Chapter 43: Treating the Injured

Chapter 43: Treating the Injured

I carried Old Wang to the safe house, then parked the car some distance from the safe house before heading back.

Safe houses were all designed along the same lines. Beyond shielding against electronic detection, each one kept a stock of medicines and daily supplies — enough for ordinary living.

I settled Old Wang on the bed and applied some medicine to his wounds.

Using my penetrating vision, I examined his injuries. Most were superficial. He looked like he was drenched in blood, but it was nothing serious. He was genuinely exhausted, and the blast wave from the car explosion had done some contusive damage to his soft tissue.

“Were all those people in the car your associates?” I asked.

Old Wang seemed to have recovered somewhat. “Associates? Is that how you refer to people? No manners at all. And you call yourself a high monk? Those were brave and righteous men — warriors fighting to save all of humanity.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I said. “I didn’t know any of them. Praise them however you like.”

“Go bring me that suitcase,” Old Wang said.

Thinking about his suitcase at a time like this — there had to be something important inside. No wonder the Soul Hunters had taken one look and known they had a big fish.

I got to my feet, walked to the door, carried the suitcase back, and set it by the bed.

Old Wang raised himself slightly. “Open it. Take out one of the lacquer boxes.”

I opened the suitcase. Inside were many lacquer boxes about the size of jewelry cases, alongside what looked like instruments and other equipment. “There are a lot of lacquer boxes. Which one do you want?”

“The one with Zhu written on it.”

Sure enough, one box had the character Zhu written on the lid in blue pen. I took it out and handed it to him.

Without even glancing at it, Old Wang said, “Open it yourself.”

I did, and found a Wisdom Capsule sealed inside.

I took it out and held it against the neurons at the back of my neck to get a read on it. Martial techniques, financial knowledge, that sort of thing. Fairly ordinary.

Old Wang barked, “What on earth are you messing about with? That isn’t for you. Gu Kunling sent it for you to use on that girl surnamed Zhu.”

Treating someone? Surnamed Zhu?

So this was something Gu Kunling had prepared specifically for Zhu Zhaojie.

“I’m tired,” Old Wang said. “Go treat the patient first. Once I’ve rested a bit, I’ll fill you in on everything else. Off you go.”

I @#￥%…

He was seriously sending me away already?

I was tired too, for what it was worth. Surely sitting down for a moment wasn’t too much to ask. No manners.

Fine. I couldn’t be bothered to argue. “All right. Get some rest. Do you need me to bring anything?”

Old Wang thought it over. “Anything? All that equipment in the vehicle earlier — good stuff, every bit of it. Pity. Never mind. You go ahead. I can take care of myself. Come back when you have time.”

Talking to strangers was exhausting.

Still, this was good news. With a new Wisdom Capsule, I could install it for Zhu Zhaojie and spare her any more suffering.

I left the safe house and hurried to where Zhu Zhaojie was staying.

Although it was already late, she and Zhu Shiqing were still up. Gu Qiutang was asleep in the next room.

I installed the new Wisdom Capsule for Zhu Zhaojie and let her adjust to it herself.

She had been fitted with one by the Sweepers before, so she knew what to expect. After taking a moment to feel it out, she said, “The contents are different from the old one, but this one seems to fit better somehow. The neurons and the capsule come together very easily.”

Seeing Zhu Zhaojie recover put me at ease. Gu Kunling had clearly kept this in mind all along. Perhaps this capsule had been custom-made for Zhu Zhaojie specifically.

The biggest difference between this capsule and the Sweeper version, I noticed, was that it could seep on its own into the neural center inside the brain. The moment it was installed, it seemed to dissolve into…