Chapter 13: Chapter 12: I’m Turning Into a... Pfft! I Mean, Sherlock Holmes
An air of madness still filled the room. Gazing at his father, restrained on the bed, he let out a sigh.
’It’s a long shot, but I have to try.’
’Wuxia novels always talk about using Inner Strength to heal. I wonder if it’ll work for me.’
Of course, He Xiaotian was only trying it out to see what would happen.
The whole situation was bizarre, and besides, what his dad had wasn’t an internal injury.
’If this doesn’t work, my only option is to send him to the hospital, assuming they have a solution.’
’I can’t delay Dad’s treatment just for a paper mill, can I?’
’If the factory is gone, so be it. Life will just be a little harder from now on, that’s all.’
’But if a person is gone, then you’ve really got nothing left.’
He actually understood his mother’s reasoning. The paper mill was his father’s life’s work.
It was practically his second son.
She had likely called his aunt and uncle over to help them come up with a plan.
After all, his uncle was the second-in-command, and his family had poured their sweat and tears into it as well.
He placed his right hand on his father’s chest. With a thought, a searing current of energy flowed from his palm.
The moment his Inner Strength entered He Sheng’s body, He Xiaotian detected a cold, malevolent energy.
This energy was saturated with negative emotions. Even He Xiaotian found it draining to deal with and felt its slight influence on him.
He continuously poured his scorching Inner Strength into his father’s body. It was like a flood from a burst dam, surging forward to sweep away the malevolent energy.
HISS!!
A hissing sound filled the room, and at the same time, wisps of black smoke began to rise.
The smoke was choking, carrying a foul, acrid stench.
It was like the smell of a garbage can that hadn’t been cleaned out in half a year—absolutely nauseating.
If the man on the bed hadn’t been his own father, He Xiaotian swore he would have already run out of the room to retch.
An unknown amount of time passed. By the time he felt the Inner Strength in his Dantian was nearly depleted, He Sheng’s body had stopped "smoking."
Forcing back the tears stinging his eyes from the smoke, he pushed open the window.
A cool breeze drifted in, carrying the smoke away.
He turned to look at his father, whose eyes were closed and breathing steady, as if he were just taking a nap. He Xiaotian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
’Even though it took a huge toll and nearly drained me completely, it was all worth it.’
The pallor on his father’s face faded, gradually replaced by a healthy, rosy color.
He had calmed down, no longer glaring with bloodshot eyes and letting out low growls from his throat.
The only regrettable thing was that a final wisp of that energy remained stubbornly entangled within He Sheng’s body.
His Inner Strength was unable to eradicate it completely.
’If only I were stronger, could I have saved Dad completely?’ At this thought, He Xiaotian clenched his right fist. He felt a wave of powerlessness, though that was merely his own perception.
In all fairness, what he had managed to accomplish was already remarkable.
At the very least, he had suppressed his father’s bizarre condition.
’A trip to the slaughterhouse is a must. But I have to wait until I’m fully recovered, then sneak in under the cover of darkness.’
To be honest, the only thing He Xiaotian could do right now was investigate Zhongcheng, the company that monopolized the meat supply in Z County.
Other than suppressing He Sheng’s madness, he was powerless to do anything else.
HUFF!
Taking a deep breath, He Xiaotian pulled himself together and walked out of the bedroom.
"So? What’s the situation at the hospital?"
His uncle shook his head. "They can’t find anything. Not a single cause. All they can do for now is quarantine the patients."
He Xiaotian nodded. He had only been holding onto a sliver of hope anyway.
He had no intention of pinning his hopes on the hospital, let alone the special task force.
If he lost that bet, it would likely cost his father his life!
How could he dare to take that risk?
"I know, Mom. I have some good news. I just went in and saw Dad. He’s starting to seem normal again. But we’ll need to observe him for a while, so please take good care of him. After dinner, I’m going to head to the hospital to check on things there.
"I’m sure the hospital is under a lot of pressure, so they should be able to come up with a treatment soon. Even if they can’t, the government will send the best doctors to help. I’ll let you all know the moment there’s any news."
He Xiaotian had come up with an excuse. He was planning to investigate the slaughterhouse that night.
’I just hope I can find some clues!’
He could, in theory, keep using his Inner Strength to suppress the malevolent energy in his father’s body.
But he was afraid that the energy would gradually grow stronger, until it reached a point where he could no longer contain it.
When that happened, he would be completely helpless.
"Really?" His mother’s face lit up with joyful surprise, and she rushed into the bedroom. Her speed was truly astonishing.
「Night fell, and the sky turned completely dark.」
The previously heavy and oppressive atmosphere in the house had dissipated.
A sumptuous dinner was laid out on the table—without any meat, of course.
This was torture for He Xiaotian, who was a die-hard carnivore.
Furthermore, because of his martial arts training, his constitution was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
For humans, the three daily meals were the most important source of nutrition and energy.
He could only bite the bullet and keep refilling his bowl with rice, making up for the lack of meat with sheer quantity.
And so, his mother, uncle, and aunt watched, dumbfounded, as He Xiaotian ate five entire pots of rice, along with several vegetable dishes.
’Is... is he a bottomless pit reincarnated?’
"Xiaotian, be honest with me. Has your cousin not been feeding you lately?" his aunt asked. She couldn’t help but wonder. After all, he was living with her son, yet the moment he came home he devoured five pots of rice.
She herself wouldn’t believe it if someone told her He Xiaotian was eating well at Liu Junming’s place!
"I’m having a growth spurt, so I’m eating a bit more."
He Xiaotian felt rather sheepish. If word of this got out, his reputation as a glutton would be set in stone.
’But I have to investigate the Zhongcheng slaughterhouse tonight. I need to get my body back to its peak condition.’
’What a joke it would be if I got myself killed in there just because I was too shy to eat my fill.’
’Besides, this is my own home. What’s wrong with eating a little extra?’
His uncle and aunt both gave a wry smile at He Xiaotian’s explanation.
’Not even a ghost would believe that excuse.’
His mother, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit surprised. After all, anyone who had seen their son devour more than a dozen pork knuckles at the hospital at noon...
...would hardly be shocked by the sight of him eating five pots of rice.
’This was nothing compared to that.’
"Uncle, you and Aunt should stay here tonight. That way you can all look out for each other," He Xiaotian said, having changed into a black hoodie. At night, anyone not looking closely probably wouldn’t even be able to see him.
"If there’s any news from the hospital, call home right away," his mother urged as he was about to leave.
"Got it."
He went downstairs, started his ten-year-old, second-hand Audi, and drove slowly toward the outskirts of Z County.
’Zhongcheng Slaughterhouse, here I come.’
At that very moment, a convoy of more than a dozen police cars departed from the police station in neat formation.
The special task force from the provincial capital was among them.
Liu Junming, his dreams of martial arts glory shattered, was with them as well.
Their destination: the Zhongcheng Slaughterhouse on the outskirts of town.
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