessness clinging to him like vengeful spirits. He didn't know why he was so unlucky, how he had endured this day. If there hadn't been someone else beside him, he would have definitely knelt on the ground and wailed.

The ward was filled with a heavy, oppressive gloom, barely able to escape outwards.

The door was half-open. Two nurses, a mixture of coldness and fear, were nervously performing CPR. Zhao Qian lay there, motionless, her face greenish, as if she had stopped breathing. Occasionally, her arms and legs would twitch.

A pale, translucent boy of about seven or eight knelt on Zhao Qian's body, his eyes glowing black. His slender, somewhat transparent hands reached into Zhao Qian's chest, tightly gripping her heart.

The boy in white slowly turned his head upon seeing Han Shanshan and me arrive. There wasn't a trace of white in his eyes, as if warning and blocking the footsteps of newcomers.

Then, the little boy let out a sharp roar, his black eyes widening as if they would split open. The gloomy energy surged forth again like a breached floodgate.

BANG! BANG! The two doors slammed shut and opened repeatedly. The lights on the ceiling flickered on and off.

The figure of the boy in white flickered with the strobing lights. Zhao Xi's eyes snapped open, and he looked at the scene before him in terror, unable to speak as he rushed forward to pull the boy in white kneeling on his daughter away.

Doctors and nurses began to enter the ward in a circle. My brow furrowed into a deep crease.

"Qianqian!" Han Shanshan, startled, tried to rush in but I stopped her.

"Han Shanshan, block them at the door!" I ordered, walking to the front of the two nurses and Zhao Xi, and grabbed Zhao Xi, who was desperately trying to grab the boy in the air.

Han Shanshan took out her Special Operations Group detective ID and blocked the doctors' advance.

I immediately said to Zhao Xi, "Uncle Zhao, take them all out. This is not something you can handle."

"You are!?" Zhao Xi looked at me, his dazed eyes filled with disbelief. I revealed Xijun's soul urn, and a red figure appeared beside me.

The little boy kneeling on Zhao Qian finally understood fear. He retracted his hands in fright but was dragged off Zhao Qian like a dead dog by Xijun!

"Xijun! Eat him!" I commanded.

With my permission, Xijun fearlessly bit the screaming, wailing little boy into pieces, bite by bite. Zhao Xi's eyes widened at this sight, as if he had been possessed.

He probably never expected that the construction worker his daughter had been with all day would have a fierce ghost that eats ghosts by his side.

I took out the Calming Talisman and Ghost Exorcism Talisman I had stolen from Layman Shengyun and stuffed them under Zhao Qian.

"Tian... Ge... I still have..." Zhao Qian's heart resumed beating, and her ashen face slowly came around.

It seemed there was still something on her.

"Everyone out! No one comes in without my permission!" I glanced firmly at Zhao Xi, signaling him to leave, and also ushering the two nurses out.

"All... all out! Make way, let Master save her!" Zhao Xi immediately yelled at the two nurses. Seeing they weren't leaving, his expression turned grim. His daughter said she still had something unclean on her; if it was delayed, something bad might truly happen.

The two young nurses saw that Zhao Qian had regained consciousness and had no idea what was happening. They couldn't see Xijun, nor the little boy. But the eerie flickering of the lights, the opening and closing of the doors, and the coldness in the room made them terrified. Those on night shift knew that this was the most terrifying time of the day.

Now that the family member had given a strict order, they had no reason to stay. They held hands and ran out.

"Please, you must save my daughter!" Zhao Xi pleaded with me, tears streaming down his face as they exited.

"Mm, I would have done it even if Uncle Zhao hadn't asked," I nodded. After watching them close the door, I breathed a sigh of relief as they stood guard outside.

"Xijun, guard the side."

After speaking, I began to take off Zhao Qian's small jacket. I carefully checked her all over but found nothing. Then I began to explore every detail of Zhao Qian's body, including her private parts, her bra, and even prepared to check below.

Zhao Qian's skin was radiant, like milk, exuding a girl's unique aura under the light. As I examined her body, my face grew hot, and the fragrance that wafted towards me was intoxicating.

Of course, I kept my eyes straight ahead, afraid of missing any signs of a curse, so even when Sister Wife blew on my back, I ignored her.

After all, I was doing this with an extremely serious and reverent attitude. And look at Zhao Qian, her face was as red as a watermelon right now, and she hadn't said a word.

I believed that even if Sister Wife didn't understand now, she would understand later.

As I fumbled around, Zhao Qian stirred. After a long while, she couldn't bear it anymore and said shyly, "Tian Ge... I mean... I actually have a few Calming Talismans and Ghost Exorcism Talismans in my pocket..."

"Huh? What did you say?" I was startled and stopped my hand that was about to reach towards her underwear.

"I said... I have talismans in my pocket too... I wasn't cursed..." Zhao Qian's face turned as red as a dragon fruit, and she looked away.

This... was a misunderstanding?

My old face instantly turned red. I coughed twice to cover my embarrassment and said, "Cough, cough, I was just afraid you hadn't noticed, so I checked to be sure. I'm relieved now."

"Oh..." Zhao Qian hummed shyly. I think Tian Ge did it on purpose!

After I buttoned up her clothes and covered her with a blanket, Zhao Qian buried her head in the quilt.

Afraid of giving Zhao Qian the impression that I had taken advantage of her, I felt very embarrassed and went to open the door. I said to Zhao Xi and Han Shanshan, "Alright, there are basically no major issues. Let the doctor examine her, prescribe medication, and she should be fine. It's just some cold entering her body, nothing serious."

"Thank you, Master. Zhao, before... alas, I was negligent! I never expected you to be so extraordinary!" Zhao Xi saw me come out and immediately grabbed my hand, showering me with praise.

My old face felt a bit awkward. I just accidentally did that to your daughter, and you're already being so polite to me.

"Heh heh... Even if Uncle Zhao hadn't said it, Zhao Qian is my good friend, and I wouldn't have ignored her. If I hadn't underestimated the opponent earlier, Zhao Qian wouldn't have suffered such torment," I said with a wry smile, feeling very regretful.

I hadn't expected that even after Zhao Zhou and Wu Zhenghua left, they could still curse Zhao Qian and Zhao He. Even Master Wang Heng of the Wang Family couldn't hold the fort and was killed by a brick.

"Regardless, it was my oversight, Uncle Zhao. From now on, you are a benefactor to my entire family. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Zhao Xi said, still holding my hand.

"Uncle Zhao is too kind." I could feel the trembling in Zhao Xi's hand. It seemed Zhao Xi was extremely grateful to me, which made me feel a bit lost.

"Are you really that capable?" Han Shanshan eyed Zhao Qian, who was buried under the covers, with suspicion, then looked at me. She felt like there was something hidden.

"What do you think?" I chuckled nonchalantly, but my heart was in turmoil. What if Zhao Qian, in her best friend's ear, spills everything that just happened to Han Shanshan?

"Hmph, I think you do seem to have some skill." Han Shanshan was a bit confused, but she ignored me and went to check on Zhao Qian.

"Uncle Zhao, let's not stand here. Let's talk over there. You can tell me what happened after I left," I led Zhao Xi into the hallway, also blocking the doctors' examination.

This was a VIP ward, so when the doctors heard Zhao Qian's heart had stopped, they were all very anxious. Not only were the on-duty staff rushing over, but even those who were asleep came.

The doctors examined Zhao Qian inside and found that she had only caught a slight cold and was overly frightened. Her body seemed to have no other major issues, and they were all relieved.

They then rushed to perform comprehensive tests like CT scans and EKGs. Only when everything came back clear did they relax and stop bothering Zhao Qian.

They didn't know what I had done in the ward before. However, because it was too mystical, after the incident, rumors didn't stop. Some said I was a medical master, some said I was the successor of a famous acupuncturist, and others even claimed I was a witch doctor. It was all sorts of nonsense.

But I guessed it was all Han Shanshan's wild imagination and exaggerated tales. Others wouldn't be able to come up with such things.

In the ward hallway, Zhao Xi told me that after I left, nothing strange had happened in the mourning hall. Old Man Zhao had been placed in his coffin and sealed with nails. Then, relatives began arriving from the county town.

He then brought Master Wang Heng, and they paid their respects and began the "Grand Night" – a large-scale funeral ritual. Around four in the morning, everyone was tired and sleepy, and half of the dozen or so people in the mourning hall had fallen asleep.

Zhao Qian, heartbroken over her grandfather's death, stayed by the coffin with the few relatives who were still awake, burning incense for the old man.

Unexpectedly, Master Wang Heng suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed Zhao Qian by the neck. Zhao Qian couldn't even call for help and was close to death. Several relatives rushed to pull Master Wang Heng off, but they couldn't budge him. They didn't know what to do.

It was fortunate that Zhao He had just returned from relieving himself. Seeing his sister being choked, he didn't hesitate. He grabbed a brick and smashed it into Wang Heng's head, splitting it open.

No one expected Zhao He to swing that brick so hard. With just one blow, Wang Heng's brains spilled out, and he died. His body was still at the morgue waiting for the police to conduct an autopsy.

Zhao He would definitely be charged with excessive self-defense and manslaughter.

Others didn't know why Zhao He's brick strike was so accurate and fierce, but I did. I remembered him smashing Zhang Kaifu to death in Xiao Yi Village. I guessed that Zhao He had gotten into it back then and discovered the thrill of wielding a brick.

Zhao He was taken to the police station, but Zhao Qian didn't know yet.