Beautiful and Fierce

The shabby door was closed.

The paper blessing pasted to it had faded almost white. Who knew how many years it had been on duty? It had already been there when he and Liang Hong first rented the place. It looked as though it could hold on for many more years, but the people who lived here had already fallen apart.

Luo Yang stood outside the door. Although he had not channeled spiritual power into his ancestral witch spirit body to enter the Super-Sense State, even in its natural state, he could still clearly hear someone rummaging through things inside the house.

Liang Hong was home.

Luo Yang hesitated, then opened the door and went in.

The tiny living room was a mess, with clothes, books, and miscellaneous belongings strewn across the floor. Liang Hong stood on a jacket, holding scissors in her right hand and a pair of trousers in her left. She had already cut off one trouser leg.

Their eyes met.

A minute of silence passed.

Luo Yang walked toward a medical book lying on the floor.

"Luo Yang, don't you have anything to say to me?" Liang Hong broke the silence.

Luo Yang ignored her. He bent down, picked up the medical book, and casually flipped through it. A photograph caught his eye. It was a family portrait. His parents were no longer in this world, and this photograph meant a great deal to him. If not for it, he would never have come back.

Holding the medical book, Luo Yang turned to leave.

Liang Hong suddenly lunged at him.

Luo Yang's nerves instinctively tightened as he prepared to snatch the scissors from her hand.

But a step away from him, Liang Hong bent her knees and dropped to the floor with a thud.

Luo Yang froze.

He had never imagined Liang Hong would pull something like this.

"Luo Yang, please forgive me. I, I... that old bastard threatened me. He said if I didn't give him what he wanted, he'd fire us both. I thought about how hard we'd worked to get into Wise Heaven Hospital. We couldn't lose our jobs... so I, I let him violate me. Sob..." Liang Hong began to cry, tears rolling down one after another.

"Stop acting," Luo Yang said flatly. "You're only embarrassing yourself."

Liang Hong stopped sobbing and looked up, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Do you really need me to spell it out? I only realized today that you got together with me to get close to Wang Shunli, so he would bring you into Wise Heaven Hospital. You were already sleeping with him back at school, weren't you?"

Liang Hong wiped her tears with the back of her hand. All expression had vanished from her face.

A trace of mockery curled Luo Yang's lips. "At school, I was your stepping stone. At Wise Heaven Hospital, I was your backup. What are you treating me as now?"

"You really won't forgive me?" Liang Hong's gaze turned cold.

Luo Yang shook his head gently. "It isn't my forgiveness you want. It's the medical skill I showed today, and the money I'll be able to make in the future. I can't afford a woman like you. Let's leave it at that. I wish you happiness."

"I won't let you break up with me! If you dare, I'll kill myself right in front of you!" Liang Hong suddenly raised the scissors and thrust them toward her chest.

Luo Yang did not even turn around.

Liang Hong stopped the scissors seven or eight inches from her chest, practically exploding with rage. "Luo Yang, you, you're actually this heartless! You fucking scumbag!"

Luo Yang looked back and said blandly, "You're trying to kill yourself with plastic scissors? Who the fuck are you putting on this act for?"

Humiliated, Liang Hong flew into a rage. "Fine! Since you're so heartless, I won't waste my breath. Give me two hundred thousand as a breakup settlement."

Luo Yang could not be bothered to argue with her. He turned and left.

But just as he reached the doorway, he backed up.

Two men stood outside.

Luo Yang recognized one as Liang Hong's cousin, Liang Jun. The other had a military buzz cut and wore a tight tank top that exposed bulging muscles and colorful tattoos. He looked vicious.

Liang Jun grinned nastily. "Brother-in-law, you slept with my cousin for over a year. Two hundred thousand isn't too much to ask, is it?"

The buzz-cut man advanced on Luo Yang.

Luo Yang retreated into the room.

Liang Hong sneered. "You've hooked yourself a rich woman, and now you want to dump me without spending a cent? Dream on!"

Luo Yang reached for his phone.

The buzz-cut man snarled, "Call the cops and I'll fucking kill you!"

Just then, a woman's voice came from outside. "Who's making such big threats?"

All four people in the room turned toward the doorway.

A woman in a white blouse and black skirt walked in. A little over five foot seven, she had a graceful, curvaceous figure and a mature beauty. Her long legs supported not only her upper body but also the cool, aloof bearing of a company president.

It was Ye Zi. She carried a large black plastic bag, more than half full and seemingly quite heavy.

"Ye Zi, what are you doing up here?" Luo Yang grew anxious.

He had already cultivated his ancestral witch spirit body and had quick reflexes. His Primordial Medical Finger could also jab someone in the eye or the like, so handling Liang Jun and the buzz-cut man should not have been a problem. But Ye Zi's sudden arrival put him at a disadvantage.

"Luo Yang, stay out of this. I'll handle it for you," Ye Zi said.

It was as though she had struck a pressure point that released all his emotions. Luo Yang stood stunned. In his entire life, no woman except his mother had ever stood up for him like this.

"Who the fuck are you?" Liang Jun cursed.

Liang Hong sneered. "That's Ye Zi!"

An excited smile immediately spread across Liang Jun's face. "So you're the rich woman my brother-in-law hooked up with! Perfect timing. He's dumping my cousin because of you, so you can pay the two hundred thousand breakup settlement."

Ye Zi released her grip. The plastic bag dropped to the floor, and several bundles of crisp hundred-yuan notes spilled out.

Liang Jun hurriedly reached down to pick them up.

Ye Zi raised her leg and planted her black high heel on Liang Jun's hand.

Liang Jun burst out cursing. "You fucking-"

"There's five hundred thousand here," Ye Zi said.

In a single second, Liang Jun's face switched to a smile. "Heh, those... those are some really nice shoes."

The buzz-cut man had been about to step forward and slap Ye Zi a couple of times, but the moment he heard "five hundred thousand," all the fight went out of him. Hitting her was the last thing on his mind.

Luo Yang felt a headache coming on. "Ye Zi, there's really no need to give them-"

Ye Zi cut him off. "Wait for me outside the door."

Luo Yang hesitated.

"Go!" Ye Zi snapped.

Luo Yang could not understand her behavior at all, but he knew there was no talking to her right now. He had no choice but to go outside.

Liang Hong's lips moved as she tried to call him back, but when she saw the big bag of money on the floor, she could not get a single word out.

"Miss Liang," Ye Zi said coldly, "once you take this five hundred thousand, you're to leave Luo Yang alone. Can you do that?"

A flicker of hatred flashed through Liang Hong's eyes, but she said nothing.

Ye Zi met her with a cold stare. "Let me make this clear now. If you bother Luo Yang again, one phone call from me will get you thrown out of Wise Heaven Hospital, and not a single hospital in the Bacheng Urban District will hire you."

Fear appeared in Liang Hong's eyes.

Ye Zi's gaze swept over Liang Jun and the buzz-cut man. "And you two. You think you're good at fighting? Any time I like, I can find a hundred people at my company who can fight and have them try you out. I also know several underworld bosses. I could ask them to talk some sense into you."

Liang Jun and the buzz-cut man were cowed by Ye Zi's commanding presence.

Ye Zi turned her gaze back to Liang Hong. "Miss Liang, I'll ask you one more time. Can you promise me that you'll leave Luo Yang alone from now on?"

Liang Hong lowered her head. "I promise... I won't bother Luo Yang again."

Ye Zi lifted her foot from the back of Liang Jun's hand, turned, and left.