"Block me? I'll kill you right now!" Ryan Ling snarled, his killing intent spiking instantly.
With his brother's life hanging by a thread, there was zero room for hesitation.
"Ryan, calm down, seriously—don't lose it! The Hong Kong Huo Clan is insanely powerful, they're one of the Four Great Families on Hong Kong Island. Even the national government gives them major face!" Angie Chen, born into a top family herself, clearly knew the score. If Ryan started a fight now, it would be a total disaster.
Angie’s intervention prompted the Taiyi Sect and Golden Sword Gate folks to step up and try to talk Ryan down as well.
"Master Ling, please, don't do anything rash. Miss Angie is right—the Hong Kong Huo Clan is crazy strong, their reach is huge, and I've heard they even have Void-Realm experts. You really don't want to mess with them!"
"Exactly, Daoist Master Xuanlong’s right. The Huo Clan isn’t just any family—they’ve got mercenaries in Europe, and their ranks are packed with experts. Even the Azure Dragon Society has to show them respect!"
......
Hearing all this, Ryan managed to steady himself a little, but his face was still dark as hell.
"Ryan, don’t worry, I’ll handle this. I promised you guys, so I’m sticking to it!" Cindy Sun clearly felt bad, bit her lip, and hurried over to the Huo Clan’s gatekeeping bodyguards.
"These are all my friends—let them in!"
Cindy said it straight out.
But as soon as she finished, the Huo Clan guards just snorted and didn’t budge an inch.
"Your Huo Clan might be loaded, but you still need to play fair. This is Sun family turf, you know. If you push me too far, I swear I’ll mess up your young master’s treatment—wanna test me?" Cindy was getting desperate, her face turning purple from anger.
A few Huo Clan guys looked a little shaken by that, but they still didn’t move.
At that moment, Sophie Su couldn’t help but shout, “It’s bad—Old Yuan’s coughing up blood again, way worse than before!”
"Damn it..." Jason Lin and Harvey "Million" Jin’s fists were cracking with tension.
Ryan’s eyes went blood-red, killing intent surging over his head.
"You guys are way out of line!" Cindy roared, and a bunch of Divine Medicine Valley’s herbal farmers came out to see what was up.
"Akun, aren’t we going a little too far here?" One of the Huo Clan guards finally couldn’t help speaking up.
"Fine, let the injured guy in. The rest of you—no way!" Akun snorted.
"What? Are you brain-dead or just full of crap? The injured guy can barely move—how do you expect him to go in alone? You bastard!"
"Are you trying to get yourselves killed? So what if you're the Hong Kong Huo Clan? If anything happens to my brother here, I'll kill every last one of you!"
In a flash, Jason Lin, Harvey "Million" Jin, Frank Qin, and the rest all drew their blades. After everything they'd been through together, their brotherhood was way deeper than most people could imagine.
"You inland bumpkins, letting the injured guy in is already a massive favor. And now you wanna pull knives on us? Go ahead, try it if you dare!"
"Yeah, either the injured guy goes in alone, or all of you get lost. I don't have time to babysit a bunch of bumpkins!"
A few Huo Clan guys started yelling, their attitude hitting peak arrogance.
"You're asking for it!" Ryan finally snapped. Not even the Azure Dragon Society had ever pissed him off like this. He flicked his finger.
Bang! One of the loudest-mouthed Huo Clan guys went flying across the yard.
"Unbelievable! No one's ever dared lay a finger on the Huo Clan in Jiangdong. Kid, you're something else. What's your name?" Akun, the leader, ground his teeth so hard you could hear it.
"My name? You don't deserve to know. Now get lost before I kill you myself. Scram!" Ryan spat. Akun hurriedly retreated, yelling threats as he went.
"Kid, you're dead. Just wait!"
"Ryan..." Angie Chen’s face was ghostly pale, her nerves shot.
The Taiyi Sect and Golden Sword Gate people wanted to say something, but Ryan cut them off.
"Don't say a word. Whatever happens, I'll take it all on myself. Let's get inside first!" Ryan shot a look at Jason Lin and Harvey Jin, and the brothers hoisted Warren Yuan and headed straight in.
Today, no matter who it was, if they dared hold up his brother’s treatment, Ryan wasn’t letting them off easy!
......
Inside Divine Medicine Valley, past the corridor, it was like stepping into paradise—fragrant with herbs, instantly refreshing.
But up ahead, a whole group of people were eyeing them like prey—clearly more Huo Clan members.
"Play it by ear!" Ryan knew the Huo Clan was bad news, but since he’d already gotten into it with them, there was no backing down. They’d just gone way too far.
"Got it!" The brothers nodded, not scared at all. Warren Yuan was gritting his teeth, face pale as a ghost.
"Well, well, kid's got guts—dared to hit a Hong Kong Huo Clan member, huh? Looks like East River State’s really churning out new talent this year. Guess we've let things slide too long in the mainland. Today, somebody’s gotta bleed!" Ryan stepped forward, and Lady Four Huo smirked from behind the crowd.
The moment she said that, the rest of the Huo Clan all clenched their fists.
Ryan swept his cold gaze over them. Honestly, these people weren’t even worth his time.
If he went all out, he could send every one of them to the afterlife in under thirty seconds.
"Lady Four, this is my turf, and these folks are my daughter's honored guests. Blocking them like this—is that really necessary?" The bearded middle-aged man spoke up—no question, it was Simon Sun, the Modern Medicine King.
"Uncle-in-law, it's me, Angie. We only fought because we had no choice—these people are just too much!" Angie Chen jumped in, quick and direct.
"Angie, that's enough—I get it!" Simon Sun waved her off, then turned to Lady Four. "You heard her. I hope you'll give me some face and let it go. I'll personally treat the injured Huo Clan member."
(This chapter isn't over yet! Click next page to keep reading!)
"Give you face? How much is your 'face' worth?" Lady Four Huo shot Simon Sun a glare.
"You—" Simon Sun started to point, but bit back his words and dropped his hand, swallowing his anger.
Ryan was surprised. Simon Sun was supposed to be Dragonridge’s Medicine King, famous for his wild temper and never giving anyone face. Even the Huo Clan shouldn’t be able to cow him like this—clearly, they were holding something over him.
"Fine, since there are outsiders here, I’ll give you a little face. I won’t kill the kid today—just chop off one of his legs, and we’ll call it even!" Lady Four Huo snorted, as if she was doing Simon Sun a favor.
But Simon Sun’s face just got even uglier.
"Dad, you can’t chop Ryan’s leg!" Cindy Sun panicked.
In that instant, Ryan gritted his teeth, itching to flay Lady Four alive.
But Angie Chen quickly pulled out a rare Eastern Pearl, walked up to Lady Four, and said, "Hello, Lady Four, I'm Angie Chen, only daughter of Jinbiao Chen from the provincial capital. Last year my father personally visited Master Huo and gifted you a century-old ginseng—remember? Today, this is all our fault. Our friend was badly hurt and lost his temper. This little thing is just a token—please, have mercy. It's great for beauty, grind it up and use it as a face powder, you'll look ten years younger, even more gorgeous than before."
"You’re Jinbiao Chen’s daughter? Heh." Lady Four Huo smiled, took the Eastern Pearl, and her tone softened. "Smart girl, sweet talker too."
"Lady Four, Angie’s my niece—this was all a misunderstanding. Please, be the bigger person and let them go." Simon Sun pleaded.
"Fine, whatever!" Lady Four Huo shot Ryan a look. "This time, I’ll let you off. Guess you got lucky, kid. Now all of you—get out of here! Don’t let me see you again! Scram!"
Ryan clenched his fists, barely holding back his rage. He turned to Simon Sun: "Senior Sun, my brother’s dying—please, help him now!"
"Alright, let me take a look!" Simon Sun hurried over.
But just then, Lady Four Huo slammed the table, jumped up, and pointed at Ryan: "Little bastard, I told you to get out! Are you deaf?"