Ever since learning from Cliff Fu about the wounded assassin, Ian Song had felt restless and uneasy.
What’s more, Cliff Fu’s attitude was extremely ambiguous.
Why invite him for tea? Why tell him about Justin Nangong’s stabbing?
Is he suspecting I’m connected to that assassin?
Thinking about this, Ian grew more cautious. Sure, Cliff Fu had helped save his uncle and clearly wanted to win him over, but you can never be too careful. As his mental strength kept rising, Ian found his thoughts growing clearer, and he saw through things more easily than ever.
Suddenly, Ian remembered something else—today, Zach Zhang, Leo Li, Eric Xie, and Jason Zhang hadn’t shown up at school.
Could something have happened to them?
With that thought, he pulled out his phone and dialed Zach Zhang.
After a while, Zach finally picked up. His voice sounded weak, with a hint of distance: “Hey, boss, what’s up?”
“Why didn’t you guys come to class today?” Ian asked, feeling a little uneasy himself. It was obvious Zach was holding a grudge because of Zoey Su.
“It’s nothing. We just had too much fun last night and drank way too much. When we woke up it was already noon, so we just skipped school. Don’t worry, though—I already had my dad call Hannah Han to ask for leave.” Zach tried to sound casual.
“Why won’t you tell me the truth, even now? Just say it—where are you guys? I’m coming over.” Ian said, voice firm.
“Boss, seriously, it’s nothing. We just drank too much.” Zach’s tone was defensive.
“Zach, if you still see me as your boss, just tell me—where are you?” Ian couldn’t help but raise his voice, a little annoyed at Zach’s lack of trust.
“Alright, boss. We’re at Riverstone Second Hospital, inpatient department, sixth floor.”
“Okay, got it.”
After hanging up, Ian hailed a cab and headed straight for Riverstone Second Hospital.
In the ward, Zach put away his phone and glanced at the other three—Leo Li, Eric Xie, and Jason Zhang—who all had bandages wrapped around their heads just like him. “Boss is coming over,” he announced.
The three looked nervous. Leo Li asked, “Boss won’t be mad we didn’t tell him, right?”
Eric Xie said, “He probably won’t. We’re all so miserable right now, I doubt he’ll have the heart to scold us.”
Jason Zhang nodded in agreement. “Man, if Boss had come with us last night, with his skills, we wouldn’t have all gotten wrecked!” As he said this, he remembered that scene at Fortune Delight Restaurant—Boss taking on more than thirty people by himself and coming out on top. That was seriously badass.
Twenty minutes later, Ian appeared at the door of the hospital ward.
With one glance, he saw all four of them with bandages on their heads and couldn’t help but tease, “Well, what happened here? Did you go looking for Eastern Island girls, or did you run into a bunch of tigresses?”
“Boss, we were wrong!”
All four hung their heads like obedient kids, admitting their mistake.
Ian had been a little angry at first, but seeing them like this, he couldn’t stay mad. “Jason, you tell me—what really happened?”
Jason was never good at keeping secrets, which was exactly why Ian asked him.
Sure enough, as soon as Ian asked, Jason spilled everything without holding back.
Turns out, the four of them went to Paris Peninsula yesterday and insisted on booking Eastern Island girls. The problem was, those girls were so popular there were only two left, and another group wanted them too.
So the two sides started arguing, and before anyone knew it, it turned into a full-blown brawl.
The other group only had three people, but they were all big, burly adults. In the end, they smashed ashtrays over the boys’ heads.
After that, the staff at Paris Peninsula sent them to the hospital.
Since it was way too embarrassing, none of them dared tell their families. Instead, they made up excuses and had their parents call Hannah Han to ask for leave.
After hearing the whole story, Ian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He went to ask the doctor, who confirmed their injuries weren’t serious—just superficial wounds. Clearly, the other side had held back, and they’d be discharged in two or three days.
Back in the ward, Ian called Zach out into the corridor. “Zach, come here—I need to talk to you.”
“Boss.” Zach looked at Ian nervously, eyes flickering with unease.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Zoey Su. Yesterday she just asked me for a favor, that’s all. So don’t overthink it.” Ian explained directly.
Zach hadn’t expected Ian to explain, and was both touched and a little ashamed. “Sorry, boss. I jumped to conclusions and misunderstood you.”
“It’s fine. We’re brothers—just say what’s on your mind.” Ian patted Zach on the shoulder.
“Okay, got it, Boss.”
Ian stayed in the ward with the four for a few hours, then headed back to the dorm to keep searching online for Eastern Medicine knowledge.
There was plenty of Eastern Medicine info online, but it was messy and full of mistakes.
Thanks to his Comprehension skill, he could master almost everything he read about Eastern Medicine—and spot the errors too.
“Tomorrow I’ll check the library and see if I can find some real medical classics!”
At two in the morning, Ian sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating the Origin-Nurturing Scripture. Ever since becoming an Innate martial artist, his energy had been off the charts—even sleeping only two hours a night, he still felt refreshed the next day.
At nine thirty the next morning, an international flight landed at Twin Rivers Airport, capital of Tianhe State.
A tall, handsome blond man stepped out of the airport, hailed a cab, and headed straight for Riverstone City.
Two hours later.
The blond man arrived at a forest on the outskirts of Riverstone City, checked something on his phone, walked quickly to a spot among the trees, and started digging with a knife.
Soon, he dug up a black bag. Opening it, he found a decayed, foul-smelling head inside.
But the blond man didn’t seem to notice the stench at all. He stared at the head for several seconds, then murmured, “Foolish Hans, you ended up dead at Blood Rose’s hands. What I can’t figure out is, Blood Rose was seriously injured—how did she manage to kill you?”
Were you really dumber than a pig? Still, no matter what, you were my brother. I’ll take Black Rose’s head to honor you.”
…………
Before he knew it, school was over. Hannah Han called out sternly to Ian, “Ian, come to the office.”
Once in the office, Ian looked at Hannah Han, puzzled. He’d been well-behaved today and hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Ian, did you forget our agreement?” Hannah Han asked seriously.
“What agreement?” Ian blurted out, but immediately remembered—he’d promised Hannah Han to cook for her once every three days. He’d thought she was just joking, but clearly she meant it.
“What, you want to back out?” Hannah Han stood up, glaring fiercely at him.
“No way! I’ll go buy groceries right now.” Ian said quickly.
“Stop right there.” Hannah Han called out just as Ian turned to leave.
“Yes, ma’am! What else do you need from your humble servant?”
Hannah Han couldn’t help but laugh at Ian’s antics. “No need to buy groceries—I already got them.”