SAG -Chapter 178 The Detoxifying Lotus

Zhao Jingyu, Zhang Siyan, and the other two women rode in the same car to the hospital, with Meng Zixuan driving because Zhao Jingyu was too distracted to do so.

She had thought Zhang Ran was the last person she could turn to.

Yet she had never imagined the effect would be this overwhelming.

The moment Zhang Ran arrived, the entire situation was resolved.

Those men who had blocked the doorway earlier looked at him as if mice had seen a cat, not daring to utter a single word.

Even Sun Guilan’s usual tricks and unreasonable behavior seemed completely ineffective against him.

When the medical staff had been transferring Huo Zhiyuan into the ambulance, Sun Guilan had thrown a huge tantrum. Crying, making a scene, threatening to kill herself—those tactics had practically become her signature skills.

But Zhang Ran had merely glanced at Zhao Hu.

The fierce-looking man immediately rushed over and beat Sun Guilan without the slightest hesitation, as though he feared he might react too slowly.

After that display, Huo Li and Huo San, who had also intended to cause trouble, instantly quieted down.

“Assistant Zhao, does my father know Aunt Huo?” Zhang Siyan finally couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

Coming back to her senses, Zhao Jingyu looked at her with a complicated expression, as if she wanted to say something but ultimately stopped herself.

It was Huo Xin who answered.

“Know each other? Strictly speaking, my sister should still be considered a member of your Zhang family.”

“Huh? Huh???” A row of question marks practically appeared over Zhang Siyan’s head.

The other two women remained silent, clearly already aware of the circumstances.

Huo Xin had already made up her mind not to hide anything.

“My parents sold my sister back then so they could raise money to get their son married.”

“It was Mr. Zhang who saved her. He paid money to buy her freedom.”

“Not only that, but all of my sister’s tuition, food, and living expenses afterward were paid for by Mr. Zhang.”

“Even the money I spent during those years ultimately came from him.”

Zhang Siyan felt completely dazed.

She had never imagined that the famous President Huo Zhiyuan had such a past.

And that it was connected to her father.

Suddenly, another memory surfaced in her mind—the matter involving Sun Ermin.

Back then, Zhang Ran had said that he had broken those people’s legs because they had tried to harm a young girl he was rescuing.

She muttered inwardly:

It can’t really be that much of a coincidence, can it?

By the time she gathered her thoughts, they were nearly at the hospital.

“Assistant Zhao, does that mean President Huo has been taking such good care of me to repay a debt of gratitude?”

At last, everything seemed to make sense.

Why Huo Zhiyuan treated her like family.

No—she treated her even better than family.

After all, Huo Jiaxiong, her own nephew, was merely a junior employee working under her.

After a long silence, Zhao Jingyu replied, “If that’s how you wish to understand it, then there’s nothing wrong with that. But as for what President Huo truly thinks… you’ll have to ask her yourself.”

Huo Xin and Meng Zixuan exchanged glances but remained silent.

What were they supposed to say?

That Huo Zhiyuan wasn’t trying to repay a favor at all, but had been preparing to become Zhang Siyan’s stepmother?

Upon arriving at the hospital, Meng He had already arranged everything.

A team of specialists quickly gathered for a consultation, and before long, the results came back.

“Mr. Meng,” one expert said gravely, “if our diagnosis is correct, President Huo has been poisoned.”

The expressions on Zhang Ran and Meng He immediately darkened.

Given everything that had happened, it wasn’t difficult to guess who was responsible.

Neither of them had imagined that Huo Zhiyuan’s parents could be so utterly heartless.

Nor could they understand why they would do such a thing.

“Can the poison be cured?” Meng He asked anxiously.

That was the only question that mattered.

But the answer left him feeling hopeless.

“I’m sorry,” the expert replied. “This wasn’t acute poisoning. The toxins accumulated over a long period of time, and some have already affected the brain.”

“We can only do our best, but we cannot guarantee anything. My sincerest apologies.”

Huo Xin collapsed to the floor.

She looked utterly lost, as though her soul had left her body.

The others were equally stunned.

None of them wanted to believe it.

Was Huo Zhiyuan truly destined to remain unconscious forever?

Yet Zhang Ran merely closed his eyes.

After a moment, he spoke calmly.

“Doctor, please prepare a transfer.”

The specialist frowned.

“Sir, I can responsibly tell you that changing hospitals won’t solve this problem.”

He assumed Zhang Ran doubted their competence.

But Zhang Ran shook his head.

“I know an old traditional Chinese physician with extraordinary skills. I want him to take a look.”

At those words, the experts fell silent.

More than anyone else, they understood that some veteran practitioners of traditional medicine truly possessed remarkable abilities, especially when it came to unusual and difficult illnesses.

What surprised everyone was that Zhang Ran never took Huo Zhiyuan to see any famous physician.

Instead, he moved her to a private rehabilitation facility.

The equipment there rivaled any major hospital, and its nursing care and monitoring capabilities were among the best available.

Meng He had arranged everything.

Two hours later, Zhang Ran returned from an errand.

In his hand was a single lotus flower.

Only He Yong saw it.

Everyone else had been sent away.

Zhang Ran nodded to He Yong and entered the room.

Immediately, He Yong became completely alert.

His body tensed.

His gaze sharpened.

He personally stood guard.

At that moment, he would allow absolutely no one to approach.

Inside the room, Zhang Ran looked at Huo Zhiyuan and sighed.

“You really have had a hard life, haven’t you?”

“Good thing I came back. If I hadn’t, would you have remained unconscious for the rest of your life?”

“You’re already an adult, yet you still never learn.”

“I’m telling you, why do you keep bothering with those parents of yours?”

As he spoke, he carefully fed the lotus petals into her mouth one by one.

Detoxifying Lotus, Level 5.

Obtaining it had cost Zhang Ran an enormous amount of energy.

This was the real reason he had insisted on transferring her.

There was no miraculous old physician.

Only this.

While feeding her the petals, Zhang Ran continued his gentle stream of complaints.

What he failed to notice was that after the first petal entered her mouth, Huo Zhiyuan’s finger twitched ever so slightly.

Yet as Zhang Ran continued rambling, the movement stopped.

It was almost as though the Detoxifying Lotus had no effect at all.

After finishing the last petal, Zhang Ran saw no signs of her awakening.

So he kept talking.

“Look at you—working yourself to the bone, never paying attention to your own safety.”

“Just look at the state you’ve gotten yourself into.”

The moment he said that, Huo Zhiyuan’s fingers curled faintly into a loose fist.

But almost immediately, they relaxed again, returning to stillness.