Chapter 48: The Passing of Third Master

When observing the world with the Qi-gazing eye, the brightest entities are invariably the young children who have yet to fully develop.

Because their vital breath is the purest, untainted by the dust and turmoil of the mortal world.

Yet, the Qi of this little boy, merely five or six years old, was so dim that it even showed signs of living breath turning into death breath. This could only mean one thing: he was ill, and gravely ill at that!

I continued to observe the little fellow with my Qi-gazing eye, intending to figure out exactly what was wrong with him.

The family of three passed right in front of me without noticing that I had already taken off my glasses.

In fact, even if they had seen it, they wouldn't have found it strange. After all, only a few people around Third Master knew about my ability to gaze at Qi.

The woman pulled little Wen's hand and said impatiently to Zhao Shangde, "Let's hurry up! I have an appointment to play cards with friends at ten! You take the kid to kindergarten tomorrow morning!"

"Wait a moment!" I called out to them and put my glasses back on.

The woman turned around, glared at me, and snapped, "What is it now? Can't you people say everything in one breath? Making all this fuss, do you even let people leave?"

I took a deep breath and said to her, "Sister-in-law, don't be impatient. I just want to tell you something!

Take little Wen to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow. Drinking this much water probably means something is wrong with his body. I suspect there might be a problem in his head!"

"Your fucking head is the one with the problem!" The woman exploded on the spot, pointing right at my nose and cursing:

"Is this any way to talk? Isn't it just that the child was thirsty and drank a few cups of water from your house? Do you have to curse my child like this?"

Zhao Shangde also stared at me with a livid face, though he restrained himself from blowing up on the spot, purely for the sake of the long box in his hand.

Sister Yan walked over to my side and asked in a low voice, "Shitou, what's wrong?"

I looked at the little boy and said with a pang of heartache, "The child is sick, I just saw it!"

Sister Yan turned around and said to the woman, "Sister-in-law, Shitou didn't mean it that way. It's fine for a child to drink some water, but if he drinks like this, there might be a problem!

Anyway, it's just taking some time to go to the hospital. For the child's health, you really should—"

The woman looked at me suspiciously. "Are you a doctor? Have you studied medicine?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, I haven't studied it, it's just that—"

"Then both of you have sick brains!" the woman cursed angrily. "My son can eat and drink and is completely fine! If you dare spout nonsense and curse my son again, I won't let you off!"

She picked up her handbag, pulled out a hundred-yuan bill, and threw it at me:

"So stingy just because a child drank two sips of water from your house! This is truly the first time I've seen such a person!

Take it! That's enough to buy a whole barrel of your water! I'm not short of money!"

Turning around, she scolded Zhao Shangde, "What are you standing there for, let's go! What kind of future can you have if you associate with people like this!"

Zhao Shangde walked out with a gloomy face. Sister Yan wanted to say something more to them, but Chen Yinan walked up from behind and said:

"Big Boss, forget it! As the saying goes, spring breeze doesn't enter a donkey's ears, and fools don't listen to reason. If you tell them and they don't believe you, it just breeds resentment for nothing. It's not worth it!"

Sister Yan said with a hint of distress, "But after all, he's still a child!"

I sighed and said to Sister Yan, "Forget it, I'll find another chance to remind President Zhao."

Only then did Sister Yan nod.

Xiangxiang pulled Youyou along and smiled, saying, "Second Boss, we're having a feast tomorrow, right? That treasure fetched a good price, didn't it? Our company has made a windfall again!"

Youyou nodded excitedly.

I laughed in exasperation and said, "What are you thinking! We didn't take the money, we returned it directly to him!"

"Ah?" Xiangxiang looked disappointed and puzzled, asking, "Then isn't that the same as the Big Boss's idea? Why make things so tense earlier? I almost thought you two were going to fight!"

Chen Yinan shook his head and, adopting the air of a pedantic scholar, stroked his chin where there was no beard at all, saying, "You are quite wrong! There is a difference between the Second Boss giving it away for free and the Big Boss giving it away for free!"

"Your head is the difference!" Xiangxiang cursed, and not wanting to listen to Chen Yinan's rambling, she grabbed Youyou and headed upstairs.

Chen Yinan chased after them, still chattering away, "Don't leave yet, you don't understand the brilliance of the Second Boss's move. Fortunately, I am his kindred spirit, able to appreciate the lofty vision behind the Second Boss's action..."

"Oh, get lost, stop following us... I'm warning you, Chen Yinan, don't you dare harbor any ideas about Youyou, or else I'll castrate you!"

Listening to the bickering and noise of those few people, Sister Yan and I exchanged a helpless, wry smile.

Yet I also knew that Sister Yan, much like myself, thoroughly enjoyed this kind of lively warmth.

Before going to sleep, Sister Yan slipped a card into my hand and said, "Take some time tomorrow to buy a better mobile phone.

Don't begrudge the money; get the latest model. It has many functions and is convenient to use. Not having a phone is too much of a hassle."

That was a fact. I took the card and nodded, saying, "I'll buy one tomorrow morning on the way to see Third Master!"

Sister Yan returned to her room, and I took a shower and went to bed.

Feeling as though I hadn't slept enough, someone knocked urgently on the door outside. Yawning, I walked over and opened it to see Sister Yan standing outside. Rubbing my eyes, I asked, "Sister, what time is it? Is it time for work?"

Just as I was about to turn around and lie down for a little longer, Sister Yan cried out to me from behind, "Shitou, hurry to the hospital, Third Master has passed away!"

At half-past six in the morning, the journey that usually took thirty minutes took me only twenty.

Taking the elevator to the fifth floor, the sound of weeping drifted out from the ward.

Sister Yan and I rushed in. A crowd had already gathered around Third Master's bed.

"Third Master!" Sister Yan and I dashed to the bedside, gazing at the old man who lay there quietly with all life-support measures removed, tears streaming down uncontrollably!

For ten years, this old man had become the most important person in our lives as siblings!

I was twenty this year. The memories I had of the first ten years of my life spanned only three or four years; the ten years after that were entirely spent with Third Master!

Just yesterday, I was chatting and laughing with him, and in the span of a single night, we were separated by the boundary of life and death!

Wenliang said through his tears, "Around five o'clock, his condition took a turn for the worse. The master couldn't catch his breath. We called the doctors who tried to resuscitate him for an hour, but they still couldn't save him!"

Little Monkey slumped over Third Master's body, crying and wailing endlessly, "He was so spirited just yesterday, how could he fail so suddenly? Master, how could you just leave us behind?"

"It's all my fault! I'm incompetent and failed to protect the Master!" It was only then that I noticed Brother Hei had also woken up. He knelt by Third Master's bed, beating his own chest.

Deng Zhiyong was there as well; he grabbed Brother Hei's arm and scolded him, "Are you tired of living? Don't you know you have injuries yourself? If the Master sees you like this, he won't be able to rest in peace!"

I fastened the collar button of Third Master's shirt, wiped away a tear, and shouted, "Stop crying, everyone! Let's get together and discuss how to arrange Third Master's funeral!"

Everyone nodded in unison. Sister Yan used a damp towel to wipe Third Master's face and said softly, "Third Master had no wife or children, but he cannot leave without loved ones to send him off.

We can hire people to arrange the other matters, but as for the role of the chief mourner, let Little Monkey fulfill it!"

"I must!" Little Monkey nodded immediately. His relationship with Third Master had always been like that of father and son; this was the consensus of everyone present.

In truth, Brother Hei would have been more suitable, but he was currently severely injured and simply unable to attend Third Master's funeral.

After some discussion, they decided to hire a professional funeral parlor to handle the arrangements, as none of them had experience in this area.

However, it would not be an extravagant or grand affair, as Third Master had given instructions long ago, and such a grand display wouldn't be fitting for his identity.