Medical and Martial God

Chapter 289: Taking Poison to Defend a Secret

"You really do know a lot about the Heavenly Dragon Sect, even knowing who my brother-in-law is," Xia Zhiwei said, quite surprised. "Since you know who my brother-in-law is, you should be able to guess why my sister sent me to follow you, right?"

Ye Xiu had indeed guessed it. He asked, "Shen Tianfang and your sister learned I wanted revenge against the Shen Family and had publicly identified them as one of the culprits behind the plot against me. So, they sent you to smear my name, is that right?"

"That’s right!" Xia Zhiwei admitted candidly. "Actually, smearing your name was just a last resort. My sister originally sent me to kill you, but I had to fall back on it after you discovered me."

This girl is certainly straightforward.

"Few people outside Jin Ye City know who I am. How did you recognize me?" Ye Xiu asked. "And how did you track my whereabouts?"

These two points were unbelievable. It should be impossible to find a photo of him. He was wandering aimlessly; without a taxi, he himself wouldn’t even know where he’d ended up. Yet, Xia Zhiwei recognized him and could track his movements. This wasn’t something an ordinary person could do. There had to be a vast intelligence network behind her.

"My sister showed me your photo," Xia Zhiwei said. "She’s also the one who told me your whereabouts."

"Does your brother-in-law, Shen Tianfang, know about this?" Ye Xiu asked.

"How should I know?" Xia Zhiwei said, her expression filled with disgust at the mere mention of his name. "I doubt it. Since you’re seeking revenge against the Shen Family and know so much about the Heavenly Dragon Sect, you should know what kind of person Shen Tianfang is. He’s a useless good-for-nothing, completely clueless about anything besides having fun."

Ye Xiu had to agree. Gong Jin’s investigation of Shen Tianfang had confirmed he was indeed worthless—a man who loved to play around and was utterly ignorant of serious matters.

But if Shen Tianfang didn’t know about this, then Xia Zhiwei’s sister, Xia Xue, must be truly formidable to control such a vast intelligence network. Or perhaps the network belonged to the Heavenly Dragon Sect, which would mean the sect wasn’t as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Just then, Mo Luo called. "The young man committed suicide."

"Suicide?" Ye Xiu was shocked. As a martial artist with keen hearing, Xia Zhiwei also heard Mo Luo’s words and cried out in surprise.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Ye Xiu said, sensing something was wrong.

Mo Luo replied, "I’m sure he never spotted me, but he led me in circles for over an hour. Then, in a secluded area, he committed suicide by taking a poison pill hidden in a molar."

"Find out his identity," Ye Xiu ordered.

"Understood!" Mo Luo replied.

After hanging up, Ye Xiu lowered his head in thought. He knew Mo Luo’s tracking skills were superb; the young man couldn’t possibly have detected him. It was highly likely that the intelligence network behind the man had spotted Mo Luo and alerted him. Realizing he couldn’t escape, the young man led Mo Luo on a detour before taking the poison. This is terrifying! What kind of organization could inspire such loyalty that its members would defend it with their lives? And its intelligence agents must be everywhere to have spotted Mo Luo!

"Xia Zhiwei, tell me the truth. Who was that young man? Why did he kill himself?" Ye Xiu asked in a heavy tone.

"I don’t know him. My sister only said someone would be coordinating with me," Xia Zhiwei replied, looking bewildered.

Ye Xiu stared into her eyes for three seconds and confirmed she wasn’t lying. He also recalled that she hadn’t made any eye contact with the young man earlier. "Xia Zhiwei, I want to meet your grandfather. Can you arrange it?" he said. The mysterious intelligence network was a major threat, and he had to confirm whether or not it belonged to the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

"I’ll ask!" Xia Zhiwei took out her phone and called the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. "Grandpa, Ye Xiu wants to see you. Are you free?"

"Ye Xiu? You mean Xuanse, the Medicine King?" a surprised voice came from the other end.

"Yes, that’s him," Xia Zhiwei confirmed.

"Oh my! It’s my honor that Divine Doctor Ye wants to see me! How do you know him? Where are you? I’ll head over right now. How could I possibly have Divine Doctor Ye come to me? I must go to him!"

Hearing the excited, rambling voice of the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s leader, Ye Xiu was almost certain the mysterious intelligence network wasn’t his. Did it belong to Xia Zhiwei’s sister, Xia Xue?

"My grandpa wants to come here to meet you," Xia Zhiwei told Ye Xiu.

"That won’t do. He’s a senior, and I’m a junior. How could I let him come to me? Tell your grandpa I’ll pay him a visit tomorrow morning." Now that he was fairly sure the intelligence network didn’t belong to the Heavenly Dragon Sect, Ye Xiu was no longer in a rush to meet its leader.

"Oh!" Xia Zhiwei said into the phone, "Grandpa, Ye Xiu says he’ll visit tomorrow morning."

"Excellent, excellent! It is our Heavenly Dragon Sect’s greatest honor to have Divine Doctor Ye visit personally! Tell him I will lead all our disciples in giving him a grand welcome tomorrow morning!" the Sect Leader exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement.

After hanging up, Xia Zhiwei looked Ye Xiu up and down, her expression full of doubt. "What’s so special about you that my grandpa is getting this worked up?"

Ye Xiu thought for a moment. "It might be because my butt is symmetrical."

"Hey, are you ever going to be serious?" Xia Zhiwei looked at him with a pained expression. "You’re the great Medicine King Xuanse! Can’t you have a little dignity?"

Ye Xiu raised his hand in a mock spanking gesture. "What was that?"

"Okay, okay, you win!" Xia Zhiwei retreated three steps, holding up her hands in surrender.

Just then, Ye Xiu received a text from Bao Longtu with the time and location of a business reception.

After reading it, Ye Xiu said to Xia Zhiwei, "The Bao Family is holding a business reception tonight. The guests are all bigwigs from Qi Yun Dao’s business community. Interested in coming with me to see the world?"

"Me?" Xia Zhiwei’s eyes lit up. "Can I really go to a high-end reception like that?"

"Of course," Ye Xiu said, suddenly finding this porcelain doll of a girl rather cute.

"But..." Now that she knew she could go, her excitement was mixed with a sudden insecurity. "If I go to a high-end reception dressed like this, won’t I embarrass you? Will people laugh at me?"

"No one will dare laugh at you when you’re with me," Ye Xiu declared authoritatively.

"Hmph. They might not laugh to my face because of you, but who knows how they’ll secretly look down on me," Xia Zhiwei pouted. "How about this? I’ll go home and change into something more normal. Just tell me where the reception is, and I’ll meet you there."

"That works." Ye Xiu and Xia Zhiwei exchanged contact information, and he told her the time and location of the reception. She then hurried off.

「The Imperial Clubhouse」

This was the second most exclusive club on Qingfeng Road, surpassed only by the Ming Feng Tower branch. Bao Longtu had generously booked the entire place for tonight’s reception.

When Ye Xiu arrived at the Imperial Clubhouse, it was already 6:50 PM. The reception was set to begin at 7:00 PM.

Just as Ye Xiu got out of his car, a sharp, shrewish voice called out, "What’s a poor wretch like you doing here?"