Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The patient also had multiple organ failure, memory impairment, and shrinking brain cells. He had problems all over his body. However, the doctors couldnât find the source of his diseases. They could only try to treat the symptoms at this stage.
âYou can consider taking him to a better hospital,â the doctor said.
Although The Peopleâs Hospital of Qi Province was the best hospital in the province, it was no where close to the best national hospital. Maybe the hospitals in Beijing could help the patient.
âI see. Thank you,â said the man working for the patient.
What should I do? he thought.
He knew the Hong brothers well. Hong Nan and Hong Wen were very close to each other and always helped each other. However, their wives didnât get along well. The two women tried to make peace with each other. He thought it should be up to the Hong brotherâs family to decide what to do next.
âShall we ask Nan?â another gangster asked.
âDo you think Nan is capable of making a decision right now?â the other man asked..
âWe still have to ask him,â the gangster said. âItâs about his brother. We canât decide what to do next.â
Meanwhile, Nan was tied to the bed. His arms and legs were stabilized. The medical staff had put something inside his mouth to stop him from biting his tongue. He looked fierce and angry. He was struggling and tried to scream.
He thought, Dead! I want him dead!. He had a scary look on his face, like an evil ghost.
Crack! The door opened. A person entered the room.
âHow are you, boss?â the man asked.
âIs he dead?â Nan asked.
âWho are you talking about?â the man asked.
âIâm asking you if he is dead,â Nan said.
âIâm afraid not,â the man said. âI sent two groups of people to sort him out. They all failed.â
âWhat? Useless! They are all useless! I want him dead! I want all of his family members dead!â Nan cursed.
You want him dead, but do you know that you are closer to death?
The young man thought his boss was beyond cure. He was still thinking about killing Wang Yao instead of getting himself treated while being so sick. His boss had to be crazy.
Both Hong brothers were crazy. The young man was not sure if they got the gene from their parents.
âJiu, what did boss say?â Several gangsters went up to ask him after he came out of the room.
âBoss is still wondering why Wang Yao hasnât died,â Jiu said.
âSeriously? He is still thinking about that Wang Yao?â Everyone was shocked.
âBoss Nan has the same symptoms as Boss Wen?â a young gangster murmured.
âStop speculating,â Jiu said.
Actually, all the gangsters working for the Hong brothers thought their bosses had gone crazy.
âSo, what do we do next?â a young man asked.
All of them were at a loss without instructions from their superiors. Even though they were just a bunch of gangsters, they needed a leader.
What surprised them more was that even the policemen came to the hospital.
âWhere are Hong Wen and Hong Nan?â a police officer asked.
âThey are inside this hospital,â one of the young gangsters said.
The gangsters got really bad news. Their two bosses had broken the law and were under investigation. In less than an hour, the eight gangsters who had been looking after Hong Nan and Hong Wen disappeared. No one cared about the Hong brothers anymore.
They knew their bosses must have done something seriously wrong to attract the attention of the police. They had threatened and blackmailed, and even injured people under the instructions from the Hong brothers. They thought they might get away if they ran away now. Otherwise, the police would probably arrest all of them.
As the old saying said, once a tree fell down, all the monkeys on the tree would disappear. In this case, the monkeys had all gone before the tree had fallen down. Loyalty was nothing compared to oneâs life and freedom.
Soon, the news about police investigating the Hong brothers spread all over the place. Many gangsters knew the brothers were probably going to spend the rest of their lives in prison, including those who wanted the $5 million Hong Nan offered to kill Wang Yao and his family.
âHey, we need to find out if it is true that the Hong brothers have been arrested,â a gangster said. âIf they were arrested, who would pay us?â
âLetâs visit Dengzhou to find it out,â another gangster said. âGiven what they have done, even the death sentence would be too merciful to them. If the police have any evidence of the crimes they have committed, they would at least get a life sentence. Whatâs the point of us working for them?â
Some gangsters went to Dengzhou while others went to Qi province.
It was confirmed shortly after that the Hong brothers were truly under investigation. Not only the Hong brothers, but also several government officers from Dengzhou were being investigated. Those officers had probably helped the brothers commit those crimes.
âSo the news is true,â a gangster said.
âYeah, luckily we didnât go ahead,â another gangster said.
The crisis had been settled. Now, Wang Yao owed a big debt to some of his friends.
Like what Mr. Du, the head of one of the biggest gangs in Shanghai, once said, a debt of gratitude was the hardest to make square. Of course, only people who valued friendship found it hard to repay a debt of gratitude. For people who didnât value friendship and keep promises, it was nothing.
Wang Yao was thinking of how to return the favor to those who helped him in this crisis. He couldnât just invite them for dinner. Wait! He suddenly had a good idea.
He went to the town center and came back with a small bag of wooden blocks, which were made of boxwood and as big as a matchbox. On the surface of the block, there was a character of a drug carved on it. On the other side of the block, there was a carving of a hill. There was also a small dent on the edge of each block. Wang Yao could vaguely tell it was a fingerprint.
He brewed some special decoctions that mainly contained miasma grass. The miasma grass could get rid of the miasma and poisonous insects. After the decoctions were boiling, Wang Yao threw all the wooden blocks inside the pot.
Ding! Om!
His phone started to ring. He received a text message from Sun Yunsheng. There was a link inside the message. He clicked the link, which led to a piece of news about a big gang being arrested by the police in Dengzhou. The gang had been involved in many criminal activities the past few years. Some officers working for the local government had been assisting the gang to commit crimes and received payment from the leaders of the gang. Police were still investigating the gang, which was led by Hong Wen and Hong Nan.
Thank you. Visit our village when you have time. Wang Yao sent a message to Sun Yunsheng.
Sure. Wang Yao received a reply a moment later.
Meanwhile, Zhong Liuchuan had an unexpected guest.
âHey, how are you? I didnât expect you to become a recluse here,â the guest said.
Zhong Liuchuan became very alert when he faced this guest, a young man who was a bit eccentric and almost the same age as him. Zhong Liuchuan had heard a lot of rumors about this guest.
âI donât think I need to report what Iâm doing to you,â he coldly said.
âOf course. We donât have such rules anyway,â the young man said with a smile. âDonât be nervous. I just want to pay you a visit after knowing you are here. So, what happened? You really want to be a recluse? That doesnât sound like you.â
Zhong Liuchuan didnât speak.
âBy the way, where is your sister?â the young man asked.
As soon as he mentioned Zhong Anxin, Zhong Liuchuan looked up and stared at him. âThey are afraid of you, but Iâm not. Try me.â
âTry you?â the young man asked. âOK. Here?â
Zhong Liuchuan didnât react. He took a deep breath and tried to suppress his anger
âOur team needs you,â the young man said.
âI have retired,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âYou canât just retire,â the young man said. âSometimes you canât follow your own will.â
âThis place is not your territory,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âWell, have a good think about it. Remember to come back to the company at 3 p.m. this coming Wednesday,â the young man said before leaving.
Zhong Liuchuan sat in the house looking serious.
âThe flowers are blooming here, please donât stop...â The young man was humming a pleasant tune and walking slowly.
âHmm, this village is nice, but wouldnât be nice anymore if a few people died here,â the young man murmured.
âWhat are you talking about?â asked Wang Yao, who happened to overhear what the young man had said.
âWhat?â The young man stopped. He turned around and saw a person standing beside him. âHello? Were you talking to me?â
âYes, what did you say just now?â Wang Yao asked.
âWhy?â the young man asked with a smile.
âYou just said the village is nice, but why would people die here?â Although the young manâs voice was very low, low enough for anyone to ignore him, Wang Yao wasnât anyone.
âOh my! You were listening to me talking to myself self,â the young man said.
Wang Yao stared at this strange young man, who made him very uncomfortable.