The next morning, a gentle ray of sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains into the dimly lit room.
Qin Chuan groggily opened his eyes and subconsciously tried to get up, but he realized that he was entangled in something soft, and he suddenly woke with a start.
Looking down, he saw it was the woman from the Night Color Bar he rescued last night, now unclothed, with a pair of jade arms tightly wrapped around his waist and a long jade leg still on top of him.
Staring at that stunning face that could enchant countless men, Qin Chuan was momentarily transfixed. Under the morning sun's golden rays, the woman before him was like a fairy from the heavens, indescribably beautiful.
When Qin Chuan's peripheral vision caught a patch of dried blood on the sheets, his facial expression immediately stiffened.
Suddenly, Xiao Mengyi opened her hazy eyes, and in the instant their gazes met, it was as if the whole world fell silent.
After a few short seconds of eye contact, Xiao Mengyi recalled everything that happened last night and abruptly pushed Qin Chuan away. She grabbed the bed sheet and covered her graceful body.
Qin Chuan's face flushed red. He looked down and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I..."
"It has nothing to do with you!"
Before he could finish, Xiao Mengyi coldly interrupted him.
It seemed she thought of something else. She stood up, letting the bed sheet fall, and walked naked to the bathroom under Qin Chuan's stunned gaze.
It wasn't until the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom that Qin Chuan regained his senses, his face hot with embarrassment.
Just now, he had imagined many possible reactions from Xiao Mengyi upon waking up, but he had not anticipated that she would be so composed.
Suddenly, an extremely faint sobbing sound came from the bathroom, and Qin Chuan realized that Xiao Mengyi's heart was not as impervious as it appeared.
At that moment, Qin Chuan's guilt deepened.
Before long, the sound of water stopped, and Xiao Mengyi, now dressed, made her entrance. Her damp hair casually draped over her shoulders, and without a touch of makeup, she seemed even more enchanting.
The dressed Xiao Mengyi took out a bank card and handed it to Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan frowned and asked, "What does this mean?"
Xiao Mengyi said coldly, "There's a hundred thousand in this card—consider it last night's compensation, and the PIN is six sixes!"
Last night's compensation?
Just as Qin Chuan was about to return the card, hearing how much it contained, he froze.
He wanted to give the card back, but if he couldn't pay off the debt today, the hospital would stop his sister's treatment.
As for the hundred thousand yuan, he could consider it a loan from this woman, intending to repay her double in the future.
However, this money would barely be enough to cover the hospital's debts.
Thinking of the substantial medical expenses his sister would need later on, the bitterness on Qin Chuan's face grew heavier as he muttered to himself, "A hundred thousand, that's not enough!"
Xiao Mengyi, who was about to leave, happened to hear this sentence. Her favorable impression of Qin Chuan vanished instantly.
Disappointed, she glared at Qin Chuan and said, "So greedy. The money is enough to compensate for your kindness last night!"
"Let's write off our debts and grudges with this, and from now on, let's never meet again!"
After finishing, she left angrily.
"Bang!"
It wasn't until the sound of the door slamming heavily that Qin Chuan realized Xiao Mengyi had misunderstood him, and he became anxious, quickly shouting, "Wait!"
By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, Xiao Mengyi had already left in a taxi.
Qin Chuan looked crestfallen, watching the taxi disappear into the distance, feeling hollow inside, as if he had lost something precious.
Thinking of his sister in the hospital waiting for the money to save her life, Qin Chuan clenched the bank card in his hand, his eyes full of determined resolve as he said to himself, "One day, I will find you, and repay you double for what I owe!"
He immediately rushed to the hospital and transferred the entire hundred thousand from the card into his sister's account.
A smile appeared on his face, and he sighed with relief, "With this money, my sister can continue her treatment."
Meanwhile, in a speeding taxi, Xiao Mengyi's cell phone suddenly rang with a message notification.
After reading the message about the bank card charges, the disappointment on her face intensified as she muttered, "Did they rush to withdraw the money from my card because they were afraid I would change my mind?"
It wasn't the money she cared about, but rather the feeling that she had misjudged someone and even gave her body to Qin Chuan, making her feel wronged inside.
Jiangcheng City, Ren Kang Hospital.
Having paid off the overdue fees, Qin Chuan felt a sharp reduction in pressure. Yet, when he thought of his sister's dire medical condition, his heart sank again.
"Qin Chuan!"
Just as Qin Chuan stepped out of the elevator, he saw his sister's attending doctor, Doctor Qi, looking at him as if he had seen a ghost.
Qin Chuan hurried forward, sincerely saying, "Doctor Qi, I've just settled the arrears. I'm counting on you for my sister's treatment going forward!"
Doctor Qi's complexion was very unsightly, caught in a moment as if he wanted to say something but stopped short.
Qin Chuan anxiously added, "Doctor Qi, are you worried about the subsequent treatment costs? Don't worry, I will definitely raise the money as soon as possible and ensure I won't cause you any more difficulties."
Doctor Qi let out a sigh and, with a complex look at Qin Chuan, said, "Your sister, she's gone."
Qin Chuan's expression froze instantly. He stepped forward abruptly, grabbed Doctor Qi's shoulders with both hands, and asked with a trembling voice, "Doctor Qi, what are you saying?"
As Qin Nian's primary physician, Doctor Qi was very familiar with Qin Chuan's family circumstances. He had great sympathy for this unfortunate family.
But the hospital isn't a charity, and despite his sympathy, he could not offer any real help.
Doctor Qi's face was full of reluctance, yet he still had to speak, "Half an hour ago, your sister's condition suddenly worsened. I couldn't reach you, so I contacted your fiancée. She told me that you suffered a sudden illness last night and had passed away. She also said that she was giving up on the treatment for your sister."
"Although we tried to resuscitate your sister, it was beyond our ability. Please accept my condolences!"
Upon hearing Doctor Qi's words, Qin Chuan pushed him away and dashed toward his sister's ward.
Inside the ward, a nurse was packing up the resuscitation equipment, and on the bed, there lay a person covered with a white cloth.
"No! It can't be Nian Nian!"
Qin Chuan felt as though his world had collapsed. He staggered to the bedside and, with trembling hands, lifted a corner of the white cloth to reveal a familiar face.
Boom!
At that moment, Qin Chuan felt his world shatter completely, tears streaming down his face like a breached dam.
"Slap slap slap!"
He smacked himself across the face several times, losing complete control of his emotions. He knelt beside his sister's bed, sobbing uncontrollably, "It's all my fault for being blind, not seeing Liu Fei for the vile person she is. Otherwise, you wouldn't have lost your life."
"Nian Nian, brother is so sorry, it's all my fault!"
Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through Qin Chuan's head.
The scenes from his dream resurfaced in his mind after Wang Song had knocked him out last night.
This time, a vision of an ancient book appeared in his mind. Although the title on the cover was barely discernible, the harder he tried to see it, the more intense the tearing sensation in his head became.
"The Ancient Medical Treasure!"
Finally, he managed to make out those four characters.
Below the title, there was a line of smaller text: "Those who inherit my legacy can resurrect the dead and mend flesh and bone."
The excruciating headache lasted only three minutes, and when it subsided, Qin Chuan's mind was filled with a number of methods to save his sister.
Thinking back to the dreamlike memories from last night, the incident at the Night Color Bar, and the images that had just appeared in his mind.
Qin Chuan was completely stunned. Could it be that everything in the dream was real?
Last night at the Night Color Bar, when he faced a dozen thugs with Xiao Mengyi, memories of the Martial Path surfaced in his mind, and then, with just one move, he subdued everyone present.
And just now, he had a rush of medical knowledge in his mind that could cure his sister.
Could it be...
At this thought, Qin Chuan suddenly extended his five fingers and placed them on Qin Nian's wrist.