Chapter 301

Page One Hundred and Ten

**Whose Kidney?**

The surgery was still ongoing, but Little Qínglán brought unsettling news.

“What do you mean?”

I poked her little head and asked, “You’re saying that the kidney the old lady wants to transplant isn’t the ‘Divine Kidney’ we provided?”

“Mmm! If my ears aren’t playing tricks on me, that’s indeed the case!”

“Then what’s going on?”

Mother placed Little Qínglán on a stone bench at the Cave Plaza and pressed her small shoulders, patiently asking, “Xiao Wu, why were you locked in the power generation room? And whose kidney did the old lady plan to transplant? Explain everything clearly.”

“The reason I don’t know, but… ‘Qiànxià’ intends to donate her own kidney. I overheard their conversation, and Lubifang did a compatibility test, which came out positive.”

Mother thought about donating her own kidney to the grandmother? But why?

Clearly, with the Divine Kidney, no one needed to sacrifice.

Lǐn Huā shared her guess, “She knows she doesn’t have much time left. Perhaps she wants to leave some trace of her existence… at least so that you can remember her.”

“There’s no need to go this far, right?”

When she said that Mother was considering donating a kidney, Mother’s emotions fluctuated.

“Even if she truly disappears, no one will forget her.”

“Hold on, I’m confused. Isn’t Qiànxià the daughter of Běihǎi and Bìfāng?”

Grandmother, who was listening in, also frowned deeply. She asked in confusion, “Though we haven’t met, that child is also my granddaughter. Why would she do this? Bìfāng seems to know about it too, and she actually agreed to this?”

She finally looked at Brother Zhú for an explanation.

Though he himself was equally perplexed.

“Uh—”

Even if he wanted to explain, it wasn’t appropriate to reveal the details about Mother. So he scratched his head awkwardly and guessed, “It’s probably related to that additional spell. She couldn’t modify the Divine Kidney, so she had to engrave the age-regulating spell on her own kidney and then transplant it into Mom.”

Thinking back to Mother’s confident assurance before, did she already plan to donate a kidney then?

“It’s possible. Ordinary people without divine authority can’t modify divine techniques, but they can still alter their own bodies.”

Cherry Sauce agreed with Brother Zhú’s guess and added, “So she has been hiding in the operating room since the beginning. Considering when Grandmother started the surgery, she might have been there… to extract the kidney under anesthesia?”

“Wow! To maintain the best state, Miss Xinzi, the main surgeon, went in last!”

Bā Hé Mèi imagined it and couldn’t help but say, “Sis, removing your own kidney sounds terrifying.”

“Magic can block pain, stop bleeding, heal quickly, and even teleport internally. Theoretically, one person could do it…”

Cherry Sauce looked at Grandmother, though she appeared young, she was the highest-ranking person here.

“…Grandmother, what should we do now?”

“Stop the surgery. No matter what, I can’t use that child’s kidney.”

She said this.

“But… I’ve explained the reason. This ‘Qiànxià’ herself doesn’t have much time left.”

“What does ‘not having much time’ mean?”

“I can’t explain the details, but she herself is someone who could vanish at any moment. Grandmother, she wants her life to continue in your body.”

Mother seemed to understand as well. She advised, “She’s not someone who makes decisions lightly. She must have thought long and hard before making such a decision. She didn’t tell us because she feared our opposition, and she even locked up Xiao Qínglán after overhearing their discussion.”

“That’s right! It’s too harsh on me!” protested Xiao Qínglán.

“What does ‘vanish at any moment’ mean?”

She looked again at Brother Zhú and asked, “Běihǎi, who exactly is that child?”

The man removed his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head.

“Mom, I really can’t say. If I told you, it might accelerate her disappearance.”

Cherry Sauce stood up, walked to Grandmother, and took her hand.

“Don’t worry too much. Donating a kidney just means being weak and unable to engage in strenuous activities. If this helps you recover, it’s worth it.”

“…It’s not worth it, Xiao Ying. I’m too old.”

Cherry Sauce forced a smile and said, “It seems you didn’t fully understand what we said earlier. The kidney from ‘Qiànxià’ is special. If you successfully get through the rejection phase, you’ll become younger and healthier…”

“Ultimately, the surgery has already lasted more than an hour, and the kidney should be extracted by now… even put into your body. Please accept this kidney from your granddaughter.”

Lǐn Huā said this while pressing Grandmother’s waist.

“Could she be…?”

Grandmother seemed to guess.

Afraid she might say it out loud, Cherry Sauce covered her mouth, but her eyes welled up with tears.

“Grandmother, you can’t say that… and yes, it is Qiànxià’s kidney, although it’s a generation apart, it still matches well with yours.”

“She’s taking the place of Běihǎi.”

As she spoke, Grandmother looked toward the nearby operating room, trembling.

“Grandma Yuhua, you should be more open-minded.”

Bā Hé Mèi clapped her hands together and smiled, “No matter what illness, a good mood helps treatment! Your determination will translate into healing power!”

Grandmother narrowed her eyes, filled with kindness.

“Heh, you little girl are quite good at winning hearts.”

Like a competition for affection, Xiao Jīng rushed to Grandmother, exclaiming, “Grandmother will definitely get better!”

Despite being around the same age, compared to Xiao Jīng’s rebellious nature, Bā Hé Mèi was more endearing, otherwise, she wouldn’t have become the mascot of the Research Institute.

“With you kids around, this old lady feels she can make it.”

Although Grandmother said this, all we could do now was pray for the surgery to go smoothly.

The golden light curtain of the Teleportation Platform rose and fell.

A JK student in winter uniform, carrying a single-shoulder ladies’ backpack, appeared. It was Sister Zǐ, blowing a bubblegum.

She approached us, surveyed everyone, and finally looked at me and asked, “Has the surgery begun? Xiao Lingmèng, did you go to the temple in the south of the city?”

I’ve become a mixed-race foreigner, how did she recognize me?!

——————-

Grandmother and Mother were pushed out of the operating room, both unconscious. We all gathered around anxiously.

Aunt Zhēn asked first, “How is Mom?”

“The surgery went smoothly, there was no major bleeding, all muscles, blood vessels, and skin have healed through magic. Whether the new kidney will function properly remains to be seen.”

“So Qiànxià now only has one kidney?”

“It seems you all know. Did Ling Qing tell you?”

“…Ling Qing didn’t say anything, but we found this in the power generation room.”

Xiao Lěi held up Xiao Qínglán.

“We originally planned to release her after the surgery…”

Senior Sister looked at our expressions and sighed, “You don’t need to look at me like that. I understand the consequences, but someone needs to make sacrifices for Yuhua. This is the option with the highest success rate.”

Lǐn Huā asked, “The kidney from Grandfather came from another body, can it still match with Grandmother?”

Suddenly, I realized that Master might have “cut up” one of Grandmother’s bodies to keep that kidney. What Master did in the Study Room was too gruesome.

“It’s similar, but not identical.”

Senior Sister explained, “Divine techniques create bodies that aren’t clones; they can’t be a perfect match. In terms of safety and reduced rejection reactions, blood relatives make better donors. Also, I need to correct something: Qiànxià still has two kidneys. The ‘Divine Kidney’ you brought, we’ve installed it in her.”

“When will the rejection reaction occur?”

Lǐn Huā’s question was answered by Miss Xinzi behind Senior Sister, “If severe, symptoms may appear within hours. We’ll prepare anti-rejection drugs. While consciousness transfer is convenient, I suggest you return to your original body. It might be uncomfortable, but we need to observe your reaction.”

After two hours of intense concentration, Miss Xinzi looked disoriented and unfocused.

“I understand, thank you.”

Grandmother agreed and thanked her, but Miss Xinzi, swaying, merely waved her hand.

“No need to thank me. Saving lives is my duty… If acute rejection occurs, I’ll need to prepare for another surgery. I’ll go rest now… hoping not to return to the operating room.”

With the help of two researchers, Miss Xinzi left the Cave Plaza via the teleportation array.

If the rejection reaction is severe, the transplanted kidney would need to be removed before things escalate, meaning Grandmother’s lifespan would be counted down.

Cherry Sauce comforted me, “Don’t worry too much. Since it’s Qiànxià’s kidney, Grandmother’s rejection won’t be too severe.”

Two hospital beds were wheeled back to the ward (Laboratory Three), and as soon as the beds were arranged, Mother sat up suddenly, clutching her waist and frowning.

Mother asked first, “What’s wrong? Did you strain the wound?”

“Not at all! It’s all healed, there’s no wound… just some phantom pain.”

Would changing to someone else’s kidney cause phantom limb pain?

Noticing Xiao Qínglán behind Xiao Lěi, Mother scratched her head sheepishly, “Hehe, looks like you know now?”

To which Mother complained like a young bride, “You still have the nerve to talk! Couldn’t you have convinced us instead of keeping it a secret?”

“It’s because I didn’t want you to worry. I’m perfectly fine! I can get out of bed now!”

As she tried to get up, Miss Kē Màn sternly reprimanded, “Don’t move! You only have one working kidney now!”

“Yes…”

Scared by the pediatrician, Mother shrank back and lay down obediently.

With the situation settled, we waited for their bodies to adapt to the new organ. Mother and Grandmother became patients, and these two unrecognizable mother and daughter would have to stay here for at least three weeks of observation.

For convenience, Mother gave the Spatial Jewel to Cherry Sauce, asking her to bring either Mother or Father every evening.

With such a convenient artifact, we could now travel wherever we wanted.