"Master Wu, the warehouse is on fire!"
Ma Wu had just returned from Black Stone Slope and had slept for less than an hour when Zhen Jincheng woke him.
Ma Wu threw on his clothes and got out of bed. He said helplessly, "Those warehouses are completely useless. I’ve been wanting to tear them down for ages but never got around to it. Now they’re causing trouble!"
Huoling rubbed her eyes and said, "It’s just a fire, what’s there to be afraid of? I’ll go help put it out."
"You’d better stay out of it; you’d only make things worse!" Ma Wu retorted.
He went to the warehouse to direct everyone in fighting the fire. The warehouses were filled with old tarpaulins, making them difficult to extinguish once they caught fire. Everyone was frantically busy. Ma Wu felt extremely anxious, fearing Xiaoyao Lodge would burn down. Suddenly, a middle-aged man approached him and said, "Tell Li Qi to meet me at Yuelai Restaurant at seven o’clock tomorrow evening. If he’s late, *you* will lose *your* life."
"Who are you?" Ma Wu was stunned. When he turned to look again, the middle-aged man had vanished.
The fire grew larger, and Ma Wu could no longer spare a thought for the middle-aged man, continuing to fight the blaze.
By dawn, the fire was successfully extinguished, but half of the warehouse had burned down.
Exhausted, Ma Wu lay down in bed and fell asleep.
Once he lay down, Ma Wu couldn’t get up again.
First, he grew cold, shivering uncontrollably.
Then, his body became scorching hot; even Huoling found him burning to the touch.
"He’s sick from exhaustion! Hurry, call a doctor!"
「...」
Li Banfeng hid in the Portable Residence until noon.
Tu Yinghong had come this time resolved to fight to the death.
Winning this battle had relied entirely on thorough preparation.
But after the victory, Li Banfeng sensed a new danger.
This meant Tu Yinghong had brought allies.
Xiaoyao Lodge had Zuo Wugang, Huoling, and many other skilled individuals protecting it, yet Li Banfeng still couldn’t rest easy. He ate a hasty meal and returned to Xiaoyao Lodge.
As soon as he entered, he saw Zuo Wugang frantically shouting for people.
"What happened?" Li Banfeng asked.
Zuo Wugang said anxiously, "Seventh Master, thank goodness you’re back! Master Wu is in critical condition!"
"What do you mean, ’critical condition’?"
"Last night, the warehouse caught fire. Master Wu led us in putting it out. He must have overexerted himself. He collapsed into bed and hasn’t been able to get up since!"
Li Banfeng hurried to see Ma Wu.
Upon seeing Li Banfeng, Ma Wu’s mind seemed to clear a little.
He remembered the middle-aged man’s words from the previous night: "Tell Li Qi to meet me at Yuelai Restaurant at seven o’clock tomorrow evening. If he’s late, *you* will lose *your* life."
"Old Qi," Ma Wu clutched Li Banfeng’s arm tightly, his voice weak. "Last night, I..."
Panting for a moment, Ma Wu didn’t continue.
Ma Wu shook his head and closed his eyes.
Li Banfeng touched Ma Wu’s forehead, then turned and shouted to the others, "Where’s the doctor? Call the doctor over!"
Zuo Wugang said, "We’ve already had over a dozen doctors look at him, but it’s no use!"
"Get a renowned doctor, the best one!"
Zuo Wugang remained silent; the doctors he had summoned were all renowned.
"Go find more! Quickly, bring all the doctors in the city here!"
Cao Zhida trotted into the bedroom. "Seventh Master, there’s a new hospital in the city. They’re said to have real skills and specialize in difficult and obscure illnesses."
"What are you waiting for? Go invite them!"
"I went," Cao Zhida replied. "But they’re too high and mighty; they don’t make house calls!"
Zuo Wugang said, "Prepare the carriage. We’ll take Master Wu there."
"To hell with preparing a carriage!"
Li Banfeng asked for the address, lifted Ma Wu onto his back, and rushed out of Xiaoyao Lodge.
On the way, Ma Wu gasped, "Old Qi, I should have died long ago. I should have died back in Blue Poplar Village. It’s thanks to you I’ve lived this long. I’ve had a good run."
"What do you mean, ’a good run’? This is hardly the end!"
"Old Qi, put me down. This illness... it might be contagious."
"Stop talking nonsense. Close your eyes and rest."
"Old Qi, our livelihood, everything... we’ve entrusted it all to you. You can’t just give up on it. This is ours... our life’s blood..."
"We’re almost at the hospital! We’re almost there!"
Li Banfeng charged into the hospital. It had a very unique name: Boundless.
The hospital wasn’t large, but it was crowded with patients. Li Banfeng, still carrying Ma Wu, rushed towards the ward. A nurse stepped forward to block him, saying, "What are you doing? You need to register to see a doctor!"
"This is an emergency!"
"You still need to register, even for an emergency."
"Please, treat him first! I’ll go register right now!"
The nurse glanced at Ma Wu and said, "Is this man even alive? I don’t think registration will be necessary."
Li Banfeng raised his head and looked at the nurse. "What did you just say?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.
The nurse shivered in fright as a man walked up from behind her.
She quickly hid behind the man, pointing at Li Banfeng. "Director, this man is here to cause trouble!"
The man, addressed as Director, wore a white cap and a mask, revealing only his eyes.
Li Banfeng said, "You’re the Director? Please, treat him. I’ll go register immediately."
"Li Qi?" The Director pulled down his mask.
Li Banfeng was taken aback. He recognized the man.
"Cui Tiq? You’re the director here?"
It was the foreigner, Cui Tiq, a Disease Cultivator.
They hadn’t seen each other since parting ways at Hai Chi Ridge.
Cui Tiq nodded. "This is my hospital. I’ve focused all my endeavors on Puluo State. I love Puluo State."
Cui Tiq looked at Ma Wu and instructed the nurse to prepare for emergency treatment immediately.
Li Banfeng carried Ma Wu into the emergency room. Cui Tiq said, "Please wait outside."
Li Banfeng quickly left the examination room. The nurse was about to help Cui Tiq prepare instruments, but Cui Tiq said to her, "You go out too."