Hearing her chiding tone, Chen Fei's face instantly grew awkward. This was supposed to be a serious rescue, but holding her like this had somehow changed the flavor of the situation. Still, that figure, those long legs, the scent of a beautiful woman... truly top-shelf. Ugh, what am I thinking!
"Are you alright? Can you stand up?" Chen Fei asked, coughing in embarrassment. He let go of her, pulling back his hands as if to prove his innocence.
Murong Shan's pretty face was flushed. Without a word, she pushed against Chen Fei's chest and struggled to her feet. She frowned, "I think I sprained my ankle. It hurts so much. Your chest... why is there blood? Are you hurt?"
She hadn't noticed he was injured while he was holding her. A large patch on his chest was stained red with blood. His cheap, twenty-yuan T-shirt had been torn open, revealing a ghastly wound beneath.
"I must have been scraped by that wooden stake." Only now did Chen Fei feel the sharp pain spreading from his chest. He glanced at a stake lying on its side less than half a meter away. It was one of the short, sharp-tipped posts used to keep people off the lawn, and its point was stained with blood. He'd been too focused on saving her to worry about it.
"Are you okay? Is it serious? Let me take you to the hospital to get it looked at," Murong Shan said, her anxious voice right by his ear. He was hurt saving her; she couldn't just leave him like this.
"No need for a hospital. It's just a scratch. I'll go to a clinic myself later, it's fine," Chen Fei replied. As a medical student himself, he knew that while the wound looked scary, it was merely superficial. It just needed to be cleaned promptly to prevent infection, something he could easily handle himself.
"That won't do—" Murong Shan started to insist, but an anxious voice cut her off from a distance. "President Mui, the press conference is about to start! We're running out of time."
Only then did Murong Shan remember the crucial event she had that day: her company's product launch. She had to get there immediately. She had been preparing for this day for a long time, and it represented a major turning point for her company. Failure was not an option.
But her gaze fell on Chen Fei, still lying on the ground, and her eyes shimmered with hesitation.
"If you have somewhere to be, you should go. I'm really fine," Chen Fei said immediately. He could see she had something urgent to do, so there was no reason for her to be held up by him. His injury wasn't serious; he could take care of it himself when he got home.
"Then... I'm really sorry. Give me your phone number. I'll thank you properly after I've handled my company's affairs," she said. As she spoke, she pulled a thick wad of cash from her Gucci bag and handed it to Chen Fei. "I don't know if this is enough, but take it for your medical expenses. If you need more, I'll make up the difference later."
Chen Fei was speechless. The stack of bills had to be at least ten thousand yuan. Who needed that much for a simple scratch?
"This is too much. It's really not serious. I'm a doctor myself; I can handle it," Chen Fei said, trying to hand the money back. He had his principles and didn't want to scam anyone.
"Quick, your number! I don't have much time, I have to go," Murong Shan insisted, ignoring the money and pressing him for his phone number.
Chen Fei paused for a moment before giving her his number. Murong Shan quickly pulled out her iPhone 4S and called him. As a classic Nokia ringtone chirped from his pocket, she gave him an apologetic nod, murmured another "sorry," and limped away.
As he watched the tall, beautiful figure limp away with assistance and climb into a Maserati sports car, Chen Fei muttered, This woman is really something else.
In Northern Mountain City, anyone who could casually toss out over ten thousand yuan or afford a Maserati was definitely rich. Plus, he'd heard that person call her President Mui. Could it be...?
A president at such a young age... It's maddening how different people's lives can be. Chen Fei figured she was only two or three years older than him at most, yet she was already so accomplished. It was truly impressive.
He shook his head, pushed himself into a sitting position with one hand, and held the wad of cash in the other. He grinned through the pain. Looks like I saved the right person today. This is over ten thousand yuan! It'll last me a long time.
His financial situation was dire. He hadn't been able to find a job and was too ashamed to ask his poor family for more money. To make matters worse, his rent was due in a day or two. He'd been stressing about it, but this sudden windfall solved everything at once.
Over ten thousand yuan would last him a long time, even in a bustling place like Northern Mountain City. But that wasn't all. When the wooden stake had cut his chest, his blood had soaked the jade pendant he wore. In that instant, his mind felt like it had been deprived of oxygen, suddenly flooded with a torrent of chaotic information. He'd been too distracted by Murong Shan's presence to process the shocking event. Only now, as he finally relaxed, did he realize he had obtained something truly extraordinary.
The Meditation Sutra... the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Valley...?! The vast trove of information swirled in his mind, and he muttered the names in a daze.
The jade pendant he wore, the one he couldn't even remember getting, had apparently sealed the remnant soul of an expert from the Cultivation World. Within that soul fragment was the expert's Cultivation Method, his unique secret techniques, and his vast knowledge of ancient Chinese medicine. Now, all of it had poured into Chen Fei's mind, making him feel as if he were dreaming.
No way... Can this stuff really be real? Chen Fei rubbed his forehead in disbelief. He had always been an ordinary person, yet now he'd stumbled into something so miraculous. He'd saved someone and gotten a windfall, but on top of that, he had inexplicably received the legacy of an expert from the Cultivation World.
This was the legacy of an entity known as the Medical Sage of the Cultivation World. All of his medical experience, his unique secret techniques, and his Cultivation Method were now inside Chen Fei's head.
It was simply unbelievable.
SMACK! He slapped himself hard across the face. "Hiss... ow! That hurts. So it's not a dream." A huge, excited grin spread across his face. I've hit the jackpot!
With the legacy of this Cultivation World expert, how could he possibly fail to make a name for himself in the future? No way!
Just as Chen Fei was reveling in the excitement of his newfound legacy, a voice came from a nearby Jinbei van. "Boss, look! That guy's got a huge wad of cash!" A pockmarked, weasel-faced man had spotted the money in Chen Fei's hand and was shouting excitedly to a burly, bald-headed man in the front seat.
"What? Let's go take a look." The man, Bald Head, had been lounging in the passenger seat enjoying the air conditioning. Hearing his subordinate, he shot upright, rolled down the window, and saw Chen Fei on the grass with the thick stack of money. It had to be over ten thousand. A greedy glint lit up his eyes. He bellowed an order, and several men armed with steel pipes piled out of the van, surrounding Chen Fei.
Some onlookers who had seen the whole thing began to laugh from a distance, reveling in his misfortune. "Look at that idiot getting robbed! He doesn't even know not to flaunt his wealth. All that trouble for nothing, hahaha!" They were jealous of Chen Fei's good luck in saving Murong Shan and getting the money, so seeing him targeted by thugs was deeply satisfying.
"Kid, get in the car. Now," Bald Head, who was clearly the leader, snarled, baring his teeth. "Or I'll crack your skull with this pipe!" He wore a flashy shirt, and his head gleamed under the sun, his eyes filled with vicious cruelty.
Chen Fei glanced at him, a faint, mocking smile touching his lips. Without a word, he stood up and followed Bald Head and his men into the Jinbei van.
As for the wound on his chest, he had already used some of the techniques from his new legacy to treat it. The bleeding had stopped and it was already beginning to heal. It didn't bother him much, though it still looked frightening.
Bald Head glanced at Chen Fei, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected the kid to be so calm with such a nasty injury. It was a little unnerving.
Is this kid in the business, too? Bald Head wondered. Otherwise, how could he be so nonchalant with a wound that big on his chest?
Still, the thought didn't worry him for long. There were several of them. What was there to fear from a single kid?
Once they were in the van, Bald Head shot Chen Fei a cold smirk. "Kid, you look like you know how things work, so I'll make it easy on you. Leave the cash, but you can keep a thousand for yourself. Then get lost. Hurry it up."
"You want it?" Chen Fei said, a small smile playing on his lips as he looked at Bald Head's shiny pate. "Come and get it."
"Damn it! I was feeling generous, letting you keep a grand, and you have to get smart with me?" Bald Head's face contorted with rage at Chen Fei's mocking tone. "Looks like you have a death wish!" He bellowed at his men, "What are you idiots staring at? Waste him!"