After Zhou Lan fell asleep leaning against the side of the bed, Chen Xuan circulated the Nourishing Origin Scripture twice more.
This body had been in a deep sleep for far too long, and its qi and blood had weakened to an extreme degree. Even though the Nourishing Origin Scripture did not require spiritual energy, he still could not cultivate without restraint. Otherwise, before his body had a chance to recover, his meridians would give out first.
After circulating the technique twice, a fine layer of sweat had already formed on his forehead.
The results, however, were obvious.
The crushing pressure in his chest had eased considerably, and the five fingers of his right hand could move slowly now. But lifting his entire arm was still extremely difficult.
Chen Xuan did not force the issue.
The greatest taboo in cultivation was impatience. He had learned that lesson in the cultivation world, at the cost of countless injuries.
He closed his eyes and began sorting through the Immortal King’s inheritance in his mind.
That Immortal King had lived for more than a hundred thousand years, leaving behind an unimaginably vast store of memories. In addition to cultivation techniques, there were countless pill formulas, medicinal recipes, formations, artifact-refining methods, and knowledge of the myriad races of the heavens.
Most of it was useless to Chen Xuan under his current circumstances.
Even refining the most ordinary Marrow-Cleansing Pill required an alchemy furnace, spiritual fire, and more than a dozen kinds of spiritual herbs. With Earth’s spiritual energy depleted, it was difficult to say whether he could even find those ingredients.
Fortunately, during his long life, the Immortal King had traveled through quite a few mortal worlds with impoverished spiritual energy.
Among his memories was a body-tempering medicinal solution that required only ordinary ingredients such as ginseng, polygonatum, and fleeceflower root. Prepared using a special method, it could nourish the body and replenish its qi and blood.
If the herbs were old enough, Chen Xuan could regain the ability to move within half a month. If he combined them with the Immortal King’s ultimate cultivation art, he might even recover on the very day he took them.
The problem was still money.
To save him, his family had sold both their house and their shop. The money his younger sister earned working at the Imperial Court Hotel had all been poured into the hospital bills as well.
At present, he could not even afford to buy the herbs. They had to rely on his father borrowing money just to cover the cost of his medical examinations.
Chen Xuan had lived for sixty years in the cultivation world and had never considered money particularly important. A single healing or life-extending spiritual pill could be exchanged for incalculable amounts of gold and silver in the mortal world.
Only after returning to Earth did he truly understand what it felt like to be completely penniless—to find even a single coin capable of bringing a hero to his knees.
The sky outside the hospital room gradually brightened.
When Zhou Lan woke up, she first glanced at Chen Xuan on the bed. Seeing that his eyes were open, she straightened up and smiled.
“You’re awake so early? Is something bothering you?”
“No.”
Chen Xuan’s voice was still hoarse, but it was no longer like yesterday, when he had to stop and catch his breath after every few words.
Zhou Lan did not notice these subtle changes. She stood up, felt his forehead, and then checked the IV bottle.
“Are you thirsty? I’ll get a cotton swab and moisten your lips.”
“I want some water.”
“The doctor hasn’t checked whether you can swallow yet. You can’t drink directly. If it goes down your windpipe, it’ll be serious.”
Zhou Lan did not dare agree. Instead, she pressed the call button beside the bed.
After the nurse arrived, she first dipped a cotton swab in water and moistened Chen Xuan’s lips. Then she called the doctor on duty, who gave him a simple swallowing test.
Only after confirming that there was no problem did the nurse feed him a few spoonfuls of warm water.
As the clear water entered his mouth, Chen Xuan slowly circulated the Nourishing Origin Scripture, allowing the moisture to reach his organs as quickly as possible. There was not much energy for him to absorb, but his dry, parched throat felt considerably better.
The doctor on duty flipped through the previous night’s records and then asked him to try moving his fingers.
Chen Xuan not only moved his fingers, but also raised his right arm.
The doctor froze for a moment.
“Could he raise it this high last night?”
Zhou Lan hurriedly replied, “He could only move his fingers last night. He couldn’t lift his arm.”
The doctor supported Chen Xuan’s arm and examined his muscles before having him move his wrist and shoulder separately.
“He’s recovering very quickly. It may be that his body’s neural responses are speeding up now that his consciousness has awakened. However, after being bedridden for ten years, his muscle atrophy won’t be resolved in a short time. His family shouldn’t be in a hurry to make him move around.”
Zhou Lan trusted the doctor’s words more than anything at the moment and quickly nodded.
“We definitely won’t let him move recklessly.”
After the doctor left, she looked at Chen Xuan’s raised right hand, and her eyes reddened again.
“Your father would be so happy if he could see this.”
“He already has to work and come to the hospital. Don’t make him wear himself out,” Chen Xuan said, his heart aching for him.
“I told him the same thing, but he can’t stop worrying about you. The examinations here require waiting in line, so he went to the registration window to ask about them. He also went home to cook some rice soup for you. The doctor said that if you have no trouble swallowing, you can start with a little liquid food.”
As soon as Zhou Lan finished speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside the hospital room.
A woman wearing a mask stopped at the doorway.
She wore a long black coat, with the uniform of the Imperial Court Hotel visible underneath. She had not had time to fix her hair and had merely tied it back at the nape of her neck. Bloodshot veins showed in her eyes after a sleepless night.
When Zhou Lan saw her, she hurried over.
“Didn’t I tell you not to rush over? Why haven’t you even changed out of your uniform?”
“How could I not hurry when my brother woke up? I was actually going to walk out on my shift and come straight here, but one of our regular customers showed up. I couldn’t ruin his evening, so I was delayed.”
Chen Yan removed her mask and looked toward the bed.
No matter how clear the video had been, seeing him with her own eyes was different.
Ten years ago, her brother had still chased her for the remote, fought her over snacks, and bickered and played with her all day. Now he was so thin that he looked like little more than a skeleton. His cheeks were deeply sunken, and his arm was thinner than her wrist.
Chen Yan’s footsteps slowed as she approached the bed.
“Brother.”
Chen Xuan looked at her and smiled.
“I took one nap, and you’ve turned into a grown woman. From now on, you can be the older sister. When you call me that, I won’t even dare answer.”
Chen Yan wanted to laugh, but tears fell first.
Her brother’s teasing was still the same familiar formula, with the same old flavor. For a moment, time seemed to turn back ten years.
She reached out and touched Chen Xuan’s hand, but pulled back the instant she made contact, as though afraid her strength might hurt him.
“How do you feel now?”
“Not bad. I’m just still a little weak.”
Chen Yan lowered her head, and her tears fell beside the hospital bed.
“You fool, why are you crying? Once I do some rehabilitation for a few days, I’ll be fine.” Chen Xuan reached out to wipe away his sister’s tears.
“Brother, I’m sorry.”
Feeling Chen Xuan gently wipe her tears, Chen Yan could no longer hold back the words she had suppressed for so long.
Zhou Lan stood to one side. She opened her mouth, but ultimately chose not to say anything.
Over the past ten years, the family had tried to persuade Chen Yan many times.
The car accident back then had not been her fault. The out-of-control car had plowed onto the sidewalk, and she had been a victim too. As her older brother, Chen Xuan had chosen to push her out of harm’s way.
But none of those words had helped.
Fifteen-year-old Chen Yan had watched her brother push her away. She had seen the car strike him where she had originally been standing and send him flying several meters, his head bleeding badly. That image had remained in her mind for ten years without ever fading.
Chen Xuan looked at her and asked, “What are you apologizing for?”
“If you hadn’t saved me back then, you wouldn’t have ended up like this. Mom and Dad wouldn’t have had to sell the house and the shop, and they wouldn’t be buried under so much debt.”
Chen Yan’s voice grew quieter with every word.
“I’m the one who ruined your life. I dragged this whole family down.”
Chen Xuan did not rush to comfort her.
He raised his hand, gently patted his sister on the head, and looked at her.
“You idiot. Do you really think that if you’d been the one who was hit back then, we wouldn’t have done everything we could to save you? Besides, you’re a girl. You’re not as tough as I am. If that car had hit you instead, our family might never have had the chance to reunite ten years later.”
As he spoke, Chen Xuan glanced at his mother. He took her hand and Chen Yan’s, then folded their hands together between his own.
“Although we lost ten years, our family is still together now. Things will get better from here on out. We’ll return to the way we were.”
Chen Yan froze for a moment, then nodded through her tears.
His mother was also deeply moved by his words, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Yanyan, remember this: I’m your brother. When that car came at us, there was no way I could have just stood by and watched. Saving you was my own choice. It had nothing to do with you.”
Chen Yan’s tears continued to fall.
Chen Xuan went on, “Mom and Dad told me that you’ve been paying my medical expenses all these years. When you add it all up, you sacrificed ten years of your youth and your life to take care of me.”
“From now on, stop feeling like you owe me anything. Your life belongs to you. You don’t need to spend it repaying me. Even if we take the worst-case scenario and your brother had died saving you, what I would have wanted most from heaven was to see you living happily. Do you understand?”
Chen Yan lowered her head. At first, she was still able to hold herself back, but after hearing those words, she could no longer contain her emotions. She threw herself into Chen Xuan’s arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.
It was as if she were releasing all the sorrow, gratitude, guilt, and grievances she had carried over the years in a single outpouring of tears.
The grievance was on her brother’s behalf. With his grades, Chen Xuan had stood a very good chance of getting into an excellent university. He should have had a brilliant life ahead of him, but he had ruined it to save her. For that, she had felt guilty for ten whole years.
Holding his sister and feeling her body tremble with each sob, Chen Xuan didn’t need her to say anything. He could understand what she had endured all these years.
His heart aching for her, he gently stroked her back and slowly calmed her down.
After crying for quite some time, Chen Yan finally took a packet of tissues from her coat pocket and wiped away her tears. She then placed the bag she had brought on the bedside table.
“I bought some fruit and milk. You can’t eat them right now, so just leave them there for later.”
“How much does Huangting pay you each month?” Chen Xuan suddenly asked, changing the subject.
Chen Yan’s movements halted.
“Between my base salary and the commission from alcohol sales, I usually make over ten thousand yuan. When business is good, I can make several tens of thousands.”
“What about this month?”
“Business has been good lately. I should make a little more.”
“You transferred twenty thousand yuan to the family yesterday and fifteen thousand last month. Don’t you need money for yourself?” Chen Xuan scolded.
Chen Yan hadn’t expected their parents to bring this up in front of her brother. She looked up at Zhou Lan.
Zhou Lan hurriedly explained, “Your father and I were talking about it, and your brother happened to hear us.”
“I don’t spend much normally.” Chen Yan sat down again. “Huangting provides food and lodging. The uniform is provided for work, and the hotel even reimburses us for basic cosmetics.”
As she spoke, her right hand remained hidden inside her coat sleeve.
Chen Xuan glanced at her.
There were several unmistakable bluish-purple marks on the exposed section of her wrist, as though someone had grabbed her forcefully. A wound at the base of her thumb had not fully healed, and tiny cracks covered the back of her hand, likely caused by prolonged exposure to alcohol.
“What happened to your hand?”
Chen Yan instinctively tugged her sleeve lower.
“I bumped it while carrying bottles.”
Chen Xuan didn’t call her out.
In the cultivation world, he had seen far too many people lie. Some lied to save their lives, some to cheat others out of spirit stones, and some simply wanted to hide their miserable state.
Chen Yan didn’t dare meet his eyes. Her right hand kept slipping behind her back, which clearly suggested that this was no ordinary injury.
“Is Huangting clean?” Chen Xuan asked.
“Very clean. The cleaners come through every four hours. Otherwise, so many wealthy businessmen wouldn’t come there.”
“I’m talking about that kind of clean.”
Chen Yan froze for a moment, then immediately forced a smile.
“It’s just a normal hotel. We drink with the guests, promote the alcohol, and earn a bit of commission.”
“Has anyone bullied you?”
“No.”
She answered so quickly that even Zhou Lan gave her a look.
Chen Yan forced another smile.
“Brother, I’m twenty-five now. I’m not the little girl I used to be, the one who could only run to you whenever something happened. Besides, Huangting has supervisors and security guards. The guests wouldn’t dare try anything.”
Just then, her phone rang.
The screen displayed the name Manager Wang.
Chen Yan hesitated before getting up and stepping outside to answer the call.
The hospital room door wasn’t fully closed. Chen Xuan circulated his cultivation technique to sharpen his hearing, and he could still make out the voices outside.
“Manager Wang, I’m already off work.”
“My brother just woke up today, so I came to the hospital to see him.”
“Have someone else go to Boss Zhou. I drank with him for hours last night because I didn’t want to offend him. I already told him I had to take care of my brother today. Didn’t he say he wouldn’t call for me today?”
The person on the other end said a few things.
Chen Yan’s expression darkened.
“I know I still owe the hotel money, but that was an advance on my wages. You deduct some every month. I never said I wouldn’t pay it back.”
She lowered her voice and said a few more words before hanging up.
When Chen Yan returned to the room, she acted as if nothing had happened and continued arranging the fruit she had brought.
“Mom, I want some hot water. Could you fill this for me?”
Only after watching Zhou Lan leave with the thermos did Chen Xuan turn directly to his sister.
“How much do you owe Huangting?”
“What!?” Chen Yan stared at him in surprise, then shook her head with a laugh. “What are you talking about, Brother? I work there to earn money. How could I possibly owe the hotel anything?”
“It’s only been ten years. Just because you have ten more years of life experience than I do, you’ve already started trying to fool your brother?”
Hearing that, Chen Yan realized she could no longer hide it.
“It’s not much.”
“How much is ‘not much’?”
Chen Yan hesitated before finally answering, “Eighty thousand.”
“What? Eighty thousand?” Zhou Lan returned with the thermos, her face changing dramatically. “When did you owe eighty thousand? Why have you never told us?”
Chen Xuan froze. He had sent his mother away because he didn’t want her to hear this and worry. He hadn’t expected her to come back so quickly.
Normally, the hospital’s hot-water room should have been somewhere toward the edge of the building. Chen Xuan hadn’t expected his room to be located at the very end of the corridor.
“Last year, when you had that lung infection, the hospital kept demanding payment. I didn’t have enough money at the time, so I asked the manager for an advance on my wages.” Chen Yan hurriedly explained. “It’s fine. They deduct a little from my commission every month. I’ll have it paid off in a few more months.”
“The money you’ve been sending home was all borrowed from Huangting?” Zhou Lan’s voice rose anxiously. “How could you be so foolish? Your father and I could have found another way to cover the hospital bills. Money from a hotel that’s famous throughout the entire county isn’t something you can borrow so easily!”
“What other way could you have found?” Chen Yan blurted out, only to regret it the moment the words left her mouth.
She lowered her head. After a moment, she continued, “Dad’s leg means he can’t do heavy labor at the construction site anymore, and your health isn’t good either. We’ve already borrowed from every relative we could. Who else has any money left?”
The hospital room fell silent.
Zhou Lan sat beside the bed and no longer blamed her daughter.
Chen Xuan looked at Chen Yan.
Eighty thousand yuan had not been a small sum to him before. To this family, which had already been drained of everything, it was an even greater burden pressing down on them all.
Huangting was willing to advance eighty thousand yuan in one lump sum. Naturally, it was not out of consideration for an ordinary waitress. They must have some deeper motive. His little sister probably wasn’t safe there.
“Starting today, don’t go back to Huangting. I’ll find a way to pay them back as soon as possible,” Chen Xuan said.
Chen Yan thought she had misheard him.
“Brother, I can’t quit right now. You still need rehabilitation, and the hospital costs money every day. Even if you want to make money, you have to recover first, don’t you? Just leave the money to me. You two don’t need to worry.”
Chen Yan looked at her brother lying on the hospital bed, unable even to sit up, and her eyes grew hot again.
She assumed Chen Xuan was merely trying to comfort her.
“What you need to do now is focus on getting better. Don’t worry about me. I’ll deal with Huangting properly. I won’t let them take advantage of me.”
Chen Xuan knew that no matter how much he said, he had no credibility at present, so he stopped replying.
He truly did not have a single cent on him.
But in his mind lay the complete inheritance of an Immortal King.
Even if Earth’s resources were completely depleted, it was impossible not to earn eighty thousand yuan. Medicine, physiognomy, feng shui, alchemy—any one of these skills would be enough to change his family’s circumstances.
All he lacked was a beginning.
Chen Yan stayed in the hospital room for half an hour, but she could no longer keep her eyes open. Sitting in a chair, she yawned several times.
Zhou Lan felt sorry for her daughter and urged her to go home and rest.
Before leaving, Chen Yan looked at Chen Xuan again.
“Brother, I’ll come see you after I wake up this afternoon.”
“Mm. Get some proper rest.” Chen Xuan glanced at her concealed right hand. “And don’t go to work tonight. I’ve only just woken up, and I want you all to stay by my side a little longer.”
Chen Yan did not answer him directly. She only smiled, put on her mask, and left the room.
She knew her brother was simply trying to find another way to stop her from going to work.
But this family couldn’t do without her!
When Chen Jianguo returned, he was carrying a thermos and several examination reports.
After hearing that Chen Yan owed Huangting eighty thousand yuan, he stood silently in the hospital room for a long time. In the end, he said only, “That child refuses to tell the family anything.”
The morning swallowing test had gone well, and the doctor allowed Chen Xuan to eat a small amount.
Zhou Lan poured out half a bowl of thin rice porridge and fed it to him one spoonful at a time.
With every swallow, Chen Xuan circulated the Yang-Origin Scripture, absorbing the nutrients from the porridge. Ordinary food could provide only a very limited amount of qi and blood, but it was still far better than relying on the body’s original reserves.
After finishing half a bowl of rice porridge, a warm feeling gradually rose in his abdomen.
Chen Xuan rested for half an hour before trying to lift his hand again. This time, he was already able to raise his palm to his chest.
Chen Jianguo witnessed it with his own eyes and immediately went to find the doctor, overcome with excitement.
The doctor performed another examination. Although astonished by the speed of his recovery, he could not offer any definite explanation. Recovery after emerging from a vegetative state varied from person to person, and medicine had always recognized the existence of many unpredictable cases.
At noon, a nurse came to inform Chen Xuan that he needed to undergo a brain scan.
Chen Jianguo brought over a wheelchair and prepared to lift him out of bed.
However, they soon discovered that Chen Xuan still could not sit steadily on his own. For the time being, he had to lie on a transport bed while a nurse wheeled him toward the examination area. Zhou Lan followed beside them, holding the examination form they had just obtained after paying the fees.
As they passed through the corridor connecting the buildings, they saw several people gathered ahead.
An elderly man with graying hair had collapsed in a wheelchair. His face was bluish, and his body was convulsing uncontrollably. A middle-aged man in a suit kept urging the doctors on, while two young women stood beside the old man. One held onto the wheelchair, while the other urged the accompanying staff to fetch the medicine.
“My father has coronary heart disease! The medicine is in his pocket!”
A doctor found a bottle of pills in the old man’s pocket, shook one out, and prepared to place it beneath his tongue.
Chen Xuan’s gaze fell on the old man’s face. Then he looked at the thermos lying shattered beside the wheelchair.
Dark brown medicinal liquid had spilled all over the floor, and a strong herbal smell filled the corridor.
Aconite, ginseng, dried ginger, and several other herbs used to replenish qi and restore yang.
There was nothing wrong with the prescription itself, but a sharp, numbing scent remained in the medicine, a sign that the aconite had not been decocted thoroughly.
The old man’s convulsions grew more violent, and his fingers had already begun to stiffen.
Just as the doctor was about to put the pill into his mouth, Chen Xuan spoke.
“Don’t give it to him.”
Everyone around them turned to look.
Chen Xuan lay on the transport bed. His voice was not loud, but every word was perfectly clear.
“This isn’t a coronary attack. It’s aconite poisoning.”
The man in the suit’s expression changed.
“What did you say?”
Chen Xuan looked at the medicinal liquid on the floor.
“He just drank a Shenfu Decoction. The aconite in it wasn’t properly decocted. If you give him a vasodilator now, it will only make the toxin erupt more quickly.”
The man in the suit stared at him for several seconds before turning to the assistant beside him.
“What did the old master drink today?”
The assistant was already flustered.
“It was Shenfu Decoction. The old master prescribed it himself this morning. He said he’d been suffering from qi deficiency lately, so he had the family prepare a dose and bring it over.”
The corridor fell silent for a moment.
The old man’s body was still convulsing, and his lips had gradually turned bluish-purple.
Chen Xuan glanced at the nurse nearby.
“Go get the silver needles.”
“If we’re five minutes later, he won’t be saved.”