July 31, 2024
The door to the operating room swung open, and two doctors stepped out.
Li Yuan immediately looked up, his eyes filled with anticipation.
From afar, those who were either awake or in a daze quickly snapped to full attention, surrounding the doctors in a flurry.
"Who is in charge here?" The lead doctor scanned the crowd but found no sign of Wan Qinghe.
In an instant, everyone turned their gaze towards Li Yuan and Chen Hui.
After such a long wait, Li Changzhou's friends understood the entire situation of the day and knew that Li Yuan had transformed greatly.
"Doctor, how is my uncle?" Li Yuan asked, his voice heavy with worry.
“You must be Mr. Li Yuan,” the doctor replied with a sigh. “This toxin is not one commonly found on Blue Star; it is a type of source toxin. Your uncle was brought in far too late, and the poison has already spread throughout his body. I’m sorry, we did all we could.”
Boom!
Those words struck Li Yuan like a thunderclap, freezing his heart instantly.
Beside him, Aunt Chen Hui could barely contain her sobs.
Li Qianqian and Li Muhua, the two siblings, wore pale faces as they realized the gravity of the situation.
“Mr. Li Yuan, we will use special medication for half a day to stabilize your uncle’s condition and wake him up for a brief moment,” another doctor hurriedly added, “but this will only last for about half an hour.”
“This time he regains consciousness might be his last.”
“After that, he will fall back into a deep sleep and it will be very difficult for him to wake again.”
“If there is anything you want to say, please make the most of this time.”
…
The next afternoon, around three o'clock.
In the high-grade sickroom, Li Changzhou was lying on the bed, slightly cleaned up and covered with a blanket, his body filled with tubes.
His face was pale and drawn, but he had regained consciousness.
Li Yuan, Chen Hui, Li Muhua, and Li Qianqian surrounded the bed, holding back their tears, wearing sterile clothing.
“Xiao Hui, I’m sorry,” Li Changzhou said, his voice very weak, tilting his head slightly to try and touch Chen Hui’s face. “The person I’ve let down the most in this life is you.”
“Changzhou, don’t say that.” Chen Hui's eyes were red, her lips pressed tightly together, trying hard not to let her tears fall.
She looked at the man she had loved all her life, now so frail and unrecognizable, her heart aching deeply.
“The money left in my account, remember to take it out. You know the password. After I’m gone, find Old Wang; he can help with the compensation…” Li Changzhou continued to ramble on.
Li Yuan stood to the side, unable to keep his head from turning away, tears streaming down his face.
Li Qianqian and Li Muhua had already become teary-eyed as well.
“Okay, okay, I know. I will take good care of the children,” Chen Hui kept reassuring her husband, pulling Li Yuan closer. “Li Yuan! Come here now!!”
“Changzhou, do you know? Li Yuan has signed up with Kunlun Martial Arts University, he will definitely be able to go to Kunlun.”
“He also signed a Grade A contract with Starfire Martial Hall.” Chen Hui held Li Changzhou’s hand, continually speaking to him.
She hoped to reassure him before his departure.
“Really? That’s great! Good!” Li Changzhou managed to nod slightly, looking at Li Yuan and forcing a weak smile. “Xiao Yuan, you seem to have grown a lot taller.”
“Uncle.” Li Yuan's voice trembled a bit as he squatted down near his uncle, allowing him to touch his head.
“You've grown up, made achievements in martial arts, and I can rest easy now.” Li Changzhou's voice was faint. “Your parents are over ten years older than me, and they had you late.”
“In these years, I often think of them.”
“I still remember what your parents said to me at the end, ‘Run! Keep running forward! Quick!’” Li Changzhou murmured. “It has been almost fifteen years since I began to run hard; sometimes I get tired and want to stop for a moment, to see you and your younger siblings, but I can't stop… I hope when I see your uncle and aunt, they won’t blame me. I truly did my best.”
“Uncle!!” Li Yuan could no longer hold back; he wanted to stay calm, but tears kept flowing down his face.
He could feel his uncle’s life force ebbing away rapidly.
“Muhua, Qianqian.” Li Changzhou’s hand trembled as he raised it.
“Muhua, Qianqian, come here quickly.” Chen Hui pulled Li Muhua closer to the front.
“From now on, you must listen to your mother.” Li Changzhou forced himself to raise his hand, struggling to stroke Li Qianqian’s hair. “Dad hasn’t done anything great in this life, and I don’t have much to leave for you. When I’m gone, listen to your uncle, he will tell you what to do, understand?”
“Understood, Dad.”
“Dad.” The two siblings were already in tears.
Their ages and experiences meant they didn’t feel the weight of life and death as deeply, but they both knew that their beloved father was about to leave them.
“Uncle, I will take good care of Qianqian and Muhua,” Li Yuan promised through his tears. “You can rest easy.”
Time flowed slowly.
Li Changzhou began to cough, his frail body shaking continuously.
Yet, he still tried hard to speak with Li Yuan and Chen Hui.
In his eyes was a deep attachment and reluctance to leave this world.
“Xiao Yuan.”
Li Changzhou’s voice grew fainter. “Remember, don’t blame anyone because of what happened to me.”
“I can’t bear to part with you.”
“However, I do not regret it. Give me... one more chance, I would still charge forward… cough, cough!” Li Changzhou’s awareness began to fade.
Li Changzhou lay on the hospital bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, gradually unable to hear the calls of Li Yuan, Chen Hui, and the others.
In a blur, Li Changzhou felt as if he had returned to his youth, back to a sunlit afternoon.
The spring sun was perfect, a gentle breeze flowing into the room, and the fan rustled softly.
Outside the room, he could hear his parents cooking and frying.
Inside the room, he lay lazily on the bed, half asleep.
His elder brother, now in middle school, sat beside him, seriously doing homework, occasionally stopping to tickle him.
In the following decades, Li Changzhou had kept running hard, never resting for a moment, never able to return to that afternoon.
…
At five o'clock in the afternoon.
Li Changzhou completely fell into a unconscious state.
The two doctors returned to examine Li Changzhou’s body, shook their heads, and left.
Chen Hui held onto Li Changzhou's hand tightly, opening her mouth but unable to say anything, tears flowing freely.
Li Yuan quietly stood beside his aunt.
They all knew that Li Changzhou's life had truly begun its countdown.
In a matter of a few hours or half a day, the flame of life would be extinguished.
Over ten minutes later.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a doctor rushed in, saying urgently, “Mr. Li Yuan, someone is looking for you, saying they have a way to save your uncle.”
Li Yuan instantly stood up, a glimmer of hope reignited in his heart. “Who is it?”
“What?” Chen Hui also heard this, quickly getting up to look at the doctor.
“The person said they are a friend of Miss Lin.” The doctor replied, “They didn’t specify who, but there are quite a few people here; one person claims to be Lu Huai, saying you know him.”
In just two sentences.
It was like lightning striking through Li Yuan’s mind.
Miss Lin? Lu Huai?
“Take me to them right now.” Li Yuan suppressed his excitement and said, “Aunt, come with me.”
“Okay,” Chen Hui quickly wiped her tears away.
From Li Yuan’s reaction, she realized that perhaps there really was hope to save her husband.
Li Yuan and his aunt quickly made their way to a small conference room outside the hallway, where more than a dozen people were already gathered tightly.
Not only were the doctors present, but Xu Bo was also there.
However, the most eye-catching was the imposing figure of a man in black robes standing in the center of the crowd. He was tall, about six feet tall, appearing to be in his thirties, with piercing eyes.
His appearance gave Li Yuan a sense of familiarity.
Most importantly, the master of the Starry Sky Martial Hall, Lu Huai, who was supposed to be a larger figure, now seemed to be standing beside the man in black robes like a subordinate.
Everyone turned to look at Li Yuan.
“Lord Lu, Teacher.” Li Yuan said evenly, maintaining his composure, his gaze fixed on the man in black robes. “May I ask who you are?”
Just as Lu Huai was about to introduce, the man in black raised a hand to stop him and smiled slightly, “No need to call me senior, I am not much older than you; you can call me Brother Lin.”
“Brother Lin?” Li Yuan was startled, feeling he was close to the truth, respectfully saying, “Brother Lin, do you have a way to save my uncle?”
Li Yuan didn’t inquire about the reason; it wasn’t important now.
“Yes!”
The man in black nodded, “I brought a special treasure called the ‘Yan Tong Spirit Spring,’ which has an eighty percent chance of saving your uncle and preventing the toxin from acting up.”
“However, I have heard from the doctors about the situation.”
“The Yan Corrosive Bone Toxin has deeply infiltrated your uncle’s entire body and even eroded his nerves; even if he barely survives, he may not regain consciousness.” The man in black continued, “You must be prepared.”
“Furthermore.”
“There is a twenty percent chance that the Yan Tong Spirit Spring will not work; the toxin has been in the body for too long, and there is no absolute success rate.”
“Do you want to proceed? The decision is yours.” The man in black looked at Li Yuan.
“Proceed.” Li Yuan declared without hesitation.
“Proceed.” Chen Hui said quickly as well; doing so had a chance to save him, not doing so meant he would surely die.
“Alright.”
“You both sign, and my people will start the detox operation.” The man in black nodded.
Immediately, someone presented a contract.
Li Yuan glanced at it; it was merely a ‘disclaimer agreement.’ Without a moment's hesitation, he signed, and Chen Hui followed suit.
“Go ahead.”
With a wave of his hand, several people beside the man in black rushed into the room carrying boxes.
…
Four hours later, outside the ICU.
Li Yuan, his aunt Chen Hui, and siblings Li Qianqian and Li Muhua stood by the window.
Watching the once again steady breath of Li Changzhou in the ward, they could hardly contain their excitement and joy.
“Thank you, Brother Lin!” Li Yuan solemnly turned to the man in black beside him.
“No need to thank me.”
“I am just fulfilling someone else’s request.” The man in black smiled, “The treatment was relatively successful, but whether your uncle can wake up... that is beyond my control.”
“From here on, it will depend on you.”
“I’ll be leaving now.” The man in black smiled faintly and swiftly departed with ten or more followers.
Leaving behind Li Yuan’s family.
“Xiao Yuan, who is this Brother Lin?” Chen Hui couldn’t help but ask.
“Who is he?” Li Yuan already had a clue in his heart, laughing softly, “The person who saved my uncle.”
…
One day, two days passed.
Li Changzhou still had not regained consciousness, but his vital signs grew increasingly stable and were steadily recovering.
Chen Hui took a temporary leave from school.
She also urged Li Yuan to return to school: “Your uncle isn’t awake; are you going to guard him forever? I'm here; focus on preparing for the college entrance exam.”
“When your uncle wakes, you should strive to get into Kunlun; it would make him very happy.”
“Okay, aunt! I will definitely pass the entrance exam for Kunlun Martial Arts University.” Li Yuan replied.
…
Four days later.
Back at school, Li Yuan immediately sought out Gu Qianghan.
“You were looking for my sister?”
“She left with her brother two days ago.” Gu Qianghan looked bewildered at Li Yuan. “Didn’t you know? She didn’t tell you?”
It was clear that Gu Qianghan had no idea what had happened to Li Yuan’s family.
“She left with her brother?” Li Yuan paused, unsure.
“Where did she go? When will she come back?” Li Yuan pressed on.
“She went to Feixing; from what she said, it seems she’s going for some special training.” Gu Qianghan explained, “She probably won’t return until before the college entrance exam.”
“Feixing?” Li Yuan’s pupils constricted.
Among the seven great planets of human civilization, ‘Feixing’ was the most powerful.
The headquarters of the three major martial halls was located in Feixing.
The headquarters of the Seven Star Alliance was also in Feixing.
The top martial artist of humanity, Dongfang Ji, and the second-best, Lante, both lived in Feixing.
Feixing held no sovereignty and was entirely under the control of the three major martial halls.
“Before the college entrance exam?” Li Yuan murmured to himself.
(End of this chapter)