Kuang Feifan sprang up, locking onto the silhouette that had just attacked him in the mist, unleashing a rapid sequence of kicks. The motion momentarily dispersed the fog, vaguely revealing the figure’s true form.

It was the Gray Jacket again, but now he was barely recognizable as human. It seemed all the moisture had evaporated from his body; his clothes hung loosely, as if they were several sizes too big, draped over a skeletal frame wrapped only in desiccated, purplish-brown skin. His facial features had collapsed inward, his eyes and nose reduced to black hollows, his face only vaguely discernible. Kuang Feifan could never have imagined that in less than a single night, the Gray Jacket had transformed into a male corpse seemingly mummified for hundreds of years—and a walking, animated one at that.

As he recognized the Gray Jacket’s ghastly appearance, his feet connected with the figure just as it turned to lunge at him. Three consecutive kicks struck the Gray Jacket squarely in the chest. The Gray Jacket, whose hands had been reaching forward to pounce, was sent flying backward by Kuang Feifan’s all-out assault. He emitted a strange cry, like the lament of a night cat. This piercing sound echoed far through the mist, carrying an indescribable, terrifying sharpness that unsettled the listener and raised goosebumps across Kuang Feifan’s skin.

However, the impact also sent a rebound force that threw Kuang Feifan back onto the ground. He hadn't expected the creature to be so rock-hard; those kicks felt like striking steel plates, and the pain made him gasp repeatedly, feeling as if his leg bones were nearly shattered.

But the kicks hadn't been entirely in vain. With the Gray Jacket struck, his stance wobbled, and he stumbled backward. Behind him was the courtyard’s iron gate. The lock Kuang Feifan had opened and tossed aside was still there, with only one loop of the heavy chain remaining wrapped around the hinges. As the Gray Jacket crashed into it, the gate swung open with a loud clang, revealing a gap wide enough for a person to slip through. The Gray Jacket’s backward momentum didn't cease; he tumbled straight out.

Kuang Feifan, still prone, heard the gate’s sound. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up with his hands, ignored the pain, rushed to He Shaoqing’s side, bent down, hoisted him up, and sprinted toward the main entrance.

The moment Kuang Feifan’s feet cleared the courtyard gate and landed on the outside pavement, a sigh filled with desolate resignation sounded as if whispered right beside his ear. Kuang Feifan suppressed the terror gripping his heart and charged out of the grand courtyard without looking back.

Behind him, the pervasive mist retreated like a tide, and the massive wrought-iron gate snapped shut instantly.

When Kuang Feifan carried He Shaoqing to the middle of the street outside the courtyard, the tension suspended in his chest eased by more than half. The familiar street scene under the lamplight and the solid ground beneath his feet gave him a sense of returning to reality. It was deep night, and though he couldn't gauge the exact time, the street was utterly deserted, lending an unsettling eeriness. Kuang Feifan had no desire to look back, not even once. He Shaoqing on his shoulder seemed to grow heavier, and the ground felt like soft cotton beneath his steps.

He walked mechanically forward in the middle of the road, one foot ahead of the other, as if for an eternity. Finally, the main thoroughfare came into view, with the occasional car sweeping past. Kuang Feifan raised a hand to wipe his eyes, blurred by sweat, took a deep breath, and whispered, "He Shao, we got out."

When he finally reached the intersection, his head swam. His exhaustion had truly pushed him past his limits. Kuang Feifan finally stopped, leaning against the wall of the sidewalk to set He Shaoqing down. In the lamplight, he could see He Shaoqing’s face was ashen, his breathing shallow, his body growing stiff. Kuang Feifan was startled, fearing for his life. He quickly reached out to check his pulse and found He Shaoqing’s heartbeat faint and sporadic, seemingly ready to cease at any moment.

Kuang Feifan’s anxiety mounted, making him momentarily lose his composure. He looked again at the wound on He Shaoqing’s shoulder. The veins in the entire injured arm were visibly distended, the blue-to-near-black network of vessels clearly visible. The wound itself was worse, swollen to a dark purple. Kuang Feifan, trembling, gently pressed the swollen area and found the tissue beneath the skin soft, like thin mud, suggesting a systemic rot spreading from the inside out.

"He Shao, He Shao..." Kuang Feifan called softly, but He Shaoqing’s teeth were clenched; he was already in a deep coma. Seeing He Shaoqing in this state, Kuang Feifan frowned deeply. He needed to get him to a hospital immediately. Although he couldn't be sure if a hospital could treat such severe injuries, going offered a chance; doing nothing meant watching He Shaoqing die slowly...

Kuang Feifan managed to stand up, surveying the street, pondering whether to knock on a nearby resident's door to borrow a phone. Just then, a car approached slowly from the distance. Kuang Feifan instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding headlights. In a flash of disorientation, he saw the * on the roof of the vehicle.

In an instant, he was ecstatic, throwing his arms open and rushing into the road. The police car braked in front of him. When Kuang Feifan saw the two patrol officers emerge, he pointed toward where He Shaoqing lay behind him and managed to say, "There's a * in his pocket, hurry, to the hospital..." Then, his strength failed him entirely, and he collapsed.

When Kuang Feifan awoke slowly from an endless darkness, regaining consciousness, his head felt like it was splitting open, as if someone were relentlessly scooping at his skull with a small spoon. He tried to force his eyes open, but his eyelids felt weighted with lead, refusing to budge.

"You're awake? Want some water?" A soft voice reached his ears, but Kuang Feifan’s head was too foggy to distinguish the gender. However, the mention of water made him instinctively grunt.

Immediately, he felt someone gently support his head, and a cool drop of * touched his cracked lips, seeping down his burning throat. This seemed to offer slight relief to the throbbing pain.

With his eyes still closed, Kuang Feifan's mind slowly replayed the events before he lost consciousness: the small building, the female ghost, the monstrous infant, the dried corpse—they all flooded his memory. His muddled mind involuntarily replayed those bizarre and terrifying fragments. Suddenly, his heart tightened: He Shaoqing.

He opened his heavy eyelids blankly, but the blinding light made him instinctively close them again. The soft voice near his ear spoke once more: "Feifan, how are you feeling?"

Such a familiar voice. This time, Kuang Feifan very carefully began to open his eyes. What met his gaze was a stunningly beautiful face framed by eyes full of concern.

The person supporting Kuang Feifan’s head was a young woman—slender willow brows, bright almond eyes, a delicate nose, cherry lips, skin as white as snow, soft black hair styled in large waves, and two adorable dimples that appeared when she smiled. She was, without a doubt, a celestial beauty. Though Kuang Feifan wasn't fully lucid, he recognized her instantly: the one supporting him was Bai Ru.

Seeing Kuang Feifan awake, Bai Ru let out a breath of relief, and a smile that felt like a spring breeze blossomed on her face. Seeing Bai Ru invigorated Kuang Feifan. He opened his mouth to speak, but his dry throat only produced a rattling sound deep in his chest.

"Don't rush, take it slow," Bai Ru said, sounding slightly anxious again, bringing the sponge she held to Kuang Feifan’s lips and gently squeezing drops of water into his mouth. In that moment, Kuang Feifan felt a pang of wistful regret; it would have been better if Bai Ru could have found another way to give him water.

Of course, the thought flashed and vanished. His throat already felt much better. His expression immediately grew tense as he stared at Bai Ru, asking in a hoarse voice, "What about He Shao?"

A faint smile touched Bai Ru’s lips. "Don't worry, he's not in critical danger. Let's talk after you've recovered a bit more, alright?" Her gentle words and comforting smile instantly eased Kuang Feifan’s tension. The anxiety and fear from his memories vanished without a trace, and a sudden, massive wave of fatigue washed over him, quickly pulling him back into sleep.

Bai Ru watched Kuang Feifan drift off, a trace of worry crossing her eyes. His current state was not suitable for extensive questioning. Meanwhile, upstairs in the intensive care unit, He Shaoqing remained unconscious. When Bai Ru arrived, He Shaoqing had just stopped breathing. If she had been a moment later, the attending physician would likely have pronounced the time of death. It was only after Bai Ru managed to stabilize He Shaoqing's life support, followed by detoxifying and healing him, that she managed to pull him back from the very threshold of death. However, his consciousness had not returned. According to the hospital, the lack of oxygen after his heart stopped caused a deep coma, and whether he would wake, or when, was entirely uncertain, largely dependent on the patient’s will.

Bai Ru sighed softly and turned to leave the room. Not far from the door, near a window, a man in a leather jacket turned to look at her. Bai Ru shook her head slightly. The man shrugged, his gaze returning to the outside world.

Bai Ru arrived in front of Room 13, Fourth Floor ICU. Seeing her approach, the two men sitting by the door stood up. The larger of the two greeted her: "Doctor Bai, you're here."

Bai Ru nodded with a smile. "I just came to check on He Shaoqing. You two must be tired; why don't you go downstairs for a drink?"

The large man shook his head. "We're fine. You go ahead."

Bai Ru responded with an "Mm," not wanting to interfere too much with the Major Crimes Unit officers stationed to guard He Shaoqing. Since the incident, the MCU had classified the case as "Serious Obstruction of Official Duty," and Bai Ru suspected that if "Attacking a Police Officer" were an explicit charge in the penal code, they would have used that instead.

Since both He Shaoqing and Kuang Feifan remained unconscious and could not give statements, and the investigation at the scene had failed to identify the perpetrators, the MCU stationed guards at the hospital—both to wait for their statements and because they couldn't rule out the possibility of a second attack. Posting guards also served as protection.

But was this protection really effective? Bai Ru felt far from certain.

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