Jiang Xuewei saw Xi Yu nod and was silent for two seconds before saying, “You mean you came to visit a patient, but you’re not here to visit my brother, right?”
Xi Yu nodded again.
Jiang Xuewei was now completely bewildered. She slowly said, “But… there is only one patient in this sanatorium, and that’s my brother.”
…
The scene fell silent for several seconds.
Xi Yu straightened his clothes and smiled. “I was just joking with the two of you. I really did come to visit Mr. Yunzheng. I’m just someone who likes to joke around.”
Xi Yu stood with his hands behind his back and said to Old Master Jiang and Jiang Xuewei, whose faces had immediately brightened again, “Lead the way.”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Old Master Jiang gestured invitingly. “I’ll take you there right now.”
This time, the security guard made no attempt to stop them. He bowed and watched the three of them enter before slowly closing the main gate.
After closing it, he put his hands on his hips and hummed a tune happily. The two characters Xi Yu on his arm seemed to have given him some kind of buff, leaving him full of energy and in excellent spirits!
After entering the sanatorium, Xi Yu sighed. It really wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t thought of the possibility that there was only one patient here.
The sanatorium’s main building had fifteen floors, and there were so many auxiliary buildings that they were impossible to count. The entire property covered thirty thousand square meters.
How could he have imagined that such a huge sanatorium, with so many staff members, ultimately served only one person?
Then the person he was looking for could only be Jiang Yunzheng.
Lu Zhixing had spoken, and that wisp of aura had led him to the sanatorium. That meant either the wisp of aura could not leave the sanatorium, or it could not stray too far from it.
But the sanatorium’s staff came and went constantly, and none of them were carriers of that demonic aura.
Such a weak aura definitely needed to attach itself to a person in order to survive for a long time, gradually growing stronger by absorbing malicious thoughts.
And demonic aura of that level would have difficulty remaining in the body of a healthy person.
That meant that throughout this entire sanatorium, only Jiang Yunzheng could become its host.
Rather than saying that the thing could not leave the sanatorium, it would be more accurate to say that it could not leave Jiang Yunzheng.
So this was Jiang Yunzheng’s opportunity…
Jiang Yunzheng should originally have died on the third day of the third lunar month, yet he had somehow survived and even brought back a wisp of demonic aura…
After they had walked for a while, Jiang Xuewei had someone bring over an electric cart.
“There is still some distance to my brother’s ward. Grandpa isn’t in good health, so, Mr. Xi, why don’t we take the cart together?”
The electric cart was open-air. It was obviously something the staff had prepared specifically for transportation over the past few years, making it more convenient and faster than a car.
Xi Yu had been sensing that wisp of aura the entire time and did not feel tired at all. Hearing Jiang Xuewei, he nodded. “Sure.”
Taking the cart was certainly faster than walking there.
Xi Yu sat in the back. Jiang Xuewei wore a smile and seemed somewhat flattering toward him, saying that Xi Yu possessed an unblemished and noble character, unlike those greedy people who loved money.
Xi Yu wanted to say that he was the same.
He loved money too…
Jiang Xuewei did not notice the brief flash of guilt on Xi Yu’s face and continued praising him, expressing her gratitude that he had come to save her brother, Yunzheng, and so on.
In short, she showered him with an entire basketful of praise.
However, her voice was gentle, without any trace of flattery. She was polite and knew when to advance and retreat, without exaggerating too much. It was the sort of frank, open manner of someone who clearly wanted something from you.
After praising Xi Yu for a while, Jiang Xuewei changed the subject and began talking about Jiang Yunzheng. She talked about the charitable deeds and public welfare work her brother had done in the past. She also mentioned that Old Master Jiang had always done good deeds and accumulated virtue, saying that this softheartedness toward such things ran in the family between grandfather and grandson.
Xi Yu responded to Jiang Xuewei as she spoke. He couldn’t very well leave a young woman’s words hanging.
The two of them went back and forth like they were chatting about ordinary family matters. Old Master Jiang had become somewhat tired after traveling this far, so he said nothing and simply kept his eyes closed, resting.
Jiang Xuewei’s tone was unhurried, carrying a hint of nostalgia.
“Ever since I was brought into the Jiang family, I knew my brother had a personality like the wind. Things that other people his age were afraid of, especially things that were thrilling and dangerous, he wasn’t afraid of at all. He even liked taking me along to play. Every time, he’d scare me into crying my eyes out, and then Grandpa would beat him.”
“Later, when I got a little older, my brother became interested in going on adventures. I had already told Grandpa not to indulge him and let him go to those dangerous places, but neither of them ever listened to me.”
Jiang Xuewei brushed back her hair. Tears shimmered in her beautiful eyes.
“Look at me, I’ve started talking too much again. Actually, I just regret it. I regret that three years ago, when my brother wanted to go to Miaojiang to search for that secluded village, I didn’t stop him. If I had insisted on not letting him go back then, things wouldn’t have…”
Jiang Xuewei stopped there, unable to continue. She turned away and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
But Xi Yu’s eyes flickered.
He asked Jiang Xuewei, “What did you say he went to look for?”
…………………………….
Jiang Xuewei could be said to tell Xi Yu everything she knew without holding anything back. Seeing him ask, she hurriedly answered, “An ancient village in Miaojiang.”
Xi Yu asked, “Can you tell me more about it?”
“Of course I can, though I don’t know much either,” Jiang Xuewei said. “Three years ago, my brother somehow heard that there was a village in the far south of Miaojiang. The people there were skilled in Gu techniques and could use Gu insects to control a person’s every word and action. But according to what my brother told me, that place was very difficult to find. He thought he might have to be gone for quite a while this time. He never expected that when he returned, he would become like this.”
Xi Yu’s expression gradually became solemn.
It was that ancient village again.
Zhuohua was there, and there were also monsters, such as Sang Biao.
From the sound of it, it was a very dangerous and mysterious village.
Shen Linchuan had entered it and lost his life, but Xiaoman had saved him.
Jiang Yunzheng had entered it and had now become a living corpse, even bringing back a wisp of demonic aura.
That village existed in the mortal world, yet there were things belonging to the three realms of demons, devils, and gods within it.
Xi Yu fell into thought.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Xuewei fell silent.
She had never expected Xi Yu to come today, but when she saw him, the tiny flame of hope had appeared in her heart after she had already been in despair.
Actually, she had already given up that day at the Xi family home.
Or rather, she had already fallen into despair when medicine could offer her no hope and doctors from all over the world were helpless.
Later, so many masters had appeared one after another. She had been disappointed too many times and had already resigned herself to fate.
It was only because Grandpa was old and had only this one grandson. Although the family was wealthy, there were very few family members. She couldn’t bear to watch Grandpa lose his grandson in his old age, so she had continued to indulge his repeated, blind faith in metaphysics.
She treated it as simply spending some money to give Grandpa a little hope.
Even when she first saw Xi Yu, she hadn’t taken him seriously.
It was only after hearing Grandpa say that Xi Yu had accurately stated the date when her brother’s accident occurred that she began to believe a little.
But before that belief could even take shape, Xi Yu had said that he couldn’t save her brother.
The day Grandpa left the Luo family, he withdrew all the people he had sent out to search for those wandering occult practitioners.
She actually hadn’t wanted Grandpa to withdraw them. At least that way, he would still have some hope.
But now…
Jiang Xuewei’s gaze fell on the white hair covering her grandfather’s head, and her eyes reddened.
For the past two days, Grandpa had been unable to eat or drink properly, as though all the spirit had been drained from him.
The words he had just spoken with Xi Yu had more strength than anything he had said over the past few days.
It was obvious that Grandpa truly regarded Xi Yu as his last lifeline.
Jiang Xuewei didn’t know why Xi Yu had said there was nothing he could do, yet had appeared here again. But as long as there was even the slightest hope, at least Grandpa now had the motivation to keep going.
The electric cart slowly came to a stop.
Xi Yu got out and casually helped Old Master Jiang down.
Then he saw people hurriedly running back and forth.
He had a bad feeling.
Old Master Jiang’s expression also changed drastically.
At the same time, Jiang Xuewei’s phone began ringing.
When Jiang Xuewei saw the caller ID, her heart tightened. Before she could answer, a young woman came running out while still holding her phone to her ear.
The moment she saw Jiang Xuewei, she immediately hung up, and the ringing of Jiang Xuewei’s phone also stopped abruptly.
The woman shouted as she ran toward them, “President Jiang! Miss Jiang! Mr. Jiang has suffered cardiac arrest for an unknown reason. They’re performing emergency resuscitation!”
As soon as the woman’s words fell, Old Master Jiang stumbled. Xi Yu caught him, allowing him to barely steady himself.
Jiang Xuewei’s face turned deathly pale, and she was the first to run toward the hospital building.
Xi Yu had the woman support Old Master Jiang, then followed Jiang Xuewei upstairs.
By the time they reached the lower floor, the demonic aura had already grown increasingly heavy.
Xi Yu secretly thought, This is bad.
“Ge!!!”
When Jiang Xuewei arrived, she saw a group of people surrounding Jiang Yunzheng’s bed, performing CPR.
A straight line appeared on the monitor, accompanied by a sharp, piercing alarm.
Xi Yu reached out and supported Jiang Xuewei, preventing her from collapsing to the ground.
At the same time, Old Master Jiang also hurried over, his steps unsteady and cold sweat pouring from his forehead.
Seeing that someone was beside him, Xi Yu felt relieved and looked into the ward.
This could no longer really be called a hospital room. It was practically a private intensive-care unit. Every kind of medical instrument was present.
More than a dozen doctors surrounded the bed, yet the room still did not feel crowded.
“Inject one milligram of epinephrine!”
“Prepare the defibrillator at 200 joules!”
The doctors’ voices and the sounds of the medical equipment made the surroundings extremely chaotic.
Xi Yu’s view was blocked by the crowd. He couldn’t see Jiang Yunzheng on the bed, but he could sense that wisp of aura was right on Jiang Yunzheng’s body.
Xi Yu raised a hand and brushed it over his eyes.
His gaze penetrated through the crowd and fell upon Jiang Yunzheng.
The pale, handsome young man lay on the bed without any heartbeat or breathing, looking exactly like a corpse.
But he wasn’t dead.
Jiang Yunzheng’s soul was still inside his body.
A living corpse…
Xi Yu was about to look more closely when his arm was suddenly grabbed, interrupting his line of sight.
Old Master Jiang grabbed Xi Yu’s hand, panic and unease filling his eyes.
It was completely unconscious. When a person was overcome by extreme fear, they instinctively wanted to grab hold of something.
Nearby, the doctor wore a sorrowful expression as he continued speaking to Jiang Xuewei.
“The resuscitation has now gone on for more than fifteen minutes. Even if we manage to bring him back, his brain has already suffered irreversible damage.”
The doctor himself had no idea why Jiang Yunzheng had suddenly suffered cardiac arrest for no apparent reason.