Chapter 56 Prepare for Medicine-refining
The next morning, Lin Luoran tells nobody that a man has gone to her room last night. However, Mu Tiannan takes his leave, saying that there is an emergency in his family and he has to hurry back.
Mrs. Lin has no doubt. Although she hopes that this nice young man can spend more time with her daughter, she shall not stop him from going home, right?
After Mu Tiannan leaves, Mrs. Lin just stares at her daughter and sighs all the time. As for Mu Tiannan, when he drives out of Lin's house, his smiling face cools down. He is frowning and trying hard to keep his mouth shut, but blood spills out.
Mu Tiannan holds the steering wheel with one hand and wipes the blood off with another. His mind goes absent for a while and bursts out a sudden smile.
"Such a ruthless woman!"
But I like her... Mu Tiannan looks back to the red gate of Lin's and shows an obscure smile.
The smile happens to affect his inner injuries, and he has to punch the steering wheel to ease the pain. Mu Tiannan starts the car and steps on the gas.
The "ruthless" Lin Luoran has no idea about Master Mu's mental activities. Even if she does, she will just sniff at him. She is not a stupid anthomaniac who will be happy when a handsome thief breaks into her house. Since Mu Tiannan dare not care about her reputation, he certainly deserves being beaten.
Thinking about the bit of Reiki merged in her attack, Lin Luoran can't help laughing. Her attack is not lethal, but Mu Tiannan may suffer a lot in a long time from now.
Lin Luoran thinks nothing about whether she may expose herself. The road of cultivation is long and dangerous. How can she survive that if she is over-cautious?
Keeping her plan in mind, Lin Luoran enters the space with a knife.
She has gained lots of Reiki from her trip to Ruili. Her body can't absorb too much, so most of the Reiki is imported to the space. Because of the adequacy of Reiki, the medicines have got the chance to flourish.
The sapling beside the spring is destined not to change. And the black epiphyllum has been staying low since its bloom enhances Lin Luoran's spirit and turns into ashes.
What is changed is the first foreign resident of the space—The fleece flower Lin Luoran picks up from the market. It blooms out of the blue!
Also, the seven ginseng seedlings surrounding the fleece flower... Oh, one of them has been given as a gift to Master Jia and there are only six left. Leaves of the six seedlings are green with a strip growing in the center. Are the little buds on the top of the strips the flower buds of ginseng?
Lin Luoran first planted the ginseng seeds in autumn, and now it's already winter. Three months have passed. Does the ginseng in her space need a hundred years to bear fruit?
Though she has bought some cultivated ginseng seeds and planted them in the space, Lin Luoran values these wild seeds the most. She can't help being happy, thinking that she may be about to harvest some seeds from the wild ginseng.
The fleece flower is blooming, and it won't take long to bear fruit. Lin Luoran's original plan is to pull it up but she can't do this right now.
She can wait a few days, right?
Since she already brings a knife inside, Lin Luoran can't just go out with nothing. Those ordinary medicines in the space that can meet her need suffer from being cut.
Oh, this angelica is nice. It must be much better than angelica in the store. That's it!
This tuckahoe is the one Lin Luoran gathers with her dad from the mountain. Back then she didn't know what it was, but it actually had more Reiki than other plants. Lin Luoran later looks up in the books and learns its name.
However, there are some medicinal plants which are not recorded in current materials. Lin Luoran can see the flowing Reiki in them, which makes her suspect that they are normally used by people in the higher class—like cultivators.
Of course, those are totally her guesses. She will have to explore the truth by herself.
This wolfberry is flourishing and it has almost reached the land of the hyssop. Lin Luoran picks up the fruit of the wolfberry and prepares to use the spare ones to make medicinal liquor for her dad.
The hyssop may be useful, either. Lin Luoran feels sorry to pull it up.
After gathering all the medicines that she needs in the space, Lin Luoran goes to the drug store and buys some dodder. Dodder needs to be soaked in alcohol to grow and she doesn't have any seed of it in her space.
Lin Luoran now has everything she needs except the fleece flower and she starts the processing in the back yard. There are rules in making traditional Chinese medicine, and medicines made in different methods will have various effects.
For example, Lin Luoran's prescription is to soak most of the medicines in alcohol and dry them in the sun.
These medicines need different methods and durations while soaking in alcohol. Take hyssop as an example, Lin Luoran has to take all the leaves off and soak the hyssop in alcohol for a day. Then, instead of just drying it in the sun, she shall first steam it with the fleece flower.
The steps are trivial, which makes Lin Luoran frustrated. However, she has to follow them—If one day she obtains an alchemy stove and alchemy fire like what is written in cultivation novels, will she be able to put all the medicines in the stove and simply wait for the fruit?
Since refining medicines in the mortal world can be so complicated, Lin Luoran doubts that the plots in cultivation novels must be fake.
Mr. and Mrs. Lin have seen their daughter busying with pouring alcohol in bottles to soak medicines. On the fifth day, Mr. Lin finally can't bear his curiosity so he sends Mrs. Lin to asks,
"Luoran, are you making medicinal liquor for your dad to build up his health? Isn't it too troublesome?"
Lin Luoran is speechless. Turns out her parents think that she is making medicinal liquor. She has to explain to them that she is trying to refine medicines into pills for Wang Miao'e. She makes them understand after a long speech. Of course, she gives some wolfberry fruit to her dad as the material to make medicinal liquor.
It's not because Lin Luoran is not filial that she doesn't use the ginseng and fleece flower in the space to build up her parents' health. Mr. and Mrs. Lin are ordinary people now. Their body contains lots of impurities so that ginseng will do nothing good for them. Lin Luoran has insisted on providing vegetables from the space to them so that they can detox in a slow and stable way.
On the night of the tenth day, which is the 100th day on total, flowers on the fleece flower are withered and it bears a small green fruit.
Lin Luoran holds on for another two days, waiting for the fruit to grow stronger. Then she pours some spring water to the root of the fleece flower and picks up all the fruit. She stores them carefully.
The seeds are from a one-hundred-year-old fleece flower in the space, whose quality will exceed its old self. When she plants the seeds again, she will definitely harvest some medicine with almost the same efficacy as ginseng—Then, fleece flower can deserve its title of one of the "Four Panaceas" in the world!
As for the plant of fleece flower, Lin Luoran takes it out by the root and she even makes its vines into dry tuber fleece flower stem.
As an amateur cultivator, Lin Luoran's first medicine-refining is about to begin.
Chapter 57 It's not Easy to Refine Medicine
In traditional Chinese medicine, there are unprocessed fleece flower and steamed fleece flower. Different processing methods give fleece flower diverse efficacies.
Making unprocessed fleece flower has to wash up fresh fleece flower and soak it in water till it is 80% wet. After taking it out, let it sit until its degree of wetness is even. Then, cut it into slices or cubes and dry them in the sun.
Lin Luoran needs to make steamed fleece flower this time. She puts clean fleece flower in the mixture of black bean milk, yellow wine and milk, and uses a crock to steam it until all the yellow wine and black bean milk is absorbed by the fleece flower. Then she takes it out and let it dry in the sun.
Hearing that the gift of Lin Luoran for her is a home-made pill, Wang Miao'e has come several times to look, but she is confused by all those complicated steps.
Though she can't figure out what kind of pill Lin Luoran is making, Wang Miao'e feels grateful before she gets the gift since she has seen how troublesome the procedures are.
The raw stone Lin Luoran buys for herself in Ruili happens to arrive. Wang Miao'e goes to buy a full set of stone-cutting tools as the present in return for Lin Luoran.
The building Lin Luoran lives in has a basement. Wang Miao'e knows since she was a child that the basement was a treasure house of Jia's which was later reconstructed it into a training room by Mr. Jia.
As the present owner of the house, Lin Luoran is embarrassed that she knows less about the house than Wang Miao'e does. She asks the workers to move the tools into the basement so that she can cut open stone or cultivate in there at an inconvenient time.
The steaming and drying of fleece flower have to be done for nine times. She has to put black beans in the casserole and steam the beans with fleece flower in a wood retort. Then, she shall take the fleece flower out, let it dry in the sun and repeat the procedure from the beginning.
Luckily, there is still a traditional stove in the back yard, or else Lin Luoran has to build one by herself.
For the seventh time, add the hyssop soaked in alcohol. After the ninth time, the fleece flower has become smooth powders without grinding.
After every kind of medicines is ready, Lin Luoran uses a stone mortar and grinds the medicines together into powder. She chooses to use stone mortar not to be pretentious, but that the prescription has noted clearly that no ironware shall be used during the process... Traditional Chinese medicine is so marvelous.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Lin are watching the fun, and Luodong is staring at Lin Luoran's actions without blinking. After Lin Luoran uses honey to make the powder into bolus, Luodong stares at the brown little bolus and swallows the saliva in his mouth. His eyes are shining,
"Chocolate?"
These round fragrant brown boluses look really like marble chocolate. Lin Luoran can see with her clear eyes that Reiki in the boluses made from all kinds of medicines are merged perfectly. The medicinal efficacies are stable, emitting extraordinary spirit. If she can't see this, Lin Luoran will also doubt that the things she spends so much effort on making are actually marble chocolate.
"Girl, what kind of medicine have you made? Are they edible?" Mrs. Lin picks up a bolus. Except for its fragrance, she can't see anything else special.
Lin Luoran puts the boluses into customized porcelain bottles. The boluses are a bit larger than soybeans and they fill four bottles which each contains over 100 ones.
Lin Luoran finishes packing and says to her mom, "Of course they are efficient. I have made them based on the book of our family. Right, dad, where is the book?"
Though Lin Luoran's family is poor, it has two heirlooms. One is the bracelet and the other is a tattered book on medicine. The second half of the book is lost, and the remaining half is bitten by worms. When Lin Luoran was a little girl, she used to learn calligraphy from Uncle Li. She didn't have the money to buy copybooks, so she just imitated the writing on the medicine book. She had written one prescription for thousands of times so she now can still remember every word in it—It is the prescription she follows to make the honeyed boluses today.
The name of the boluses is tacky. It is called "Skin Beauty Bolus". Just as its name implies, it is used by women to improve their looks. Lin Luoran is willing to use the precious fleece flower in her space to make this bolus because she believes in the prescription on the medicine book—After she knows that there is a mysterious space in the bead, she has more faith in the book, too. After all, it is also her family heirloom.
Although the medicine book is incomplete and tattered, Mr. Lin learns how to identify lots of medicines from it. When Lin Luoran was little, her dad would gather some herbal medicines according to the book and boil them for her to drink when she got sick. One dose of the medicine was effective enough to cure minor illnesses.
It now seems that the book is also a treasure. But it's a pity that the second half of it is lost...
Hearing Lin Luoran's question, Mr. Lin scratches his head and says, "I almost forget about the book. We come here in a hurry and forget to bring the book. We shall go fetch it the other day. It is the heirloom of our family."
Knowing that they have to go on a trip to Li's Village, Lin Luoran frowns. She doesn't want to let her parents go by themselves, so she says with a smile, "You have to take the bus to go back, which is uncomfortable. I'll just drive back to get the book."
The "Skin Beauty Bolus" is filled with Reiki and it smells good. Water used in its processing is from the spring in the space, and most of the medicines are originally planted in the space either. Lin Luoran has a feeling that the medicine may have better efficacies than what is written in the book. Looking at her parents who have silver hair but become younger because of the vegetable and water in the space, Lin Luoran gives two bottles of the Skin Beauty Bolus to them.
Mrs. Lin is dubious of the bolus. She has a hard time believing that eating the bolus can make people younger. Mr. Lin is actually reluctant to eat this "girlish" bolus.
Lin Luoran is speechless about her stubborn parents. Though she has talked a lot about the space to them, she is not able to show them around in the space. Besides, she remains to be an amateur cultivator and she hasn't made much achievements by now. Hence, her parents still think she is that cute ordinary little girl. They don't understand that even as an amateur cultivator, Lin Luoran is quite capable.
Luckily, Lin Luoran has gained control on the Reiki inside of her body. She directs some Reiki and makes them into a thin rope. She then forces the rope out of her body and uses it to pick up a leaf over her mom's head.
Seeing that the leaf is moving when there is no wind and it is circling around them, Mr. and Mrs. Lin finally realize that their daughter has already become half an immortal— She can conjure plenty of fresh vegetables out of thin air, and her appearance is changed. She can refine medicine and make leaves dance. What can these be other than immortal's skills?
Lin Luoran is relaxed since her parents have accepted the Skin Beauty Bolus. She puts the other two bottle of boluses into the space and instantly goes out. Lin Luoran notices that Luodong is staring at her curiously and thinking about something.
Lin Luoran smiles at Luodong's serious look. She assumes that in the eyes of such a little kid, making things disappear in a second must be interesting.
Luodong is a member of the family. Shall she find a time to enlighten him on cultivation?
Thinking that herself is still an amateur, Lin Luoran starts to hesitate about this idea.
Chapter 58 Rushed Trip to Old Home
In fact, the skin and figure of Wang Miao'e have already improved a lot thanks to the vegetables Lin Luoran sends her. The toxin in her body is expelled gradually. Wang Miao'e and her husband only think that the improvements are caused by the fresh and pollution-free vegetables.
However, this bottle of Skin Beauty Bolus is so precious. Lin Luoran has spent over ten days to make it from all the valuable medicines.
"I'm the only girl in my family, and I don't have any siblings. Luoran, you are like a real sister to me!"
Common interest is only one of the reasons why Lin Luoran and Wang Miao'e become friends. Wang Miao'e is moved that Lin Luoran is willing to step up so much efforts to prepare a gift for her.
Hearing about the process of Lin Luoran making the bolus, Fatty Cui can't help sighing that Wang Miao'e really gets herself a good sister. He remembers that Mu Tiannan has asked him about Lin Luoran in Ruili. Out of the gratitude to Lin Luoran's kind gift, Fatty Cui tells her all about Mu Tiannan and reminds her that he is a mysterious martial art expert.
Mu Tiannan can bend a steel bar with his bare hands? Lin Luoran thinks to herself that he certainly can be regarded as an expert on martial art in the mortal world. However, thinking that he is knocked down by her one move, Lin Luoran is pleased.
Some people may naturally dislike each other, like Lin Luoran and Mu Tiannan. In this case, she shall never feel guilty about attacking him.
"Mu Tiannan is looking for jade with Reiki?" Lin Luoran is surprised when she hears the word "Reiki" coming out of Fatty Cui's mouth, though she already suspects that someone has noticed the uniqueness of the jade she refines with Reiki.
"Yeah. Your Brother Cui is only a normal fatty. How can I know about Reiki... I have a feeling that he is on you now. Sister Lin, you are only a weak little girl. You must stay alerted and never confront him."
Lin Luoran appreciates Fatty Cui's advice, but she really wants to say that she is everything but weak...
Still, since Mu Tiannan is aware of "Reiki", will it be possible that some cultivators are backing him up?
On the way back to her old home, Lin Luoran isn't having the intention to "looking for her relatives". Even they are both cultivators, there are good ones and bad ones. She knows nothing about him by now and she isn't going to confront him—Alright, she really wants to exchange experience or learn something from other cultivators, but only on the condition that she is safe.
Lin Luoran arrives at her old home. Aunty Li is cleaning the yard. Seeing Lin Luoran's car coming in, Aunty Li puts down the broom and welcomes, "Luoran, why do you have time to come back? It's your day off today?"
"Yeah, aunty. Sorry to trouble you with looking after our house."
Straightforward as she is, Aunty Li is a little embarrassed by the lots of gifts Lin Luoran brings for her. She keeps saying that Lin Luoran shouldn't have spent so much money on the gifts.
Aunty Li whispers to Lin Luoran after they go in the house, "Luoran, you have to be careful when you are at home alone. Li Anping is here these days and he keeps hanging around your house. He even asks me about your address in the city... I know he is plotting something awful."
Li Anping? He still can't give up... They have broken up for over three months. Lin Luoran feels like a different person and she has long since put him behind her. She can't even remember clearly what he looks like.
She really doesn't care about him. The hate of him sneaking into her house is just hilarious now.
Lin Luoran smiles absently, "I only come to pick up a few things. I have nothing to do with Li Anping now. If he dares to do anything bad, I won't spare him. Aunty, you don't need to worry about me."
Aunty Li nods. Hearing that Lin Luoran comes to pick up things, she assumes that they may be something valuable. Aunty Li believes that it is inappropriate for her to stay and help, so she runs home to prepare for lunch after inviting Lin Luoran over.
Lin Luoran fails to turn down Aunty Li's invitation and agrees to come for lunch since her family always have a good relationship with Aunty Li's.
Lin Luoran enters the room after seeing Aunty Li off. It's less than a month since they move away, and the old furniture is covered with dust. Lin Luoran opens a mottled red suitcase in her parents' room and takes out a book wrapped in cloth.
It is a thread-bound book with a blue cover. The pages are yellowed and scattered with worm-bites. This is the medicine book which has been passed on for generations in Lin's family.
Lin Luoran smiles. She was worried that the book may be lost. She puts the book into the space instantly. There is no place safer in the world than the one and only space of hers.
******
While Lin Luoran is searching for the medicine book, Li Anping's house is noisy. The minute Lin Luoran drives in the village, Eighth Sister Li who always wanders around sees her.
Eighth Sister Li is a well-known big mouth. Naturally, she runs to Li Anping's house and delivers the message—It's not that she is warm-hearted. She just loves being a bystander.
Li Anping, who has lost love and job recently, is experiencing the hardship in the world. Just when he is in decadence, he hears that Lin Luoran, who used to be all obedient to him, has returned. Lin Luoran is rich now. Li Anping jumps up and wants to go out to find her!
His skinny mom holds him in the back with her strong arm, "Anping, don't be mad! That bitch threated to break my legs last time! This kind of evil woman is not qualified to be my daughter-in-law!"
Eighth Sister Li is watching the fun in Li Anping's house. Hearing Li Anping's mom's words, she sneers in her heart, "What a shameless woman! How can she say that she doesn't want Lin Luoran to be her daughter-in-law! The current situation is that Lin doesn't want Li Anping!"
Thinking of Lin Luoran's pretty face behind the car window and looking at Li Anping's sloppiness, Eighth Sister Li is certain that the two of them don't match at all.
Li Anping takes his mom's advice. At lunchtime, he sneaks out and heads to Lin Luoran's old house. He sees the brand-new BMW parked there and remembers Lin Luoran's trap on Elly in Ruili and what she did the last time she was here. Li Anping's confidence suddenly is lost...
While Li Anping is having random thoughts in the dark, he sees Lin Luoran hurries out from Aunty Li's house and gets on the BMW. She walks right past him and pretends to not know him. Hate makes Li Anping's face red. He scolds to himself, "Little bitch!" However, Li Anping doesn't dare to move and he just helplessly sees Lin Luoran drive out of the village.
"One day, one day..." Li Anping whispers. No one knows what he plans to do one day.
Chapter 59 Baojia is in Danger
Lin Luoran almost rushes out of Aunty Li's house like smoke. She jumps on her car but fails to turn on the ignition because her hands are trembling.
Her whole body is also shaking. Lin Luoran now forgets that she is a cultivator. Her natural sense of helplessness entangles her like seaweed in the deep sea. The more she struggles, the tighter it becomes. She can barely breathe now.
Lin Luoran was having lunch in Aunty Li's house just now. Aunty Li's son who studied in junior high school was also home. The four of them were talking and laughing in a harmonious atmosphere, and Lin Luoran was thinking that she may have time to go to the cliff after lunch and get the quartzite accompanying the black epiphyllum. Who could know that she received a call from Baojia half way through lunch.
Baojia sounded extremely tired. Lin Luoran became suspicious and she was going to inquire what Baojia had been doing these days. Then she heard a large noise of fraction caused by emergency braking!
"Bang!" The car seemed to hit something and Baojia's cellphone was thrown out. The busy tone came, and Baojia's voice was gone—Baojia must have an accident. It must be... Lin Luoran knew from her instinct. What's more, before the car was hit, she heard Baojia saying "help me" in a low voice.
Whiling driving, Lin Luoran can feel herself shaking. As an arrogant girl, Baojia has called for Lin Luoran's help over the phone—It must be more than a car accident. Something more serious which Lin Luoran is not aware of must have happened, and Baojia's life may be in danger!
Lin Luoran can barely control the steering wheel. Her cellphone rings when she just arrives at the county town. It is Liu Zheng—Lin Luoran's heart almost skips a beat, and she gets through the phone after pushing the answer key several times.
"Luoran, Baojia has a car accident..."
Car accident. Baojia is in danger. There is haze in Lin Luoran's eyes. She tries her best to hold the sadness and says in a grave voice—
"Liu Zheng, arrange for me the fastest flight to the capital... I will be grateful to you forever."
After a few seconds of silence, Liu Zheng finally says yes.
Lin Luoran hangs up. She sniffs to keep back the tears in her eyes. She must stay calm now. Baojia is waiting for her!
Five minutes later, Liu Zheng calls Lin Luoran back.
"Head to the airport. The flight is ready."
"Thank you." Lin Luoran steps on the gas. Her BMW weaves through the traffic. Speeding, red light running, she violates every traffic regulations she can. However, Lin Luoran can't care less about those right now. All she wants is to get to Baojia as soon as she can.
If the relation between her and Wang Miao'e is friendship with mutual help, Lin Luoran and Baojia are like real sisters!
Baojia, you have to wait for me...
******
Lin Luoran arrives at the airport within an hour.
Liu Zheng himself is waiting for Lin Luoran at the airport.
He is Baojia's fiancé. If he doesn't go to the capital now, Lin Luoran even wants to slap him. Thus she is not surprised to see him here.
The two of them don't have the mood to catch up. They walk directly to the plane Liu Zheng prepares—It is a helicopter.
Before getting on the plane, Lin Luoran calls home. She doesn't want her parents to worry, so she hides the truth and only tells them that Baojia has an emergency so she has to go to the capital immediately.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Luoran remembers that she still has a "big enemy" called Elly in R City. She is not at home and she can't predict what she will be facing in the capital. Lin Luoran is afraid that Elly may make trouble, so she says to Liu Zheng with hesitation,
"If something happens to me, can you please look after my parents?"
The helicopter rotor is spinning fast. Wind is aroused around them, breaking Lin Luoran's voice. Liu Zheng jumps on the helicopter first and offers his hand to Lin Luoran,
"What are you saying? What can happen to you?"
Lin Luoran looks up at him with eyes cold like a frozen lake. Liu Zheng's appearance is reflected in her peaceful pupils.
"I don't believe you have no inside information... If something happens to Baojia, I don't know what I will do. So, can you please look after my parents?"
Lin Luoran's hair is dancing in the wind, covering half of her face. Still, her calm eyes are so unique. Liu Zheng says yes to Lin Luoran's request seriously.
Lin Luoran smiles. Her smiling face in the cold winter is so breathtaking that all staff here are stunned.
She doesn't reach to Liu Zheng's hand and jumps on the helicopter by herself like a lithe swallow.
With his hand hanging there, Liu Zheng feels a sting in his heart. Lin Luoran won't even touch his hand. She must blame him—for failing to protect Baojia.
The helicopter takes off. Lin Luoran's face is awfully cold. For several times, Liu Zheng opens his mouth and tries to say something, but he becomes unspeakable when he senses Lin Luoran's sudden indifference. He can only look out through the window... Seeing from up here, cloud floating all year round over S Province envelopes the basin which is surrounded by mountains. The mountains are hazed, just like the relationship between him and Lin Luoran.
Sitting on her seat, Lin Luoran has to direct the Reiki inside of her to flow around her body again and again in order to calm herself down.
Thanks to Liu Zheng or Commander Qin, the helicopter lands on the roof of one of the buildings of The General Capital Military Hospital.
Several core personnels including a military officer in uniform gather around. Lin Luoran assumes that they all work for Commander Qin and she drags the officer over regardless of her image and asks, "What happened to Baojia?!"
The military officer salutes to her but feels awkward to answer the question. He leads her to the operating room where a red light is on.
Commander Qin is smoking on the bench outside of the operating room. Seeing that Lin Luoran and Liu Zheng are here, he nods his head—His granddaughter is lying in the operating room, and Baojia is the only child of his daughter who has died before her time. This old man who used to be vigorous now looks ten years older.
Commander Qin refused to violate his principles when she asked him to help with Luodong's adoption, but he now arranges to let their helicopter land directly on the roof of the hospital... Lin Luoran's heart becomes colder since she gets off the helicopter, and she can no longer hold the tears back as she sees Commander Qin's status.
"Grandpa Qin, Baojia... How is Baojia doing?"
Commander Qin has been through a fierce war. Still, staring at the operating room, he can't hide the sadness in his eyes and his voice sounds so cracked,
"She has been in surgery. Thank you for coming... The doctor says that her condition is not good."
The military officer who shows them the way here punches on the white wall of the hospital. His eyes are red like a beast's!
"Commander, I will kill him to avenge Miss. Qin!" He is held back tightly by other soldiers who push him against the wall,
"Calm down! You will harm Miss. Qin and Commander if you do that!"
In surgery. It has been hours since the accident and Baojia is still in surgery. Her condition is bad. Does the doctor give a critical condition notice? What about "thank you for coming"? Does it mean...?
Her worries have been confirmed. Lin Luoran almost falls over. Her strength seems to be completely drawn out at the moment.
She is always an introverted person and most people believe it is difficult to get along with her. She doesn't have many friends. Except for her parents, the person who treats her best is not her ex-boyfriend Li Anping, but Qin Baojia, who always says that she will protect her and keep her safe—
Baojia, I'm coming for you... I will kill whoever wants to harm you.
Chapter 60 Flower is about to Fade
Soldiers finally manage to pin down the "crazy" officer. The sound of high heels comes from the other end of the hallway.
It is a lady in her forties in a red suit. She walks here elegantly with a bunch of men surrounding her.
Everybody here is grieving because of Baojia's condition. The lady comes with her bodyguards and her red suit looks inconsistent with their black uniform. Lin Luoran naturally dislikes this woman. The officer who has been pinned down starts to struggle again, looking at the woman with murderous eyes.
The lady seems to detest these rustic soldiers. She tilts her head and says, "Commander Qin."
Commander Qin looks up. His pupils constrict. He answers in a cold voice, "Mrs. Zou, what's done is done, and there is no use in discussing it. We shall just follow the procedures."
Mrs. Zou frowns. Then she takes out a handkerchief and pretends to wipe away tears on her face. She says, "Commander Qin, you know better than anyone about the situation in my family. My son is overbearing, but he loves Baojia. Even he knows that she is engaged, he will never try to hurt her... This is just a misunderstanding."
Before Commander Qin says anything, the military officer swears, "Misunderstanding? A misunderstanding can put Miss. Qin's life on the line?! Others may fear your powerful family, I don't! I, Lu Sanchun, don't care about my cheap life! Your son Zou Yaowei deliberately hits Miss. Qin's car because he can't force her into a marriage..."
Tears are still hanging on the corner of Lin Luoran's eyes. Hearing Lu Sanchun's words, she suddenly raises her head—Deliberately hit? The son of the lady called Zou Yaowei wants to kill Baojia in the car crash?
Mincing Mrs. Zou starts to get anxious since Commander Qin doesn't disapprove his man's words, "Commander Qin, I only come here in regard of our generations of friendship. Yaowei is a good boy. He will never deliberately hit Baojia's car. Commander Qin, don't be fooled by the outsiders... No matter what, he is the only son of the Zou family. My father in law would be so sad if he knew this."
Mrs. Zou starts to cry.
Lin Luoran notices that when the lady says "father in law", Commander Qin's anger changes into hesitation.
Will Mrs. Zou's father in law, a dead man, become the key figure to affect Commander Qin's attitude to this accident? No. Mrs. Zou's feeble argument indicates that this is definitely an attempted murder!
Lin Luoran's eyes become colder. Seems that Mrs. Zou is acting so aggressively because the Zou family is powerful and senior Mr. Zou who is deceased still has an influence on Commander Qin. Things like this have happened and she doesn't apologize first. Instead, she shows up in the hospital and makes a scene wearing a red suit with a bunch of bodyguards...
Lin Luoran looks to Liu Zheng, who has been silent since the beginning. His fiancé is in the operating room, and he chooses to stay silent in front of the mother of his enemy.
Is this because that the elders are here, or the Zou family is so powerful that even Liu Zheng has to lay low?
Lin Luoran doesn't know, and she doesn't want to know.
All she knows is that Baojia hasn't come out of the operating room. The doctors are trying to save her life, and she will not let anyone disturb the intensely quiet environment! Never!
"Mrs. Zou, please go if you don't have anything else to say... As for your son, he will be ok if he doesn't do this. If he does, he won't get away with it."
Lin Luoran unconsciously uses some Reiki in saying "won't get away with it". Her words echo in the long hallway, making her voice inviolable!
Mrs. Zou is frightened by this beautiful woman who has a clear and elegant temperament. Mrs. Zou is not sure about the origin of Lin Luoran and she knows that there are many people she shall not mess with in the capital, so she ignores Lin Luoran's words and starts to cry against Commander Qin.
"Commander Qin, you've known Yaowei since he was a little boy... He is not this kind of person..."
Lin Luoran notices that Commander Qin is frowning. She is also irrigated by Mrs. Zou's sharp voice and she is trying her best to hold her anger back.
"Bang—" The door of the operating room is opened. A nurse leans her head out and shouts, "Hold your noise! Don't you know you shall keep quiet in here?!"
Lin Luoran casts a glance and Mrs. Zou shuts up.
The nurse fiercely closes the door. Nobody has the chance to ask the question in their hearts.
Time passes in the quiet hallway in the hospital. The light in the operating room flashes and a doctor in white coat walks out. In front of everybody's expecting eyes, the doctor takes off the surgical mask and says to Baojia's grandpa apologetically,
"Commander Qin, we have done our best. Your granddaughter has massive intrathoracic bleeding, encephalic trauma and multiple fractures. I'm afraid she may not live through the night... Family members shall go in and say your goodbyes."
Commander Qin almost falls over and his men hurry to hold him.
Covering her mouth with one hand, Mrs. Zou is scared. How should she clear her son from a charge if Qin Baojia is dead?
Hearing the words "say your goodbyes", Lin Luoran falls down by the door. Liu Zheng wants to help her up, but he remembers the scene when he and Baojia played together in Beihai Park when they were kids. Back then, Baojia was only a stingy little girl who would call him "Brother Liu Zheng" sweetly instead of the arrogant woman who calls him "Master Liu"...
Baojia is his fiancé, but he always considers her as a little sister and he has feelings for another woman. Liu Zheng is strengthless. Tears start running down behind the gold-rimmed glasses.
Lu Sanchun comes at Mrs. Zou out of a sudden and asks for an explanation, but he is dragged away by Mrs. Zou's strong bodyguards.
Hearing the noise, Lin Luoran comes to herself. She looks to the door of the operating room and thinks of the fact that these people won't even give peace to Baojia in her last minutes... Baojia, how can you die on me? I'm coming to save you! I'm going to save you!
"Get out! All of you, get out!! If Baojia is gone, I'll bury your son with her!"
Lin Luoran jumps up. She instantly grasps one of the bodyguards and throws him to the wall. The other bodyguards let Lu Sanchun go and come for her, and they are kicked away by her crazy moves.
Mrs. Zou is entranced with fear by Lin Luoran. She runs out of the hallway while screaming "don't kill me". Seeing that their boss is away, the bodyguards get up and follow her out.
Everybody is shocked by Lin Luoran's outbreak. Lin Luoran doesn't calm down after chasing Mrs. Zou away. Instead, she grips Commander Qin's sleeves.
Looking at Lin Luoran who is bathed in tears, Commander Qin thinks of how the girl in front of him has been keeping his granddaughter company all these years, and his heart starts to ache,
"Luoran, go and see Baojia for the last time... She always sees you as her sister. She will be happy to hear your goodbyes."