Chapter 127: Life Has Come Full Circle

"Doctor Chen!"

As Zhang Wuyong passed by the nurses' station, the nurse sitting behind the counter made to stand up.

"It's fine! Carry on with your work; I'm just going over to take a look," Zhang Wuyong said in a deep voice.

The nurse sat back down and resumed transcribing her charts.

Zhang Wuyong continued forward and entered the intensive care unit. Not long after, he stepped back out, his heart pounding. Though he knew that even if he walked a bit faster the nurse wouldn't be suspicious, he deliberately slowed his pace. Walking toward the doctors' office, he reached the blind spot of the nurses' station, glanced back once, and then slipped quickly out of the hospital building.

Zhang Wuyong left the hospital and took a long, winding route. He opened his system's task bar and swiped the title next to his name. The four golden characters "Flawless" returned to the corner and turned gray.

The "Flawless" title offered unlimited duration for imitating temperament and movements. The imitation of sects and traits had a duration of one day, though he didn't yet fully understand what those specific terms meant. A complete replacement of another person's image had a duration of one *shichen*, or two hours. However, unlike the "Blood-Hand Butcher" title, which could not be deactivated at will once triggered—forcing him to wait for the killing intent to dissipate naturally—the image replacement of "Flawless" could be canceled by manually dismissing the title.

The only downside was that while it had been white in the corner before he activated it, it was now gray; he would not be able to equip it again for the time being.

He looked once more at the "Magic Crystal Creation Coffin (Inferior)" in his inventory. With a gentle tap on the icon, the coffin materialized before his eyes. It was a cyan, translucent magic coffin with curved bone spurs growing along its edges. Zhu Yuwen, dressed in a hospital gown, lay inside as mysterious spiritual liquid rose spontaneously from the base, submerging her.

Zhang Wuyong hailed a taxi and returned to his residential complex. He arrived home and unlocked the door. It was four in the morning. As he stepped inside, Zhang Tao emerged from his bedroom. "Why are you so late?"

"I waited a long time, but it seems there was no result from the consultation," Zhang Wuyong replied.

"Sigh," Zhang Tao sighed. "Your mother is over at Tongtong's place. Tongtong left a key here; you can go over there. Does the hospital still need anyone? Do you want me to go?"

"No need! Family isn't allowed in the intensive care unit anyway; they just need someone to be reachable when signatures are required. How about the shop?"

"Keep it closed for now. It won't hurt to be closed for a few days."

Zhang Wuyong nodded. He washed up and changed his clothes.

He went to the unit across the hall and used the key to enter. The living room light was on, and his mother sat up on the sofa. "Wuyong, just got back?"

"Yeah." Zhang Wuyong glanced toward Tongtong's room and said, "Mom, you should go home. I'll stay here."

"Sigh, alright! Keep Tongtong company," his mother said, standing up. "I hope your Auntie Zhu will be alright. Tongtong lost her father when she was so small; if anything were to happen to your Auntie Zhu... oh!"

After his mother left, Zhang Wuyong walked softly into Tongtong's room. A small nightlight glowed by her bedside. Zhang Wuyong saw her hands gripping the thin summer blanket tightly over her slender frame, as if only then could she find peace in her sleep.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Wuyong?"

"Did I wake you?" Zhang Wuyong sat beside her. After a moment of thought, he simply lay down next to her, watching her in the dim light of the nightlight. Her face was pale, with dried tear stains still visible. She reached out, grabbed the blanket with a trembling hand, and pulled it over him as well.

Zhang Wuyong moved closer and pulled her into his arms.

"Did you just come back from the hospital?" Tongtong’s voice was very soft.

"Yes. The hospital is trying everything they can. Trust me, it should be fine."

"Mm." Tongtong’s forehead rested gently against his chest.

"It's still early, get some more sleep," Zhang Wuyong said.

He stayed with Tongtong until the sunlight outside began to seep through the curtains. Summer mornings arrive early, and the light was already bright.

*Ding-dong! Ding-dong!* The sound of the doorbell echoed from the living room.

Tongtong sat up abruptly, her face turning even paler, as if she had been caught in a nightmare. Zhang Wuyong rubbed his eyes. "I'll go see who it is!"

He rolled out of bed, crossed the living room, and reached the door, peering through the peephole.

They had come, as expected!

Zhang Wuyong was, after all, only eighteen, not even yet a college student, and his heart was quite tense. Nevertheless, he did his best to appear composed. "It looks like Yao Xueqin's father, and someone else," he said, looking back, forcing his slightly trembling hands to steady themselves.

He opened the door. Two police officers stood in the hallway, the taller of whom was Yao Tong, the captain of the criminal investigation team. Both were dressed in formal police uniforms.

"Huh? Zhang Wuyong?" Yao Tong looked surprised to see him open the door.

"Uncle Yao," Zhang Wuyong asked, "is something the matter?"

"Where is Zhao Yutong?"

"She's inside." Zhang Wuyong stepped aside, moving to get them slippers for the living room.

"No need, we brought shoe covers," Yao Tong said.

After putting on the covers, Yao Tong entered and saw Zhao Yutong emerging from the room in a dress, her hair disheveled. He glanced at Zhang Wuyong. Had these two already been sleeping together? It seemed his own daughter truly had no chance left.

"Uncle Yao?" Tongtong looked at the two men who had come to see her so early in the morning with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing much!" Yao Tong said with a smile. "Just here to ask a few questions. Relax, it's just a routine inquiry, nothing major."

Zhang Wuyong had been extremely nervous, but at that moment, he felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. Was this truly "nothing major"? He couldn't quite grasp this bizarre emotion. It felt as if he had already flipped the chessboard, yet the people in front of him were still pretending to hold their pieces, acting as if the board were still intact, waiting for their turn to move.

But regardless, he realized they weren't here for him. This proved his theory correct: "Flawless" had successfully deceived the surveillance equipment and everything else.

Tongtong glanced at Zhang Wuyong, puzzled. Wasn't Yao Xueqin's father in the criminal investigation team? Wasn't what happened to her mother yesterday just a traffic accident? She wasn't very familiar with these things, though she supposed the criminal police might have jurisdiction over traffic cases.

The two officers sat on the sofa. Zhang Wuyong said, "I'll make you some tea!"

"No, no need!" Yao Tong waved a hand. "You sit down too. We all know each other, let's sit together. If there's anything you can think of, help us out."

Zhang Wuyong and Tongtong pulled up chairs and sat down on opposite sides of the coffee table. Yao Tong placed his notebook on the table and picked up a pen. "First off, you don't need to worry. This is just a normal inquiry. After all, we have to determine if it was purely a traffic accident or a case caused by gross personal negligence, right?"

Tongtong gripped the hem of her pajamas and nodded. This situation reminded her of the memories from when her father had his accident when she was little. She suddenly recalled that this same criminal investigation captain had been there then, too, and had even bought her and Wuyong boxed lunches.

Life had come full circle, it seemed. But this time, it was her mother who had met with disaster.