The Immortal of Plague begins by establishing the root of lung fire.

After Song You finished speaking, the conference room fell into a brief silence.

The woman's hand was still on the open documents when she looked up and stared straight at Song You.

"The surveillance footage can be kept for thirty days." Song You repeated, "Today is only the 20th, so it will expire in three days until the 17th of last month."

The man placed the pen on the table and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Song You, you need to take responsibility for your words." The woman's voice rose two octaves.

"I'm only stating the facts." Song You leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him. "You two came to talk to me to clarify the facts. The medical records from that night were altered. Go check the security room's surveillance footage; it's crystal clear."

The woman took a breath, her chest heaving, and turned to look at the man beside her.

The man didn't reply. He reached under the table, pulled out his phone, turned on the screen, glanced at it, and then put it face down on the table.

"This matter involves many things." The woman looked at Song Youqiang again, suppressing her voice, trying to regain the initiative. "We will verify the situation you reported. However, the surveillance footage cannot explain everything."

Song You did not argue, seeing through the other party's bluff.

"Go back to work now." The woman closed the file, her movements somewhat stiff. "We'll let you know when there's progress. In the meantime, don't talk nonsense in the office."

"Okay." Song You stood up and pushed the chair back to its original position.

He turned and walked towards the conference room door, opened it, and went out.

People came and went in the corridor. Nurses pushed dressing carts past, and patients' family members hurried by carrying insulated containers.

Song You walked through the corridor, headed towards the elevator, and went downstairs with the crowd.

Stepping out through the revolving glass doors of the hospital building, the sunlight streamed in.

Song You stopped, closed his eyes, and the light pierced through his eyelids, creating a halo. He raised his hand and shielded his eyes with the back of his hand to adjust to the light.

The temperature was very high, the asphalt road surface was softened by the sun, and the roar of car engines and the conversations of pedestrians mingled together, filling the air.

Song You stood on the steps, feeling the temperature of his skin rise.

The two worlds are vastly different. The Po Zang Temple is perpetually shrouded in darkness, filled with the stench of decay and the acidity of disease. Here, however, there is sunshine, noise, and the vitality that living people should have.

He recalled the conversation he had just had in the conference room.

The last time he had a brief moment of brilliance was when he publicly exposed Zhang Lihong's dirty deeds in the corridor, which happened during his residency training.

This time, he sat in the conference room, facing inquiries from the health bureau or the hospital's investigation team.

The two experiences were different, with different settings and different people.

It seems the timeline is continuous; even when I'm not around, the world continues to move forward.

Suddenly, the physical weakness brought on by the Dao Root returned. Song You gasped for breath, realizing once again that he could not stay any longer. Because of the disappearance of spiritual energy, the life-or-death crisis was directly resolved. He could not stay in this world for long and had to finish what he needed to do.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

The unlocked main screen displays the date and time.

August 20th, 2:15 PM.

Song You opened the memo app, entered the string of numbers, and saved it.

He needed to figure out the precise time flow in the world of the final reflection, how long a day and night had passed in the Soul Treasury Temple, which was equivalent to here.

Song You hadn't paid attention to the time before, missing the opportunity to compare. From now on, he would record the exact time every time he came.

After that, he needed to replenish his body's nutrition. Establishing the Dao root had greatly depleted his body, and his subsequent cultivation would be fraught with peril, so he needed to be well prepared.

My phone suddenly vibrated, the screen changed, and the incoming call screen lit up.

Below the number, a two-word note is displayed.

Song You narrowed his eyes as he looked at the name, his finger hovering over the green answer button.

Hospital building, conference room.

After Song You left, only the two of them remained in the room.

The man picked up his phone, which was lying face down on the table, glanced at the screen—no missed calls. He put the phone in his suit pocket and looked at the woman beside him.

"Li Man, this kid has a really good memory," the man said, his tone slightly annoyed. "Did you know about the surveillance footage beforehand?"

Li Man lowered her head to organize the documents on the table. She took out Song You's information separately, put it in a brown paper bag, and stood up to pick up the paper bag and coffee cup.

"Old Chen, I have a bit of a headache, I'm going to rest for a while." Li Man didn't answer, but said to the man, "You watch over things here for now, call me if anything happens."

Old Chen nodded, took out his laptop, and began typing.

Li Man walked out of the conference room, walked deeper into the corridor, pushed open a fire door at the end, and entered the safety passage.

The stairwell was dimly lit, with only the green emergency indicator lights on the wall emitting a faint glow, and the air smelled musty and like tobacco.

Li Man walked to the window, took out her phone, and dialed a number. The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Feed." A deep male voice came from the other end of the phone, with some background noise, sounding like someone was driving.

"It's me, Li Man." Li Man lowered her voice, tapping her fingers on the windowsill. "I just finished talking with Song You."

The other party remained silent, waiting for what would follow.

"He told us everything," Li Man said, her pace quickening. "Most importantly, he mentioned the security camera footage from the security room. The footage hasn't expired yet."

The beeping sound of the turn signal coming on came from the other end of the phone.

"Zhang Lihong, that good-for-nothing." The man's voice was tinged with impatience. "He can't even handle this simple matter."

"Zhang Lihong said he didn't know why this kid suddenly went crazy, but now is not the time to scold him," Li Man emphasized.

"Old Chen from the investigation team was also present. Song You revealed the surveillance footage to his face. Old Chen is a rigid person, so he will definitely investigate. Once the video is retrieved, Zhang Lihong's dereliction of duty and alteration of medical records will be confirmed. At that point, pulling out the radish will bring out the mud, and the kickbacks from the pharmaceutical representatives will also be exposed."

"I'll go and say hello to Old Chen," the man said. "Song You is a problem."

"What should we do?" Li Man asked.

"We can't let him keep causing trouble." The man paused. "Is the family of that patient in bed three of the cardiology ward still making a scene?"

"They're making a scene, demanding an explanation from the hospital, claiming the death was caused by delayed treatment."

"Then it wasn't timely enough." The man sneered. "That night, Song You was the resident trainee on duty. Zhang Lihong wasn't there, so he was the one primarily responsible. The resident trainee violated regulations, delaying the rescue and causing the patient's death; he'll take the blame for that."

Li Man's fingers stopped, and the wind outside the window ruffled her short hair.

"Will this work?" Li Man asked rhetorically. "The emergency record is signed with Zhang Lihong's name."

"Records can be erased," the man said. "As long as there's no surveillance, anything can be changed. Go to the security room right now and delete the surveillance footage from that night. Say it's an equipment malfunction or a damaged hard drive, anything to prevent Old Chen from seeing it."

"What about Song You?"

"Without the surveillance footage, he has no proof whatsoever." The man's voice turned cold. "What can a resident trainee with no connections do against us? Shift the blame for the medical malpractice to him, fire him immediately, and revoke his medical license. He'll be in dire straits himself; how can he possibly have the energy to deal with Zhang Lihong's affairs?"

Li Man squinted as she looked at the blinding sunlight outside the window.

"Understood," Li Man replied. "I'll take care of it."

"Hurry up. Don't make any more mistakes."