Chapter Seventeen: On the Brink of Life and Death

As Lin Ran lay unconscious, he dreamt he had fallen into an abyss of utter darkness. All around him was a silence so deep it felt as though he was the last soul left in the world—a silence as still as death itself.

"Where is this? The underworld? Did I really die in the end?" Lin Ran stared blankly at his own hands, mumbling to himself.

While he gazed in confusion at his surroundings, an uncomfortable sensation enveloped him, chilling him to the bone—a feeling of coldness, indifference, and death. Suddenly, he noticed a pair of black eyes in the distant sky, fixed upon him. What kind of eyes were they? They held no other color, only endless black, deep as the waters of a well. The oppressive emotion he felt was coming from those eyes.

Lin Ran frowned at those pitch-black eyes. Yet, for some reason, he felt no fear at all. Instead, his heart was calm—so calm it was unsettling. It was as if he was kindred to whatever those eyes belonged to.

"Make way! Everyone move aside! Police business!" Meanwhile, Fan Beixiao and Guo Ting rushed into the hospital, carrying the unconscious Lin Ran. A nurse quickly brought over a stretcher, and Lin Ran was placed on it and wheeled into the operating room. Within minutes, several doctors arrived.

By now, Lin Ran's breathing was barely a whisper. No one understood why; the rope around his neck had been removed, yet his breaths grew ever weaker.

"The patient’s breathing is extremely faint!"

"Put him on the ventilator!"

"His heartbeat is slowing. There are no visible wounds on the patient’s body! His condition is critical!"

"Adrenaline!"

"Yes!"

Time ticked by with agonizing slowness as Fan Beixiao and Guo Ting waited anxiously on a bench outside the hospital.

"Don’t worry, Lin Ran will be alright!" Fan Beixiao tried to comfort Guo Ting, whose face had gone pale.

"I warned you that villa was haunted, but none of you believed me! Now you do, don’t you?" Guo Ting’s voice trembled on the verge of tears, her large eyes shimmering with moisture.

"My dear girl, keep your voice down! Do you want to make a bigger scene out of this?" Fan Beixiao hastily covered her mouth, glancing nervously around. Seeing that no one was close enough to hear, he breathed easier. If a police officer talked about ghosts, it would be seen as sheer recklessness!

Guo Ting pushed his hand away and turned her back in silent protest. Fan Beixiao was about to say something when the operating room door swung open, and the exhausted doctor emerged.

"Who is the patient’s family?" the doctor asked, glancing at the two.

"We’re his colleagues! Police officers! From the City Public Security Bureau!" Fan Beixiao and Guo Ting hurried forward.

"Colleagues? The patient’s condition is critical. You need to notify his family!" the doctor said, looking at Fan Beixiao.

"Doctor, I—I’m his girlfriend! His family isn’t here. Please, tell me whatever you need to say!" Guo Ting pleaded.

"The patient’s condition is very grave. He’s struggling to breathe. Even with the ventilator, the moment it’s removed, he’ll suffocate and die," the doctor said after a pause, fixing his gaze on Guo Ting.

"What?" Guo Ting stood frozen, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Fan Beixiao was stunned by the news. How could this happen?

"We’ve done all we can. Prepare for the worst," the doctor sighed.

"Wait, doctor, can you tell me what caused it?" Fan Beixiao hurriedly stopped the departing doctor.

"We’re not sure. But there are marks on your colleague’s neck, as if he was strangled by a rope," the doctor replied, shaking his head.

"Alright. Thank you," Fan Beixiao nodded.

Fan Beixiao entered the sickroom. Lin Ran lay in bed, hooked up to the ventilator. Guo Ting stood beside him, gazing at Lin Ran with dazed eyes.

Meanwhile, in a small house elsewhere, a man was cooking. As he stirred the food in the pan, he suddenly froze, as if possessed, eyes rolling back, muttering incoherently. After a moment, he returned to normal.

"Damn! The jade has shattered! The Shadow Eyes have taken hold!" His face changed as he regained himself. He quickly set aside the spatula, grabbed a bulging yellow bag, and rushed out the door.