The monitor, its data all reset to zero, left Song Shadao's face ashen, his eyes devoid of any former brilliance.
Two seconds later, Song Shadao lost all strength, sinking slowly to the ground.
His gaze fixed on Shen Lang, Song Shadao forcibly suppressed his grief and said, "Shen Lang, your real name isn't Shen Lang. It's Shen Qiye. Did you know that?"
"What?"
Song Qingyi's death had plunged Shen Lang into profound sorrow. Hearing Song Shadao's words abruptly, Shen Lang's eyes widened as he looked at Song Shadao and asked, "Uncle, what are you talking about?"
Having known Song Qingyi and Song Shadao for so long, he naturally understood who Song Shadao was referring to as Shen Qiye.
Shen Qiye was Song Qingyi's biological son. Nineteen years ago, he had fallen into the Ming River during a plane crash. For nineteen years, Song Qingyi had searched for him, but whether he was dead or alive remained unknown until now.
However, Shen Lang could never have believed that Song Shadao would say he was Shen Qiye.
If he were truly Shen Qiye, wouldn't that make him Song Qingyi's son and Song Shadao's nephew?
"Shen Lang, you are indeed my sister Song Qingyi's biological son. She once used your hair for a DNA test, and the results proved your mother-son relationship."
Song Shadao, though struggling to contain his inner anguish, found tears streaming uncontrollably. "She feared you wouldn't accept the sudden reunion, so she planned to spend time with you slowly, waiting for a natural moment of mother-son connection before revealing herself. But she never expected to die before getting the chance to reconnect."
"Damn it, what is this? This damn fate, what is this all about?"
Song Shadao suddenly roared, "My sister lived a life of virtue and kindness, never harming a single soul. Why would fate treat her this way? Why?"
The roar ended, and Song Shadao felt as if his soul had been hollowed out. The once spirited and formidable man seemed to dim, and finally, he wept, "From today onwards, I have no family left."
When he was very young, his parents had died in a car accident. Afterward, his uncle, seeking to seize their family fortune, had driven them out of their home.
He and his sister had wandered for years, enduring bullying and abuse. He endured it all. In his teens, he reclaimed what was rightfully theirs. At that time, he had told Song Qingyi, "As long as your brother is here, you will never suffer again from this day on."
But he never imagined that his sister would meet someone she loved, marry him, and after six years of happiness, their son would, due to an accident, fall into the Ming River, his fate unknown.
From then on, his sister, Song Qingyi, lived in tears, and Song Shadao was heartbroken.
Song Shadao had believed Song Qingyi would live a solitary life, but fate, it seemed, had a plan. After nineteen years, her lost son had returned.
It was wonderful, everything seemed so beautiful. Song Shadao thought his sister's remaining years would be filled with happiness.
But Song Shadao had never, in his wildest calculations, foreseen how cruel fate would be. His sister had found her son, but before they could even reunite, she lost her life.
"Kill—"
Song Shadao's eyes suddenly turned blood red. "I will find the murderer. I will kill him. No, I will kill his entire clan, everyone. They will all die, to be buried with my sister."
In that moment, Song Shadao was no longer the refined man he once was. He was like a furious beast, terrifying the few doctors nearby, making their legs tremble and their bodies shake.
"Whoosh—"
Just then, Shen Lang raised his hand and shot a Taiyi Divine Needle into Song Shadao's chest.
Song Shadao's excessive grief had sent him into a frenzy, a precursor to going berserk. If something wasn't done, Song Shadao, once he lost control, could cause immense destruction.
Shen Lang used the "Jie" technique of the Taiyi Divine Needle. This needle could not only resolve rare poisons, but grief and rage were also a form of poison.
Hit by the Taiyi Divine Needle, Song Shadao was like a blazing fire doused with a large basin of cold water. He indeed calmed down.
However, without his grief and rage, Song Shadao was utterly dejected, sitting in a daze.
"Uncle…"
Looking at the profoundly grief-stricken Song Shadao, Shen Lang's tears flowed, his lips parting slightly as he uttered the two words with difficulty.
Shen Lang walked towards Song Qingyi step by step. With each step, his head felt as if it were being cleaved by a blade, an excruciating pain that split him open.
And amidst this splitting pain, countless memories emerged from the cracks, past events slowly reappearing in Shen Lang's mind.
He remembered. Shen Lang was gradually remembering.
He recalled being very young, held by Song Qingyi, a heavenly beauty dressed in snow-white, her right index finger constantly gently poking his cheek as she softly sang to him.
"Green grass, fishy little one, boats float side by side."
The woman's voice was gentle and melodious, quickly calming his restless, crying sobs, and finally lulling him to sleep.
He also remembered, when he was two years old, on a bright, sunny afternoon in the Song family's estate, Song Qingyi, still in her snow-white attire, incessantly taking pictures of him with a camera.
He remembered, at three years old, standing by the sea, Song Qingyi holding his hand, telling him to close his eyes and he would hear the song of the mermaid from the deep sea.
He closed his eyes and listened for a long time but heard no mermaid's song, so he even threw a tantrum at Song Qingyi.
Then, Shen Lang remembered again, when he was six years old, he and Song Qingyi were flying back to Nanling to sweep the graves of his maternal grandparents. Mid-flight, the plane crashed, and they were forced to bail out. Song Qingyi strapped him to her chest and jumped with the parachute.
The result was the Ming River, with its turbulent currents. After they landed, they were separated by the water. He desperately cried for help on one side, while Song Qingyi called out to him on the other. But with so many people, hundreds of them, they couldn't find each other, and he was soon swept away by the current.
Swept away for an unknown duration, Shen Lang awoke to find that all memories from before the age of six had vanished. He begged for food in Nanling, endured bullying and beatings until he met Chu Ge, who offered him a sliver of warmth.
Later, Chu Ge was captured, and Shen Lang was once again plunged into a lonely world. He then encountered the old man, who took him to Prisoner Dragon Mountain.
He remembered. He remembered everything.
Shen Lang looked at the lifeless Song Qingyi, his emotions collapsing, and burst into tears.
He had finally found his mother, only to realize upon seeing her again that they were separated by death. What greater sorrow could there be in this world?
Shen Lang walked to Song Qingyi's side and sat down. This was the first time his mother and son had been so close. As Shen Lang saw Song Qingyi's hand resting to the side, he reached out with his right hand to take her hand and position it properly.
However, the moment Shen Lang's right hand touched Song Qingyi's, something happened that made the eyes of several doctors, and even Shen Lang himself, widen in disbelief.