Book 3 Chapter 42 – Epidemic

　　"Who were they?" Liu Meng asked after the trio left.

　　"I'll explain to you later, it's kind of complicated." Li Yiming shook his head. He remembered the bodhi leaf in his storage s.p.a.ce. 'A Fate Pill…'

　　"AHHH—!" A high-pitched screeched pierced through the ceiling of the first floor. Li Yiming and Liu Meng exchanged a glanced and rushed upstairs.

　　When they opened the door to the bedroom, they b.u.mped into the butler. The latter had one hand against the wall to stop himself from falling over. A man who looked like a doctor was collapsed on the ground, with pale lips and his hand on one of the table legs. A nurse was right next to him, and from her pale countenance, it seemed like she had just witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world. All three quivered with terror.

　　"Where's Mr. Ye?" Li Yiming asked. He looked around; it seemed deputy-director Ye had been conducting his physical examination in this room. The folds on the bed sheets suggesting that someone was laying there just a moment ago. 'Where is he? There's nowhere for him to hide… Did I get tricked by those three? How did they do it?'

　　"Master Ye… Master Ye… the butler pointed with a trembling finger at the bed. There was nothing on it, except for a brown pajama robe. Beneath was the jade bracelet with its golden joinings still glowing weakly.

　　Li Yiming walked forward and picked up the bracelet. 'This is the bracelet, but where is the deputy director?'

　　"I can feel that there was a fire here. A very pure, refined fire." Liu Meng frowned when she noticed what was wrong with the room.

　　"A fire?" Li Yiming was confused by Liu Meng's suggestion. He looked around, and all he could see was the baffled faces of the people who were inside the room when he arrived.

　　"Master Ye… Master Ye…" The butler repeated, but his voice died out, as if someone suddenly choked him.

　　"What happened to the deputy-director?" Li Yiming asked. He used his aura to intimidate the butler into producing a response.

　　"Mr. Ye suddenly caught fire… and then he was gone." The doctor, who was still down the ground, recovered some of his composure after being urged by Li Yiming. He tried to crawl up, but instead, he knocked over a small metal stand that contained some medical instruments.

　　"Caught fire?" Li Yiming glanced at the doctor and then back at Liu Meng.

　　"Yes. He was on the bed, and then he suddenly caught fire. There was fire all over his body. And then… he was gone." The doctor was already at the door.

　　'It's the Heart Fire punishment' Li Yiming heard Bai Ze's interpretation.

　　"Could you all go outside for a moment? Don't come in until I tell you to," Li Yiming said calmly as he turned his head toward the undamaged bed.

　　The doctor, the nurse, and the butler left as soon as Li Yiming ordered them to. They were itching to leave such a terrifying place. The butler, on his way out, shut the door: he was afraid of a monster coming out of the room.

　　'Can you explain what happened?'

　　"It's Heart Fire, one of Heaven's Punishments. There's no mistake, Heaven's Laws has intervened." Bai Ze appeared after a flash of white light. She grazed the top of the bed sheets with the tip of her finger and said in a grave voice.

　　"You're awake!" Liu Meng was happy to see Bai Ze again. She had a new understanding of the nature of Bai Ze's existence after sealing her own contract with Bi Fang.

　　"Yes, I've been awake for a while. Liu Meng, what can you feel?"

　　"Fire. A very high-level fire. At least compared to mine. It's gentle but scary. Strange… It's the first time I've been scared of fire ever since awakening." Liu Meng knew that it was not the appropriate time for chit-chatting, so she left her questions for Bai Ze to later.

　　"Heart Fire?" Li Yiming remembered the lightning that fell down on Bai Ze and himself a while ago.

　　"I think I know what happened," Bai Ze's started to reconstruct the scene with her intelligent deductions. "The deputy-director is a normal person, but he recovered from his disease thanks to your gift. But, as I've said, Heaven's Laws will not allow for such an intervention, so…"