Xiao Qiang had been stabbed while trying to retrieve his bag, yet he had the misfortune of having a wife who only cared about her younger brother’s superficial wounds. She had originally intended to check on Xiao Qiang, but the moment her brother said, "Sister, could you accompany me to the hospital first?" she failed to do something as simple as checking whether her own husband was injured.
The doctor had stated that while Xiao Qiang’s injuries were severe, they would have been entirely treatable had he received timely care. But because she had told the paramedics, "There is only one wounded person," her husband—the one who was most severely injured—had been left behind, causing him to miss the golden window for life-saving treatment.
"Are you the girlfriend of the wounded man?" the doctor asked.
Qin Zhaoyue was already sobbing uncontrollably; she could only nod heavily, unable to utter a single word.
"We will do our absolute best to treat the patient..."
The doctor seemed reluctant to say anything more to her. After speaking, he entered the ICU, sighing under his breath, "A girlfriend like that... it’s simply disgraceful."
Qin Zhaoyue felt as if she had been struck by a thousand bolts of lightning. Outside the ICU, her heart felt like it was being torn apart. With tear-blurred eyes, she was consumed by immense self-reproach. "Xiao Qiang, you have to pull through! If you don’t, how am I supposed to go on living?"
"Sister, don't worry, brother-in-law will be fine! He’s so strong!" Chen Zihao consoled her, but inside, he was thinking viciously, *Xiao Qiang, hurry up and die! Once you’re dead, I’ll make sure to send a few green hats to your grave for your seventh-day memorial...*
However, deeply immersed in her self-blame, Qin Zhaoyue could not process these useless words of comfort.
"Sister, it’s all my fault. I shouldn't have asked you to come to the hospital with me. If you had gone to check on brother-in-law, this terrible misunderstanding wouldn't have happened..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Zhaoyue actually felt a flicker of resentment toward Chen Zihao. She had wanted to go see Xiao Qiang, but she had been stopped by Chen Zihao!
"Zihao, forget it. This isn't your fault. You had lost so much blood; it was only natural for you to be scared! It’s all on me. I should have just had the doctor take your brother-in-law in the ambulance too. It’s my own fault for stubbornly assuming he was just trying to give me the cold shoulder..." *Sob...*
At the same time, she thought of how, on the day they registered their marriage, she had gone out to celebrate Zihao’s birthday and taken him for a massage, behaviors that had angered Xiao Qiang. The guilt in her heart intensified even further!
Whenever her husband protested, she had never once considered things from his perspective, blindly insisting that she and Zihao were just "foster siblings." But Xiao Qiang was her husband!
For some time now, the care and concern she had showered upon this "foster brother" seemed to outweigh what she gave her own husband—all because Zihao bore a striking resemblance to someone from her past.
*Husband, I deserve to die!*
...
Half an hour later, the lights in the ICU operating room suddenly went out. Qin Zhaoyue immediately stood up and rushed to the door. For her, that half-hour wait had felt like a century.
After a brief pause, the door to the operating room pushed open. The doctor, before whom Qin Zhaoyue had previously knelt and begged, walked out with a solemn expression. Qin Zhaoyue immediately hurried over. "Doctor, how is my boyfriend?"
The doctor shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry, miss. We did everything we could. The patient's lungs were punctured, he suffered respiratory failure, and he lost too much blood. If he had been brought in just five minutes earlier, it wouldn't have ended like this!"
Having said that, the doctor glanced with a complicated expression at Qin Zhaoyue and the Chen Zihao behind her. With a deep sigh, he added, "Miss, please accept my condolences."
In that instant, Qin Zhaoyue’s strength vanished, and she collapsed to the floor! Tears streamed down her face as she wailed, "Husband, I killed you! I am no human; I have failed you..."
The sound of Qin Zhaoyue’s heart-wrenching wails echoed through the entire hallway.
Beside her, Chen Zihao felt ecstatic. *Haha, you’re finally dead! Now, Qin Zhaoyue is a fish on my chopping block. It won't be long before I get to taste her beauty!*
At that moment, Chen Zihao even recalled the graceful figure Qin Zhaoyue had displayed the previous night while wearing her ice-silk nightgown to make his bed. The guy actually felt a physical reaction!
Meanwhile, inside the ICU operating room, Xiao Qiang’s body was already covered by a white sheet. Two medical staff were cleaning up the mess from the surgery, preparing to transport his body to the morgue in the hospital basement.
Little did they know that underneath the sheet, the blood-stained Dragon-patterned Ring Pendant on Xiao Qiang's chest had suddenly absorbed all the blood on its surface. It began to emit a hazy white glow, which gradually swirled around Xiao Qiang’s skin. Some of the light even seeped into his body through the wound!
A moment later, Xiao Qiang felt as if he had just woken from a dream, though he could not move his body.
*Wasn't I dead? Have I already reached the underworld?*
Just then, a voice drifted over. "Hey, this boy is so pitiful. He’s so handsome and young, and his girlfriend didn't even know he was injured, bringing her brother to the hospital first and causing him to miss the golden window for rescue. In the end, he was indirectly killed by his own girlfriend..."
Xiao Qiang understood now: he wasn't in the underworld; he was indeed still alive!
*What is going on? I'm not dead, but why can't I move? I can only hear people talking, and I can't even open my eyes...*
At that moment, a voice of extreme majesty and gravity resonated in his mind.
"Where is my unfilial descendant, Xiao Qiang?"
Xiao Qiang was stunned. *Who the hell is talking to me? I’ve never even met my parents; how am I an unfilial descendant?*
"Ahem... Xiao Qiang, it is I who am speaking to you! Just because you have never seen your parents does not mean you do not have ancestors!"
Xiao Qiang was shocked. *This... you can communicate with my consciousness? Who exactly are you?*
"I am the ancestor of the Xiao Family. Seventeen hundred years ago, I sealed a wisp of my spiritual consciousness into the Dragon-patterned Ring Pendant, meant as a family heirloom to ensure the continuity of our lineage. To think that by your generation, it has withered to such an extent—it is truly lamentable!"
The gist of it was: *I am your ancestor from seventeen hundred years ago. I sealed my consciousness in this jade pendant to be passed down through the generations. I never expected your generation to be so pathetic!*
Hearing this, Xiao Qiang couldn't help but blush. He had no idea the Xiao Family had such an ancient heritage. And what on earth was going on with this ancestor? Being able to seal a consciousness in a jade pendant was simply miraculous!
The ancestor spoke again.
"Xiao Qiang, I will now repair your damaged body and impart to you everything I have learned in my lifetime! I expect you to study and practice diligently to restore the glory of the Xiao Family!"
Without waiting for Xiao Qiang to respond, he suddenly felt a mysterious force surging through his limbs and bones. He felt his physical sensations slowly returning!
Just then, he clearly felt a medical staff member touch his face. *Damn it, I'm dead and I'm still getting groped!* Then, they lifted him onto a smaller cart and began to wheel him out!
*Damn, are they taking me to the morgue? I’ve heard that place is cold as ice! And I’m stark naked!*
But he couldn't worry about that now, because he felt the ancestor cramming information into his mind.
There were internal energy cultivation techniques like the *Imperial Court Inner Elixir Scripture*, talismanic arts including the *Tiangang Five Thunder Talisman*, and all sorts of strange-sounding talisman techniques. There was even the *Daoist Medical Divine Scripture* and the *Luban Arts*...
Only when Xiao Qiang shouted that his head was about to explode did the Xiao ancestor stop.
"Boy, study these inheritances well, especially the *Imperial Court Inner Elixir Scripture*. It is divided into three levels: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, and Refining Spirit into Emptiness! If you reach perfection, you will achieve the condensation of the Primordial Spirit and transcend! Forget it, you wouldn't understand now. Ponder it slowly. Boy, is there anything else you wish to ask?"
"Ancestor, I’ve never met my parents since I was a child. Do you know where they are?"
"That... let me calculate... Huh???"
"What is it, Ancestor?" Xiao Qiang asked impatiently!
"Your fate with your parents has not yet ended; you will eventually be reunited! But the time is not yet ripe! Very well, my consciousness is about to dissipate. Boy, do not bring shame upon me... otherwise..."
Then, the voice fell silent.
At that moment, Qin Zhaoyue’s heart-wrenching wails reached Xiao Qiang’s ears. "Husband, I’ve failed you... I’m the one who killed you... please, don't leave me..."