A Dart to Seal the Throat

Don't get the wrong idea; Chen Jue was purely interested in the Rope Dart.

With so many pretty girls on the streets, in malls, and all over the internet, it was impossible for Chen Jue to fall in love with every single one he saw.

However, as a seasoned connoisseur of beauty with 396 lovely ladies in his bookmarks whom he dreamed of spending the rest of his life with, he certainly wouldn't just rush up to hit on someone like that.

Walking up to someone and forcing a conversation isn't called flirting; it's called harassment.

He first stopped by a small stall at the park entrance to buy soy milk and a pancake, then circled around to watch the group of old men playing chess.

Chen Jue didn't ask a single question; he just ate his breakfast while keeping his ears pricked.

Much like the intelligence networks formed by the aunties sitting at the village entrance, these elderly chess players were equally well-informed.

"Ever since Old Wu's granddaughter graduated from college, she's only gotten prettier."

"My grandson is a disappointment; he went abroad to study and brought back a foreign doll. Otherwise, I'd really want to become in-laws with Old Wu."

"Forget it, Liu Er. With just those few small two-bedroom apartments you own, you want to be in-laws with Old Wu? It's not a good match!" These old codgers chatted away while playing, their identities as landlords laid bare.

Within 20 minutes, they had spilled all the intel on the grandfather and granddaughter practicing the Rope Dart.

The white-haired old man was surnamed Wu, a retired university teacher who liked to come to the park to practice martial arts for fitness; the Rope Dart was his specialty.

As for his granddaughter, she was also a teacher—a high school PE teacher—who had practiced martial arts with her grandfather since she was a child and had even participated in various martial arts competitions.

She was 26 years old, and there were plenty of suitors in the nearby residential complexes.

However, no one had seen her bring a boyfriend home yet; rumor had it she had very high standards and was extremely picky.

Chen Jue looked at his own appearance, then glanced a few more times at the girl's outstanding temperament and heroic, vigorous figure. Suddenly, the pancake in his hand didn't taste as good anymore.

Lose weight first!

Then get my image in shape, and see if there's any fate after that. Chen Jue made up his mind.

There was no helping it; no matter the era, people still cared about looks.

The current Chen Jue had no money and no charisma; he couldn't hold his own with just a talent for Darts.

Having been single for so long, a bit of inferiority complex was inevitably at play.

After leaving the park, Chen Jue took his recent medical report and drove to a large nearby hospital to see a specialist in the gastroenterology department.

Other minor ailments like his left shoulder's periarthritis or lumbar disc herniation could be improved through exercise.

As for hemorrhoids and hair loss, the former was caused by his work. Having heard the saying "prolonged sitting leads to hemorrhoids; nine out of ten men have them, and ten out of ten women have them" so often, he knew how common the condition was; he'd just find a time to have them surgically removed.

However, he'd heard that the recovery was incredibly painful and prone to recurrence—another condition that couldn't be completely cured.

Hair loss was even more common, and the worst part was that there were many causes for it. There was no universal miracle drug, and both traditional Chinese and Western medicine were helpless against it.

Look at the British Royal Family; every prince who came out was bald.

As for the handsome Prince Charming in fairy tales, the original prototype described those wealthy, turban-wearing oil tycoons in the Middle East, not the bald British princes.

They were the world's top royal family; what kind of medical resources didn't they have access to? If they were still bald and couldn't be cured, one could imagine the complexity of the issue.

After waiting for about an hour, it was finally Chen Jue's turn to go in.

The doctor was a male specialist in his 50s, a chief physician whose consultation fee was 300—his level of expertise was very high.

He only took a few looks at Chen Jue's medical report and case analysis, then pressed on the upper side of Chen Jue's abdomen and the right corner. Chen Jue yelped in pain at the touch, and the doctor quickly gave his opinion for conservative treatment.

"Appendicitis is usually caused by fecaliths or digestive matter blocking the appendiceal lumen. Yours is chronic appendicitis; it's fine when it's not flaring up. However, I suggest having it removed, because if it turns into an acute case, you'll experience severe pain, and you could even go into shock."

"As for these gallstones, it's more troublesome! Unlike kidney stones, which can be broken down by ultrasound and slowly passed through the urinary tract, the gallbladder's duct is angled upward. Furthermore, your cystic duct is N-shaped, just like a paperclip. Even if the stones are broken, they'll remain in the gallbladder, and you'll suffer intense pain whenever it flares up." The chief physician pointed to the organ diagram on the wall and patiently analyzed it for Chen Jue.

"Doctor, is there any way to remove the stones inside while keeping the gallbladder? I'm still so young; I don't want to have my gallbladder removed just yet," Chen Jue asked.

He had looked up the consequences of gallbladder removal online and found a list of complications and side effects, so naturally, he didn't want to lose his gallbladder at such a young age.

"Of course there is!"

"One way is to take a specific medication, Ursodeoxycholic Acid capsules, which can dissolve cholesterol stones. The other is to undergo gallbladder-preserving stone removal surgery. Our hospital can do it, but the best technology is at Shanghai Oriental Hospital. They have a specialized department for gallstone diseases—the only one of its kind in the country. You could go there to take a look."

The chief physician, likely seeing that Chen Jue wasn't short on money since he'd booked a specialist appointment, kindly pointed him toward another option.

"Shanghai Oriental Hospital?"

Chen Jue noted the name on his phone, thanked the doctor, and picked up some prescription medication, planning to go home and take it for a while to recuperate.

"Seeing a doctor really burns through money."

"Just for a consultation and some medicine, 2,000 is gone," Chen Jue couldn't help but grumble.

Since they were imported drugs, they weren't covered by medical insurance and had to be bought at a large pharmacy near the hospital.

Yet, a man's concept of spending was so strange.

He could spend several thousand on a spa day at Jingtanghui without a second thought, but when it came to spending a little money on his own health, he would make a huge fuss.

After eating lunch outside, he drove back to the talent apartment and went to the parcel locker downstairs to retrieve a few boxes.

The efficiency in the free-shipping regions is terrifying; orders placed the previous night often arrive by the following afternoon.

Most importantly, having drifted outside for so long, Chen Jue has mastered quite a few life hacks.

For instance, when shopping online, he basically only buys items shipped from within the province, which can almost always be delivered within 24 hours—it's incredibly convenient.

He went upstairs to unpack the box; the two power banks and the Darts had arrived.

He put the power banks on to charge and started fiddling with the newly arrived martial arts Darts.

The Darts were shaped like short swords, made of solid stainless steel, with the characters "Flying Rainbow" engraved on them.

Although they weren't sharpened, they glinted with a silver light under the sun, the tips exuding a sharp aura, and they felt heavy and substantial in the hand—truly eye-catching.

"Traditional Chinese Darts are still the best."

"This feel is far superior to those imported needle-style darts!"

Chen Jue was delighted, feeling that the few hundred yuan spent was well worth it.

He packed them into the storage bag provided by the seller and took a one-hour nap to refresh his spirit.

Chen Jue then got up and headed to a nearby park, intending to test the Darts.

Since he had time in the afternoon, he planned to practice high-difficulty Chinese Darts to improve his proficiency and attributes.

However, before he could find a suitable spot in the park, he heard the screams of adults and children.

He ran over to take a look and saw a large dog, nearly half the size of an adult, pouncing on a little boy and mauling him on a large patch of grass in the distance.

The dog's body was covered in bulging muscles, its color a brownish-black; he didn't know the breed, but it was clearly a vicious dog. It was biting the little boy's thigh and spinning around in place, emitting low, guttural growls, ignoring the adults nearby who were trying to protect the child.

A park janitor nearby was swinging a broom, smashing it against the dog's head, but even after several blows, it wouldn't let go.

"Quick, find something to pry it open!"

"Save the child first!"

"Call the police! Get the police here immediately!"

Several elderly men who were exercising or walking in the park were also extremely anxious; some went to find stones or sticks, while others were calling the police.

But this vicious dog was truly terrifying once it went mad; most ordinary people were too timid to get close.

The child's crying, the adults' screams, and the vicious dog's growls were all mixed together, creating a chaotic scene.

Just then, a cold light flashed, and a Rope Dart flew out from the hand of a spirited-looking young woman nearby, slamming heavily into the large dog.

"Awoo~" The dog let out a low, pained growl.

However, it still didn't let go; instead, the pain only incited its ferocity, and it bit down even harder.

Because the head of that Rope Dart was cone-shaped and unsharpened—a martial arts practice dart—it lacked sufficient lethality.

But the young woman wielding the Rope Dart clearly had great strength; she smashed it against the dog two more times, and the mad dog finally couldn't withstand the pain, howling twice before turning and bolting away.

It hadn't even run a few meters when a "whoosh" sound of air being pierced rang out, and a sharp-tipped Dart slammed deep into its throat, splattering blood everywhere.

Without running much further, the large dog collapsed onto the ground, wheezing with a wet, rattling sound in its throat, its legs twitching twice before it went still.

"A throat-sealing throw?"

"Who is that! Such great skill?"

The young woman who had been practicing with the Rope Dart was stunned; she turned around and scanned the crowd, finally spotting the owner of the Dart among the people.

It was a slightly chubby young man in sportswear with an ordinary appearance, holding a storage bag in his right hand and another sword-shaped Dart pinched in his left.

The two made eye contact and nodded at each other.

There was no conversation, as the chaotic scene had not yet ended.

A middle-aged woman dressed in gaudy jewelry pushed through the crowd, scooped up the still-warm body of the large dog, and wailed, "My Dabao! My Dabao, what happened to you?"

"Why aren't you moving? Dabao!"

First update~

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