Chapter 79: Where Did You Get That Peachwood Sword?
“Miss, truly, thank you for your understanding,” Jiang Zhuzhi said sincerely. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Chi Qian waved him off. “By the way, which hospital are you taking your son to?”
“The First Hospital—it’s closest to home.”
“Then take me with you. I need to see my second uncle.”
“Alright.”
Twenty minutes later, in a South Alley apartment building.
Chi Qian followed Jiang Zhuzhi upstairs.
The Jiang family’s place was a three-bedroom, one-living-room flat. Not new—the walls bore the marks of many years of living, traces of a family’s life carved into them.
But now, it was just Jiang Zhuzhi and his son.
Chi Qian had imagined Uncle Jiang’s son would be just like him—tall, broad-shouldered, and strong.
But instead…
On the bed lay Jiang Heyi, turned on his side because his breathing was difficult. His features were delicate, his fever-flushed cheeks glowing red, and his light-brown pupils shimmered with a damp, hazy luster.
He was every inch a fragile, beautiful sickly boy—rosy lips, porcelain skin.
Chi Qian nearly let out a whistle.
Afraid she might get arrested, she held it back.
“Water… water…” Jiang Heyi mumbled in a fevered haze.
Chi Qian glanced around, grabbed a cup from the table, and poured water into his mouth.
He drank eagerly, water dripping down his chin and soaking the fabric of his collar.
With a little strength back, Jiang Heyi opened his eyes—only to see a strange girl standing at his bedside.
Unpleasant memories surged up, making his whole body bristle with alarm. He stared at Chi Qian darkly, on guard.
Meanwhile, Chi Qian was sizing him up too.
He looked very sick—so pitiful.
She couldn’t help wondering…
If I slapped him right now, would he die?
…No, that was probably illegal.
“Who are you?” Jiang Heyi rasped. His voice was hoarse, but beneath it was a youthful clarity—though tinged with heavy wariness.
Chi Qian tilted her head. “You can see me?”
Wasn’t he supposed to be too feverish to notice?
Her words completely derailed his thoughts.
She—she—she…
A shiver ran across Jiang Heyi’s scalp. His grip on the blanket tightened.
They said when a person was sick, it was easy to see things they weren’t meant to see. So this girl in white…
She had come to take his soul?!
His heart leapt to his throat. With a sudden motion, he whipped out a peachwood sword from under the bed and pointed it at Chi Qian.
His voice trembled, but his tone was firm: “E-evil spirit, begone!”
Chi Qian: ?
Jiang Zhuzhi, just entering the room: ?
Wait—where did that peachwood sword even come from??
“Heyi, what’s going on?” Jiang Zhuzhi hurried forward. “Put that sword down—this isn’t polite.”
“What’s the point of politeness with a ghost?!” Jiang Heyi said, trying to sound calm, though his hand was visibly shaking.
Jiang Zhuzhi laughed helplessly. “What ghost? You’re mistaken.”
“Then can you see her?” Jiang Heyi demanded, pointing straight at Chi Qian.
Jiang Zhuzhi hesitated. With her standing in front of the wall in that all-white outfit, it was… hard to tell at a glance.
Jiang Heyi caught his hesitation immediately. “You can’t see her, can you?! I knew it—she’s not human!”
Chi Qian realized if this kept going, this frail boy might go insane on the spot.
So she opened her mouth: “Don’t be afraid. I was just bored downstairs, so I came up here to have a look.”
Jiang Heyi’s hands shook even harder.
Chi Qian said, “I’ll go back down in a minute.”
Jiang Heyi’s breathing quickened. He pulled out a protective talisman, slapped it onto his forehead—
—and promptly fainted.
Chi Qian: “……” Hello?
Startled, Jiang Zhuzhi quickly carried Jiang Heyi on his back and rushed outside.
Chi Qian was about to follow when—
“Gujiguji.”
There was movement from the cage on the table.
Chi Qian’s attention shifted. Inside were two little chinchillas.
White chinchilla: “Poor Jiangjiang. Those rich brats at school always bully him, once even locked him in the mall bathroom and dumped water all over him.”
Gray chinchilla: “But Jiangjiang doesn’t want his dad to know, so he only tells us.”
Chi Qian pondered.
So Uncle Jiang’s son had gotten this high fever… because of classmates’ pranks.
Kids these days—no higher aspirations at all.
White chinchilla: “Nom nom… why is that girl staring at me? Has my handsomeness bewitched her?”
Chi Qian looked away.
White chinchilla: “She’s shy. Hah! Can’t resist me.”
Chi Qian silently pulled the cloth down over the cage, blocking the chatterbox chinchilla from view.
Meanwhile, outside the apartment building—
Gu Hua was crouched in the alley, staring at her phone.
“System, are you sure you didn’t get the timing wrong? My legs are going numb here. Why hasn’t the target shown up yet?”
System: “He’ll be here soon. The script clearly states—future arms dealer Jiang Heyi will appear right now, collapse on the roadside. You only need to ‘happen’ to walk by, rescue him, step into his world, become his savior, and then turn him into a lovesick obsessive second male lead.”
“Don’t worry. Jiang Heyi’s family is struggling, he’s bullied at school, no friends at all. This type of young future villain is the easiest to hook.”
Gu Hua: “Alright. Keep watch for me—tell me as soon as he shows up.”
But she squatted there until the flowers wilted and the vegetables went cold, and Jiang Heyi still never appeared.
Because… he’d already been carried to the First Hospital.
When he woke and saw Chi Qian still there, he instinctively reached for his peachwood sword—only to realize this wasn’t his bed.
“Why are you still following me?” Jiang Heyi’s voice cracked with despair.
Chi Qian replied calmly, “You fainted because I scared you. Of course I had to check on you. Now that I’ve seen you’re fine, I’ll go.”
As a ghost, she considered herself pretty conscientious.
Jiang Heyi pressed his lips together. “Thank you. I hope you live well… in that other world. Just don’t come find me again.”
He was truly terrified of ghosts.
Chi Qian blinked. What other world? The world of lunatics?
She straightened seriously. “I will. Goodbye.”
Leaving the ward, she took the elevator straight to Chi Chaoshen’s office.
He happened to be inside and looked surprised. “Weren’t you home doing your homework?”
“Uncle, even prisoners get yard time,” Chi Qian said gravely. “I came to give you something.”
“What is it?”
She opened her backpack and pulled out two boxes.
Chi Chaoshen opened them—stunned into silence.
“Didn’t you already turn these antiques in?”
“Hehe, I noticed you kept staring at these two pieces that day, guessed you liked them. So I asked Grandpa to talk to the higher-ups, and we kept them.”
Chi Chaoshen’s eyes softened. His heart, already fragile, melted completely.
He lowered his head, hiding the deepening smile in his eyes. Yet his vision blurred with sudden warmth.
He and his four brothers—after growing up, they weren’t very close. They exchanged greetings only on holidays.
Their mother had died early, their father had to play both roles, his sternness overshadowing affection.
It had been a long, long time since Chi Chaoshen felt such pure warmth.
