On the way back to Sea City, Qian Qi asked a different question.
"Are you aware of Sikong Wang’s binge eating?"
"Are you referring to six years ago?" Su Ang hadn’t seen Sikong Wang recently due to being too busy, so he instinctively thought Qian Qi was referring to Sikong Wang’s binge eating six years ago.
Qian Qi nodded, "Do you know the reason?"
"At that time, Sikong had just learned that spiritual disorder was incurable, and seeing Aunt Shangguan’s condition dealt a major blow to his psyche." Su Ang glanced at Qian Qi subtly, "Why are you asking about this?"
"So how did he recover back then?" Qian Qi pursued, choosing to "hire" Su Ang partly to gather information.
Su Ang was silent for a while before finally saying, "I am not at liberty to say."
Since Sikong Wang hadn’t told Qian Qi, Su Ang felt he shouldn’t say it himself because he knew the last thing Sikong Wang needed was sympathy and pity, nor did he need others’ consolation. He understood everything in his heart but ultimately compromised to maintain family bonds.
Seeing Su Ang avoiding the topic, Qian Qi didn’t push further and nodded as she lay back in the rear seat, yawning, "Drive safely, I’ll take a nap~"
The girl soon started dozing off, and hearing her steady breathing, Su Ang glanced at her serene, even somewhat delicate face through the rearview mirror before inconspicuously looking away.
In truth, he had been curious for a long time.
With such a pretty face, how could she make those ferocious, sinister, and chaotic expressions?
Sikong Wang didn’t expect that Qian Qi, when inquiring about the hiring price, ended up asking questions all day.
It wasn’t until she poked her little head through the medical room door, proudly waving a small vial in her hand, that he understood Qian Qi had directly sought out Magic God Grass and concocted a potion.
"Can this really treat the collapse of spiritual power?"
The clear green liquid inside the small transparent bottle before him had a fresh translucent visual appeal, making it hard for him to imagine that such an ordinary-looking small vial could solve a problem that had plagued the medical community for nearly a century.
"Your mother is an S-Class Commander on the brink of death; at most, this will ensure she stays conscious for a few hours each day."
Qian Qi spread her hands, "To fully stabilize the disordered spiritual power requires several courses of treatment, and it needs to be done gradually."
"That’s enough." Sikong Wang clenched his fists, unable to hide his excitement, staring deeply at Qian Qi, "Can I have a doctor check its safety first? I’m not asking for the formula, but for my mother’s sake, I must be cautious."
"This..." Qian Qi understood Sikong Wang’s concern. She would do the same in his position, but, "I only have this one vial and can’t make a second one in the short term. If a doctor needs to verify it, at most, only two drops can be used."
She shrugged, "After all, the less potion there is, the less she’ll recover."
"Alright." Seeing that Qian Qi wasn’t opposed, Sikong Wang relaxed a bit, "By the way, about the payment..."
"We’ll settle it after your mother recovers." Qian Qi propped her head up, smiling, "It’s a huge sum. In case the potion doesn’t work, I might run off with the money~"
She added, "This is a special privilege for you; others shouldn’t expect this use-now-pay-later treatment."
For big clients, it’s acceptable to ease the demands a bit~
Sikong Wang chuckled, "Then I’ll take you up on your kind offer."
After learning that Sikong Wang planned to visit Shangguan Qing at the medical facility right after his surgery, the butler, unable to dissuade him, arranged for a car and driver to take Sikong Wang and Qian Qi to the medical base.
"My mom’s condition might be terrifying. Are you sure you want to see her?" Sikong Wang had started referring to his mother as "mom," indicating his growing recognition and trust in Qian Qi, to the point he was willing to open his heart to her.
"If you don’t want me to see her, you can refuse," Qian Qi said indifferently while pushing the wheelchair.
Sikong Wang chuckled, shaking his head, "No, if you want to see, I agree."
During the past decade, despite his father’s obstruction, he had secretly witnessed his mother’s condition numerous times — once so heroic and wise outside, yet gentle and loving at home — now deprived of reason, screaming, tearing, and self-harming under the control of disordered spiritual power, not recognizing her son and husband, it was a madness that caused him heart-wrenching agony time and time again.
Perhaps to prevent him from going down his mother’s path, his father severed any possibilities of him engaging with instances and becoming a Commander, trapping him in the "cage" of his design, where he was permitted only to study governance and barred from anything related to spiritual power.
But becoming a Commander was always his dream. He wanted to complete his mother’s unfinished business, even if it meant ending up like her.
But... he also couldn’t bear to see his father in his later years watching helplessly, as he once did, at a dying son through a hospital room door.
"We’re here." Sikong Wang stopped in front of a hospital room, took a deep breath, and gently pushed the door open.
Two nurses were stationed inside the room. Since Sikong Wang had his butler make an appointment for this visit, the nurses weren’t surprised but stepped aside to give Sikong Wang space.
Shangguan Qing lay on the hospital bed, her emaciated limbs restrained by soft cuffs at all four corners of the bed. As if sensing someone approaching, she struggled more fiercely, as a bound insect might, with her withered, pale lips emitting beast-like howls, her vacant eyes unfocused like those of a zombie.
Once bright and valiant, her face was now gaunt as skin on bones, with light age spots speckled under her eyes. Who could have imagined that such a graceful and heroic female Commander would end up in such a tragic state?
When she awakens, will she be able to accept this version of herself and the reality that more than a decade has passed?
What she could do was to hand over the hope of survival to Sikong Wang, and let him and Sikong Lin decide.
After a while, a man in a white research coat entered from outside. He bore some resemblance to Sikong Wang, sharing that familial look between a nephew and his uncle, confirming Sikong Wang’s address, "Uncle."
"Why are you here again?" Shangguan Qi frowned at him in disapproval, sharing Sikong Lin’s view that Sikong Wang should minimize his contact with Shangguan Qing, given the impact on a child’s psyche of seeing their mother in such a state.
Especially now that Shangguan Qing’s life was nearly at an end; what if her spiritual power erupted and hurt him?
"Uncle, I’d like you to quickly verify whether this has any effects on the human body and spiritual power." Sikong Wang motioned with his hand, prompting Qian Qi to open the box beside them and present the Healing Medicine to Shangguan Qi.
"What’s this?" Shangguan Qi bent down to examine it for a moment, then scanned it with his spiritual power.