Chapter Ninety-Five: No Illness

It was several hours later when Zhang Can finally woke. Liu Xiaoqin and Zhang Hua had been pounding on the door to no avail. The two of them, together with Liu Dongsheng, had given no response at all. After hammering on the door for quite some time and still hearing nothing, Zhang Hua went to fetch the key and opened it. The moment the door swung open, both of them were taken aback.

Zhang Can was actually slumped beside Liu Dongsheng’s body, fast asleep. It took calling him for a long while before he stirred. When he woke, he still looked dazed and heavy-eyed, utterly exhausted, as though he had just finished some backbreaking labor. In a fog, he asked, “What is it? I haven’t slept enough yet. Don’t wake me. It isn’t even light outside!”

In fact, night had already fallen. Zhang Can had said that only because, in his half-asleep state, he instinctively felt that it must still be before dawn. He had not the slightest idea that he had collapsed from exhaustion after treating Liu Dongsheng’s illness.

Dinner had been prepared. Zhang Can went into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, and only then did his mind clear somewhat. Little by little, he recalled what had happened earlier. His whole body felt weak and limp, sore and drained, with no strength left in it. It seemed his spiritual energy had been consumed far too heavily. He did not know what had become of the ailment inside Liu Dongsheng’s body. He guessed there could not have been any great improvement, because Zhang Can could feel that the effect had not been especially strong. Perhaps it was because uremia was a terminal illness, a severe and difficult condition. Unlike ordinary minor ailments, where his inner spiritual energy seemed to be swallowed up in an instant, a major illness was clearly not so easy. This time the loss had been so severe that he reckoned he would need to sleep for an entire day, perhaps even longer, before recovering.

Although Zhang Can had been awakened, Liu Dongsheng could not be roused. Liu Xiaoqin, her sister, and their mother were all somewhat alarmed, because Liu Dongsheng’s condition was far too abnormal. His complexion was rosy, his breathing rough, and the air he exhaled was scorching hot, as if he were running a fever. Yet when they touched his forehead, it did not feel particularly hot at all. It was only his breath that felt burning.

Liu Dongsheng’s condition frightened the three women. They had lost all appetite for dinner and could not care about anyone else. In truth, there was no one else to worry about anyway. Only one neighbor, Su Xue, was there, and she had already found the whole thing tedious and gone back long ago. That left Li Yong alone, wandering through Zhang Can’s rooms and looking around. The more he looked, the more certain he became that Zhang Can was his savior, his lifeline. He had to cling to Zhang Can tightly. What was the point of working at the supermarket anymore? His brother-in-law’s financial situation was so good that even if he stayed here eating and drinking every day, it would only mean one extra pair of chopsticks. Besides, given their relationship, Zhang Can surely would not mind.

A family, each with different thoughts. As Liu Xiaoqin and her mother grew anxious, Zhang Can also became anxious. But his body was too exhausted, and for the moment he could not summon enough spiritual energy to look inside and examine things closely. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Li Yong, help me carry Uncle Liu downstairs. I’ll drive him to the hospital…” Then he turned to Liu Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaoli and said, “Xiaoqin, you and your sister should come with us to keep an eye on things. Zhang Hua, stay home with Auntie. We’ll go to the hospital and have him checked out.”

Li Yong was stunned. Hearing Zhang Can say he would drive, he assumed he meant they would take a car there. This was definitely the time to show some initiative. Since he no longer had to worry about money, he readily nodded and agreed, and together with Zhang Can carried Liu Dongsheng downstairs in the elevator.

Zhang Can was simply too tired and had no strength, so most of the carrying was done by Li Yong. When they reached the entrance of the building, Zhang Can told them to wait while he went to the parking lot to get the car.

Only Liu Xiaoqin knew that Zhang Can had a car, but she had not thought of that at all. She only looked anxiously toward the entrance to the underground garage.

Before long, Zhang Can drove out in a white BMW 5 and parked it in front of them. Liu Xiaoqin hurriedly opened the rear door and said to Li Yong, “Carry my dad into the car. Be careful not to bump him!”

Li Yong froze. He had never imagined that Zhang Can would bring out a BMW 5. He had assumed Zhang Can would go outside and hail a taxi. Liu Xiaoli naturally had not expected it either.

A BMW 5 cost six or seven hundred thousand yuan. It seemed Zhang Can’s real means were probably deeper than they had thought, perhaps far more than that.

Li Yong carried Liu Dongsheng into the car and laid him down, then sat down himself, panting, and shut the door. Liu Xiaoli got in from the other side and sat beside her father, while Liu Xiaoqin, without the slightest hesitation, took the seat next to Zhang Can. Zhang Can said nothing more and immediately drove off toward the hospital.

The BMW was very new, almost as good as new, easily telling anyone it was a fresh purchase. Judging by Zhang Can’s smooth, practiced movements, it was obvious he was not showing off for their benefit. He was truly anxious, yet his actions remained calm and natural.

Because it was a BMW and because he had money, Liu Xiaoli looked at Zhang Can more and more, and the sharper the feeling in her heart became, like a knife twisting. Why? Why had this man become her younger sister’s husband?

How could Zhang Can possibly know the thoughts swirling in Liu Xiaoli’s or Li Yong’s minds? He only focused on driving. He chose the nearest hospital, the City Second Hospital. Once they reached the parking lot, he stopped the car and hurriedly jumped out, calling, “Quick… hurry!”

Li Yong hurriedly got out too and crouched beside the car door. On the other side, Liu Xiaoli helped her father toward Li Yong’s back, but her strength was too small and she could not manage it. Zhang Can hurriedly said from the door, “Get down. Let me do it!”

Though his body felt weak and soft, he was still a man after all. Zhang Can was far stronger than Liu Xiaoli, and Liu Dongsheng, having long been confined to bed, had already withered down to barely over eighty pounds. He was not heavy. Zhang Can did not need much effort to lift and settle him onto Li Yong’s back.

The four of them hurried into the hospital lobby, where Liu Xiaoli and Liu Xiaoqin went to register while Zhang Can and Li Yong carried Liu Dongsheng to the emergency room. Emergency patients could be seen before registration, as long as the deposit was paid first.

The doctor in the emergency room used a small flashlight to pry open Liu Dongsheng’s eyelids, listened to his heartbeat, checked his temperature, and then frowned in thought before asking Zhang Can, “Has the patient had any illness before?”

Zhang Can nodded. “Yes. Uremia, in the middle to late stage. This time we came to Jincheng for a diagnosis and then surgery.”

The doctor’s brows furrowed even tighter. If it was middle- or late-stage uremia, then any surgery would certainly involve a kidney transplant and blood circulation support. That was major surgery. Preoperative observation and diagnosis would take a long time, and expert consultation would be required. It absolutely could not be done casually. But the condition he had just examined was very strange indeed.

The doctor was clearly somewhat uncertain. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I should examine the patient more thoroughly first. We need a full set of tests, color ultrasound and dialysis screening, and it would be best to do a blood test as well. Only after checking everything can I make a decision.”

If Zhang Can had not mentioned the illness, the doctor would already have stated his diagnosis. But Zhang Can’s words had frightened him, and he no longer dared to say what he had been about to say. He decided to perform a comprehensive examination before making any judgment.

By then, Liu Xiaoli and Liu Xiaoqin had also arrived. Both sisters were panting from exertion.

After blood was drawn, tested, and dialysis screening was done, Liu Dongsheng still did not wake. This made Liu Xiaoqin, her sister, and Zhang Can even more worried.

Only Li Yong remained unconcerned. He was so active for two reasons. First, because of Zhang Can, he wanted to curry favor and maintain a good relationship with him. Second, because of Liu Xiaoli. If he failed to get on good terms with her at this moment, then he would have no reason to keep hanging around Zhang Can. Brother-in-law through marriage, sister-in-law by marriage there was always a layer of kinship there. If Liu Xiaoli were set aside, then Zhang Can and he would have practically no connection at all.

After the color ultrasound and screening were completed, the examining doctor explained to Zhang Can and the sisters, “You are his relatives, yes?”

“Yes, yes!” Liu Xiaoqin’s face was pale, and she answered with a slight tremor. “Doctor, has my father’s illness… flared up early?”

“Illness?” The doctor snorted. “Did I say it was an illness? Look at you children. Has the old man taken some sedative or sleeping pills or something? He’s asleep. What illness are you talking about?”

Zhang Can and the sisters all froze. Especially Liu Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaoli, who asked almost in unison, “Asleep?”

After a pause, Liu Xiaoqin asked again in a trembling voice, “Then, doctor, hasn’t my father’s uremia acted up?”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re all talking about!” The doctor was visibly annoyed. If Liu Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaoli had not been so beautiful, he would almost certainly have snapped at them.

“There isn’t a single thing wrong with him anywhere. If I had to say there was a problem, it’s that he seems undernourished and physically weak. And you’re still going on about uremia? It’s absurd. Do you really want your father to die that badly?”

At last the doctor said, irritated, “Uremia? How can you even say that? His kidneys are perfectly fine, only slightly shrunken, which naturally comes from lack of nutrition. Young people, don’t be so wrapped up in romance and yourselves. You need to take better care of your parents. Without them, where would you be?”

Liu Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaoli were stunned on the spot. Liu Xiaoli was somewhat better, but Liu Xiaoqin in particular had personally cared for her father’s treatment at home, selling off all the family property to pay for it. After so many rounds of consultation and treatment, how could she not know the truth?

Yet this doctor was saying her father had no illness and that his kidneys were perfectly fine. Was that not just talking nonsense? Of course she did not want her father to be ill. Sometimes she had even cried herself awake from dreams, wishing heaven would let her believe it had all been a dream, that she could wake up and everything would be all right. But could that really be a dream?

Only Zhang Can stood there in a daze. In his heart, he was thinking that when he had treated Liu Dongsheng with spiritual energy, he had clearly felt the energy drain heavily from him, and then he had collapsed. While unconscious, he had thought the treatment had been far too difficult, so there was no way he could have cured uremia. Yet now that the doctor was saying this, he began to wonder whether he had already cured Liu Dongsheng’s uremia after all.

A color ultrasound and dialysis screening alone could not truly prove that Liu Dongsheng was well again, but Zhang Can’s heart was beginning to quicken. Could it be that after these strange encounters, and after the spiritual energy of Su Xue’s Buddhist beads had merged with his own black-and-white vision, his ability had mutated? Could it be that he could now even treat terminal illness?

If he could cure terminal diseases, even if he could not cure anything else and could only cure uremia, that would still be an immense fortune. Zhang Can’s first thought was that his clairvoyant vision could bring him wealth, but the power to heal could bring him wealth as well. There was, however, one crucial point that had to be observed: secrecy. No one could be told. Even if he wanted to make money, he would have to do it only under conditions of absolute safety and absolute secrecy before he could use his ability.

Liu Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaoli were both stunned. Whatever the doctor said afterward, they no longer heard clearly, because they could not believe it. After all, no matter how he put it, the doctor was simply saying that their father, Liu Dongsheng, was not ill.

Liu Xiaoqin even came to believe that this doctor knew nothing about medicine at all. He only knew how to operate the dialysis machine, and perhaps he could not even explain the most basic dialysis images. Otherwise he would never have said such things to them.

After explaining at length, the doctor printed out the images on the screen, signed them, and handed them to Liu Xiaoqin.

Coincidentally, at that exact moment, Liu Dongsheng yawned and woke up.

“Dad…” Liu Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaoli hurried to either side of him, calling out in trembling voices, “Dad, are you all right? Are you feeling okay?”

Liu Dongsheng stretched lazily. As he extended his arms, there came a series of cracking sounds from his arms and waist, like popping beans. It was the explosive resonance of his meridians opening, just like the cracking of knuckles in ordinary people.

“Mm, this feels so good!” He moved his body again, then sat up and tested himself. In astonishment, he said, “How strange. Why does my body feel so relaxed? Could it be… could it be… a burst of energy before the end?”

Coming from a teacher’s background, Liu Dongsheng was no stranger to such phrases. He had long prepared himself mentally for whatever his illness might bring. Since he had fallen ill and taken to bed, he had never once felt as relaxed as he did now. Needless to say, his body functions must have finally been running out, and this was the last moment of ease before death.

“The whole family has lost its mind…”

The doctor said irritably, “Fine, fine. The daughters insist their father is sick, that he has a terminal case of uremia, and this old man himself is actually hoping to die, talking about some last burst of vitality before the end. I think you’ve all come to the wrong place. You should be at a psychiatric hospital!”

“What are you saying?” Liu Xiaoli immediately flew into a rage. What kind of doctor talked like that?

But Zhang Can now understood what was going on. He quickly urged the sisters, “Forget it, forget it. Let’s go see the test results first. Those were done by the machines. They wouldn’t lie!”