Mu Qianqian, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation of the Huo family, heard the news of the explosion at the laboratory where Huo Changfeng worked almost immediately.
The moment she received the news, she almost failed to suppress the urge to laugh out loud toward the sky.
"Mu Qingxuan, oh, Mu Qingxuan, your day has finally come. That kind of life worse than death is finally descending upon you."
Mu Qianqian could hardly wait to call Shi Feihua and rush to the hospital together.
"What are we going to the hospital for?" Shi Feihua frowned, somewhat reluctant to go.
A sudden explosion in a perfectly fine laboratory sounded thoroughly ominous.
Mu Qianqian rolled her eyes and said with feigned concern, "He is your cousin after all. With such a huge incident happening, shouldn't you go take a look?"
Huo Changfeng had always maintained a cold attitude toward Shi Feihua and had never treated him like a younger brother.
Shi Feihua curled his lips in disdain. Just as he was about to refuse, he remembered that with such a major event happening to the Huo family, Mu Qingxuan would definitely be staying at the hospital.
At the thought of Mu Qingxuan's striking face and graceful figure, Shi Feihua couldn't help swallowing hard. He nodded in agreement and went to the hospital with Mu Qianqian.
Inside the operating room.
Huo Changfeng lay quietly on the hospital bed, resembling a lifeless sculpture.
The doctors and nurses had already stopped the bleeding and bandaged the large and small wounds on his body, but small patches of bright red blood still seeped through the gauze, spreading like ferocious, wild flowers.
His entire body was exposed, with burns and abrasions covering his chest, arms, and legs. The skin in the burned areas was a horrifying charred black, with red and swollen edges that were shocking to the eye.
Mu Qingxuan walked closer, ignoring the electrocardiograph constantly flashing lines beside her, and reached out to check Huo Changfeng's pulse.
It was already extremely weak.
The doctor was right: under normal circumstances, Huo Changfeng would not live past half an hour, and his family could only prepare for his funeral.
Mu Qingxuan's expression darkened.
However, those were normal conditions. Now that she was here, she would absolutely not let Huo Changfeng die.
She took out a silver needle and slowly inserted it into a hidden acupoint.
This acupoint was recorded in an ancient, rare manual and could only be used on patients at death's door to sustain their lives.
After the silver needle was inserted, the fluctuating lines on the electrocardiograph stabilized considerably after a short while.
Mu Qingxuan frowned. Just doing this was not quite enough.
Pondering for a moment, she walked out of the operating room and ran into the expectant gazes of the Huo family members.
Knowing that all hopes rested on Mu Qingxuan alone at this moment, Cui Lirong was feeling extremely anxious and uneasy. Seeing her suddenly come out, she asked hastily, "How is it?"
Mu Qingxuan opened her mouth, but before she could speak, another voice suddenly chimed in, "Sister, are you unable to treat Cousin Changfeng?"
"It doesn't matter even if you can't cure him. Cousin Changfeng's injuries are too severe this time, and you are so young; no one will blame you even if you fail to save him."
Although Mu Qianqian had no idea why the originally scheduled sudden and fatal illness of Huo Changfeng had turned into an injury from an explosion.
This, however, did not prevent her from coming to watch Mu Qingxuan make a fool of herself.
She raised her eyes gloatingly, wearing a concerned expression on her face, but the subtle mockery at the corners of her eyes gave away her true thoughts.
As soon as her words landed, however, Cui Lirong cast a fierce, dissatisfied glance at her and said coldly, "What do you mean by that? Are you hoping that Xuanxuan won't be able to save Changfeng, and wishing for Changfeng to die?"
Mu Qianqian was taken aback.
Although that was indeed what she was thinking inside, she also knew that such a notion definitely could not be let known to others.
Not unless she didn't want to live anymore.
"No, no, Auntie, I didn't mean that..." Mu Qianqian smiled stiffly, her body tensing up the moment her gaze met Cui Lirong's.
Guiltily, she looked away.
Yet, her rather clumsy performance appeared as simple and ridiculous as that of a naive child in the eyes of the old foxes present, who could see through her true thoughts at a single glance.
Huo Jianye's brow also knitted into a deep frown, and his expression was quite unpleasant.
"Mom, I need a ginseng root that is over ten years old."
With Huo Changfeng still lying in the operating room, Mu Qingxuan had no time to engage in verbal sparring with a fool like Mu Qianqian.
She looked directly at Cui Lirong and stated her demand.
Ginseng had always been a highly nourishing medicinal herb and was exceptionally effective in sustaining the lives of critically ill patients.
Mu Qingxuan needed to perform acupuncture treatment on Huo Changfeng, and a single life-sustaining silver needle was not enough; it had to be supplemented with ginseng to sustain his life in order to buy enough time.
The institute director's eyes lit up, and he said, "I have a ginseng root at home that has been treasured for many years. It seems to be over twenty years old. I will send someone home to fetch it right away."
Mu Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, "Then I must trouble you. Once the ginseng is obtained, I must also trouble Maid Wang to brew the ginseng roots into a medicinal soup and send it to the operating room as soon as possible."
Over the past two days, under Mu Qingxuan's instruction, Maid Wang had become quite proficient at brewing the herbal formula for Old Madam Huo's migraines.
Mu Qingxuan entrusted the task to Maid Wang with peace of mind.
Maid Wang nodded heavily.
Having arranged everything, Mu Qingxuan returned to the operating room.
Cui Lirong tightly grasped Huo Jianye's hand and asked helplessly, "Can Xuanxuan really do it?"
Huo Jianye said in a deep voice, "We have no choice but to choose to believe her now."
Waiting time is always exceptionally long.
Time seemed to be ruthlessly dragged down by an invisible giant hand, every second becoming incomparably heavy as it dragged its feet forward.
The chandelier on the ceiling emitted a pale, sickly light, and even the bulb seemed affected by the oppressive atmosphere, flickering slightly. Every alternating flash of light and shadow felt as long as a century.
It wasn't until Maid Wang walked over carrying a food container that Cui Lirong realized a whole day had actually passed.
"Madam, please eat something first. You haven't eaten for a whole day and night."
Huo Jianye had managed to drink a bowl of porridge midway, but Cui Lirong hadn't had a single drop of water. By now, her lips were chapped, and her expression was so ghastly that she looked as though she might faint at any second.
Cui Lirong shook her head.
With Huo Changfeng's life and death still uncertain in the operating room, she really had no appetite to eat.
"Swish—"
Suddenly, the operating room doors, which had been tightly shut for an entire day, opened wide to both sides.
Mu Qingxuan stepped out from inside with heavy steps.
Meeting everyone's expectant gazes, she took a deep breath, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly: "Dad, Mom, I have lived up to expectations. Changfeng's body is out of danger."
For the entire day, Mu Qingxuan had been treating Huo Changfeng.
At his worst, Huo Changfeng's body was covered all over with silver needles.
Fortunately, he was finally pulled back from the gates of hell.
Mu Qingxuan licked her lips, her throat somewhat dry and hoarse from a day and night without a single drop of water: "You can let the doctor go in and check to see if there are any problems."
Hearing this, the doctor standing guard nearby hurriedly walked inside.
A moment later, everyone heard the doctor's joyful shout from inside the operating room: "Director Huo's condition has stabilized!"
Cui Lirong's tears instantly fell as she covered her mouth and wept silently.
Having waited the entire day, Mu Qianqian stood up in disbelief and shrieked, "This is impossible!"