Chapter 14: The Blood-Red Eye Above the Hospital

Doctor Yan...

The head nurse thought for a moment and immediately knew who she meant, her expression turning somewhat peculiar.

“You must mean Mr. Yan Xiuyong. He resigned two months ago. In the Traditional Chinese Medicine department, there is also Mr. Fu, who is highly skilled. You can seek him out. But if you're determined to see Mr. Yan, he does usually stay at the hospital, though he no longer sees patients and is hard to find.”

It was clear that Yan Xiuyong was highly respected, though things had changed only in the past two months. Xu Qi looked back on the divination that had stalled.

“By all rights, Doctor Yan should be nearing retirement age. Why would he resign?”

The head nurse glanced around to make sure no one else was listening before she carefully explained the reason, which was essentially the same as what Old Wang had told her.

“I find it strange too, but I can’t quite put my finger on what’s wrong.”

No further clues could be gleaned.

“Thank you, sister.”

“You’re welcome,” the head nurse said kindly, smiling as she headed toward the parking area.

After bidding farewell, Xu Qi followed the directions to the third floor of the inpatient department.

The head nurse mentioned that Yan Xiuyong could usually be found on the third floor.

Although rumors were spreading that he had gone mad, the director overlooked it, given Yan’s past service in treating many patients, and never asked him to leave.

In the head nurse’s mind, the director was an exceptionally kind man.

Standing by the window on the third floor, Xu Qi felt a chill in the corridor. She opened the window, noting that the outside breeze was warmer than the air inside.

She couldn’t piece together the hospital’s backstory—it was very strange.

It was similar to Shen Du’s divination, yet not exactly the same.

Shen Du’s case was obscured by a barrier; the hospital seemed instead like the timing wasn’t right, as if something was preventing her from intervening now—perhaps the will of heaven?

The only similarity was concealment. She found it hard not to connect the two.

Had she been at her peak, Xu Qi thought, she wouldn’t fear it. She sighed.

Soft footsteps approached from behind. She turned around; the dimly lit corridor stretched long, vague shadows lined the walls on both sides.

Heads bowed, these shadowy figures drifted aimlessly.

An elderly man found an empty bench and sat down, his gaze fixed on a hospital room, occasionally lowering his head to jot notes and make corrections in his notebook.

Xu Qi closed the window and walked toward him.

“Doctor Yan.”

Yan Xiuyong looked up but kept his eyes on the room. “I’m not sick.”

He had said it so many times it had become habitual.

“I know,” Xu Qi said casually, sitting down beside him.

Noticing his visitor was not leaving but sitting down, Yan frowned.

Xu Qi looked at the little girl in the room who had taken off her hat and, unusually serious, said, “Doctor Yan, they don’t believe you, but I do.”

Just those few words.

Yan Xiuyong was momentarily stunned, then turned his head to glance at her. “Little girl, they say I’m obsessed with medicine and crazy. Why would you believe me?”

There was a faint trace of self-mockery in his voice.

He had devoted his life to medicine but could not unravel the truth behind patients’ deaths—that was his inner torment.

Without the director’s kindness, he might not have been allowed into the hospital at all.

Xu Qi followed his words: “I believe what you say.”

Yan’s weathered but clear eyes narrowed as he asked skeptically, “You really believe me? You’re not joking?”

“Of course not. I never joke with healers.”

He studied Xu Qi’s earnest expression, unable to discern what emotion he felt.

Joy? Sadness? Perhaps both.

“Are you a medical professional too?” That was the only explanation.

“No,” Xu Qi shook her head. “Metaphysics does not conflict with science. I know they’ve been robbed of time—that’s what you’re researching.”

Yan Xiuyong lost his composure completely.

He immediately seized the key phrase: “You’re a master of the occult?”

Xu Qi considered it briefly. “You could say that.”

Yan was stunned, then became extremely excited, springing to his feet. “Do you know why they die prematurely?”

Xu Qi picked up the notebook he had dropped, raised it slightly, and smiled faintly, “If you’re willing to trust me.”

She was the first person to say, “I believe you.”

Her eyes held an extraordinary steadiness. Yan thought he had nothing to offer her but his medical skill. If it could save lives, he was willing.

The world was vast, and humanity’s knowledge was but a drop in the ocean.

Yan quickly shifted from excitement to calm. He took the notebook and sat down again, sighing deeply as he stared ahead.

“What our ancestors passed down—whether one believes it or not, it does not mean it doesn’t exist. Without truly experiencing it, denial is premature.”

For him to say this meant he believed.

“So, according to you, they’ve been robbed of time. That makes sense.”

Xu Qi raised an eyebrow. “Doctor Yan, aren’t you afraid I’m a fraud?”

Yue Yi’s first reaction was to accuse her of a scam.

“No. I’ve practiced medicine for decades. I have some insight.”

Yan relaxed considerably but frowned again. “Is there a way to break this?”

“Very simple. You just have to kill it.”

Yan heard this outrageous statement and, far from frightened, seemed eager. “Kill it? What is it? Do we need black dog’s blood?”

To ordinary people, black dog’s blood was the most common exorcism tool.

“No need,” Xu Qi said.

“Then what do we need? I might be able to help.”

Yan was genuinely anxious; he sincerely wished patients could survive their final stretch. Even if incurable, they must not be taken prematurely.

Xu Qi waved her hand mysteriously, expression calm. “There is indeed something I want Doctor Yan to help with.”

Yan Xiuyong:!

This old soul was ready to give his all.

“All right, I’m willing without hesitation.”

——

At one o’clock that afternoon, the head nurse had just returned to the inpatient department when she heard that Yan Xiuyong had resumed his position.

The head nurse was surprised. “Has Mr. Yan stopped obsessing over patients?”

“Yes. He said he had misdiagnosed before, so the director allowed him to return to work.”

The head nurse nodded, curious but understanding. Yan’s medical skills were superb; he led the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.

She wondered if this had something to do with that young woman.

At that moment, Xu Qi was looking up at the hospital’s sky, where a blood-red eye hovered, surrounded by spreading crimson mist encasing a black pupil.

Her hands were clasped behind her back as she murmured softly, “Thank you. Once the dust settles, I will send you all to the underworld.”

Beneath the trees, several translucent, blurry figures bowed and then gradually dissipated.

Using evil to counter evil.

She had formed a formation with the magnetic field created by countless spirits, temporarily hiding the eye above the hospital. The ghosts and she were inseparable.

Xu Qi squinted at the blood eye, feeling something was off.

Was that really an eye?

Unfortunately, she couldn’t see clearly.

“Miss Xu,”

A man in a trench coat stepped out of a car at the intersection, walking up to her. He lowered his eyes, and the corner of his lips twitched subtly.

Xu Qi bit into a roasted sweet potato she held. “Captain Shen, I’m sure you must be hungry.”

Wearing a small snake-patterned hat, a mismatched scarf, a knee-length pink down jacket, and a rustic gray cloth bag, the clash of colors was striking.

She looked like a little hamster foraging for food.

Shen Du calmly and gracefully opened the car door for her, a smile in his eyes. “According to the rules, I take responsibility for your three meals a day.”

The next moment, a gentle but firm pat landed on his shoulder.