A loud bang echoed.
Guo Shaocong's head was split open and bleeding.
A ceiling lamp had suddenly fallen—and it struck dead center on Guo Shaocong's skull.
Luckily, the lamp was small. Otherwise, Guo Shaocong would not have merely ended up bloodied; he would have been killed on the spot.
Guo Shaocong clamped his hands over his head, knelt on the ground, and screamed in agony:
"Aah…!"
"Shaocong! What's wrong?!" Zhang Lili hurried to ask.
"Are you blind? Can't you see I got hit?!" Guo Shaocong roared.
Being sworn at in public like this left Zhang Lili stung with humiliation, tears welling up in her eyes.
Watching the scene, Ye Qiu let out a cold sneer.
"Serves you right."
"What did you say?!" Zhang Lili's eyes flared. She pointed at Ye Qiu and snapped, "Did you do this?!"
"Which eye of yours saw me do it?"
"If it wasn't you, why would the lamp just fall out of nowhere?!"
"There's a saying: God is watching over you from above. Guo Shaocong twisted the truth. This is heaven punishing him."
"To hell with heaven! Stop playing ghost tricks." Guo Shaocong then roared at Zhang Lili, "Help me up, now!"
"O-okay." Zhang Lili quickly moved to support him.
Just then, a nurse carrying medicine walked past. For no apparent reason, her foot slipped. She stumbled forward, and two bottles of alcohol in her hands went flying.
Bang!
The two glass bottles smashed directly onto Guo Shaocong's head.
Crash!
The bottles shattered, and the alcohol poured all over his wounded scalp.
The stinging pain was excruciating.
"Aah! It hurts! It hurts!!" Guo Shaocong rolled on the ground, clutching his head.
Zhang Lili panicked and snapped at the nurse:
"What's wrong with you? Watch where you're going!"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"If anything happens to Shaocong, I'll never forgive you!" Zhang Lili shouted, then waved toward the reception desk. "Someone over here! Help!"
Two young nurses rushed over.
"Sister Lili, what can we do?" one asked.
"What to do? Are you blind? Can't you see Shaocong's hurt? Hurry, help me take him to get bandaged!"
The nurses were annoyed, but dared not disobey. In the hospital, doctors were always above nurses.
Zhang Lili and the two nurses helped Guo Shaocong up and hurried toward the elevator.
But another stroke of bad luck struck.
Guo Shaocong got crushed by the elevator doors!
Logically, with two nurses supporting him, this should never have happened. But just as they stepped in, the nurses let go.
"Sister Lili, we have work to do and can't leave our post. We won't go up with Dr. Guo."
"Get lost!"
The moment the nurses turned away, the elevator doors clamped shut on Guo Shaocong.
"Aah! It hurts… it hurts!!"
His screams drew a crowd. Even security rushed over to pry the doors open.
And then—
The power went out.
Talk about bad luck.
Guo Shaocong wanted to die. It was as if heaven itself was targeting him today. A terrible thought crossed his mind:
Could this really be divine punishment?
He had no idea it was all just Ye Qiu's doing.
Using the method from the Complete Collection of Maoshan Talismans in his mind, Ye Qiu had secretly drawn a Bad Luck Talisman.
And it worked perfectly.
"Feels good."
All his frustration gone, Ye Qiu strode out of the hospital.
…
Jinghu Lake was on Ye Qiu's way home.
Every evening, the lakeside was lively: aunties dancing, elderly men playing chess, kids running around, and fishing enthusiasts.
As Ye Qiu walked along the shore, a sharp scream suddenly rang out:
"Someone fell in the lake! Help!"
Ye Qiu spun around. A five- or six-year-old boy was flailing in the water, his life in danger.
The elderly on shore were frantic.
"Whose child is this? Where are his parents?!"
"Call 120!"
"It's too late! He's going to drown!"
"…"
There was no time to think.
Ye Qiu dove into the lake with a loud splash.
He moved swiftly, like a flying fish, quickly reaching the boy. He wrapped an arm around the child's waist and swam back to shore.
Once Ye Qiu carried the boy onto dry land, the crowd gathered around.
The boy had inhaled a lot of water, was unconscious, his face pale and lips slightly purple—looking close to death.
"This boy's barely hanging on! We have to rush him to the hospital!" someone shouted.
Ye Qiu said nothing. He lifted the boy and slapped his back firmly twice with his right hand.
The boy immediately spat out water with a loud retch.
Half a minute later, his eyes fluttered open.
"He's awake! He's awake!"
The crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Uncle," the boy said weakly.
Ye Qiu smiled. "Where's your family?"
"I don't know where Grandpa and Uncle Zhao went."
Just then, an old man and a middle-aged man ran over.
"Xiaohu! Are you okay?!" The old man pulled the boy into his arms, panic written all over his face.
"I'm okay, Grandpa. I fell into the lake, and this uncle saved me." The boy pointed at Ye Qiu.
The old man quickly thanked Ye Qiu: "Young man, thank you so much."
"Old sir, with all respect, you're too old to be so careless," Ye Qiu said with a straight face. "If something had happened to the boy, you'd never forgive yourself."
Before the old man could speak, the middle-aged man behind him snapped:
"Kid, do you know who you're talking to? I'll have you know—"
"Zhao Yun!"
The old man shot him a sharp glare.
The middle-aged man immediately fell silent.
The old man turned back to Ye Qiu with a smile. "Young man, I'll be more careful. Thank you again, truly."
"It was nothing. Don't mention it."
Only then did Ye Qiu take a good look at the old man.
He wore a Tang suit, his hair neatly combed, a black jade thumb ring on his left thumb—an extraordinary aura about him.
The middle-aged man beside him had a stern face and sharp, fierce eyes. He was clearly no ordinary person.
"Young man, what's your name?" the old man asked kindly.
"Ye Qiu."
"You seem to have a job already?"
"Are you investigating me, old sir?" Ye Qiu chuckled. "It's getting late. I should head back. Goodbye."
He turned to leave.
"Wait, please!"
The old man quickly stopped him, pulled out a bank card, and held it out.
"What's this for?" Ye Qiu frowned.
The old man smiled. "Young man, you saved my grandson. There's 500,000 yuan in this card. I hope you'll take it."
Ye Qiu was surprised. The old man was clearly extremely wealthy to hand out half a million so casually.
But he wasn't tempted.
"I didn't save him for money."
Ye Qiu suddenly stepped forward.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man sneered inwardly: Talk is cheap. He's after the money after all.
But Ye Qiu didn't reach for the card.
Instead, he stared intently at the old man's face for a full thirty seconds, then asked:
"Are you sick, sir?"
"I'm perfectly healthy," the old man laughed. "I had a checkup just days ago."
"That's strange." Ye Qiu frowned.
"What's strange?"
"I can tell you're seriously ill. I just… can't name it right now," Ye Qiu said apologetically. "Maybe I'm wrong. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all."
"I'll be going now. Goodbye." Ye Qiu waved and left quickly.
As soon as he was gone, the old man's entire demeanor changed.
One moment, he had seemed like a kind grandfather; the next, he radiated the authority of a ruler who held power over life and death.
"For years, I've visited the best doctors in the country—not one could tell I'm gravely ill. But this young man saw it at a glance…"
He murmured, "Is heaven finally giving a dying man like me a few more years?"
He ordered sharply: "Zhao Yun!"
"Here, Dragon King!" the middle-aged man replied respectfully. "What are your orders?"
"Investigate Ye Qiu immediately. I want to know everything about him."
"Yes, sir!"