The cool beauty forcibly bids for top A: Chapter 29

The sign for Chen’s Fragrant Meat hung between two moldy electric wires, so blackened by grease and smoke that its original background color had long since vanished.

In front of the stall, the contact person was a shirtless, one-eyed man. Hearing footsteps, the man raised his cloudy, single eye and swept a sinister glare across them.

His gaze skipped right over Sanqianwan and greedily glued itself to Shen Yanzhou’s face, which exuded an undeniable nobility even through a face mask.

“Mr. Shen, right? Pretty punctual.” The one-eyed man casually grabbed a dirty towel draped around his neck, wiped the oil and blood off his hands, and grinned to reveal a mouthful of rotten teeth stained yellow from smoking.

Shen Yanzhou cast a cold glance at him and stepped forward to walk inside.

“Hold it.” The one-eyed man swung his knife horizontally, blocking the path.

“Mr. Shen can go in.” The one-eyed man pointed the tip of his blade at Sanqianwan, who followed closely behind Shen Yanzhou, and sneered. “But this dog has to stay outside.”

Beneath his cuffs, the veins on the back of Sanqianwan’s hands bulged. He was completely prepared to crush the man to pieces, but Shen Yanzhou stopped him.

“Don’t move,” Shen Yanzhou said very softly.

The man glanced at Shen Yanzhou and forced his murderous intent back down his throat, though his eyes remained locked onto the one-eyed man’s neck.

The glare made the one-eyed man’s skin crawl. He withdrew his knife while muttering curses and spat on the ground.

“Damn, what a fierce look. But if you want to go in, you still have to pass one final test.”

“Body search.” Two lackeys with fully tattooed arms emerged from the shadows and closed in with malicious intentions.

“Sorry about this, Mr. Shen. These days, everyone is just trying to make a living. You can never be too careful.”

Shen Yanzhou did not resist. Since he dared to come alone, he had already prepared himself.

The lackeys kept their hands far from proper. Pressing through his suit jacket, they groped heavily along his lean waistline and even intentionally lingered on the outer sides of his long thighs.

Standing three paces away, bloodshot veins flared terrifyingly in Sanqianwan’s eyes.

Yet he did not move.

Because he saw Shen Yanzhou turn his head and give him an incredibly faint, reassuring glance.

“Oh, he really is carrying heat,” a lackey whistled, pulling a Browning pistol from Shen Yanzhou’s lower back.

“Nice piece.” The one-eyed man snatched the pistol away, weighed it in his hand, and expertly ejected the magazine. Looking at the bright yellow bullets inside, he let out a mocking laugh. “Is Mr. Shen here to talk business, or are you trying to wipe us all out at once?”

“Just for self defense,” Shen Yanzhou replied, his expression unchanging. “After all, there are too many stray dogs in this place.”

“Humph, get inside then.” The one-eyed man casually tossed the gun into a nearby slop bucket.

With his hand on the doorknob, Shen Yanzhou turned around and looked at the man standing in the shadow of the awning.

“Sanqianwan,” he said.

“I am here,” he replied.

“Wait for me here.” After saying that, Shen Yanzhou pushed open the iron door and walked down into the basement below.

The one-eyed man went back to chopping bloody dog meat on the side, his cloudy, single eye staring lewdly at the closed iron door while he muttered filthy fantasies. “Tsk tsk, that waist is so thin. If he gets pinned down on a bed, I wonder if he could even take the boss’s methods. I bet he would scream so…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the man clamped a hand around his throat. A crushing grip nearly shattered his windpipe as the man violently slammed his two hundred pound body onto the ground. None of the surrounding lackeys dared to move a finger.

The impact left the one-eyed man feeling as though all his internal organs were displaced. He widened his remaining eye in sheer terror, meeting a pair of completely cold, dark eyes.

Sanqianwan removed his mask, revealing an incredibly sinister face. He stepped directly onto the one-eyed man’s good eye. As the pressure from his foot increased, blood slowly began to seep from the corner of the man’s eye.

“It looks to me like you don’t want this other eye either.”

The iron door to the basement was unlocked, likely because they were completely certain that Shen Yanzhou could not escape even if he grew wings.

The interior was a slaughterhouse. The hooks hanging from the ceiling were empty, except for the very center, where a person hung.

Shen Xici was suspended in midair with his hands tied behind his back, his toes barely touching the ground. His clothes had long been shredded to pieces by a whip, the fabric embedded deep into his flesh as blood dripped down his pant legs onto the concrete floor.

Hearing the door open, Shen Xici, who had already passed out, fluttered his eyelashes and forced open a tiny slit of his eyes with great effort.

When that familiar, cold silver gaze entered his sight, his unfocused pupils brightened slightly.

“Brother…” A broken whisper caught in his throat.

Shen Xici shook his head desperately, wanting his brother to leave quickly, but he found it difficult to move even a single finger. Shame and fear overwhelmed him in an instant. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to see him at the mercy of others like a dying dog, let alone drag his brother into this filthy quagmire because of him.

Shen Yanzhou stopped his steps. His gaze lingered for a moment on Shen Xici’s bloody, mangled body, and he gave him a reassuring smile.

Then, he slowly shifted his eyes to look at the man sitting on a leather sofa.

On the way from the Mid Levels villa to the Walled City, Shen Yanzhou had thought of many people who might kidnap Shen Xici, so he was not surprised to see the man in front of him.

The seated man was the second young master of the Huo family, Huo Tian.

Whether during their student days or in the business world, this man had always been his arch nemesis.

Huo Tian wore a black suit and gold rimmed glasses, looking every bit the elite gentleman, yet the three or four scantily clad Omegas surrounding him completely exposed his true nature as a hypocritical scumbag.

The one on the left was kneeling on the floor massaging his legs, the one on the right held red wine in their mouth to pass it directly into his, and he held another one in his arms who was trembling while peeling grapes.

“Clap, clap, clap.” Huo Tian pushed away the Omega offering wine and clapped his hands, his gaze playful and venomous. “What great courage, beautiful Master Shen.”

Sunk deep into his nest of pleasures, one of his hands casually squeezed the Omega in his arms, drawing out a suppressed cry of pain from the person. Yet his eyes were fixed on Shen Yanzhou. Seeing that cold, aloof gaze that treated everyone like garbage only made him grow more impatient.

“It has been a few months, Mr. Shen.” Huo Tian blew a smoke ring and grinned. “Still acting like a corpse, high and mighty. What, do you think my place is too dirty?”

Shen Yanzhou ignored him, walked toward an empty iron chair in the corner, wiped it repeatedly, and tossed it right by Huo Tian’s feet. Then, he sat down, drew a slender cigarette from his coat, and lowered his head to place it between his lips.

Shen Yanzhou took a deep drag and slowly blew a cloud of pale blue smoke straight at Huo Tian’s handsome face.

“Second master Huo, your place is just like you.”

“Equally dirty, equally foul, and equally… unpresentable.”

The smile on Huo Tian’s face froze.

The surrounding Omegas were too terrified to even breathe loudly, and someone covered their mouth in horror. In their world, no one dared to speak to Huo Tian like that. The last person who did had already been thrown into Victoria Harbour to feed the fish.

“Your tongue is as sharp as always,” Huo Tian sneered, violently shoving the Omega in his arms away. The poor creature crashed heavily against the corner of the coffee table, curling up in pain but not daring to make a sound.

“But no matter how high your position or how grand your family background, at the end of the day, you are still just an Omega.” Huo Tian stood up and approached step by step, his gaze dark and greedy. “The fundamental flaws and desires of an Omega are mostly all the same. You either submit to absolute power, or you submit to an Alpha’s pheromones.”

He drew a file from beneath the table and slammed it down hard in front of Shen Yanzhou.

Written clearly across it were: “Kwai Chung Container Terminal Berths 7-9 Long-Term Lease Agreement” and “Shen’s Shipping Franchise Rights Transfer Document.”

“Shen Yanzhou, the Shen family has held onto that gold mine for far too long. The situation in Southeast Asia has changed now, and profits have tripled. I heard Fu Sihan even approached you personally? Your Shen family clings to those outdated rules and refuses to transport ‘special cargo.’ That is just plain stupid of you.”

“If you won’t ship it, we will.”

“Sign it.” He drew a dagger from his waist and brandished it before Shen Yanzhou’s eyes, the tip of the blade pointing directly at a half dead Shen Xici.

“As long as you hand over those few customs exempt shipping routes, I will release your brother. Otherwise… I will make you watch with your own eyes as I slice off your precious brother’s fingers, one by one, to pickle in liquor.”

Honestly speaking, the Huo family had been doing quite well over the past few years, showing a clear trend of overtaking the Shen family. However, to operate smoothly like a fish in water within this harbor city, hooking up with a big fish like the Fu family was naturally the best option. Yet, no one expected the Fu family to actually arrange a marriage alliance with the Shen family.

Consequently, it was only a matter of time before the Huo family was swallowed whole by the Shen family, and all their efforts would go down the drain. Before that happened, it was better to get rid of Shen Yanzhou first. It was just a shame that Master Lai’s subordinates were utterly useless; those fools couldn’t even manage to engineer a proper car accident.

Shen Yanzhou was watched too closely by his people, which was why Huo Tian targeted Shen Xici instead.

“You think I don’t know you are just stalling for time?” Seeing that Shen Yanzhou remained silent, Huo Tian closed in further.

“Outsiders say that Mr. Shen is cold and heartless, capable of taking charge of the grand scheme without even blinking an eye when his own father dies. But we have known each other for so many years. There are some things that others cannot see through, but I, Huo Tian, see them clear as day.”

“You seem to have a heart of stone, but in reality, you value loyalty and affection above all else.”

“Back then at St. Paul’s Secondary School, my people did nothing more than stuff a few dead mice into Shen Xici’s backpack. Without a single word, you cornered those senior Alphas in an alley with a baseball bat and broke several of their ribs. Old Master Shen suppressed the incident, but I remember it vividly.”

“He is your ultimate boundary, and he is also your weakness.”

At this point, a murderous gleam erupted in Huo Tian’s eyes. Wasting no more breath on Shen Yanzhou, he turned and walked over to Shen Xici. He grabbed a handful of hair soaked in cold sweat and blood, forcing the bruised face to look up.

“Mr. Shen, sign it.”

“I will count to three.”

“One.”

The blade pressed down, slicing through the skin as fresh blood meandered down Shen Xici’s pale neck.

“Brother…” Shen Xici regained consciousness amid the intense pain. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see the sharp blade pressed against his throat and a completely expressionless Shen Yanzhou standing not far away.

“Don’t… don’t sign it.”

“Two.” Huo Tian completely ignored his pleas.

“It seems Mr. Shen still refuses to give in until he faces grim reality,” Huo Tian let out a sinister laugh. “Three…”

“Hold on,” Shen Yanzhou spoke up.

“Second master Huo, you win.”

“Compared to those worldly possessions, I do care more about my brother’s life.” Shen Yanzhou sighed and replied.

“Now that is more like it!” Huo Tian was overjoyed. The greed in his eyes instantly overrode his caution, and he signaled a nearby lackey to toss a pen over.

“If you had been this sensible earlier, why would he have had to suffer this physical torture? Sign it, and I will immediately have a car prepared to send you both back.”

Shen Yanzhou bent down, picked up the cheap ballpoint pen from the floor, and walked toward Huo Tian step by step with the pen and the contract.

“Stop right there!” The two bodyguards behind Huo Tian wanted to step forward.

“Let him come over.” Huo Tian waved his hand with a look of utter disdain. “An unarmed Omega, what kind of trouble could he possibly stir up? I just love watching this kind of untouchable beauty bow down and submit.”

“I will sign the document.” Shen Yanzhou raised his chin, his gaze cutting past Huo Tian to look at Shen Xici, who lay crumpled on the ground. “But I have one condition.”

“Release my brother first.”

“Let him leave.”

Huo Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly finding it amusing. “Mr. Shen, are you bargaining with me? Do you even have the right to negotiate right now?”

“Whether I have the right or not, you are welcome to test it.” Shen Yanzhou’s expression remained calm. “Without my personal signature, this transfer agreement is nothing but a scrap of waste paper. If you don’t release him, then we will die here together. Even if the Shen family loses the two of us, those old foxes on the board of directors will still keep it afloat. But you, Huo Tian…”

He swept a contemptuous gaze across the filthy basement. “If you lose this opportunity, will you ever be able to pick yourself up again?”

Huo Tian’s face darkened. He truly could not afford to lose.

“Fine.” Huo Tian grit his teeth and waved his hand at his men. “Drag that piece of trash out and throw him outside.”

“Brother…”

On the floor, Shen Xici let out a hoarse, sorrowful cry. He tried to struggle, but two lackeys hoisted him up like a dead dog. He turned his head back desperately, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Shen Yanzhou as tears mixed with blood washed over his face:

“Brother! Don’t worry about me! Don’t worry about me!!”

Shen Yanzhou looked at him and said, “Go as far away as possible.”

As the iron door slammed shut heavily, Shen Xici’s screams were cut off outside.

Inside the basement, only an increasingly thick, dangerous atmosphere remained.

“Alright, the eyesore is gone.” Huo Tian’s sinister eyes roamed unscrupulously over Shen Yanzhou’s body. “Mr. Shen, can you sign it now?”

Shen Yanzhou felt a wave of heat wash over him from the violent pheromones of the A-grade Alpha radiating from Huo Tian. Frowning slightly, he raised his hand to adjust his loose collar, finished signing the contract, and handed it over to Huo Tian.

Just at that moment, Huo Tian’s gaze froze.

His vision landed on Shen Yanzhou’s slender neck.

There, due to his previous movement, the collar was slightly open, revealing incredibly intimate, un-faded deep red hickeys on the snow white, delicate skin.

Huo Tian leaned in closer and caught the lingering scent of cedarwood from an S-grade Alpha on him.

“You… slept with someone?”

“Aren’t you a scentless Omega who is completely frigid? Look at you now. How did you let another man turn you into this state!”

“This scent… tsk tsk. It looks like that man kept you well fed. Even your bones exude the flavor of being thoroughly broken in.”

“What business is it of yours? Now that the contract is signed, I am leaving too,” Shen Yanzhou said coldly. He tried to depart, but Huo Tian blocked him.

Huo Tian licked his chapped lips, his eyes growing more crazed. “Since you have already been ridden by another dog, you won’t mind one more like me, right?”

“Let me have a taste too, and see what you are really made of.”

With that, his large, cigar scented hand reached toward Shen Yanzhou’s slender waist, while his other hand roughly unbuckled his own belt. His eyes were full of the pleasure of imminent violence, entirely unbothered by how many people were standing around them.

“Don’t move,” Shen Yanzhou’s voice remained incredibly soft.

“Second master Huo, if you touch me, you will regret it.”

“Oh? Regret what?” Huo Tian shook all over with laughter.

“Shen Yanzhou, let us lay our cards on the table. You knew I have had these thoughts about you since a long time ago, didn’t you?” Huo Tian’s fingers rubbed intimately against Shen Yanzhou’s waistline through the fabric.

“Back then at school, I kept thinking, if I pinned that arrogant face of yours down on a bed, watching you cry your eyes out and beg me to stop, how thrilling would that be?”

“Just thinking about that scene makes me ache like crazy down here.” He made no attempt to hide his physical reaction.

“Tell you what, Mr. Shen. Let us make another deal.” Huo Tian grabbed the signed contract from the table and waved it before Shen Yanzhou’s eyes:

“Give yourself to me for one night. I only need one copy of this contract, and I will give all the rest back to you. How about it?”

“Heh, a sex crazed lunatic.” Shen Yanzhou took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly blew it out, the smoke drifting between the two of them.

“Huo Tian, you didn’t honestly think I would walk into your tiger’s den alone without any preparation, did you?”

Huo Tian lost his focus for a second, looking at him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“Preparation?” Shen Yanzhou smiled and pressed the glowing cigarette butt ruthlessly into the back of Huo Tian’s hand, which was reaching for his waist!

“Ah!” Huo Tian let out a bloody shriek, his entire face twisting in agony.

“You dare burn me?!” Cradling the back of his hand, the madness in his eyes intensified. “But this is truly exciting. I wonder how it will be in bed…”

Before he could finish speaking, footsteps echoed from the doorway. Shen Yanzhou tossed the cigarette butt aside, casually crushing it beneath the tip of his shoe as a cold smirk played on his lips.

He of course had prepared.

How could he really charge into this kind of den completely alone? Before entering the Walled City, he had already arranged for the Shen family bodyguards. Calculating the time, his family’s top bodyguards should be here by now.

“Huo the Second, I told you, if you touch me, you will regret it.” Shen Yanzhou smoothed his cuffs and calmly looked toward the entrance, waiting for the sight of his own bodyguards breaking through the door.

However, when he clearly saw the person who walked in, the smile on Shen Yanzhou’s lips froze completely.

Because the one who walked in was not his group of highly trained bodyguards, but a man wearing a flashy purple suit and playing with a butterfly knife: Jiang Xu.

Behind him followed over a hundred lackeys dressed in black tank tops.

“How… how is it you?” Shock flashed through the depths of Shen Yanzhou’s eyes.

He had clearly called the Shen family’s security team, so why did this information broker show up? And with so many men in tow?

“My, my, it looks like I arrived just in time?” Jiang Xu whistled, stepping over a lackey he had kicked unconscious, and looked at Shen Yanzhou and Huo Tian with a beam.

He effortlessly flipped his knife, and the hundred plus brothers behind him took a synchronized step forward.

“Young Master Huo, your men provoked my brothers. We are going to settle this score properly today.”

“Oh, Mr. Shen is here too. What a rare guest. What brings you to the Walled City for some fun so late at night?”

“A personal grudge?” Shen Yanzhou glanced at the smiling Jiang Xu, then at Huo Tian whose face had turned pale as ash, and let out a very soft laugh.

Although he had no idea why this information broker, Jiang Xu, would suddenly appear with a massive crowd, it did not stop him from leaving right now.

“Since Second master Huo and Boss Jiang still have this messy account to settle, I will take my leave first.”

Shen Yanzhou straightened his slightly disheveled lapels and turned to leave.

“Stop right there!” How could Huo Tian let his easy prey slip away? Cradling the back of his burned hand, he roared with a hideous expression, “Stop him! No one leaves this room today!”

Just as two lackeys were about to move, the butterfly knife in Jiang Xu’s hand moved first, and the hundred or so brothers behind him took another collective step forward.

Jiang Xu stood in front of Shen Yanzhou to shield him, giving Huo Tian a fake smile. “Young Master Huo, I suggest you look after yourself first. There are some people you truly cannot afford to touch.”

Huo Tian could only watch helplessly as Shen Yanzhou walked to the door.

Shen Yanzhou stopped his steps. Without turning around, he merely tilted his face slightly. “Second master Huo, you had better keep that contract safe. However, as for the score of you kidnapping my brother, we have plenty of time ahead to settle it.”

Stepping out the door, Shen Yanzhou saw a pool of blood. The one-eyed contact man was nowhere to be found, leaving only two men sitting face to face.

Shen Xici sat leaning against the wall, covered in blood, while Sanqianwan sat cross-legged opposite him.

A distance of half a meter separated the two of them, one on the left and one on the right.

Hearing footsteps, both of them raised their heads at the same time.

“Brother!” Shen Xici’s eyes lit up. He struggled to stand but collapsed heavily back down due to his leg injury.

Sanqianwan looked at Shen Yanzhou, crossed the distance in a few rapid strides, and pulled him tightly into his embrace. He buried his face in the crook of Shen Yanzhou’s neck, inhaling deeply.

“I told you everything would be fine.” Shen Yanzhou was held a bit too tightly. Sensing that the man’s heart was beating rapidly, he instinctively wanted to raise his hand to pat the back of this large dog.

However, just as his hand reached midair, the movement froze.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Xici leaning against the corner of the wall, his bloodshot and swollen eyes staring fixedly at their embracing figures.

He gave a gentle push to the man buried in the crook of his neck, whispering, “Let go.”

The man released his grip.

Shen Yanzhou squatted down in front of Shen Xici, looking at his brother’s unrecognizable face and continuously bleeding body.

“Xici, are you alright?”

Looking at his brother who was so close at hand, and seeing his completely unharmed face, tears rolled down, mixing with the blood and grime on his skin.

“Brother, I am sorry…”

“What does a small matter like this count for? We have made it through so many hardships before.”

Looking at the lash marks covering Shen Xici’s body, Shen Yanzhou felt deeply distressed. Huo Tian most likely wanted to kidnap him, but finding no opportunity, he targeted Shen Xici instead.

“This won’t do, he is losing blood too quickly. At this rate, he will go into shock before we even reach the Mid Levels.”

Shen Yanzhou turned his head to look at the man.

“Is there a reliable clinic nearby? Somewhere that can perform surgical stitches.”

Sanqianwan really did not care whether this love rival lived or died, but he did not want Shen Yanzhou to be sad over him either. So, he nodded reluctantly. “Yes. Two alleys ahead, there is an unlicensed clinic. Though the doctor has a strange temper, his skill is decent. It won’t kill him.”

“Lead the way.”

Shen Yanzhou bent his waist. “Xici, I will carry you over on my back.”

“Brother…” Shen Xici looked at his brother’s thin back, his eyes burning with tears.

How could he bear to let his brother carry him? His brother’s legs were not well either, and after all the maneuvering and confrontation in the basement just now, his physical energy was likely completely depleted.

Before Shen Xici could utter a word of refusal, Sanqianwan grabbed him by the back of his collar and hoisted him onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

The man looked at Shen Yanzhou and said intimately, “Actually, I noticed it while we were in the car earlier; you kept rubbing your waist. It was all my fault last night. I didn’t hold back and went too hard.”

“Leave this kind of heavy lifting to me.”

Being carried like this made Shen Xici’s stomach churn, and he let out a muffled groan of pain. He did not know if his body hurt more or if his heart did.

“Let us go then.” Shen Yanzhou nodded. Carrying Shen Xici really would have been a bit too much for him.

“Wait.” The man suddenly stopped his steps.

He freed up one hand and held it out before Shen Yanzhou, palm upward.

“What is it?” Shen Yanzhou was puzzled.

“The streetlights here are too dim, and the ground is uneven, covered in gravel.”

“Give me your hand.” While the love rival on his shoulder was bleeding in agony, he still had the peace of mind to worry about whether Shen Yanzhou would trip over the gravel.

Shen Yanzhou looked at his hand and placed his own into it.

The man’s lips curled into a smile. He flipped his hand to clasp that noble hand firmly within his palm, aligning them perfectly with their fingers tightly interlaced.

After walking for about ten minutes, Sanqianwan stopped in front of a small wooden door plastered with advertisements for “sprains and fractures” and “specialist in venereal diseases.” Without even knocking, he very familiarly raised his leg and kicked the door open.

“Old man, wake up, we have work for you.”

The lighting inside the room was dim, with dried herbs hanging all over the walls, and the air was thick with the pungent, piercing smell of safflower oil.

An old man wearing sunglasses and an old undershirt reclined on a cane chair, waving a battered cattail fan in his hand while a radio played a live broadcast of a horse race.

“Damn it! Which little brat dares kick my door open?”

The old man sat up muttering curses and adjusted his glasses. As he leaned closer and clearly recognized the man’s figure, his cursing stopped abruptly. A brilliant, playful smile blossomed across his heavily wrinkled face like a blooming chrysanthemum.

“Oh? What a rare guest.”

The man strode inside and tossed Shen Xici from his shoulder onto an operating table covered only with a straw mat.

“Cut the crap,” the man said casually, his tone carrying a sense of familiar closeness. “His leg is broken and his flesh is torn to shreds. Stitch him up quickly.”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

The old doctor approached while waving his fan. He was in no hurry to examine the patient; instead, he turned his head first, his shifty little eyes hidden behind his sunglasses locking onto Shen Yanzhou who followed behind.

Even though Shen Yanzhou’s clothes were disheveled and his face was smeared with a bit of dust at this moment, the innate nobility radiating from his very bones could not be hidden by any means.

The old man froze for a second, then recalled something and snapped his head around to look at Sanqianwan.

He pointed at Shen Yanzhou, then at Sanqianwan, the expression on his face turning incredibly dramatic.

“Is this the one…” The old man leaned into the man’s ear, his tone bursting with teasing, and asked stealthily in a voice only the two of them could hear, “The one whose name you kept shouting out in your dreams at night…”

“Ahem.” The man coughed softly, his eyes darting toward Shen Yanzhou.

He was warning the old man again: do not spill my secrets in front of him.

The old man caught his drift, chuckled, and swallowed the rest of his sentence, though the amusement in his eyes could not be hidden at all. He looked Shen Yanzhou up and down, growing more satisfied the more he stared.

“Doctor,” Shen Yanzhou said, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his gaze as he frowned. “Could you look at my brother first?”

“Brother?” The old man raised an eyebrow, glancing at a half dead Shen Xici on the bed, and then at a cold Sanqianwan standing off to the side.

He understood.

“I can look, of course I can look.” The old man unhurriedly put on a pair of gloves. “Since he was brought here by an acquaintance, I must give this handsome young fellow the most beautiful stitching possible.”

Shen Yanzhou simply assumed that Sanqianwan had quite a bit of influence in this area, so he pulled out a check. “Thank you. Use the absolute best for both the anesthesia and anti-inflammatory medicine. Money is no object.”

The old man glanced at the figure on the check, and his eyes instantly went wide.

He was just about to reach out to take it., he felt a gaze staring intently at him from the side.

Sanqianwan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, looking at the old man with a faint smile.

The old doctor’s outstretched hand froze midair.

He knew this kid all too well. Although the brat currently looked like a domesticated golden retriever who treated this person like a precious treasure, how could he let his treasure waste money like this?

“Oh, how embarrassing.” The old doctor withdrew his hand with great reluctance.

“Take this money back. This kid and I… we share a life and death bond. A friend he brings along is a friend of mine. Talking about money ruins the relationship!”

He turned around and picked up a pair of scissors. “Alright, time to get to work.”

Although the old man had a foul mouth, his hands were remarkably nimble.

He didn’t ask for help. he cleaned the wound, applied medicine, stitched it up, and wrapped it in bandages, all in a single fluid motion. Although Shen Xici knit his brows tightly in his unconscious state, fortunately, he did not struggle much; he had likely lost too much blood, and his energy had completely run out long ago.

After more than an hour, Shen Xici’s leg was wrapped up as thickly as a rice dumpling, and his breathing stabilized.

“Alright, he is out of danger now.” The old man took off his gloves, tossed them casually into a nearby metal tray, and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Thank you very much.” Looking at his brother’s peaceful sleeping face, the weight in Shen Yanzhou’s heart finally lifted. He did not want to linger in this place any longer and was about to step forward to help Shen Xici up. “I will take him back home now.”

“Hey, hold on!”

The old man suddenly reached out and blocked Shen Yanzhou.

His little eyes hidden behind the sunglasses rolled around. He glanced out the window at the pitch black night sky, then at Shen Xici who had yet to wake up, putting on an extremely troubled expression.

“It is not that I won’t let you leave, but this young fellow just finished getting his stitches. The anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet, and his body is extremely frail. If you drag him back now, what if the bumpy road causes his stitches to burst open or sets off a high fever? That could be fatal.”

Shen Yanzhou turned to look out the window. Although the heavy downpour had stopped, the road conditions in the Kowloon Walled City were indeed terrible, filled with potholes and accumulated puddles everywhere. Taking an unconscious Shen Xici back right now did pose a real risk.

“Then… what should we do?”

“If you ask me, it is better to just stay here for the night.” The old man gave an incredibly subtle wink to Sanqianwan who was leaning against the doorframe, and then pointed down a dimly lit hallway past the back door.

“Besides this little clinic, my family happens to run a small inn right out back. Though it can’t match the grandeur of your Mid Levels mansions, it is clean, warm, and has hot water for showers.”

“Just let him lie on this bed and don’t move him. I will hook him up to two bottles of glucose. I have a habit of getting up in the middle of the night, so I can keep an eye on him for you along the way. As for the two of you…”

The old man’s gaze traveled between Shen Yanzhou and Sanqianwan suggestively as he chuckled. “You two must be exhausted after an entire night, right? Go get a room out back, take a hot shower, and get some sleep. Once he wakes up tomorrow morning, it won’t be too late to leave.”

Shen Yanzhou hesitated.

Although he was a germaphobe and could not stand staying in a place like this, looking at Shen Xici’s deathly pale face, he really could not bring himself to drag him away. Ultimately, he nodded.

“Alright. Thank you for your trouble, doctor.”

“No trouble at all, no trouble at all!” The old man beamed with joy, turning toward the backyard to shout at the top of his lungs, “Old woman! Stop playing mahjong! Hurry up and open a room for them.”