Ye Zhixing did not deny it. She stood up and said, "Take me to her room to have a look."
"All right." Shang Jingchen could not afford to worry about anything else.
Since it concerned his sister's life, he would not be negligent.
They went upstairs, and Shang Jingchen retrieved the keys and led the way to the room at the end of the corridor. Usually, this room remained locked. Ever since his sister’s accident, she had been at the sanitarium.
*Click.*
As the door opened, a stuffy, damp-smelling air rushed out to meet them. Shang Jingchen switched on the lights. The room remained exactly as it had been; he would come in occasionally to clean it.
Ye Zhixing scanned the room. It was quite large. She held a talisman in her hand and walked around both the inside and outside of the room. There were only a few wisps of soul lingering here; the complete soul was not present.
She took out a small pouch, about the size of a sachet sewn by a noblewoman in ancient times. She began chanting something, though Shang Jingchen could not hear the words clearly. Ye Zhixing collected the few wisps of soul, then turned to Shang Jingchen and asked, "Where is your sister now?"
"At the sanitarium, a forty-minute drive away."
"Take me there now."
"Is it urgent?"
"Yes. Saving a life brooks no delay," Ye Zhixing said firmly.
Seeing her attitude, a flicker of emotion he could not quite name welled up in Shang Jingchen’s heart. She would not delay a single moment when it came to saving a life. That person was one of only two relatives he had left in this world; she was incredibly important to him.
Assistant Zheng had only just returned, and if they waited for him to come back to drive them, time would inevitably be wasted. Ultimately, Shang Jingchen decided to drive himself. He felt fit enough to do so.
Without further ado, the two immediately headed out. There were several cars parked in the garage. He hadn't actually eaten much of the meal from earlier. Perhaps because he had gone past the point of hunger, he had no appetite.
Once in the car, Ye Zhixing took a few candies from her bag and handed them to him. Shang Jingchen hadn't started the engine yet; he looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Hmm?"
"You didn't eat earlier."
President Shang’s mouth twitched. Did she really think a few candies would fill him up? However, meeting her earnest gaze, he didn't refuse. He took them and immediately popped one into his mouth.
Dried tangerine peel flavor. Quite unique. Heaven knows he never usually liked candy.
"Thank you." He started the car, not forgetting to offer his thanks.
The car then headed toward the sanitarium. Concerned for his sister, Shang Jingchen remained silent, and Ye Zhixing was not one for idle chatter. The journey passed in silence, and by the time they arrived at the sanitarium, it was nearly midnight.
The official visiting hours had already passed, but the staff recognized Shang Jingchen’s car and immediately let them through. The sanitarium was dark, save for a few streetlights, and only a skeleton crew of staff remained on duty in the buildings.
As soon as Ye Zhixing got out of the car, she sensed the presence of Yin Energy. However, given that this was a sanitarium—much like a hospital—she could understand that. On the way here, she had noticed the dense trees lining the road, lush and obscuring the sky. There were few streetlights along the route. Sanitariums always seemed to be built in such secluded, quiet environments—all for the sake of "convalescence," as they claimed. Few cars traveled this road at night; anyone timid would certainly be too terrified to drive through this gloomy, ominous stretch.
Shang Jingchen led Ye Zhixing straight to his sister Shang Nuannuan’s room. She resided in a high-end VIP suite. Management here was strict; one needed a family member's pass to unlock the doors and gain access to the floor. It was not a place one could visit at will. Naturally, the annual fees were astronomical, but that meant little to Shang Jingchen.
The atmosphere grew heavy as Shang Jingchen led Ye Zhixing upstairs. The surroundings were eerie, and every time the wind blew, the trees in the courtyard rustled. Shang Jingchen felt the talisman Ye Zhixing had given him earlier beginning to grow slightly warm.
The room was on the second floor. The overhead streetlights, previously bright, suddenly began to flicker, emitting a buzzing sound. It was deathly quiet. There were no security patrols; besides the wind, there were only the calls of unknown creatures. If one had come here alone, it would have been enough to scare them to death.
They soon arrived at Shang Nuannuan’s room. At night, the door remained locked, accessible only by a staff duty card, a family member’s pass, or a fingerprint scan. Shang Jingchen scanned his fingerprint, and the door opened. Ye Zhixing stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him. The moment the door swung open, she felt that something was wrong inside.
*Snap.* The lights went on.
Ye Zhixing saw a girl lying on the bed. She was deathly pale and looked to be about her own age. As she approached, she realized the soul within the girl’s body was indeed incomplete—only enough remained to keep her alive.
Ye Zhixing began to carefully inspect the room. Although it was a sanitarium, it looked more like a suite. Shang Jingchen remained silent, afraid to disturb her, his gaze tracking her movements.
After circling the room, Ye Zhixing’s eyes finally settled on the nightstand beside the bed. Shang Jingchen followed her gaze and saw she intended to move the cabinet. He immediately reached out to help. "Let me."
Usually, manual labor was beneath him, but with only the two of them here, he couldn't let Ye Zhixing do it alone. After all, the nightstand was quite heavy.
Ye Zhixing didn't refuse. A moment later, Shang Jingchen moved the cabinet aside. He looked down and couldn't help but freeze; plastered beneath the nightstand were several talismans covered in dense, intricate runes. The sight sent a chill down his spine.
Ye Zhixing crouched down to examine the runes closely.
A moment later, Shang Jingchen could no longer contain himself. In a low, icy voice, he asked, "Ye Zhixing, what is this?" It clearly had to be related to his sister, Nuannuan.
"A Soul-Locking Formation," Ye Zhixing replied, her voice equally cold.
"You mean... Nuannuan’s soul is locked here?" Shang Jingchen wasn't stupid; he could grasp the meaning with a moment’s reflection.
"That's right. Because her soul cannot return to her body, she has been unable to wake up," she explained indifferently.
"Then what can we do?"
"Break the formation."
"It's fortunate we came in time. In seven more days, her soul would never have been able to return."
Ye Zhixing’s expression was stern, her voice cold. At that moment, she looked like a heartless assassin.
Shang Jingchen’s heart sank. If the soul could never return, that would mean—
Ye Zhixing glanced at him, then quickly shifted her focus back. She had to break this formation. She had just observed it; the formation looked tricky, and it was clear that whoever had set it up knew what they were doing. But they were unlucky to have crossed paths with her.
Ye Zhixing sat cross-legged on the floor, took a talisman from her cloth bag, and placed it over the runes. She then began to chant. Shang Jingchen could only watch from the side. He didn't know what she was chanting, but he saw her talisman beginning to glow.
As time passed, the runes beneath began to fade.
About half an hour later, Ye Zhixing finally stopped. She took out her small sachet, produced another talisman, placed it on the pouch, and continued chanting. Once she stood up, she placed a talisman on Shang Nuannuan and applied more to the four corners of the bed. Finally, she sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, appearing as if she were reciting sutras or performing a ritual.
An hour later, she stood up, fine beads of sweat visible on her forehead.
"Is it done? How is my sister?"