Chapter 317: Deep Coma

"No problem. Is there anything else?" I nodded in agreement.

"If that Fox Immortal Corpse isn't dealt with soon, it's going to become a serious problem. The Corpse Driving Lineage has never seen a fox immortal undergo Corpse Reanimation before. I can't offer much help, but you must be careful," Daoist Priest Xianqing said solemnly. "When you first visited Qingtu Temple, the Fox Immortal Corpse reacted to you. You must have something it wants. Sooner or later, it will come looking for you."

I shivered. Being targeted by something that terrifying was an unsettling thought. "Daoist Priest, does this fox have any weaknesses?"

"I haven't discovered any yet, but a spirit undergoing Corpse Reanimation will undoubtedly need a massive amount of fresh blood. Keep a close eye out for that." Just as Daoist Priest Xianqing finished speaking, Yun Chuan walked through the door. He was carrying three thermoses, two of which belonged to patients in the neighboring beds.

"Destined Patron, what brings you here?" Yun Chuan poured a cup of hot water for Daoist Priest Xianqing. He tested the temperature against the back of his hand, handing it over only when it was comfortably warm.

From these small details alone, it was clear Yun Chuan took meticulous care of Daoist Priest Xianqing. The young man had a genuinely good heart.

"Yun Chuan, after I'm discharged, you need to follow this Destined Patron and learn from him. Staying cooped up in the temple won't do you any good on the path you have to walk." Daoist Priest Xianqing sat upright in bed, tactfully voicing his intentions.

"If I leave, who's going to take care of you? Let's talk about it after you've fully recovered." Yun Chuan didn't think much of the suggestion as he busied himself around the room.

"This disciple of mine might not look like much, but he has a good heart and no deceit in him. I just worry he'll be taken advantage of." Daoist Priest Xianqing still looked uneasy. "Destined Patron, I hope you can look after Yun Chuan in the future."

"I definitely will."

Only after getting my firm promise did Daoist Priest Xianqing breathe a sigh of relief. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You must be careful regarding that possessed girl. The fierce entity suppressed beneath Bridge No. 3 Crematorium has hidden itself inside her. Although it's only a single wisp of its intent, it cannot be underestimated. The girl herself possesses a rare Fate Pattern. Bearing the mourning apparel, condolence visitor, and funeral door all at once, she is destined to endure countless disasters and hardships. She is a pitiable person. Being possessed by that fierce entity has inflicted severe damage on her mind. If she wakes up, you should take her to an orthodox Daoist sect. Ask for some talismans to soothe her mind and exorcise the evil. Saving her would count as a great accumulation of merit."

"Everyone has their own fate. I'll do my best." After bidding farewell to Daoist Priest Xianqing, I took the elevator to the eighth floor. This was the VIP ward. The corridor was spotless and incredibly quiet, with very few people passing through.

I knocked and entered. Ye Bing was the only patient in the spacious double-occupancy room. Jiang Fei sat beside her with a towel, carefully wiping Ye Bing's arms and cheeks.

"She still hasn't woken up?" I asked, standing by the door and watching from a distance.

Hearing my voice, Jiang Fei froze before standing up. There was an indescribable dimness in her eyes. "They did a CT scan of her brain, but they didn't find any abnormalities. A neurologist suspects that a severe psychological shock might have triggered a temporary shutdown of her brain functions. They couldn't give a specific timeline for when she might wake up. It could be in the next minute, or it might take months, years, or even a lifetime."

I walked up to the bed and looked at Ye Bing's pale face. An IV drip was taped to her arm, and several empty bottles sat on the bedside table.

"She can't eat right now, so she's relying on IV nutrients and glucose to stay alive." Jiang Fei carefully wiped Ye Bing's body. Compared to when we first met, Jiang Fei had undergone a massive change. That arrogant, lawless daughter of the Jiangjin Group's chairman seemed to have been buried in Henshan Psychiatric Hospital right alongside her memories.

"You've been through a lot lately," I said, my gaze sweeping across Ye Bing's face. She still wore the same expression from the final moments of her possession. Her brows were tightly furrowed, as if she were trapped in a nightmare she couldn't wake from.

"It's no trouble. I'm actually surprised you came—my brother hasn't even visited her yet."

"Your brother?" When it came to Jiang Chen, I no longer knew how to judge the man. "Your brother doesn't love Ye Bing at all; he just wants her body."

I paused for a moment before adding, "I don't mean that in the usual sense. It's about possession—he wants to use Ye Bing's special Fate Pattern to complete his own plans."

"After the incident with the Little Ghost, I remembered some things from the past about my father and the Jiangjin Group. At first, my brother and father weren't like this. They were good people. It wasn't until they met a black-robed Daoist priest that everything started to change."

Jiang Fei's words caught my attention. I was extremely interested in the people backing the Jiang family.

Raising Little Ghosts, constructing a building to pin down Jiangcheng's dragon vein—these kinds of actions weren't something an ordinary businessman could pull off.

"Did you ever see that black-robed Daoist priest's face? Or did he have any distinguishing features?" I asked.

Jiang Fei shook her head. "There was more than one black-robed Daoist priest. They called themselves the Three Yin Sect. It seemed to be something akin to an ancient sect. Based on the embroidered patterns on their collars, they were divided into three branches: Shegong, Mengpo, and Guiying."

"Collar embroidery?" I suddenly recalled the black Daoist robe that had inexplicably appeared in the Lacquered Wooden Coffin. The collar of that robe was embroidered with a colorful venomous snake. "So they were the ones who sent me the King Yama Notice."

"They aren't around on ordinary days. They only show up when a major project is about to break ground and the foundations are being laid. Usually, they go to the construction sites late at night, accompanied by my brother. They claim to be performing rituals, but in reality, no one knows what they're actually doing."

Jiang Fei thought for a moment and added, "There was one time when they were building the Laboratory Building for a school. A black-robed Daoist priest ordered a worker to bury a colorful bundle deep underground, demanding it be exactly three zhang and three chi deep. The worker digging the hole slacked off, burying it at only one zhang and one chi. The next morning, that worker vanished. The foreman and the other workers found a massive crater in the center of the site. It was filled with slithering venomous snakes—an enormous swarm of them—and no one knew what had attracted them."

"They had to wait a full day and night before all the venomous snakes finally dispersed. It was only then that someone spotted a mutilated corpse at the bottom of the crater. After checking the ID badge, they realized it was the very same worker who had dug the hole."

"There are many similar incidents, though I've only heard about them from others. I never saw anything myself. My father never let me interact with those Daoist priests. Even if we crossed paths, he made me stay far away."

Listening to Jiang Fei, I instantly connected a number of things. The three portraits hanging in the underground cell of Jianglong Villa, for instance, and the old man who had read my fortune, telling me I possessed Nine Destiny Locks. All of them seemed connected to this Three Yin Sect.

"The Two-Faced Buddha hasn't even been dealt with yet, and now this Three Yin Sect pops up. I never used to think my city had so many monsters and evil spirits," I muttered. Evil sects and the Ghost Dao hid themselves within the cities, while the orthodox righteous paths cultivated in seclusion deep in the mountains. The times were changing, and cultivators were walking entirely different paths.

I learned a few more things about the Three Yin Sect from Jiang Fei before preparing to leave.

"Gao Jian, wait a moment!" Jiang Fei grabbed my sleeve, her expression suddenly turning pleading. "When the doctor checked on my sister-in-law this morning, he said that if someone close to her talks to her frequently, it might help wake her up faster. You two have known each other for years. I want you to give it a try. Just say a few words to her."

I looked at Ye Bing's tightly shut eyes, lingering for a moment before pulling Jiang Fei's hand away. "I've already said everything I needed to say. After a certain point, I was no longer someone close to her."

Looking at the clock on the wall, I walked out of the hospital room. I didn't care what Jiang Fei thought of me. My focus had to be on the fact that the ninth livestream was rapidly approaching. The cruel curtain where life and death intertwined was about to rise at midnight once again.

Leaving the ward, I took Bai Qi with me to find the last person I needed to see—Blind Liu.

Taking a taxi to Blind Liu's residence, I found the heavily bandaged Old Liu playing chess with Mr. Gu at the entrance of an old alley in Jiangcheng. Seeing that both of them were fine, the heavy weight in my chest finally lifted. "Old Liu!"

I yelled out. Blind Liu looked up in a daze, revealing a hint of surprise when he saw it was me. "Your life is truly tough, kid. Even that couldn't kill you."

He and Mr. Gu came over to greet me, and a smile finally broke across my face. "Cut the small talk. Lend me twenty bucks first—the driver is still waiting outside."