"Late-stage liver cancer. It's irreversible. You should make your arrangements."
BOOM!
Rain poured down in torrents. Jiang Ce walked along the street, the doctor's words echoing in his mind. His eyes were as vacant as an empty shell. Sorrow and despair swelled like a suffocating tide.
BEEP, BEEP. His phone rang.
"Jiang Ce, it's Wang Xinyao. I heard… where are you? I'm coming to find you now!"
Jiang Ce was surprised. On the brink of death, he hadn't expected the first call to be from her. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "There's no need, Miss Wang. From the moment I was cast out of the Jiang Family, our connection was severed. You are no longer my… fiancée."
"I have a family now. I want to spend my final days with them."
He hung up.
Jiang Ce looked up at the sky as innumerable raindrops fell, his thoughts pulled back five years. Back then, he was the Young Master of the Jiang Family, a man of noble status, as peerless as a dragon! But at the peak of his prestige, his parents suddenly vanished, and he was ruthlessly framed. The position of family head was snatched by his second uncle, and he was ultimately expelled from the Ninefold Gate to live as a commoner.
I suspect my second uncle was behind it all, but I have no evidence. I can only bury this suspicion deep in my heart!
Over the years, he had delivered food and worked odd jobs, enduring endless scorn. He tolerated it all, comforted by the company of his loving wife. As long as I'm alive, there will come a day when the trapped dragon will soar. I'll return to the Jiang Family and take back everything that is mine!
But he never imagined that fate would refuse him even this sliver of hope. A terminal diagnosis started the final countdown to his death…
With a roar, a car sped past, splashing through a puddle and snapping Jiang Ce back to reality. The car then pulled over and stopped beside him. The next moment, his wife, Chen Mei, stormed out of the car.
"Meimei, you're here…"
"It's pouring out here. Get under some cover so you don't catch a cold."
Jiang Ce froze for a second before hurriedly pulling her to the side, taking off his own jacket to shield her from the rain. Suppressing his sorrow, he forced a strained smile. "Meimei, the doctor already told me everything. Continuing treatment is just prolonging the inevitable. I don't want to drag you and your family down."
"Don't worry about me. I've come to terms with it. I…"
SLAP!
"Who the fuck cares if you've come to terms with it?!" Before Jiang Ce could finish, Chen Mei slapped him hard across the face, roaring, "You useless piece of trash, who told you to leave the hospital? The moment you were discharged, your records were closed! The organ transplant we've been negotiating for so long is completely off the table now!"
"Organ transplant? Meimei, what are you talking about?"
"Wait… did you find a new liver for me?! How could you be so foolish? It would bankrupt your family!"
Jiang Ce's voice trembled, and hot tears threatened to fall, but reality struck him with another cruel blow.
"Ptooey! You think a worthless bum like you is worthy?" Chen Mei spat in Jiang Ce's face, planting her hands on her hips. "For all these years, you've lived off me, eaten my food, and contributed nothing."
"Three months ago, we finally found a rich man with kidney failure who was a match for you. After a lot of negotiation, he agreed to buy your kidney for eight million."
"But look at you now! You checked yourself out, and he immediately canceled the deal over safety concerns. You damn good-for-nothing, can't you even leave us something good when you die? Jiang Ce, how can you be so selfish!"
What?
Faced with the sudden, ugly truth, Jiang Ce's world spun. The venomous words and hateful glare shattered his fragile defenses. He stared at Chen Mei in disbelief. "Meimei, is that true? I poured my heart and soul into our relationship all these years, and you were just scheming to sell my organs as I'm dying?"
Jiang Ce wasn't upset about his kidney. If he could, he would have gladly donated all his organs to ensure his wife could live the rest of her life in peace. He just never imagined that his feelings were entirely one-sided, that all their shared emotions had been a lie.
Chen Mei just stared at him, her eyes filled with cold hatred and fury.
"Hahaha, that's hilarious!" Laughter rang out as a young man stepped out of the car.
"Poured your heart and soul? You're quite the delusional simp, aren't you?" The man walked over to Chen Mei, holding an umbrella, and casually pinched her waist. He looked down on Jiang Ce with the same contempt one would show a dog. "Kid, take a good look at yourself. What part of you is worthy of Meimei? Stop getting emotional over your own delusions. In Meimei's eyes, you're just a dog."
"And who would ever love a dog? She put up with you for all these years, and in the end, you turned out to be useless and even cost her a fortune. The way she's treating you now is already merciful!"
Seeing this, Jiang Ce's rage erupted. Like a cornered beast, he glared at the man with bloodshot eyes and roared, "Get away from my wife!"
SLAP!
Chen Mei stepped forward and slapped him again. "Shut up, you loser!" she barked. "Who the hell is your wife?!"
"Look closely! Only a charming man like Young Master Liu—with his powerful background, luxury cars, and mansions—is the Prince Charming of my dreams!" At this, Chen Mei's eyes flashed with hatred again, and she gritted her teeth.
"The only reason I got together with you five years ago was because I saw you had a butler and wore designer clothes. I thought you were some rich heir, but after we got married, I realized you were just a poor, useless bum!"
"Jiang Ce, you're such a schemer, hiring actors to trick me. How could you be such a great pretender? You nearly ruined my life's happiness!"
Young Master Liu burst out laughing, grabbing Chen Mei's face and planting a kiss on her. "Darling, don't worry. With me, you'll be the happiest woman in the world. Especially at night, haha!"
"Ugh, stop it! What are you saying? We're outside!"
The scene unfolding before him finally shattered Jiang Ce completely.
"You adulterous bastards!" he roared, swinging his fists at Young Master Liu.
Young Master Liu just sneered.
"A dying piece of trash dares to raise a hand to me?" With that, he kicked Jiang Ce viciously in the abdomen.
THUD!
Jiang Ce was sent sprawling to the ground, his face deathly pale as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He instinctively raised a hand to wipe it away.
But strangely, when the blood touched the ring on his finger, the ring seemed to absorb it. A faint light pulsed on its surface.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Just then, Jiang Ce's phone rang again. Chen Mei's eyes darted, and she deftly snatched the phone. "Who's calling you at a time like this? Let me see."
She answered the call, and an anxious woman's voice came through the speaker.
"Jiang Ce! Don't you dare do anything reckless! I had someone trace your location, and I'm almost there. Our engagement was never called off! I'm still your fiancée! Hold on!"
Chen Mei was stunned. "Fiancée? What's this all about?"
"Haha, Meimei, you really think anyone would be interested in this loser? She's probably just some actress he hired. Didn't you say he loved pulling these kinds of stunts five years ago?"
Chen Mei scoffed. "You're right. Damn it, this piece of trash is still putting on airs on his deathbed, and he's not even good at it. You're such a coward. The sight of you makes me want to puke. 'Fiancée,' my ass."
"Haha!"
By now, a crowd of onlookers had gathered. They stared at Jiang Ce spitting blood on the ground, not with sympathy, but with mocking amusement.
"Look at that guy. He's like a pathetic dog."
"He can't even hold on to his own wife. Getting cuckolded right in front of his face. What a loser."
Jiang Ce's vision began to blur, his mind a muddy haze.
Chen Mei planted her foot on his shoulder and said coldly, "I'll give you one last chance. Get back to the hospital, get on your knees, and beg that rich man to buy your kidney. Otherwise, you'll regret it!"
Young Master Liu looked on with a cruel smirk. "That's right. Think it over. I, Liu Jiajun, know plenty of 'friends' in the underworld of East Sea City. Be careful, or I'll make you experience what a living hell is before you die!"
Jiang Ce struggled to lift his head. Looking at the adulterous pair, he squeezed a few words through his clenched teeth. "Fuck off!"
Young Master Liu froze, then his face contorted with rage.
"Fuck you! You piece of trash, you dare curse at me?!" He pulled a baseball bat from the trunk and raised it to smash it down on Jiang Ce's head.
Suddenly—
"You dare?!"
A sharp voice cut through the air.
Before anyone could react, a red Ferrari burst through the rain, coming to a halt before them in a stylish drift that sent up a spray of water, forcing them back. It was followed by a convoy of black Land Rovers that quickly surrounded the intersection as dozens of well-trained bodyguards disembarked.
The onlookers were dumbstruck.
Who was this? What kind of VIP would command such a grand entrance?
The Ferrari's door opened, and a woman stepped out. She had an extraordinary aura, a perfect figure, and a face of such captivating beauty that even A-list celebrities would feel inadequate. She wore ten-centimeter rhinestone-studded high heels and was so stunning that people didn't dare to look at her directly.
"Who… Who is this?" Young Master Liu was still bewildered. When her icy gaze swept over him, the chill in her eyes made him retreat several steps involuntarily. Beside him, Chen Mei trembled like a frightened hen.
Wang Xinyao ignored them. Her eyes fell on the bloodied Jiang Ce on the ground, and a pang of pain shot through her heart. She rushed forward and gently held his shoulders. "Ce, I'm here. It's okay now. Let's go home…"
Jiang Ce's eyes fluttered open. He struggled to lift his head and see Wang Xinyao's face clearly before finally losing consciousness and collapsing into her warm embrace.
Wang Xinyao immediately had her men carry him to the car.
No one noticed that Jiang Ce's blood-stained, ancient-looking ring was now glowing like a hot brand. As raindrops fell on it, they sizzled into white steam.
At the same time, a voice echoed in his mind.
"After a thousand years, a descendant of the Jiang family has finally appeared. This old one has waited a long time for this day. The way of the Ghost Doctor will finally be passed on."
"Young man, this set of Xuanyuan Nine Needles is a divine technique I spent my entire life seeking. Today, I shall bestow it upon you. I hope you will use it to turn the tide in a time of great crisis!"
High in the nine heavens, a thick bolt of lightning, like a silver dragon, snaked through the clouds. It let out a furious bellow that shook the sky.
BOOM!
Supreme medical arts, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, body forging, qi cultivation…
In an instant, a flood of countless profound mysteries, formed from chains of ancient script, flew from the ring and lit up his mind like a vast galaxy.