Please, you must cure this child!

Shen Le had long suspected why those children had been able to sneak into the house, and he finally had the chance to verify it in person. Xiao Ling answered quite readily:

"That was definitely me! If I didn't open the way or invite them, how could he have gotten in? This house isn't that easy to enter!"

I couldn't tell at all. From the top of the trash can behind the house, over the wall, and down the ladder—even a child could do it. Shen Le silently grumbled to himself, then asked casually:

"They can't get in without an invitation?"

"Of course not! Sister Ah Lu wouldn't let them in!"

"Who is Sister Ah Lu?"

"Sister Ah Lu is just Sister Ah Lu!"

Very well, just perfect. It seems that besides me, this house has another heavyweight resident. Should I thank him—no, her—for letting me in?

Otherwise, would I have been unable to enter this gate or live in this house?

However, who is Sister Ah Lu...

Shen Le's mind raced through the possibilities before finally locking onto a target: it had to be that Great Camphor Tree, the one that let the three children sleep in its branches and shielded them from being discovered. Yet, when he asked, the answer he received was:

"What is a camphor tree?"

Uh... Xiao Ling is a puppet, and likely one that hadn't gained sentience long ago and had always stayed at home. It was normal for her not to know one tree from another.

After a conversation where they were clearly on different wavelengths, Shen Le finally confirmed that the Great Camphor Tree was not simple—not simple at all. It had been in this house for a very long time, had gotten along well with the previous owner, and knew almost everything that had happened within these walls.

Without its permission, or the permission of the house's owner, no one—from a full-grown human down to a mouse—could step a foot inside.

"Hmm, very good." Shen Le let out a sigh of relief. In that case, he wouldn't need to spend money on a security system for the time being—at most, he'd install one at the front and back doors just to check for deliveries or takeout.

As for why the tree was willing to let him in...

"You are the master of this place!"

"How does she know I'm the master?"

"I don't know!"

"How can I talk to Sister Ah Lu?"

"I don't know!"

"Can you help me talk to her?"

"Sister Ah Lu is always sleeping and doesn't really pay attention to people..."

Ugh, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Shen Le lowered his head and pressed his chest:

I'll have to see if the Copper Fragment has any tricks up its sleeve later. Besides, now that I've repaired a little puppet and brought her to life, this Copper Fragment should have some new functions, right?

Shen Le was about to continue asking "why the child could lie on the tree without being seen by others," when he heard Xiao Ling say urgently:

"How is the child?"

"I heard he might be paralyzed... Sigh, I happened to be there the day he jumped. I heard the child shouting, 'I'm not lying, I'll prove it to you all...' And then, then he jumped..."

The little puppet drooped her head listlessly, hugging her knees and curling into a ball. After a long while, she let out a heavy sigh:

"He must have told his family that I was the one who asked him to play that day, not that he was running around aimlessly. But his family didn't believe him... Sigh, ordinary people can't see me. Even if they could, they would only see a puppet..."

"Then you..." Should stop playing with him?

Shen Le instinctively wanted to say that, but felt it was too cruel and couldn't bring himself to speak. Xiao Ling complained indignantly:

"Is it easy being a child these days! It's either anxiety, depression, or rebellion. That child was forced to learn the erhu, couldn't learn it well, and got beaten for it. He cried at home every day, and I comforted him every day. It was hard enough to get him settled, and after a day or two of not watching him, his family drove him to jump off a building?!"

Ah, this...

This...

Shen Le was speechless for a moment. The little puppet suddenly jumped up, flicked her strings, and wrapped them around his wrist:

"Will you take me to see him, please?"

"..."

"Go see him! Go see him! Just one look! I've been playing with him for so many years, and now that he's hurt, please take me to see him!"

"Fine, we'll go, but you can't talk to him," Shen Le set conditions:

"No talking, no jumping around without me manipulating you, and no moving randomly. In short, pretend to be an ordinary puppet!"

"Got it!—I'm great at pretending, don't worry!"

With the terms agreed upon, Shen Le tucked the little puppet into his backpack, grabbed an N95 mask, and headed out. As he walked, he messaged the police officer Shi Guangbing to get the hospital address, then made his way there while asking for directions.

He entered the outpatient hall, navigated to the inpatient department, and took the elevator. Shen Le clutched his backpack tightly, carrying a small box of milk in one hand, while using the other to take the Copper Fragment from around his neck and wrap the red string around his wrist several times, pretending it was a bracelet:

"If you can, please heal him... If healing him is too shocking, let's do it secretly—just fix his spinal nerves so he won't be paralyzed? Please, please! All the energy I got from repairing the puppet, it's all yours!"

The Copper Fragment remained quiet, neither heating up nor vibrating, just like an ordinary piece of copper. Shen Le followed the room numbers until he found the right one. He pushed open the door to find three hospital beds lined up: one empty, one occupied by an elderly person, and the one by the window where a ten-year-old child lay in a drowsy stupor, both legs wrapped in gauze and suspended high in the air.

Beside the child, a middle-aged woman sat with her head bowed, wiping away tears. Every few moments, she would lean over to check on the child, use a cotton swab dipped in water to moisten his lips, and then stand up to check how much IV fluid was left. Shen Le tiptoed inside and asked in a low voice:

"Excuse me, are you the parent of Zhang Zihan?"

"Ah, yes, I am, I am!" The middle-aged woman jumped up in surprise. She looked at Shen Le, blinked in confusion, and then peered behind him:

"May I ask who you are..."

"I was downstairs a few days ago and saw your child fall from the building. I felt uneasy, so I came by today specifically to check on him." Shen Le stepped forward, placed the milk by the bedside, and turned toward the head of the bed.

"How is the child doing?"

"Ah..." The middle-aged woman was slightly startled, her eyes drifting toward the ceiling as she clearly pondered. After a moment, she had a sudden realization.

"It's you! You're the one who shouted not to move the child and not to turn him over that day!" She hurried over, grasped Shen Le's right hand with both of hers, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you so much! I should have come to thank you sooner, but everything has been so chaotic these past few days..."

"It's nothing, really." Shen Le patted her hand to comfort her, then stepped forward and leaned down to take the child's hand. With a flick of his left hand, the Copper Fragment was already held in his palm, which he secretly pressed against the boy's hand that wasn't hooked up to an IV.

Please be effective, you must be effective! He prayed incessantly to the Copper Fragment in his heart.

I'm not asking you to cure him completely—that would be too shocking to the world. Just reconnect the spinal nerves so the child won't be paralyzed, that's all I ask!

His palm trembled slightly as a surge of heat flowed through it. In that instant, he felt his legs go weak, as if something had been drained out of him along with the Copper Fragment. A moment later, he saw the child open his eyes and burst into tears.

"Mommy, Mommy! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Hanhan, don't cry!" Seeing her son open his eyes, the middle-aged woman didn't even spare a glance for Shen Le and rushed straight to the bed.

"Where does it hurt? Tell Mommy, where does it hurt?"

"Mommy, my legs hurt! My legs hurt so much!"

For a moment, the middle-aged woman swayed, closing her eyes for a long time before opening them again, tears streaming down her face. She cupped her son's face, stroked it a few times, and then turned and bolted out of the room.

"Doctor! Doctor! My son says his legs hurt! He can feel his legs! He has feeling in his legs!!!"