Chapter 4: The Miracle No One Believed
Chapter 4: The Miracle No One Believed
Silence fell over the crowded street.
Every pair of eyes turned toward Charles.
His clothes were torn.
Mud stained his boots.
Dried blood covered the sleeves of his shirt.
With a broken sword hanging at his waist, he looked more like a wanderer than a doctor.
Yet his voice remained steady.
“I can save your grandfather.”
For a brief moment…
No one spoke.
Then the crowd erupted into laughter.
“Did you hear him?”
“A beggar wants to save Chairman Ashcroft!”
“The city’s finest doctors couldn’t do anything, and this kid thinks he can?”
“Someone get him out of here.”
Several people shook their heads in amusement.
Even the doctors exchanged disappointed looks.
One elderly physician stepped forward.
His white coat bore the emblem of Eastbridge Central Hospital.
“Youth,” he said calmly, “this is not the time for jokes.”
“The patient before you has been examined by specialists from three different hospitals.”
“We’ve exhausted every available treatment.”
“There is nothing more modern medicine can do.”
Charles looked at him.
“I’m not joking.”
Another doctor adjusted his glasses.
“And what medical school did you attend?”
Charles remained silent.
“I never attended one.”
The words immediately drew another wave of ridicule.
“I knew it.”
“He’s making things up.”
“This is ridiculous.”
One of the bodyguards walked toward Charles.
His expression was cold.
“You’ve caused enough disturbance.”
“Leave.”
Charles didn’t move.
Instead…
He looked past the guard.
His eyes settled on the unconscious Samuel Ashcroft.
The system’s countdown appeared before him.
Emergency Side Quest
Time Remaining: 58 Seconds
The ancient voice echoed inside his mind.
“The Corrupted Yin Energy has nearly consumed his heart.”
“Once one minute passes…”
“Not even the Primordial Ember will save him.”
Charles slowly raised his head.
“He has less than one minute.”
The crowd quieted.
One of the younger doctors frowned.
“What?”
Charles repeated himself.
“Less than one minute.”
“If you continue arguing…”
“There won’t be any hope left.”
The head physician’s expression darkened.
“You can’t possibly know that.”
“Medicine isn’t guesswork.”
Charles calmly replied,
“I’m not guessing.”
“I’m telling you what will happen.”
The doctors exchanged doubtful glances.
One of them crouched beside Samuel once more and checked his pulse.
His expression suddenly changed.
“…Doctor.”
“The pulse is weaker.”
Another physician quickly stepped forward.
He checked the blood pressure monitor.
His face turned pale.
“It’s dropping.”
“Impossible…”
A third doctor immediately connected another portable monitor.
The reading was even worse.
Cold sweat formed on the head physician’s forehead.
“His condition is deteriorating.”
“So quickly…”
The surrounding crowd grew restless.
“What happened?”
“Didn’t they say he was stable?”
Samantha knelt beside her grandfather.
She tightly held his hand.
“Doctor…”
“Please…”
“There has to be something else.”
No one answered.
Every doctor lowered his head.
Charles looked at Samantha.
“I only need ten seconds.”
“If I fail…”
“You lose nothing.”
“But if you refuse…”
“You’ll lose your grandfather.”
Samantha’s body trembled.
She looked at the doctors.
None of them objected.
None offered another solution.
Slowly…
She wiped away her tears.
Then looked at the head bodyguard.
“…Move.”
The bodyguard hesitated.
“Miss Samantha…”
“That’s an order.”
After a brief silence…
The guards stepped aside.
A narrow path opened through the crowd.
Charles walked forward.
Every step drew countless eyes.
Some expected him to embarrass himself.
Others hoped for a miracle.
Charles knelt beside Samuel Ashcroft.
The translucent screen appeared again.
Treatment Confirmed
Target: Samuel Ashcroft
Method:
Place your right hand over the target’s heart.
Release one strand of Primordial Ember.
Warning
Excessive Ember Flame will destroy the target’s heart.
Charles took a deep breath.
He slowly placed his right hand over Samuel’s chest.
Nothing happened.
The crowd watched in silence.
Five seconds passed.
Someone scoffed.
“I knew it.”
Another laughed.
“He froze.”
“He’s trying to think of an excuse.”
Charles ignored every voice around him.
He closed his eyes.
The black mark above his heart gradually became warm.
A tiny golden ember emerged from his palm.
It was no larger than a grain of sand.
At that instant…
His eyes opened.
The world changed.
Everything before him became transparent.
Muscles.
Bones.
Veins.
His newly awakened Ember Vision had activated.
Inside Samuel’s chest…
A terrifying sight appeared.
Countless strands of black energy coiled tightly around the old man’s heart like venomous snakes.
Each heartbeat became weaker than the last.
The ancient voice spoke.
“That is Corrupted Yin Energy.”
“It feeds upon life.”
“Burn only the corruption.”
Charles carefully guided the tiny ember toward the darkness.
The instant the golden flame touched the black energy—
Hiss…
The corruption violently recoiled.
Thin streams of black mist escaped from Samuel’s body before disappearing into the air.
Little by little…
The darkness shrank.
Charles’s breathing became heavier.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
Although the ember was tiny…
Controlling it demanded tremendous concentration.
One mistake…
And the old man’s heart would be reduced to ashes.
The final strand of Corrupted Yin Energy struggled desperately.
Then…
It vanished.
The golden ember quietly returned to Charles’s body.
The black mark over his heart dimmed.
Charles slowly removed his hand.
Silence.
Nothing happened.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
The crowd began whispering again.
“I told you.”
“He’s a fraud.”
One doctor sighed.
“It’s over.”
Then—
Cough!
Samuel Ashcroft suddenly coughed violently.
His fingers twitched.
His chest rose sharply.
Slowly…
His eyes opened.
“…Where am I?”
The street froze.
Samantha’s eyes widened.
“Grandfather!”
The doctors stared in complete disbelief.
One accidentally dropped his medical bag.
The bodyguards stood motionless.
Even the noisy crowd forgot to speak.
The impossible…
Had just happened.