A little over four minutes passed quickly, but Lin Qingxuan's condition still hadn't improved. However, that was only on the surface. It was the final frenzy of the Cold Poison; in reality, most of the Cold Poison within Lin Qingxuan's body had already been cleared away.
Lin Qingxuan knew this as well, but she was currently unable to speak. The conflicting hot and cold energies were stuck in her throat, preventing her from making a sound.
"Hmph! Just as I thought. You just wanted to take advantage of our Miss. You're nothing but a complete fraud! Chop off his hands!" Assistant Qin snorted coldly.
Yang Qi sighed as he glanced at the time. Five minutes were almost up. He couldn't just stand by and wait for his doom.
A bodyguard seized Yang Qi's arm. These guards were clearly trained fighters, with thick, powerful arms. In contrast, Yang Qi's arms seemed somewhat slender—fitting for a researcher, after all.
Suddenly, with a strangled cry, Lin Qingxuan spat out a large mouthful of blood from her position on the ground. It was a dark, brownish color. At the same time, the frost covering her body began to rapidly recede.
"Stop!" Lin Qingxuan finally managed to speak.
The knife in the bodyguard's hand froze in mid-air.
"Miss!" Seeing that Lin Qingxuan was all right, Assistant Qin cried out in excitement.
"What is this nonsense? What are you doing to... Mr. Yang?"
Lin Qingxuan stood up. She had wanted to call him by his name, Yang Qi. After their connection, she felt closer to him, but fearing it would cause a misunderstanding, she settled on "Mr. Yang." She now felt incredibly light and relaxed. In the past, even with the medicine given by that Master, she could only slow the invasion of the Cold Poison. But now, she felt completely refreshed, as if there had never been anything wrong with her at all.
To think that this Yang Qi actually possessed such immortal-like abilities. For over twenty years, besides the first Master, no one else had been able to help her. Yet now, she had been saved by a man everyone called a fraud. And this was the same man she had shared a night with.
Could this be some wondrous twist of fate?
"Miss, this punk took advantage of you! I'll chop off his hands!" the bodyguard said.
"Put it down!" Lin Qingxuan ordered coldly. "Assistant Qin, and all of you, apologize to Mr. Yang!"
"Apologize to him?" Assistant Qin frowned. Apologize to a fraud like him? She couldn't accept it.
"Do my words mean nothing now?" Lin Qingxuan's voice grew even colder.
"No, that's not it!" Assistant Qin hurriedly turned to Yang Qi. "Mr. Yang, my apologies. I shouldn't have called you a fraud."
The other bodyguards who had moved against him also apologized one after another.
"It's fine. They were only trying to protect you, so there's no need for apologies," Yang Qi said, before his tone shifted. "However, Assistant Qin, I really dislike being called a fraud. I hope this is the first and only time. Otherwise, don't blame me for not being so courteous."
Assistant Qin sneered inwardly with disdain. A fraud is a fraud. What's there to be so cocky about? If the Miss weren't here, she never would have apologized.
"Miss, you gave me this card. It had one million in it. I've used one hundred, and I'm returning the rest to you. Also, here's one hundred to reimburse you for what I spent. I'm not that kind of person!" Yang Qi said as he took out the bank card and one hundred in cash, handing them to Lin Qingxuan.
"You can just call me Qingxuan," Lin Qingxuan said. "Assistant Qin, take the money."
She could tell Yang Qi was a very proud man. He wouldn't appreciate charity; in fact, he would likely find it annoying and repulsive. So, she had to accept the money. If she truly wanted to help him, there would be plenty of other opportunities in the future. It didn't have to be a direct handout of cash.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to my residence," Lin Qingxuan said. "I have questions for you."
"Alright." Yang Qi nodded. He had many things he wanted to say as well.
Although Assistant Qin and the others were reluctant, it was an order from Lin Qingxuan, and they dared not disobey. They all got into the cars.
Twenty minutes later, they drove into a manor in Kang City. The manor was vast and lavish, far more extravagant than the current Li Family estate.
This led Yang Qi to speculate about Lin Qingxuan's identity. He'd heard that the eldest young lady of the Jingzhou Lin Family, also named Lin Qingxuan, had come to Kang City. The same name, the same apparent wealth... it couldn't be a mere coincidence, could it?
In the living room, only Lin Qingxuan and Yang Qi remained.
Yang Qi asked curiously, "You must be the eldest young lady of the Lin Family from Jingzhou, correct?"
"You're quite clever, figuring it out so quickly," Lin Qingxuan said with a smile.
"As a businessman, one naturally learns about the major families in Jingzhou, especially a behemoth like the Lin Family," Yang Qi said. "Also, Miss Qingxuan, about last night, I... I..."
The mention of last night made Lin Qingxuan's heart tense up. She feigned calmness and quickly changed the subject, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Let's just consider it a beautiful mistake and forget about it. I'm more curious as to how your Medical Skills are so superb."
"It's just a minor skill; I still have a long way to go. Your Cold Poison must have been suppressed and managed with elixirs for the past twenty-some years. If not for that, you wouldn't have survived to this day. The person you should truly thank is the Master who refined the Cold Dispelling Pill for you," Yang Qi said. "Also, that night might just be a mistake to you, but for me, it's something I'll likely never forget. They say that men turn bad when they get rich, but even when I was worth a billion, I never once thought of betraying my wife. How laughable that I was the one who ended up being cuckolded. You're the first woman I've ever had a one-night stand with. It may have been brief, but the memory runs deep."
"But I was just using you!" Lin Qingxuan said, looking into his eyes. For some reason, she was terrified he would get angry. This feeling was so strange. She had never been this cautious around a man before.
"Whether you were using me or not doesn't matter. You gave me your virginity, so I must take responsibility for you," Yang Qi shook his head. "I'm a man. I can't just sleep with you and then pretend it never happened. But don't worry, I won't pester you, nor will I go telling everyone about it. I respect your choice."
A warmth spread through Lin Qingxuan's heart. Although she had never expected him to take responsibility, she still cared about what kind of man she had given her body to. The more exceptional Yang Qi proved to be, the more at ease she felt.
"You're an interesting man," Lin Qingxuan said with a laugh. "And very sincere. I don't dislike you one bit. You're right not to speak recklessly. Otherwise, the Lin Family probably wouldn't let you off the hook. You might have ended up as a corpse the very next day."
"I understand. The Lin Family of Jingzhou possesses overwhelming power; they could easily crush not just me, but even the Zhang Family. But I'm not keeping quiet because I'm afraid. It's mainly because I don't want to hurt you. After all, you're a woman, and something like this would damage your reputation far more," Yang Qi said with a nod.