Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 958 - 468: Life (The End)

"A Sheng." Chen Qiusheng's voice was very faint, as if he had no strength to speak, "We can't stay here. Before dawn, hurry back to the place where you used to live and pretend you were hiding in the cellar all along."

"Master."

"Hurry back and take all the food left in the cellar."

"Master." Zhao Cheng'an grasped Chen Qiusheng's trembling hand, pressing it against Chen Ping'an's arm, "Ping'an isn't dead yet."

"I have to save him, I have to find medicine for him."

"But all the pharmacies are empty, what medicine can save him?"

Zhao Cheng'an held a candle in his left hand and Chen Qiusheng's hand in his right. The candle lit up his face very clearly, allowing Qin Huai to see that his expression showed neither panic nor sadness, only contemplation.

Thinking with utmost calmness and composure.

"Ping'an's wound is from a knife, what medicine can treat it?"

"Ping'an told me before."

"Penicillin, yes, penicillin!" Zhao Cheng'an suddenly raised his head, staring straight at Chen Qiusheng, "Master, I'm going to the hospital to steal penicillin."

At this moment, Chen Qiusheng had almost lost the ability to think, even his eyes were moving very slowly. Before catching Zhao Cheng'an's gaze, Zhao Cheng'an suddenly stood up and dashed outside.

"If I steal penicillin from the hospital, Ping'an won't die!"

"A Sheng..." This hoarse call from Chen Qiusheng was heard only by Qin Huai.

The night was still deep, Zhao Cheng'an extinguished the candle in his hand and ran as fast as he could, as if he had the lightness skill of flying over rooftops.

Only then did Qin Huai clearly realize that even a Mayfly is a spirit, and he truly possessed unusual qualities.

The night's darkness was Zhao Cheng'an's best camouflage, and Qin Huai followed Zhao Cheng'an, often losing sight of him, bumping into invisible walls while trying to find Zhao Cheng'an, thus following him to the hospital.

The hospital lights were on.

Just like scenes in TV dramas, Zhao Cheng'an dodged doctors and nurses, avoided the uniformed soldiers, skillfully yet awkwardly searching room by room for places with medicine.

He didn't recognize the medicines, so he stole them all.

Worried that despite stealing many medicines he might have missed penicillin, Zhao Cheng'an searched another medicine cabinet room after finishing with one.

The thieving skills he honed every year seemed to be for this very moment.

His footsteps were silent, his hiding skills impeccable, taking medicines swiftly and steadily.

Back when he stole food from human traffickers outside the city, dozens of people could take turns looking for him without discovering his traces. Now in the hospital, he could visit dozens of rooms in succession without anyone realizing the medicines were gone.

Qin Huai watched Zhao Cheng'an steal room by room.

Room 18, Room 19, Room 20...

He stepped into hospital wards, doctor's offices, even storage and cleaning rooms, anxious that a missed room meant not getting the penicillin to save Chen Ping'an.

Qin Huai had never seen such concentration and seriousness on Zhao Cheng'an's face.

Room 22...

As Zhao Cheng'an deftly packed the medicines into a large bundle, a shout in a language that neither he nor Qin Huai understood broke the hospital's silence.

Someone discovered the missing medicines.

The hospital was invaded by a thief.

The ensuing scene was so chaotic for Qin Huai that he couldn't tell if time accelerated or if he was running crazily.

The hospital was under lockdown, armed Japanese soldiers began searching everywhere for the thief. Even the most skillful thief could not remain hidden under such circumstances, Zhao Cheng'an darted around unpredictably with the bag full of medicines, displaying remarkable agility.

Qin Huai followed him like a headless chick, crashing into invisible walls, getting bumped on the head and backside, left disoriented, unable to see clearly, only hearing an overwhelming noise.

Footsteps, screams, shouts, sounds of bullets being loaded.

"Bang."

The deafening gunshot.

Amidst the chaos, Zhao Cheng'an escaped the hospital.

But this was only the beginning; news of the hospital theft prompted Japanese soldiers throughout Beiping City to start searching. Zhao Cheng'an had no choice but to run and hide continuously, taking detours, running throughout Beiping City for an unknown period, returning to the estate only when the sky was barely lit.

The estate had already been cleaned by Chen Qiusheng.

He had dragged the corpses to the backyard, and the bloodstains on the ground were washed clean without smelling the strong odor of blood.

Zhao Cheng'an ran back to the estate excitedly, with a large bundle on his back, proudly announcing to Chen Qiusheng at the gate, "Master, I stole a lot of medicines, there must be penicillin."

Chen Qiusheng said nothing, just quietly watched Zhao Cheng'an, his eyes filled with sorrow and self-blame.

Zhao Cheng'an gasped heavily, lowered his head to untie the bundle, and glanced at his own hand, "Hey, why is there so much blood on my hand?"

"A Sheng..."

"Master, where's Ping'an? I don't recognize penicillin, do you? Quickly find which one is penicillin, give it to Ping'an to take. Does it need to be cooked? If so, do we need to start a fire?"

"Since dawn hasn't fully broken, quickly give Ping'an the medicine, I'll carry him back."

"Master, you wouldn't believe it, so many people chased me, I led them all to the south of the city, took several turns, it'll be a while before anyone patrols here, cooking the medicine is safe."

Zhao Cheng'an panted heavily, almost out of breath.

"When we return, tell me what happened last night. Why are they all dead?"

"Oh right, Master, you must tell me where there are more pharmacies in the city, all the ones I know are out of medicine, I searched all night but couldn't find all the medicines Ping'an needs."

Chen Qiusheng deeply inhaled, seemingly trying to stabilize his emotions, striving to make his voice seem calm, "Ping'an is actually fine, there's no rush for medicine, he went to sleep."

"That's good." Zhao Cheng'an nodded relievedly, exhaled, and suddenly lost strength, collapsing directly to the ground.

Qin Huai watched quietly from the side.

Earlier, the sky was too dark, there were too many people and it was too chaotic, Qin Huai couldn't see anything clearly, but now the sky was slightly lit, he saw everything clearly.

Blood had soaked through Zhao Cheng'an's clothes and pants, including the bundle on his back. He got blood on his hand because he grabbed the bundle.

The reason the gunshot Qin Huai heard in the hospital was so deafening was because the gunfire was close to him.

Qin Huai found it hard to imagine that even as a spirit, Zhao Cheng'an's body could still support him from being shot, bleeding profusely, fleeing the hospital, running madly throughout the city for over an hour with a large bundle without stopping for a moment to rest.

Was it a final burst of vitality?

Chen Qiusheng held Zhao Cheng'an in his arms like he had held Chen Ping'an before.

Zhao Cheng'an was already having difficulty breathing.

"Master, am I going to die? Because right now my back feels kind of painful." Zhao Cheng'an asked.

Chen Qiusheng tried to pull out a smile, but no matter how hard he tried, his mouth wouldn't move, with tears uncontrollably falling directly onto Zhao Cheng'an's forehead, his voice hoarse, "No you're not, you're just feeling tired like Ping'an and want to sleep."

"Master, Ping'an has died, right?" Zhao Cheng'an asked.

"No, Ping'an is sleeping in the cellar."

"You're lying, I'm not a fool, my ears are very good, there's no sound of Ping'an's breathing in the cellar."

"I even promised Xia Mubing that I would definitely die before Ping'an; if he knew Ping'an died before me, won't he think I'm not keeping my word?"

"I don't want to die." Zhao Cheng'an looked at the sky, "I haven't failed yet, if I die now I'll end up like Ping'an and won't be able to reincarnate."

"You'll reincarnate." Chen Qiusheng said, "In the next life, you'll both be reborn well."

"No, people don't reincarnate; I can't do it now either."

"It's all my fault, if I recognized penicillin, I wouldn't have delayed so long, Ping'an wouldn't have died."

"Had I known, earlier when Ping'an taught me to write, I wouldn't have been lazy and read more books."

Zhao Cheng'an's consciousness began to fade, his voice barely audible, "I really want to eat dumplings."

"Had I known I'd die so soon, I should've started stealing things earlier, I could've eaten better."

"When we return, there'll be nothing good to eat."

Zhao Cheng'an closed his eyes.

"Silly child." Chen Qiusheng closed his eyes as well, tightly embracing Zhao Cheng'an, tears dripping down his chin onto Zhao Cheng'an's face, which he wiped away forcefully.

"In the next life, be born well, let Ping'an take care of you."

Qin Huai left the memory.