"Poisoning?" Qin Qing’s expression changed instantly. "Someone’s trying to poison you?"
"Yes," Ye Xiu nodded.
"That can’t be right. We’re both wearing masks, and coming here for hot pot was a last-minute decision. How could someone have been waiting to poison you?" Qin Qing asked softly.
Ye Xiu thought for a moment. "The poisoner couldn’t have known our whereabouts. He was probably just here by chance. Although I’m wearing a mask, someone could recognize me if they paid close attention. Besides, the poisoner must be from Jin Ye City. Outsiders don’t know what I look like."
"Let’s leave now. The poisoner will definitely follow us. Then you can catch him and kill him on the spot," Qin Qing said coldly.
"That was my thought exactly," Ye Xiu replied.
So, the two of them went to the front desk to pay the bill.
At a table not far from theirs, a young man was sitting. Just then, the one who had administered the poison returned. He sat down and said excitedly, "I dumped the entire vial of poison into the hot pot base at Ye Xiu’s table."
"To think we’d find him without even looking, what incredible luck! We’re going to be rich!" the first young man exclaimed.
"Will the poison you gave me cause immediate death?" the poisoner asked.
"It’s rat poison, so it won’t kill him instantly. First, he’ll get a stomach ache and other symptoms. Once Ye Xiu realizes he’s been poisoned, he’ll definitely rush to a hospital. We’ll follow him, and it’ll be easy to finish him off," the young man explained.
"What a shame, for a Medicine King to die like this," the poisoner said excitedly.
"His death will bring us riches and glory. It’s a worthy trade," the other man stated.
"That’s true." The poisoner laughed, already envisioning himself as a billionaire.
Just then, the pair saw Ye Xiu and Qin Qing go to the front desk and then head toward the exit.
"Where are they going?" the young man asked.
"They just got the pot base. The meat and vegetables haven’t even been served yet. Why are they suddenly leaving?" the poisoner was also puzzled.
"Maybe something came up," the young man suggested. "We can’t let 200 million gold slip away. Come on, let’s follow them out and kill Ye Xiu directly."
"Okay!" the poisoner nodded.
The two followed them out, tracking Ye Xiu and Qin Qing to the underground parking lot. They were inwardly ecstatic. This was the perfect place to make their move!
"Ye Xiu."
The poisoner called out.
Ye Xiu and Qin Qing stopped and turned around.
"Are you calling me?" Ye Xiu asked.
"That’s right!" the poisoner nodded. He walked up to Ye Xiu, his right hand in his pocket. He suddenly pulled out a dagger and lunged, aiming for Ye Xiu’s stomach.
The other young man didn’t move. In his opinion, the poisoner alone was more than enough.
The poisoner thought so, too. With his sudden, unexpected attack, Ye Xiu had no chance of survival.
However, just as the poisoner’s dagger was halfway to its target, Ye Xiu suddenly slapped him across the face.
The force of the blow lifted the poisoner off his feet and sent him crashing to the ground.
"This..."
Seeing this, the young man was stunned. He hadn’t expected Ye Xiu to know Kung Fu, but his reaction was swift.
As Ye Xiu’s palm struck the poisoner’s face, he made his move, his right hand forming a claw as he grabbed for Ye Xiu’s left shoulder.
His speed was astonishing and his attack was vicious. He was clearly a trained martial artist.
Yet, he was up against Ye Xiu. Even Great Grandmasters couldn’t survive a single move against him. To Ye Xiu, the attack seemed as slow as a crawling turtle.
Ye Xiu’s left hand shot out, accurately grabbing the young man’s wrist. "Your Capture Hand Technique isn’t perfected yet," he said coldly.
With a sickening CRACK, he snapped the young man’s right wrist.
"AHH—" The young man let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered, staring at Ye Xiu in terror.
This famous Divine Doctor is actually a martial arts master!
"Talk. Who poisoned me?" Ye Xiu asked coldly.
The color drained from their faces as a horrifying realization struck them. Ye Xiu knew about the poison all along! He paid and left just to lure us out!
"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about," the young man stammered in fear.
CRACK!
Ye Xiu stomped on the ankle of the poisoner lying on the ground, shattering it. "I don’t have time to waste on you," he said coldly. "Speak, or die!"
The two were terrified by Ye Xiu’s ruthlessness. The poisoner, forgetting the searing pain in his ankle, blurted out in a panic, "I’ll talk, I’ll talk! I’m the one who put the poison in, but Sun Haishan gave it to me! He’s the one who told me about the bounty and asked me to help him poison you—"
CRACK!
Before the poisoner could finish, Ye Xiu’s foot came down on his neck, crushing it.
The poisoner was dead.
Ye Xiu’s cold gaze landed on the other man. "So you’re Sun Haishan?"
"Spare me!" Seeing his partner crushed to death, Sun Haishan dropped to his knees, trembling as he begged for his life.
"If you want to live, it’s easy. Just answer a few questions," Ye Xiu said coldly.
"I’ll answer, I’ll answer! I’ll definitely answer..."
"With your paltry skill and intelligence, you’re not qualified to know about the bounty. Who told you?" Ye Xiu asked.
"I was at a KTV with a friend last night, and he told me. The bounty is common knowledge now; it’s not a secret," Sun Haishan said quickly, terrified that speaking too slowly would get him killed.
Ye Xiu frowned. If even a lowlife like this knew about the bounty, then the world’s underground and gray-market forces must know about it as well.
He asked, "How did you know I’d be at the Nine Palace Grid for hot pot tonight? How did you recognize me? And you were carrying poison—when were you planning to use it?"
"Wang Hongbo and I were eating at the Nine Palace Grid, planning to sneak into your house tonight to poison your water and rice. We had no idea you’d be there. As for recognizing you, that was easy. I saved the picture of you from the flyer on my phone and looked at it countless times. Even with the mask, I knew you by your eyes," Sun Haishan explained rapidly.
This confirms my suspicions. It seems these two were acting alone.
"Try to be a good person in your next life."
Ye Xiu’s palm slammed down on Sun Haishan’s head.
Sun Haishan collapsed, blood spewing from his mouth as his life ended.
Ye Xiu took the phones from the pockets of Sun Haishan and Wang Hongbo. He turned to Qin Qing with a smile. "Shall we find another place for hot pot?"
"Okay!" Qin Qing nodded.
After they got in the car, Qin Qing hesitated for a moment but couldn’t hold back her question. "This morning, when you said you would start driving me to and from work, I knew something was wrong. What’s going on? And what is this about a bounty?"
"It’s better that you don’t know. Don’t worry, I can handle it," Ye Xiu said.