Chapter 348: Consultation
Xu Youyou’s heart sank. She couldn’t help but wonder: if the old man couldn’t survive this ordeal, what would she do?
She made a call:
“I need the best doctors! Right away! Come to Fushan County immediately! Pack up and leave now! I’ll pay, no matter how much it costs!”
Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought she was a domineering CEO acting out some melodramatic scene.
Throwing money at the problem did indeed attract several retired top experts willing to come, but Fushan County was remote and mountainous, so it wasn’t something they could reach quickly.
Xu Youyou felt stifled. If she had known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have agreed to the old man’s request last night—she should have taken the item immediately.
She had used the murder case involving the legal advisor to stall Red Dragon King and the others, but she herself made no progress and was even heading toward despair.
She didn’t even keep her little good-luck charm by her side anymore, sending Liu Xiangyi to the hospital instead to wait outside the emergency room, hoping the little charm would bring good fortune.
Old Madam Wu was so shocked when she heard the bad news that she couldn’t stand properly. Xu Youyou hurriedly supported her.
The old lady wasn’t young either. If she were to be scared into a mishap because they couldn’t save her father, Xu Youyou would feel guilty.
“It’ll be fine. The old man is blessed; he’ll make it through this,” Xu Youyou kept chanting like a mantra on the way to the hospital, not knowing if she was comforting Old Madam Wu or herself.
“Miss Xu, if it weren’t for you here… I wouldn’t know what to do,” the old lady said.
Xu Youyou wanted to comfort her, but she couldn’t help but worry about her own matters and asked,
“Madam, did your father leave any instructions for you?”
Old Madam Wu didn’t think much of it, shook her head, and said,
“Father’s getting old, but he never left any instructions for after his passing. He just told me to keep an eye on Xiaoguang and not let him go astray.”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou’s heart sank even further. They had spent so much time in the cellar, and even with Red Dragon King digging with a hoe for half the day, they hadn’t found anything resembling a treasure.
“Madam, is there really no way to find the items the old man hid?” Xu Youyou asked.
Old Madam Wu seemed to recall something and said,
“Father isn’t completely unfeeling. He used to enjoy playing with his grandchildren. But whenever they played hide-and-seek, the kids could never find him.”
Xu Youyou became even more certain that the old man had used techniques from Qimen Dunjia (an ancient Chinese metaphysical art) to hide the items.
“I know you’re anxious, Miss Xu, but as long as Father is okay, he’ll definitely give you what you want. Father has never broken a promise in his life,” Old Madam Wu said proudly.
Xu Youyou sighed:
“Of course, I trust the old man. If only I had insisted a bit more last night and gotten the items right away…”
She thought she had made a tactical mistake, but Old Madam Wu quickly said,
“Miss Xu, if Father didn’t give you the items last night, he must have had his reasons.”
Xu Youyou looked puzzled.
Old Madam Wu continued,
“Father always used to say, ‘The right time must come for treasures to appear.’ If he thought last night wasn’t the right time, then it truly wasn’t.”
Xu Youyou had nothing more to say. The last bit of regret in her heart quietly faded away.
When they arrived at the hospital, the old man had already been moved out of the emergency room.
“Boss, the doctors said tonight is critical. If the old man makes it through tonight, there’s still hope he can hang on,” Liu Xiangyi said cautiously.
Old Madam Wu asked,
“Just hang on? How much longer can he last?”
Liu Xiangyi looked at her pitifully and said,
“Madam, the doctors also said… the old man is really very old.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Wu’s face turned ashen, but she tried to comfort herself,
“You’re right. Father is indeed old… so close to a hundred… Why couldn’t he just live to a hundred…”
Seeing the deep bond between the father and daughter, everyone present couldn’t help but feel moved.
That night was especially hard for Xu Youyou. She stayed at a hotel near the hospital, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.
She called the hospital several times during the night to check on the old man’s condition. Each time, Liu Xiangyi reported that everything was normal.
Still, Xu Youyou couldn’t completely relax.
Early the next morning, she skipped breakfast and rushed to the hospital.
The moment she entered the ward and saw the old man still hooked up to tubes and the monitors running normally, she felt a bit anxious.
Old Madam Wu’s eyes were bloodshot. She said to Xu Youyou,
“The doctor did his rounds this morning and said Father’s condition is stable for now, but he may not be able to move freely anymore.”
Xu Youyou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She had thought surviving the night meant the old man could get up and fetch the item for her, but she forgot that after such a major illness, he might not even be able to sit up.
Still, in front of the family, she couldn’t rush them to handle her private matters. Instead, she said,
“Madam, you stayed up all night. Go and get some rest. We’ll stay with the old man.”
Old Madam Wu, exhausted from a sleepless night, agreed and went back to the hotel to rest.
Xu Youyou pulled a chair next to the old man’s bed and sat down. She couldn’t help but find it funny: clearly, she wasn’t family, and had only met him once, yet now this outsider seemed even more concerned about the old man than his own grandchildren.
Xu Fang tiptoed into the room and whispered,
“Boss, a few retired top experts from the capital have arrived.”
Xu Youyou quickly made room. The group of retired experts examined the old man, reviewed the medical records and test results, and consulted the doctors who had performed the emergency surgery. They quickly reached the same conclusion as the original doctors.
Xu Youyou, who had read many online stories of miracle recoveries thanks to experts overturning misdiagnoses, couldn’t help but ask,
“Is there really no other way? What if we use the latest equipment?”
One of the retired experts, who was specially invited by Lu Jingyao and had close ties with the Lu family (and knew Xu Youyou was the future daughter-in-law), patiently explained,
“Miss Xu, the latest equipment is only more precise—it can’t bring someone back from the dead. The old gentleman is over ninety years old. His body simply can’t endure more treatments.”
