When Li Mu arrived at Wang Shiyu’s place, he knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. Obviously, nobody was home yet.
Just at this time, an elderly man carrying a birdcage came up from the corridor and spotted Li Mu. He asked, “Young man, are you looking for Professor Wang?” Years ago, Wang Shiyu’s father was still a teacher working in Gaoxin Junior High School, and so his neighbors always called him Professor Wang.
Li Mu nodded.
“I haven’t seen you before. Are you Professor Wang’s student?” The elderly man who just went out for a walk with his bird asked in confusion.
Li Mu smiled and said, “I’m Shiyu’s junior high classmate. I’ve just graduated and got back to Baoji today. I’m here to visit Professor Wang.”
“Oh, you’re her classmate. You haven’t contacted Professor Wang these years? Then it’s no wonder. You might have not heard it yet. The apartment has been sold. Professor Wang had a car accident last year, and I’ve been told that he has become a vegetable. He is still in the recovery hospital now. To gather the money for the treatment, his spouse sold the house and has since waited on him hand and foot in the hospital.” The elderly man explained.
Li Mu’s countenance changed.
“How could such a thing happen?”
“Alas, Professor Wang and his family are all good people who are always willing to help others. They are very good friends with the neighbors. Unfortunately, since his daughter, Shiyu, disappeared five years ago, their family had not lived one peaceful day. Professor Wang quitted his job and began looking for his missing daughter all over the country. But he didn’t find her. Last year when he came back, he was in a trance. Then, he was hit by a car that jumped a red light and got seriously injured. What’s more, the other party who caused the accident hit and ran.” The elderly man was a chatterbox. When he started talking, he could not stop it. “Shiyu’s elder brother went to the police school and said that he would go look for her sister after graduation… Well, how unfair the world is! A good person seldom gets rewarded.”
Hearing that, Li Mu was thunderstruck. Then, he hurriedly asked, “Is Professor Wang in the recovery hospital in Jantai District? I’ll go to see him.”
“Yes, that’s it. He’s in room 1003 of the recovery department on the 10th floor of the hospital. The neighbors often go to visit him as well. These days, Professor Wang is getting thinner and thinner. The doctor said that his organs are failing. I’m afraid he can’t hold on for too long…”
The elderly man carrying a birdcage shook his head and heaved with a sigh. Then, he went upstairs.
Li Mu immediately left the Waterside Community, went out to take a taxi, and headed straight for the recovery hospital in Jantai District.
Half an hour later, Li Mu appeared in the doorway of Room 1003 on the 10th floor.
It was a single recovery ward. Wang Shiyu’s father, Wang Zhen, had turned into a vegetable patient because of a car crash. Because his condition was rather serious, he needed professional treatment, like the intubation, so he could not stay at home. As he had to rely on some medical equipment, he could only live in the hospital.
Li Mu tapped the door gently.
“Come in.” An exhausted woman’s voice came from inside.
When Li Mu pushed the door open and came in, the smell of disinfectant unique to the hospital poured into his nostrils.
Bai Ru, Wang Shiyu’s mother, was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her husband’s skinny hand. She was wiping her tears and looked extremely gaunt. Hearing the knock on the door, she turned back to look at Li Mu, and there was a trace of doubt on her face. A moment later, she said, “You are…”
At that moment, Li Mu felt a twinge of sourness in his heart.
When he was in school, he had met Wang Shiyu’s parents.
Now that Wang Shiyu was known as the most beautiful woman in the Northern Song on the Divine Land, the excellence of her family’s genes could be seen clearly. Five years ago, Professor Wang Zhen was a middle-aged man who was refined, handsome, and elegant. He was good at calligraphy and had the demeanor of an artist. Bai Ru was also a great beauty, running one of the top postpartum care centers in Baoji City.
But now, lying on the bed, Wang Zhen’s breath was rather weak. He was all skin-and-bones. And his vitality was like a candle in the wind that would go out at any moment. Bai Ru was no longer as glorious as she was five years ago, either. Her face was full of sorrow. Her skin was dim. And half of her beautiful hair was already white…
“Auntie, I’m Shiyu’s junior high school classmate. I’m here to visit you and Uncle Wang.” Li Mu, carrying a bag of fruit, went into the room and put the bag on the bedside table and said, “I don’t know if you still remember me. My name is Li Mu. I used to be Shiyu’s deskmate.”
A glint of light flashed across Bai Ru’s eyes.
As if having remembered something, she leaped to her feet, grabbed Li Mu, and said excitedly, “Little Mu? It’s really you. You’re back? You’re taller and more handsome… Have you ever seen my Shiyu? Back then, you were the closest to her among all the classmates. I heard that she went to visit you before she disappeared. Have you… seen her?”
The woman, who looked too hoary for her age, seized Li Mu’s hand and gazed at him with hot expectation in her eyes. Like a drowning person who just held a life-saving straw, she was waiting for Li Mu’s answer with bated breath.
Li Mu did not know where to start.
Speaking of the whereabouts of Wang Shiyu, it was a bit too incredulous.
Seeing Li Mu’s hesitant expression, the light in Bai Ru’s eyes faded little by little.
She let go of Li Mu, shakily slumped back in the chair beside the bed. Then, with a wry smile, she said, “Little Mu, I’m sorry. I miss Shiyu so much that I can’t help it… Every time I think of her, think that she might be suffering somewhere, or might already… Little Mu, please have a seat. We are very happy that you’ve come to see us.”
As Bai Ru spoke, tears slid down her cheeks.
In the five years of suffering, her daughter was missing, her husband had a car accident, and the person who caused the accident ran away… The woman would soon lose her grip.
Li Mu finally opened his mouth to say, “Auntie, I’m here to tell you that I’ve seen Shiyu, and she is doing very well.”
“What?” Bai Ru abruptly raised her head and gawked at Li Mu, then asked in disbelief, “Is that… true?”
Li Mu confirmed with a nod.
“Where is she? Tell me, Little Mu, tell me now.” Bai Ru rushed over, grabbed Li Mu’s arms with both hands, and her tears flowed down again. She urged, “Little Mu, where is Shiyu? Where has she gone? Why hasn’t she come back… Little Mu, please tell me the answers now. I beg you. Her father is dying. Shiyu has to come back to see him. Otherwise, her father will die with a grievance…”
“Auntie, please calm down and listen to me.” Li Mu helped Bai Ru sit down and said, “I have seen Shiyu. Before I came back, Shiyu asked me to bring loads of things to you. She is safe and also living a good life. However, her place is too far away, so she can’t come back.”
Li Mu sent out a wisp of his spiritual force to help Bai Ru stabilize her emotions by magic arts.
“Too far away? Where is she on earth?” Bai Ru had calmed down a little, but she was still very thrilled.
Li Mu said, “Auntie, listen to me. You may not believe what I’m going to say next. Perhaps it’s just too incredible. Thus, please let me give you some proof first.”
He stretched out his hand and put it on the arm of Wang Zhen, who was on the verge of death. A thread of wood qi from Eastern Wood Emperor slowly flowed into Wang Zhen’s body along his arm.
Among the qi of the five internal organs recorded in the Five Emperors’ Immortality Scriptures, the wood qi of the Eastern Wood Emperor was the one that contained most vitality, which was powerful in treatment and healing. If one practiced it to the extreme, he could almost bring a dead person back to life. With Li Mu’s current cultivation, it was not difficult for him to cure a patient like Wang Zhen.
Bai Ru looked at Li Mu’s act with a puzzled look. But shortly, her face took on a look of extreme shock and disbelief.
Because she saw that her originally skinny and feeble husband started to change. At a speed visible to the naked eye, his skin became supple and smooth; his sunken eyes and sunken cheeks plumped up; his grey hair grew black again; his body was like a balloon being filled with gas, gradually growing strong; his face turned ruddy, and his breathing became smoother as well.
“I’m not dreaming, am I? I…” Bai Ru was stunned.
She thought she was daydreaming.
Her husband, who used to be healthy and energetic, was back.
Nevertheless, he had not woken up yet.
Li Mu slowly withdrew his palms.
“Auntie, as you can see, I can heal Uncle Wang. This is a phenomenon that modern science can’t explain, for this is an immortal’s skill. In fact, I came back from… well, the immortal world, and Shiyu is now in the immortal world, too. For some reason, she can’t get back for the time being.”
Bai Ru stared at Li Mu in a daze.
What he said was so ridiculous that even a swindler would not try to fool people with it.
Even so, Bai Ru believed it.
Because she saw with her own eyes that her husband, who was dying, had all his vital signs been restored, and his body had become strong. Although he had not yet come to his senses, his current state was definitely a lot better than before.
That alone was a miracle. And the immortal’s skill seemed to be the only explanation.
“Auntie, don’t worry. I can cure Uncle Wang’s illness very soon. But since we are in the hospital, if other doctors see that uncle has recovered so quickly, they will be shocked. It may not be convenient to explain the change to them, so you need to take care of the discharge procedures first. If there is not enough money, I’ve got some here. When we get out of the hospital, I can cure Uncle Wang in the blind of an eye, and then we can talk about Shiyu in detail.”
Li Mu suggested earnestly.
“Okay, okay, okay.” Bai Ru agreed. Her excitement was hard to conceal.
The hope of life was back.
A luxury black off-road vehicle and a modified van zoomed down the winding mountain road and skidded to a halt at the gate of Randeng Temple.
The back door of the black van opened, and 10 people came out. All of them were dressed in suits and leather shoes, wearing sunglasses. They were all quite muscular, burly, and extremely intimidating. It was clear at first glance that they were martial arts practitioners. It seemed that they were bodyguards.
A man and a woman got off the off-road vehicle, and their air was even more daunting.
The man was clad in a tight black leather jacket, which made him look tall and strong. His muscles were full of explosive power. He had short black hair and sharp eyes. On his back was a one-and-a-half-meter-long black rectangular box. No one knew what was inside.
The woman had curly black hair, delicate facial features, flaming red lips, and extremely charming makeup. She looked very attractive in a black coat and a black miniskirt. Her legs were long and straight, and she was not wearing stockings. Her fair legs seemed to be glowing like jade, which was somewhat dazzling. Her feet were wrapped in a pair of red high heels. The contrast of red, black, and white colors was extremely strong. Doubtlessly, she was the kind of drop-dead gorgeous woman who could make men’s blood boil with just one wink.
The bodyguards in black were well-trained. Two of them carefully pushed open the door of Randeng Temple and walked in.
After a while, one of the black bodyguards came out and said, “Young Master, Miss Zhu, he’s not here.”
“Um? He fled?” The tall man carrying a black box on his back asked.
The bodyguard answered, “I don’t think so. It seems that he has gone out for some business and will soon come back.”
That the charming stunner called Miss Zhu she said nonchalantly, “Then let’s wait here… The Mount Shaozu could be still considered a blessed place 300 years ago. It sits on the south and overlooks the north, it is one of the 81 ranges of Qinling. The geomancy and terrain here are great. What’s more, in history, this Randeng Temple has an impressive origin.”
Her voice was as clear as a jade bead landing on a jade plate. It was so melodious that it felt like a pleasant speech given by an erudite historical scholar. It was an enjoyment to hear her speak.
The tall man with the black box on his back smiled. It was obvious that he was not very interested in history.
He called the bodyguards over and began to make some arrangements around and in the interior of Randeng Temple. Only professionals could see that what they were installing were a highly advanced and extremely terrifying thermal weapon trap and a capture device.
The 10 bodyguards also began to arrange their weapons in the modified luxury van. A series of mechanical crackles rang out. It was crisp and cold. They were equipped with very dangerous high-end thermal weapons and guns that ordinary civilians and soldiers could never possess.
This group of people who had entered the temple was unmistakably up to no good.
