Old Master Lu was clearly in the midst of a Huiwu flare-up, which meant his words were only going to get nastier.
His foolish son Lu Jiuxiao had just started getting better, so Qin Jingzhou was not about to let the old man agitate his son back into a relapse. He slapped the table to pieces, grabbed the old master by the collar, and at the same time sent a surge of spiritual energy into the old man’s mind, dispersing some of the Huiwu.
The immediate result: the old master’s “feet left the ground, and his IQ returned to the summit.” Because after steadying himself, Old Master Lu’s lips trembled as he spoke, “No wonder you two get along so well—you’re both Gu martial masters… Even Jingguan Hospital would forge fake medical records to mislead me…”
He’d long known of the existence of Gu martial masters, but he never thought much of them. Looking back now, he realized he'd underestimated the heroes of the world!
Old Master Lu admitted to misjudging the situation. Outwardly he was still stubborn, but his attitude had softened. In the span of half a minute, his assistants and lawyers mentally complained a thousand times over.
They too knew of Gu martial masters, but just like their boss, they’d dismissed them as little more than gimmicks—or even half a scam. At this moment… they wanted to slap their naive past selves: Forget about Mr. Cheng breaking a table with a single slap—even Mr. Lin, the senior lawyer, had one cup in his left hand and was balancing two cups on his right hand… both cups were actually levitating! There was a gap between the cup bottoms and his palm, light could shine through!
Because they hadn’t witnessed Lu Jiuxiao’s post-burn devastation for themselves, they, like the old master, simply didn’t believe in “healing a ruined face in one week.” They were convinced Jingguan Hospital had concealed Lu Jiuxiao’s true condition. But there was one thing they were sure of: Mr. Cheng was not trying to curry favor with young master Qin Er from the Qin Family. In fact, the truth was quite the reverse…
Qin Jingzhou dropped the old man to the floor, looked to Lin Baiming, and said, “We can proceed with the next steps.”
Lin Baiming nodded repeatedly. “Alright.”
Now, no matter how much Old Master Lu might regret things, it was too late. You have to choose between money and sentiment, and it was just as well to get the shares back now.
Ultimately, the old master made no attempt to stop them. Lu Jiuxiao was relieved, despite feeling a tangled mix of emotions.
Half an hour later, Qin Jingzhou and his group reappeared at the front entrance of Lu Corporation’s headquarters. Media reporters, livestreamers, and nosy onlookers snapped photos madly as the group climbed into their car and set off for home.
Just like before, Lu Jiuxiao, Assistant Li, and Xu Chen sat in the front car, while Qin Jingzhou and Lin Baiming rode in the business vehicle behind.
Lin Baiming did indeed have something to say. “I asked around for help and found that the criminals who caused Jiuxiao’s paraplegia and facial burns are in hiding—currently together in South America. Jiuxiao never says much, but he broods endlessly over it. It’s not that he doesn’t want revenge, it’s that he’s powerless. If you request the Association’s intervention, they won’t sit idly by, but there’s no guarantee of results. There are extraodinaries in South America too… By the way, the person who attacked Jiuxiao in front of the building just now wasn’t a registered Association martial artist.”
It was obvious that both the accident and the arson were serious felonies—there was no way the officials would ignore them. The only explanation for the criminals not being apprehended was simple: beyond their reach.
Now that he’d revealed unparalleled medical skills, both the authorities and the Association’s attitude toward him would naturally change. Lin Baiming was speaking on behalf of both officials and the Association, offering a serious explanation.
Qin Jingzhou rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. “Don’t trouble the Association. My name isn’t much yet, but one day I’ll move into international business. By then, there’ll be ‘bright-minded’ people who’ll make sure the culprits who harmed my son show up before me… Thank the Association for me.”
That was all Lin Baiming needed to hear. He smiled sincerely.
Once back at the Cheng house, seeing that Lu Jiuxiao was still in good shape, Lin Baiming seized the opportunity to remind him to take precautions, and further advised Jiuxiao to strike first: make the just-signed share transfer public as soon as possible, “It’s best to cut ties with Lu Corporation cleanly and quickly.”
There was no mistaking his message.
Lu Jiuxiao wasn’t surprised at all. “The old man will probably need to bite the bullet and sacrifice those projects. I never had a good feeling about those two real estate developments.”
In the original plotline, there was this very sequence: one of the projects hit the Imperial Tomb during foundation work, and the other was rife with collusion during the land-buying phase, which ended up exposing a national-level scandal.
Both projects were meant to pin the blame on Lu Jiuxiao, wasting away in a hospital bed—unless Qin Jingzhou hadn’t transmigrated in. Of course, since he did, the blame would still fall on the foolish son, but this time, the son wouldn’t be entirely powerless.
Lin Baiming scheduled his next visit to treat Jiuxiao’s hand, then hurried off.
Lu Jiuxiao leaned on the sofa, watching Lin Baiming leave. He yawned, let his head droop to the side, and promptly drifted off to sleep.
Today’s treatment mask had drained him. For the next three to five days, the foolish son would need at least twelve hours of sleep each day. Qin Jingzhou added one more acupuncture point to stabilize his mental state, making sure his son slept soundly. That done, he called all the staff over. “Let’s have a quick meeting.”
Today, Gu Su had hired a Gu martial novice to “ambush” his foolish son, and Lin Baiming had mentioned those extraodinaries in South America and elsewhere. Qin Jingzhou knew he needed to speed up expansion. Relying only on the powers permitted in this world, solo, he couldn’t handle everything.
He looked to Li Assistant first. “How many people want to see me as patients now?”
Li Assistant didn’t even need to check her notes. “Just the people who made appointments through the Vice President—over thirty. All are Gu martial masters, and I’ve checked their cases, every one is a long-term, hard-to-treat illness. If not for knowing you dislike red tape and wasted time, the whole Association would be worshipping you by now.” She grinned. “No one with minor complaints would dare trouble you.”
All told, Qin Jingzhou had seen only four patients so far and hadn’t cured any completely, but his Divine Doctor reputation had swept through the whole Association.
Qin Jingzhou nodded. “Start by categorizing the patients…”
Per his instructions, they sorted patients into four tiers: mild, moderate, severe, and critical. Diagnosis was free, but the average price for each treatment session was one million, three million, eight million, and variable for each group.
Since Qin Er served as finance and general assistant, he simply connected the house computer to the server downstairs and pulled up the preliminary patient categorization: only Lin Baiming was classed as mild. Both Lu Jiuxiao and that master whose neck was a third shorter than normal were in moderate, while he himself… was ranked severe.
He reacted quickly, realizing Uncle Cheng planned not only to repair his cerebral cortex but also completely cure his glioma—at the very least, stop it from recurring.
He remembered his parents telling him that they’d be moving tomorrow to a high-end community directly across from the Cheng residence. He rubbed his brow, understanding why: since his glioma was hereditary, his father could fall sick at any time. With Uncle Cheng’s clinic situated right downstairs, his parents figured if his father ever got sick, they could just cross the street for treatment…
Suddenly it felt like glioma was no different than a cold, just see Uncle Cheng for a prescription and a few acupuncture points, and it’d be gone. He felt both amused and exasperated—seriously, his parents had even more faith in Uncle Cheng than he did!
During the hour-long meeting, he was assigned a ton of tasks, from assembling a financial team, progressing the appointment app, to contacting pharmaceutical factories with significant Chinese medicine processing and manufacturing ability, because Uncle Cheng was preparing to launch the first flagship product from “Shenshao Industry.”
Everyone watched as Uncle Cheng wrote the words “Shenshao” in his own hand: it wasn’t their imagination—the characters on the paper exuded an aura of deathly discipline.
When the meeting ended, everyone sat around the living room, busy with their own work.
Qin Jingzhou wasn’t about to return to his study to play games. He sat at the table, flipping through the submitted medical records, when Lu Jiuxiao suddenly woke up, head tilted to one side, and looked at him. “I want to change clothes.”
Qin Jingzhou got up and immediately reached for Jiuxiao’s collar.
Lu Jiuxiao frowned, looking confused and speaking vaguely. “Don’t pick me up!”
Qin Jingzhou stood before his foolish son and removed the silver needle from his brow. “Then do you want a hug?”
Lu Jiuxiao blinked and actually… reached out his hands, “Oh.”
What else could Qin Jingzhou do but scoop up his foolish son?
Jiuxiao obediently lay on his shoulder. “I’m kind of hungry.”
Qin Jingzhou said, “No need for dietary restrictions—order whatever you want, I’ll transfer you some pocket money.”
Lu Jiuxiao didn’t seem fully awake yet, his voice still vague. “Alright. I’ll order now.”
The others couldn’t help staring at this father-son exchange, especially as Lu Jiuxiao’s ears glowed sheer red. Qin Er and the rest could only think: …so he’s a closet tsundere.
After changing into loungewear and finishing his chosen takeout, Lu Jiuxiao felt even better. He lounged on the sofa as Qin Er and Xu Chen discussed his dad’s first market product: the convenience waist patch.
This patch wasn’t designed to relieve sore muscles, but rather, after applying it, you wouldn’t have a bowel movement or urinate for six hours. Remove the patch, and within thirty seconds, if your body was holding anything in, you’d go both ways at once.
This thing was made for paraplegic patients.
Jiuxiao lowered his gaze, feeling a tinge of sourness in his nose. A flash of sharp pain in his mind left him suddenly realizing—no matter how difficult his personality, he’d never think his dad created this thing for Qin Er in particular. Ever since Qin Er regained the use of his left leg, he’d had no incontinence issues.
Qin Jingzhou was still reviewing medical records, checking off those he agreed to see in person. Right now, under his gaze, the foolish son unwound another thread of Huiwu on his own. With his guidance, the foolish son could completely break free from Gu Su’s Huiwu control—and might even turn the tables a bit.
With Jiuxiao’s rapid improvement, there was no way Gu Su could be clueless. She was too far away to manipulate his emotions through Huiwu or absorb his negative feelings, but since the Huiwu was linked to her magical earring, every shred lost was something she could sense.
She’d intended a little trick, hiring a martial artist who practiced the Demonic Path to inject demonic true qi into Lu Jiuxiao’s body. The result? Who knew what would happen to Lu Jiuxiao, but she ended up losing that martial artist in the process. Now, with the Huiwu on Lu Jiuxiao all but gone—even a strand thinner than a hair pained her deeply, because this trend was truly alarming! Whether Lu Jiuxiao could resist on his own, or Cheng Jingzhou had found a way to dispel it, the situation was dire.
After thinking it through, Gu Su finally dialed Lu Zhentong, getting right to the point. “So Cheng Jingzhou and Lin Baiming are both Gu martial masters!”
Lu Zhentong’s reply came in clear. “I just got this news myself.”
“What do you think is Cheng Jingzhou’s reason for insisting Lu Jiuxiao cut ties with the old master and come back to his side…?”
Lu Zhentong shook his head. “Cheng Jingzhou must have only mastered cultivation recently. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put up with the old master’s oppression for over twenty years. As for seeking out Lu Jiuxiao… even with Lu Jiuxiao ruined, I figure the kid must have some kind of Gu martial talent.”
Gu Su laughed. “Probably not just some. Who knows when the old master will regret all this.”
Lu Zhentong was upfront. “Either way, we should end it for good. Don’t give the old master a chance for regret. I’ll find a way, black, white, or gray.”
That reminder called to mind Lu Zhentong’s cousin settled in South America. “Alright.” Her voice turned gentle. “I’ll wait for you to come back. Baobao misses you too.”
Lu Zhentong nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when there’s good news.”