30 He's Not Breathing

Thunk! The cold can just dropped from the vending machine selection, and Wen Taio collected the last one. They had gone out to bring drinks themselves, but they ended up drinking there and then before heading back. Ruan Jin had gone out for food, and so the other two was left with Liu Li. They decided to wait for Ruan Jin by the lobby.

Liu Li hadn't finished his iced coffee just yet, but he was already lost in thought. They had been contacted by the hospital about what happened to their son. When they came, the police had briefed them about the situation and the status of their son. At this moment, the late Officer Bai had turned Liu Xiaodan into a detainee, and he would probably be thrown into a detention center as soon as he gets discharged from this place.

As long as they couldn't prove that his Xiaodan had blood in his hands, his son would be a free man.

His head began to hurt upon realizing that he might have to hire a commendable lawyer soon. He wouldn't lose his only son... not to this. He then looked up at the two chatting young men. "Mr. Wen, Mr. Xu..."

"Ah, Uncle is acting too distant. Please call us Disung and Taio." Xu Disung chuckled before dropping his smile since the other man hadn't smiled back at them.

"Alright. Disung, Taio... what do you know of those ghost killings in your school? Do you know that Xiaodan was involved in it?" The old man drank a sip from his coffee while waiting for them. He caught the two exchange looks before Xu Disung spoke, "Uncle, this is a little sensitive. We swore Xiaodan isn't doing anything bad, but it seemed that the killings had him in the center." He looked around, making sure no one was there to snitch on them.

Xu Disung then started with a soft voice. "It started with this guy named Huang Kun. He threatened Chuan Nayi that he will hurt Xiaodan because Chuan Nayi was getting close to him. Then this Jiang Hou guy; they said he was spotted sneaking towards our dorm room the night he was murdered. Chen Gang wasn't involved with the other two, but they said Xiaodan tried helping him before he died." He then frowned. "Now, Officer Bai died in an accident. Just like what happened to the van, reports said the gas pedal was also stuck in Officer Bai's mobile.

"Now here's the killer... I mean, the shocking point. They had found footages during the crash." Even Wen Taio got close since he didn't know about this. Liu Li's eyes widened as he was impressed by this guy's resource collection. "They said that a girl was sitting next to the van driver at the time of the accident, but he came up alone during the police interview. Also, there was a child in Officer Bai's mobile when the crash happened."

"Are you saying... ghosts were... they were trying to harm my son?" Liu Li sucked in some air. What did his son do to earn the ire of this kind of ridiculous creatures? They weren't supposed to be existent, and yet they were already making headlines.

"Aside from the first incident, yes." Xu Disung nodded. He then regarded Wen Taio's stance as the bigger man gritted his teeth. "It hadn't been a month since we found out about his ability, but Xiaodan wanted to keep us in the dark. This thing sounded very dangerous... and he had kept most of it to himself. We should try to ask him about his connection to that child that kept on appearing."

All three were in deep thought when Ruan Jin arrived via elevator. He frowned at the scene before making a sound. "Hey, are you guys okay? Mr. Liu, did these two say something awful? Should I kick their asses?"

Xu Disung shook his head and waved his hand at the newcomer. "How about you kick your own ass? We're busy thinking what the hell was taking you so long."

"Kicking each other wouldn't be productive. Let's just head back." Liu Li waved his hand as he shook his head. He then finished his drink and disposed of his can. The three men followed behind the alpha.

"Xiao Li!" Wu Qianqian greeted him with a whine. "Sit down. Do you know it's true? The ghost killings?"

"Keep your voice down, hon." Liu Li patted her head before sitting down next to her. She then clung onto her husband with a face full of whimpers. "They're just called ghost killings for now. Soon, the true culprit will be caught; and our Xiaodan will be free from accusations. I'll even file for compensation to the moral damage they've done!"

"We should, we should." Wu Qianqian sobbed as she buried her face into her husband's arm while the man kept on caressing her head.

They were a pair of elderly, but the people in the room felt like they were being fed with dog food. Ack, who said they should be watching them anyway?

A soft groan came from Chuan Nayi. She woke up for the day and turned to her side first thing in the morning. Like she thought, she could see Liu Xiaodan. She tried to reach out, but it felt like something was wrong. He... wasn't breathing.

Chuan Nayi got up from her bed and pulled herself in order to reach him. However, her legs could barely help in her locomotion. The students caught her actions and went to aide her. Ruan Jin also noticed that Liu Xiaodan wasn't breathing. While the other two and her mother were helping Chuan Nayi with her posture, he swiftly felt his friend's pulse. It was too weak that one would even mistake that there was none.

He reached out and woke his friend to see how fast he'd respond. "Xiaodan, hey, wake up, buddy..."

"He won't respond. His whole system was shut down for faster recovery..." Ye Ling waltzed out of his body and patted Liu Xiaodan's chest. "That kid must have done something to him. He had been protecting this man after all."

"That's... not nice..." Ruan Jin murmured.

Did something to his friend? They shouldn't have stayed out too long; Ye Ling couldn't have spotted the ghost child and stopped him. Ruan Jin only sat down at the edge as he contemplated. Chuan Nayi was doing worse; she hurt her spine again. The momentary intense pain made her cry before trying to reach out again. Seeing Ruan Jin's sullen expression made her cry some more.

Liu Li noticed that something else was going on. He left his wife's side and nosed around, only to find his son not breathing. He more openly checked for a pulse before frowning and even placing his hand on his chest. It was moving too faintly that it could deceive one's sight. He turned to the girl.

"Don't worry, he's okay. Just weak." He reached out to pat Chuan Nayi's head. If ever, he was already meeting his future daughter-in-law. The way Liu Xiaodan treated her surely wasn't something one would do for a friend only. The way they cried at each other's embrace perfectly showed how deep their relationship was. He didn't think his Xiaodan would be able to bag such a pretty lady.

"Can I... touch him?" Chuan Nayi wanted to keep him close. She didn't have her bracelet anymore, and Liu Guangru had already thrown her across an entire mall's lobby entrance. What else could he do? He didn't seem to be acting up whenever Liu Xiaodan was around. If that cursed child would have a 'Baba', it should be him, right?

"Ah, yeah, but calm down." Xu Disung sure knew what she wanted to do, and—girl or not—if he was in that situation, he would also want to hold the person he loved. Then again, she should at least care about her body. Would Liu Xiaodan like to see her broken just so they were together?

The men closed the gap between the two beds, and Chuan Nayi held onto Liu Xiaodan's hand. It was cold like it was a corpse instead, and it made her somewhat cry in pain. She didn't want to feel this; she didn't want to feel like he was a dead person already.

While Bethany Jiang was caressing her daughter's hair, Wen Taio stared at the girl with a hand on his chin. He then hummed. "Chuan Nayi, do you remember how you got injured?" The girl's eyes widened at his question, and she threw him a wide-eyed gaze as if she was channeling her horror towards him. The man only flinched at the reaction. "Rumors go like... a child threw you to the glass doors?"

The parents gasped at that piece of information, but Chuan Nayi only roared in anger, "Yes! That cursed child threw me at the doors! That child... that monster who killed Huang Kun... that child who kept on following me...

"Xiao Guangru..."

The horsemen twitched at her words. That was Guangru? The same Guangru that Liu Xiaodan was always talking to? The same entity that kept on showing up with Liu Xiaodan? Who was he? The three looked at each other, even Ruan Jin threw a gaze at Ye Ling.

"He's a monster. You gotta make him leave me alone! Also Xiaodan..." She began to cry. "I don't know why he kept on calling me 'Mama', but I don't want it. Make him stop coming to me." She then sobbed and cried at Liu Xiaodan's arm. It was such a terrifying thing to see. Ah, get that child away.

"It's calling you 'Mama'...?" Bethany Jiang hummed while trying to console her daughter. She then looked up at the other people in the room. "Maybe we should get these two exorcised? What do you think? I'll find a credible and recommended shaman to help."

"Exorcism..." Wu Qianqian only whimpered from her seat. The hold on her bracelet tightened.

Liu Li frowned at the idea. He was a man of truth and science, and so he had little regards to people who pose as supernatural talents and vanishing evil. However, there were a lot of things to consider now, and perhaps, they might have to ask Liu Xiaodan and Chuan Nayi to seek 'professional' help from a reputable shaman family. He eyed at the direction his wife and at that ghost-warding bracelet she had.

He then held his chin. "Should we go see the Mian Family from the South? They're quite a formidable shaman family as what the locals would say. They should be able to help at least."

Wu Qianqian looked up at her husband. She then got up and walked to them. "If that ghost was evil enough to kill, then perhaps we could ask them for help. Don't worry, Nayi, we'll do something about the child." She then sighed. Of all ghosts... a child?