An Bao stood beside the young man at that very moment, a cup of water held in both hands, head tilted up to look at him.
Upon hearing An Bao's words, Xiao Fengfeng could no longer bear to watch and covered her eyes with her feathers.
An Bao was definitely going to get a beating……
But what surprised Xiao Fengfeng was that the young man only froze for the briefest moment before taking the water An Bao offered him. He raised it to his lips and took a small sip, wetting his throat, then tilted his head toward An Bao with a smile. "Yeah," he said lightly, "I guess Big Brother might be dying soon."
The boy must have been going through his voice change, yet his voice was not unpleasant—just a little hoarse.
When he said this, his tone held little grief or fear—yet the regret within it was unmistakable.
An Bao gazed at the young man with a look of half-comprehension, mulled it over for a moment, then asked, "So, are you scared, mister?"
"Mm, I used to be scared, but not anymore. I just worry that after I'm gone, Mom and Dad will be heartbroken."
The young man shook his head, then seemed to think of something and smiled softly, saying, "My mom cries so easily. If I died, she'd definitely cry for a very long time — and then my dad would have a headache figuring out how to console her."
An Bao listened to the young man's words and gave an approving little nod, saying earnestly: "When An Bao's mother passed away, An Bao was very sad too. But Master says that all people must die eventually, and if there are no lingering attachments after death, they go on to reincarnation! Those left living will forget her as time goes by."
"But An Bao will definitely never forget Mommy! And Big Brother's dad and mom will never forget Big Brother either! They must love Big Brother so, so much."
An Bao's chubby little face was full of earnestness, those bright, glistening eyes fixed on the young man as if trying with all their might to comfort him.
The young man gazed at the little dumpling's soft, adorable face, unable to keep his eyes from curving into a smile.
In truth, ever since he had fallen ill, quite a few people had come to offer him comfort.
But the comfort those people offered was, more or less, tinged with a sense of pity and sympathy.
Well-intentioned though it was, the young man did not appreciate it.
But the little chubby one before him was earnestly guiding him to come to terms with life and death. It was a peculiar feeling, yet it gave him a sense of being treated as an equal.
The young man reached out and ruffled An Bao's head, his slender fingers pale as alabaster — so translucent one could almost make out the veins beneath — and said, "You're right. They love me very much."
After a brief pause, the boy added one more line: "An Bao's mother must love An Bao very much too."
Upon hearing those words from the young man, An Bao's face immediately broke into a beaming smile.
The young man watched the little dumpling laugh, and found himself laughing along.
His refined features seemed bathed in a layer of warm sunlight — simply looking at him made one feel a gentleness soft as water.
But soon, the young man began to cough violently again. This time the fit was severe — even as he hastily pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, he still coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
Vivid crimson blood soaked his white shirt, red as the manjushage in full bloom — seductively, hauntingly beautiful, like one last bacchanal on the threshold of the end.
"Hey! Are you okay? Hey!"
An Bao, seeing this, grew a little anxious and quickly reached out a small hand to rest on the young man's wrist, her small face filled with solemnity.
"A deficient pulse — felt soft and feeble at the superficial, middle, and deep levels alike, its form thin, small, and hollow. This is nothing less than a sign of depleted qi and blood, the original vital essence worn away to its very limit……"
At that, An Bao looked up at Xiao Fengfeng and said, "Xiao Fengfeng, Big Brother is really going to die……"
“……”
The young man, likely dazed from coughing up blood, slumped weakly against his wheelchair, utterly devoid of strength, his eyelids drooping ceaselessly, with the sense that his life was drawing to its end.
It should have been a moment of melancholy, yet hearing the little milk bun over there taking his pulse, that soft baby voice chattering on and on, he felt, inexplicably, a quiet sense of peace.
"An Bao, the needles—use the needles on him!" Xiao Fengfeng darted back and forth anxiously at the side, urging An Bao on.
"Oh oh oh!"
An Bao hurriedly nodded her little head, then rummaged and rummaged through the tiny pocket on her person until she pulled out a bundle of silver needles.
But An Bao was small, so she climbed onto the young man using all fours, plopped herself right down onto his lap, then drew out a silver needle and began jabbing it into him.
An Bao was small, but her needlework was remarkably swift.
An Bao inserted the needles one by one, all the while muttering under her breath: "Shenque… Qihai… Taiyin…
In no time at all, the young man's face and body were covered with silver needles, like a hedgehog.
Meanwhile, after Academician Chen had examined Mu Yunyi's condition, he arrived at a conclusion: "Mr. Mu's physical health is excellent—far superior to that of the average person. He could even… run a marathon right now without any trouble."
When Academician Chen said this, even he himself felt surprised.
He had also heard Dr. Shen describe Mu Yunyi's physical condition to him — stable, yes, but clearly not the kind that could produce such robust health.
And this had only been two days — no matter how one looked at it, such a transformation seemed far too unlikely.
Unless…
Academician Chen thought of the pill An Bao had fed Mu Yunyi, and his intuition told him it had to be because of that medicine. He immediately decided that upon returning, he would thoroughly analyze the composition of that pill.
Hearing Academician Chen's words, Mu Yunyi felt no exaggeration in them whatsoever—after all…
No one knew his own body better than he did.
Mu Yunyi got out of bed, his mind turning over the question of who had been scheming against him. He joined Mu Yunshang in offering their thanks to Academician Chen, then prepared to see him out.
As it turned out, the moment the three of them came downstairs, they were startled by the sight outside the floor-to-ceiling windows on the lower floor.
Mu Yunyi's face darkened as he roared at the little dumpling sitting astride the young man and needling him: "What do you think you're doing?"
An Bao was startled, but luckily it was the last needle in her hand. Once she finished the insertion, she quickly slid down from the young man's body.
The little one had barely steadied themselves when the back of their collar tightened, and the small, chubby dumpling was hoisted up by Mu Yunyi.
"E-eldest Uncle…"
An Bao gazed at Mu Yunyi's storm-dark face with a pitiful, wronged look, fearfully shrinking his neck back, his voice laced with a hint of aggrievement.
"Are you trying to get someone killed?"
Mu Yunyi stared at the boy who had been turned into a pincushion, teeth clenched as he berated An Bao.
"I — An Bao didn't, An Bao only saved the young man because An Bao saw he was about to die, that's all…"
An Bao had been wrongly accused by Mu Yunyi. Her eyes reddened at once, tears pooling at their rims, hovering on the verge of falling but never quite spilling — a sight that could not have been more pitiful.
Mu Yunshang saw this and hurried forward to say something, but was cut off directly by Mu Yunyi: "Mu Yunshang, I was unconscious, not dead! I already told you that day not to let people of unknown origin stay in the Mu household — are you deaf?"
"I……"
Mu Yunshang was taken aback at the sight of Mu Yunyi's fury, yet he understood well enough that Mu Yunyi's anger was not without reason.
After all, just look at the state An Bao had left people in with all that poking……
Although no one knew the young man's background, the very fact that Academician Chen kept him constantly by his side made it clear he was no ordinary person.
If this young man were to die at the Mu family estate because of An Bao, it would most certainly be a troublesome affair.
Mu Yunyi said nothing more, simply grabbed An Bao and strode out of the villa.
"Elder Uncle, wuu wuu wuu! Elder Uncle, An Bao really didn't……"
"Get lost! I am not your uncle! From this day forward, never show your face in the Mu family again!"
Mu Yunyi threw An Bao out of the villa, his voice cold as he issued his threats.