In the early hours, outside the ICU at Capital People's Hospital.
Huang Hongyuan endured the cold night air as it froze his heart bit by bit. His fingertips trembled slightly as he sent a private message asking for help to Qi Gu, a master of the occult who had recently earned quite a reputation online.
He had never believed in such things before, but now his eight-year-old daughter had suddenly fallen gravely ill, with all her organs failing. The hospital could find no cause and had given him only a final ultimatum.
If things continued this way, in a week-perhaps less than a week-he would lose his daughter.
Turning to Qi Gu was simply a desperate attempt to grasp at any possible cure, but it also showed that he truly had nowhere else to turn.
He had taken his daughter to every major hospital. Even at those few hospitals where getting an appointment was hardest, he and his family had pulled strings and called in favors to get her seen, but every result had left him disappointed.
"Lili, take Mom and Dad home to rest. I can stay here," Huang Hongyuan told his wife beside him, who had grown much thinner and looked exhausted, with dark circles beneath her eyes.
Over these past few days, even though visiting hours were limited to half an hour after two each afternoon, their whole family had kept vigil outside the ICU like this.
The doctor had told them to keep their phones available... if anything happened to their child, they would have to come to the hospital at any time to sign the paperwork.
Only after his daughter entered the ICU did Huang Hongyuan learn that there could be so many consent forms to sign in a single day. On her first day there, the doctor had directed him to sign more than a dozen in one go.
By the time he signed the last one, his heart was numb, as though he had been pushed into a coffin.
"All right, I'll take them home first," his wife, Wang Li, said.
The elderly couple silently hung their heads, neither speaking nor leaving, only gazing at the ICU's tightly shut sliding door.
There was a small glass window in the door. They had pressed themselves against it countless times to look inside, but beyond it stood another door, completely blocking every prying gaze from outside.
"Hongyuan, Lili... it was me. I've let you down. I didn't take good care of Xiao He, and that's why she got sick!" Grandma Huang was filled with guilt and regret, her wrinkled face full of pain and despair.
She had little education. She and Grandpa Huang had spent decades toiling in the fields before they could put Huang Hongyuan through a university in the elite 985 Project. Huang Hongyuan had done them proud, too: ten years after graduating, he had become the general manager of a medium-sized company, earning a million a year and receiving a share of its profits.
Grandma Huang did not know what organ failure meant. She only felt that her failure to care for Xiao He properly had caused her normally well-behaved granddaughter to suffer like this.
"Mom, Mom, what's happening to Xiao He has nothing to do with you. Don't blame yourself... perhaps this is all just fate." Wang Li was from the city and came from a well-off family. Differences in their daily habits often brought her into conflict with Grandma Huang, but at a time like this, she truly felt for this elderly woman who understood none of it and knew only to blame herself.
"Do you think... Xiao He can still get better?"
"If-if Xiao He can get better, I'd accept it even if it cost me this old life of mine!" Grandpa Huang said after a long silence.
The elderly couple and Wang Li dissolved into tears together. Huang Hongyuan, usually so full of confidence and vigor, was unshaven, his clothes rumpled. He slid dejectedly down the metal waiting chair and sat helplessly on the floor, inwardly begging every god and Buddha he had once scoffed at.
Anyone, anyone at all, as long as they could save his daughter...
Just as he thought this, the phone lying quietly on the cold metal chair vibrated, and a new reply appeared.
[Qi Gu gugu gu, master of Floating Mist Temple V: Address. I'll come take a look.]
Overjoyed, Huang Hongyuan hurriedly sent the address with trembling hands. Then he remembered that the other man should currently be in another province. Afraid he might refuse to come because it was too far away, he typed rapidly, as though clutching at a lifeline: [Let me book your flight. Would business class be all right?]
After finishing his late-night snack, Qi Gu had been about to steel himself and read another two pages of the Management Rules when Huang Hongyuan's message arrived.
The man's words were earnest. He said that as long as Qi Gu was willing to help, any price would be fine.
Qi Gu clicked into his profile and discovered that his verified identity was the general manager of a company... A general manager ought to have some management experience, right?
Qi Gu decided to go on the spot. As long as he cured the man's daughter, Huang Hongyuan would surely be willing to give him some pointers on management.
They added each other on WeChat, and Huang Hongyuan quickly sent over the flight booking details, making his anxiety apparent.
By the time Qi Gu finished making arrangements with Huang Hongyuan, it was already one in the morning.
Only then did Qi Gu remember that he still owed Lin Hanzhi a snack list. He hurriedly opened his shopping app, took screenshots of his order history, and sent them over.
Before long, he actually received a reply.
[Lin Hanzhi: Got it.]
He was still awake this late?
Thinking of the man's frail body and pale complexion, Qi Gu felt that this was not quite appropriate.
But he did not intend to say anything. After all... theirs was only a chance acquaintance.
[Lin Hanzhi: I saw you mention on Weibo that you're renovating the temple. Once it's done, I want to come offer my prayers too.]
[Lin Hanzhi: This damn job just keeps getting busier lately. I need to make a wish for heaven to hurry up and send me a capable colleague.]
The man began complaining about work with easy familiarity.
Qi Gu did not think they were close enough to complain to each other yet, but when he thought of how the man had been hauled back to work right after finishing the variety show, he could not help inwardly cursing his unscrupulous boss.
Qi Gu kindly offered some reassurance: [You'll get one.]
[Lin Hanzhi: With your assurance, I can rest easy (laughing).]
Qi Gu: ???
He was not so potent that his words became reality.
But he did not dwell on it. He simply put his phone away and went back to sleep.
The air conditioning was so inadequate that he slept fitfully, waking from the heat twice within a few hours. He could only go to the bathroom for a cold shower before returning to sleep.
At noon the following day, Qi Gu arrived at Capital Airport wearing a mask.
He had initially thought he would not need one, but several people recognized him as soon as he reached the airport and surrounded him, asking for photos and autographs. After breaking free, he hurried to a convenience store to buy a mask and put it on.
Following the crowd through a long glass corridor flooded with sunlight, he felt like a crispy roast duck hung up and automatically rotating inside a glass oven.
Fortunately, Huang Hongyuan did not keep him waiting. He had driven over early and was waiting for him at the airport exit.
Huang Hongyuan looked almost exactly like his Weibo profile picture: a tall, burly man with a crew cut and an honest face. Upon seeing Qi Gu, he forced a smile. "Master Qi, thank you for coming."
"No need for that. Let's see the child first." Qi Gu's direct manner only made Huang Hongyuan like him more.
Judging by his many years of experience making his way in the world, those who spoke prettily generally had mediocre abilities, while those who spoke directly usually had some genuine skill.
Of course... some simply had genuinely low emotional intelligence.
"The back seat is cool. Please, get in. There's cold water too," Huang Hongyuan said warmly as he ushered Qi Gu into the car.
The car slowly made its way toward the hospital through the endless stream of traffic.
About an hour later, the two arrived at the hospital parking lot. By the time they reached the ICU, it was almost exactly two.
Quite a few relatives were waiting outside the ICU to visit patients. They all treasured this hard-won time and had each arrived early.
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