Chapter 69: The Path of the Underworld
Shao Xiaoya stood up with Mu Lichuan's help, her face full of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Mu Lichuan, I..." She thought that if she hadn’t nearly fainted, many people would have come to celebrate.
Mu Lichuan glanced at the girl in front of him. "Are you unwell?" He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt a faint trace of yin energy around her. It was so faint that it was almost undetectable unless one paid close attention.
The girl’s face bore an unnatural sickly pallor, clearly indicating someone who had either been bedridden for a long time or was suffering from an illness.
Shao Xiaoya’s face lit up with joy, and she nodded vigorously. "Yes, I have a condition. If I run, my heart races, and I easily faint. I’m sorry about earlier. Here, take this bottle of water." Even as she nearly collapsed, her other hand still clutched a small bottle of mineral water.
"Thanks," Mu Lichuan replied flatly. The girl’s eyes were unusually clear, not like a middle schooler’s at all, but more like a three or four-year-old child’s. It seemed her family had sheltered her well.
"You’re welcome. Go rest, I won’t bother you anymore." Shao Xiaoya spoke shyly. Even though Mu Lichuan was her idol, she felt guilty for making him exert himself.
Mu Lichuan turned and left, while Shao Xiaoya gazed after him dreamily. She felt inexplicably light and comfortable around him, something she had never experienced before. Truly worthy of being her idol.
"Xiaoya!" Shao Yu came running over in a panic. The moment he heard something had happened to his sister, he dropped everything to rush to her side.
Shao Xiaoya turned and smiled. "Brother, I’m fine. I just forgot for a moment that I can’t run. I took my medicine, and I’m better now."
"That’s right. Xiaoya was in a critical situation just now," Qin Xiaocao chimed in with a charming smile. Unfortunately, Shao Yu seemed oblivious to her flirtatiousness and simply pulled his sister toward the rest area.
He knew his sister had a crush on Mu Lichuan, but to him, that boy was no ordinary person. He had tried to investigate but found that apart from being wealthy and frequently skipping class, all other information about him seemed deliberately sealed. Someone like that was better left alone.
"Brother..." Shao Xiaoya sat down, noticing her brother’s dark expression before calling out sweetly.
"Stay away from Mu Lichuan," Shao Yu said sternly. Who knew if the boy had ulterior motives? It was better to be cautious.
"Brother, you’re being unreasonable!" Shao Xiaoya pouted. Since childhood, her family had restricted her in countless ways. Now that she had finally met someone she liked, her brother forbade her from approaching him.
Shao Yu sighed helplessly. "I’m doing this for your own good." A boy of unknown origins, who knew if he was deliberately targeting his sister?
"I know what’s right and what’s wrong," Shao Xiaoya said seriously. "I’ve grown up. I’m not a three-year-old anymore. I won’t be fooled."
Shao Yu quickly humored her. If she got too agitated and her heart raced, it would be disastrous.
Mu Lichuan quickly put the matter out of his mind. Some things depended on fate. Besides, the girl didn’t seem ordinary, and he was seen as a "fraud" by outsiders. It wasn’t worth meddling in affairs that might land him in the reform bureau.
His abilities belonged more to the yin side of the world. As for the yang side, he had to abide by the rulers’ decisions. Without power, any restriction on his movements would make it impossible to act freely.
"Young Master Mu! Young Master Mu!" He Chen rushed over in a panic. Just when everything had settled down and past troubles were resolved, the doctors suddenly told him his daughter might become vegetative.
He knew exactly what that meant. If medicine couldn’t help, he would turn to Mu Lichuan. He had already transferred the promised 20 million as gratitude.
Mu Lichuan, carrying his backpack, had just returned from school. Though he had gained some attention during the sports meet, his usual aloofness kept people at a distance, and things soon returned to normal.
"Hm?" Mu Lichuan looked up indifferently. He rather liked straightforward clients.
He Chen bowed respectfully. "Young Master Mu, please come see my daughter. The doctors say she’s brain-dead. She woke up briefly but then fell into a vegetative state. Maybe she’s been haunted by something." His eyes welled with tears as he spoke.
He only had this one daughter. The thought of losing her was devastating.
"Fine." Mu Lichuan was willing to build connections. Some things were just small favors.
Hospitals were crowded and naturally carried heavier yin energy, especially with morgues full of bodies. But unless it concerned him directly, he wouldn’t interfere.
He Chen’s wife had become gaunt from grief. After recovering from a fall, she learned her daughter had been in a car accident and was now vegetative, it was a blow she could hardly bear.
When Mu Lichuan entered the private ward, doctors were still examining the girl. He Chen swayed on his feet, barely holding onto hope.
Mu Lichuan frowned. The girl’s body had indeed been invaded by yin energy, disrupting its functions. Normally, the living had strong yang energy, but her weakened state had allowed the intrusion.
He extended his hand to channel soul energy into her, but a doctor snapped, "What are you doing? Do you even understand what a vegetative state is?"
Mu Lichuan ignored him, looking at He Chen instead.
"Let Young Master Mu examine her," He Chen insisted. If medicine couldn’t help, they had to try other means.
The doctors reluctantly stepped back. Mu Lichuan grasped the girl’s hand, transferring soul energy to expel the yin energy. He sensed damaged meridians hindering her blood flow and cleared the dense yin energy clustered in her brain - the likely cause of her brain death.
He Chen barely dared to breathe, afraid of disturbing the process.
When Mu Lichuan finally withdrew, the medical monitors suddenly beeped wildly. The doctors stared in shock, the brain-dead patient showed signs of life again.
"Her brain was damaged by yin energy. She’ll need expert treatment. I’ll return on the weekend to help again. With another session, she should recover significantly," Mu Lichuan said. He wasn’t a doctor, so he couldn’t guarantee full healing.
"But her injuries are old. Her body will need a long time to recuperate."
He Chen clasped his hands in gratitude. "Thank you, Young Master Mu! From now on, you are the benefactor of the He family. Whatever you need, I’ll do it, even if it means walking through fire!"
The doctors exchanged baffled looks. The boy had merely held the patient’s hand, and she miraculously improved. Before they could question him, Mu Lichuan was already gone.
Disliking hospitals, Mu Lichuan left quickly. But as he exited, he sensed an overwhelming surge of sinister energy - not just yin energy, but something far darker.
This wasn’t just the usual hospital gloom. Something unnatural was happening in the inpatient ward.
"Find out who’s staying in that ward," he ordered He Chen.
He Chen nodded eagerly. "I’ll investigate immediately and send you the details."
"Just text me." Mu Lichuan didn’t want unnecessary contact. He knew certain people were watching him, waiting for a slip-up.
Since the incident with the landscape painting, he and Mi Shen had avoided each other. But Mu Lichuan sensed bigger schemes brewing.
"Yes, Young Master Mu." He Chen bowed as Mu Lichuan departed.
Boarding a bus, Mu Lichuan enjoyed the simplicity of ordinary life. He took a seat and closed his eyes, resting after expending so much soul energy. By the time the bus reached its final stop, he’d be home.
"Passenger, we’ve arrived. Please disembark." A cold voice jolted him awake.
Mu Lichuan’s eyes snapped open. His veins bulged as he took in the surroundings - a gloomy realm with wandering spirits drifting through the air.
"Do I look like a ghost?" He barely stopped himself from asking aloud. Instead, he stepped off to assess the situation. If he didn’t figure this out, finding his way back to the living world would be troublesome.
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