"Are you still talking nonsense when my uncle has already exposed you? Believe it or not, I'll slap you!" Hu Shao grumbled.
But before he could make a move, a crisp sound was heard. He was the first to receive a slap!
"Who slapped me?" Hu Shao was furious.
But the next second, he shrunk into a quail. It turned out the person who hit him was none other than Old Hu!
"Get lost!" Old Hu glared at Hu Shao coldly. Then he turned to Ying Chen, "Young friend, may I have a word with you in private?"
When Old Hu said this, everyone present was shocked. This meant that Old Hu had acknowledged what Ying Chen had just said! Old Hu had shifted from his initial accusation to a gesture of goodwill!
Ying Chen smiled faintly, "Just say what you need to say."
Old Hu looked around, gritted his teeth, and said directly, "Yes, I admit I am seriously ill. However, for the past period of time, to avoid suspicion, I have been suppressing it with a potent traditional Chinese medicine. And the prescription for that medicine... is the very same herbs you mentioned!"
"As for you saying that my qi and blood are surging and causing unceasing dull pain in the sixth section of my left rib, that is also entirely correct!"
"The reason I refused to admit it was because I was worried about my enemies finding out. And right now, our Hu family is in a fierce struggle with our enemies. If I were to fall, it would be like the lead lion in a pride falling. The entire Hu family would be devoured by our enemies without a trace!"
"I believe I have lived my life with a clear conscience, facing heaven and earth with integrity. Why must heaven treat me this way?" Speaking of this, Old Hu's eyes welled up with tears.
He suddenly bowed solemnly to Ying Chen, "I know there are all sorts of extraordinary people in this world. You must be one of them!"
"If you are willing to help me overcome this difficulty and save my Hu family from this dire situation, I am willing to pay any price!"
Hearing Old Hu's complete confession, everyone was dumbfounded. Who would have thought that the Hu family, which appeared to be flourishing, was actually on the verge of collapse?
"Your illness is not incurable. However, are you sure you are willing to pay any price?" Ying Chen asked with a hint of playful amusement in his smile.
Old Hu was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "I am sure!"
"Then..." Ying Chen's playful smile deepened. "My principle for treating illness is—save one, kill one!"
"To cure your illness, I must take his life in exchange!"
"Are you willing?" Ying Chen casually pointed at Hu Shao.
"No!" Hu Shao's face turned ashen, and he let out a mournful cry.
Old Hu, however, looked at Hu Shao with hesitation, his eyes showing a trace of reluctance. This was, after all, his grandnephew. If he sacrificed his grandnephew's life for his own, what difference would he have from a beast?
"You don't need to answer immediately. I can give you fifteen minutes to consider, and during this time, you can also thoroughly investigate whether this grandnephew of yours deserves to die!" Ying Chen said leisurely.
After a moment of hesitation, Old Hu nodded, "Thank you, young friend."
Then, Old Hu began to make phone calls. It didn't even take fifteen minutes. In just a few minutes, Old Hu had grasped all of Hu Shao's misdeeds. His face turned ashen, and his body trembled, as if he could not believe that his own family had such a scoundrel.
"You beast!"
"I thought by leaving you in Jianghai, you would live a simple and comfortable life. I never expected you to use our Hu family's status to do evil!"
"I can tolerate other things, but I absolutely cannot tolerate your disregard for human life and your use of wicked methods to kill six people!"
"You... you should go and surrender yourself to the authorities!" Blood is thicker than water, and Old Hu ultimately could not bring himself to act directly. With a sigh, he said.
Hu Shao, already terrified, knelt before Old Hu with a thud, "Uncle, I am your own grandnephew! You cannot push me into the fire pit! Have you forgotten what you promised Grandpa before he left, about taking care of me?"
"Shut up! It's better if you don't mention your grandfather. If you do, I don't believe even he would tolerate you tarnishing the Hu family's reputation!"
Seeing that Old Hu's mind was made up, Hu Shao suddenly turned to look at Ying Chen. Gone was his previous arrogance. He crawled and scrambled towards Ying Chen like a lapdog, "Sir, I was wrong, I was really wrong... Please, grant me your mercy and spare my life! I am willing to be your ox and horse to repay your kindness!"
Ying Chen looked at Hu Shao indifferently and said, "Didn't those women you killed beg you in the same way back then? But they still ended up dead, didn't they?"
Hearing this, Hu Shao instantly collapsed to the ground in despair.
"Three days. After three days, he dies and you live; if he is still alive, you will die." Ying Chen said, raising his hand and pointing at Old Hu from a distance.
Just as Old Hu was wondering what Ying Chen had done to him, he felt the pain in his ribs instantly disappear! The surging qi and blood within his body also calmed down!
"Thank you, young friend!" Old Hu bowed deeply, his emotions surging. The stubborn illness that countless renowned doctors could not cure had vanished so easily! Of course, he also understood that this was only temporary, a treatment of symptoms, not the root cause. If he broke his promise after three days and could not bear to punish Hu Shao, he would still face the fate of dying from his illness. Therefore, he had no choice. Regardless of emotion or reason, he had to ensure Hu Shao received his due punishment!
"The illness is cured. Do you still need anything?" Ying Chen asked, seeing that Old Hu was still lingering.
Old Hu then realized that Ying Chen was asking him to leave. He quickly cupped his hands in farewell to Ying Chen and left, dragging the dejected Hu Shao with him. It was as if in the grand Min family, Ying Chen was the true master.
"Old Hu..." Min Ziqiong's parents looked at the departing Old Hu, wanting to speak but hesitating. Their great opportunity to ascend to heaven had just vanished! And all of this was thanks to the young man in front of them! They glared at Ying Chen hatefully and asked with ill temper, "Who exactly are you? What are you doing at our Min family?"
"Who I am is not important. As for why I am at the Min family, besides wanting to see her, I also want to understand some things about her daughter."
Ying Chen's answer made Min Ziqiong's parents and Min Ziqiong herself freeze. What Min Ziqiong thought is unknown, but Min Ziqiong's parents clearly misunderstood. It was as if they had finally solved a puzzle that had troubled them for years. They pointed at Ying Chen and shouted, "It's you! It's you!"
"So you are the heartless scoundrel who caused our Qiong to get pregnant before marriage!"