Late at night, there was a knock on the door. Liu Chen secured the door chain before opening it to look outside.
She saw five elderly men standing at her door. Ren Yu was standing next to the oldest man at the front.
Seeing Ren Yu, Liu Chen fully opened the door and looked bewilderedly at the elderly man in a Tang suit standing at the very front, and Ren Yu beside him.
“Brother Ren Yu???”
What was going on? Were these Chen Long’s elders?
Sensing Liu Chen’s confusion, Ren Yu explained:
“Grandpa Wu saw you practicing your punches this morning and tried to imitate it. He felt so good afterwards that he invited his old comrades. But upon arrival, Grandpa Wu forgot how to do it, so they came to learn.”
Liu Chen: ...
“Ahem, but can the terrace fit so many people? After all, practicing punches requires movement.”
Liu Chen didn’t mind teaching the Eight-Section Brocade to others. She had searched online and found that the Eight-Section Brocade was quite popular, with many different versions. It wouldn’t be strange if hers differed from others.
Hearing Liu Chen’s words, the elderly man at the front spoke first:
“It’s alright, it’s alright. Old Shen and I can learn first, and then we can teach them when we go back. My surname is Wu, you can call me Old Man Wu. This is Old Man Shen, his grandson is Shen Hong.”
So, it was Shen Hong’s grandfather. No wonder Ren Yu was here to accompany them.
“Ah, then… shall we learn now?”
Liu Chen’s phone was broken, and she had no idea what time it was. She could only look at Ren Yu.
Seeing the situation, Old Man Wu quickly said:
“Yes, yes, little girl, don’t worry. Old Shen and I have excellent memories! You just do it once, and we’ll remember it! Right? Old Man Shen?”
In reality, Shen Hong’s grandfather, Wu Zhi, wanted Old Man Shen, whose health was the weakest among them, to follow the young girl’s version. Doing so would surely yield the best results.
Having lived two lives, Liu Chen was always polite to kind elderly people. Plus, with Ren Yu’s influence, she finally agreed.
The three stood on the living room’s terrace, facing the sea.
Liu Chen began the Eight-Section Brocade. Her entire demeanor settled, her breathing became calm. With each inhale and exhale, she adjusted the pace and intensity, coordinating it with the changing postures. After a set of Eight-Section Brocade, a light sweat broke out on her body.
Finally, she finished, placing her hands gently by her sides and slowly exhaling.
“I’m done. Grandpa Wu, Grandpa Shen, did you remember it?”
Liu Chen turned around, intending to see the elderly grandfathers’ learning progress. She saw that both grandfathers’ faces were flushed after they finished. Grandpa Shen smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but instead, he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Although the terrace lights were not as bright as the living room lights, they were sufficient to illuminate the blood on the terrace floor. The color was black.
“Old Shen! Old Shen, hold on!”
Wu Zhi quickly supported Shen An, who was standing unsteadily beside him.
“Young man! Call an ambulance!”
It was past eleven at night. Liu Chen, Ren Yu, and Wu Zhi were in an ambulance. Watching Grandpa Shen lying on the stretcher, unconscious, Liu Chen frantically searched through the prizes she had temporarily stored in the system.
Was there anything that could be used for Grandpa Shen? She had won too many prizes over the past year, but most of the items beneficial to health were food, skincare products, and cosmetics.
Ren Yu sat beside her. Seeing Liu Chen’s dazed expression, he thought she was frightened. He leaned over and lowered his voice, saying,
“Looking at the readings on the monitor, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Old Man Wu’s voice was heard asking:
“Really?”
“Based on the current readings, there are no major problems. The specific diagnosis will depend on the hospital’s examination results.”
Wu Zhi finally let out a long sigh and said apologetically,
“I’m sorry, we old folks disturbed you so late at night. We even made you spit blood and scared you, didn’t we?”
Hearing their conversation, Liu Chen could only pretend to look at Grandpa Shen on the stretcher, while secretly opening the prize wheel in her mind.
Regardless, Grandpa Shen was Shen Hong’s family’s pillar. If he coughed up blood while practicing the Eight-Section Brocade with her, both she and Ren Yu could easily be blamed.
Moreover, she knew that Ren Yu and Shen Hong were able to snatch the patent from Penguin partly because they had thoroughly registered it, but more significantly, the other party did not make a move out of respect for Grandpa Shen.
Shen Hong had mentioned before that his grandfather might not live for many more years, and they needed to establish their business while he was still around.
Therefore, the grandfather’s life was not just a matter of potential blame, but also related to the upcoming operation of the game “League of Legends.”
Frankly speaking, the longer Grandpa Shen lived, the longer the game “League of Legends” could stably provide her with dividends.
Understanding this, Liu Chen began to draw prizes frantically, using up all her accumulated draw tickets.
‘Received ¥1100 cash.’
‘Received ¥1100 cash.’
‘Received one Red Ginseng Pill (can replenish Qi and blood).’
‘Received one Red Ginseng Pill (can replenish Qi and blood).’
‘Received ¥1100 cash.’
‘Received one Qi-Replenishing Pill (can replenish Qi and blood deficiency).’
‘Received one box of Health Milk (can nourish the body).’
‘Received one box of Health Milk (can nourish the body).’
‘Received one Level 1 Detoxification Pill.’
‘...’
Liu Chen’s gaze landed on the Detoxification Pill, then shifted to Grandpa Shen lying quietly on the stretcher.
What did this mean? Was Grandpa Shen unwell not due to old age, but due to poisoning?
Liu Chen looked at the newly drawn Detoxification Pill and pursed her lips, but was stumped by a new problem. Grandpa Shen looked like he desperately needed this Detoxification Pill, but how could she get him to take it?
Not to mention that the bright lights in the ambulance would make everyone see her actions, but even if Grandpa Shen was just resting with his eyes closed, if she forcibly gave him the medicine, he would definitely become suspicious.
Although Liu Chen wanted to save Grandpa Shen, her priority was to protect her secret.
As she was agonizing, the system suddenly spoke:
‘Host can use ten draw tickets, and the system will dispense the prizes for use.’
Ten tickets!
That was ¥11,000. It seemed like a lot, and indeed it was. However, compared to the risk of her secret being discovered, it was practically a bargain.
Without hesitation, she said, “Use!”
After consecutively using five draw tickets, equivalent to ¥55,000, she applied the Detoxification Pill and four Qi-Replenishing Pills to Grandpa Shen.
After all, detoxification itself felt like an intense expulsion of blood.
Immediately after the Detoxification Pill was used, Grandpa Shen on the stretcher suddenly turned sideways and vomited a small pool of blood towards the ambulance nurse. The color of the blood gradually changed from black, to dark red, and finally to bright red.
Old Man Wu was initially too scared to open his eyes. It was Ren Yu who spoke:
“Grandpa Wu, Grandpa Shen’s blood has returned to normal.”
Hearing this, Old Man Wu couldn’t help but open his eyes and look to the other side of the stretcher.
“This, this, Old Shen, you were poisoned?”
Grandpa Shen, who had his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open at these words. He tightly grasped Old Man Wu’s wrist. His previously cloudy eyes were now sharp like an eagle’s.
“Ahem, you say I was poisoned? Ahem!”
Old Man Wu was not Shen’s descendant. Hearing his old comrade’s impolite question, he chuckled:
“I’m not just guessing. Besides, besides those around you, who else could poison you? Don’t you have a clue yourself?
Honestly, you should have divided your children up long ago, like me. When a large family gathers, even if there’s no malice, it can breed it. If someone truly hated you and poisoned you, wouldn’t that be quite normal?”
Liu Chen sat aside, her eyes looking at her nose, and her nose at her heart, pretending she heard nothing.
Shen Hong’s family affairs were too complicated. Someone even poisoned their family’s pillar?
Grandpa Shen was about to say something more when the ambulance arrived at the hospital. The rear doors were opened, and people immediately pushed the stretcher into the building.
Old Man Wu finally broke free from Grandpa Shen’s grasp and let out a long sigh of relief, sitting with the two young people outside the emergency room.
About ten minutes later, the stretcher was brought out from inside and moved into a ward. The emergency room doctor walked out and addressed the three waiting outside:
“The patient’s current vital signs are good, with no adverse reactions. He needs to be hospitalized for a few days of observation and examination. Once the examinations are completed without issues, he can be discharged.”
Old Man Wu quickly thanked him and pulled out a ¥1000 red envelope from his pocket, intending to give it to the doctor. The doctor, startled, stepped back three paces and ran away immediately.
“Let’s go. Old Shen probably has a lot to say. If I go in alone, he won’t get any sleep tonight. You two can share some of the burden with me.”
Hearing this, Liu Chen knew that Old Man Wu didn’t want to get involved in the Shen family’s affairs. That was why he wanted the two young people to go in with him, making it difficult for Grandpa Shen to speak about the poisoning.
However, Wu Zhi did not understand Shen An’s condition after vomiting blood. Seeing Wu Zhi and the two children enter, Shen An had no intention of hiding anything. He immediately said:
“I’ve already called the children to come over, telling them I’ve vomited blood. I want to make my will during this opportunity.”
Just then, Ren Yu’s phone rang. He glanced at it and saw it was Shen Hong.
“Answer it, but just say I’ve been hospitalized for vomiting blood. Don’t mention anything else.”
Ren Yu could only nod and walk out of the room to take the call.
Liu Chen was left alone in the ward.
Seeing Ren Yu leave the ward, Grandpa Shen struggled to sit up. He cupped his hands in front of his chest and bowed towards Liu Chen’s direction, saying:
“Benefactor, can I continue to learn boxing from you?”