There had never been a situation like this before.
Three years ago, they had already performed a systematic examination on Jiang Yunzheng. His heart and brain functions had both been normal.
But now, it was definitely no longer possible.
Anyone whose heart had stopped for too long would suffer irreversible damage to the brain.
Someone who had been asleep for this long would probably be difficult to save.
“Over the past few months, Mr. Jiang’s various organs have already begun to fail. Old Mr. Jiang and Miss Jiang, you should prepare yourselves mentally.”
As these words fell, Old Master Jiang’s vision went black, and he was about to faint. Xi Yu placed a hand around his waist, stabilizing his consciousness.
Jiang Xuewei was a little more composed, but not by much. Tears immediately fell from her eyes, and she covered her lips as sobs escaped her.
Old Master Jiang’s heart had already felt as though it were dead, but suddenly, he felt a warmth at his waist, as though something had entered his body. He looked toward the source of that hand.
Xi Yu stood tall and graceful, completely out of place amid the surrounding commotion. As though he had grasped at a lifeline, Old Master Jiang bent his knees and knelt down.
“Mr. Xi, please, save my grandson!”
“His father was an anti-drug police officer who sacrificed his life for the country, leaving behind only this one child. Yunzheng has had such a hard life. After his father died, his mother followed right after. In this world, he is the only blood relative I have left. I beg you, save him. I’ll kowtow to you, please!”
“Please, have mercy. Think of some way. I really can’t watch Yunzheng die…”
Old Master Jiang’s tears streamed down his face as he tightly gripped Xi Yu’s hand, and he was about to kowtow to him.
Seeing this, Jiang Xuewei also knelt down, flustered and helpless.
“Mr. Xi, please think of something. If my brother dies, Grandpa won’t be able to hold on.”
………………
The Jiang family consisted of only an old man and a young woman. Jiang Xuewei had been adopted by the family and had joined the Jiang family halfway through her life.
Although they were not related by blood, the Jiang family had treated her as their own daughter, raising her in comfort and luxury for many years. There was pride in her very bones, yet now she was kneeling before Xi Yu alongside Old Master Jiang.
She actually did not really believe Xi Yu could save her brother. She only hoped that Xi Yu could give her grandfather some hope.
The doctor standing nearby looked at Xi Yu and found him somewhat familiar, but did not think deeply about it. A trace of disdain unconsciously appeared in his eyes.
Over the past few years, Old Master Jiang would bring all sorts of strange wandering occult practitioners over every now and then. They had already grown accustomed to it.
They simply assumed that this was another person Old Master Jiang had brought today.
The doctor felt that the man who had come today was also unlucky. Those people would come, say a bunch of nonsense, take the money, and leave.
But this person had truly come at the worst possible time. In the current situation, he probably would not even be able to swindle any money.
Amid the continuous cries and pleas, Xi Yu helped Old Master Jiang to his feet and looked at him.
“I’m not certain whether he can survive. I’m willing to give it my best shot, but I have one condition.”
Old Master Jiang hurriedly asked, “What condition?”
“Immediately get everyone inside out.”
Xi Yu looked at the doctors who were performing resuscitation.
The demonic aura inside Jiang Yunzheng’s body was tightly entwined with him. With those doctors there, Xi Yu had no way to act.
He could only wait until Jiang Yunzheng died.
If he wanted to save Jiang Yunzheng, he had to do so before his soul left his body. Xi Yu could already sense that Jiang Yunzheng’s soul was becoming somewhat unstable.
Hearing this, Old Master Jiang looked toward the hospital room.
Time passed second by second, while Jiang Yunzheng was still being resuscitated.
His heart had stopped, yet the adrenaline and machines were still operating, and the doctors continued pressing down on his grandson’s chest without stopping.
That was the orthodox method of resuscitation in his mind.
Xi Yu was telling them to withdraw all those people. This was no different from giving up resuscitation.
The doctor had originally said nothing, but upon hearing this, his expression also changed. He was a middle-aged man who had been in a position of authority for a long time, and the disdain he felt toward Xi Yu grew even stronger.
A young brat had come to swindle money and was actually being this bold.
“Young man, there are a thousand ways for you to make money, but this is a matter of human life. This is not the time for you to fool around.”
Even though resuscitation was difficult now, there was still a sliver of hope. But once the people and machines were withdrawn, there would be nothing but a dead man inside.
Xi Yu ignored the doctor’s sarcastic remarks. He simply looked at Old Master Jiang, waiting for his answer.
Jiang Xuewei supported Old Master Jiang and stood frozen in place.
Withdraw the doctors…
How could that be possible?
Withdrawing the doctors meant cutting off the final path.
If Xi Yu failed to save her brother, then there would be no hope of survival at all.
“No, we can’t. We can’t withdraw them, Mr. Xi…”
“Withdraw them.”
Jiang Xuewei’s words were interrupted by Old Master Jiang’s heavy voice.
She looked at Old Master Jiang in disbelief and cried out, “We can’t withdraw them! Grandpa, once we withdraw them, there’ll be no hope… We can’t!”
Old Master Jiang staggered to his feet and repeated himself.
“Withdraw them.”
Seeing this, the doctor sneered inwardly and cursed their foolishness.
“Old Mr. Jiang, you’re giving up resuscitation now, correct?”
Withdrawing the people and giving up resuscitation meant the same thing, merely expressed in two different ways.
But obviously, the doctor’s words struck directly at the heart.
Give up resuscitation…
“We can’t give up!” Jiang Xuewei said. “We can’t give up resuscitation. As long as there’s even the slightest hope, we can’t!”
The doctor felt that at least there was still one clear-headed person here, but Jiang Xuewei could not make the decision.
The doctor looked at Old Master Jiang, waiting for his answer.
It was undoubtedly a difficult choice.
Either give up resuscitation, hand Jiang Yunzheng—who could almost be considered a corpse—to Xi Yu, and gamble on a result that was almost impossible to achieve.
Or continue resuscitation and retain a chance of survival.
Although both options offered a possibility of staying alive, the chance on Xi Yu’s side was obviously smaller, and it did not conform to the conventional image of how resuscitation should be performed.
If it were anyone else, this would hardly even be a choice.
Old Master Jiang’s hands and feet were ice-cold, his heart suffering tremendous torment.
Jiang Xuewei kept trying to stop him, pleading with Old Master Jiang.
“Grandpa, we can’t give up. We can’t…”
“Give up.”
Old Master Jiang closed his eyes, and two streams of clear tears slid down his face.
“I give up resuscitation.”
“Grandpa!!!”
The doctor shook his head and took out the consent form for giving up resuscitation.
“Sign here.”
Old Master Jiang took it, his trembling hand almost unable to hold the pen.
Jiang Xuewei pressed down on the consent form, choking on her tears.
“Grandpa! You can’t sign it, you can’t!”
Old Master Jiang’s tears fell onto the document. He brushed Jiang Xuewei’s hand away and forcefully signed his name.
The doctor took the document and waved toward his assistant.
The other doctors quickly withdrew from the hospital room.
“Don’t leave! Don’t leave!”
Jiang Xuewei blocked everyone’s path.
“Xuewei!”
Old Master Jiang grabbed his granddaughter.
“Let them leave.”
Jiang Xuewei burst into tears, so grief-stricken that she could not speak.
The doctor looked at the indifferent Xi Yu, handed the consent form to his assistant, and spoke in a cold voice.
“Young man, people like you can kill someone without bearing any legal responsibility.”
The sarcasm in those words was extremely heavy.
Xi Yu looked over coldly, his beautiful, vivid features seeming to be covered in a layer of ice.
The doctor, who had still been wearing a mocking expression moments ago, suddenly felt a chill run up his spine. Before he could look more closely, Xi Yu had already turned around and entered the hospital room, closing the door behind him.
The doctor felt that he must have seen wrong.
He was merely a young man. How could he possess the kind of oppressive presence that only someone in a position of power could have?
The doctor gave an almost imperceptible scoff.
It had already been twenty minutes of resuscitation, yet Jiang Yunzheng’s heartbeat still showed no sign of returning. He already felt that it was impossible to resuscitate him successfully.
He had originally been worried about being blamed. Now, this was perfect—someone else could take the blame.
The doctor left with his assistant. At the hospital room door, only the Jiang family’s grandfather and granddaughter remained.
Jiang Xuewei leaned against the wall, covering her face with both hands.
Old Master Jiang stared blankly at the door, murmuring as though he had been possessed, repeating the same sentence over and over.
“Please, all you gods and immortals, save my grandson.”
“Please, all you gods and immortals, save my grandson.”
“Please, all you gods and immortals, save my grandson.”
Inside the hospital room, separated by only a wall, Xi Yu had just entered when he waved his hand and blocked the surveillance cameras.
Immediately afterward, he walked over to Jiang Yunzheng. Only then did he see Jiang Yunzheng’s original appearance.
Because the resuscitation had loosened his hospital gown, his emaciated chest was exposed, along with a wound on his shoulder that had been cut open by a sharp blade.
The moment Xi Yu saw the wound, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He stared fixedly at the faint strand of black mist on it, so faint that it was almost impossible to see, and his breathing became somewhat rapid.
That strand of demonic aura should have sensed his arrival and hidden inside Jiang Yunzheng’s body. But the wound inflicted by a magical artifact could not heal, and the remaining aura could not be erased.
This was…
The mark that only the Chenyu Sword, the magical weapon of the First Demon Venerable, could leave behind.
Everything could be explained now.
Why could such a tiny strand of demonic aura affect Lu Zhixing?
So it turned out that…
It was the sword soul of Chenyu.
A strand of the Chenyu Sword’s sword soul had attached itself to Jiang Yunzheng’s body.
To have a mortal body carry an ancient demonic sword was no different from using one’s vital blood essence to nourish it. Jiang Yunzheng’s body could not withstand it, so naturally, he could not wake up.
The wound could not heal, and Jiang Yunzheng’s life force was also slowly draining away until, today, it had been almost completely exhausted.
Xi Yu raised his trembling hand, released his spiritual power, aimed it at the wound, and shouted angrily:
“Get out!”
………………
The dense black threads of mist immediately began drilling outward from Zhang Yunzheng’s body, as though unraveling silk from a cocoon. Then, strand by strand, they gathered in Xi Yu’s palm, eventually becoming a tiny cluster resembling a miniature cloud.
The demonic aura that had affected Lu Zhixing to the point of losing control was now so fragile in Xi Yu’s palm that he could crush it with a little force.
“Ow!”
Chenyu was sucked into Xi Yu’s palm. He wailed and hurriedly shouted, “I didn’t do anything bad! I’m a very, very good sword! Don’t kill me!!!”
Chenyu’s hoarse voice, combined with a tone like that of a six- or seven-year-old child, made Xi Yu feel that Chenyu was an idiot.
Chenyu shrank into a tiny ball. He had no eyes, ears, mouth, or nose, and could only keep rolling around in Xi Yu’s palm, seemingly acting spoiled and begging for mercy.
Chenyu had never imagined that he could be this unlucky.
How could a god descend into the human world?
And not just any god, but one this powerful.
It actually instinctively wanted to submit and beg for mercy.