In the corridor, none of the three spoke.
Jin Sheng felt a twinge of regret. Extraordinary healing talents like Zhang Shou were genuinely scarce worldwide.
If Zhang Shou did not have such a catastrophic drawback, he would have recruited him into the Evil-Slaying Squad without hesitation. That would have made their squad one of the rare teams in Qilin with a healer.
"Captain, could Pangu's Blood save Old Zhang?" Yu Xian asked, gripping the report, unwilling to give up.
Jin Sheng shook his head. "Pangu's Blood is, in the end, merely a product of a Forbidden Fruit. Looking at the severity of the side effects, Zhang Shou's situation is likely on the same level as Pangu's. The exclusive energy inside him isn't any lower in rank than Pangu's Blood."
"Salty Fish, thanks, but don't bother. Just let me have some quiet time to myself this coming week." Zhang Shou took a deep breath and gave Yu Xian a forced smile.
With that, he rose to leave. Uneasy, Yu Xian stood up to follow, but Jin Sheng pressed a hand onto his shoulder, gave a slight shake of his head, and said, "Give him some space."
"Yeah."
Yu Xian watched Zhang Shou's receding figure, clenching his fists tightly.
He wanted to grow stronger, so that whatever he faced, he would never be as utterly helpless as he was today.
...
In a daze, Zhang Shou wandered aimlessly until he found himself in a nearby park.
He sat down on one of the benches, staring blankly up at the sky, feeling as though the entire world had turned gray.
The park was deserted. Even though it was morning, hardly any elderly people were out exercising; the lingering shadow of the aberrant worm incident clearly had not yet faded.
"I thought I won the jackpot, but in the end... it's not even a consolation prize."
Recalling how ecstatic he had been yesterday, Zhang Shou let out a self-deprecating laugh.
He sat in the park for a full half hour before getting up to wander the streets for a long while. Finally, he returned home and locked himself in his room.
Sleeping until dark, he woke up ravenous and headed downstairs to eat at a steamed-dishes restaurant near his residential community.
Just as he was nearly finished eating, a piercing cry suddenly came from the back of the shop. He couldn't help looking over. A waitress had accidentally scalded a little girl's arm with boiling tea, turning the entire arm bright red.
The waitress apologized profusely, while the young couple panicked. The father tried desperately to soothe the little girl, and the mother was dabbing the scalded arm with a towel.
Zhang Shou watched the girl. After a moment of silence, he stood up, walked over, and called out, "Let me. Healing Technique!"
Stepping past the waitress, he pointed at the girl's scalded arm and channeled his stamina to activate the skill. A green orb of light flew from his fingertip toward the girl's arm, and as it settled over the skin, the inflamed red arm rapidly healed.
"Thank you! Thank you, young brother!"
Seeing this, the girl's father immediately thanked him again and again.
The girl's mother and the waitress hurried to express their gratitude as well, while onlookers all around looked at him with admiration.
Zhang Shou suddenly felt that things didn't seem quite so terrible anymore.
He returned to his seat, took another couple of bites, and then abruptly laid down his chopsticks.
Deep down, he knew why his system had turned out to be a healer system. The heavy casualties caused by the aberrant worms at school had not only profoundly affected Yu Xian, but had deeply scarred him as well.
He, Chen Ling, and the others had searched for survivors among the remains of countless classmates, doing everything they could to bandage wounds and ease the pain so their peers could hold on until rescue arrived.
Back then, in his heart of hearts, he hadn't truly wanted to be a sword immortal. He had wanted to be a doctor. He had wanted to save everyone.
"Do you want to die a coward, or be a hero for once?"
Zhang Shou muttered to himself inside, gazing out at the street where the evening air was gradually warming.
He stood up and walked out of the eatery with a smile, his steps growing firmer with each stride.
"Sir, you haven't paid yet!"
Just then, the waitress chased after him, calling out loudly.
Zhang Shou froze in his tracks, hurried back to settle the bill, and then slunk away from the restaurant in embarrassment.
...
The next day.
Yu Xian received a call from Zhang Shou early in the morning.
Hanging up, he rushed over to the entrance of a vegetable market not far from the school.
From dozens of meters away, he saw a large banner strung across the plaza in front of the market. On it was written: "Extraordinary Healer: Free On-Site Treatment. Terminal illnesses, chronic ailments, rare and intractable conditions cured upon arrival."
Beneath the banner, Zhang Shou sat on a chair, constantly casting Healing Technique on the people stepping forward. For certain unusual conditions, he directly used Touch of Healing.
Yu Xian quickly stepped forward, interrupting Zhang Shou from casting again. Frowning, he said, "Are you crazy? Did you forget what I told you? The more you use your skills, the faster you'll die!"
"Salty Fish, I called you here hoping you'd help me keep order in the crowd. I'm dead either way. At least this way, I can make my death mean something," Zhang Shou said earnestly, looking at Yu Xian.
Yu Xian wanted to persuade him further, but Zhang Shou took a deep breath and said, "Yu Xian, if you consider me a friend, don't stop me. Life and death are fated. Don't let me die for nothing."
"Fine!"
Yu Xian gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening.
From then on, Zhang Shou continued treating those seeking aid, while Yu Xian maintained order in the line. Anyone who cut in line or caused trouble received a swift lesson from him.
As the sun climbed from the east to the center of the sky, Zhang Shou—originally an adolescent boy—already looked like a middle-aged man. The graying temples on his head brought an ache to anyone who looked upon him.
Standing under the sunlight, Yu Xian watched Zhang Shou. Each time Zhang Shou cured a patient, a smile appeared on his face. Before anyone realized it, a vast crowd had gathered around.
People brought sun umbrellas, lunch, herbal tea, electric fans...
Many volunteered from the bottom of their hearts to help keep order. Yu Xian actually found himself with nothing to do; nobody dared cause trouble anymore, and everyone waited in an orderly queue for their turn.
On the rooftop of a building across from the vegetable market, Jin Sheng stood looking down at the long, winding queue, his hands unconsciously clenching.
"Doctor, your hair..."
"Little bro, why don't you rest for today?"
"Mister, we won't get treated anymore. Please go rest. Look at your face..."
As time went on, more and more people noticed the changes in Zhang Shou. By four in the afternoon, he had transformed from a middle-aged man into a frail old man.
Worry swept through the crowd, yet Zhang Shou persisted obstinately, continuing to treat patient after patient.
Today, he had cured hundreds of terminally ill patients, healed dozens of crippled schoolmates, and restored health to many infants afflicted with genetic disorders.
He was going to die either way. He wanted to heal as many people as possible.
All it took was activating a skill once, yet it could restore someone's health, even change their entire life. To him, it was a worthwhile trade.
Again and again.
Gradually, his vision blurred until he couldn't even clearly see the faces of the patients.
Fortunately, he wasn't a real doctor; healing only required activating a skill. So whenever he saw a figure approach, he simply triggered it.
Night fell. Sensing a change of color before him, he immediately raised a hand to cast, but his body abruptly went limp and collapsed toward the ground.
The people around caught him at once. With trembling hands, he cast the skill on the patient before him.
"Enough, it's really enough."
Yu Xian rushed forward and gathered Zhang Shou's emaciated, skin-and-bones frame into his arms, tears welling up uncontrollably.
In fact, the onlookers had tried to stop him multiple times, but Zhang Shou had refused every plea and pressed on. Many tenderhearted people had already been weeping in secret, and seeing this scene now, broke into tears once more.
"Yu Xian, it's really strange... I clearly didn't want to die."
"I should have been terrified of dying, but right now, I don't feel afraid at all."
"Is it because I know that what I did was right?"
Hearing Yu Xian's voice, Zhang Shou spoke weakly, a smile of relief spreading across his face instead.
Before Yu Xian could answer, his hand slowly drooped. Yu Xian couldn't hold back and wailed in grief. His father was gone, his best friend was gone... he didn't know what else he had left to lose.
The surrounding crowd watched the scene unfold; some stood in stunned silence, others wept, and time seemed to freeze in that very moment.
Chapter 19