Yu Qi casually shrugged her shoulders with an air of practised indifference before picking up her chopsticks once more. Her dismissive attitude made it crystal clear to everyone at the table that she considered the interrogation finished and had no intention of entertaining further suspicion.

"Senior Brother, Master... please, stop this already. This is embarrassing." Chang Shuchun suddenly spoke up, her voice ringing with sincerity and a sharp hint of defensiveness on Yu Qi’s behalf. "I am alive because of her. We should be showing gratitude, not pointing fingers."

Lou Weizhe fell silent for a long, heavy moment. His sharp eyes carefully studied Yu Qi’s completely unbothered expression, searching for a crack in her composure, but he found only a calm as deep as a mountain lake. Finally, he let out a long, weary sigh and lowered his head slightly toward her in a formal, stiff gesture of apology.

"Miss Tang, I sincerely apologise for questioning you so aggressively, as though you were some kind of common criminal. Over the years, our Heavenly Crane Pavilion has encountered far too many people harbouring malicious intentions toward our sect. We have grown overly cautious, perhaps even paranoid because of it, and I admit that caution clouded my judgment tonight." Lou Weizhe admitted honestly, the rigid, combative hostility in his posture finally bleeding away.

"It is fine. In this world, a little caution is often the only thing that keeps people alive. I truly do not mind." Yu Qi waved her hand dismissively.

Her lack of arrogance or resentment, despite his earlier hostility, showed a level of profound maturity that far surpassed her youthful appearance.

"If you do not mind me asking one more personal question... Could you perhaps tell us more about the sect you belong to? Your techniques, your presence, and your medical knowledge are unlike anything we have encountered in the mainstream cultivation world." Lou Liwei asked carefully, his eyes shining with a genuine, scholarly curiosity.

From the very beginning, he had firmly believed that Yu Qi was secretly a core disciple, perhaps even the successor of some ancient, powerful hidden sect that had remained secluded from the world for centuries.

"What?" Yu Qi blinked in genuine surprise before shaking her head lightly, a flicker of genuine amusement dancing across her lips. "No... You have misunderstood. I do not belong to any sect, hidden or otherwise. I am simply myself."

Lou Liwei and Lou Weizhe exchanged a brief, knowing glance. They naturally assumed that Yu Qi simply did not wish to reveal her true background due to some ancestral oath of secrecy. Since hidden sects often valued anonymity above all else, they decided it would be impolite to press the matter any further.

The dinner ended on surprisingly pleasant terms, the earlier tension replaced by a budding mutual respect. Before parting ways, they exchanged contact information with Yu Qi and sincerely told her that if she ever found herself in need of assistance in the future, the Heavenly Crane Pavilion would gladly move mountains to help her.

Ironically, the opportunity for them to cross paths again arrived much sooner than anyone could have possibly expected.

The matter involved Sang Yuling, the woman who had previously attempted to steal Yu Qi’s luck in a dark ritual intended to transfer it to her own daughter, Ji Gu Niang. Ever since the violent backlash from that ritual, Ji Gu Niang had remained trapped in a terrifyingly deep coma. She had shown not the slightest sign of improvement for several days, despite Sang Yuling desperately dragging her from one world-class hospital to another.

In a state of pure, frantic desperation, Sang Yuling finally brought her daughter to the prestigious Tang Private Hospital.

Unfortunately, even the elite specialists at the Tang Private Hospital could not determine the true underlying cause behind Ji Gu Niang’s mysterious and unresponsive condition. Naturally, Sang Yuling avoided mentioning anything related to the spiritual backlash of a luck-stealing ritual. Instead, she spun a lie, claiming her daughter had suddenly and inexplicably collapsed while studying with friends.

Yu Qi happened to be walking through the neurology wing when she noticed Sang Yuling stepping out of her elder brother Tang Qin Hao’s office. Tang Qin Hao was one of the hospital’s most brilliant leading neurologists, so it was only natural that he was reviewing Ji Gu Niang’s unusual case personally.

However, the moment Sang Yuling’s frantic gaze landed on Yu Qi standing in the corridor, her eyes immediately lit up with a flash of desperate, almost feral hope. She hurried toward Yu Qi and tightly grabbed her arm with a grip like a drowning person catching a life raft.

"Miss Tang... You are a doctor here, too, right? Doctor Tang, please... I beg of you, please save my daughter!" Sang Yuling pleaded, her voice cracking as she gripped Yu Qi’s hands with bruising force.

"You..." Yu Qi frowned slightly, her eyes cooling as she attempted to pull her hand free from the woman’s grasp. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I am Sang Yuling, the woman who was with Master Chunwei that day! You remember me, don’t you? You saw us!" Sang Yuling hurriedly introduced herself again, patting her chest anxiously and trembling, apparently terrified that Yu Qi had forgotten her identity or the circumstances of their first meeting.

"I remember you perfectly well, Mrs Ji. But please, let go of my hand first. This is a hospital." Yu Qi stated with a calm, freezing authority.

The commotion in the hallway quickly attracted Tang Qin Hao’s attention. Hearing the raised, hysterical voices, he poked his head out of his office and was visibly surprised to see his younger sister standing there, being accosted by a distraught woman.

He stepped out immediately, his protective instincts flaring.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***