Chapter 5
The looks on the faces of the other Lockes became odd.
Jason and Jordan were about the same age and got along well. The former tugged the latter aside and asked in a low voice, "Has your dad lost his mind because he's too pissed at Madison?"
"What do you know?" Jordan rolled his eyes at Jason, rendering him speechless.
Vincent had already stepped past William to approach Madison excitedly. "Maddie, could you come to the hospital to see my wife, Josephine, with me?"
Madison frowned. Vincent hurriedly added, "It doesn't matter what the outcome is as long as you're willing to come. You'll still be our family's savior."
"Yeah! As long as you come, Madison, I guarantee I'll be on your side forever. If anyone in Riverview dares to bully or push you around, they'll be going against me and the Salle family." Jordan patted his chest.
The Locke family couldn't understand what was going on, but Madison's expression remained indifferent. "I'm nothing but a regular streamer."
Vincent didn't understand what she meant, but Jordan did. He immediately pulled out his phone and said, "My dad and I will both follow you. If necessary, I can buy you subscribers and followers."
"No. That won't be necessary. I only want viewers who genuinely enjoy my livestreams."
"Got it." Jordan had already followed Madison's account. He even held out his phone to show her. "Don't worry. I promise I'll watch all your livestreams from now on!"
Only then did Madison stand up. "Let's go, then."
The Lockes had yet to comprehend the situation when Madison had already followed Vincent and Jordan into their car and left.
Jason was dazed for a long while. Then, he asked, "What did Mr. Salle mean by that, Dad?"
William couldn't understand it, either.
Rebecca was the only one thinking about what Jordan had said. He'd made it clear that the Salle family would stand up for Madison.
…
Vincent and Jordan told Madison about Josephine White's situation on the way to the hospital. Josephine had been in poor health since giving birth to Jordan, but things had been worse in recent years. She had to spend some time in the hospital every year.
This time, however, the situation seemed to be much worse than before. Josephine had suddenly passed out a week ago, but the doctors had said there wasn't anything different in her condition. They couldn't determine the cause of her fainting.
Vincent had also hired several renowned experts of the mystic arts to check on her. Some of them had cast spells, and some of them had tried to summon her soul. They'd tried everything, but Josephine remained unconscious.
As soon as Madison stepped out of the elevator, she pointed at a hospital room diagonally to their left. "Is that your wife's ward?"
Josephine had been admitted to a private hospital that only had ten hospital rooms per floor. They were all for VIP patients, and each room looked the same from the outside.
Jordan nodded vigorously and said, "Yes. That's the one. It looks like you do have a few tricks up your sleeve, after all!"
Vincent glared at him but was secretly impressed by Madison.
To Madison, all she saw was a room enveloped in dark energy when the others weren't.
When they pushed open the door to the hospital room, Madison's expression changed. Death energy wasn't the only thing in the room—there was also a faint golden light. It was almost invisible as it formed a thin layer over Josephine's body.
"What do you see, Maddie?" Vincent asked.
"She's lost her soul." Madison stood by the bed.
Vincent's heart sank.
Madison added, "The situation is a little tricky."
Tricky? Why? Would it be hard to find Josephine's soul?
He was about to speak when Madison frowned and said with a little self-disdain, "I don't have enough spiritual energy now, so I can only rely on drawing talismans to summon her soul. The problem is that I don't have any talisman paper or cinnabar with me."
Vincent sighed in relief. He thought the problem was a major one.
"I'll go buy some right now," Jordan said. "What type do you need? And is there anything else you need?"
"Just get the regular talisman paper and cinnabar. I also need some incense sticks."
"Alright." He ran off to get the stuff.
Vincent asked tentatively, "Are you sure you can do it, Maddie?"
"Yeah."
Vincent relaxed a little when he heard that. "Thank God you reminded me in time yesterday. When Jordan and I arrived at the hospital, a nurse intern was just about to inject Josephine with the wrong medication. The doctor said that Josephine would've died."
No one could imagine how terrified he and Jordan had been yesterday. If they'd been just a second later, things would've gone past the point of no return. Based on that alone, Madison would always be the Salle family's savior.
Jordan soon returned with the things. He'd bought a box each of talisman paper, cinnabar, and incense sticks.
Madison checked them and found they were all of good quality.
"Can we start now?" Jordan was a little excited. He'd only heard about these things in the past. Thus, this was his first time witnessing it happening. He was at that phase where he half-believed and half-scorned these things.
Madison hummed in agreement and took a piece of talisman paper. She placed her index and middle fingers together before dipping them in the cinnabar and drawing on the talisman paper.
Her actions were swift and smooth. When she was done, the talisman paper gleamed in gold.
Jordan grabbed Vincent's arm in agitation and cried, "Did you see that, Dad? Or were my eyes playing tricks on me?"
"Shut up!" Vincent was even more agitated than him but managed to put up a calm front.
Madison brought the talisman to Josephine and placed it on her chest. Then, she got three incense sticks and lightly ran her fingers across the tips, lighting them.
Jordan's eyes were wide at this point, and he couldn't help gaping. This was amazing! He felt like he was watching a movie with special effects.
A tendril of smoke floated outside the window as if it had a consciousness of its own. Madison called a name softly, but the smoke didn't change. Her spiritual energy was too low for the spell to take effect.
"She's not responding to my call. You guys are her family, so she should respond if you call her," she said.
Vincent held the incense sticks, feeling lost. "How should I do it?"
"Call her name and ask her to return."
"Josephine! Josephine White! Come back!" Vincent called.
Jordan stood beside him and said, "Mom, hurry up and come back!"
Suddenly, Vincent stopped. His eyes widened when he saw the tendril of smoke that had gone far slowly start to float back into the room. It went straight toward the bed and stopped beside it. Then, it disappeared.
"It's done," Madison said.
Vincent approached the hospital bed and looked down to see Josephine's fingers twitch slightly. He grabbed her hand.
Jordan ran over to them, his eyes red. "Mom!"
Josephine slowly opened her eyes. Jordan was about to hug her when Vincent pushed him away.
He was rendered speechless and curled his lip as he looked at his parents holding each other tightly. He brushed some nonexistent dust from his clothes and walked to Madison's side, looking awkward. "Uh, my mom should be okay now, right?"
It felt a little awkward being around Madison now that she'd become Josephine's savior. To think he'd picked on her so much in the past.
"No, she's not."
Jordan fell silent. He'd only been trying to make small talk. Why had he gotten such a horrible answer?