High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

Immediately afterwards, a series of light and hurried footsteps sounded from the foot of the bed, as if someone had run out of the ward.

"You're awake?"

A gentle female voice came from beside the bed. A nurse in a white coat, who looked very capable, quickly walked to the bedside and pressed the call bell on the bedside table.

"How are you feeling? Is your head still throbbing and aching? Do you feel nauseous or want to vomit?"

While asking questions softly, the nurse skillfully took out a small flashlight and shone it in front of Li Xiwan's eyes to check her pupil response.

"My head... hurts a lot, like it's being pricked with needles."

Li Xiwan answered weakly, her voice hoarse.

"This is a side effect of forcibly stimulating your mental state. You'll be fine after a few days of rest. Don't force yourself to recall those images."

The nurse gently comforted her, then had her follow the direction of her finger to move her eyes, and asked her a few simple addition and subtraction questions.

After ensuring that Li Xiwan was fully conscious and that her cognitive abilities had not been excessively damaged, the nurse made a few notes in her medical record.

Just then, the door to the ward was pushed open.

Old Zhao strode in, wearing a faded black trench coat and holding an unlit cigarette in his hand.

"Director Zhao."

The nurse nodded respectfully.

"Yes, is the examination finished? If there's nothing seriously wrong, you can go out now. I want to talk to her for a bit."

Old Zhao waved his hand.

The medical staff quickly left the ward and closed the door behind them.

Old Zhao didn't sit in a chair, but casually leaned against the white wall diagonally opposite the hospital bed, his hands in his trench coat pockets, his gaze sweeping over the still somewhat frightened girl on the bed.

"Uncle...excuse me, where is this place?"

Looking at the bearded man, Li Xiwan nervously clutched the corner of the blanket and politely asked.

"A special hospital that's only open to internal staff. You're safe now."

Old Zhao tried to keep his tone gentle.

"A special... hospital?"

Then, several fragmented images suddenly flashed through Li Xiwan's mind.

A dark room, yellow paper runes flickering with an eerie light, those distorted masked men, and a terrifying nightmare from which one can never wake up...

"hiss--"

A sharp headache struck instantly, and Li Xiwan clutched her head in pain, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Stop! Take a deep breath! Immediately stop thinking about what happened last night!"

Old Zhao's expression changed, and he quickly interrupted her.

"Your mind has just suffered a severe blow. Forcing you to recall those mentally polluting images now will be too much for your brain to handle!"

Li Xiwan gasped for breath, forcibly pulling her thoughts away from those terrifying images.

It took her a long time to calm down. She sat blankly on the hospital bed, staring at Old Zhao with a somewhat vacant look in her eyes.

"Uncle... what I experienced last night wasn't a dream, right? Those people who can use evil magic... were they real?"

Old Zhao was silent for two seconds, then nodded: "It's true. This world is far more complex than what you usually see at school. But don't be afraid, those people are all dead, and no one can hurt you anymore."

Li Xiwan bit her lower lip and remained silent.

Old Zhao leaned against the wall, his eyes suddenly sharpening. He stared intently into Li Xiwan's eyes, then abruptly changed the subject, asking:

"Actually, our medical department colleagues originally planned to perform mild memory impairment treatment on you. But during a routine check-up before the treatment, they discovered that you... actually briefly regained consciousness once before you fell into a coma, right?"

Li Xiwan's body stiffened slightly.

Old Zhao pressed on: "So, you saw him back then, right?"

"Who...who is it?" Li Xiwan subconsciously shrank further into the blanket, her eyes darting around. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've been living in nightmares ever since I was taken away, and I don't remember anything."

Seeing her obvious lying, Old Zhao didn't expose her. Instead, he followed her lead and continued to probe: "It's that classmate who punched through the wall last night, held you with one arm, and killed all the bad guys with a long black spear."

Li Xiwan was stunned.

"A spear? Black clothes?"

She stammered, trying to deny it, "I...I really didn't see anything, I have no memory of it...He's not my classmate, it's not him..."

However, Old Zhao suddenly burst into laughter. The sharpness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a mocking expression that seemed to invite a beating.

"Little girl, you're quite vigilant."

Old Zhao shook his head. "I haven't even said who he is yet, what are you trying so hard to hide?"

Li Xiwan's face flushed instantly, realizing that her clumsy acting had completely given her away. She could only grip the bedsheet tightly, bite her lip, and lower her head without saying a word.

"Okay, don't be nervous, relax."

Old Zhao walked to the water dispenser by the bedside, filled a glass with warm water, and handed it to Li Xiwan.

"I know you recognized him. Shen Chang'an, he's in the same class."

Upon hearing her name being directly mentioned, Li Xiwan abruptly raised her head, her eyes filled with shock and worry.

Seeing her expression, Old Zhao smiled and waved his hand: "Don't worry, I'm not here to silence you. I'm his colleague, to be precise..."

Old Zhao touched his nose, seemingly a little embarrassed, but still said frankly, "Don't let my age fool you; he's more than a decade older than him. In terms of position, he's my direct superior, the highest-ranking official in Qingzhou District. Last night, he was the one who found the clue and personally went to rescue the person."

Li Xiwan was completely stunned.

She mechanically took the water cup from Lao Zhao, her mind drifting back to Shen Chang'an, who always sat in the corner sleeping in class, always looking sleepy and lazy, and often detached from the group.

The black-clad youth who descended like a god of war last night, holding her in one arm and instantly killing monsters amidst the raging black flames... was it really him?

"He...is he your boss?"

Li Xiwan felt that her worldview was undergoing an unprecedented and violent shock.

She swallowed a mouthful of warm water with difficulty, trying to moisten her dry throat, but found that even swallowing water had become extremely difficult.

She was stunned for a full minute before she could barely process this extremely disruptive fact.

She took a deep breath, calmed her turbulent thoughts, and asked softly, "So... Shen, do you usually deal with these terrifying monsters and bad guys?"

"yes."

Old Zhao nodded, took a lighter out of his pocket, and fiddled with it in his hand.

"The work of the Night Watch is far more dangerous than you imagine."