Medical and Martial God

"Dad, are you okay?" Shen Qilin hurriedly helped Shen Songshan to his feet. His heart was already in a panic, but seeing his father so terrified made him even more anxious.

"It’s over. The Shen Family is finished!"

Shen Songshan’s old, wrinkled face was filled with despair as he lamented, "Back then, I volunteered to destroy Ye Xiu, thinking that ruining a genius would bring a great sense of accomplishment. Instead, it turned out to be the most sinful, mistaken move of my life. How I regret it now!"

All the pride he had once felt for ruining Ye Xiu had now turned into the deepest regret.

"Dad, this isn’t the time for regrets. We need to figure out a way to survive this crisis," Shen Qilin reminded him.

"It’s useless. Nothing will work," Shen Songshan said, completely devoid of any fighting spirit. "The single fact that Ye Xiu knows the Blood Pill came from our family is enough to plunge the Shen Family into eternal ruin."

"Then why hasn’t Ye Xiu spread the news?" Shen Qilin asked.

Shen Songshan was stunned. That’s right. All Ye Xiu has to do is spread the news about the Blood Pill, and Huang Quan will surely destroy the Shen Family. Why hasn’t he done it?

Seeing hope rekindle in his father’s eyes, Shen Qilin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally managed to pull his father back from the abyss of despair. He continued, "After lying low abroad for ten years, Ye Xiu returned for revenge. But his method isn’t killing; it’s torment. He wants to torture the Shen Family just as he did the Ming Family. He wants to make us experience what he went through and watch us suffer a fate worse than death. That’s why he won’t spread the news about the Blood Pill."

Mulling over Shen Qilin’s words, Shen Songshan’s eyes gradually brightened. He squinted and said, "You’re right. The more Ye Xiu tries to toy with us as revenge, the more chances we have to turn this around. After all, the Shen Family isn’t garbage like the Ming Family. Ye Xiu simply doesn’t have the power to destroy and play the Shen Family to death."

"So, what should we do next?" Shen Qilin asked, seizing the opportunity.

Shen Songshan lowered his head in thought for a long while before speaking.

"First, we can’t confront Ye Xiu directly. That might push him to release the information about the Blood Pill, taking us all down with him. We need to show weakness and make him think we’re afraid."

"Second, to destroy the Shen Family, he’ll need to rally allies, like the Bao Family and the Xu Family of Lingjin. We must prevent him from growing stronger and create more enemies for him. This will leave him too preoccupied to deal with the Shen Family."

"Third, with the upcoming reshuffling of power in Qi Yun Dao, the Shen Family must claim the position of hegemon over Qingfeng Road and, by extension, all of Qi Yun Dao. Only by strengthening ourselves can we make Ye Xiu back down."

These three strategies against Ye Xiu were indeed very wise. If Ye Xiu weren’t Huang Quan, if he didn’t possess extraordinary martial power, if he were only the Medicine King and the War God, these strategies would have been more than enough to crush him to dust.

Unfortunately, there are no ’ifs’ in this world.

"Your three strategies are highly feasible. But just in case, should we ask the Long Family for help?" Shen Qilin asked.

"Hmph! If the Long Family knew that Huang Quan’s blade was hanging over our heads, they’d be so scared the entire Long Family Alliance would probably disintegrate. The Long Family would never dare to oppose Huang Quan. The moment we ask for help, not only would they refuse, but they would also expel the Shen Family from the Long Family Alliance," Shen Songshan snorted.

"But we could try to divert Ye Xiu’s anger toward the Long Family," Shen Qilin said, unwilling to give up.

"I don’t even know the identities of the Long family members or the other members of the Long Family Alliance," Shen Songshan admitted bitterly.

Shen Qilin was speechless. It seemed dealing with Ye Xiu was something the Shen Family would have to do on its own.

Suddenly, Shen Qilin’s phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he answered impatiently, "Shen Cong’an, what’s so important that you had to call me?"

"I’ve spotted Ye Xiu’s wife, Qin Qing, and his cousin, Kong Ruoruo," Shen Cong’an said.

"Oh?" Shen Qilin’s eyes lit up. "Where?"

"Right here on Qingfeng Road," Shen Cong’an replied. "They’re in a group of four. They just finished eating at Xinxiang Hui and are paying the bill now. I don’t know where they’re going next."

Shen Songshan took the phone from Shen Qilin’s hand and instructed, "Find a way to cause some trouble for them, but you and the other Shen Family members cannot get involved."

"Got it!" Shen Cong’an replied.

After hanging up, Shen Qilin asked, "Dad, if we just capture Qin Qing and Kong Ruoruo, we’ll be able to control Ye Xiu. Why did you only tell Shen Cong’an to cause some trouble for them?"

"Ye Xiu is at Songhe Tower while Qin Qing and Kong Ruoruo are at Xinxiang Hui. That’s highly unusual," Shen Songshan said. "Ye Xiu is on Qingfeng Road to deal with our family. Why would he let Qin Qing and Kong Ruoruo wander around alone?"

Shen Qilin was clever and instantly understood. "Are you saying Ye Xiu is deliberately using them as bait to lure and kill our people?"

"Whether he is or not, we can’t take the risk. It’s better to create more enemies for Ye Xiu and let them deal with him, Qin Qing, and Kong Ruoruo. We’ll just be the oriole, waiting in the wings," Shen Songshan said with a cunning smile.

「Xin Hui Restaurant」

After hanging up, Shen Cong’an wondered how to cause some trouble for Qin Qing and Kong Ruoruo. Just then, he saw a robust young man coming down from the second floor.

Xiong Wei?

An idea struck him. He grabbed a passing waitress, stuffed a wad of cash into her hands, and whispered, "Do something for me..."

The waitress hesitated after hearing his request, but with a wad of cash in her hand and considering Shen Cong’an’s status, she didn’t dare refuse. She had no choice but to agree.

She scurried over to the top of the stairs and waited for Xiong Wei and his friends to descend. "Young Master Xiong, uh..."

"What is it?" Xiong Wei asked.

"Well, Young Master Xiong, do you have a grudge against Ye Xiu’s wife, Qin Qing?" the waitress asked.

Xiong Wei was taken aback. "Why do you ask? Is that a question a mere waitress like you should be asking?"

"No, no, Young Master Xiong, please don’t misunderstand," the waitress explained quickly. "I only came to tell you because I heard Qin Qing cursing you just now."

"Cursing me?"

Xiong Wei, who had a notoriously short fuse, immediately blew up. "Where is she?"

"Look, see those four beauties at the front desk? The one paying the bill is Qin Qing," the waitress said, pointing.

Xiong Wei and his friends looked toward the front desk. When they saw Qin Qing, Kong Ruoruo, An Dongye, and Kuroki Suzu, their eyes immediately lit up.

Holy crap! Four absolute bombshells!

"Fellas, you dare have a little fun with Ye Xiu’s wife?" Xiong Wei asked his friends with a grin.

"Why not?"

"Although Ye Xiu is the Xuanse Medicine King, at the end of the day, he’s just a doctor! With Young Master Xiong leading us, forget his wife—we’d dare to beat up Ye Xiu himself if he were here!"

"I’m really interested in that tall, long-legged beauty next to Qin Qing."

His friends all eagerly agreed to follow Xiong Wei and mess with Qin Qing. In truth, this group was all Xiong Wei’s lackeys. They mooched off him every day, and whatever Xiong Wei wanted to do, they would loudly support him and join in. After all, if anything went wrong, the Xiong Family would take care of it. And on Qingfeng Road, or even in all of Qi Yun Dao, there were very few people the Xiong Family couldn’t afford to provoke.