Chapter Five: The Prison Sanatorium

When Xie Qingtang met Gu Xiujin’s gaze, something in her heart was stirred, trembling ever so slightly. She hurriedly turned her head away, but her ears flushed red on their own accord.

She had never been as grateful as she was at this moment that fate had allowed her to master such remarkable medical skills, and that these very skills had saved Gu Xiujin’s life.

At Gu Xiujin’s insistence, the group set out together for the sanatorium.

The sanatorium was located in a remote area on the outskirts of Su City. The scenery was pleasant, and the hospital’s facilities were fairly complete, but the place was deserted. This both ensured privacy and prevented any chance of the patients escaping.

A cold smile flickered in Xie Qingtang’s heart as she led the group straight inside.

A young nurse was on duty at the reception desk. As soon as she saw them enter, she stood up quickly and asked, “May I help you?”

Xie Qingtang replied directly, “We’re here to visit a patient, Mr. Xie Yi.”

The nurse’s sweet smile froze at once, replaced by an expression of deep vigilance. “Who are you? Our patients aren’t permitted visitors at will!”

Xie Qingtang sneered, “I am his granddaughter—his biological granddaughter. Are you saying I can’t visit my own grandfather?”

The nurse’s face grew even more unsightly. Her eyes shifted about nervously as she stammered, “Mr. Xie is a special case. Even relatives need the guardian’s consent to visit! Please wait a moment, I’ll call his guardian right away!”

She reached for the phone to dial, but a strong arm pressed the receiver back down.

Startled, the nurse looked up to see a burly man in a black suit glaring at her menacingly. Behind him sat a dignified, handsome man in a wheelchair, who spoke in a calm voice, “If you’re trying to tip off Shao Siming, you’d best not bother.”

Gu Xiujin had his bodyguard restrain the nurse, then turned to Xie Qingtang. “It seems Shao Siming really has this place under his thumb. There’s no way we’ll get through the proper channels. The old gentleman’s room is on the fourth floor—let’s go in and get him directly.”

Xie Qingtang nodded, and the group surged upstairs.

On the fourth floor, Xie Qingtang immediately spotted her grandfather’s room. There was no mistaking it—several bodyguards stood outside, instantly on guard at the sight of the group, shouting, “Who are you? What do you want?”

Xie Qingtang’s eyes turned icy, and she murmured with a cold laugh, “Shao Siming really is ruthless.”

The bodyguards closed in to surround them, clearly determined not to let anyone through.

Gu Xiujin’s expression remained unchanged; he simply waved his hand lightly. “Deal with them.”

The Gu family’s bodyguards responded at once, pouncing like tigers among sheep. The Gu family, being a top-tier clan, only employed elite mercenaries as bodyguards—nothing like the ordinary security guards trained by Shao Siming’s hired company. They quickly gained the upper hand.

With the way cleared, Xie Qingtang rushed into the ward, her eyes immediately landing on the frail, white-haired figure lying on the bed.

The old man’s eyes were vacant, his face pale and withered, his body nothing but skin and bones—a pitiful sight.

A sting of sorrow pricked Xie Qingtang’s nose and tears nearly spilled over.

Her grandfather had once been so elegant and gentle, a refined old gentleman. Now, Shao Siming had reduced him to this—neither quite human nor ghost.

At that moment, her hatred for Shao Siming reached its peak. She wanted nothing more than to skin him alive.

Swallowing back her tears, she carefully approached the bed and called softly, “Grandpa, it’s me. I’m Tangtang. Do you still recognize me?”

Her grandfather’s vacant eyes had been fixed on the window, as if he heard nothing. But at the sound of “Tangtang,” something seemed to switch on inside him. He slowly turned to look at her, his gaze gradually focusing, and he parted his lips to rasp in a dry, hoarse voice:

“Tangtang… Tangtang, you’ve come back?”

Joy exploded within Xie Qingtang. She seized Gu Xiujin’s hand, laughing and weeping at once. “Grandpa remembers me! He still remembers me!”

Gu Xiujin was deeply relieved as well, patting her hand gently. “If he can still recognize you, his condition is much better than we feared. The most urgent thing now is to get him out and give him a full examination.”

Xie Qingtang nodded hurriedly, and with the help of the bodyguards and assistants, they carefully transferred her grandfather onto a mobile bed and wheeled him out.

The moment Shao Siming’s bodyguards, who were being pinned to the ground, saw this, they forgot all about grappling with the Gu family’s men and rushed over to block their way. “Who do you think you are, daring to make a move on the Xie family’s turf!”

Xie Qingtang’s face was frosty as she stepped forward and said coldly, “I am Xie Qingtang, the eldest daughter of the Xie family! Do I need your permission to take my own grandfather?”

“The eldest daughter?” Shao Siming’s bodyguards exchanged glances, looking in confusion to their captain.

The captain, aware that the Xie family did have such an eldest daughter, narrowed his eyes and said, “Miss Qingtang, even if you are the eldest daughter, you don’t have the authority. The current head of the Xie family is your father, Mr. Shao.”

Xie Qingtang’s face darkened with rage. Through gritted teeth, she replied, “Don’t mention Shao Siming to me! If not for him, my grandfather wouldn’t be like this today! No matter what, I’m taking him with me! I’d like to see you try and stop me!”

At her words, the Gu family’s bodyguards instantly surrounded her, clearly ready to fight. Still reeling from their recent thrashing, Shao Siming’s men shrank back instinctively.

The captain, recalling his employer’s orders, gritted his teeth and pulled a remote control from his pocket. “Miss Qingtang, to tell you the truth, Mr. Shao ordered us not to let Mr. Xie leave under any circumstances. To prevent situations like today, we’ve already planted explosives near this ward. If necessary, we have orders to take extreme measures. Even knowing that, do you still insist on taking him?”

“You—!” Xie Qingtang was nearly driven mad with anger. Was this what they called a sanatorium? It was more like a prison! No, even prisons only monitored you—they didn’t force you to sleep atop a pile of explosives!