Worries

With the help of the kindly nurse, Zhao Qian woke up, but her complexion was terribly poor. After waking, she soon fell asleep again.

Even with Sister-in-Law helping her in secret, Zhao Qian had been possessed by the mountain ghost, so she might have been left with some problems. I wanted to have Elder Hai divine it, but in his current condition, he was lucky if he could still walk.

I took the opportunity to have the gentle nurse bandage my wounds and apply some medicine. As a result, because my qi and blood were out of balance, I nearly fainted onto her.

Han Shanshan, who was writing a report nearby, bared her teeth in exasperation. "Honestly, you... Ugh, I don't even want to talk about you!"

She startled me awake. "What? Don't like the sight of it? Do you want me to fall onto you instead?"

The nurse beside us blushed bright red at that. Was he flirting with a police officer? Would she get in trouble? Terrified, she immediately ran off.

"You idiot. Zhao Qian's right there—why didn't you take the chance to lie on her? How could that nurse compare to her?" Han Shanshan lectured me seriously.

"You! There are so many people around." I was practically speechless at her.

Captain Huo had already taken Zhao Zhou, Zhao Yi, and the others involved away. Zhao Yi was incredibly lucky; on the way down the mountain, he had merely knocked against a rock. But that scream of his had been truly soul-rending. At the time, I had thought that if the kid didn't die, he would at least be crippled. He had scared the life out of me.

"Big Brother, you're something else. The lightning on the mountain kept flashing—it was terrifying. And you actually stayed up there for an entire night! Amazing!" Lei Qing came through the door and poured Han Shanshan and me each a cup of tea.

"Who let you in? Get out." Han Shanshan glared at him, clearly not getting along with this punk.

"Sister Han, I wasn't talking about you. What's the point of picking on a little guy like me?" Lei Qing said with a bitter face.

"Hmph. You'd better stay outside. Can't you see there's a patient lying here?" Han Shanshan was using the chicken feather as an arrow. This was Zhao Qian's little boudoir at the estate—not somewhere just anyone could enter. Didn't Lei Qing have any sense?

"I only came to bring you some water. Fine, I'll leave right now." Seeing the unfriendly look on Han Shanshan's face, Lei Qing turned to run.

"Hold it." Han Shanshan called him back, tapping the report with her pen. "Look, you saw it too. I'm writing about your accomplice now. Should I say I accidentally shot him in the thigh, or should I write something else?"

Lei Qing froze for a moment before catching on. He immediately grinned. "How could that be? Officer Han, you were heroic and wise at the time. How could that shot possibly have come from you? A-Biao suddenly went crazy and ran into the bullet himself. That guy has a record. Whenever he sees someone firing a gun, it's like he's been injected with chicken blood—he just loves darting around. How could that have anything to do with you?"

"Hmph, hmph. He's all right, isn't he? He won't hold it against me?" Han Shanshan asked with a tigerish expression.

"How could he? I, Lei Qing, swear on my chest! He even said you shot beautifully, shot wonderfully. He secretly told me that he'd had rheumatism since he was little, but after taking that bullet, it miraculously stopped hurting! How could he hold it against Sister Han? He can't thank you enough!" Lei Qing thumped his chest so hard it looked as if it had turned blue.

"Be serious! All right, all right, get lost." Han Shanshan glared at him, then casually waved him away after a moment, sending Lei Qing off.

Lei Qing fled as though released from a heavy burden.

I glanced at Lei Qing, then at Han Shanshan. With one willing to strike and the other willing to take it, I was utterly speechless.

"Why aren't you writing the report at the police station? Is it all right to write it here? Didn't you nearly shoot someone to death last night? Old Madam Zhao is still lying in the hospital." I gave her a few words of reprimand, reminding her that she had been the one who shot Old Madam Zhao in the stomach.

"The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Even the people above don't dare interfere, so what are you meddling in, sis? What do you call this again... Ah, right—special circumstances call for special handling!" Han Shanshan rolled her eyes at me, picked up the Special Operations Division badge beside her, waved it in front of me, and continued burying her head in the report.

This report was difficult to write as well. Her superiors couldn't allow her to mention the Arcane Sect, so for the most part they left it to her subordinates to make things up. As long as the report didn't touch upon the Arcane Sect, they could write flowers and still get it approved.

Han Shanshan's identity was no ordinary one. Otherwise, how could a minor police officer afford to live in Dragon Abyss Residential Compound? Even Captain Huo treated her courteously. She was also familiar enough with Zhao Qian to banter with her, and the feng shui arrangements in her family home came one after another.

"Then keep writing your report. I'm going out to make a call." I checked the time. It was half past eight, and I wanted to call Yu Xiaoxue to ask about the electric furnace.

"Why go outside? The Zhao Family is performing the funeral rites and preparing for the burial. It's on the mountain behind the estate." Han Shanshan asked me.

I merely nodded, but still decided to go out.

Seeing that I was leaving, Han Shanshan had to write her report and watch over Zhao Qian, so she stopped paying attention to me.

When I reached the entrance, I saw members of the Zhao Family bustling about, lighting soul-guiding lamps, lifting the coffin onto its frame, and fitting it with a paper house.

The funeral arrangements were still proceeding in an orderly fashion. The ritual master leading the Zhao Family beside the coffin was someone I didn't recognize, but now that matters had mostly been settled, Wu Zhenghua had returned to his lair to lick his wounds. There probably wouldn't be any more trouble.

That left only the Wang Family. I had no idea what that old bastard Wang Cheng was thinking. He hadn't added fuel to the fire at the Zhao Family these past two days, but I was afraid he might come and cause trouble during the burial.

Seeing that Lei Qing was still nearby, I waved him over. "It's about time. What's the situation with the Wang Family?"

"Big Brother, after what you did in the morgue, the Wang Family was completely intimidated. They haven't shown any intentions for now. They'll probably go their separate ways, and they're wary of causing trouble at the Zhao Family too. Besides, Elder Hai is still there keeping watch. But if Zhao He gets out of the police station, then it's hard to say. Something will definitely happen." Lei Qing replied.

"You've got a pretty sharp eye. Still, when it comes to things like this, resolve them if you can. Debts have their creditors and grievances have their perpetrators. Although Zhao He was involved, the one who truly killed people was Wu Zhenghua." I nodded. Elder Hai was a well-respected Arcane Sect yin-yang practitioner in the county. Setting aside the people he knew in darker circles, he knew plenty of upright people. The Wang Family would show some respect for his sake. Since everyone had suffered a bereavement this time, they probably wouldn't come again.

"That's right. I've done some things for that old Wu bastard. He seems like a decent person on the surface, but even I think he's vicious underneath." Lei Qing had helped Zhao Yi with many things, so he had naturally witnessed it firsthand.

I had no intention of becoming entangled with Lei Qing, so I took my phone and moved aside. "Xiaoxue, are you awake?"

"Brother Tian! The things in the furnace have finished burning!" Yu Xiaoxue said excitedly.

"How many succeeded?" I was thrilled. I had almost no fighting ability left now. If the Soul Urns were successfully fired at this moment, they would be my greatest support.

"Three!" Yu Xiaoxue was delighted too.

"Not bad. This was all thanks to you and Zhao Qian. I'll treat you to some candy later." I praised her.

"Oh! Then I want a pound! Big White Rabbit milk candy!" Yu Xiaoxue was overjoyed.

"What's the problem with that? Fine, I'll go home at noon and buy some for you on the way." I hung up. Just as I was about to return and check on Zhao Qian, Han Shanshan came out. When she saw me, she pulled me inside. "Zhao Qian's awake. She's making a fuss about going to see her grandfather off."

"If she can walk, then it shouldn't be a problem." I didn't stop her and went inside.

Zhao Qian's face was pale, and her eyes were filled with blood vessels. When she saw me enter, she forced a smile. "Brother Tian."

"You're awake? How do you feel? Any better?"

These past few days, Zhao Qian had suffered terribly. A little ghost had squeezed her heart, Wang Heng had strangled her, and then she had been possessed by a mountain ghost. Any one of those things could have killed her, yet she had encountered them all. Her fate had truly been beset by misfortune. Could she have run into some terrible bad luck?

"I'm all right, I guess. It's just that my eyes hurt a little." Zhao Qian rubbed her eyes as she looked at me, shook her head, and then examined me in turn.

"That can't be." I immediately sat down beside her bed, pried open her lashes, and peered at her eyeballs. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything unusual. It seemed that she simply hadn't slept enough, leaving her eyes bloodshot.

Zhao Qian's cheeks instantly reddened, and her gaze drifted elsewhere.

"Heh-heh, you're not trying to take advantage of her and sexually harass her, are you? This police officer is still right here!" Han Shanshan glared at me angrily.

Only then did I realize that my concern had made me reckless. I stood up, my old face unable to hold on to its dignity.

"Brother Tian, Xiaoqian noticed that the aura around you is very complicated. There's a pale blue one, and another layer of pale gold."

Zhao Qian was talking nonsense, and her words startled both Han Shanshan and me!

"What did you say?" I genuinely began to worry. Could the mountain ghost have accidentally refined away one or two of her souls, leaving her stupid?

"Zhao Qian! Are you all right? Doctor! Nurse!" Han Shanshan immediately went next door to fetch the doctor and nurse.

Our reaction startled Zhao Qian too, and she hurriedly added, "Xiaoqian's fine. I just woke up and my eyes were blurry. I saw it wrong."

A female doctor soon arrived as well. She measured Zhao Qian's blood pressure and examined her pupils. After a while, finding nothing wrong, she said suspiciously, "There's nothing wrong. She's simply exhausted. Rest will take care of it. If she can stay in the hospital for two days, it would be better to observe her properly there."

"Xiaoqian's fine. I don't want to stay in the hospital." Zhao Qian said it directly, then began struggling to get up.

Han Shanshan had no choice but to help her up. Zhao Qian took two steps, seeming to feel that her footing was still a little unsteady.

"I want to see Grandpa off. Shanshan, could you help me there?" Zhao Qian said weakly.

Han Shanshan helplessly glanced at the doctor. The doctor showed little reaction, so she nodded. "Hey, you help her too. Let her walk a little—maybe she'll loosen up."

I was still hung up on Zhao Qian's eye problem. Being possessed could be a major or minor matter. Some people became steeped in yin energy after being possessed, and Zhao Qian had been possessed by a mountain ghost this time. Her yang energy could be said to have been shattered by more than half.

Putting everything else aside, her chances of encountering ghosts would first of all increase severalfold. She was now sickly, and the Star-Sealing Compass that could originally protect her had been given to Wu Zhenghua by Zhao Zhou as payment. Who knew what she would run into in the future?

Zhao Qian insisted on seeing Old Man Zhao off, so I could only support her there. Zhao He was still locked up at the station. If she couldn't go, she would definitely regret it bitterly afterward.