Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
They went to Sun Yunsheng’s house in the village after leaving Wang Yao’s clinic. Mr. Lin gave special instructions to Sun Yunsheng and Hao before leaving for Dao.
“Hao, do you think my dad will be OK?” Sun Yunsheng was still worried about his father. He knew how capable Hao was, even if Hao was injured. What would happen to his father?
“He’ll be fine. Master Sun, don’t worry,” Hao said.
…
The police department was extremely busy. They had started a rare crackdown on criminals because there had been three murder cases in less than three days. This had never happened in Dao’s history.
The police department leaders were furious. They demanded the officer solve the case in a timely manner.
Police cars roared through the streets. The policemen checked every hotel and motel in the city.
“Hey, Officer Li, I just stole a wallet. Do you have to be so harsh?” a thief asked.
“What do you think? We are cracking down on all criminal activities,” Officer Li said.
Inside a house in Dao, an old man was coughing badly.
“Another one died?” the old man asked.
“Yes,” a young man said.
“What happened?” the old man asked.
“Gun shot,” the young man replied.
It was silent in the room for a while. Then, the old man started to cough again. His cough was getting worse.
Crack! The door opened. A person entered the room.
“Master, the police in Dao are cracking down on all criminal activities,” the person said.
“Have you told him about it?” the old man asked.
“Yes,” his student said.
Ahem! Ahem!
“I’ll go there tomorrow,” the old man said.
“You’ll go there in person?” his student asked.
“Yes,” the old man said.
On the highway from Haiqu to Dao, a car was traveling fast.
Come on! Come on! Mr. Lin was worried about Sun Zhengrong. He knew what their enemies were capable of. They were hard to deal with a decade ago. They were probably more powerful now.
In a boutique club in Dao, Sun Zhengrong was drinking tea with a middle-aged man.
“Thank you for your support this time,” Sun Zhengrong said.
“You are welcome. This is what I should do anyway. You need to be careful,” the middle-aged man replied.
“I know,” Sun Zhengrong said after taking a sip of tea.
He hadn’t come across any danger like this for a long time. He couldn’t help thinking about the time when he had started his business.
“Sometimes I miss the old times,” Sun Zhengrong said.
Mr. Lin arrived in Dao in the afternoon.
“Master, are you alright?” he asked.
“Why did you come back?” Sun Zhengrong asked with surprise.
“I’ve been worried about you after what had happened to Hao. So, I came back,” Mr. Lin said.
“How is Hao?” Sun Zhengrong asked.
“He’s out of danger after being treated by Dr. Wang,” Mr. Lin said.
“Good, take a break,” Sun Zhengrong said.
He asked Mr. Lin to sit down. Then, they talked for a while. Sun Zhengrong told Mr. Lin what had happened in Dao. Mr. Lin had not been aware of how bad things had become.
“So, he sent so many people here?” Mr. Lin asked.
“Yes, I didn’t expect that,” Sun Zhengrong said after taking a sip of tea.
“It looks like he’s putting all the eggs in one basket,” Mr. Lin said.
“That old man won’t last too long,” Sun Zhengrong said.
“We still need to be careful. We should ask everyone we know in the city for help. After all, our enemies are in the dark,” Mr. Lin said.
“I’ve spent $10 million hiring people to look for them,” Sun Zhengrong said.
As the richest person in Dao, he had social connections with both government officials and their illegal counterparts.
…
In the village, Wang Yao had a guest in the afternoon. Chen Boyuan had come from Beijing. He brought regards from Su Xiaoxue’s family. Apparently, Song Ruiping would like Wang Yao to visit Beijing as soon as possible.
“May I ask when you will be available to go to Beijing?” Chen Boyuan asked.
“I plan to go to Beijing in two days,” Wang Yao replied.
“That’s brilliant,” Chen Boyuan said as he breathed a big sigh of relief.
“How is Miss Su?” Wang Yao asked.
“She’s been recovering well,” Chen Boyuan said. “Do you need me to prepare anything in advance?”
“I need herbs. The same herbs as last time,” Wang Yao replied.
“OK, leave it to me,” Chen Boyuan said.
He had already purchased the herbs, which had been transferred to Lianshan. He made a phone call. An hour later, a van filled with herbs arrived in the village.
“You’ve already gotten the herbs?” Wang Yao asked.
“Yes. Would you like to have a look?” Chen Boyuan inquired.
“You can leave them in the courtyard,” Wang Yao said.
Chen Boyuan placed the herbs in one of the corners of the courtyard. He then left the clinic and called Song Ruiping. He decided to stay in Lianshan for several days in case Wang Yao needed him.
Wang Yao used half of the herbs in the courtyard to exchange for bonus points.
It was gloomy the next day. Wang Yao went to Sun Yunsheng’s house to see Hao.
Most of the insects inside Hao’s body had been expelled after he had taken the decoction containing miasma grass. If everything went well, all the insects would be removed today. However, Hao’s organs had been damaged. It would take him some time to recover. Fortunately, he was quite fit and had taken a Nine Grass pill. Wang Yao presumed he would be fine.
Wang Yao had confirmation from the system that Hao’s condition was also considered hard to treat. He previously was worried that he couldn’t complete the task on time. It seemed he didn’t need to worry about it anymore. It was a good thing for him.
Wang Yao told Sun Yunsheng and Hao that he would pay a visit to Beijing.
“Are you leaving Lianshan?” Sun Yunsheng asked.
“Yes, I need to see someone in Beijing,” Wang Yao said.
“What about Hao?” Sun Yunsheng asked.
“He’ll be fine. I’ll leave some herbs here,” Wang Yao said.
Apart from the decoction, he also left a formula for Hao. He had prescribed this formula many times. It was to consolidate Hao’s corporeity. He needed a lot of nutrition.
“Thank you very much,” Sun Yunsheng said politely.
“By the way, I need a favor from you,” Wang Yao said.
“Sure, what would you like me to do?” Sun Yunsheng asked.
“Can you help me look after my parents while I am away?” Wang Yao asked.
“Sure, I will,” Sun Yunsheng said seriously.
Wang Yao didn’t rush back to Nanshan Hill that night. He stayed at home talking with his parents.
“Are you leaving tomorrow?” Zhang Xiuying asked.
“Yes, tomorrow,” Wang Yao said.
“Take care of yourself when you are away,” Zhang Xiuying said.
“I will,” Wang Yao replied.
His parents had asked him again and again to look after himself. Wang Yao left for the airport after breakfast the next morning. He didn’t bring a lot of luggage with him. Sun Yunsheng arranged a car to take him to Haiqu.
The airplane soared into the sky. Wang Yao looked at the clouds through the window. He reached out like he wanted to touch the clouds, which looked like marshmallows.
“Ew!” The person sitting next to Wang Yao sighed. It seemed he had something on his mind.
“Are you alright?” Wang Yao took a glance at him and found he didn’t look well.
“Mhm, I just feel a bit nervous.” His body was shaking.
“Is this the first time for you to be on an airplane?” Wang Yao asked.
“No, second time,” the person said.
“I see.” Wang Yao smiled. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll soon arrive at our destination.”
“Thanks,” the person said.
A lot of people felt secure on the ground but would become anxious when they were at sea or in the sky, especially when they were in the sky. The person next to Wang Yao seemed to be quite nervous. He was short of breath and sweating. It seemed he had a fear of flying.
He closed his eyes like he couldn’t stand it anymore. Then, he took a bottle out of his pocket and swallowed several pills.
“Is that a tranquilizer you are taking?” Wang Yao could tell what the pills were after taking a glance of the bottle.
It was actually not good to take a tranquilizer or sedative. People could easily grow dependent on them.
Is it really that scary to be on an airplane? Wang Yao wondered.
After a while, a big city appeared under the plane. Wang Yao could see the skyline of the old city through the clouds. They had arrived in Beijing.
Someone was waiting for Wang Yao. It was a very pretty young woman.
“Hello, Mr. Wang.” Chen Ying walked toward Wang Yao with a smile from the bottom of her heart.
“Hello,” Wang Yao said.
“Where would you like to go?” Chen Ying asked.
“Hmm, shall we grab some food first? You pick the place, my treat,” Wang Yao replied.
Chen Ying picked a boutique restaurant. It was not hard to access any type of delicious food in Beijing. There were more boutique restaurants in Beijing than any other city in China. After all, Beijing was the capital city of China.
Chen Ying ordered several dishes. Wang Yao enjoyed the food very much.
“How is your brother?” Wang Yao asked.
“He’s fine, thanks for asking,” Chen Ying said.
She got a call from Song Ruiping during lunch.
“Ms. Song just asked me where we are,” Chen Ying said.
They went back to the cottage after lunch. Wang Yao settled in his room. Song Ruiping visited him around 4 p.m.