"Alright, let me handle this. You go keep watch for me first," Mei Xue said, quickly pushing Qiqi toward the door. "If you want me to kiss you or anything, now's not the time. Once we're out of here, there'll be plenty of chances."
Who said anything about kissing?
Qiqi was too excited inside to bother arguing with a fox spirit. She obediently walked to the door to keep watch, occasionally glancing back to see what Mei Xue was doing.
However, Mei Xue didn't follow the original plan of immediately transforming Rong Yi into another doctor's appearance. Instead, she quickly sat down on the empty floor in front of the hospital bed and began meditating. She was breathing heavily, her face slightly flushed, as if the teleportation spell she'd just used had drained a lot of her energy. She needed to regulate her inner energy before she could cast the illusion spell again.
After five minutes, seeing no movement from Mei Xue, Qiqi asked, "Mei Xue, how much longer do you need?"
Mei Xue suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot—the illusion spell can't create a keycard. Even if we look like doctors, without a keycard, the three of us still can't get out!"
Qiqi was stunned. "What? Doctors need keycards too?"
Mei Xue grimaced. "I forgot to mention—this is a specialized hospital for holding people who refuse to relocate or file petitions. The security is extremely tight, on par with prisons for serious offenders. Everyone needs a keycard to come and go here. If we try to force our way out, we'll probably attract armed military police..."
"What do we do now?"
"My magic has recovered a bit. The only option now is to use the teleportation spell again to move Rong Yi somewhere else. But I've used up too much power—I can't take two people at once," Mei Xue said with a pained expression.
"Huh?" Qiqi was taken aback—so she could only take one person at a time?
"Take you first, or take him first—you choose," Mei Xue said, looking at Qiqi.
Qiqi gritted her teeth. "Take Rong Yi first. Transform me into his likeness, and I'll buy us some time."
"Alright."
Mei Xue immediately leaped up, pulled Rong Yi down from the bed, and pressed Qiqi onto it. "Don't worry. As soon as my magic recovers, I'll come back for you."
"Hurry up, okay?" Qiqi said, her clear eyes wide.
Mei Xue's gaze flickered, and she nodded. "Don't worry."
Qiqi transformed into Rong Yi's likeness and lay on the hospital bed, while Mei Xue hoisted the unconscious Rong Yi onto her back and vanished in an instant.
Qiqi breathed a sigh of relief—at least Rong Yi was out. Based on Mei Xue's skill, each teleportation took about five minutes. At that rate, taking Rong Yi away, coming back, and then taking her would take about fifteen minutes. As long as the doctor didn't make rounds during that time, she could escape safely.
As for what to do after escaping, or whether the hospital and police would think she and Rong Yi had broken out of custody—she'd worry about that later.
She lay quietly on the bed, waiting. But as time ticked by, minute after minute, Mei Xue never returned.
Qiqi sensed something was wrong. She sat up, intending to check outside, but then the lights in the hallway flickered on again—someone was coming!
Qiqi quickly scrambled back onto the bed.
It was the same nurse from before.
Qiqi pretended to be unconscious, sticking the IV tube to the back of her hand to look like she was still receiving fluids. This time, the nurse came alone. She walked to the bedside, checked the liquid in the bottle, and frowned—the bottle had already drained dry after Qiqi pulled out the tube earlier. The nurse must have come to change the fluids for Rong Yi.