Xiao Yan had known Duan Yelin’s name since he was a child—it was widely recognized. Yet despite his fame, Xiao Yan had never actually met him.
This time, he had come to someone else’s territory and acted recklessly, hunting down traitors and clearing out the family in the streets and alleys without informing the owner beforehand. It was indeed a bit disrespectful and overly presumptuous.
Now that he has come to his door, he is indeed in the wrong.
He called Liao Qin back and said, “Send another telegram and ask those in Shanghai to send some military supplies to Xiaotong Guan as a token of our apology to them.”
Liao Qin nodded and opened the door for Xiao Yan. They walked out and turned a corner into the hall, where they saw Duan Yelin in military uniform and a young man in Changshan standing next to him.
Liao Qin lowered his voice and said behind Xiao Yan, “Ghost Master, the one next to Commander Duan is the owner of Jinyan Tang…”
Xiao Yan’s eyes became fierce.
It turned out that he was not here for punishment but to take the person.
Xu Hang had wondered what this so-called “Ghost Master” looked like, but he didn’t expect him to be so young.
“My name is Xiao Yan. I’ve just arrived in Hezhou City, and I’m here to take care of some personal matters. Sorry to trouble Commander Duan.” Xiao Yan walked up and shook hands with Duan Yelin.
Don’t hit a smiling person. Duan Yelin also shook hands with him gently.
“Mr. Xiao rarely comes here, it should be me who failed to entertain you well.”
“Commander Duan is very polite. I have prepared some small gifts and will send them to you in two days. Please accept them.”
“Forget the gifts. It’s just that I have lost someone here. I wonder if your men have seen him?”
He had expected Duan Yelin to lay the groundwork for a while, but instead, Duan Yelin was direct and got straight to the point, saving a lot of unnecessary talk. This was fine with Xiao Yan, as he wasn’t the type to beat around the bush either.
Xiao Yan smiled and took out a cigarette from his pocket. Liao Qin helped him light it: “I have caught a lot of people in the past two days, and most of them have been killed.”
He paused, noticing Xu Hang’s gaze grow sharp. Then, he continued, “There is only one person still alive who was captured from Jinyan Tang. I wonder if he’s the one Commander Duan mentioned?”
“He is my friend. I don’t know how he has offended you. If money can solve the problem, let’s not resort to violence, alright?”
Xiao Yan glanced at Duan Yelin and crossed his arms over his chest: “I’m sorry, Commander Duan, I can’t let this person go.”
“Oh?” Duan Yelin raised his eyebrows. “Did he do something wrong?”
“No. I just don’t want to let him go. Does Commander Duan want to snatch him from me?”
Before Duan Yelin could respond, Xu Hang stepped forward, his voice cold as he asked, “What grudge do you have against him? Why did you blind his eyes?”
“Shaotang!” Duan Yelin grabbed him fiercely to remind him, fearing that he might cause trouble.
Xiao Yan frowned and blew out a smoke ring: “I was just about to ask you this.”
“What do you mean?”
“What’s your relationship with him? Why are you so concerned about his affairs?” Xiao Yan fixed his eyes on Xu Hang and spoke like he was interrogating him, as if no lies could be hidden from him.
Xu Hang replied bluntly, “It has nothing to do with you.”
“Then I also have nothing to say.”
Xiao Yan and Xu Hang looked at each other, the two of them confronted each other, neither of them giving in. Duan Yelin was caught between the two of them, and for a moment he didn’t know how to turn things around.
At this time, a doctor hurried out with a report and handed it to Xiao Yan: “Ghost Master, I looked into it and quickly found some results, but my hospital is small, and the laboratory isn’t very well-equipped. You’ll have to make do with what we have.”
Xiao Yan snatched it away without saying a word. He couldn’t understand the messy data at the beginning. He turned directly to the last page to read the conclusion. He got angry as he read it and threw it in the doctor’s face: “What do you mean by no treatment options!”
The diagnosis book fell to the ground. Xu Hang turned his head to take a look. It said that the side effects of taking anti-tuberculosis drugs led to blindness, severe blood deficiency throughout the body, low blood pressure, etc.
This Xiao Yan took great pains to kidnap Shen Jingmo in order to treat his illness?
Is this person an enemy or a friend?
The doctor, visibly frightened, quickly said, “The equipment and medical skills here… here are limited. Perhaps… perhaps you could go back to Shanghai and consult a foreign doctor. There might still be hope.”
Xu Hang had already understood the meaning of these words. It was most likely that the person was beyond salvation, so they were trying to divert the blame and ask others to find a better solution.
He picked up the medical book and asked, “Why did he take anti-tuberculosis medicine? There is no such problem in his body.”
In traditional Chinese medicine, tuberculosis is referred to as “consumptive disease,” with symptoms such as withered bones, sunken flesh, chest fullness, and difficulty breathing. However, after Xu Hang took his pulse, he found that although the patient was weak, there were no signs of consumptive disease at all.
The doctor shook his head: “I don’t know either. This is what the examination showed. His… his eyes were damaged because he used too much of this kind of medicine. Maybe he took the wrong medicine?”
“You took the wrong f*cking medicine! Let me ask you, what are those needle holes on his body?” Xiao Yan glared at the doctor angrily.
“Those pinholes, those pinholes seem to be from drawing blood all year round…”
“Are you sure?”
“There are often poor people who come to the hospital to sell their blood. They’re afraid of dying, but they need the money, so they sell a little each time but do it frequently. Over time, their hands become covered with bruises. The needles used to draw blood are larger than usual, and that gentleman’s hands are mostly covered with those large needle holes.”
The more Xiao Yan listened, the more he felt pent up, but he didn’t know where to vent. Liao Qin saw that the doctor was about to cry, so he quickly winked at him and told him to leave.
After not seeing each other for many years, could it be that Shen Jingmo was so poor that he had to sell blood for a living?
Seeing Xiao Yan’s doubts, Xu Hang said with certainty, “Teacher Shen would never take the initiative to sell blood.”
Duan Yelin looked at him: “Why are you so sure?”
“He used to be very cautious about his body, always afraid of falling or getting hurt. I was curious at the time and asked him about it. He said it was because he had a rare blood type—one in a million. If he lost too much blood, it could be life-threatening. Blood like his is hardly ever a match for anyone else, so selling it is basically pointless.”
Unless… this blood is specifically for people with the same blood type.
Many possibilities flashed through Xu Hang’s mind. If he really wanted to verify it, he would have to ask Shen Jingmo.
At this time, one of his men said something in Xiao Yan’s ear, and Xiao Yan turned around and walked towards the ward.
Xu Hang saw it and followed, and Xiao Yan didn’t let anyone stop him either. A few people walked into the ward and saw that Shen Jingmo, who had fainted, had woken up.
The doctor in this hospital was smart enough to immediately give Shen Jingmo a bottle of nutrient solution and sedatives, which allowed him to wake up so quickly.
“Teacher Shen?”
Xu Hang walked to the bedside and felt relieved when he saw with his own eyes that Shen Jingmo was safe and sound. Shen Jingmo heard Xu Hang’s voice and stretched out his hand. Xu Hang grasped it, and both of them felt much more relieved.
However, the two tall men standing at the door were clearly displeased by the scene. Duan Yelin rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan, while Xiao Yan responded with a cold snort in return.
“If you’ve got something to say, make it quick, and leave right after.” Xiao Yan flicked the ash from his cigarette and added, “He’s mine, and I’m taking him with me.”
“Who is yours?”
“Shen Jingmo was handed over to me by the Zhang family. I lost track of him once by accident, so it’s only right that I take him back now.” Xiao Yan said bluntly, without holding anything back.
But the two who heard this felt as if they had been struck by lightning—completely stunned and unable to accept what they had just heard.
The Zhang family, it was indeed related to the Zhang family.
