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After settling Mai Kanda's soul, Shawn Young left the 'Celestial Secret Realm' and returned to reality. Before he even opened his eyes, a wave of soreness and exhaustion washed over him, making his head feel heavy and dizzy. He could hear distant police sirens and the roar of a crowd. Forcing his eyes open, his eyelids felt sore, and before he could make out the scene in front of him, he felt a moment of vertigo. His legs immediately went weak, and Shawn instinctively reached out to steady himself against the wall. He knew very well that this was the backlash from his qi reversing through his meridians, a side effect of his spiritual energy being severely depleted.
During the fierce battles earlier, Shawn Young's spiritual energy was almost completely drained. In order to save Mai Kanda, he risked the danger of qi reversal and activated the 'Seven-Star Heart Lantern,' which led to his current state—qi reversing through his heart meridian and a severe loss of power. Still, he didn't regret it. At least he managed to save Mai Kanda's life!
"Shawn—Shawn—what's wrong with you? Are you okay? Don't scare me—sob—" Shawn felt himself fall into a soft, fragrant embrace, and Minnie Wang's anxious voice sounded in his ear.
"Shawn—wake up! If you stay like this—what are we going to do?" This was Maggie Chang's anxious voice.
"Mr. Shawn—his pulse is very weak—the situation is really bad! He needs to be rushed to the hospital right away—" Helen's voice reached Shawn's ears, and at the same time, he felt her hand on his wrist, checking his pulse.
"Hmm—Shawn's condition really does look bad. I suggest we take him to my family's private hospital for emergency care! Our hospital has top-notch equipment and plenty of expert doctors. He'll recover much better there—" Fiona Nangong's voice came through to Shawn.
Shawn knew that Minnie Wang and the others were worried about him, and now they were actually listening to Fiona Nangong and wanting to send him to her family's hospital. Just thinking about what happened to his big monster bird there not long ago made Shawn's scalp tingle. To put their minds at ease, Shawn took a deep breath, forced himself to open his eyes, looked at the three women, then at Fiona Nangong, and blurted out, "I'm—I'm fine, don't send me to the hospital. I don't want to go, especially not to your family's hospital—"
"Uh—why? Do you even realize how bad your condition is?" Fiona Nangong exclaimed in surprise.
"Enough—I know my own condition best! I don't need you to worry about me! Anyway, I'm not going to any hospital—if anyone tries to take me, I'll flip out—" Shawn glared at her and shouted.
"Uh—fine! Since you're so insistent, there's nothing I can do—wait here, I'll go get someone to help you all leave! Something huge happened here, and I need to stay and clean up the mess—" Fiona Nangong pouted and shrugged helplessly, then turned to direct the staff to tidy up the scene.
Only now did Shawn Young see the mess in front of him—the corridor was in ruins, walls had collapsed, and a huge hole gaped from the roof down to the third floor, letting sunlight pour in. Police officers and staff from the Three Great Houses were busy handling the aftermath. Not far away in the hallway, Jack Chen, who'd lost a leg, had just passed out from pain and was carried away on a stretcher by medics. Ethan Zhao, who narrowly escaped, was standing beside the corpse of the ill-fated Ethan Zhao, looking utterly devastated.
With support from Minnie Wang and Helen, Shawn Young managed to stand and walked over to Simon Qi. Looking at Ethan Zhao's corpse, torn open at the chest, Shawn felt a wave of sorrow and guilt. He sighed softly, "Sigh—I never thought Senior Zhao would meet such a fate. If I hadn't brought those two along, none of this would've happened—"
"Oh—don't blame yourself, young Shawn. None of us expected the enemy to be so powerful—sigh—I always thought I was someone important for ranking high on the China Dragon-Tiger List, but now... Brother Zhao probably never imagined the enemy would be this fierce either. Now I realize—there's always someone stronger out there! We were just too full of ourselves before—" Simon Qi shook his head with a sigh, looking suddenly much older.
"Uh—Senior Qi, don't be sad. You and Senior Zhao are both outstanding martial artists. It's just that the enemy used evil magic—without knowing how to counter it, martial arts alone can't beat sorcery. Sigh—this mission was too rushed, we didn't prepare enough—" Shawn Young consoled him.
Simon Qi let out a long sigh, then turned to Shawn Young and said, "After this battle, I've finally learned something—there's no end to cultivation! When I get back, I'll train my Emei techniques even harder! Shawn, I know you plan to hunt down those escaping Japanese. Brother Zhao was like a brother to me, and since he died so tragically, I have to avenge him! Give me another chance—before you set out, make sure to call me! I may not be the best, but I can still help!"
"Mm—okay! Once I recover my strength—we'll go to Hong Kong together!" Shawn Young saw the determined look in Simon Qi's eyes and knew he'd made up his mind, so he agreed without hesitation.
"Alright—then I'll take my leave for now—" Simon Qi nodded, picked up Ethan Zhao's body, and turned to leave the third floor.
Shawn Young saw Mai Kanda's body quietly leaning against the corridor wall. He struggled over, intending to pick her up, but his arms were so weak that he couldn't lift Mai Kanda's slender body. Only then did he realize just how badly his strength had been depleted—he had to find a way to recover quickly!
"Shawn, don't—Mai... she seems to..." Minnie Wang stepped up to support Shawn Young and spoke softly. Earlier, she'd used her medical knowledge to check Mai Kanda's body and found that there were almost no signs of life left.
"Mai isn't dead—trust me—I can bring her back! Take her—follow me downstairs—" Shawn Young shook his head and said with absolute certainty.
"Oh—okay—" Helen responded, stepped forward, and picked up Mai Kanda's body. For some reason, she always trusted Shawn Young, and seeing him so sure, she chose to believe him.
Maggie Chang then took over from Helen, supporting Shawn Young as the group slowly made their way down from the third floor. Outside, they saw people bustling about, police cars parked everywhere, and yellow caution tape cordoning off the area.
Looking up, Shawn Young saw that the entire Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital was in chaos. Many patients had been killed by Daniel Feathercloud's magic, their souls stripped away in the earlier battle. Fiona Nangong was busy directing staff to wrap the bodies in white cloth and carry them out to be cremated. Doctors and nurses who'd been imprisoned were found in an underground room, released with terrified faces, but after explanations from Fiona and the police, they had come to accept the harsh reality.
"I never thought just a few people could mess this place up so badly! It's terrifying—" Helen shuddered as she watched the bodies being carried away, remembering the horrors they'd just survived.
"Once I recover my strength, I'll make them pay—" Shawn Young said through gritted teeth.
"So—so where do we go now? You're really not in good shape!" Minnie Wang asked worriedly.
"Let's go back and rest, I'm really exhausted—" Shawn Young felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. He knew he was at his limit, so he forced himself to stay awake and replied.
"Oh—where do you want to rest?" Minnie Wang asked with concern.
"Your place—I still have some special needs—" Shawn Young said, fighting to stay conscious.
"Hmm—okay—but what special needs do you have? Tell me, I'll get things ready for you—" Minnie Wang asked quickly.
"Uh—no need to get anything ready—just having you with me is enough—you'll find out soon enough—" Shawn Young said, his vision suddenly going black as he lost consciousness.