Xu Zhihan was back in the medical room.
When Song Zhixia saw Lu Wenchuan carry him in, "grim" no longer came close to describing her expression.
"I said to assess him for half an hour and bring him back if he couldn't handle it."
Lu Wenchuan laid Xu Zhihan on the bed, moving very gently, though he still tried to crack a joke. "And here he is, isn't he?"
Song Zhixia gave him an icy look.
Lu Wenchuan immediately shut up.
Xu Zhihan hadn't quite passed out; his consciousness had only grown sluggish. He heard Song Zhixia tell someone to prepare the medication, then heard Lu Wenchuan quietly report what had happened on the night bus.
Three living people had been rescued.
The supernatural tale's core had been destroyed.
Half of the Old Gods Society's mark remained.
At that, Xu Zhihan's fingertips twitched.
Lu Wenchuan immediately looked down. "You're awake?"
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes, his face frighteningly pale. The blood by his lips had been wiped away, but his voice was still hoarse.
"The people?"
Lu Wenchuan paused. "Alive."
"How many?"
"Three."
"The souls?"
"All sent on their way."
Only then did Xu Zhihan close his eyes.
Standing beside him, Song Zhixia let out an exasperated laugh. "You're practically headed for resuscitation, and you still have the energy to ask about other people?"
Xu Zhihan didn't open his eyes. "You're noisy."
Song Zhixia looked at Lu Wenchuan. "Who did he learn that from?"
Lu Wenchuan looked utterly innocent. "He's always been like this."
Song Zhixia snorted and lowered her head to continue treating Xu Zhihan. Her hands moved quickly, but her tone was stern. "The mental depletion is even worse than last time. Do this twice more and you can forget about keeping this body. Just move into an urn."
Xu Zhihan frowned.
"That sounds awful."
Song Zhixia said, "So you do know what awful sounds like?"
Lu Wenchuan coughed beside them, as if he wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
Xu Zhihan opened his eyes and looked at him.
Lu Wenchuan immediately said, "I wasn't laughing."
"Get out."
"I just brought you back."
"Even noisier."
Lu Wenchuan glanced at Song Zhixia.
Song Zhixia said bluntly, "Get out."
Lu Wenchuan was speechless.
He felt his standing in the Special Investigation Bureau slipping lower by the day.
Once the door closed, the medical room grew a little quieter.
Xu Zhihan could finally rest for a while. Medication flowed into his body little by little through the IV line, and the cold pain in his chest slowly eased.
He hated this weakness.
In his previous life, he had rarely been injured. Even when he was, no one had dared approach his Divine Throne. Now, almost every time he used his power, he was forced to come back and lie down.
This body is too much trouble.
But he couldn't discard it.
Because it still held things its original owner had left behind. Hurt, resentment, hazy memories, and Xu An's sobs.
Xu Zhihan kept his eyes closed, but the furrow between his brows never eased.
Half an hour later, Song Zhixia called Lu Wenchuan outside.
She handed him the test results, keeping her voice very low. "If you keep sending him on missions like this, he won't live much longer."
Lu Wenchuan took the results without a word.
Song Zhixia frowned. "I'm not trying to scare you. Long-term medication had already worn his body down. He was in terrible shape to begin with. Every time he uses his ability now, it's like forcing water out of a well that's almost dry. Keep using him like this, and he'll collapse."
Lu Wenchuan's gaze darkened as he looked at the abnormal readings marked in red all over the report.
"I know."
"You knew, and you still took him?"
Lu Wenchuan was silent for a few seconds.
"He wants to prove he's useful."
Song Zhixia said coldly, "The Special Investigation Bureau can still solve cases without him."
"Without him, we couldn't have brought those three people back alive this time." Lu Wenchuan looked up. "And that bus full of souls couldn't have moved on."
Song Zhixia stopped short.
She knew Lu Wenchuan was telling the truth.
But that didn't mean she wasn't angry.
"You still can't let him put his life on the line every time."
Lu Wenchuan folded the report, his voice dropping a little. "There won't be a next time."
Song Zhixia looked at him. "You promise?"
Lu Wenchuan smiled, though there was little humor in it.
"I'll do my best to stop him."
Song Zhixia stared at him. "Can you?"
Lu Wenchuan didn't answer.
He really wasn't sure he could.
Xu Zhihan looked cold, and he was stubborn as hell. Once he decided to do something, a few words from someone else wouldn't stop him.
But not trying to stop him was one thing. Whether he could actually stop him was another.
Lu Wenchuan put the report away. "What about that half-mark from the Old Gods Society?"
"The testing team is looking into it," Song Zhixia said. "The preliminary results aren't good."
Lu Wenchuan looked at her. "What do you mean?"
Song Zhixia took out another report.
"There are traces of a drug in the mark."
Lu Wenchuan's expression changed. "A drug?"
"They're very similar to one of the ingredients in the medication Xu Zhihan took long-term." Song Zhixia's voice grew colder. "Not an exact match, but they may share a source."
The corridor fell silent for a moment.
Lu Wenchuan's grip on the report tightened slightly.
The Xu Family's medication.
The Old Gods Society's mark.
The night bus.
These things were starting to connect.
Song Zhixia said quietly, "The medication the Xu Family gave him wasn't just meant to weaken him. It may have been slowly marking him, too."
Lu Wenchuan looked up at the medical room door.
Xu Zhihan was still inside.
Even after pushing himself into this state, the first thing he had asked when he woke was about those living people.
Lu Wenchuan suddenly felt irritated.
Not with Xu Zhihan.
With the Xu Family, the Old Gods Society, and the things lurking in the shadows.
Song Zhixia took the report back. "Don't tell him about this yet."
Lu Wenchuan raised an eyebrow. "You think he won't figure it out?"
Song Zhixia said, "Then at least don't let him hear it from you. His body can't handle emotional upheaval right now."
Lu Wenchuan thought for a moment, then nodded.
"All right."
Inside the medical room, Xu Zhihan slowly opened his eyes.
He had actually been awake.
Song Zhixia and Lu Wenchuan had kept their voices very low, but he had heard a few things.
Drugs.
The Old Gods Society.
The same source.
Xu Zhihan lowered his gaze to the needle in the back of his hand.
Good.
One more debt for the Xu Family to repay.