Chapter 27: You Spendthrift Girl

Ying Shu gathered from Old Lei’s tone that regardless of whether she succeeded in waking Wu Qi, he was intent on causing trouble for the Ying family. She did not know what grievances existed between the Ying and Lei families, and since the intensive care unit was hardly the place for a squabble, she chose not to engage him further.

Old Lei approached Wu Qi’s hospital bed and, seeing the flickering spirit hovering near the body, sneered. "Can you even tell what’s wrong with her?"

Seeing that Ying Shu remained silent, he continued, "If you can’t even see that, you have some nerve taking this job. If I were you, I wouldn’t be out here making a fool of myself."

Ying Shu still ignored him.

"I might as well tell you: the little girl on the bed is unconscious because her soul has left her body. If it isn't called back soon, the ghost messengers will come to claim her." Seeing Ying Shu frown, he added, "Don't tell me you can’t even see her soul? Tsk, the Ying family really goes from bad to worse with every generation. No wonder Ying Li chose to retire; if it were me, I wouldn't want my descendants out here embarrassing the family name either."

Ying Shu arched an eyebrow. The fact that this portly man could see Wu Qi’s soul suggested he had some genuine ability.

Old Lei glanced at the nurses walking by and scoffed, "You can't set up an altar here, nor can you burn talismans or draw seals. Let’s see how you plan to call a soul back." He was certain that someone as young as Ying Shu could not possibly possess the level of cultivation required to save someone through raw spiritual power alone.

"Could you shut up?" Ying Shu had been listening to his incessant chatter since she walked in, and his arrogant disdain for her family was becoming increasingly grating.

"You—" Old Lei’s voice rose in indignation, but a nearby nurse warned, "No loud talking in the ward." He was forced to swallow his anger, glaring at Ying Shu with venomous intensity.

The girl on the bed, Wu Qi, was frail—a result of being born prematurely, which led to stunted development. She had a tiny stomach, poor vision, and impaired hearing, and her immune system was severely compromised. It was only through the meticulous care of Hu Cui and Wu Yu that she had made it to the age of twelve.

Ying Shu took out a restorative pill she had kept for her younger siblings. Old Lei, who was staring at her, froze. The spiritual energy radiating from the pill was incredibly dense; even just catching a whiff of it made one feel refreshed and clear-headed. In all his years, he had never seen a pill so free of impurities. It made the pills he had previously purchased for millions feel like mere trash.

Taking advantage of the moment the nurse turned away, Ying Shu quickly slipped the pill into Wu Qi’s mouth.

"Wait!"

Old Lei was too late to stop her. He was beside himself with rage. "How could you just feed it to her? Do you have any idea how expensive that pill was? It’s worth at least half a billion! Half a billion! You spendthrift girl! Not only do you not make money on a job, but you throw away a fortune. No wonder the Ying family is in decline."

Ying Shu was speechless. "It’s not your money I’m losing, so why are you so worked up?"

"It’s the waste that pains me! A simple soul-calling ritual would have sufficed, yet you used a priceless pill to save her. Wouldn't it have been better to sell it to me?" The thought of such a precious pill being wasted made him want to throttle her.

"I don't know how to perform a soul-calling ritual."

Old Lei was even more furious. "You don't know how to call a soul, and you still took the job? Even if you didn't know how, you could have sold me the pill and hired me to do the ritual! Besides, do you think any old pill can save a person? What if it wasn't the right treatment? How is what you just did any different from blind medical treatment? Oh, my poor pill... what kind of pill did you even give her?"

Ying Shu: "..." It was clear all he wanted was the pill.

"This is an intensive care unit, not a place for you to chat and argue. If you keep shouting, please leave," the nurse said, finally losing patience as the volume of their voices increased.

Ying Shu watched as Wu Qi’s body absorbed the soul back into itself. The girl’s eyelids fluttered, and Ying Shu quickly called out, "Nurse, Xiao Qi has woken up."

"She’s awake?" Both the nurse and Old Lei were stunned. The former looked at the bed in disbelief, and seeing the patient slowly opening her eyes, she hurried out to find the doctor.

Old Lei snorted. "I don’t know what kind of pill you fed her, but it seems it only cleared the blockage in her brain to wake her up. Her soul is actually quite unstable; it will leave her body again sooner or later."

Ying Shu: "..." She had given Wu Qi the pill simply to repair the damaged and underdeveloped parts of her body, hoping that would be enough. She hadn't realized it would involve soul-related issues. Since she lacked a pill to stabilize souls, she would have to wait for Feng Ye and the others to arrive after Wu Qi was discharged from the ICU to take a look.

Worried about Xixi, Ying Shu didn't linger in the ICU. Seeing Xixi standing outside the door, trembling with fear, she felt a pang of heartache. She pulled the child into a hug, deciding that once she secured custody, she would immediately ask Feng Ye to use hypnosis to wipe Xixi’s traumatic memories.

When Hu Cui saw Ying Shu emerge, she walked over, overjoyed. "I heard from the nurse that Xiao Qi is awake?"

Chen Meiqing said smugly, "I told you the master I hired was reliable."

Old Lei, following behind, said, "I didn't do anything. It has nothing to do with me."

Chen Meiqing hesitated. "Then how did she wake up? Did she wake up on her own?"

Old Lei gestured toward Ying Shu with his chin. "The Ying family girl saved her."

Hu Cui and the others looked at Ying Shu in astonishment. Ying Shu, needing to take Xixi for her scheduled injection, said a quick goodbye and left. Old Lei stayed behind, desperate to know the grade of the pill Ying Shu had used.

After a thorough examination, the doctor finally came to find Hu Cui and the others with the results. He was visibly excited. "I’m telling you, you won’t believe it, and even we think it’s a miracle. Wu Qi’s vision and hearing have returned to normal. All signs of the developmental issues caused by her premature birth have vanished. She is now indistinguishable from any other normal person. Don't you find it absolutely incredible?"

"She's... she's healed? Completely?" Wu Sheng and Chen Meiqing stared at the doctor in disbelief.

Hu Cui laughed and cried at the same time. "She escaped a great disaster, and now she is blessed."

The stunned Old Lei suddenly slapped his thigh in regret. "That spendthrift girl... a billion and a half, just gone like that." Judging by Wu Qi’s recovery, the pill Ying Shu had used was undoubtedly of a supreme grade; otherwise, the effects wouldn't have been so miraculous. If he had consumed that pill, it would have surely restored his own cultivation to its peak. He cursed himself for being too slow to stop her.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He pulled out his phone, unblocked Ying Li’s number, and dialed. When the call was answered, he didn't wait for the other party to speak before erupting: "You truly are an old scoundrel! The descendants you’ve raised are nothing but a bunch of spendthrift little brats!"

With that, he hung up.

On the other end of the line, Ying Li: "..." Who was that? Was he crazy?