Shen Le had long been wondering why those children had been able to climb into the house. At last, he got to ask Xiao Ling in person. She answered without hesitation:
"Of course it was me! If I didn't speak up and invite them, how would they get in? This house isn't that easy to enter!"
I couldn't see how that was true at all. The children could climb onto the trash cans behind the house, scramble over the wall, then climb down the ladder. Shen Le silently complained to himself, then casually asked:
"So they can't get in unless someone invites them?"
"Of course not! Ah Lu wouldn't let them in!"
"Who's Sister Ah Lu?"
"Sister Ah Lu is Sister Ah Lu!"
Wonderful. Just wonderful. Apparently, besides me, there was another heavyweight resident in this house. Should I be thanking her for letting me in?
Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get through the door or live here, right?
But who was Sister Ah Lu...?
Shen Le turned it over in his mind three times before finally settling on a likely answer: the Great Camphor Tree where the three children slept, the one that had hidden them from view. But when he asked, he got this in reply:
"What's a camphor tree?"
Uh... Xiao Ling was a puppet, and a puppet who might not have gained sentience very long ago, and had spent all her time cooped up at home. It was only natural that she didn't know what different trees were.
After a long, confused exchange, Shen Le finally confirmed that the Great Camphor Tree was no ordinary tree. It had been in this house for a very, very long time, had gotten along well with the previous owner, and knew almost everything that had happened here.
Without its permission—or the house owner's—not even a mouse, let alone a living person, could get into this house.
"Mm, good." Shen Le breathed a sigh of relief. In that case, he didn't need to spend money on security cameras just yet. At most, he'd install one at the front and back doors to check for deliveries and food orders.
As for why the tree had let him in...
"Because you're the owner here!"
"How did she know I was the owner?"
"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 asleep a lot. She doesn't really talk to people..."
Uh, if you wanted something done, you were better off doing it yourself. Shen Le lowered his head and pressed a hand to his chest.
He'd have to see if the Copper Fragment could do anything later. He'd repaired a Little Puppet and brought it to life. Surely this Copper Fragment had some new ability, no matter what?
Shen Le was about to ask why no one could see the child lying in the tree when Xiao Ling hurriedly asked:
"How is the child?"
"I heard he might be paralyzed... Sigh, I happened to be there the day he jumped. I heard the child shout, 'I'm not lying!' I'll prove it to you... Then, then he jumped..."
The Little Puppet drooped her head dejectedly and curled up, hugging her knees. After a long while, she let out a heavy sigh:
"He must have told his family that I'd asked him to play with me that day, and that he hadn't just run off on his own. But his family didn't believe him... Sigh, ordinary people can't see me. Even if they do, all they can see is a puppet..."
"Then you..." Stop playing with him?
Shen Le almost said it without thinking, but it seemed too cruel, and he couldn't bring himself to say it. Xiao Ling complained angrily:
"Is it easy being a kid these days? They're either anxious, depressed, or rebellious. That child was forced to learn the erhu. He couldn't learn it, and when he couldn't, he got beaten. He cried at home every day, and I comforted him every day. I finally managed to cheer him up, and then I looked away for just a day or two, and his family drove him to jump out of a window?!"
Uh...
This...
Shen Le was speechless. The Little Puppet suddenly leaped up, flinging a silk thread around his wrist.
"Will you take me to see him?"
"..."
"Come on, just go see him! Just one look! I've been keeping him company for years, and now he's hurt. Take me to see him!"
"Fine, but you can't talk to him." Shen Le set some conditions.
"You can't speak, you can't jump around without me controlling you, and you can't move on your own. In short, act like an ordinary puppet!"
"Got it! I'm great at pretending, don't worry!"
Once they'd agreed, Shen Le put the Little Puppet in his backpack, found an N95 mask, and headed out. As he walked, he messaged the police officer Shi Guangbing on WeChat and got the child's hospital address. Then he asked around until he found his way there.
He went through the outpatient lobby, turned into the inpatient building, and took the elevator. Clutching his backpack, he carried a small carton of milk in one hand. With the other, he took the Copper Fragment from around his neck and wound its red cord a few times around his wrist, pretending it was a bracelet.
"If you can, please heal him... If healing him completely would be too shocking, then let's do it secretly. Just heal the nerves in his spine so he won't be paralyzed? Please, please! You can have all the energy I got from repairing the puppet this time!"
The Copper Fragment stayed perfectly still. It neither grew hot nor vibrated, just like an ordinary fragment of copper. Shen Le followed the room numbers until he found the right one and pushed open the ward door. Three beds stood side by side. One was empty, an old man lay in another, and in the bed by the window, a child of about ten slept fitfully, both legs wrapped in gauze and suspended high in the air.
At the child's bedside, a middle-aged woman sat with her head bowed, constantly wiping away tears. After dabbing at her eyes a few times, she leaned over to check on the child, then used a cotton swab dipped in water to moisten his lips. She stood to check how much fluid remained in his IV bag. Shen Le tiptoed quietly into the room and asked in a low voice:
"Excuse me, are you Zhang Zihan's mother?"
"Yes, I am!" The middle-aged woman jumped to her feet. When she saw Shen Le, she looked confused, then peered past him.
"May I ask who you are...?"
"I was downstairs a few days ago when I saw your child fall. I couldn't stop worrying, so I came to visit today." Shen Le hurried over, set the milk beside the bed, and turned toward the head of it.
"How is he?"
"Oh..." The middle-aged woman looked up at the ceiling, clearly trying to remember. After a moment, she suddenly understood.
"It was you! You were the one who shouted that we shouldn't move him or turn him over!" She hurried forward, took Shen Le's right hand in both of hers, and bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much! I should have come to thank you earlier, but everything's been such a mess these past few days..."
"It's all right, it's all right." Shen Le patted her hand to comfort her, then stepped forward and took the child's hand. His left hand twitched. The Copper Fragment was already tucked in his palm, secretly pressed against the boy's hand that had no IV in it.
Please let it work. Please! He kept praying to the Copper Fragment.
We don't need you to heal him completely. That would be too shocking. Just reconnect the nerves in his spine so he won't be paralyzed. Please, I'm begging you!
A faint tremor ran through his palm, and warmth surged through it. For an instant, his legs felt weak, as if something had been drawn out of him along with the Copper Fragment. A moment later, the child opened his eyes and began to cry.
"Mom, Mom! It hurts so much! It hurts!"
"Hanhan, don't cry!" The moment the middle-aged woman saw her son open his eyes, she forgot all about Shen Le and rushed to him.
"Where does it hurt? Tell Mom, where does it hurt?"
"Mom, my legs hurt! My legs hurt so much!"
For a moment, the middle-aged woman swayed, then squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, tears were streaming down her face. She cupped her son's face and stroked it a few times, then turned and rushed out.
"Doctor! Doctor! My son says his legs hurt! His legs hurt! He can feel his legs!!!"