"What brings you here, Old man Xie?"
Lan Xiang's attitude was imposing, befitting that of the master of this house.
Xie Gang sneered. "Oho, is that how a youngster treats me now?"
"I beg your pardon, but the way you let yourself in was quite... unruly." Lan Xiang conducted himself properly in front of Xie Gang.
"Sooner or later, you were going to let me in. I just hastened the process! It was hot out there, after all.
"State your business." Lan Xiang cut off what looked like a start to a long tirade.
"...My business here is simple." Xie Gang's eyes turned cold. He took off his sunglasses and stood up, approaching the side where both Lan Xiang and Xie Jian were sitting.
Lan Xiang felt a shiver run through his back.
"...To see my baby!" Xie Gang's imposing aura suddenly disappeared, hugging Xie Jian who was as dumbstruck as Lan Xiang.
This 180° change on attitude was so intense!
"Why did you run away, my dear granddaughter? Has your father bullied you? Hah?"
"Gramps..." Xie Jian burst into tears. It seemed that her grandfather still cared about her!
Lan Xiang had no business in their matter, so he didn't interfere. He let out a wry smile while being left out on the side.
"Yes, gramps. Dad is bullying me, forcing me to get engaged!"
"Eh?" Xie Gang looked at Lan Xiang. "Didn't he force you to be engaged with him as well?"
"Xiang is different! I love him..." Her voice became tiny as she finished her sentence.
Lan Xiang smiled, pleased with her declaration.
"But you hated him at the start, right? What makes you think you won't grow to love your new partner then?"
"I don't want to grow to love anyone else! I already have Xiang. Besides, I didn't hate him, I just found him annoying at the time."
Lan Xiang spat out his water, unaware that she thought of him like that back then.
"But dad is telling me to marry Ning Luoxue! That gross playboy!"
Xie Gang was not aware of the current affairs in the Xie family, since he did not want to be informed of it. As such, his granddaughter's predicament was all new to him.
"Xiang's attitude back then can still be excused because we were children. But Ning Luoxue is still doing these gross things even though he's already 25!"
Xie Gang clasped his wooden cane fiercely. "This rascal son of mine! Why does he want to get my precious baby married to someone like him?!"
"It's probably because... of Xiang's bad reputation and Ning Luoxue's good reputation."
"Even though I loathe him, I can't deny the fact that he's one of the most talented in our generation."
Xie Gang nodded his head. "With your heaven-sent talents, in theory, you'd make a good couple. But this bastard is too lascivious!"
Xie Jian wanted to correct her grandfather. The main reason for her not wanting to marry Ning Luoxue was not because he always played around, it was because she didn't want to be separated from Lan Xiang in the first place.
Lan Xiang stood up and prepared to leave. He couldn't stand being talked about like he wasn't there, so he decided that he wouldn't be there."Have fun talking, you two."
"Eh?" Xie Jian only just remembered that Lan Xiang was there. "Wait!"
Just as she grabbed ahold of his hands, Xie Gang suddenly coughed violently. He pounded his chest, but it didn't seem to work.
Lan Xiang stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at Xie Gang. The old man covered his mouth with his hand, but there was still blood leaking out.
Soon after, the old man passed out. The last thing he could sense was Xie Jian's worried scream of "Grandpa!" while she ran towards him.
.....
In a guest room.
Xie Gang lied on the bed unconscious, while Xie Jian was in tears as the physician they had called over began to diagnose the old man.
Lan Xiang wrapped his arms around her, giving her a sense of comfort. But she was still anxious about her grandfather's condition. She knew long ago that he had a terrible illness, but she didn't know which one specifically.
The physician stood up as he grabbed a handkerchief and wiped sweat off his forehead.
"His diagnosis... He has an activated Qi Destruction Disease."
"Activated QDD?" Xie Jian turned pale as she heard it.
"What's that?" Lan Xiang knew of all kinds of illnesses from his past life but he had never heard of QDD, probably because there was no cultivation in the other world.
"QDD is when the qi inside your body runs rampant, causing damage to the nerves and meridians inside. Normally, this is dormant and only causes minor health issues, but now that it's activated, the health conditions of the patient will rapidly worsen until death."
"What's the treatment?" Lan Xiang was also worried. He knew what it was like to lose a beloved family member, not only because he lost his mother in this life, but technically speaking, he also lost contact with his family in the other world. Forever. To Lan Xiang, it was akin to them dying.
"I'm afraid that even the top physicians can't treat this illness, only prolong it." The physician shook his head.
"Why? How does the treatment work?"
"In theory, an activated QDD can be treated by blocking the pathways for a prolonged period of time. The rampant qi can then be extracted from the body.
"But that is in theory only. Not to mention that extracting the rampant qi is dangerous as it might enter your body instead, even the task of locating the meridian pathways is extremely hard! We cannot see through the body after all. It's impossible to find the affected pathways even with the technology we have today."
"Cannot see through the body...?" Lan Xiang turned silent.
Xie Jian talked in his stead. "How long can you prolong it, doctor?"
"I, I cannot prolong it. I can use needles, but not to the precision which this procedure asks of me."
"Needles?" Lan Xiang continued muttering.
"Probably only the best physicians such as Doctor Guo or Doctor Ye can do anything about this now."
"Doctor Guo? He's in the capital!" Xie Jian regained her hope. Before she escaped, she overheard her father discussing with Doctor Guo.
"How long is the fastest flight to the capital?"
The physician was flustered. Why was she asking him about flights?
"The fastest flight would take a day...
"Pardon me miss, but in the condition the patient is in now, he needs treatment ASAP, else he wouldn't even last for an hour, let alone a day."
"What...?" Xie Jian's face drained of color. It was then that Xie Gang woke up.
He coughed himself to consciousness.
"G, grandpa!" Xie Jian hurriedly ran to his side.
Xie Gang lost his spunk from earlier and was now a weak old man. He gently placed his hand on Xie Jian's head and stroked her hair. "Ah, my precious granddaughter. It delights me to see how much you worry about me."
"Grandpa..."
"But you shouldn't worry that much. Look, your forehead is full of crinkles."
Xie Gang brushed Xie Jian's hear upwards, to get a good look at her forehead.
"Open the curtain for me, will ya?"
Xie Jian nodded as she pulled the curtain to the sides. The sun was only barely rising. She came back to his side.
"Ah, what a beautiful sunrise. Almost as beautiful as you, Little Jian! Hehe."
"I, I don't want to see you go, grandpa... Why did you come here? Was it because of me?" Xie Jian couldn't pay attention to his little jokes anymore.
Xie Gang shook his head. "Don't think that way. I came here with the knowledge that my illness might spike. It's not your fault."
"B, but, if I didn't run away to this countryside, you wouldn't have chased after me, and you would still be at the capital, being treated by Doctor Guo." Xie Jian started sniffling.
"Silly girl. I didn't want to be treated by Doctor Guo anyway... He prolongs my life for, what, an extra month? He comes back monthly and takes care of me like some kind of commuter wife! How long have I waited for the cure, how long shall I wait...?"
Xie Jian stayed silent.
"Rather than waiting for the cure that will never come, I... just want to rest."
Xie Jian couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She bawled like a little kid.
After a while, Xie Jian felt a pat on her back.
"You should stop crying now. I don't want my last moments to be seeing your sad face, you know?"
"Grandpa..." Xie Jian went quiet. "You should have switched doctors, that way you'll have two wives!"
The two laughed as the rays of the sun shined on their faces.