"My son!"
Wang Zhenlin, who was standing nearby, finally reacted. He grabbed Sophie with both hands, lifted her up, and slammed her violently onto the ground.
Sophie let out a soft groan and then fell silent.
"Dad! Dad! It hurts! It hurts so much, I'm dying..."
Wang Junhao's hands fumbled, trying to press down on the source of his agony, but he couldn't find a place to touch. The pain, so deep it felt like it was in his bones, caused him to pass out.
"Junhao!!!"
Wang Zhenlin's face was a mask of fury. This was a man whose mere stomp could make Jizhou tremble, yet now he was utterly helpless.
Jiang Xinghai!
The one who caused all of this... Jiang Xinghai!
"Oh my, how could you be so careless?"
Jiang Xinghai's voice, however, was filled with concern. "Patriarch Wang, I have a needle that can bring the dead back to life and grow flesh on white bones..."
"I'll agree! Please, Mr. Jiang, save my son again! Even if it costs a hundred million, I'm willing!"
Wang Zhenlin forced down the rage threatening to erupt from his chest, speaking one word at a time.
'He had no choice. Right now, only Jiang Xinghai could save his son!'
'All I need to do is suppress my fury, patiently wait for my son to be healed, and then wait for my father—who is already a Grandmaster—to appear. Then, I will have this heaven-defyingly arrogant Jiang Xinghai dismembered!'
'Definitely!!!'
"How unfortunate. I just remembered I have something else to do."
Jiang Xinghai gave a mock-helpless shrug. "Of course, out of respect for you, Wang Zhenlin, I'll pay a visit to the Wang Family residence at ten tonight. Take your beast of a son home and wait for me."
"Mr. Jiang!"
Wang Zhenlin's whole body was trembling from the effort of restraining his anger.
"Rest assured. My word is my bond. I will be there at ten o'clock sharp." Jiang Xinghai left without a backward glance.
Wang Zhenlin watched helplessly as Jiang Xinghai walked away, the rage in his chest no longer bearable.
"AHHH!!!"
His heaven-shaking roar instantly shattered the windowpanes.
'The Wang Family is one of the Four Great Martial Arts Clans of Jizhou!'
'In Jizhou, my word has always been law! I could do whatever I wanted!'
'When have I ever suffered such humiliation?'
"Jiang! Xing! Hai!"
"After my son is healed, I will make you pay for this in blood!"
"Then, I'll take your head to the Jiang Family and wipe them off the map!"
"And the Shen Family! They are doomed to be annihilated overnight because of this!"
Wang Zhenlin's face was ashen, veins bulging on his forehead. "Someone! Investigate the Jiang and Shen families immediately! Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!"
After making the arrangements, he received a phone call.
"Patriarch, the Old Master has just come out of seclusion. We are heading to the hospital now," a Wang Family bodyguard reported urgently.
"There's no need for my father to come. I'm heading home immediately." Wang Zhenlin took a deep breath.
"Zhenlin, what in the world happened?"
A voice, weathered with age and tinged with anger, came through the phone. It was the backbone of the Wang Family, Wang Enkui.
"Father, there's a young man whose strength is at least at the Grandmaster level..."
Upon hearing his father's voice, Wang Zhenlin quickly recounted the preceding events without omitting a single detail.
"Jiang Xinghai? A young man? A Grandmaster? And with decent medical skills?"
Wang Enkui was momentarily stunned, then his eyes flashed with a sharp glint. "That's right. If he could kill a Master under my Wang Family with a single slap, then his strength must have reached the Grandmaster realm."
"Father, he's coming to our home at ten tonight. At that time, you..."
"After he cures Junhao, we will, of course, tear him to shreds!"
A sudden chill flashed in Wang Enkui's eyes. "For someone so young to have the cultivation of a Grandmaster, I, this old man, admit he is a prodigious talent. If he hadn't humiliated our Wang Family so, I might have even considered becoming friends with him despite our age gap... What a pity. This boy absolutely cannot be allowed to live!"
"Father, should we notify the Old Ancestor cultivating on Fengyang Mountain?" Wang Zhenlin suddenly asked.
"Must we bother the Old Ancestor over such a trivial matter?"
Wang Enkui barked, declaring with utmost confidence, "Although he is a Grandmaster, how high a layer could he have reached at such a young age? The Third Layer at most. And I, this old man, am now a Sixth Layer Grandmaster!"
"You've reached the Sixth Layer, Father? Wonderful! That's wonderful! I'm coming home right away."
Wang Zhenlin hung up the phone, the heavy weight on his heart finally lifting.
'In Jizhou, a Sixth Layer Grandmaster is practically a god among men!'
'Dealing with a single Jiang Xinghai will be a piece of cake!'
...
After leaving the hospital, Jiang Xinghai drove straight to Jishi Hall.
He had promised to give Feng Lulu a free acupuncture and massage session, and he couldn't go back on his word.
It wouldn't be too late to visit the Shen Family after he was done here.
'I have to find out the truth about what happened five years ago as soon as possible!'
'Back then, my parents met with disaster, and I was saved by Shen Lingxue. After that, I never heard any news of my parents again!'
Soon, Jiang Xinghai arrived at Jishi Hall.
In front of the counter, only Feng Lulu was there, bored and playing on her phone.
"Miss Feng, sorry to keep you waiting. You've washed up as I instructed, right? Then let's begin."
Jiang Xinghai strolled in as if taking a leisurely walk in a courtyard, scanned the pharmacy's layout, and pointed to a treatment bed in the corner.
"Could you please not be so blunt?"
Feng Lulu glared at Jiang Xinghai, annoyed, but forced herself to remain calm and said, "It's lunchtime right now. My aunt is upstairs making lunch. After we eat together, I'll go wash up..."
"Then I suppose I have no choice but to reluctantly agree."
Jiang Xinghai smiled meaningfully. "I'll head upstairs first to see what delicacies are being prepared. You don't mind, do you?"
"Go on, then. And while you're at it, help my aunt bring the food down!"
Feng Lulu pouted with her red lips, watching as Jiang Xinghai headed up to the second floor.
Jishi Hall had two floors: the ground floor was for business, and the second floor was the living area.
"Smells delicious!"
Jiang Xinghai took an appreciative sniff through the screen door.
"May I come in?"
Being a first-time visitor, he didn't barge in. He knocked on the already open door.
There was no response, only the sound of stir-frying from the kitchen.
"Good afternoon. Sorry to drop in unannounced. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
Jiang Xinghai smiled kindly at Lin Liping, who was wearing an apron.
"You're... Mr. Jiang!"
Seeing Jiang Xinghai again, Lin Liping's mind immediately flashed to the wonders of that breast enhancement formula. She excitedly took off her apron and walked over.
"Hello," Jiang Xinghai nodded.
"Mr. Jiang, please, have a seat!" Lin Liping very enthusiastically ushered Jiang Xinghai to the sofa.
Then, she plopped down right next to Jiang Xinghai, her eyes holding a peculiar gleam.
Since they were both dressed for the summer heat, the close proximity created a subtle, charged atmosphere between them.
"Mr. Jiang, I heard from Lulu that you're going to give her an acupuncture massage that can increase her cup size in a short time. Would it be possible for me to observe your medical technique?" Lin Liping lowered her head, her face blushing beet red.