Rescue

It was clear that Jiang Ming was truly panicking. If the young woman jumped, it might not have been his fault, but he would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life. After all, he was responsible for maintaining order at the observation platform.

The young woman's mother, who was just as overwhelmed as Jiang Ming, saw Huang Huai and clung to him like a lifeline, crying, "Master, Master, you can save Qianqian, can't you..."

"I'll kowtow to you! She's my only daughter. If something happens to Qianqian, I won't go on living either..."

Seeing the woman, who was about the same age as his own mother, kowtowing before him again and again in despair and supplication, Huang Huai hurried forward and helped her up. "Auntie, I'll do everything I can!"

The young woman's mother was begging Huang Huai purely on instinct. It wasn't that she truly believed he could save her daughter.

Huang Huai and Jiang Ming, both wearing Daoist robes, stood out among the throng of tourists. Their robes marked them as official staff of Xunzhen Temple, and that naturally inspired a measure of trust.

That was why the young woman's mother had reacted so strongly upon seeing Huang Huai.

Leaving the young woman's mother in the care of several tourists, Huang Huai stepped up to Jiang Ming. "Fourth Brother, what exactly happened?"

Jiang Ming gave a brief, straightforward explanation. "According to her mother, the girl developed schizophrenia two years ago. They've been doing their best to treat her, but she keeps getting better and worse, with no lasting improvement. With no other options, her mother brought her traveling, hoping she'd relax and praying at temples along the way. Who could've guessed the girl's illness would be triggered by something today? She climbed over the railing while no one was looking..."

Huang Huai furrowed his brow. Earlier, he had noticed that something seemed off with the young woman when she and her mother were burning incense and praying in the side hall. From her mother's prayers, he had only learned that she was suffering from some kind of illness.

He hadn't expected it to be schizophrenia. Mental illnesses were notoriously complex and difficult to treat, and a patient could behave in any number of ways.

As they spoke, the young woman, who had been standing beyond the railing, suddenly took a step forward. A look of longing and curiosity crossed her face as she called toward the cliff ahead. "Immortals! I can see the immortals..."

"Oh no, she's going to fall!"

"Quick, someone save her! That girl is going to jump!"

The sight sent the tourists into a panic, and cries of alarm rang out all around them.

The young woman's mother struggled violently, trying to rush to the railing and climb over it so she could grab her daughter, who was standing at the edge of the cliff. Several women among the tourists could barely hold her back.

Jiang Ming's legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Yang Qian, Yang Qian..."

Jiang Ming and the young woman's mother called out Yang Qian's name with all their might, but she was clearly in the throes of a schizophrenic episode, caught in a state of auditory and visual hallucinations. She seemed immersed in her own world, completely deaf to the cries around her.

No one dared climb over the railing and approach her. No one could be sure how she might react in her current state. What if someone climbed over, and she leaped off the cliff? If something went wrong, who would be held responsible?

Seeing that Jiang Ming and the young woman's mother couldn't get the slightest response from her, Huang Huai stepped forward and suddenly shouted, "Yang Qian!"

His shout was nothing compared to Yang Qian's mother's anguished cries, but it seemed to contain some strange power. Though the area was filled with noise, every person there heard Huang Huai's voice as clearly as if it had sounded inside their minds.

Everything fell silent. One by one, all eyes turned toward Huang Huai, standing by the railing.

At Huang Huai's shout, Yang Qian, who had been standing at the edge of the cliff and ignoring everyone's calls, suddenly reacted. As if she had heard him, she slowly turned around.

She had a delicate, youthful face and a pair of beautiful, wide eyes. Confusion and surprise colored her expression as she looked at Huang Huai.

"Hmm? Are you an immortal? Can you take me up to the heavens...?"

A strange light flashed in Yang Qian's eyes. She gazed at Huang Huai, full of expectation.

"Look, the girl reacted!"

"Goodness, that little Daoist is impressive. We've been shouting at her for ages, and she didn't react at all. He called out once, and she turned around to look!"

"Keep it up, little Daoist! You're our only hope!"

Seeing this sudden turn of events, the tourists were filled with hope for Huang Huai. It seemed that he was the only one who could save the young woman now.

Huang Huai paid no attention to the tourists' reactions. His gaze remained fixed on Yang Qian, two or three meters away.

Although Yang Qian was still in the grip of a schizophrenic episode, Huang Huai's shout, infused with his spiritual power, had directly affected her.

Seeing that Yang Qian had reacted, Huang Huai felt greatly encouraged. He had just tried using his spiritual power through his voice to influence her, and to his surprise, it had actually worked.

That immediately brought hypnosis to mind. He didn't know how effective hypnosis was in the modern world, or whether hypnotists used powerful spiritual energy to influence people.

But one thing was clear to Huang Huai: if he wanted, he really could use his powerful spiritual energy to hypnotize someone.

Feeling more confident, Huang Huai focused on Yang Qian, influencing her with his spiritual power as he followed the path of her hallucination. "Yang Qian, come here. I'll take you to see the immortals."

This was Huang Huai's first attempt at hypnotizing someone with spiritual power. He had no idea how well the method he'd worked out for himself would work. And with Yang Qian standing in such a dangerous spot, he could only increase the hypnosis slowly and cautiously.

A glimmer had appeared in Yang Qian's eyes, and Huang Huai's words clearly affected her. Her mental state fluctuated wildly, but her expression showed a trace of hesitation.

Huang Huai continued to intensify his influence over Yang Qian. The others couldn't sense her mental fluctuations, but he could feel them clearly. At that moment, he made a snap decision and directly hypnotized her. "Yang Qian, get over here right now!"

Huang Huai hadn't been polite in the least.

The tourists saw him call out a few words and get Yang Qian to turn around. They assumed that if he kept gently coaxing her, he might persuade her to abandon the idea of jumping off the cliff.

But Huang Huai didn't play by the rules at all. His tone was completely beyond their expectations.

"It's over. That girl is going to jump!"

"Yeah, you can't provoke someone with schizophrenia like that!"