Chapter 81

In the intensive care unit of Tongji Hospital in Mingzhu City, the best hospital in the entire city and one of the top hospitals in the country, Gu Nian and her niece Xiao Rou were half-kneeling beside the bed, looking at Gu Zhengyang, who lay unconscious on the bed, barely maintaining his life with the help of a ventilator. Their faces were filled with sorrow, tears streaming down their cheeks.

The doctor informed Gu Nian that Gu Zhengyang's body was completely black, his eyelids drooping, pupils dilated, facial muscles rigid, and there was black blood coming from his mouth and nose, all clear signs of poisoning. However, his body still had some warmth, and although his heartbeat and blood pressure were abnormal, they were not fatal. The doctor could not determine the specific type of poison.

The doctor also handed Gu Nian an item, a jade pendant. Gu Nian was not unfamiliar with this jade pendant. She had heard her father mention it before. The jade pendant was a gift from a master introduced to her father by a high-ranking official in the capital city when her father went there for charity work a few years ago. The master said the jade pendant had the power to invigorate the mind, strengthen the body, and ward off evil. Since then, her father had always worn it as a talisman, even when bathing.

Now, this originally emerald-green jade pendant had turned completely black, with obvious cracks from the center to the edges, clearly indicating that it had been destroyed.

Since becoming Ye Feng's servant and spending some time in the mysterious Nine Star Space, Gu Nian no longer felt as resistant to such supernatural events as she used to. Intuitively, she felt that the reason her father still had a faint sign of life after being poisoned was due to the crucial role played by this jade pendant.

However, Gu Nian did not know who had given the jade pendant to her father. She only knew that the high-ranking official who introduced her father to the master was Li Jin, the executive vice mayor of the capital city.

Hospitals are places where the full spectrum of life and death is experienced.

As doctors, they have seen the helplessness, grandeur, and profound mysteries of life, and they understand the meaning of life and the value of human existence more than anyone else. Except in times of war, even if they have seen many deaths and tragedies, they can only sigh in helplessness and express a bit of regret. In the face of inevitable death, even with the halo of "saving lives and healing the wounded," they can only offer some superficial sympathy and helplessness. And this sense of understanding may soon be replaced by concerns about promotions, professional evaluations, and salary increases.

Then, the patients and their families still have to pay the medical bills and continue on their journey, like the cycle of flowers blooming and withering. This is the law of hospitals.

For Gu Zhengyang, the doctors present felt deep sympathy but could only express it. Some even resented why the patient did not die on the spot, as it would have spared him so much pain.

As one of the best hospitals in Mingzhu City and the country, if they could not help, then Gu Zhengyang's fate was almost sealed.

Gu Zhengyang, a tycoon and entrepreneur with extraordinary influence in Mingzhu and the country, if he were to die in his prime at around fifty, leaving a vast business empire to his daughter, who was only in her twenties, one can imagine how deeply saddened and burdened Gu Nian would be.

As for Gu Nian, at this moment, she was not thinking much about the affairs of Zhengyang Group. Her heart was filled with grief and regret.

The grief was self-evident, and the regret stemmed from her stubbornness and lack of understanding over the years, which had caused much harm to their father-daughter relationship. Now, even though she had come to her senses and felt remorse, the time left for her might be very limited.

Looking at her father on the bed, his face pale and expressionless, Gu Nian felt as if her heart were being cut by a knife. Was this still her father, who seemed to be always domineering, stubborn, and serious, with almost no smile, meticulous in his work, and always neatly dressed? Was this still the father who taught her and her brother to be strong, brave, upright, and honest from a young age? Was this still the father who, though not talkative, would always carefully braid her beautiful plaits when she was little? Was this still the father who would always light a small lamp in the room and wait quietly at the door for his daughter to return home after evening classes?

If her father were to leave, she would no longer feel the gentle and broad hands that patted her shoulder when she was sad and crying, no longer feel the loving gaze that he could not express well but was always full of affection, no longer be able to embrace that warm and broad chest, and no one would play the harmonica for her when she was lonely, listening to her sing softly...

If her father were to leave, it would not only bring her immense pain and deep regret but also the collapse of the mountain called fatherly love.

There are many kinds of waiting in this world: waiting for the good news of the college entrance exam or the disappointment of failure, waiting for a successful romance or a doomed one-sided love, waiting for the arrival of a child after ten months of pregnancy, waiting for fleeting opportunities or moments of inspiration in life. Some waiting is happy, some is painful, and what Gu Nian was waiting for now was to watch her father's last moments of life being taken away by death, second by second.

The doctors and nurses stood around, watching her cry, but were helpless. Even in a hospital where they were accustomed to life and death and had become indifferent to sorrow, each time they faced death, they still felt a deep sigh.

Suddenly, Gu Nian stood up, wiped away her tears, and also wiped away Xiao Rou's tears. She hugged Xiao Rou and said to the attending doctor responsible for Gu Zhengyang, "Doctor, no matter how much it costs, no matter what the price, you must ensure that my father is not in danger of losing his life within three days. I know this request might be excessive, but I hope you can do it."

The doctor shook his head and then nodded, but said nothing. He understood Gu Nian's feelings and knew how serious Gu Zhengyang's condition was, but at this moment, silence was the most appropriate response.

Seeing the doctor's silence, Gu Nian added, "Do not let anyone disturb my father. I will invite someone who might be the only one in the world who can save my father."

After instructing the doctor, Gu Nian left the intensive care unit and spoke to Gu Zhengyang's assistant and the legal advisor of Zhengyang Group, who had been waiting at the door: "Notify all the shareholders of the company. I will hold a shareholders' meeting tomorrow morning. Although my father is lying unconscious in the hospital, I am still here. If anyone dares to have ulterior motives at this time, don't blame me for not sparing old feelings and taking drastic action. Pass on my message. The meeting will start at 9 a.m. tomorrow. I have other matters to attend to, so you don't need to follow me."

Not long after Gu Nian left the hospital, someone came to visit Gu Zhengyang. Although Gu Nian had just instructed the doctor not to let anyone disturb her father, this visitor was someone whom all the doctors, including the hospital director, dared not refuse, due to his powerful status.

This person was none other than Tang Lei, a member of the Huazheng Bureau, the Secretary of the Mingzhu City Committee, and the Party Secretary of the city.

Accompanying Tang Lei were two people, experts sent by the central government to investigate the series of murders on a rainy night in Mingzhu. One was the head of the Ministry of Public Security's Criminal Investigation Bureau, Wang Yaodong, and the other was a specially appointed senior advisor to the Ministry of Public Security, Lin Tianhuo, who was only twenty-two years old and was seen as both eccentric and brilliant by the local police. [Thank you, reader "Xiaozi Sui Feng Qu," for your careful proofreading. Having a reader like you is truly wonderful. Thank you!]

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