When they arrived at Liu Xinyue’s house, Liu Xinyue and her mother and sister were all sitting around Liu Shan’s bed, their faces filled with hope and worry.
“Lin Hai, it’s almost eight o’clock and my dad still hasn’t shown any response. I’m so nervous and scared.” Liu Xinyue clutched Lin Hai’s hand tightly, her palm soaked with sweat.
“It’s okay, Xinyue. Just wait a little longer. Trust me.” Lin Hai stroked Liu Xinyue’s hair and comforted her.
“Shan, you have to wake up. Xinyue is going to compete soon. Didn’t you always love hearing your daughter sing? When you wake up, we’ll all go to the venue and listen together.” Song Qin held Liu Shan’s hand, speaking with deep emotion.
Liu Xinqing couldn’t sit still anymore. She paced back and forth in the room, checking her phone for the time every few moments, her face a mix of excitement and anxiety.
Time flew by second by second, but the people in the room felt like every minute dragged on for years. Those few dozen minutes felt as long as decades.
“It’s eight o’clock!” Liu Xinqing shouted excitedly. Lin Hai and Liu Xinyue and her mother all trembled, their eyes fixed on Liu Shan.
Each of them had a glimmer of excitement and hope in their eyes, waiting for Liu Shan to wake up.
Five minutes passed.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty minutes passed.
Liu Shan was like a sleeping child, showing no reaction at all.
Song Qin’s breathing suddenly became rapid, and she couldn’t stay calm anymore.
“Xiao Hai, this… this…” Song Qin’s tears streamed down instantly.
Liu Xinyue and Liu Xinqing, the two sisters, felt as if they’d been struck hard. Deep disappointment covered their faces, and tears rolled down from their eyes. Though they didn’t say it out loud, they both understood in their hearts.
Lin Hai felt a wave of irritation surge up, and his expression turned extremely grim.
“Auntie, Xinyue, don’t panic. Maybe it just needs a little more time. Let’s wait a bit longer.” After saying this, Lin Hai shot to his feet and walked to another room.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Golden Flower Boy.
Little Confused Immortal: It’s been 12 hours already. Why hasn’t he woken up? [followed by an angry emoji]
Golden Flower Boy: Great Immortal, I told you before—if taken separately, whether he wakes up depends entirely on luck. [followed by an innocent emoji]
Damn, Lin Hai felt frustrated. Golden Flower Boy had indeed said that at the time, but back then he was desperate to save someone and really had no other choice.
Little Confused Immortal: So what can we do now?
Golden Flower Boy: Now I can only refine a new one for you, Great Immortal. But as I told you before, the success rate is very low. Another option is to find another Soul-Returning Pill and I’ll break it down again.
Damn it, that was the only way.
Lin Hai opened the Heavenly Court Trading Group.
Little Confused Immortal: Looking to buy a Soul-Returning Pill. Waiting online. Urgent!
A long time passed, and no one responded.
Little Confused Immortal: Willing to pay a high price for a Soul-Returning Pill. Waiting online. Urgent, urgent, urgent!
Still no response.
Damn, weren’t these idiots usually so active chatting and joking around? Why did they all go silent when it came to serious business?
Little Confused Immortal: Willing to pay an extremely high price for a Soul-Returning Pill. Does anyone have one? It’s really urgent!
This time, someone finally replied, but the content made Lin Hai’s heart sink.
Sun Wukong: Bro, Soul-Returning Pills are super rare. They’re basically useless, so nobody keeps them on hand.
Seven Fairies: Yeah, unless you ask Taishang Laojun to make one fresh. I doubt anyone has one.
Thor: But that Taishang Laojun guy disappeared a long time ago. No idea where he went off to.
Erlang Shen: Red Boy, did Laojun go to your mom’s place? [followed by a sleazy emoji]
Red Boy: Erlang Shen, f*** your mother! Stop talking crap!
Erlang Shen: Red Boy, who are you cursing? You little bastard, everyone knows about your family’s dirty business. [followed by a contemptuous emoji]
Red Boy: Erlang Shen, f*** you. Believe it or not, I’ll spit fire and roast you. [followed by an angry emoji]
Erlang Shen: Damn, you’ve got the nerve to say that? Go ahead, tell everyone where your Samadhi Fire came from. Don’t tell me it was inherited from the Bull Demon King!
Red Boy: Erlang Shen, f*** you. If you’ve got the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!
Erlang Shen: Damn, bring it on! I’m not afraid of you, you little bastard!
Sun Wukong: Wahahaha, fun, fun! Fight, hurry up and fight!
Red Boy directly dropped a coordinate into the group.
Red Boy: Erlang Shen, I’m waiting for you!
The group suddenly went quiet. They were probably all watching the show now.
Damn, Lin Hai cursed inwardly. Not a single one of them could be relied on when it mattered!
Lin Hai could only try reaching out to Taishang Laojun.
He found Taishang Laojun’s WeChat in his contacts and sent a message.
Little Confused Immortal: Laojun, I’d like to buy a Soul-Returning Pill.
After sending it, Lin Hai waited for Laojun’s reply. But half an hour passed and he still hadn’t received anything.
Damn, at least say whether you’ll sell or not. So damn annoying!
Lin Hai stared at the screen, fuming.
“Lin Hai.” Someone suddenly called his name from behind.
Lin Hai turned around and saw Liu Xinyue standing behind him, her face streaked with tears. She had clearly just been crying.
“Xinyue, don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.” Lin Hai quickly tried to comfort her.
“It’s okay. My dad has already been asleep for so long anyway. Waiting a little more won’t hurt.” Liu Xinyue forced a smile.
“Lin Hai, it’s already nine o’clock. I need to get to the venue.”
“I’ll drive you!”
“Lin Hai, my dad loves hearing me sing. His wish is for me to win the championship of the Qingge Competition. So I want my dad to be there to hear me sing and watch me win. Can you help me bring my dad there?” Liu Xinyue looked up and said.
“But Uncle—”
“I believe my dad can hear my singing.” Liu Xinyue’s eyes pleaded.
“Okay!” Lin Hai nodded in agreement.
Jiangnan City Stadium was already packed with people. Crowds bustled at the entrance, waiting to get in. The scene was lively and chaotic.
Police officers from the city’s Public Security Bureau and the Armed Police Detachment were almost all deployed, maintaining order at the scene. Several fully armed special police officers with guns stood guard vigilantly around the perimeter. Four fire trucks were parked on both sides of the stadium, standing by in tense readiness.
“It’s opening! It’s opening!” At exactly nine thirty, someone shouted. The stadium gates slowly opened, and several staff members appeared at the entrance.
The crowd immediately surged forward, rushing toward the entrance.
“Please line up, don’t push, enter in an orderly manner.” Several staff members quickly blocked the ticket checkpoint, holding back the crowd.
Only then did people suppress their excitement and pull out their tickets one by one, entering in turn.
“Screech!” Not far away, a Porsche Cayenne and a BMW 730 pulled up.
The appearance of luxury cars immediately drew the attention of the crowd waiting for ticket checks. People curiously turned their heads to look.
The car doors opened, and a young man and a bald burly man got out of the vehicles respectively.
Then a scene that left everyone stunned unfolded.
The bald burly man opened the trunk and actually pulled out a folding stretcher.
The young man, meanwhile, carried a middle-aged man out from the back seat of the car and placed him on the stretcher.
The two of them lifted the stretcher, one in front and one behind, and walked toward the entrance.
“Uncle, let’s go. We’re going to watch the Qingge Competition!”
