Night had deepened.
Under Lin Fan's gentle gaze, the little girl drifted off into peaceful slumber.
Deprived of his usual target of eye contact, Lin Fan now turned his smiling eyes toward Zhang Hongmin. Yet, within Zhang's eyes, he could find none of the sacred purity that radiated from the girl. Zhang, for his part, knew he was being stared at by a—well, a harmless lunatic.
He wasn't frightened, per se, but the stare made his skin crawl and his hair stand on end.
Trying to escape the discomfort, he bent over with his rear pointed squarely at Lin Fan, pretending to tidy up under the bed.
As long as we're not making eye contact, it's fine.
If he must stare, then let him admire my backside. After all, back in his younger days, he was something of a star on the nightclub dance floors. Even after a leg fracture ended his performance career and led him to settle down and start a family, his posterior remained, by all standards, top-tier.
Round. Firm. Resilient.
Lin Fan calmly pulled a coil of wire from his pocket and placed it on the bedside cabinet.
Out of the corner of his eye, the One-Eyed Man caught sight of the slender, rolled-up wire. His brow furrowed slightly. What the hell is that for?
"Why are you staring at me?" Lin Fan asked, still smiling.
The One-Eyed Man said nothing, merely shifted his gaze and pulled out his phone to check the chat group.
[Group One - Maoshan Sect: A fruitful day indeed. Six evil entities slain. Before the might of Maoshan, even monsters bow in submission.]
[Group One - Buddhist Academy: Amitabha.]
[Group One - Daoist Academy: Boundless Heavenly Veneration!]
[Group One - Medical Academy: Heal the sick, rescue the dying!]
[Maoshan Sect sent a password red envelope: Maoshan is mighty! Brilliant! Unmatched!]
[Buddhist Academy: Maoshan is mighty! Brilliant! Unmatched!]
Message retracted.
[Daoist Academy: Maoshan is mighty! Brilliant! Unmatched!]
Message retracted.
[Medical Academy: Maoshan is mighty! Brilliant! Unmatched!]
Message retracted.
[Maoshan Sect: Thank you all for your kind praise. Screenshot saved. Uploading to the Academy homepage. All three high sects said Maoshan is best—need we say more? Choose Maoshan as your top admission pick!]
The One-Eyed Man scrolled with a half-smirk, about to lock his screen when a sudden thought struck him.
[One-Eyed Man: @Medical Academy — How do you communicate with lunatics?]
[Medical Academy: To understand special people, one must first become one of them.]
[One-Eyed Man: So you're saying... I need to become a lunatic?]
[Medical Academy: Heal the sick, rescue the dying. Dial 120.]
He closed the app with a sigh. Useless, every last one of them.
In person, they were all formal and respectful. But online?
You couldn't tell who was a man and who was a mutt.
Meanwhile, Zhang Laotou was gazing obsessively at the Rolex on his wrist, eyes gleaming with aristocratic fascination. He could watch it until morning without ever growing tired.
Night deepened further.
The hospital was silent. The nurse sat behind the front desk, half-watching her phone, half-dozing. When footsteps passed, she'd lift her head lazily, then drop it again.
In the psych ward, all was still. Patients slept behind locked doors. Occasionally, someone in terminal stages would groan in pain during uneasy sleep.
In the psychiatric room—
Lin Fan and Zhang Laotou opened their eyes at the same time. They lay in bed, facing one another. Under the dim glow of the overhead light, their gazes met, and something flickered—an unspoken understanding. A grin tugged at their lips, subtle and shared.
The One-Eyed Man was jolted awake by the slightest sound. Years of facing danger had trained his body to wake instantly, no matter how deep the sleep.
What are they doing now?
He made no move, merely watched. He wanted to see what these lunatics were truly up to.
Soon, he saw them standing by his bed, their ears twitching as they whispered:
"He's a good man. I believe you can help him regrow his eye. Let's try again."
"Even though he wasted the delicious snake meat... I'll forgive him. He's kind."
"He asked me a question earlier. I want to give him the answer now."
"Then let's begin."
Their hushed scheming sent a chill down his spine.
They're gonna stab me again? These bastards really think I'm that easy to mess with?
He was ready to subdue them right then and there—but he hesitated.
A new thought began to take root: What if this madness hides a secret?
They might be insane, yes—but they had managed to kill two Grade II evil entities.
That's no act.
What if their daytime idiocy was just a façade, and nightfall brought out their true power?
After spending a full day with them, something within the One-Eyed Man had shifted—though he hadn't quite noticed. Maybe he still held hope.
As the saying goes: Third time's the charm.
It had only been two attempts so far.
One more might just work.
A silent internal war raged within him.
Should I trust them… or not?
To hell with it. Things have already gone this far. Why not?
If my hunch is right… this could be monumental.
Zhang Laotou stood at the bedside, opening a small case of acupuncture needles. In the faint light, he couldn't clearly see the One-Eyed Man's head—but years of studying traditional medicine had made blind needling child's play.
He found the spot and struck.
First needle in.
The One-Eyed Man clutched the sheets. For someone of his strength, the fact that he was even nervous was bizarre in itself.
He couldn't understand how this deranged old man never repeated the same acupuncture point twice.
Lin Fan, meanwhile, wrapped the wire around his toes and crouched by the wall socket.
The One-Eyed Man couldn't see what Lin Fan was doing, but he definitely felt something tighten around his foot.
He resisted the urge to sit up and investigate.
Zhang Laotou, still fumbling in thought, pinched his chin. None of the visible spots displeased him, so he muttered to himself, "Forget it, close my eyes and let fate decide."
A book he once read had said just that: Leave it to destiny—needle with eyes shut.
The twelfth needle struck.
Then came the final one.
Zhang looked at Lin Fan.
They locked eyes in silent agreement.
Thirteenth needle—planted straight into the skull.
The One-Eyed Man reflexively clenched the bed sheet.
This time… it felt different. More intense than before.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak—
Lin Fan jammed the wire into the socket.
Electricity surged through the coil and into his body.
In the brief moment before he blacked out, the One-Eyed Man felt it—sharp and searing.
Bang!
Bang!
He jolted upright like a corpse in resurrection, body bouncing violently on the bed. The lights flickered erratically. The whole scene was nightmarish.
Zhang Hongmin, roused from his slumber, looked up blearily and saw two shadows standing by the One-Eyed Man's bed.
He also saw the One-Eyed Man spasming on the mattress.
Terror slowly dawned on Zhang's face.
"Aaahhhhhh!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed down the hospital corridor.
The nurse rushed in. One look at the scene and she turned pale, trembling from head to toe. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she wailed:
"DOCTOR!!!"
In the on-call room, the head physician who had spent the day resuscitating Lin Fan suddenly bolted upright, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Just a dream… thank God," he whispered. "Six bikini babes all in love with me… my poor kidneys wouldn't survive that kind of adoration."
He exhaled deeply. "Scared the life out of me…"
Crackle!
His radio crackled to life.
"Doctor, emergency in ICU! The One-Eyed Man in the psych ward is critical! Surgery needed immediately!"
The doctor rose calmly and said, "Understood."
He was still shaken by the dream.
Thankfully, that wasn't real—otherwise someone would've died.
Sigh. Better go save a life now.
Don't ask how he stayed so calm.
Let's just say… he had a feeling this would happen.