Page 78

"Alright, finish your homework and get some rest early." Chu Yuening handed the food cart key to Chu Yi before following Qiao Xing away.

At Hong Kong Hospital.

Qiao Xing led the way, frequently looking back with an anxious expression.

Chu Yuening sensed that something was bothering him and couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong? Looking back twice with every step, did I grow a flower on my face?"

"Big Sister Ning," Qiao Xing finally decided to confide in her, "what should I do if my parents don't like you?"

Curiosity shone in Chu Yuening's litchi-shaped eyes. After a moment of thought, she realized, "You haven't told them about hiring a feng shui master, have you?"

Recalling his father's attitude, Qiao Xing shook his head. "They're very resistant to mysticism. If I've offended them, please accept my apologies in advance. They're just overly worried about Brother Ah Ge."

The Qiao family was one of Hong Kong's long-established clans with deep roots.

Their business mainly catered to the West, and they had been heavily influenced by Western education for years. Qiao Xing couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he remembered his upbringing. He had studied physics for many years and believed in science for just as long.

If it weren't for that last fortune-telling incident.

He might never believe in the existence of mysticism in his entire life.

"Sure thing," Chu Yuening agreed. "There are plenty who don't believe in mysticism, and I can understand that."

Numerous nurses greeted Qiao Xing along the hallway, and they couldn't help but cast curious glances at Chu Yuening when they saw her trailing behind him.

They had finally arrived.

Qiao Xing took a deep breath before knocking twice on the door, then promptly opened it.

In an instant, a surging wave of dark aura rushed out of the room in a desperate rush.

Chu Yuening stepped aside and peered into the ward.

Four or five doctors were crowded inside, discussing Qiao Ziyuan's condition. By the bedside, a young man was lying with his eyes closed, hooked up to an oxygen mask and precious medical equipment.

The Qiao couple stood guard on either side of the bed.

Mrs. Qiao wore no makeup, her hair hastily tied up, still in her pajamas. Her fish-scale lined eyes were red from weeping as she dabbed at Qiao Ziyuan's hands with a handkerchief.

The scattered slippers on the floor were mismatched.

One glance was enough to tell how much Mrs. Qiao had neglected herself.

Qiao Tianxin, on the other hand, listened intently to the experts discussing the condition, his furrowed brows easing slightly when he heard of potential treatments. "Money is not an issue," he said, shaking each expert's hand in turn. "Please, whatever method it takes, help Ziyuan regain consciousness."

Speaking thus, Qiao Tianxin turned to his son in the bed, sighing. "Ziyuan is still young and has so much more to see in this world. How can he lie here like this?"

Mrs. Qiao, hearing this, couldn't hold back her sobs any longer.

The atmosphere in the hospital room was utterly oppressive.

Chu Yuening studied the young man in the bed carefully.

A thick black aura pierced through the youth's chest, surging upward toward the ceiling, periodically draining his vitality. The black aura seemed like a carnivorous plant sprouting from within the youth's body, relentlessly consuming him.

Chu Yuening took a step forward.

The black aura flowing across the floor recoiled as if it had touched some terrifying thorns, retreating in fear.

In an instant, most of the floor was cleared. They retreated, converging into a cluster, trembling in the corner of the ceiling.

Qiao Xing looked at her unconscious brother, her usual strong facade crumbling as she tearfully asked, "Sister Ning, what on earth caused my brother to fall into this coma?"

Chu Yuening gazed at the black aura. "Not sure for now, but it's certainly an evil spell."

Everyone's attention shifted to the person at the door.

Chu Yuening greeted them proactively. "Uncle and Aunt, good to see you."

The girl wasn't very old.

Assuming she was her son's friend, Qiao's mother forced a smile. "We don't have time to entertain, just find a place to sit."

"Mom," Qiao Xing followed closely, then turned to her father, her expression turning anxious. "Dad, Sister Ning is here to check if there's anything... unclean... about Brother..."

Qiao Tianxin had just relaxed his grip when he heard the term "dirty things." His tension returned, and it felt as if a balloon of air had burst in his chest. With many people in the hospital room, he deliberately kept his voice low, laced with anger.

"Your brother is in a coma, and we're already worried enough. You believe in supernatural nonsense and get duped by others?"

Qiao's mother tried to soothe him, "Don't get so worked up. Ah Xing only wants to do something for Zi Yuan. We're not the only ones grieving – Ah Xing idolizes your elder brother. How can he not be anxious?"

Qiao Tianxin sighed, looking at the young girl. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Ah Xing, even if you have to believe, find someone older. She's only a few years older than you; you bring her here to help your brother?"

"How could I possibly feel at ease?"

"Uncle," Chu Yuening interjected, "in the field of esoteric studies, age doesn't necessarily equate to more experience."

In this line of work, talent mattered.

In her previous life, she had surpassed many in the Profound Sect at a young age.

"Miss Chu, regardless of what Ah Xing may have told you, our home is already in chaos. There's no need to see you off." Qiao Tianxin was not convinced; he believed that the world of esoteric studies was full of deception.

Con artists would swindle whatever money they could.

In the past, such incidents wouldn't have occurred in their home, especially since Chu Yuening was someone Qiao Xing had brought back. He would have settled things with money for the sake of their child.

But now...

His eldest son's fate hung in the balance.

Qiao Tianxin was in no mood at all.

Suddenly, the machines connected to Qiao Ziyuan started beeping.

Qiao Tianxin grew tense and shot up from his seat, only to be stopped by the medical experts who were attending to him.

An expert rushed to examine the machine's readings, his expression changing abruptly. "Not good, the patient is showing signs of cardiac failure! Emergency resuscitation is needed immediately!"

In an instant, the doctors pulled Qiao's mother away from the bedside. A few of them worked together to wheel the bed out for emergency treatment.

Qiao's mother, upon seeing her son's pale face as he was being taken to the resuscitation room, was so terrified that her limbs turned weak, nearly causing her to collapse.