What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

Upon hearing this, a hint of uncertainty flashed across Jin Wanliang's fat face.

He scratched his chin and said hesitantly:

When we arrived, you were still in the emergency room.

"Right now...it seems like everything's with Director Lu, right?"

Li Qing nodded in agreement and confidently took over the conversation:

"The item is indeed with Lu Yan."

She mentioned it to me briefly when she left that day.

It seems that all your personal belongings have been officially transferred from the Hunan Provincial Bureau of Folk Customs to the Jiangcheng Branch Bureau through internal procedures, and are now under her personal custody.

After listening to Li Qing's words, I nodded, and the last weight that had been hanging over my heart was lifted.

Those things, whether they are black bone needles or scalpels, are all of great importance to me.

Now that the item is safely in Lu Yan's hands, I can finally relax.

Seeing that I couldn't hide my fatigue and that I even spoke in a lower voice, Li Qing and Jin Wanliang wisely didn't linger any longer.

"Alright, Lao Chen, don't worry about anything else. Your priority right now is to get your health back."

Li Qing tucked the blanket around me and gave me a rare, serious instruction.

Jin Wanliang nodded repeatedly:

"Brother Chen, you should get some rest."

"I'll arrange for someone to investigate Boss Lei and Boss Wang's matter right away, and I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

After giving their instructions, the two of them quietly turned and left the ward, closing the heavy soundproof door tightly behind them.

With a soft "click" from the door lock, the ward returned to absolute silence once more.

Only the vital signs monitor emitted a steady and regular "beep...beep..." sound.

At this moment, a strong drowsiness surged up again.

This time, I offered no resistance, letting my consciousness sink back into the darkness and drifting into a deep sleep.

During deep sleep, I am unaware of the passage of time.

I could only vaguely sense that my previously depleted dantian was greedily absorbing the free-floating energy around my body while I was asleep.

As this process progressed, the unusual sensations coming from various parts of the body were gradually suppressed.

Especially in the arms and chest cavity where the stitching technique had been applied, the stinging pain, like being pricked by needles, had lessened considerably.

Instead, there is a subtle tingling sensation.

Gradually, I fell into a deep sleep.

I don't know how long I slept, but my consciousness slowly resurfaced.

I didn't open my eyes immediately, but first took in my surroundings.

The ward was very quiet, but suddenly a very pleasant smell filled the air.

It was a faint, cool fragrance, similar to that of pine and cypress trees after rain; not strong, but it made people feel very at ease.

This tastes so familiar to me.

During those days and nights in Jiangcheng when we fought side by side and entrusted each other with life and death, this smell appeared around me countless times.

I slowly opened my eyes.

By this time, it was already dark outside.

Through the large glass window of the ward, only a faint trace of dark red sunset could be seen on the horizon, as the entire city was gradually swallowed by the night.

The lights in the ward were off, making it somewhat dim.

Using the faint light coming in from the window and the flashing indicator lights of the medical equipment beside the bed, I turned my stiff neck and looked to my right.

There was someone lying on the edge of my hospital bed.

She was dressed in casual black clothes, with most of her body lying on the edge of the bed, her cheek resting in the crook of her arm.

Her usually neatly tied ponytail was now loose, her long, black hair cascading down her shoulders and onto the sheets like a waterfall.

It's Lu Yan.

Even in the dim light, I could clearly see her beautiful profile.

She was sleeping soundly, her breathing was steady.

Those brows that were usually slightly furrowed finally relaxed at this moment.

Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, I couldn't bear to break this rare tranquility, so I just watched her quietly.

But perhaps my breathing rhythm changed slightly after I woke up.

Not long after, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she slowly opened her eyes.

For a moment after waking up, her eyes were still a little confused, but they quickly regained their usual clarity.

She looked up and saw me staring at her with my eyes open.

"Lu Yan?"

I called out softly, my voice hoarse from not having drunk water for a long time.

Upon hearing the noise I made, Lu Yan immediately sat up straight.

She didn't speak, but turned around and reached out to press the switch on the wall.

With a soft "snap," the warm yellow light in the ward lit up, dispelling the gloom that filled the room.

The moment the lights came on, Lu Yan subconsciously squinted.

Then, she raised her hand and tucked her slightly messy hair, which was falling beside her cheek, behind her ear.

This simple action shed her usual decisive and efficient demeanor as a branch director, revealing a touch of gentleness and weariness typical of an ordinary girl.

She walked to the water dispenser by the bedside, filled a glass with warm water, went to the bedside, carefully inserted a straw, and held it to my lips.

"woke up?"

She said softly.

I bit down on the straw and slowly drank half a glass of water, finally feeling some relief from my dry throat.

I looked at her, nodded, and asked, "Why didn't you call me?"

Lu Yan put the water glass back on the table, pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at me and saying:

"You're sleeping so soundly. The doctor said that what you need most right now is deep sleep to repair your body. Why would I wake you up?"

As she said this, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, revealing a very faint smile:

"Perfect, I'll borrow your VIP ward to rest quietly for a while."

The noise from those people outside is giving me a headache.

I looked at the dark circles under her eyes and asked, "Have you been very busy lately?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan did not give me a direct answer to my question.

She simply shook her head slightly, seemingly unwilling to bring those complicated official matters into the quiet ward.

Then, she turned her head, raised her smooth chin, and gestured for me to look in the direction of the bedside table.

"I brought your things over with me."

At this point, Lu Yan's tone became more formal.

I followed her gaze.

On the bedside table was a transparent, waterproof document bag.

By the light, I could clearly see that inside were my black bone needles, several willow-leaf daggers, and that fiery red pangolin demon core.

The lightning-struck wooden buckle that Tiangong gave me was also perfectly intact inside.

Seeing all these old friends around made me feel much more at ease.