Seeing the unconscious patient being brought in, the nurse quickly arranged a bed for Hua Gu, instructing Xiao Shu to gently lower the patient onto the **. Five minutes later, a male doctor in a white coat, holding a ballpoint pen, rushed to Hua Gu’s bedside and conducted a preliminary inquiry into her condition.

Both Xiao Shu and Xiao Yu possessed foresight; they dared not reveal what had happened to the group at the Original Shadow Villa to outsiders, vaguely saying they were out together for an outing when they found her collapsed on the roadside and carried her back. However, the doctor didn't believe their hurried statements, scrutinizing the three of them before hastily departing.

More than ten minutes later, an older doctor carrying a flashlight followed the younger, ballpoint-pen-wielding doctor inside. Approaching Hua Gu, he gently lifted her sunken eyelids and closely examined the orbital area under the flashlight, nodding slightly. “Skillful surgical technique, cleaner work than even the best surgeon in Xiangcheng. Call the police immediately.”

Hearing the hospital was calling the police, Xiao Yu froze, about to step forward to demand an explanation, but Xiao Shu tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stay quiet.

Even if they remained silent, the police who would soon arrive would certainly investigate the full details. Based on this consideration, Xiao Shu preempted them, opening her mouth first: “We don’t know what happened to her either. Could you tell us?”

“Hmm,” the old doctor nodded and said, “The public security in Xiangcheng hasn't been good recently; there have been many cases of live human eyeballs being removed. The police are investigating. The preliminary judgment is that a surgeon is responsible because an ordinary person could never extract an entire eyeball intact from a living person. Look at the lack of damage to her eyelids; it must have been done by someone with proficient surgical skill.” As he spoke, he pointed to Hua Gu’s eyelids.

Hearing the doctor’s explanation, the heavy stone that had been hanging in their hearts finally dropped. They had feared the hospital might suspect them, leading to entanglement with the Sea of Spirits, the Original Shadow Villa, the Reflection Villa, and the series of murders committed by Wang Jue. Now that the scope of suspicion had been narrowed down, as long as they insisted they knew nothing about how Hua Gu was harmed, they could likely slip by. Consequently, Xiao Shu called Xiao Yu and Ali outside the hospital. The three of them synchronized their story: they were on an outing to the eastern suburbs when Hua Gu suddenly disappeared from the group; when they found her again, she was in this unconscious state.

Facing the lie, Xiao Yu remained quite composed. When Wang Jue got into trouble, he had told countless lies and concealed so much truth for him. Now, to prevent the police from delving into the Li father and son's issues, this was the only recourse. However, Ali pouted, deeply displeased. Lying was a momentous event for her, crossing an insurmountable boundary deep within her heart.

Seeing the little girl looked rather unreliable, Xiao Shu crouched down and spoke to her earnestly, “Sweetheart, do you know why Uncle Li asked us to say this?”

Ali shook her head, feeling a little wronged on Hua Gu’s behalf.

“Because this matter might be related to Xing'er. Do you still remember when Xing'er left us, and his eyes were burned by the spider?”

Upon hearing it involved Xing'er, Ali vigorously nodded and said, “Both of his eyes were covered in blood, and he was like that because he saved me.”

“Exactly,” Xiao Shu praised Ali’s good memory with an approving tone, continuing, “Uncle suspects that the cases of live eyeball removal in the city might be connected to Xing'er's injury because Xing'er has a wicked father who stops at nothing to achieve his goals. But if we reveal this, it won’t save Xing'er; it will only harm him. He saved you, and we owe it to him to keep this secret.”

“Mhm, I understand.” After Xiao Shu’s instruction, Ali’s gaze was no longer hesitant, and she became resolute about keeping the secret.