Chapter 107: The Villain
"Little Shiru…"
Bai Wei softly called out the girl's name.
The girl looked up with teary eyes, then quickly buried her head again and asked in a soft voice.
"Uncle, you know it, right?"
Bai Wei crouched down and reached out his hand, wanting to gently touch her hair. But he couldn't find the right words to say, feeling a little frustrated, he reluctantly withdrew his hand.
He said, "Your father has passed away. Before he left, he told me to take care of you. He personally told me everything about you."
Sakurai Shiru's shoulders trembled softly. She bit her lip as big tears rolled down from her eyes.
Just a few minutes ago, she was imagining the moment of her father coming to see her.
How long has it been since then?
The beautiful dream shattered like a bubble, easily fading away.
"Daddy, he is a liar, he is a mean person, a really mean person…"
The girl's cries choked up.
Bai Wei fell silent for a moment, and then spoke earnestly.
"Your father cares a lot about you. Everything he does is for you…"
"Maybe he was seen as a bad person, a really mean person by others, but he gave all his love to you."
"Even if…"
Even if he died, he still couldn't let go.
Sakurai Shiru shook her head. She lifted her head again, her eyes red from crying, and repeated the words.
"He is a bad guy!"
"He promised to come visit me. He said my illness would get better. He said he would take me away from here…"
"He doesn't want me anymore."
"He is a liar, a big liar…"
Bai Wei's heart felt like it was being tightly held.
He reached out his hand and gently hugged the little girl. Even someone who was good at talking and explaining didn't know how to comfort the child in that moment.
When Bai Wei touched Sakurai Shiru's body, he felt that her body was very cold, but her forehead became extremely hot.
She had been crying for quite some time now, feeling very upset and excessively sad. It made her already poor physical condition even worse.
Her forehead became very hot, and her mind started to become unclear.
Bai Wei's face slightly changed as he picked up Sakurai Shiru and placed her gently on the bed. He pressed the button by the window and immediately, nurses and doctors came to the edge of the bed.
After a quick check, their faces changed.
"Didn't we say that we shouldn't let her get too upset?" scolded an older nurse to Bai Wei.
"… It's my fault," Bai Wei admitted without argument. "Can it be treated?"
"Only a few days ago, we used the dragon's serum, but it needs at least another week before we can administer it again. Otherwise, her body won't be able to handle it. Right now, we can only provide her with extra nutrients and have someone keep watch over her 24 hours a day. But I'm worried that her condition will continue to worsen, and her organs could fail at any time." The doctor hurriedly left the ward and muttered, "I'll contact Doctor Kurosawa again. She might have a solution."
Bai Wei stood in the ward for a while, but then a nurse gave him a stern look and told him to leave.
For the past two or three years, this group of nurses had taken care of Sakurai Shiru. They treated her almost like a daughter, so they didn't have a friendly expression for Bai Wei.
The emperor could only scratch his head as he followed the on-duty doctor to the office. Just then, the phone rang and a captivating female voice came through on the other end.
The on-duty doctor passed the microphone to Bai Wei and said, "Doctor Kurosawa wants to talk to you."
Bai Wei picked up the landline receiver and brought it to his ear. He spoke up, "Hello, Doctor Kurosawa."
"Hello, Mr. Bai," even though the voice sounded a bit distorted through the telephone line, it still sounded dependable. "I just heard about her condition. As her attending physician, I am currently unable to come back immediately, and I'm truly sorry."
"Do you have a treatment plan?"
"I went out this time to search for a very special medicine for this kind of illness. It is still being gathered and made, and it will take at least more than one week to be ready. Right now, in the hospital, there is only a pretend medicine."
"One week?" Bai Wei frowned.
A week later, just a few days before December, was it the right time to gather ingredients and make a special medicine?
"This medicine is quite unique, um, I can't explain in detail. And, you can't solve a problem when it's already too late. I thought her condition wouldn't deteriorate so quickly. What could have happened?"
"It's like this…" Bai Wei briefly explained the situation.
The doctor on duty nearby listened carefully, clenched his fist and exclaimed, "These heartless monsters who eat people without remorse!"
On the other end of the phone, there was silence for a while. Doctor Kurosawa let out a soft sigh, saying, "This is very bad. With her feeling so down now, it not only hinders her recovery, but also dampens her will to survive. Children don't have as much understanding of life and death as adults do, and their will to survive is often not as strong. The effect of placebos may truly only bring comfort. We must help her regain her spirits."
Bai Wei gave a weary smile and said, "It's not as easy as you think."
Her father passed away, leaving her as an orphan. With her main source of emotional support gone, how could she easily mend her broken heart?
They had only known each other for a short while, so they didn't have a strong emotional bond yet.
Doctor Kurosawa could only express his hope, saying, "I hope she can stay strong."
The phone call ended.
The people present were at a loss for what to do.
Bai Wei stood in the hospital room for a moment. Sakurai Shiru had already fallen into a state of unconsciousness. The sound of the ventilator and heart monitor filled the room. The fluctuating heart rate on the monitor was like a kite string in a storm, entwined with her very life.
At any moment, it could snap apart.
He let out a sigh, gazing at the slowly darkening sky, and left the hospital.
Even after returning home, he still had some distractions in his mind.
Yagyū Simozi could tell that her older brother was feeling down, so she asked him cautiously. However, she didn't receive a detailed answer and could tell that he wasn't comfortable with opening up.
In most cases, she might have ignored it, but this time she couldn't help but feel worried. She believed that Bai Wei needed some guidance in this moment.
"Brother, come over here." She pulled her older brother and quickly ran to the tea room, imitating his movements. She added charcoal to heat the water and brewed hot tea.
At that moment, she sat on the main seat, while Bai Wei sat on the guest seat. They waited for the water to boil before she prepared the tea utensils.
Bai Wei didn't pay much attention to the complicated process of brewing tea, but people from Yingzhou were meticulous about tea brewing and flower arrangement. They didn't skip any steps and believed that tea ceremony was a way to cultivate one's emotions. They saw the waiting and preparation process as a way to purify the soul.
In the past, Bai Wei would have thought this was nonsense, but now, as he watched Yagyū Simozi go through the tedious steps of preparing the water and washing dishes, his mood became calmer. He didn't do anything, just gazed at her preparations, and slowly, his emotions started to recover from their sorrow.
"Alright…" Yagyū Simozi brewed the tea meticulously, and tried her best to remain silent. When the preparation steps were completed, she turned the tea bowl and knelt down, placing her hands on her knees. "Brother, let's have a serious discussion about life."
…Your words remind me of Kousaka kirino, you know?
Bai Wei's mouth twitched, and his calm demeanor suddenly underwent a subtle change.
"Sure, what would you like to talk about?"
"It's not about what I want to talk about, it's about what Brother wants to talk about," Yagyū Simozi said, standing up straight. "This time, I will take the lead… Did you forget? Last time, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with Brother in the same way."
"During the Kirin race?" Bai Wei nodded, vaguely recalling the time when his spiritual meridians were interrupted. He went through a period of sadness, but now he smiled and said, "With the power of the White Pupil, there is no need to interrupt someone else's potential."
He asked, "Do you think I am getting too caught up in small details again?"
"Yes!" she said with great certainty. "This is my intuition as your sister."
"Is it so obvious?"
"Brother, do you think you are very deep and mature?" Yagyū Simozi shook her head gently. "But people like that, once they get too obsessed with trivial matters, they immediately regress into behaving like little children. After all, everyone's heart harbors a stubbornly immature child, and it's easy to see."
"Did you understand it now?" Bai Wei asked with a smile. "Do you see why I am worried?"
"It must be someone else's matter, and it's very serious, maybe even about life and death."
"Why can't it be my own business?"
Yagyū Simozi suddenly fell silent, and she looked at Bai Wei intently. "Brother, don't you have any self-awareness at all?"
"What?"
"I always have this feeling, brother, do you not care about yourself?"
Bai Wei was slightly startled, he opened his mouth and changed the subject. "Indeed, it has nothing to do with me. You guessed it right."
He glanced at the water kettle and reminded, "Pay attention to the charcoal fire."
Yagyū Simozi moved the position of the charcoal and said, "Brother… don't change the subject, you haven't answered my question yet. This is a very serious discussion."
Bai Wei chuckled, "Who doesn't care about themselves? Of course, I am a selfish person. After you asked me like that, I started to wonder if I am a reincarnated saint."
Yagyū Simozi asked softly, "Brother, are you scared of dying?"
