Chapter 49 Midnight Three Watches

  When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the white ceiling. As I turned my head, I saw a butt swaying back and forth in front of me. I was stunned for a moment before realizing it was probably a nurse's uniform. On the bed next to mine lay Zhang Jianhua, who seemed to be in better spirits than me, at least well enough to exchange jokes with the nurse. I couldn't remember how I got there, but as I thought back to what happened before I passed out, I suddenly felt anxious. What about San Shi's coffin? And Master? Where was Mao Zhenren?

  Struggling to sit up, I startled the nurse beside me, who didn't even bother to give Zhang Jianhua an injection anymore, and hurried over to press me down, scolding me with a worried face: "What are you doing? You're receiving an IV and can't move around!"

  I didn't have the mood to bother with the nurse, I just pulled myself up with difficulty, but my eyes were fixed on Zhang Jianhua: "Zhang, how is my master?"

  "It's okay, the old man has gone to the toilet and will be back soon. You've just finished giving blood and can't move around." Zhang Jianhua saw that I was about to get up and was also startled, hurriedly explaining to me. I heard that Master is fine, so I lay back on the bed again, which made the nurse stare at me with wide eyes.

  As expected, Master came back after a while. Although he looked a bit down, he should be fine.Sure enough, after a while, the master returned, although he looked somewhat dispirited, but he seemed to be all right. Seeing him made me feel at ease too. I lay in bed and forced a smile: "Master, as long as you're okay, that's what matters. I was worried sick about you. By the way, where is Mao Zhenren?"

  Master kept a straight face and didn't answer me, only letting out a deep hum: "Alright, you don't need to worry about me, just worry about yourself instead. You little scamp can't even let me save some energy, taking you on as my apprentice has shortened my lifespan by at least ten years, huff——"

  I could tell that Master was clearly unwilling to mention Mao Zhenren, and I didn't know what kind of trouble had arisen between them again. But I still subconsciously avoided the topic, yet couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Master, how's that thing going?"

  Master, of course, knew what I was asking about the three corpses carrying a coffin. However, with nurses around, he couldn't speak clearly and had to be evasive about some things. Our strange conversation made the nurse look puzzled, and her gaze at us was different. After hastily giving Zhang Jianhua an injection, she left. But once she was gone, we could speak freely again. Master let out a sigh: "I'm not very clear either, but when I was struck by lightning, I retreated back to the water pool and didn't make another move. I suppose it was injured and stopped moving."

  Mentioning Tian Lei, I suddenly stiffened, and suddenly thought of something. I patted my chest and wondered where the Bagua mirror had gone. I recalled the strange phenomenon of the Bagua mirror before I fainted, furrowed my brow, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Master, where is my Bagua mirror?"

  As soon as the Bagua mirror was mentioned, Master's face turned gloomy, and he let out a grunt. He plopped down beside me: "It was taken away by Mao Zhenren. I yelled at him to stop, but he didn't. Hmph - kid, tell me the truth, did the Bagua mirror cause that heavenly thunder? What exactly happened?"

  Ma Zhenren was taken away, and I felt a little entangled in my heart, as if something was not quite right. However, I didn't think much about it, but carefully told Master all the circumstances that I remembered. Listening to me, Master also furrowed his brow, seemingly feeling that something was not quite right. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly thought of something and involuntarily exclaimed: "It's the Soul-Stealing Magic!"

  "Absorbing Essence Magic?" I responded with a sound, but had never heard of it before. What is this Absorbing Essence Magic? However, my confusion caused Master to sigh: "Absorbing Essence Magic is said to be the method of the Demon God, and also the Demon God's evil technique. It can absorb other people's essence to strengthen one's own power, but this evil technique has never been heard of being able to attract heavenly thunder... or maybe it's combined with the Taoist Heavenly Thunder Technique."

  I still looked puzzled, Master hesitated for a while, but suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed to Zhang Jianhua's ear, only then did he nod solemnly and say: "Kid, Master may not like Chen Xiangming, but can't help but admit that Chen Xiangming is a genius. Originally, Chen Xiangming was just an outer sect disciple, and the sect's elder recognized that this person was not suitable for cultivating Taoism, because he couldn't condense the golden elixir, so he was only allowed to do some external things, even intentionally letting him take his brother's place as the outer sect's leader. However, this person refused, left Yongle Palace at 21 years old, and disappeared for seven years. After returning, he began to research magic in seclusion, and indeed, this person's talent was outstanding. Although he couldn't cultivate Taoism himself, he had thoroughly studied the techniques of talismans, alchemy, summoning spirits, and even various side doors and left paths. If it were just these, few people in the world could match him. Not only that, but this person also combined these techniques together, later even incorporating some witchcraft, ghost magic, and demon magic into his own unique method, stunning the world for a time. Many disciples from other sects came to pay their respects, allowing the Quanzhen Sect's reputation to rise by one level. It can be said that there was no precedent before him, nor will there be anyone after him. Moreover, this person is well-versed in alchemy, equipment refinement, and talismanic magic, and your Bagua mirror is Chen Xiangming's treasured artifact.

  I didn't expect Chen Yingming to be so formidable, but how did he get expelled from the sect? Logically speaking, having such a disciple should be treasured by any sect, but I didn't dare ask about it. Master doesn't want to mention it, that's a taboo. I won't touch Master's bottom line for now. After a moment of silence, I suddenly said, "Master, we should get the Bagua Mirror back then. I always feel that the Bagua Mirror is not that simple, maybe there are secrets we don't know about. This thing belongs to our Quanzhen Sect after all."

  "It's not that easy, Mao Zhenren is the Supreme Elder of Maoshan, even if we go to Maoshan to ask for it, it's not necessarily possible to see Mao Zhenren. Don't worry about this matter anymore, I've already contacted your several Shibo and your Shishu Zu, believe that it will arrive soon. You can rest in the hospital for a few days with peace of mind, leave the rest to us. As long as you don't get into trouble, it's letting Shifu feel at ease. When your Shishu Zu arrives, we'll think of a way to deal with San Shi Gangguan, as for Bagua Mirror, let your Shishu Zu go ask for it." Shifu shook his head and couldn't help but sigh, looking quite worried.

  Next, I could only lie in the hospital. In fact, except for me, Zhang Jianchen and the other three were not seriously injured, just a bit weak, and after resting for half a day, they would be fine. Zhang Jianchen had to go to work tomorrow, so he insisted on leaving first. Sun Chuanming was worried about his parents and children, so he said goodbye and left. Only Zhang Jianhua was fine, so he called home and stayed behind to take care of me. The master returned to the hotel to wait for Master Shu and others who were about to arrive.

  Lying in bed with nothing to do, watching TV for a while was also boring, so I fell asleep drowsily and slept until midnight. I was woken up by the urge to urinate, after all, I had infused several bottles of water. However, my whole body was weak, and I barely had the energy to sit up after taking a light breath. I looked at Zhang Jianhua beside me, who was sleeping soundly, snoring loudly. I called out to him several times, but he didn't respond, just slept heavily, leaving me shaking my head in frustration. I struggled to get up and prepare to go to the bathroom, but as the saying goes, "when you're unlucky, even drinking a sip of cold water can choke you." As I pushed the door, I found that the hospital room door couldn't be opened, probably due to a problem with the lock. It was really frustrating, so I could only persist and go out to use the bathroom.

  It's already midnight now, and the hospital corridor is quiet, with only a few family members of patients sleeping on chairs in the corridor. When I walked by, no one even noticed me. To be honest, every time I come to the hospital, I feel that it has a somewhat eerie and ghostly atmosphere. Since I was young, I have never liked coming here.

  The toilet is at the other end, about 200 meters away from my ward. I'm feeling weak and can only walk slowly while leaning against the wall. Luckily, I'm in good physical condition; otherwise, someone else would not be able to get out of bed. My mind is racing with thoughts, but I couldn't help shivering - why is the air conditioning in the hospital set so low?

  It was a struggle to make it to the bathroom, but I finally made it, panting and out of breath. After relieving myself, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Just as I was about to pull up my pants, I suddenly heard a woman's voice coming from the sink area outside: "Come with me, come..."

  This voice made me shudder, and I couldn't help but think of those actors in Hong Kong comedy movies who make such cheesy moves. And yet, there are actually people who talk like this. But it has nothing to do with me, so I pulled up my pants and slowly walked out. Just then, two women came out of the bathroom, one wearing a patient's gown and the other wearing a nurse's uniform. Is that really necessary? Women talking to each other can be so cheesy too, making people get goosebumps. Could they be lesbians or something?

  I was amused by my own absurd thoughts, and I realized that I had become a bit neurotic. I shook my head and continued walking out, but except for the bathroom, when I saw two women in the corridor, I suddenly felt something was off. The female patient would walk and stop, and every time she stopped, the nurse would pull her hand and call out to her in a voice that sent shivers down my spine. What kind of game were they playing?

  I shook my head, and a wave of drowsiness washed over me. I couldn't help but let out a yawn, and then I didn't want to bother with all these trivial matters anymore. So, I slowly made my way back to my hospital room. However, the female patient walked in a stop-and-go manner, and was actually slower than me. Before long, we reached the corner, and I caught up with her. Unconsciously, I glanced at the female patient and the nurse, only to find that both women were quite young, probably just a few years older than me. Of course, I didn't have any other thoughts; it was just an unconscious glance. But then I discovered something strange - the female patient looked very bewildered, with a somewhat silly expression on her face, as if she might be mentally challenged. On the other hand, the nurse seemed rather unusual, with a smile that was like a flower. When I looked over at them, the nurse also turned to me, and her eyes seemed to be full of temptation, which was in stark contrast to the female patient's silly expression.