Chapter 97: Tonight’s Reward

“Hey, what are you doing? I helped you, and you still pinched me?”

“Hmph. Since you already knew that Lin Yao wasn’t the one who helped me, why did you keep it from me?” Su Qingxue said in a teasing, coquettish tone.

“I—I only wanted to see what your best friend was really up to. If I exposed her this time, she might find another way to deal with you next time. And if I weren’t by your side then, wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

Lin Feng’s explanation instantly touched her heart.

She released him at once and blinked her sparkling eyes. “Did you really think that?”

“What else would you think? Would I deliberately harm you and let them trick you?” Lin Feng complained with feigned grievance.

“Hehe, I knew you were the best.”

Su Qingxue broke into a radiant smile. Then her eyes shifted mischievously as she said, “I was wrong to accuse you just now. To make it up to you, I’ll give you another reward tonight. How about that?”

“Huh? What kind of reward?”

Lin Feng was startled at first. Then, as he gazed into her alluring eyes, the private photograph she had sent him last time instantly surfaced in his mind.

“You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Su Qingxue lifted her chin arrogantly and climbed into the car by herself.

A cool breeze made Lin Feng shiver. He quickly came back to his senses and forced himself not to think too much. Then he got into the car and returned with her to the Su Family Bank.

After arriving at the bank, the afternoon passed quickly. Lin Feng cultivated alone in his office, having completely absorbed the spiritual energy contained within the Purple Mallow Spirit Herb.

The herb had provided him with only a negligible amount of assistance, but cultivating with it had still been far smoother than cultivating without any spiritual herb at all.

As for the few medicinal herbs he had left, he could not absorb them directly. He would need an alchemy furnace to refine them into pills, then consume those pills to increase his strength.

It seemed he had to find an alchemy furnace as soon as possible.

Lin Feng thought this to himself, put away his cultivation technique, and rose to look for Su Qingxue in the office next door.

She had just finished her work and was stretching lazily. The fair skin of her waist was revealed, and that impossibly slender, seductive figure was enough to drive any man mad with desire.

Lin Feng stared blankly for several seconds before she noticed that he had entered. Smiling, she walked over to him and deliberately thrust out her chest.

“Have you seen enough? Tonight, I’ll let you get something. Do you dare?”

“What is there to fear? If you dare come at me, I dare take you on.” Summoning his courage, Lin Feng blurted out the bold words in one breath.

“Oh my, you’ve grown quite daring, haven’t you? Then I’ll be waiting for you tonight…”

After saying this, Su Qingxue bit her lip, making his entire body tremble. She then walked past him and headed out of the office.

Lin Feng instantly regained his senses, panic stirring in his heart.

What had he just said? I’m such a beast. Qingxue must have been testing me again. I’ve fallen right into her trap!

“Cough, cough…”

At a villa in Jiangcheng, Fang Jianxiong had just returned home from work when he suddenly began coughing repeatedly.

He had noticed the symptoms earlier that afternoon, but had not thought much of them.

By the time he arrived home, however, his coughing had grown increasingly frequent, and the pain in his throat had steadily worsened.

“Old Fang, what’s wrong? Did you eat something you shouldn’t have?”

His wife, Qin Sumei, came over and kindly patted his back, asking in concern.

“I’m fine. Maybe I caught a chill while I was out handling business this afternoon… Cough, cough!”

As he spoke, he suddenly coughed violently again, spitting out a mouthful of dark blood.

Qin Sumei’s face immediately turned deathly pale with fright.

“W-what’s happening? Old Fang, why are you coughing up blood? Where are you hurt?”

Qin Sumei cried out in panic, but Fang Jianxiong’s mind had already gone blank. Before he could answer, his vision darkened and he collapsed unconscious.

“Old Fang! Old Fang!”

Qin Sumei shouted in terror, then called up to her daughter on the second floor. “Huihui, come down quickly and see what’s wrong with your father! Go and fetch Divine Doctor Xu!”

“What happened to Dad?”

Hearing the cries from downstairs, a young woman suddenly ran out from the second floor. She had a slender, graceful figure, a capable air, and exceptionally beautiful features.

Her name was Fang Huihui, and she was also a member of the city patrol bureau.

“Go and fetch Divine Doctor Xu immediately! Your father suddenly vomited blood and has already fallen into a coma.”

Qin Sumei shouted anxiously. The moment Fang Huihui reached the ground floor, her expression became equally tense and flustered.

She immediately took out her phone and called Divine Doctor Xu. He was the Fang family’s private physician, the foremost among Jiangcheng’s Ten Great Physicians, and an elderly man whose medical skill was said to be unparalleled throughout history.

After receiving the summons, Divine Doctor Xu hurried over that very night, carrying an entire set of medical instruments. He carefully examined Fang Jianxiong, his brows drawing tightly together.

“Divine Doctor Xu, what exactly is wrong with Old Fang? He was perfectly fine at noon. How did he suddenly fall into a coma?” Sumei asked nervously.

After examining him several more times, Divine Doctor Xu shook his head.

“Strange. Truly strange. Why didn’t I detect the poison in the Fang family head’s body earlier?”

“I’ve studied countless poisons in this world. There is hardly a toxin capable of escaping my diagnosis, yet this time, I was negligent.”

“Divine Doctor Xu, what are you muttering to yourself? What is wrong with Old Fang? Hurry and think of a way to save him!” Seeing him remain motionless for so long, Qin Sumei urged him anxiously.

“Madam, you may not understand. This poison is extraordinarily potent, and it spreads at an astonishing speed. The toxin in the Fang family head’s body has already invaded his heart. Saving him now will be harder than ascending to heaven.”

“What did you say?”

Qin Sumei’s pupils widened instantly.

She asked nervously, “Are you saying that even you can’t save him? You are the foremost of Jiangcheng’s Ten Great Physicians. Even Dean Zhang Yuanqing treats you with respect. How could you possibly have no way to save him?”

“Madam, it is not entirely impossible to save the Fang family head’s life. I can risk using the Soul-Returning Death-Defying Needles, a secret technique passed down through my Xu family, and attempt to save him. However, the odds of success are extremely low.”

“If even one needle is placed incorrectly, the Fang family head may die on the spot. Yet without these needles, he may not survive the night.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Use them immediately!” Fang Huihui was frantic by now. Without a second thought, she urged him to begin.

Qin Sumei expressed the same resolve.

Divine Doctor Xu nodded solemnly, then had the two women help Fang Jianxiong into the room and remove his shirt.

He rubbed alcohol over both hands, then arranged the silver needles in a neat row. With his right hand, he picked up a needle, passed it through a flame to sterilize it, and pressed its tip into the flesh. Heat began to gather in his palm.

“First needle: The Force of the Flame.”

As Divine Doctor Xu recited the name of the technique, a bright red flame suddenly sprang to life in his palm.

Clutching the needle tightly in both hands, he moved with practiced skill, repeatedly pricking various points across Fang Jianxiong’s body.

“Second needle: The Flame Dispels the Three Poisons.”

After completing the first needle, Divine Doctor Xu took up another and accurately pierced the Divine Gate acupoint on Fang Jianxiong’s abdomen. As he murmured the incantation, the two needles seemed to form a line. The flames appeared to surge toward Fang Jianxiong’s chest, striking back and forth from either side.

“Third needle: Sparks Set the Plains Ablaze.”

Divine Doctor Lin took up a third needle. The moment he drove it in, a cluster of red flames formed on Fang Jianxiong’s chest and began burning fiercely.

Pfft!

Unexpectedly, only a few seconds after the needle entered, Fang Jianxiong suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.