Chapter Twenty-Two: From Darkness to Light

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“Absolutely not!” The old man shook his head in refusal.

Lin Ruyu was completely at a loss. Wasn’t he here to save someone?

Still, she asked politely, “Sir, why not?”

A shrewd glint flashed through the old man’s eyes. He rubbed two fingers together and said, “Saving a life may be worth more than building a seven-tiered pagoda, but that is ultimately only an empty virtue. It cannot be counted for much. In this day and age, one cannot live on such things.”

Lin Ruyu understood at once. Though puzzled, she hurriedly said, “As long as you can save him, I can pay you. I can pay you a great deal!”

Only then did the old man nod in satisfaction.

After all, in times like these, anyone who did good deeds without asking for compensation would either starve to death or freeze to death.

Compared with that, the Buddhist saying that “the Buddha’s teachings must not be given lightly” was far more practical.

“Since that is the case, this old man will not ask for too much. One million. Transfer the money, and I shall begin treatment at once.”

“One million?”

Lin Ruyu was suddenly in a difficult position.

Her parents had frozen her bank cards, and all the money she had on her amounted to only a few tens of thousands in the purse she carried.

Compared with one million, that was nowhere near enough.

Embarrassed, she lowered her head and awkwardly scratched the back of her hand. “Well… I don’t have that much…”

“Hm?”

The old man stared at her face with a strange expression and muttered, “That cannot be right. Judging by your features, you ought to come from a family of great wealth and distinction. Besides, you were clearly raised well. You do not look like someone who could not produce even that sum.”

After a moment’s thought, he asked solemnly, “Young lady, can you truly not come up with one million?”

Lin Ruyu pressed her lips together and said nothing.

In truth, if she went home, lowered her head, apologized, and admitted her mistake, she could obtain the money in a matter of minutes.

But she had gone to enormous lengths to escape her family’s cage and live a life free of obligations—to avoid doing things she did not wish to do and pursue the freedom she longed for. She was unwilling to return just like that.

Seeing her wavering and unable to make up her mind, the old man immediately added, “It seems his life is not worth one million to you. In that case, forget it. Let him live out the final twenty-odd minutes of his life.”

With that, the old man turned and walked out of the ward, leaving Lin Ruyu standing there in a daze.

“I…”

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She closed her eyes, unable to decide.

At last, Lin Ruyu seemed to make up her mind and walked away with heavy steps.

Inside the operating room, everyone was drenched in sweat.

As the machines continued running, the faint signs that the young man might return from the brink of death seemed to be fading once more.

More terrifying still, he appeared to be on the verge of… dying completely.

Damn it!

That was the thought that flashed through the middle-aged man’s mind as he quickened his movements.

He refused to believe it. The man had clearly begun showing natural signs of life, so how could he end up dead after being treated with advanced medical technology?

Outside the room, the old man sat on a row of five connected blue chairs, his eyes closed as he rested.

“Sir…”

Lin Ruyu approached him and called out several times in a lowered voice.

The old man’s eyes remained tightly shut. He merely murmured, “As expected. This old man was not mistaken, and he could not have been mistaken.”

The next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and rose swiftly to his feet. With a slight nod, he said, “To tell you the truth, twenty years ago, I once met your parents. The infant your father was holding at the time was you. It was then that I learned this day would come.”

Lin Ruyu was so startled by his words that, for a moment, she could not respond.

This old man was so cryptic and eccentric that she could not tell whether to believe him or not.

Although her memories of events twenty years ago were exceedingly vague, she did remember something of the sort.

Her parents had told her since childhood that when she was three months old, an old immortal had praised her and said several things they could not understand.

While Lin Ruyu was still considering whether his words were true, the old man smiled faintly and said, “You need not worry. So long as I can bring that boy back to life, you must return home and stay obediently by your parents’ side. Before you turn twenty-one, you must not have any further contact with that boy. How does that sound?”

Hearing that he was willing to save the man, Lin Ruyu was delighted at first. Then her expression darkened. “Didn’t you say the price was one million? I can borrow the money and give it to you within a day. Why have you changed the terms?”

The old man’s attitude was extremely firm. He glared at her. “What could a little girl like you possibly understand? I naturally have my reasons!”

Lin Ruyu was about to argue again, but the old man said coldly, “Your father planted a good seed back then. It must not now bear evil fruit. I insist that you swear never to have contact with this boy before you turn twenty-one. Otherwise, no matter what happens, I will not save him!”

“Who exactly are you? I’m going back to ask my parents!” Lin Ruyu trembled with anger.

The old man shook his head. “Your parents do not know my name, and no one in this world ever will. Put away those misguided schemes of yours, girl.”

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Seeing that her thoughts had been exposed, Lin Ruyu flushed with anger and embarrassment. Gritting her teeth, she agreed. “Everything depends on you saving him. Otherwise, I will never let you off!”

“Of course.” The old man gave a faint smile and then entered the operating room.

Silence descended. Lin Ruyu paced anxiously back and forth outside.

Inside the operating room, everyone stared at the flatline on the heart monitor, already preparing themselves to accept the cruel truth.

Suddenly!

The line on the machine rippled, then quickly returned to normal.

Lin Tian’s hands and feet jerked as though struck by electricity.

His brow suddenly furrowed, and then he slowly opened his eyes.

A doctor who had picked up a long white cloth and was preparing to cover Lin Tian’s face was frightened unconscious on the spot.

The others were also unnerved by this sudden “return from the dead.”

Fortunately, the middle-aged man noticed the change in the heart rate in time and leaped up excitedly.

“He’s alive! He’s alive!”

At his words, everyone turned their eyes toward the patient. Only then did they recover from their shock, and they began cheering as well.

“Quick, quick! Record this!”

Urged on by the middle-aged man, all his subordinates picked up their pens and began documenting this extraordinary scene.

If nothing unexpected happened, once the report was completed and promoted extensively through the media—and after the patient’s family had been properly persuaded with a few favors—the hospital would surely become famous.

As for the doctors who had given their all to drag the patient back from death’s door, they would at the very least receive promotions, and even those who gained the least would still receive a considerable amount of…

After everyone had filled several pages with furious scribbling, the middle-aged man, who was the deputy chief physician, had already begun imagining the day he would finally become a full chief physician. Excited, he circled Lin Tian, examining him from every angle and ordering one check after another.

In the corridor, Lin Ruyu saw the old man emerge and hurried forward to ask, “How is he?”

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