When Qin Hui returned home, he saw Jiang Yanxi intently staring at the scallops in the fish tank, as if they were some novel treasure.
"This is the treasure you dug out from the mine? It doesn't look anything special," Jiang Yanxi asked, puzzled. To her, the scallop was extremely ordinary, the kind that would go unnoticed even if placed in a pile of other scallops.
"On the surface, yes. But inside this scallop is a crystal-clear pearl. I can't open it, so I'm just keeping it like this," Qin Hui explained patiently. Otherwise, if Jiang Yanxi threw the scallop away one day, Qin Hui would suffer a great loss.
Hearing Qin Hui's explanation, Jiang Yanxi felt relieved. It made sense, who would bring home a useless scallop?
After understanding the scallop, Qin Hui massaged Jiang Yanxi for a while longer. It was known that Jiang Yanxi was a workaholic, and her health had deteriorated significantly during the days Qin Hui was not by her side.
...
The next day at noon, Qin Hui was seeing patients at his Huichun Tang. In truth, Qin Hui's current practice was more about attracting attention. Although Huichun Tang had many renowned doctors, most people came specifically for Qin Hui due to his exceptional medical skills.
"Brother Qin, we have a very special patient in our ward today. No matter how we treat them, it doesn't work, and we can't even find the cause of the illness," a chief physician rushed over to report.
"Oh? Has Director Mao examined them?" Qin Hui asked with some curiosity.
"Director Mao has also examined them. Even your Jiuyang Divine Needles had no effect," the chief physician said, utterly bewildered. This was the first time he had encountered such a peculiar illness.
"Alright, bring me to see them." Qin Hui had been idle all morning, and since there was a case, he was naturally eager to showcase his skills.
Soon, Qin Hui was led to the ward by the physician. The ward was filled with doctors, all of whom were helpless against this case. Qin Hui looked up and saw an elderly man lying on the hospital bed, his face pale and his breathing weak.
"Qin Hui, this is truly difficult to handle," Mao Qishan said, somewhat abashed. Mao Qishan had initially thought that learning the Jiuyang Divine Needles would allow him to cure all illnesses, but now he realized he had been too idealistic. For this illness today, he had no idea where to begin.
After carefully observing the elder, Qin Hui's expression turned somewhat grim. "You all can leave for now. I'll handle this case." Qin Hui hesitated for a moment before speaking. The others nodded in agreement, as they could only entrust cases they couldn't treat to Qin Hui.
Once everyone had left, Qin Hui directly closed the ward door. However, the moment Qin Hui shut the door, a powerful oppressive aura swept over his entire body. Before Qin Hui could even react, Elder Sun, lying on the sickbed, suddenly sprang up and lunged with a punch towards Qin Hui's back.
Although Qin Hui was suppressed by the aura, he managed to evade the fatal blow. While Elder Sun's attack was not aimed at Qin Hui's most vulnerable spot, any attack could be deadly if delivered with sufficient force. Despite evading the direct hit, Qin Hui was still injured by the lingering force of the punch.
"Hmm? Not bad, your reaction is quite swift," Elder Sun said, surprised. He had intended to take Qin Hui's life with this punch, but Qin Hui's strength had exceeded his expectations.
"Someone from the Sun family?" Qin Hui asked, his face pale and his demeanor extremely cautious. Although this was on his own turf, the old man's strength was too formidable, and Qin Hui found it difficult to have confidence in defeating him. Most importantly, this was Huichun Tang, and Qin Hui feared harming innocent bystanders if a fight were to break out.
"You know quite a bit, don't you? After all, only our Sun family can inflict such harm on you," Elder Sun sneered.
"I am not your match, but you are dreaming if you think you can kill me here. If we fight for more than three rounds, the police will arrive. Even with the Sun family's influence, you wouldn't dare to kill someone publicly. The Dragon Patrol exists precisely to deal with people like you," Qin Hui stated boldly, though his palms were slick with sweat. Qin Hui understood the principle of fighting back, but only if the opponent was slightly stronger. If the opponent was far superior, fighting back would be suicidal!
"Oh? Are you threatening me?" Elder Sun's fist directly slammed towards Qin Hui's chest. This time, he had no intention of holding back. Qin Hui immediately raised his hands to protect his chest. When facing a superior opponent, the only thing Qin Hui could do was defend; any attempt at offense would be no different from courting death.
Boom!
The moment the two forces collided, an explosive sound reverberated through the ward. Since Qin Hui had instructed unnecessary personnel to leave beforehand, even if there was a significant commotion, people would assume it was Qin Hui's special treatment method. Had this happened outdoors, the force of this blow would have been enough to shatter surrounding buildings. As the impact landed, Qin Hui couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. Although there were no visible injuries, the sheer power of the internal energy contained within this blow was immense. Qin Hui's ribs were fractured, which would greatly hinder his cultivation. More importantly, healing such internal damage would take an extremely long time.
"Tsk tsk, not bad. No wonder so many of our Sun family members died by your hands," Elder Sun said. "Since you could take this move, I'll spare your life today. Oh, and I look forward to your participation in the martial arts finals in two months." Elder Sun stroked his beard, a sinister smile on his face, and then left the ward.
As soon as Elder Sun departed, Qin Hui could no longer suppress his internal injuries, collapsing to the ground and losing consciousness.
...
"Elder Sun, you've just arrived in Jiangnan Province and are already returning to Yanjing?" "Also, Qin Hui is not dead, so our objective this trip has not been directly achieved," a Sun family guard said, somewhat surprised. He had accompanied Elder Sun on several missions, and this was the only time Elder Sun had not intended to kill.
"Although Qin Hui is not dead, after taking my blow, he is basically crippled. Keeping his life is merely to allow the eldest young master to gain fame in two months," Elder Sun replied with a slight smile. "Qin Hui killed so many of our Sun family members. If the eldest young master kills Qin Hui, his status will be completely solidified. Therefore, Qin Hui dying two months later has far greater significance than dying now." Elder Sun smiled faintly. While he disliked these political maneuvers, making a small contribution to future status was quite effortless. Even if Qin Hui dared not accept the challenge at that time, the eldest young master would still eliminate Qin Hui, and the outcome would remain unchanged. The guard on the side finally understood, realizing that to establish oneself in Yanjing, not only strength but also cunning methods were necessary. After all, although the eldest young master could inherit the position within the Sun family, he lacked authority. Killing Qin Hui would naturally grant him that authority.