22 Tes (2/2)
I shielded my hands with my body and brought out the documents. Chairman Liu looked over them, nodding his head. He let out a little smile, then gave them back to me to put away.
I walked up to the crystal and placed one hand on it. Qi rushed from my body, forcing open my qi channels, but I was used to that pain now.
When all the qi left my body, I relaxed a bit, but I felt a valve in my soul burst open. The crystal was trying to suck in everything!
I panicked, and ripped away my hand, but a little bit still escaped. Had I let out too much?
The crystal emitted a brilliant pulse of light, and a huge golden orb formed inside. I could see tiny tendrils writhing at its surface.
”Ho, ho…” chairman Liu chuckled to himself, ”Qi force, 286! Affinity, 100%! Pass!”
To not arouse suspicion, I pretended to pass out. As a guard carried me out, I could hear excited chattering in the crowd. I peeked out of one eye and saw Davide's mop of hair bouncing up and down.
We passed through a doorway into a makeshift hospital bay. Some kids were out cold in their beds, others were groggily waking up.
The guard walked past the bay and into a separate room. I caught Yao Daiyu out of the corner of my eye, sleeping away. The light streaming through a small window gave her a ghostly aura.
I felt my body fall on a soft bed and shut my eyes.
I checked on my soul and found that I had lost 220 drops of qi. If I were to include the qi in my body, then qi force seemed to scale 1:1 with drops of qi.
That meant that my body's qi force was 66. It dawned on me just how strict these entry requirements were. If I hadn't cultivated, I wouldn't have passed the basic entry requirements!
Light meditation didn't increase my body's qi storage. It boosted my regeneration speed and improved the flow of qi. What method had this girl used to get such a high qi force?
I lay in bed in light meditation, biding my time until it seemed safe to wake up.
”Nurse! This one's convulsing! He's a scholar too!”
Someone burst through door, followed closely by another set of footsteps.
A body dropped onto the bed next to me, and I could hear the bed-frame rattling.
”Poor thing… tell me exactly what happened.”
”Miss, I don't know. After he passed out, he just started twitching and now…”
”Alright, alright.”
Through my shut eyes, I could see a light spreading. The rattling slowed down, then stopped.
”I've supressed his nervous system for now. But you need to go find his parents. Do you remember his name?”
”It was Davide, but I don't remember his last name.”
My heart sank. What had happened to Davide? I didn't care about covering myself anymore and shot upright in bed.
”He's my friend! What's happening?!” I cried.
The guard was startled, but the nurse didn't skip a beat.
”Has this never happened to him before?”
I shook my head.
”Okay, do you know what his parents look like?”
I nodded, and the nurse turned to the guard.
”Go escort him out,” she turned back to me, ”find his parents and ask if they know what this is.”
I ran out of the room, and the guard chased after me. As I sped through the hall, I could feel the whole crowd staring.
Rushing down the stairs, I called out,
”Aunt Lucia! Uncle Tony!”
I tried to pick them out from the crowd, but it was so hard to see through the throng of people. Maybe father knew where they were?
Looking for father was easier, and I spotted his huge body in an instant. I pushed through the crowd to get to him, but mother met me first.
”Baby, are you okay?”
”I'm fine, where's aunt Lucia and uncle Tony?”
”Oh, Tony's right over there.”
She pointed back at father, and I was off.
”Uncle Tony!”
Tony stopped chatting with father and turned to face me.
”Oscar! What is it?”
”It's Davide, he started thrashing around when he touched the crystal.”
Tony's usual whimsical demeanour flipped in an instant. His eyes were like steel, his jaw clenched.
”Take me to him.”