Chapter 76: The Hospital Collapses
The power of the secular world far surpassed that of cultivators like them. Currently, the capital was cracking down hard on those who promote superstition and deception, even subjecting them to so-called "mental re-education" and branding them as abnormal.
He had no way to return to his former world. The spiritual energy here was thin, and he could only rely on unorthodox methods to cultivate and prolong his life.
When Mi Rong heard the masked man's words, his face twisted in shock. "Master, are you saying... my plan has completely failed?" After so many years of patience and preparation, it had all been ruined in an instant. How could he accept this?
"Not yet. They only broke the formations on the second and third floors. Though I was injured, if they hadn’t used the power of the dragon energy, they wouldn’t have escaped at all," the masked man replied with unwavering confidence.
"Once the person carrying the dragon energy is gone, killing a cultivator will be a simple matter."
As soon as these words were spoken, Mi Rong’s tension eased. "Good. I’ll make sure they’re bogged down by worldly affairs, leaving them no chance to interfere with my plans." He absolutely would not allow them any opportunity to strike.
When Mu Lichuan and Mi Shen reached the stairwell, they quickly hurried down, their faces pale. Clearly, they had encountered a cultivator stronger than themselves.
Yet, Mu Lichuan was secretly thrilled. He hadn’t even reached a life-or-death struggle, and he was certain his opponent was injured. After all, the blood of one blessed by the nation’s fortune was not something just anyone could endure.
"How are you?" Mi Shen’s breathing was steady, as if he hadn’t just been through a harrowing ordeal.
Mu Lichuan frowned. "It’s not that simple. The formation isn’t completely broken, and we’ve alerted the enemy. Your uncle will likely take action now." He felt a pang of regret, he had underestimated their foe.
Something puzzled him. Based on his deductions, the formation must have been in place for a long time, yet no one had noticed anything amiss. This meant the caster’s skills were profound. Even if the state opposed superstition, those protected by the dragon energy surely had supernatural experts behind them.
"So what? What else can he do?" A cold glint flashed in Mi Shen’s eyes.
His hatred for superstitious practices stemmed from his uncle’s influence. His relationship with his father was lukewarm, they only met when necessary,but their blood ties and shared interests bound them together.
Even if he felt neglected by his father, he couldn’t deny that the man was a good leader who cared for the people. Otherwise, Mi Shen wouldn’t have helped him.
Mu Lichuan looked at him. "A significant amount of the nation’s fortune-energy has been drained from you. As for your father and uncle, I haven’t met them, so I can’t comment. Let’s leave this place first."
The hospital at night was entirely different from the daytime. There was no reason for them to stay.
As they moved, Mi Shen suddenly clapped a hand over the boy’s mouth and pulled him behind a door in the outpatient wing. "Do you have an invisibility talisman?" he whispered directly into Mu Lichuan’s ear.
Mu Lichuan stiffened but then noticed a group of white-coated medical staff rushing past, their expressions urgent, as if searching for something, or someone.
"An invisibility talisman? You’re asking for a lot. I—" He cut himself off when he spotted a trembling girl, deathly pale, hiding behind a trash can, her hands clamped over her mouth.
In the dim night lighting, no one would have noticed her.
"Don’t give me away, please!" The girl, about fourteen or fifteen, was on the verge of tears.
Before Mi Shen could react, Mu Lichuan shoved him forward, drawing the medical staff’s attention.
"Shh... I’ll get you out," Mu Lichuan murmured, seizing the chance to slip away with the girl while Mi Shen dealt with the distraction.
The inpatient building was quiet, but the outpatient wing required night staff in case of emergencies. How Mi Shen handled them was his problem.
Mu Lichuan had no doubt the young master could manage.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Mi Shen reappeared, striding confidently to the car.
"No next time," Mi Shen warned.
Mu Lichuan grinned. "Would you rather I went out? They’d have arrested me on the spot. Little girl, don’t be afraid. You’re safe now." He studied her - a girl who should have been marked for death, yet a thin thread of fate now crossed her forehead.
Had they not intervened, she would have died. Now, the aura of death had vanished, meaning their actions had altered her fate.
He normally avoided meddling, but since she had escaped the so-called "Ren'ai (benevolence)" Hospital, exposing its crimes could also help Mi Shen’s uncle.
Supernatural matters could be dealt with slowly, but in the secular world, he was just a middle-schooler. A single false charge could land him in police custody indefinitely, unless he had Mi Shen’s backing.
The girl trembled. "Thank you, saviors. Without you, Gu Xiao would be dead." Though tears still streaked her face, her voice was firm.
"If you trust us, tell us what happened," Mu Lichuan coaxed, subtly soothing her with his spiritual energy.
It wasn’t entirely ethical, but they were racing against time. Evidence of the hospital’s crimes would protect him from the dean’s retaliation.
No one would suspect a middle-schooler of being the "expert" beside Mi Shen.
Gu Xiao felt inexplicably calm under his gaze. "They... they were going to cut out my heart and give it to another girl..."
"What?" Even Mu Lichuan, no stranger to cruelty, was stunned. "They were going to harvest a living heart? That’s murder!" He steadied himself. "Tell us everything. We’ll help you."
Gu Xiao nodded and recounted her story.
A timid middle-schooler, she had been tricked into a hospital check-up by a boy she liked. Overhearing the plan to transplant her heart, she feigned unconsciousness and fled when their guard was down.
"Mi Li?" Mu Lichuan glanced at Mi Shen, whose face darkened like soot. Clearly, this struck a nerve.
"His daughter." Mi Shen didn’t even bother with honorifics now. A man who treated lives so callously didn’t deserve respect.
His uncle’s scheme to steal the nation’s fortune, his feigned kindness - all of it was just a ploy to kill him. Yet fate had intervened, sending Mu Lichuan, a righteous soul, to save him.
Gu Xiao was taken to Mi Shen’s home, and Mu Lichuan decided staying at the young master’s villa was safer than risking his grandfather’s safety.
"Will you testify? Are you afraid?" Mi Shen asked Gu Xiao later, now cleaned up and calmer.
"No, they wanted me dead. I’m just telling the truth," she replied firmly.
Mi Shen was fairly satisfied with her answer. If they had saved someone weak and incompetent, ruining Mi Rong’s reputation would have been far more difficult, and might have even backfired on them.
The very next day, major newspapers and headlines across the nation exposed Ren'ai Hospital's abuse of power in harvesting live hearts from patients.
The news sent shockwaves throughout the country, prompting immediate action from the capital's government as they launched an investigation into the hospital.
Harvesting live hearts for experiments was no different from outright murder—what made it even more grotesque was how the hospital had paraded itself under the banner of "healing the sick and saving lives." The irony was staggering. Before the hospital director, Mi Rong, could even mount a defense, investigators hauled him away.
Ren'ai Hospital descended into chaos. Medical staff insisted it was all a malicious smear campaign, but with irrefutable evidence and witnesses, denial was futile—how could they expect patients to believe them now? Meanwhile, families of former patients began realizing a horrifying pattern: many of their loved ones had died in "accidents" shortly after being discharged. When this revelation spread, current patients panicked, demanding immediate transfers—after all, everyone feared death.
In just two or three days, Ren'ai Hospital became a desolate shell, its doors sealed shut by authorities. The scandal was too egregious to ignore. Even Mi Shen's father was implicated in the fallout.
"See that?" Mi Shen said coldly to the young man. "This is the power of authority. No matter how formidable you cultivators are, you stand no chance against the might of the state."
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