Ye Tiancheng remained silent, following the voice's instructions with his head down. He didn't explain anything to the little fox, who, fortunately, was understanding and cooperated with him tacitly.
Since Ye Tiancheng was quiet, the little fox dared not disturb him. He didn't ask any questions, though his face was still streaked with tears. His own face was also pale, and having cried so much earlier, he didn't look much better than Ye Tiancheng.
The two of them rowed the boat silently for a long time. Neither Ye Tiancheng nor the little fox complained of fatigue. They kept rowing, the little fox gritting his teeth and mustering his strength. They were not mythical figures, so when they were warned not to look back, they both kept their gaze forward throughout the journey.
As the sun gradually rose and the sky grew brighter, a familiar, dazzling white light enveloped them once more. When Ye Tiancheng and the little fox opened their eyes again, the wooden boat and the oars in their hands were gone.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox immediately searched for Fatty. Fortunately, the voice seemed to have not lied to them. After the blinding white light, they had returned to the construction site. The spot where the large stone had been was now empty.
Fatty lay on the ground, no longer a skeleton. His complexion was ruddy, and his chest rose and fell with his breathing. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox couldn't help but check Fatty's breathing, and only after confirming that Fatty was alive and well did they both exhale in relief, slumping to the ground and promptly losing consciousness.
In their daze, they only heard a few exclamations and familiar voices, both male and female. However, neither Ye Tiancheng nor the little fox had the energy to discern whose voices they were.
Five full days had passed since Ye Tiancheng, Fatty, and the little fox had gone missing. Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian had arrived at the construction site three days prior.
When news of the incident at the construction site broke, Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian had each set out from their respective territories and rushed to the construction site where Ye Tiancheng had gone.
Over these three days, they had tried every possible means to find Ye Tiancheng and his two companions. Due to Ye Tiancheng, the relationship between Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian was far from good. However, during these three days, they had put aside their past grievances and focused on cooperating to find Ye Tiancheng.
Unfortunately, after three days of desperate searching, even after repeatedly questioning the foreman and the migrant workers at the construction site, they had not obtained any useful information.
Hou Mingzhu couldn't help but resent Ye Tiancheng from the bottom of her heart, while also being unable to suppress her worry. When Ye Tiancheng told her he was going to find the Nuwa Stone, she had considered that he might be held back by something and unable to return on time.
She had even prepared herself to be understanding, but she never imagined that Ye Tiancheng would simply vanish into thin air with his two brothers.
In short, on the third day of their search, just as they had been unable to find any clues, Ye Tiancheng and his two companions reappeared without any warning at the place where they had disappeared.
When Ye Tiancheng and the little fox reappeared, they were both awake but looked extremely disheveled. Ye Tiancheng was the most disheveled, his upper body clothes torn off, and he seemed to have sustained many injuries. The wounds were bound with rags, but blood was seeping from the edges, indicating that the wounds had reopened.
Fatty, however, reappeared unconscious and lying on the ground. The first reaction of Ye Tiancheng and the little fox upon their appearance was to immediately look around. After finding Fatty, they rushed over, felt his chest, and checked his breathing. Then, as if all their strength had suddenly drained away, they could no longer hold on and both collapsed to the ground.
Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian stared blankly as they appeared and then collapsed together. They immediately regained their senses, called for people, and rushed over to carry them all to the hospital.
They did not dare to be too conspicuous, nor did they let the people outside the sealed construction site witness this. Instead, they instinctively and secretly put Ye Tiancheng and his two companions into their own cars, then got in themselves, and told the drivers to drive to the hospital.
However, they did not dare to be too direct. They had the drivers circle the city several times, shaking off many people who had seen their cars leaving and were following them, hoping to gather some intelligence. Then, they called for a replacement car to pick them up midway, switched vehicles, and then truly headed to the hospital.
A significant amount of time was delayed in this process, not only due to the detours and evading pursuit but also because, during this period, many people had flocked to the area due to the matter of the stone and the subsequent bizarre events. There were ordinary people and cultivators alike, making the situation chaotic.
Some came out of curiosity, while others were specifically after the Nuwa Stone. Regardless of their intentions, the city was not particularly prosperous. Calling it a city was an exaggeration; it was more like the size of a county town. As a result, traffic congestion was common in the city during this time, making it difficult to travel to various places. This caused inconvenience for both people coming from outside and locals alike.
After sending Ye Tiancheng and his two companions to the hospital, Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian registered them for emergency treatment and sent them for examinations.
Because Ye Tiancheng and his two companions had finally appeared, and although the exact situation was still unclear, none of them appeared to be in life-threatening danger, Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian both breathed a sigh of relief and had the energy to attend to their own matters.
As both Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian had their own businesses, they obviously could not entirely focus on Ye Tiancheng's situation. It could be said that for the past three days, they had neglected many things because of Ye Tiancheng and his companions. In their search for them, they had almost disregarded their own careers.
As a result, when the final examination results came out, Fatty, who had appeared so anxious to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, was actually the healthiest. His examination results showed no problems; he was simply asleep. It was just unknown why he was sleeping so soundly that he didn't wake up even after being disturbed by the examinations for so long.
The little fox was slightly worse off than Fatty, but there were no major issues. He was mainly suffering from extreme fatigue, fear, and anxiety. He had been holding his breath, afraid to relax, and only when he was finally out of danger did he let out a breath and collapse.
As for Ye Tiancheng, his condition was the most serious, but not fatal. The reason for his collapse was similar to the little fox's, but he also had his injuries to contend with. It was unknown what he had experienced before, but he had many wounds on his body, which were merely crudely bandaged with rags, never properly treated.
Furthermore, likely due to strenuous activity, the wounds had reopened before they could heal, causing significant blood loss. He had suffered some blood loss, but fortunately, the amount was not life-threatening, so Ye Tiancheng's condition was still considered safe.
Considering the previous conflict between Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, and the fact that Ye Tiancheng had no other choice but to invite the little fox to the construction site this time, Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian separated Ye Tiancheng and the little fox when arranging hospital rooms, giving each of them their own room.
Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian each assigned one of their subordinates to monitor Fatty's condition. If there were any problems or if he woke up, they were to notify them immediately.
Hou Mingzhu, in particular, stayed with Ye Tiancheng. While staying with him, she made phone calls to continue handling her unfinished work. Although it was now confirmed that Ye Tiancheng was likely fine, Hou Mingzhu still couldn't completely relax. She cared about Ye Tiancheng, which made it impossible for her to leave him at this time.
As for Su Muxian, she had visited Ye Tiancheng a few times, but with Hou Mingzhu accompanying him, she didn't dare to cause trouble for herself. She left shortly after, going to stay with the little fox.
After Ye Tiancheng had sent the little fox to the Su family, Su Muxian had grown fond of the little fox's company during this period and had become somewhat attached to him.
Su Muxian returned to the little fox's hospital room and did much the same as Hou Mingzhu. She was now essentially supporting the entire Su family by herself, and the pressure she bore was no less than that of Hou Mingzhu.
After an unknown period, Su Muxian had not heard any reports from either side that Ye Tiancheng or Fatty had woken up. She put down her work and looked up at the little fox, only to see his fingers suddenly twitch. Then his eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
The little fox's eyes were red, likely because he had cried earlier for some reason. Hou Mingzhu and Su Muxian had also seen the little fox's face covered in tears when they found them. At that time, no one had the time to investigate further.
Seeing the little fox wake up, Su Muxian's heart immediately relaxed. She quickly walked to the bedside, looked down at the little fox, and asked, "Little fox, you're awake? How do you feel? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Should I call a doctor?"
However, the little fox did not immediately respond to Su Muxian. Given the affection he had shown for Su Muxian recently, this behavior was clearly unusual. He looked around, and when he found nothing, he finally saw Su Muxian and tried to reach out to grab her sleeve.
Su Muxian quickly stopped him, "Hey, hey, don't move around, little fox. You're on an IV drip, and there's a needle in your hand. If you move like this, blood is already flowing back into the drip chamber!"
The little fox, however, paid no attention to this discomfort and urgently asked Su Muxian, "Sister Su, where is Brother Ye? And... and... Brother Fatty, how is he? Is he okay?"
Seeing that the little fox was concerned about Ye Tiancheng and Fatty's safety, Su Muxian gently soothed him, holding his hand with the needle, and said, "Ye Tiancheng and Fatty are fine. They are in two other rooms, not here. Don't worry."
"Why are you and Ye Tiancheng so concerned about Fatty? Before Ye Tiancheng fainted, he was just like you, feeling Fatty's chest and checking his breathing. We thought something had happened to Fatty."
"Turns out he's healthier than any of you. The examination results just show he was asleep, and there's nothing wrong with him. You can rest assured." Su Muxian explained after confirming that the little fox would not move around anymore.