"Xiao He! I'm at home. Just got back!"
I was just arguing with Wu Mingyu when suddenly I heard the loud voice of Landlady Xu outside the courtyard gate shouting, "Xiao He, come out quickly. Someone's here to see you!"
My face instantly paled.
How could they find me so soon?!
Without caring about the overjoyed Wu Mingyu, I dragged my suitcase and ran into the courtyard.
Judging from the direction of Landlady Xu's voice, she was outside the courtyard. Naturally, I wasn't going to walk into a trap!
This compound spanned two alleys. Landlady Xu had a tobacco and liquor store in the other alley, and there was a small door that led out.
Back then, Du Wenzhong and I chose to rent this place precisely because of this convenience. We wanted an escape route in case we were cornered.
Now, dragging my suitcase in a hurry, I ran out through the other alley. I still saw Si Jiangchen's Bentley with its taillights on, parked outside the alley.
I hailed a taxi and got in.
The taxi driver was very kind. He helped me stuff my suitcase into the trunk before getting in and asking me where I wanted to go.
I gave him the address of the hospital where Du Wenzhong was hospitalized, and the taxi sped off.
Looking back at the black Bentley that was quickly disappearing in the distance, my pounding heart finally calmed down a bit.
If Si Jiangchen was here to catch me, I hoped they would believe Wu Mingyu's words and wait for me at the station or somewhere like that. That way, I could safely pay Du Wenzhong's hospital fees and then find a more secluded place to hide.
As for how long I could hide... it was all up to fate!
The taxi stopped at the entrance of the hospital's inpatient department. I left my suitcase at the front desk and went to find Dr. Lu, Du Wenzhong's attending doctor.
"Miss Lu, why are you here again?"
Dr. Lu was a bit surprised by my appearance. For someone like me who only came to visit once a week, this seemed a bit too frequent.
"Uh... Dr. Lu, I might be going out of town."
I said carefully, "I might not be back for a month or two."
"That won't do!"
Dr. Lu couldn't help but widen his eyes. "What if something sudden happens to your grandfather?"
"Uh... it won't."
Although Dr. Lu was young, when he glared at me, I felt like a primary - school student facing a teacher. "I can prepay some money."
"Money, money, money! Why are you so obsessed with money at such a young age!"
Dr. Lu probably had a night shift last night, and his temper was obviously more irritable. "What if your grandfather needs emergency treatment? Who will sign the consent form?"
"Uh... it won't. He'll just keep sleeping like this."
My voice became even smaller. Although I knew Du Wenzhong had lost half of his soul, as long as no one pulled out his tubes, his physical functions wouldn't have any major problems.
"Take this!"
Dr. Lu said with a straight face as he operated on his phone. Then my phone rang.
"The online payment process?"
When I took out my phone, I found that Dr. Lu had sent me the payment process on the hospital's official WeChat account.
"Thank you, Dr. Lu." I smiled with my eyes curved.
There were still many good people in the world!
Dr. Lu had a very nice, faint golden aura around him, warm and bright.
"Don't think that just because online payment is convenient, you can stop coming to the hospital!" Dr. Lu still said with a straight face, "Come at least once every half - month."
"Okay, okay!" I nodded repeatedly.
Anyway, as long as I didn't owe any hospital fees, who could force me to come?
Dr. Lu didn't know my little plan. He stood up and pointed to the elevator. "Go ahead. I'll allow you to visit him up close, in case you don't come back for ten days or half a month!"
"Uh... I'd better not go!"
I refused firmly. This was the most dangerous time. The preparations for visiting the ICU were complicated. If Si Jiangchen chased me here, wouldn't I be cornered?
Seeing that Dr. Lu was about to get angry again, I quickly bowed to him and said, "Anyway, he's unconscious now. It's the same for me to look at him from outside. Saving some money can pay for more of his hospital fees."
I was telling the truth. Entering the ICU required disinfection and wearing sterile clothing, which cost at least a few hundred yuan.
Dr. Lu stared at me for a long time, then finally sighed and nodded in agreement.
I escaped from the doctor's office as if I had been granted amnesty.
The ICU ward was next to the elevator at the end of the corridor. I trotted there familiarly and took a quick look at Du Wenzhong.
The old man was connected to a ventilator, and there was a nutrient solution hanging on his arm. He still had plenty of vitality.
Now that I had money, his physical functions could basically be maintained. I could also find a quiet place to search for his separated soul!
Thinking like this, my eyes subconsciously glanced at the other beds in the ICU ward.
This was a four - bed intensive care unit. There were nurses constantly monitoring the patients, so it seemed that there were new critically ill patients in the ICU.
Suddenly, I saw a pale - faced man suddenly sit up from his bed.
I immediately widened my eyes.
Because that man was none other than Wei Yuan, who had left Miaofeng Mountain in a hurry before!!
He sat up from the hospital bed and looked blankly at the nurses bustling around him.
Then, he frantically lay back down on the bed.
A moment later, he sat up again, looked at his back in horror, and then lay back down.
From my position by the window, I could only see him lying down, sitting up, and lying down again repeatedly. His eyes were becoming more and more panicked and desperate...
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew on the back of my neck. As soon as I turned my head, I saw a pale face with blood - stained hair hanging over my shoulder.
"Was it you who meddled in other people's business?"
Climbing on my back was the female ghost who had been thrown off the motorcycle by Wei Yuan and dragged to death.
At this moment, our eyes met. A lump of white brain matter fell from the side of her skull where the bone was missing.
I calmly turned my head and looked at the panicked Wei Yuan. After countless struggles, he started shouting at the nurse beside him. His voice was so shrill that I almost covered my ears.
However, none of the doctors and nurses bustling around him paid any attention. Only a young girl looked up at the ceiling lamp and mumbled, "Why is the voltage unstable?"
Because of Wei Yuan's scream, the LED light tubes made a faint "buzzing" sound and flickered slightly.
"He didn't do it on purpose."
I looked at Wei Yuan's helpless struggle expressionlessly and said calmly, "The two masterminds are already dead. Can you spare his life?!"
"Ha..."
The female ghost opened her mouth. Her pale lips were stained with dirty red blood. "Spare his life? Who spared my life? Isn't he just rich? Does he think he can buy my life with just a few hundred thousand yuan?!"
My head started to ache. Wei Yuan had only given me less than five hundred thousand yuan. I was afraid... it would only be enough to pay for Du Wenzhong's hospital fees for two months!