The Hellborn Heiress​ - Chapter 14

Song Family Hospital.

As Jiang Ci and her group arrived at the VIP ward area, they overheard people gossiping at the nurses’ station.

“Hey, I heard that Song Zong’s niece is a little celebrity. She played the vicious second female lead in that web drama that was trending online.”

“Oh right, I remember her too! Why would she try to commit suicide?”

“Who knows? That circle is a mess. Maybe she couldn’t stand being taken advantage of by some big director~”

“Shh, don’t talk nonsense! She’s Song Zong’s niece and also comes from a prestigious family in Jiangbei. Who would dare to take advantage of her!”

“The one with money is our Song Zong. I heard Song Ran’s father is a calligrapher. He’s not as wealthy as Song Zong.”

“I heard she often acted like a diva on set, brought her own investment, and bullied newcomers.”

“Song Ran is that awful? What a pity she didn’t die.”

Song Youlin stopped at the corner, listening to others slander his granddaughter, yet he stood motionless, only sighing heavily.

“I told you, the entertainment industry is no place to go. She went there and came back tainted, ruining her reputation!”

Jiang Ci’s eyes darkened.

At the time when Song Ran needed help the most, her family’s first reaction wasn’t to defend her, but to blame her.

No wonder a perfectly good girl would fall into depression.

“Old man, aren’t you usually pretty good at arguing with me? Now that you hear your own granddaughter being slandered, why are you just standing there?”

Song Youlin replied self-righteously, “They’re not wrong. Ranran shouldn’t have become an actress in the first place.”

Jiang Ci: “…”

“I even secretly took a couple of photos of Song Ran while she was unconscious. If I post them online-”

A young nurse’s aide was showing off with her phone, looking smug.

Smack!

Before she could react, her brand-new phone, bought on installments, was slapped out of her hand by someone.

“Who are you? Are you blind?”

The young aide shouted angrily.

She turned around and saw a girl in white, wearing sunglasses, with a hideous scar on her face, standing there with a chilling aura.

“You-you have to pay for my new phone!”

“That phone cost over ten thousand!”

Jiang Ci said coldly, “Women already face enough unequal treatment in society. Yet you, as a woman yourself, are spreading nasty rumors about another girl, flaunting her misfortune with photos-are you even human?”

“Also, as a nurse’s aide in the VIP ward, do you even know what professional ethics are?”

“Leaking patient privacy and causing serious consequences will be prosecuted according to the law.”

The young aide’s face turned pale and she stammered, “I-I didn’t mean to, we were just chatting… I’ll delete the photos right now!”

Jiang Ci shot Song Youlin a glare.

“What are you standing there for? Call the police! Or do you want to let the rumor-monger off the hook?”

Song Youlin looked conflicted. “Calling the police would make a big scene… Just warning her is enough.”

Jiang Ci rolled her eyes. “Protect your own granddaughter. If even her closest family won’t stand up for her, you might as well be dead.”

Song Youlin trembled all over.

That sentence struck his heart like a bolt of lightning.

Yes.

His little granddaughter was already lying in bed, barely clinging to life, and yet these people still wouldn’t leave her alone.

Letting the rumor-monger off lightly is the greatest harm to the victim.

Song Youlin looked at Jiang Ci, who had no relation to his family but still stood up firmly to defend his granddaughter.

Even outsiders can distinguish right from wrong and act with such integrity.

As Ranran’s own grandfather, shouldn’t he be the one to protect her?

“Young Friend, you are absolutely right!”
Song Youlin glanced at Jiang Ci with a hint of shame, then turned angrily to the caregivers.

“You, and all of you-everything you just said, I heard it with my own ears. You have photos of my granddaughter on your phones too, don’t you? That’s all evidence! With both witnesses and physical proof, just wait to be sued!”

The group was scared out of their wits, crying and begging for mercy.

Song Youlin ignored them and sent them straight to the police station.

This thunderous action also served as a warning to everyone else.

Whoever dares to bully his granddaughter can look forward to a stint in jail!

Jiang Ci entered Song Ran’s hospital room.

Song Ran was hooked up to numerous tubes, various monitors tracking her vital signs, though the readings were unstable.

“Young Friend, what do you think? Is there a way to wake my granddaughter?”

Song Youlin followed behind her, asking cautiously.

Jiang Ci approached the bedside, pressed her two fingers together, and gently touched the space between Song Ran’s brows.

Two seconds later, she withdrew her hand, her expression turning slightly cold.

“Her soul has left her body.”

Song Youlin thought he’d misheard: “What has left her body?”

“Her soul is missing,” Jiang Ci said. “What’s lying here is just an empty shell.”

Song Youlin: “…”

He still didn’t quite believe in all that supernatural stuff.

But Elder Meng had a point.

If medicine doesn’t work, try metaphysics-who knows, it might just work.

Song Youlin recalled movies he’d seen before. “So, do we need to summon her soul?”

Jiang Ci replied coolly, “Summoning works for souls that are lost or wandering. Your granddaughter’s case is different-she clearly doesn’t want to live and left her body of her own accord. She might not come back, even if you try to summon her.”

“Why is this child so troubled!”

Song Youlin couldn’t help but shed tears, unable to understand why his granddaughter had lost all will to live.

“As long as her soul is found and returned to her body within three days, she can survive this ordeal.”

“If you can’t find it, then you’ll just have to prepare for a funeral.”

“A funeral?”

Jiang Ci rubbed her forehead. “It means the old must bury the young.”

“Young Friend, how confident are you that you can find my granddaughter’s soul?” Song Youlin’s face was ashen as he asked with difficulty.

Jiang Ci replied calmly, “That depends on whether you, her closest kin, truly understand her inner world and can accept the real her.”

But judging by Song Youlin’s stubbornness, it didn’t look promising.

“Where does Song Ran like to go most often?”

Song Youlin blurted out, “The calligraphy hall and the library. My granddaughter has loved going to those two places since she was little.”

Jiang Ci: “?”

Judging from Song Ran’s birth chart, she didn’t seem like a studious bookworm dedicated to her studies.

Her frequent visits to those places were probably due to parental pressure.

“Forget it. Looks like you don’t really know your granddaughter. I’ll go look for her myself.”

Jiang Ci walked out of the hospital room, then turned back: “Can I get some payment in advance? I don’t feel like walking everywhere to look.”

She was currently penniless.

Finding Song Ran’s soul would require not only travel expenses but also some equipment.

Song Youlin readily pulled out his wallet and handed her a wad of cash.

Jiang Ci took it all without hesitation.

“The fortune-telling earlier was free, so I didn’t charge you. But bringing your granddaughter’s soul back will cost you ten thousand yuan.”

“Here’s three thousand five hundred. You still owe me six thousand five hundred. Pay the rest when she’s recovered.”

Song Youlin could only pin his hopes on her.

“Young Friend, I’m counting on you!”

Jiang Ci had just stepped out of the room when she heard Song Sibe’s furious roar from the next room.

“Where’s my kidney!!!”