"Divine Beasts don’t look anything like you."
Ah Mu scrolled through his list slowly, then glanced at the Agunas little husky and said irritably.
"What do you know, this is the legendary home-wrecking Divine Beast, specialized in demolition! It’s also adept at reaching an understanding with bad guys and is the best choice for guarding the house~..."
"What nonsense..."
Qi Chen listened speechlessly to Feng Yuan’s ridiculous claims. After a while, Qi Chen said in a low voice.
"We’re ready, keep your voice down."
Upon hearing Qi Chen’s words, the little husky immediately stopped barking, paused for a moment, then suddenly let out a few "woofs" as if pretending to be an adorable little dog.
Qi Chen gave Feng Yuan a speechless look and didn’t say anything more. They moved on in silence. After a while, Qi Chen knocked nervously on the decaying door in front of them. When there was no response after a little while, Feng Yuan was about to speak when the door next to them suddenly opened.
An elderly old lady came out, surveyed Qi Chen for a moment with an expressionless face, and said.
"Young man, who are you looking for?"
"Um... is Dou Yanlan not home?"
"Looking for little Yanlan? What do you want with her?"
The old lady smiled and stared at Qi Chen as she asked, but her expression seemed somewhat eerie to Feng Yuan. After freezing for a moment, Qi Chen said.
"She didn’t come to class this afternoon. I’m worried she might have run into some trouble."
"She didn’t ask for leave?"
"She did... it’s just..."
The two looked at each other in silence for a long time until the old lady broke the stalemate first and said.
"You must be her friend, right?"
"Yes..."
"She’s currently in the city hospital. If you go now, maybe you can help her out a bit."
The old lady said mockingly. Qi Chen didn’t notice anything amiss and, after expressing his gratitude to her, quickly turned and ran outside. Although Feng Yuan sensed something, he didn’t speak out. Watching Qi Chen and Ah Mu hurry away, the old lady muttered something under her breath and carefully closed the door.
"Seems like she’s in some kind of trouble."
On the bus, the little husky dangled from Ah Mu’s branches, swinging back and forth. Qi Chen gave Feng Yuan a speechless glance and said.
"You, you’re dodging the fare, aren’t you?"
"Psh! What do you mean dodging the fare, my traveling doesn’t cost a penny, okay!"
Feng Yuan wasn’t lying here, since due to the special concessions previously granted, Feng Yuan could ride the public transportation operated by Great Xia government for free or at a discount. Qi Chen, somewhat worried, said.
"Why would she go to the hospital, could it be..."
"It’s probably her mom who’s sick, but it’s very strange..."
Feng Yuan was puzzled. Not to mention that many Spirit Beasts had Healing Moves that could be used on humans, even without the appropriate Spirit Beast moves, those Spiritual Medicines and Materials could still work on humans, and treating many difficult and miscellaneous diseases relied on specialized medication made from those Spiritual Medicines and Materials.
"Is it a severe illness..."
Qi Chen was also puzzled, but since they were almost at the hospital, he decided not to speculate any further. Closing his eyes, Qi Chen said in a low voice.
"You should rest too, aren’t you tired after a busy day?"
"Hehe~"
The little husky let out a bizarre laugh as it moved around in Ah Mu’s branches. Although it was the peak hour for people getting off work, since the bus was heading in the direction opposite to the commuting crowd, there weren’t many people on the bus, so Ah Mu could maintain a larger size standing in the aisle.
"Although we’ve arrived here, where should I look for her..."
In a moment of impulsiveness, Qi Chen had made his way here and was feeling a bit of a headache. The little husky pointed its small paw at the restaurant nearby and said.
"Let’s eat something there first, I’ll have Agunas help look for her."
Even though Agunas hadn’t found any useful information that afternoon, it was still capable of helping look for someone here. Transforming back into his human form, Feng Yuan pulled Qi Chen into the cafeteria at the entrance of the hospital.
At that moment, the cafeteria was crowded with relatives of patients, most of them worried. Feng Yuan glanced around, thought for a moment, and then pulled out his credentials to say.
"Let’s save some time."
"Hey!"
Before Qi Chen could stop him, Feng Yuan ran toward a special window reserved for VIP treatment, which had no queue. The family members in line watched him in surprise—the window offered services exclusively for holders of special military privilege passes and other IDs of similar status.
Seeing how young Feng Yuan was, a kind-hearted lady pulled him aside to tell him that only the holder of the ID could enjoy those services, and it wasn’t permissible to use someone else’s pass. With a smile, Feng Yuan brushed off the kind lady and rushed to the window.
The server, initially skeptical due to Feng Yuan’s youth, became very enthusiastic after checking his ID and swiftly prepared two takeaway meals for him.
Although the rule was that the privilege was only for personal use, there wasn’t a limit on how much could be consumed. Typically, holders of such passes would not seek to profit from them, so the server did not interfere much.
"Here you go—"
Qi Chen took the meal tray from Feng Yuan and looked around silently. Due to Feng Yuan’s actions, many people were now curiously observing the two of them. After all, not many enjoyed special treatment, especially not those as young as they were.
While the military typically issued these IDs to servicemen and women, they wouldn’t come to a city hospital like Feng Yuan had—they had their own military hospitals providing medical services for them and their families.
"You, this is not a good feeling, being the center of attention."
Qi Chen, head lowered, ate his food while complaining. Their situation was too bizarre. Feng Yuan just smiled and said,
"Don’t mind it. Or do you want to go and stand in line instead?"
Hearing Feng Yuan’s words and glancing at the long line, Qi Chen remained silent.
After dinner, as they headed for the inpatient department, Feng Yuan transformed into a Little Husky, since Ah Mu couldn’t be too large to enter. Feng Yuan had to walk on the ground by himself while Xiao Ji and the others followed by his side, with the Little Green Snake trailing behind carefully watching Pomiti to prevent it from absentmindedly wandering off.
"Is it here?"
As sounds of quarreling echoed from the hospital room, Qi Chen’s expression changed, and he asked Agunas for confirmation. Agunas glanced at him and, flipping through the pages of the book, said,
"Why don’t you see for yourself?"
"Impossible!"
Dou Yanlan shouted loudly, and a gloomy male voice responded,
"Stop being so stubborn. Even if you participated in that competition, what makes you think you could win against them?"
"You think he can do it?"
"Oh! You doubt that? Your cousin learned far superior things in Shangjing compared to the rubbish you learned in a backwater like this," came the sharp reply from a woman.
Hearing the woman’s piercing response, Qi Chen couldn’t help but loudly interject,
"What do you mean ’a backwater like this’!"
"Ah Chen?! How did you get here?"
Dou Yanlan looked surprised to see Qi Chen at the door. A middle-aged man standing by the bed eyed Qi Chen and said with disdain,
"Who are you? Isn’t Maomu City, this remote little town, a backwater?"
"Exactly. In the hospitals in Shangjing, they don’t allow irrelevant people to barge into hospital rooms like this."
Those two kept making snide remarks back and forth at Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan, their words filled with insinuations about their lack of manners. The Little Husky yawned and disappeared outside the door.
A while later, just as Dou Yanlan was about to shout in anger again, hospital security suddenly burst in. Without asking for reasons, they grabbed both individuals and hauled them out.
"So I said, why be civil with them."
Leaning against the doorway and back in his original form, Feng Yuan waved his ID dismissively and said, as for whether they would come back? He had already informed the security guards—if they thought his ID was fake, they certainly wouldn’t let them step foot in the inpatient department again.
"You’re right... well done."
Qi Chen sighed in relief as the two were led away. As for whether they would return or cause trouble? Those security guards were not just hospital security—they occasionally treated members of special forces teams here. If they dared to slander those guards or the hospital in public, the special forces wouldn’t be polite.
"Do you need me to step out?"
Glancing at Feng Yuan, Dou Yanlan smiled and said,
"No need."
"Thanks for your help."
Dou Yanlan, looking somewhat weary, said that those people had been causing trouble nonstop, leaving her a bit overwhelmed. Sometimes, she wished she could be as assertive as Feng Yuan in dealing with them.

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