Volume One, Chapter 120: The Wronged Jiang Xiaozhou

"I didn't do anything," Skinny Cat said hastily. "I... I did ask people to look for their whereabouts, but they fled after committing the murder. They aren't in Tongyang City anymore. In just these few days, what could I have possibly done? I’ve been in the old district every single day."

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise: Skinny Cat had been obsessed with the time he was caught cheating at gambling before his death. After taking over Jiang Xiaozhou's body, he had also gained access to a large sum of money. Consequently, he had spent the last few days at the gaming tables, doing nothing else but gambling.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaozhou let out a sigh of relief. It was best that he hadn't done anything else; he would just consider the money lost by Skinny Cat as a sacrifice to ward off disaster.

"Continue," Chi Xingwan said.

Skinny Cat looked confused for a moment. "That’s it. After that, I was caught by you."

Chi Xingwan frowned sharply. "Who was that person?"

Skinny Cat quickly asked, "I don't know. I couldn't see his face clearly. He was wearing Taoist robes, and I’m not even sure if he was a man or a woman."

"How is that possible? You followed him such a long way to my house, and you’re telling me you don't even know if he was a man or a woman? Who are you trying to fool?" Jiang Xiaozhou was furious.

Chi Xingwan intervened, "He is likely not lying. There are far too many ways for someone in the Xuanmen to conceal their appearance and gender."

Jiang Xiaozhou immediately shut his mouth.

Pang Tao asked, "Then what should we do? That person is clearly a troublemaker. We don't know what his purpose is, nor if he will continue to commit evil."

Chi Xingwan glanced at Skinny Cat. "Do you feel anything at all?"

"Feel what?" Skinny Cat asked.

"A brand has been placed on your soul. Over time, you will gradually lose your consciousness and become a puppet. You don't feel anything?"

"What?" Skinny Cat was shocked. "What brand? I don't feel anything at all. When was I branded?"

Taking advantage of a red light, Pang Tao looked back at Skinny Cat and indeed discovered something abnormal about his soul. It was very faint; if it hadn't been for Consultant Chi's reminder, she surely would not have noticed.

She thought to herself, *As expected of a super-Grade A spiritual master; she could even detect this.*

Upon arriving at the hospital, Pang Tao parked the car and said to Chi Xingwan, "Consultant Chi, I won't go up. I’ll stay here to keep an eye on Skinny Cat."

"Very well, you stay here."

Jiang Xiaozhou, unable to wait, got out of the car and headed toward the hospital’s inpatient ward, with Chi Xingwan and the others following behind.

He had walked halfway before realizing he didn't even know which room his grandfather was in, and he stopped in his tracks, looking lost.

Xiao Yue patted him on the shoulder. "Just follow us; we know."

When they reached the door of the ward, they happened to run into Jiang Bofeng in the hallway. The moment Jiang Bofeng saw Jiang Xiaozhou, he became incensed.

"You brat! Didn't you say you'd rather die out there than come back? Now that you're short on money, you come running back?"

Jiang Xiaozhou looked aggrieved. "Uncle, it’s not like that. The person who said those things wasn't me..."

Jiang Bofeng pointed at him and scolded, "You’re still making excuses? If it wasn't you, then who was it? You already made your grandfather sick with your behavior at home, and that's not enough for you? You have to come to the hospital to upset him all over again?"

"No, Uncle, I really don't want to upset Grandfather. I came here today to apologize," Jiang Xiaozhou explained hurriedly.

Jiang Zhongyue walked out of the ward, and upon seeing Jiang Xiaozhou, she walked over quickly and slapped him across the face.

"Xiaozhou, how could you become like this? Do you have any conscience toward your grandfather, your parents?" Jiang Zhongyue lowered her voice as much as possible, but her anger was still palpable.

Jiang Xiaozhou felt deeply wronged. Tears welled up like a flood. It clearly wasn't him who had done these terrible things, yet he had to bear the consequences for Skinny Cat. At that moment, he wished he could rush back to the car and tear Skinny Cat to pieces.

Seeing him cry, Jiang Zhongyue paused, stunned. "Why are you crying? Wasn't it you who did these things? Wasn't it you who made the whole family miserable over the New Year? How dare you cry?"

Jiang Xiaozhou sobbed, "It really wasn't me."

Jiang Bofeng grabbed Jiang Zhongyue’s arm. "Alright, don't argue here; Father might hear us in a moment."

Jiang Zhongyue suppressed her temper. "Big Brother, you're right. Let's talk outside."

The two of them grabbed Jiang Xiaozhou, intending to drag him away, but he refused to budge. "Uncle, Aunt, I want to see Grandfather."

"Absolutely not. Your grandfather’s condition has only just stabilized; you cannot provoke him again," Jiang Zhongyue refused firmly.

Jiang Xiaozhou said, "I won't. I won't provoke Grandfather. The person who upset him before wasn't me at all."

Jiang Zhongyue sneered, "Xiaozhou, I didn't expect that besides learning bad habits, you’ve also learned to lie. Tell me, if it wasn't you, then who was it? I wasn't aware you had a brother out there who looked exactly like you."

Jiang Xiaozhou was left speechless.

"Mr. Jiang, Ms. Jiang, sorry to intrude, but we can testify for Jiang Xiaozhou. Prior to this, he was indeed unable to control his own body," Chi Xingwan said.

Jiang Bofeng remembered the three of them. "Who exactly are you people?"

Jiang Xiaozhou quickly said, "Uncle, they are my benefactors. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have been able to get my body back."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How could such a bizarre thing exist in this world?" Jiang Zhongyue didn't believe him.

Jiang Bofeng was half-skeptical. "In any case, let's go outside and talk."

Seeing that his uncle's attitude had softened, Jiang Xiaozhou did not insist and turned to follow everyone else.

Just then, Jiang Shuhai and Zhang Ruijie walked out from around the corner of the corridor. Both of them caught sight of Jiang Xiaozhou in the crowd immediately.

Zhang Ruijie ran over in a state of agitation, grabbing Jiang Xiaozhou, her emotions spiraling out of control.

"Xiaozhou, where have you been these past few days? How could you run away from home without a word? You weren't like this before. Why have you changed like this? You must have had a reason, right? Tell Mom, you had a reason!"

As she became agitated, she lost control of her volume.

Jiang Bofeng and Jiang Zhongyue didn't even have time to warn her before the door to the ward opened.

Jiang Bofeng's eldest son stepped out and said, "Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Auntie, and Xiaozhou—Grandfather wants you all to come in."

Jiang Shuhai walked up to Jiang Xiaozhou, patted him heavily on the shoulder, and threatened him under his breath, "Xiaozhou, you've already upset your grandfather once. If you upset him again, I won't give you another chance. You'd better watch yourself."

Jiang Xiaozhou swallowed hard and said weakly, "Dad, I want Sister Chi and her friends to come in with me."

Jiang Shuhai and Zhang Ruijie looked at the only three strangers present.

Jiang Bofeng said, "These three are the guests who had an appointment to meet with Father before the New Year. Just now, Xiaozhou said they were his saviors."

"In that case, let them come in too," Jiang Shuhai said.