THE WALL STREET IMMORTAL

Chapter 5 The Healing Touch

The fragile weight of Onyxa’s body in his arms made Li Wei frown. Cold. Her skin felt like ice pulled straight from a freezer, contrasting sharply with the perfectly regulated temperature of the mansion. Li Wei didn't waste time. He scanned the vast, minimalist room before taking long strides toward the king-sized bed in the center.

With movements far more agile than his lethargic appearance suggested, Li Wei laid Onyxa down on the gray silk sheets. The woman's long black hair spilled out in a mess, framing a face now as pale as parchment.

"Tch, you’re really running on empty, aren't you?" Li Wei whispered softly.

He could feel Onyxa’s pulse at her wrist—weak, irregular, and seemingly choked by something invisible. To a layman or a medical doctor, this might look like symptoms of extreme fatigue or a sudden heart attack. But to Li Wei, who had spent centuries understanding the anatomy of energy, this was a manifestation of 'Yin Bone Erosion.' The curse wasn't just an amulet under the bed; it had infiltrated her nervous system.

Li Wei sat on the edge of the bed. He took a long breath, trying to gather the remnants of Qi he had absorbed from New York’s polluted air since he woke up. In this world full of smog, gathering energy felt like trying to fill a gas tank with drops of dew. It was agonizingly slow.

He placed his palm directly over Onyxa’s solar plexus, without touching her skin directly to respect the "no touching" clause they had agreed upon. However, energy required no physical contact.

"I’ll be at a total loss if you kick the bucket now," Li Wei whispered.

His eyes closed. Suddenly, the air around them seemed to stop vibrating. Li Wei began to force the circulation of his Internal Core. A warm spot began to glow in his palm, shimmering with an extremely faint golden light, nearly invisible to the human eye. He channeled that energy into Onyxa’s body.

The process felt like pouring crystal-clear water into a gutter clogged with black sludge. Li Wei could feel the resistance from the negative energy inside Onyxa. The coldness of the curse tried to crawl up his arm, attempting to freeze his own blood.

Sweat began to bead on Li Wei’s forehead. His teeth ground together. Using Qi while his body was not yet 100% recovered was a massive gamble. It felt as if his muscles were being pried away from his bones. Every passing second drained his energy reserves to the dregs. His vision began to blur, black spots dancing before his eyes.

One more pull ... just a little more ...

Li Wei pushed a final wave of his energy, forcing the last of the black mist in Onyxa’s chest to fade away. The woman's heart suddenly surged, beating with a rhythmic, healthy thrum. A faint pink hue returned to her cheeks, and her previously labored breathing became calm and deep.

In that instant, Li Wei yanked his hand back. His body lurched backward. He had to use his left hand to brace himself so he wouldn't tumble onto the floor. His heart hammered in his chest, not out of romance, but from Spirit Drain—acute spiritual exhaustion.

At that exact second, Onyxa’s eyelids fluttered.

The woman let out a small groan before her eyes snapped wide open. Her focus was still hazy, but the first thing she saw was the figure of Li Wei panting right beside her. Onyxa's consciousness returned with a jolt of adrenaline. She immediately bolted upright, clutching the blanket to cover her body as if she had just been attacked.

"What... What are you doing in my room?!" Onyxa’s voice shrilled, though a raspy edge still clung to her throat. "Li Wei! You’re breaking the contract! You touched me?!"

Li Wei could only look at her with weary eyes. He didn't even have the strength to fire back with his usual snarky attitude. "Take a breath, Big Boss. You just dropped like a sack of potatoes. If I hadn't moved fast, you might’ve been the lead story in tomorrow morning’s obituaries."

Onyxa fell silent for a moment, her hand instinctively moving to her chest. She was stunned. The suffocating tightness that had crushed her lungs for months—which she had dismissed as mere work stress—was suddenly gone. Her body felt incredibly light, as if she had just woken up from the highest quality sleep of her life. Her blood felt warm and flowed effortlessly through her veins.

"I ... I fainted?" Onyxa frowned, trying to remember. Her last memory was of the world spinning violently before total darkness. She looked at Li Wei again, this time with a searching gaze. "But why do I feel... so refreshed? And why do you look like a walking corpse?"

Li Wei tried to stand, but his knees shook violently. He had to lean against the expensive teak bedpost for support. "Just an ancient massage. A technique from my village in the countryside. I pressed a few of your nerve points while you were out so your circulation wouldn't bottle up. Dammit, I’ve spent all my energy just helping a nightmare of a boss like you."

Onyxa narrowed her eyes, her skepticism still thick. "A massage? Since when can a massage make someone who fainted feel like they just finished ten hours of meditation? Li Wei, don't lie to me. Are you using drugs? Or are you ...."

"Or what? A witch doctor?" Li Wei cut her off with a forced, hollow laugh. "Listen, Onyxa. In my village, we don't have fancy hospitals like in Manhattan. We use what we have. Pressure points, heat circulation. Enough with the questions. I’m leaving before you sue me for trespassing in your private zone."

Li Wei turned around, his steps unsteady. Every movement felt like he was carrying tons of weight. He had just reached the door when he saw Onyxa staring in shock at his hand, which was trembling as it gripped the handle. A flicker of guilt crossed the woman's cold eyes—an emotion she rarely showed anyone, let alone a 'parasite husband.'

"Li Wei," Onyxa called out softly.

The man turned slightly without letting go of the door. "What now? Want to add a rule about not breathing in your presence?"

Onyxa bit her lower lip, looking hesitant. "Thank you."

Li Wei simply snorted, a faint smile that was almost invisible appearing at the corner of his lips. "Keep your thanks. I just don't want to lose my meal ticket this early."

However, that quiet moment was instantly shattered.

DRRRTTT! DRRRTTT!

Onyxa’s phone, lying on the nightstand, vibrated violently with a deafening emergency ringtone. Onyxa grabbed it immediately. Li Wei stopped at the threshold, feeling a sudden bad omen prickle the back of his neck. The energy in the room shifted abruptly—no longer mystical, but a pure energy of chaos originating from the human world.

Onyxa answered the call. "Vaelara? What is it? It’s one in the morning—"

Onyxa’s face, which had just regained its color, suddenly turned deathly pale again within seconds. Her eyes widened as she stared at her phone screen.

"What?! How is that possible?!" Onyxa’s voice shook violently. "Short-selling? Who would dare attack Storm Investments’ stock simultaneously on the Wall Street and London exchanges?!"

Li Wei didn't need to hear any more to know that a massive problem had just hit. He could hear Vaelara Wolf’s panicked voice from the other end of the line, reporting billions of dollars in losses occurring in just minutes.

"We’re under attack, Li Wei," Onyxa whispered, her phone slowly lowering from her ear. "Someone is trying to bankrupt my family tonight."

Li Wei leaned his back against the door, staring at the ceiling of the luxurious room. He had just saved this woman’s life from a supernatural curse, and now, the cruel modern world was lining up to destroy their lives through digital numbers.

"God dammit," Li Wei cursed softly, his weary eyes sharpening once again. "I was just about to close my eyes for a second."