Chapter 13: Is Young Master Mu Well-Behaved?
Mu Lichuan sat in the back of the car, his entire body trembling.
Mother had already survived the suicide crisis, why is she in the hospital now? Why...? Could her death truly not be changed?
"I control my fate, not the heavens!" Dark energy seethed within the young man's heart.
The moment the car stopped, Mu Lichuan flung the door open and sprinted into the hospital, the servant guiding him to the operating room.
"Father, how did Mother fall from the second floor?" Mu Lichuan knew he was being too emotional, but how could he stay calm when it concerned his mother?
Mu Changnian understood his eldest son's feelings. Frowning, he said, "We don’t know what happened either. She was standing perfectly fine on the balcony, and then... she just jumped."
"No... impossible! Mother would never commit suicide!" Mu Lichuan's face twisted in disbelief. His mother had no reason to kill herself, was his father lying? His heart sank, though he showed no outward reaction.
Seeing his son's expression, Mu Changnian felt a pang of sympathy. "You can review the surveillance footage later. I also thought your mother seemed... off today."
"Father..." Mu Lichuan was stunned that his father would side with him.
"Right now, the priority is your mother's safety. The doctors are operating, we must be patient." Mu Changnian hadn’t checked the footage yet. The moment he learned of his wife’s accident, he had rushed over immediately.
His wife, Zhang Xiao, was from the Zhang family. If anything happened to her, the relationship between the Mu and Zhang families would deteriorate. If possible, he wanted to salvage things.
They were people of the secular world, different from cultivators. Their world was beyond his understanding, but he still hoped to nurture an outstanding heir, one with spiritual roots, a genius who could solidify the main family's standing and silence the scorn of the branch families.
Everything had been going so well, why had this happened now? He couldn’t shake the suspicion of foul play.
"You’re right, Father. We must wait... wait..." Mu Lichuan forced a smile, careful not to let his father sense the darkness within him.
His first suspicion had been Bai Ping, but she had already been sent away for training. How could she have harmed his mother? More importantly, she was just an ordinary woman.
Even without seeing the footage, he knew his father wouldn’t lie about this. After all, his mother’s family was not to be trifled with.
Time crawled by, day turned to night, then dawn. Finally, the operating light flickered off, and Mu Lichuan and his father hurried forward.
"Mr. Mu, Young Master Mu... we’re sorry. There was nothing we could do. Mrs. Mu landed headfirst, her skull was shattered." The doctor removed his mask, exhaustion etched on his face.
"No! Impossible!"
"Mom—!"
Mu Lichuan shoved past the doctor and burst into the room. When he saw the white sheet covering his mother, his entire body shook. He pulled it back, revealing the surgical scars on her head, her lifeless face, her closed eyes.
"Mom! Why?!" Mu Lichuan burned with hatred. He had come back, yet he couldn’t save his mother. Why?!
Mu Changnian watched his son’s grief but said nothing, silently stepping out. His wife’s death was a blow to the Mu family.
"Tsk tsk... Crying won’t bring her back." A voice suddenly echoed in Mu Lichuan’s mind.
"Who are you? Ghost or demon? Get out!" Mu Lichuan didn’t know how long he had mourned, how long he had stayed by his mother’s side. His voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot.
"I'm neither human nor ghost. You may call me... Spirit." The voice spoke again. "Your mother’s soul is no longer in her body."
As if to pique his interest, the spirit continued, though its tone dropped several degrees colder.
Mu Lichuan's heart raced. He knew of cultivators, he had once been a soul himself. But what was this "spirit"? "Are you a cultivator?"
"Pfah! Cultivators are just the lowest form of cultivation." The spirit's voice dripped with condescension.
"Yet right now, you’re weaker than even a cultivator." Mu Lichuan retorted sharply. Despite his maturity, enduring his mother’s loss again was nearly unbearable.
The spirit fell silent. After a long pause, it said, "Let’s make a deal. Help me find my body, and we’ll go to the Underworld to retrieve your mother’s soul. How about that?"
"Do I look three years old to you? Once a soul reaches the Underworld, it reincarnates." Mu Lichuan was tempted but knew better than to trust a stranger’s offer blindly.
"I marked her. Her soul will remain in the Underworld for centuries. Well? Do we have a deal?" The spirit dangled the bait.
Mu Lichuan’s resolve wavered. "I’m a cultivation cripple, I can’t gather spiritual energy." Damn it, why did I admit that so easily?
No comments:
Post a Comment